RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted August 11, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 11, 2012 First time I've looked at your thread Simon. Certainly didn't expect to see Tolkien in conjunction with model railways! Brilliant idea! This is just the kind of imaginative stuff that inspires people into the hobby - particularly with the forthcoming films on the horizon. After all, it's hardly another GWR BLT, is it? You seem to be making good progress now - nothing like a bit of peer pressure from the Forum, eh? How about the rail system in the Mines of Moria, or the escape route from Helm's Deep for your next project? I'll keep an eye on this. Very entertaining! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 I like the idea of an underground mines layout for Moria! Another quick update, I have been playing around with my El-Cheapo grass static fly swat thingy machine um er thingy!! Am really pleased with the results on this small test piece, this will be a small diorama with a couple of wargs ridden by orcs, nothing to do with this layout. This is around 2mm long grass so ideal for around the pathways and gardens, I need to order in some longer stuff to try for the hillsides and the rougher parts of the layout. The other little project I am working on is the tunnel mouth, I started with a card shape then glued it to the polystyrene and added plaster to shape the blocks before painting it - Dark grey the several shades of progressively lighter grey brybrushed on. Best wishes Simon 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 I have been working on another hobbit hole, this time with a brick frontage. piccies to be added later. I have also been giving the track situation more thought as this will be the next job, that and the storage system! The thinking is that as I am not that good with a soldering iron, the idea of constructing my own track to high enough standard to work reliably, is not a good one. Therefore I think that I will be using peco track and burying it in deep ballast to hide most of the sleepering. The plain track is now purchased, just need to get the 3 points and then I can get it all laid and wired up. The storage system will be the same style as on Polpendra for those who may have seen it, a narrow but tall set of shelves with one access track for cassettes, piccies to add later!! The cassettes are simply strips of wood the same thickness and width with a track laid downt he centre line and soldered onto copper clad at each end. The access track is the same distance in from the back wall as the tracks on the cassettes are from the sides so that the line up simply. There a re small brass spoon shapes solderede onto the copper clad on the access track, these then sit onto the copper clad each side of the cassette to transfer power, no wires, plugs or clips required! Back to work tomorrow, shame but the positive side of it is that it gives me access to the machines again so I will aim to constuct the storage board and cassettes there with the circular saw so all will be accurate and square. All the cassettes will be the same width etc unlike if I cut them by hand!!! Anyway, this is about it for now, despite having time off, progress has not been much as the rest of the family had other ideas in mind although a trip to Pecorama was included, wet and windy but still we enjoyed it! More later Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Ages since the last update, shameful me thinks, things such as work getting in the way again!! Anyway, I have now made the platforms and fitted them, each with a different surface, the loading dock has been covered with fine sadnpaper before a wood edge and being painted. The main platofmr got a layer of separately cut out slabs added, card, befre a coat of creamish paint - it looked bloomin awful!! I decided to throw a coat of grey on it to see if I could salvage it and them rubbed it off when wet leaving a great effect. I will probably add a very thin wash of dirty brown to get between the slabs before finishing it off with some detail painting. I will add a few piccies when I have finished the platform although i have not laid the track yet. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted September 20, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2012 the poster for the new film proves there was a railway in The Shire: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/9549670/Middle-Earth-moves-to-Northumberland-in-The-Hobbit-film-posters.html Pete 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 hehehe, oops, bet there are people in New Zealand a little upset about that one!!! Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Ok, here are the piccies as promised, not much development but will be getting the pointwork etc when paid so will then really be able to get on. Here is the brick fronted hobbit home, obvioiusly still needs a door etc. Now the main platform from 2 view points. Next the platform for the warehouse, slaters crazy paving, all ready to be painted. And finally the surface for the other loading dock, the small building you cna see here will be mostly buried into the hillside and is a wine and beer store complete with crate of bottles and barrels inside, yes it will be all lit up sometime soon. Now that lighting has been mentioned, a little update. While constructing the buildings, I have been fitting small grain of wheat bulbs but whn I was showing a friend of mine them, he said 'lovely buildings but I did'nt realise people still used those things, shouldnt they be in a museum?' So LEDs it is then, mega advantages I have been finding, lower voltages, cheaper, longer lasting and possibly most important in a hillside made of polystyrene, they do not get hot!! I have found the following on 'Ebay' which I will be cutting up to do all the lighting on the whole layout. Anyway I had better get on and make something. Chat later Simon 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Do post a how to on the LED lighting for those of us still using last century methods! