long island jack Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Andrew it's not playing, it's testing the track work Ray 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 Andrew it's not playing, it's testing the track work Ray That's what I keep telling myself. Need to get my skates on as I'm down to 12 weeks until the convention and I've got about half of those weekends already booked up for other stuff. I see many late nights in the shed in my near future. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 The card lock fuel distributor is taking shape. Liking Kathy Millatt's idea of foam sheets. Need to paint the tanks and add some weathering, but not looking totally crap. Just need to find a better way of assembling Walthers chain link fencing. Just wish I could get HO brass etch that didn't cost the earth. Also need to dig for a decent bit of etched ladder. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 Things moving along. This may sound a bit p*ssy and rude but I really dislike layouts where the builder just throws down some fine turf on the ply or foam top. Even on the prairies it ain't that flat. With that in mind I've been playing with a few ideas to get a bit of undulation and texture. What I've ended up with so far seems to suit the bill. I've put down a lumpy layer of Sculptamold, then painted over with my usual ugly "wholewheat" paint. On top of that is chinchilla dust. ( thanks to Kathy Millatt). This is normally too light in colour so I added some Woodland Scenic liquid pigment to the pva/water mix. Now I have a good base to start adding the static grass and turf. Foam for the road and parking lots down. Next to paint them and add markings. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted August 19, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 19, 2016 I presume you have looked at Kathy's Road markings post on FB? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 I presume you have looked at Kathy's Road markings post on FB?yep. Need to order the pens from Hattons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted August 19, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) Same here Edit ordered whilst delayed enroute home on Southern. Also found an HO NS heritage loco with sound but motor not working as a challenge to fix!! Edited August 19, 2016 by roundhouse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) yep. Need to order the pens from Hattons. Same here Edit ordered whilst delayed enroute Fine tipped paint pens are available on eBay for less than what WS demand, I don't like paying too much for them as my choice of road surface clogs the tips too easily. Let me know how you get on with the WS ones, I'll have to watch Kathy's video to see how its done... Edited August 19, 2016 by 298 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted August 20, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 20, 2016 I do have other paint pens but found them hard to use on road surfaces (they get used to mark decoder addresses etc. on underside of stock) hence why I thought I would give these a go incase they are slightly different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Re Pens - Uni POSCA work well for road-markings in yellow and white - as I told Kathy - A search on google will find them - I think mine came from Pullingers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 Popped out to Hobbycraft on the weekend and they had the POSCA pens on for £1.99. Not too shabby although the yellow is a bit too lemony as Canadian lane marking yellow has a more of an orange tint. This was the first attempt. Must remember to use a straight edge with a raised edge. The paint is so thin it really bleeds. The screw ups will be faded out with some more MIG powders and some fine sanding. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted August 23, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 23, 2016 Not bad for a first timer A lot better than my attempt with paint pens hence why I am going ot try the one from Hattons when they turn up. Somewhere I have a rule with a raised edge. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 Attempt 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 Time for an update I think. Ballasting is done finally. What a totally soul destroying job that is. I've got a few small touch ups to do, but those are easy enough and will only take an hour or so one evening. I've blown through 7 small bags of static grass so far. I figure that is around 12sqft of the module covered with long prairie grass. I figure that is about 2/3 of it done. Next will be to detail the scenery with weeds, shrubs, etc. Oh and loads of dirt over the industry trackage. Yea, after ballasting the lot I'm going to hide most of it. Buildings are coming along slowly. The paper supplier just needs the raised base, half the roof, and the guttering applied. The gas station is about ready for its decoration into a Petro-Can station. Same with the Tim Horton's. Both of those are Summit kits where I've scanned the decal sheet and modified them with more appropriate artwork while keeping the size of each image. The brewery hut and tap room just needs a few barrels outside, a sign, and a table or 3. The rest are in a state of partial completion as well. East end with the team track and keylock oil supplier. Brewery and grain elevators Crossing gates test fitted. The gates will be driven by tortoise motors (as I have a few going spare) and operated by the Azatrak control module. (a blatant ripoff of Roundhouse's installation on Ft Myers. I really must either get around to ordering the BLMA crossing inserts or throw some styrene sheet down. Otherwise that bus driver isn't going to be too happy. That's about all for now. Stay tuned. (or don't) 6 weeks today this lot will get bolted to some other unsuspecting person's module in a hotel conference room in Birmingham. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Finally managed to "complete" the majority of the team track and Keylock oil services area. A couple of fast crappy snaps from the phone. The oil distributor is a bashtardisation of bits from the Walther's oil distributor, Diesel fueling depot, and a bunch of other bits of crap from the bottom of the bits box. Quite happy with how its turned out. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 20, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2016 Coming along nicely. Just started a walkway for my LPG siding. Not quite right but not been able to get anything closer that would do. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Coming along nicely. Just started a walkway for my LPG siding. Not quite right but not been able to get anything closer that would do.what exactly are you looking for? I've got a second set of the track grills if you want them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 20, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2016 Ideally one of the single stair gantries that reach up to the top of the tank car. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Ideally one of the single stair gantries that reach up to the top of the tank car. Is this the sort of thing: http://www.invictamodelrail.com/933-4037-four-modern-loading-racks-kit-5312-p.asp If so, as you can see Invicta has one in stock. Also Coastal DCC has a DCS240 in stock and is £50 cheaper than Sunningwell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2016 Is this the sort of thing: http://www.invictamodelrail.com/933-4037-four-modern-loading-racks-kit-5312-p.asp If so, as you can see Invicta has one in stock. Also Coastal DCC has a DCS240 in stock and is £50 cheaper than Sunningwell. Yes they are the ones. I meant to pick them up at the convention in Indy but forgot. Also forgot to check Invicta. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) Well what do you know. Fact is stranger than fiction. Just had a missive from a friend of mine. We have a mutual acquaintance who happens to live outside the real Millarville in Alberta. A bit of digging and it turns out the hamlet could, have would have, should have become a rather major railway hub. So now my little module/layout has a back story. The following is factual. Early in the 20th century there were no less than three proposals for railways to cross the Tsuut'ina reserve. To the southwest of this reserve lies the small ranching hamlet of Millarville. All three of the proposals would have met there before crossing the reserve. Today the hamlet's claim to fame is the worlds longest continuous paramutual horse race event. "The Millarville Races" This year saw its 111th uninterrupted derby. But I digress. To the west of Millarville is a currently unused pass through the Rockies leading to the town of Fernie. In 1906 James J Hill (yes that one of Great Northern fame) received a charter to build the Calgary & Fernie railway. A whole load of politics and wrangling later, and it was never built. The Calgary and Southwestern railway was founded in 1918 by Senator Patrick Burns. (he of Burns ranch, Burns meats, etc) This was to be a narrow gauge line from the coal beds in the Sheep River area, through Millarville, the reserve, and what is now the community of Cedarbrae. The charter was extended and extended, with some work supposedly started. It finally died in the 1950's. The Western Dominion Railway was proposed to run Southwest from Calgary Through Millarville to Pincher Creek, Cardston, and into Montana. The government not wanting to have duplicate lines through the reserve had stipulated shared running through the area. Millarville would have been the SW meeting point. The full story as it is: https://calgaryringroad.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/the-railways-of-the-tsuu-tina-reserve/ So there you have it. Now for the fiction. Suppose that the lines had been built. As a fluke, the module as constructed has an east west alignment, perfect for the C&F. It also has a branch heading south which could have been the WDR. Perfect. I'm thinking extend the west end of the module by 4' stub it off as if the line over the pass had been closed when CP took it over. The branch south continues to staging as does the line eastwards. All I need is a bit of narrow gauge track and a couple of bits of "stuffed and mounted" stock to go outside of the station as a small museum of the late lamented CSWR. The main road that cuts across the module becomes Highway 22. The downside of all of this is I'm going to have to revamp a lot of the scenery. The real Millarville is at the foothills treeline. Gonna need a hell of a lot of trees now instead of bald ass prairie. Edited September 21, 2016 by AndrewC 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2016 Thanks Andrew Now ordered for delivery tomorrow Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
long island jack Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 I've always said, more research saves you time when you start the build Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 I've always said, more research saves you time when you start the build Strange thing is I only wanted the name. Its where mum's ashes are scattered and has a lot of fond memories. The actual module is based on the town of Claresholm which is about 100km south east. The whole history thing was obscure and only really came to light when the person researching the ring road dug up some information from the Glenbow museum and the reserve's archives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 Time is ticking away. So much left to do and so little time. I've managed to get a lot done fairly quickly but in some cases not perfectly happy with how things are turning out. The plan is now to carry on for the convention then revisit (rip out and start again) any of the things I don't like. I'm also not going to get everything as detailed as I would like. However, like most models this will be an ongoing thing as the module evolves over time. Most of the work over the past couple of days was in getting the grain elevators completed and installed. Still have some grass and shrubbery to place but it is getting there. The gas station is coming along as well. Just need to create a raised sidewalk around the building and build a boundary to separate the road from the parking lot. 15 days and counting. Yikes. Anyone have a tardis I could borrow. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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