PILOT ROAD - Box file madness

by mason

original page on Old RMweb

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??? posted on Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:08 pm

Well here goes, i decided to jump on the box file band wagon, due to moving to a smaller house and losing my very large kitchen/model rail room.

ok, it started with a trip into town and the purchase of the new Hornby mag with the scalescenes freebie, which then followed by a dash to wilkos for some kit building card.

i happened to glance at the boxs files, which where reduced to a mere ?‚??1.97, so i got 2, flew home with excitment and started building, i decided to use the scalescene kit from the mag, 2 points, a few oddments of track and some trickery with a few images and some hole cutting in the box file ends, i few bottom supports and within a few hrs id got the basis of a small, industrial layout, measuring just 29" x 10" and easy to store.

then it hit me, i need a fiddle yard too, off to wilkos to get another box file

it then occurred to me that i had spent a total of around ?‚??13, which included 3 box files, printing card and the Hornby mag.

i have to say iv surprised myself how easy it was to get this project off the ground, after all you eliminate the hassle of building baseboards with the box files and i already have plans for a few other modules to build to add to it.

well ill leave you with the pics of the progress so far, which has only taken 2 days

all comments and tips and pointers welcome

cheers

neil

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Comment posted by IanHolmes on Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:15 pm

I like what you've got started there.

Very believable arrangement of track and buildings.

That scalescenes freebie looks good

Ian

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Comment posted by Trainsrgr8 on Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:40 pm

wow! ?‚??13 and 2 days work, this could be a good solution t ease to boredom over the summer hols! Hope it all goes well!

Danny

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??? posted on Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:48 pm

thanks for the positive comments chaps, im pretty pleased with it so far, obviously ballasting and the finer details to be added, and a little more stock, maybe another 08 and a 33/26/27 type loco, iv already thought of the other module to have a relief siding with another industrial building, and maybe one with a through station, to be honest the limits are endless

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Comment posted by mines a pint on Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:51 pm

Excellent- love stuff like this! these boxfiles are really catching on arent they!

-might I respectfully suggest some extra bracing on the roof of the 'Balfour Beatty' it looks a little as warping has already happened, and more could occur, might be an idea to stop to it sooner rather than later when everything is fully bedded in?

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Comment posted by IanHolmes on Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:54 pm

Ballast? I'd go with inlaid track myself in that situation.

Another idea to consider...

Ian

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??? posted on Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:57 pm

i see what ya mean now , think i need to get the builders in for some repairs, before the goods inside get water damage

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??? posted on Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:00 pm

yeah that is an idea ian, i did think that at the start but for some reason swayed away from it, but your right it does make sense in the situation, and save alot of cdam, blasts and f**K its

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Comment posted by mines a pint on Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:03 pm

Is that building the freebie then? -pretty good considering, think it needs to go on some thick card though or maybe plasticard if you in a damp environment- I can never use card/paper based kits as I model in a cellar! -shame 'cos though I dont really like the superquick/metcalfe style of thing the scalescenes is really top notch!

Inlaid track is invariably less messy, though getting everything to fit right can get a bit more involved!

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??? posted on Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:07 pm

yeah its the freebie from the Hornby mag, the only downside is that its printed on gloss paper so you have to de-gloss it and because its not on there website you only get 1 shot, hence the dodgy tin roof, but all in all its not bad for a bit of a bashing session.

i do like the scalescens stuff they are as you say top notch gear

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Comment posted by Chris56057 on Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:27 pm

Excellent idea their Neil, the work so far is very good. Its making me consider something alike for a possible N gauge project.

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Comment posted by IanHolmes on Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:33 pm

Best bit is Russ, this track layout is all straight lines apart from the two points

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:44 am

well i think ian im gonna try the inlaid track today, but im a little unsure about the points, how do i inlay them, or do i just leave them for the sake of sanity

iv heard ppl talk about using 2mm then 1 mm plasticard, but besides using filla type stuff, which is gonna add obvious weight to the box files, what other options are there????

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Comment posted by dave_long on Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:03 am

Fab Foam.

You can get it from Hobbycraft and other retailers. A4 or A3 sized sheets and is a very good thicknes and easy to work with. Andy Y has used it between the rails on his Keyhaven layout.

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:14 am

fab foam, sounds cool thanks dave

but i decided to use some card i had laying around as a base and printed a concrete texture onto some thick white card, it seemed to have worked pretty well, got the first setion done and decided its time for a coffee and a dose of RM i think it definatly needs some weathering and weeds in the cracks and corners, but all in all not a bad effort and keeping within my low low bugdet

as always all comments welcome

cheers

neil

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Comment posted by stubby47 on Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:23 am

That inlaid stuff looks pretty good to me Neil, just make sure it's low enough on the outside to allow the track tops to be cleaned and low enough on the inside so the loco wheel flanges don't ride on it and lift the wheels off the rails (yep, voice of experience...)

Stu

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Comment posted by IanHolmes on Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:29 am

Looking very good so far

Ian

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:32 am

thanks stu, firstly love your box file harbour, it has been alot of insipartion for this, and yeah i made extra sure, every section i added that went near a rail was checked with a loco and a wagon.

i did find something out tho, my over bridge is too low

it was high eough for an 08 and a 20, but ran a 60 on it last nite and it got stuck so the over part of the bridge has been removed and im gonna green it all up to look like an old bridge thats been abondened long ago, maybe some pipage over also

thanks for the wise words tho stu

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:36 am

thanks ian, was your good suggestion, and if it went wrong i was gonna blame you

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Comment posted by Ravenser on Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:27 am

Inlaid track is almost certainly more authentic , but it does require a certain amount of work to make sure the flangeway gaps are ok (I have fairly vivid memories of hours of filing and fitting plastikard strips as a teenager when building a tramway)

Getting a 20 on a box file is good going...

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Comment posted by 76079 on Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:22 pm

Excellent box file.

Question: how did you manage to secure the box files together?

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:08 pm

hi 76079, to answer your question, i basically used some lengths of 2x1 underneath, 1 in the centre and 1 at each end, which in turn create stabillity and feet, that also give space for the track wiring underneath. i pva glued the wood strips to the underside and used small tack pins to pull it in so they fitted nice and tight, i also glued the central pillers where i had cut the 2 box files with pva, the fiddle yard is removable, i left the right hand foot overhanging, and set the foot on the fiddle box back slightly so that they would just slot together without any fuss and line up easily with the sides of the box files.

hope that clears your question up, if there is anything else i can help with pls dont hesitate to ask

cheers

neil

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Comment posted by RJL1993 on Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:08 pm

Looking good so far.

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:40 pm

another update, had a little play around with a few images, and i found a few interior factory pics, which got me thinking to adding depth to the scalescenes building interior so this is what i came up with

cheers

neil

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??? posted on Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:05 pm

well busy afternoon, raining outside so i finished the inlaid flooring, bar weathering and weeds but over all im pretty happy with it.

hopefully positive comments but all are welcome

cheers

neil

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