A plywood ‘van’ for Kinross...

Canadian National extended the life of its wooden bodied ‘vans’ (caboose in US, brake van in UK parlance) by re-skinning them in plywood and removing the roof walkways…

The TrueLine Trains model is well detailed and a good starting point. I had seen photos of one re-skinned with styrene that was very effective but had heard that it had warped with time, as styrene can, so wondered if the same could be done in etched brass…

The result? Well success, I think. The etches I designed all fit as intended, although not all the handrail holes matched up with those in the original model, they’re close enough and easy to open out with a drill bit. I will add these once the bodywork has been painted red.

Being able to access these sorts of techniques for my own projects, alongside kit design and commissions is a real bonus. It’s the sort of thing that means I can really build you unique and high quality commissions, with one off designed etched or 3D printed components. If you’ve got a project I can help with get in touch for a personal proposal. In the meantime more soon…