LNER goods brake van: Toad E
Having described the forerunner of the series as an "early goods brake van", actually a Toad B, here is the middle-period one. Matters get confusing because the fitted long wheelbase one, the Toad D, came out in 1929 (to be eventually copied by BR as its Standard Goods Brake Van).
During the 1930s the Toad B was modernised with the wooden ducket replaced by the distinctive steel one. This became the Toad E:
Toad E No 175613 as built in 1934.
A model is possible by cutting and splicing the Airfix plastic kit and I reckon it's been done by quite a few people. Here's an original boxed kit:
Below is my version, made quite few years ago so no constructional views, and quite basic really: today I'd have replaced the moulded handrails, for example, and fitted brass lamp irons, but at the time, these things were beyond my ken. This is what I did once the body and steps had been made up. Look closely and you can just see where were the cuts and joins were made. It's a fine project that requires two kits and some straightforward add-ons described described below.
Roof - replaced with Plastikard, strip for the rainstrips.
Chimney - scratch built using plastic tube, with a ring at the bottom for the mounting. A square panel of the roof section completed the base.
Roof ventilators - the large concentric type from ABS.
Lamp - a proprietary type with jewels.
Axleboxes - whitemetal RCH type from MJT.
Buffers - sprung from MJT, the long coned GWR coach type with 14" heads.
Sprayed a faded random brown, lettered using HMRS/PC Methfix transfers, because I can lay them spot on.
Sharp eyes will doubtless spot some other things that I didn't do that would help, such as filling the holes in the solebar channels. I am not sure if there was a version with wooden battens on the ends - my sources were limited at the time and I'm hoping that Peter Tatlow's final book will be more revealing.