Its amazing what a day off from work can achieve.
Following test fitting of the body onto the chassis for motor clearances etc, work has continued to scratchbuild all the under body detail for 317. All the side frame, footboard, brake gear, springing and W iron is now fabricated complete and fitted on to 317 for its initial test run.
http://youtu.be/w7tZ0oYpFJA
A bit of time needs to be spent cleaning the wheels to improve running, otherwise its ready to go. Weight distribution
I cant believe it has been so long since my last post.
Still, in between the previous post, Christmas and now (!) work has been making headway on a couple of items of rolling stock, one of them shown here the Z4p loco.
Built to replicate loco SJ 317, it represents one of the 2nd batch of locos later modified with dual operating control gear and heavy duty couplings. Initially allocated to the Visby–Burgsvik region, it soon found itself working the Böda-Ottenby, Eksjö-Österbymo and
Spurred on by the image shown in the previous post of the signal located at Osterport, the small signal cabin adjacent to the signal was too good an opportunity to miss. With its typical Scandinavian details and (compared with other buildings of the era) unusually large overhangs on the roof and use of concrete, a couple of evenings work with Plasticard and Slaters planked sheets suitably scribed with grain detail; the building is complete.
whilst more shots were being prepared, a 'bee
As the wagon builds come to a close and I still continue to struggle to find any company willing to sell me the necessary items (Headlamps) from their detail accessories ranges to finish the MDR125p, and what with the summer(!) I wanted something to do that I could pick up and put down.
So after browsing some of the historical Swedish Railway sites I stumbled upon a photograph taken in Osterport of this great signal and signal box/shed. So with photo and a whole set of standards and drawing
The shed doors have gone through the process of being painted and weathered. After a bit of digging on the net for suitable techniques, the end result was created using a mish mash of techniques and a bit of an experimenting.
As seen in the previous post, the doors were sprayed primer grey.
A base coat of Vallego German Desert Camo and White was mixed and applied in the direction of the grain this thick mix provided some of the textre. Once dry, a wash of Acrylic Dark German Gr
The 'Lokstal' build continues at a slow pace. Work started on this during the Christmas break and I don't think much else has been done to it since.
The biggest problem I encountered is a considerable amount of time was spent constructing the shed doors, scribing planks and scratch building detail. Unfortunately as I had decided to scribe plank detail over the length of the doors created in short a short time a rather creative curve to the doors over their length .
Following t
To ensure consistency of coupling heights throughout the project a small coupling height gauge has been fabricated.
Made out of plasticard, the gauge provides a datum for all couplings from 'top of rail', the pin providing the centre point. To use, a wagon is gently pressed against the gauge and a small depression is left in the surface, this being your datum point, enabling you to drill holes in the correct position.
So with the gauge complete it only seemed right to give it a
OK some time has passed since the last update, however some significant work has been achieved on the Speeder.
Obviously painting aside, work has been undertaken on the more final detail parts and under frame and interior. Headlamp lenses, spotlight and wipers are on order from tiny-cars as is a sheet of fine decal film to use with the already completed decal image. Door handles, bonnet handle, towing eye and a small grill remain outstanding to complete.
All up and running (and its qui
Built in the early 1950's, the Munktells MDR127's were built as a means to meet a requirement for a Permanent Way trolley type vehicle. The design type was consistent across the track gauges used throughout Sweden from the standard, 't' and 'p' gauges.
Powered by a Volvo B16a engine and fitted out with Volvo truck instruments the vehicle was of a double ended design, however it was only fitted with one driving desk. It was however able to travel in both directions at the same speed, top sp
As mentioned here I managed to secure a 1/35 scale civilian VW Beetle which fitted perfectly into the period for the 891 project.
Bought for the princely sum of £9 (incl P&P!) on eBay and sent from Poland, the kit arrived well packaged damage free. A quick glance through the cellophane wrapped sprue's and all look reasonable.
