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About this blog

N gauge with a West Midland theme

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Travels in time and space, multidimensional modelling with the same bridge..

The new printed sides for Victoria Bridge are now in place, painted, glued and merged around the edges with the existing wooden structure. I have painted the whole thing a creamy colour which is right for the thin uprights either side of the bridge, I just need to add a teracotta-ish shade for the main arch and structure beneath the deck. It is starting to look the part:     OK, I'll come clean and admit some of this sky was photoshopped in, but it is mostly genuine!     Most of my sto
Will J

Will J

3

Printed Victoria Bridge Arrives (at last)

At long last, the conclusion of the 'I'll get it printed soon..' saga, well, the parcel from Shapeways arrived. The original laser cut MDF bridge will survive as a 'core' but now, 'Victoria' is rendered in much finer resolution as a 3D print, rivets and all!   It was printed in 'Frosted Detail' rather than 'Frosted Ultra Detail' to save on cost, it has plenty of detail still legible, with all of the wording showing through rather well in relief. I had to make the side in three segments due to
Will J

Will J

2

Rolling Stock for Victoria Bridge in N... and the T Gauge 'Bubble'

It suddenly occured to me I hadn't posted very much for a while, been a bit busy out there in the 1:1 scale world, not least with my 1:1 scale railcar projects..   I have achieved a small but significant milestone, a wholly kitbuilt carriage. As you may know, the Severn Valley Railway has a fine (unique?) rake of LMS designed carriages in everyday use, a must for Victoria Bridge in N. Among these are some BR-built 'porthole' carriages which are painted to match their earlier counterparts. So f
Will J

Will J

7

Giant 60' teaspoon...!

A more detailled blog post to come, but in the meantime...     Isn't it odd when a grain of sugar looks like a DMU cab!
Will J

Will J

6

Victoria Bridge: Real world inspiration and a Shapeways shopping list..

Last weekend (with those bright, Mediterranean skies back again just when I had dulled down my miniature version!) I took a stroll along the banks of the Severn, to take a closer look at Victoria Bridge paying particular attention to the trees that frame the bridge. I will hopefully soon have the printed replacement bridge face installed (more of which later) so it is important to get the foliage right... a few snaps from the expedition:         One thing that will be interesting to r
Will J

Will J

5

Nearly 50 shades of sky blue......

A brief entry this evening, but I havent popped up to say hello since Christmas, hopefully more to come soon...   I had been troubled by my Victoria Bridge diorama basking under a mediterannean sky that seemed a little bright, the blue a fair bit too intense. My plan is for the scene to suggest a bright but breezy day in September, around SVR Autumn Gala time, which will allow for the parade of pacifics and demonstration freights that are always crowd pleasers at exhibitions.   (The 'modern
Will J

Will J

6

All the small things part 4... The steam powered sprout harvest

It's that time of year again, the dining room table of Jarman towers has been cleaned, dusted and purged of tins of Humbrol for the gathering of in-laws for a grand Turkey dinner.   A proper Christmas dinner would something of a festive non event without the star of the show, the humble yet mighty, meek yet magnificent sprout.   Bearing in mind we are in semi-rural Worcestershire the spout harvest is of course, a steam powered episode Brunellian in character:   The Chief Mechanical Enginee
Will J

Will J

5

'All the small things' Part 3 (T Gauge Bubble Car and Sea Creatures)

Just a quick peek into the advent calendar of miniscule modelling today, and nothing tangibly real I'm afraid, but some ongoing design work.   Back in the 1:450 scale work, I am planning a layout based on the Welsh Marches Line in the early/mid nineties. This will of course include my Class 37 design on a mixture of Rugby specials and Class 158 replacement duties. When the properly shortened 37 is printed, I am looking to wrap it in a large logo all over transfer as 37408, and have it tow a sh
Will J

Will J

7

'All the small things' Part 2 (N gauge 4-wheeled carriages)