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 Will do, I have been chatting to a mate of mine this afternoon for advice on how to progress so will keep the info posting. Simon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share Posted November 11, 2012 Ok, loads of time down the line but here is another of those rare updates!! I have at last got all the track down, am using Peco stuff which will be deep ballasted to hide the sleepers to make it look less like planet earth trackwork, peco points motors also fitted and the first train has run. Also I have been playing around with lighting for the buildings, that reel of LEDs is most excellent, I have chopped a number of 3 LED sections out of it, carefully removed the moulded clear stuff and soldered wires ready for mounting. I have so far fiitted strips into the station building and the small hobbit hole witht he white front and timber frame, both can be seen in post 4! Piccies of them lit to follow! I found these LEDs very easy to work with and simple to fit into the buildings, these will be wired into a feed as the layout develops and as their final position is sorted out, being a steeply sloping scene, their location is at present floating above the boards! At the recent Taunton show, I picked up a bargain little Rivarossi 0-4-0 + tender loco for £25 which will become the third loco for the layout at some point. As I mentioned, I will add a few piccies so far later today. Best wishes Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 Aaaaaargh, just spotted another unexpected job, the surface for the loading dock has warped and lifted badly!!! Anyway, I have not added lights in all the buildings that are complete enough to take them so far, There are also dropper wires for all the power feed and the points motors ready for wiring to a connector once I get a set and then I had better start sorting out, designing and building a storage yard and a control panel. As with Polpendra, I am planning on front operation for the layout at shows, if I am fortunate enough to get invites, as that suits its home location well. Starting with the station, this is the layout of the LED strip I have used for it - Gently lit - With the lights in the room out - Close up through one of the tstation windows - The wine store - Close up through the doors into the wine store - I am pleased so far with this, there will be a delay for more as I am out next weekend to the North Petherton Show with Polpendra, Sunday n N. Petherton village hall (Between Taunton and Bridgwater for anyone in the area!!!) Best wishes Simon 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 'Anyway, I have not added lights...' Not? Not? Not? how did that get in there? please read 'now' instead - D'oh!!!! Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouser Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Just found this thread and I have to say that a subject like this lives or dies by the quality of the modelling. Got that nailed then guv, absolutley brilliant . Modelling of this quality attracts railway modellers and non railway modellers alike. A couple of days ago I was in the Games Workshop in Altrincham with my grandsons, the guys in there would have mobbed you to get a look at this. Looking forward to more, thank you for the pleasure this has brought :locomotive: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dave.C Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Wow, what an interesting thread with some excellent modelling Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 cheers guys, I appreciate your comments, with the first part of the Hobbit trilogy due out next month, this could be the right time for such a layout! I am looking forward to what new figures games workshop are going to release to coincide with the films, I am sure they will do a full range for them! Best wishes Simon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Lighted buildings look really good, will look for those strip LEDs on eBay! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 Yeah, I am pleased with the lights so far, all wired in temp style as they will need to be built into the scenery as it develops layer by layer. During a conversation at the weekend, it sounds like I may have the first exhibition invite for the layout - ooer!!! Several months though to get it up to standard, maybe the motivation I need to get on with it!! Best wishes SImon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Nice modeling so far... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyboy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 My cousin Stephen would love this, he's not a railway Modeller like me but is a big fan of Warhammer and Lord of the rings, The Hobbit, etc... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldknotty Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Ok, here are the piccies as promised, not much development but will be getting the pointwork etc when paid so will then really be able to get on. Here is the brick fronted hobbit home, obvioiusly still needs a door etc. Now the main platform from 2 view points. Next the platform for the warehouse, slaters crazy paving, all ready to be painted. And finally the surface for the other loading dock, the small building you cna see here will be mostly buried into the hillside and is a wine and beer store complete with crate of bottles and barrels inside, yes it will be all lit up sometime soon. Now that lighting has been mentioned, a little update. While constructing the buildings, I have been fitting small grain of wheat bulbs but whn I was showing a friend of mine them, he said 'lovely buildings but I did'nt realise people still used those things, shouldnt they be in a museum?' So LEDs it is then, mega advantages I have been finding, lower voltages, cheaper, longer lasting and possibly most important in a hillside made of polystyrene, they do not get hot!! I have found the following on 'Ebay' which I will be cutting up to do all the lighting on the whole layout. Anyway I had better get on and make something. Chat later Simon Simon is that rope Light or a flat bottom type ?? what is it called so that i can look for some :-) ?? Thanks martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 Oldknotty, I have sent you a PM with details Best wishes Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 The flat bottom stuff would be much easier to work with as you have a flat surface to attach it to the buildings etc, also the flat stuff I got has an adhesive strip on the flat side. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artizen Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Martin - try to run your LEDs flexible strips on 9V DC - I am starting to believe that my 5050 strips are overclocked at 12V and will have a much reduced life. I am waiting for a variable regulator to be built by an electronics friend who assures me that I can run them at 9V with minimal loss of light but a much extended operating time (as in many hours instead of a few minutes before they heat up to the point of destroying cardboard). This might only apply to the 5050s I bought which are rated at 72W but 3528s are rated at 24W for 150 LEDs and 48W for 600 LEDs so it may pay to ask around and see what other people are running and test how hot they get. But I have used them in short lengths of 50mm inside buildings and they run fine using a 12V low amperage powerpack. Shame I know nothing about electricity!!!! As Simon says - the base has double-sided tape for adhesion. It's so strong that you really only get one chance at positioning it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 My goodness, November since the last update - Oh dear!!! Anyway, a week off work last week made a massive difference as the following pictures will show, I am now in a routine of around an hour or so each evening so the development should be more appropriate for the un-confirmed July exhibition deadline with another possible show in November - ooer better get on then! Firstly I am well on with the wiring. I will be having a separate control panel, likely to be a bolt on to the, as yet unbuilt, storage yard so have made a pair of 25 way connector units to screw onto each end with a 25 way cable between the two - One has been fitted to the board and part wired so far The underside is starting to look like something may happen on the thing - Above the board, lots has happened - From the left hand end, I have fixed down the small wine and beer store and built the rock face around it, some touching up of hte tiles paint job will be needed as well as a full paint job on the rock. As can be seen in the first piccie, I have used 1" polystyrene sheets to build up the initial scene with rock sections from the Woodland Scenics moulds to make the basic rock face which was then filled in and shaped with patching plaster when hard to complete. This is the part of modellling I really enjoy, the developing of the scene slowly but surely! I have used the same process for the area around the headshunt - All the Basic scenery across the front of the layout is now complete, polystyrene and the plaster layers sanded down smooth, and ready for paint and greenie stuff! This includes the moulding in of the front hobbit hole and the pipe weed store on its platform to the right hand end of the layout. The walling around this caused a frustration when I ran out of the plasticard for the faces with only 1 side to finish - aaargh and a quick visit to the local shop for more! At the recent Weston Super Mare show where we were exhibiting my other layotu, Polpendra, I acquired the followign pack of O gauge Petunias which I as rather pleased with. 4o small plants for less than £8 sound good value to me!! Well that is all for now, although I have started bashing a Dapol N gauge Terrier into a Dapol Pug kit for the next and 3rd loco, hopefully this should work pretty well. Any comments appreciated. Best wishes Simon 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgiesimon Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 The scenery along the front has now had a coat of green paint, watered down at first to soak into the plaster. This helps to give an idea of how it is going to look as well as being a barrier to stop the dust you get with bare plaster. Just had an email confirming the first exhibition for the layout - July 27th Barnstaple - Invites most appreciated and most scarey!!!!! sooooo much to do before then - Just a quick list not in any particular order - Build a storage yard with train cassettes Build and wire in a control panel complete the scenery and then grass it. build and add trees, plants, details etc Sort and construct enough stock for a show Get a curtain made build a lighting pelmet paint the backscene paint the fascia only one phrase seems appropriate and it goes thus - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!!! Simon 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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