The Thunderbox - part 1

Before we delve into further detail I would like to take this opportunity to allocate blame where it is due.  This all began a couple of years ago when all-round good chap the notorious David Crook gave me a plastic toy mortar.  A spring (or rubber band?) loaded device, this lobs round plastic 'shells' to a range of 2-3 feet.  So far so good.  But hang on (I thought recently) - hadn't I seen pictures of similar mortars mounted on railway cars during the American Civil War?  Well yes I had - and so defying all logic and without the aid of a safety net  I set out to recreate such a thing.

I selected the scruffiest of my O gauge flat wagons, dug out a sheet of balsa and with a fresh blade in my Swan-Morton craft knife, set to work.  Clearly the overall size of the thing was limited by the dimensions of the wagon.  This did little to add to it's aesthetic appeal.  The 'shield' and sides were pinned together before being glued.

The aperture took a bit of trial and error before the shells would fire through it without incident.

While the PVA was drying I used a ballpoint pen to draw on the 'planks'.

My reference work - this splendid book from the Blandford series is highly recommended.

Coming soon(ish) - the 'finished' Thunderbox!