A brake van for Combe Norton...

I need a brake van, surely any steam era modeller needs at least one. I recently saw the Rapido GWR AA20 van 'pre-order' alert and almost bought one for my fledgling GWR branchline cameo, Combe Norton (more on that another time). However, what we've got here is the result of a conversation with friend and fellow modeller, Paul Marshall-Potter...

We were discussing the layout concept and he reminded me of the Oxford Rail GWR AA3 brake van I'd started, but never finished. I had designed some custom etched overlays (showing out of stock, but I'm about to re-stock) for the end panels, to correct the more obvious deficiency in the donor model, based upon photos and information in an older issue of Model Railway Journal. Once fitted the van was primed, and languished in the stock box, as it was originally destined for a Bala Branch layout that never has seen the light of day. Anyhow... what state was it in? I thought I'd dig it out...

The van has also had rain strips adding, and the back windows modified as per the Model Railway Journal 268.

Promising, but how to finish it? I didn't want a BR livery as my timescale is 1955-60, and I reckoned I could just about get away with a faded and aging GWR grey. I was also wary of adding an allocation - so diffing through the Great Western Way book by HMRS I decided that the late 1930s austere grey with small markings would be suitable. If a van had been repainted as recently as that, it is unlikely to have been repainted again in my period. 

A coat of Humbrol 5 'gloss grey' was applied, probably many will say this is too light, but its a base for a faded and old van, so it will be toned down and I prefer, where possible to use lighter shades on my models. Some Fox decals were applied with a number that matched that on the build plate Oxford have printed on the solebar, and the handrails painted with Humbrol 28 'camouflage grey', a nice pale off white shade. The roof will need a coat of something, probably custom mixed, but I might leave it as it is and just weather it when I do the rest of the model, as the raw primer isn't a million miles off the right sort of grey.

So it's not finished, but it's closer than it has been before. A coat of matt lacquer once the panel line wash is on, and we shall see how she looks - then there is the decision that remains on coupling choice. Paul is suggesting Dingham's whereas I'm contemplating Iain Rice's 'Imprecise'. The next chapter of Combe Norton will wait for another day. Until next time, more soon...

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