Well, after the last post to 1:450th scale, these small things are positively massive. You may recall that my 'Victoria Bridge' is fashioned as a 'modern image steam' layout, depicting the scene as you might see it today as part of the Severn Valley Railway.   That said, there is little in the scene that really dates it, so there are times when a Victorian interloper, or a modern image express train, help keep things varied and unpredictable (invoking the 'my train set' rule!).   I am keen o
Will J

Will J

9

'All the small things' Part 1 (T Gauge Cl.37)

Well, it has been a long while since I last posted anything. Progress on my various projects has been slow of late for no real reason..so the usual vague apologies for my sporadic posts!   Over Christmas and New Year, I am going to open some advent calendar style doors on some of the smaller amusements that make up my scattergun modelling activities, starting with something really christmas cracker proportioned:   Return To The Tiny Tractor: see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/to
Will J

Will J

7

GWR Toplight Carriages and Saddle Tank (close up pics)

Evening all.. last time on the blog, devondynosaur118 asked:   'Where did your toplights come from?' for the rake of GWR carriages on my Victoria Bridge diorama. I took the chance to get some close up shots posed on Wyre Forest MRC's Kinlet Town layout, also appearing in cruel close up, is the painted '813'...     Which is printed in Shapeways Frosted Ultra Detail, though the sharpness of the print has been slightly compromised by my painting! I suspect there will be another print before
Will J

Will J

5

A week on the 'Valley (Indoors and Out)

In my last entry (which I slightly lost track of by posting it in the wrong blog!) I promised that my Victoria Bridge diorama would be appearing at the SVR behind the scenes weekend. Having a small local exhibition to aim at was an excellent encouragement to get the 'bridge working if not entirely finished, presentation wise.   In the end, the weekend was a perfect test run with a number of RMWebbers to say hello to as well.   I did my best to assemble stock that matched, or sort of almost m
Will J

Will J

5

A sunny day in Worcestershire (Victoria Bridge Update)

Shock, and horror, what has been a fairly miserable June has just, a few moments ago, bloomed into some actual proper sunshine. A perfect chance to get a snap of Victoria Bridge, with some enhanced bushyness in the foliage department, basking in the seasonal weather... at last.   I'll let you into the recent useful, technical developments, but first a scene from a gala day on this miniature present day SVR, with the little '813' saddle tank (see my previous blog entry) with an Arley-Bewdley lo
Will J

Will J

5

Printed Saddle Tank Mark II, and 'Honey I Shrunk the Bridge'.....

Evening all, The latest version of 813 has a good many more little details, including the mysterious 'T18' disc mentioned in Dukedog's recent SVR blog post (appearing on the present day SVR on a Prairie), handrails, some nifty handle things on top of the tank and, remarkably sharp awaiting a lick of paint, slightly raised numbers on the buffer beam and cab sides. The plan with these, in the case of the buffer beams, is to paint a dash of yellow in the appropriate area, wash over it with red an
Will J

Will J

6

Shapeways Arrival: 'Class 139 with windows'

One of these days I ought to scratchbuild a little N gauge UPS van... they have become inextricably linked with the ups and downs and twists and turns of figuring out this 3D printing business, heralding as they do, a delivery from Shapeways:   http://www.shapeways.com/   Here is the contents of today's package...     A great leap forward in my ongoing mission to dress up a Kato N gauge tram chassis as a Class 139, as seen on the Stourbridge Town branch line. For more info, see:   htt
Will J

Will J

6

In Print...

A short update on some of my printing projects, you may recall last year my little N gauge '813' prototype, here is the Mark II version, which is the subject of some experiments in printed handrails..   (which look like some sort of condensing pipe along the side of the tank, as I have thickened them somewhat with an eye to long term robust-ness)   ..the extra thickness is hard to judge on screen, and I may well have over-done it, but remember we are talking an N gauge saddle tank, so not a
Will J

Will J

5

Getting Back To The Scenery!

Much of my occasional modelling of late has been very much CAD based, with lots of staring (and occasionally muffled swearing) at a computer screen! These projects are making good progress, with a new 'face' for the bridge and a fresh N gauge Class 139 currently in the works at Shapeways. I hope to have the new 'Parry' 139 ready for the DEMU Showcase event at Burton to run the branchline service on 'Kinlet Wharf'.. fingers crossed.   I am also making progress on designs for boilers and associa
Will J

Will J

2

Mark II Printed Class 139... and thoughts on smaller scales...

