I can't believe how long it has been since I came on here.. Life, two dogs and a house extension have all kept me busy. This week I cleared out the last of the household objects that had been stored in the train shed and got a layout working. Small but large scale ! I added a new receiver and speed controller to a little loco and had a play. The extension in the house has resulted in all the garden line being taken up . So I am no wondering what if anything model railways will be for the future
The Metrolink has now had several coats of primer with rub downs and fills in between
I have used a regular "rattle can" car primer and also a High Build primer in some areas,
hence the slight two tone appearance.
If you see a Metrolink in the street you don't realise how much detail is on the roof !
Below is the view most of us see, in fact this is more elevated than a street view
But from above there is all sorts of equipment. Its very rare to get a view of the roof, I have spent ages on Google. So I had to put on my "train spotter anorak" and go find a foot bridge.
Armed with a limited number of pictures taken at a distance I have started to add the roof details
This post sees the start outline of the cab structure installed.
The curved and multi-faceted front has created some challenges
Some rudimentary tests of the concertina connections,
these are made from folded thick paper
Always a good idea to test as you go along ! So here is a quick video of a tram skeleton traveling around the garden
With everything working work continued
Thanks for the suggestions for the concertinas, either as comment or PM
I have tried a couple of my original ideas with varied success
Various thickness of paper and card with different fold sizes
10 thou plasticard held together with sellotape..
With some time I will try the ideas sent.
Some more progress this afternoon. the second unit now has side panels. and the center section has some form
A bit of "artistic licence" Due to the length and the under minimum radius curves in the garden I have had to make the sections that will be concertina a bit bigger. Although at this point I haven't worked out how to make concertina sections.
Tonight was probably my last chance to escape to the shed this week so I made the most of it !
Things are going well, I would say "to plan" but that would suggest I have a plan!
Note that I am leaving the cabs for the time being as they are more Tricky
Oh and say hello to "pointing man" he is back supervising
Yes the class 20 in a couple of the shots is OO, just to give you an idea of how giant this is !!
This is the beast in full length, The chassis are complete and work has started cutting the side panels
the first pair of panels are seen lying on the bench . The McDonalds milkshake cup gives a bit of perspective.
This second shot shows a pair of panels in position
Last shot first panel stuck in place
Its been a while since I have had an urge to model, but after a trip on our new metrolink tram from Oldham to Manchester I started thinking ............
Of course, never one to do things by halves, my chosen scale is 1:24 (G)
I dont plan to have complete internals as I need all the integral cross braces as I can get at this size.
If all goes to plan there will be limited details from seat level up, with everything below seat base hidden with a coat of matt black.
I coul
Over the past few weeks since the last post I have been stealing odd moment to go to the shed and work on the section of the layout in front of the sector plate
A new platform was constructed using a length of 3" x 2" timber with a 6mm ply top on it. The front of the timber was faced with plasikard stone affect.
Next up a ramp to the left and a section of platform across the end of the line.
Below is a view from under the footbridge that shows the curve
Then a s
With a bit of spare time I decided to tackle ballasting the second base board half. I have been using what woodland scenics, describe as "Fine"
When its this big there is no point messing with an eyedropper.. So its get a half full bottle of PVA and top it up with water and a dash of Fairy Liquid
Prior to ballasting I had decided to reduce the amount of track in front of the fiddle yard, so the point work has gone and its a single line siding now.It just needs extending a littl
Having got the layout dusted off (see last post) thought I would give a loco a run in the garden... I don't think our Cockapoo puppy is knows what to make of it !
If only I could remember how to embed a YouTube clip !!
After a long break and a sudden urge to spring clean the shed... I have dug out from the back my 45mm indoor module.
Its an 8' by 21" layout in a BIG scale !
It has been the subject of previous entries on this blog, and hopefully over the next few weeks will be the subject again... As long as there is an interest of course
Above is a view from center to left, Below a view from center to right.
Beyond the footbridge is a hidden sector plate, in front of the sector plate is a
Its not trains but I am moonlighting, doing a bit of boat modelling between the garden railways. As i posted a link to my dads trawler here are some details of my build..
Two Saturdays ago my Dad and I took a trip over to Barnsley to pick up a model kit of a fishing trawler. He had very kindly ordered and paid for it as a present to me. We picked it up the manufacturer, Model Slipway which is a small husband and wife cottage industry.
The kits are made in a series of large sheds, port
For those of you that have followed this blog for a while you will know of my star assistant "pointy man" he at one time had quite a following on the tinternet. He is currently on a work placement at my Dads house to oversee the construction of a fishing trawler in his scale ( he can criticise in multi disciplines ) Pop over and pay him a visit on my Dads blog if you get a spare minute. Ok its not railways but he is an excellent modeller.
One man and his Dog