Max Stafford's Kennel

Last night, after an enjoyable day up at the SECC in Glasgow, I got home and after tea, started work on one of my recently-acquired Cambrian BR Boplate E plate wagons. Cambrian are good at covering the more niche end of the wagon market although it has to be said, a little more builder input is required than for say one of the later Parkside kits. The floor and sides, for example come in two and four sections respectively and butt joints are pretty much the rule.
That said, if you have experience building plastic kits of any sort, there’s nothing here that will hold any perils provided you take the time to assemble the deck and dropsides square. I had to use a little microstrip on the side/end interface but that may have been due to me bucking the recommended assembly method.
By contrast, the bogies themselves are very nice one-piece mouldings.
One other bit of work I carried out prior to assembly was to remove the moulded on buffer stocks from the ends. The remnants were carefully sanded and filed away and the hole prepared to accept a set of Lanarkshire Models buffers. B036 is the one you want if you’re undertaking a similar project.
You can order online at http://www.lanarkshiremodels.com

The last task was to fit three link couplings and the vehicle is now in the care of the paint shops.

It’s a surprisingly long vehicle in comparison with even the 22 ton plate vehicles and it certainly adds to the variety in a fleet destined to comprise many wagons handling finished steel products!