Evening All...   This blog post appears after a long line of evenings trying to work out why my 3D designs were not being accepted to print on Shapeways.. The answer it turns out was simple, and familiar to anybody cursed with a bucket with a hole in it. In short, you need to ensure that the 3D model is 'manifold', in other words, does not contain the kind of tiny holes which are easy to miss when you have a model with several hundred, or thousands of tiny lines and surfaces combining to make
Will J

Will J

6

Preparations for printing (more designs for Shapeways)

Hi everyone,   It has been a while since I have reported on project Victoria Bridge, progress is steady, with regular sprinkings of scenic bits and pieces which is building up the layers and making everything seem more 'natural'... I'd post some pictures tonight, but the glue is drying and it is currently speckled in half dry PVA blobs.   In the meantime, some further experiments with Google Sketchup. You might recall my little '813' terrier based saddle tank, well the prototype has gone awa
Will J

Will J

4

3D bridge printing and brass chimneys...

With snow falling outside the modelling indoors continues in whichever corners of the house are nearest to a radiator.   In my last post, http://www.rmweb.co....re-forestation/ the one thing in the bridge diorama that is looking a bit shabby, and letting the side down is the bridge itself (herself?). This is soon to change, the twisted concoction of MDF, cardboard and cocktail sticks is to get a new face, printed from a Google sketchup design, with all the nuts, bolts and embossed lettering th
Will J

Will J

3

Victoria Bridge, re-forestation!

Evening all,   no long rambling stream of consciousness, its been a long day, but instead a bunch of pictures of mini Victoria Bridge on what is becoming a scale model of a sunny summer's day.   A big thank you to TomE (of Ropley fame) for advice and practical encouragement on tree gluing, flock-dusting and pruning. I'm enjoying the continuing expeiments with static grass; using a balloon rubbed on the carpet rather than an expensive electrical contraption, which seems to encourage a random
Will J

Will J

13

Victoria Bridge, genuine progress for once!

Hello everyone, and a belated mid-January Happy New Year to all on RMWeb!   I'm sure I am not the only one to have experienced a surge of 'actual modelling' over Christmas with the temporary lack of gawping at other people's fine creations on RMWeb. I took it upon myself to get cracking on my Victoria Bridge diorama..   (part decorative display shelf, maybe occasional exhibitable micro layout)   ..which had begun life with some tentative woodwork, but little else, a year ago, the previous
Will J

Will J

9

Plans for 'modelling season'; and other recent(ish) stuff!

No, I'm afraid no exciting new parcels with 3D prints this time, but more of that sort of thing coming soon!   It has been a year now since my Victoria Bridge project started properly, with the major woodwork and scenic basics appearing in a flurry of activity last Christmas and New Year.   Progress has been slow since, but I'm plotting another burst of activity over the coming festive season to get the scene looking much more complete!   I had tried to fashion the abutments from Das Cla
Will J

Will J

2

Printed N gauge saddle tank appears at last.. and looks good!

Evening All!   I feel altogether rather pleased with this project... you will recall in my last blog entry,   http://www.rmweb.co....ection-saloons/   I was musing on how well the finer details of my little '813' saddle tank would appear in Shapeways' 'Frosted Ultra Detail' material, the result, which appeared with due fanfare in a UPS van yesterday, surpassed my expectations by some margin.   I don't usually go for grand, profound statements in my blog, but will make an exception this e
Will J

Will J

24

N gauge bridge abutments, saddle tanks and inspection saloons...!

As the winter nights draw in I am actually finding some time for modelling, albeit so far in a rather 'virtual' form. I have been experiementing with Google Sketchup as a cheap and cheerful (free) means of producing CAD models suitable (.stl files) for 3D printing at Shapeways.*   www.shapeways.com   (*usual disclaimer of satisfied customer with no other link to the business)   The odd thing is that Sketchup seemed to be created Google Earth in mind, for creating pretty buildings to popula
Will J

Will J

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