Riding Car Frequently Asked Questions

What do you get in a kit?

A welded steel chassis, cnc wheels, axles, axleboxes, roller bearings, working buffers, draw hook frames and draw hooks, 3-link chains, rivets, decals, steel strap and hinge detailing and a wooden body kit. Some kits have additional parts such as the steel duckets for the Brake Guards Vans and the blue tarpaulins for the China Clay hood Wagons.

Do I need to be a woodworker to make the body?

Our kits utilise laser cut exterior grade east European birch plywood. The corners are tabbed to make construction a very straightforward operation although a third hand would be useful!

Because the kits are made by machines they are dimensionally very accurate and go together really well. A little PVA glue and masking tape is all you need to complete a body kit.

How is the roof fitted?

The roofs on Covered Vans and Brake Guards Vans are rolled steel with fillets welded to the underside. The fillets are positioned to clear the body ends on the inside and capture the roof when it is mounted.

Do I have to do any welding?

No, we Tig weld the smaller chassis and Mig weld the larger ones prior to despatch.

Similarly the fillets on the steel roofs are also welded before being sent out.

How are the rivets fitted?

It is your choice you can use a hammer and a rivet snap or you can simply fix them with epoxy prior to painting the chassis.

Does the kit require specialist tools to build?

You will need everyday tools such as some small metric spanners, crosshead and straight screwdrivers, small drill bits and a hand or rechargeable drill and a small bottle of PVA glue and a tube of epoxy glue. You will also need materials to prepare the kit for painting, we find a scotchbrite pad useful for preparing the metal parts, some white spirit or similar for cleaning. The wooden parts will need very light sanding with some fine grade silicone paper or similar.

Where do I get the paint for my kit?

We recommend Halfords spray paints. The general range has a lot of colour matches for railway colours and we find the quality to be very good and very consistent.

Most branches will mix specific colours to your sample and will supply it as brush on or in a spray can.

How do I know what colours to use?

We put the colour references in the building guide supplied with the kit. The steam banana van was matched as close as we could to the Banana Van on the Bluebell Railway. The colours we used were all from the Halfords range and were as follows;

Grey Primer, Ford Tuscan Beige for the Van sides, Rover Hurricane Grey on the end panels and Halfords Satin Black on the chassis and roof.

Where do I get the graphics?

We supply vinyl graphics with each kit, they all have a facsimile makers plate and the correct graphics for that specific kit. We try to offer alternatives where applicable, for instance the Guards Vans can be made with LNER, ER, SR LMS, GER lettering which is included with Brake Guards Van kits. The Iron ore tippler also contains “Loco Coal Only decals which have proved very popular.

Can I ride on the Wagons?

The 7¼ range are mostly ride on, the China Clay Hoods being an exception as they wouldn’t be too comfortable!

They can be fitted with footrests and the steel roofs and 9mm plywood bodies provide plenty of strength to accommodate most riders.

Which kits the quickest to build?

Without doubt that is the Iron Ore Tippler Wagon, it comes with an all steel body, which is welded and finished in light grey powder coat. You will need to put the chassis together and bolt the body to the chassis. You will also need to apply the supplied decals.

Which kit takes the longest to build?

The cattle wagon, it is our most comprehensive kit and has more than 600 rivets to be fitted to the chassis and body. The body kit has inner and outer walls and ends to give authentic planking detail inside and out. Some of the outer body framing has T section detailing, which adds to the look of the kit but requires a little more time to build.

What instructions do you supply?

Each kit comes with an 18 page illustrated building guide which will take you through all aspects of building the kit and also has sections on painting and finishing.

Are you planning further kits?

Yes, we are adding to the range, we will introduce Conflat wagons with containers in a variety of styles soon and 4 wheel tank wagons will be available later in the year.