So yesterday I made a start on the kit as, after all a kit consisting of one sprue, a body molding and some transparent windows cant be too bad to put togethe
Its been some time since a post about the GP, and it feels even longer since I have been able to find the time to do any real modelling.
Over the last weeks I have been able to find the odd five or ten minutes to do a bit more work on the Gp van. Seen here the only items remaining for completion are the fabrication of small details such as hinges, handrails and clasps to all the doors. Once complete the final application of decals can be undertaken and weathering can commence.
I have managed to secure what is quite a rare beast...a non military vehicle kit in 1/35 scale, ideal for the time period and setting for the 891 project.
The Type 11 (or is that "two"?) Beetle is one of a series produced by what I believe is a French Company no longer in existence called Aeroplast.
I have not paid much for the kit (which is complete) and therefore if the quality is a bit off the mark then so what...it would be a nice little project to work on and improve.
An
...a massive surge of energy came from somewhere and I projected it in a benchward direction onto the Gp van.
Its part of the 891mm project that is bugging me, starting one job getting going only to find your interest has been diverted elsewhere onto something else.
The van up until recently has been a running shell, and on reflection "not that much" work was required to get it to a state where it neared completion. The problem however was finding the inclination to do it.
I guess
Progress is slow.
Having been hampered by the supply of cardboard and plasticard over the snowy Christmas period, only recently have I been able to return and continue the build of the shed.
Some time has been spent trying to find prototype images of the shed to identify the type of wooden panelling used in the construction of the shed. Unfortunatly, I have not been able to find any, so taking inspiration from a number of traditional Swedish wood construction buildings, I have replicate
As I am now on Christmas Leave from work, and that the weather here has been so poor of late I have been in search of something to keep me busy.
Admittedly there is still work outstanding on both the Gp and N1 wagons, however I need to pluck up the courage to continue...the Gp has a lot of fine detail work to complete and the N1 still needs the fabrication and completion of its brake gear.
So to keep my hands busy I have started to build a small (!) loco shed. This is the first bu
I apologise as this is a very brief update...
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After the laborious task of drafting up and scaling the decal sheet for the Op, Gp et al and generic text and logos, the finalised sheet design was emailed off to Kelvin at Red Firecracker Custom Decals. Once Kelvin had ran off a small test print to confirm all OK, a full US letter sized sheet was ordered. One week later the sheet arrived and looked very good. The only thing I think I will do next time is allow myself a bit more spac
A Roof for the Gp
After much messing about with plasticard – heating, forming, bending; only to be disappointed with the rippled results and wasted plasticard a sheet of brass has been used to form the roof profile.
Seen here in placed (a bit too far forward!) on the Gp van body a number of layers of masking tape have been applied which will help create the textured surface of the roof. The tape will be left for a few days to ensure that it does not lift aw
Updates on the project have been slack over the last few months...what with the summer, summer holidays and unfortunately work getting in the way.
So the project had its first public outing and made it through the weekend of the Lydney Model Rail Exhibition.
Armed with little more than the test track, completed work to date, drawings, info sheets and the SJ videos playing for discussion, a warm reception was received by those visiting the exhibition. People were curious to understand m
As always what seemed like the Lydney Exhibition being "months and months" away, slowly and very surely its nearly upon us.
This will be the first outing for the 891mm project and we had discussed many times about how we would present the scale and the models as part of the demo stand.
So with a fiddle yard baseboard from a previous unfinished project a layer of Sundela board was added and set to work laying the track.
The track itself is Code 100 Peco FB, pinned down onto the slee
This has been a long time coming.
After constructing the body for the Gp, work went on hold. Firstly I wanted to make sure that the ply wood body remained stable and secondly, I wasn't sure if the grained texture from the wood was too coarse. Meanwhile work progressed on the Op and now that it is near completion, I have started to focus my attention back onto the Gp.
Seen here sat on its new formed under frame and wheel set for the photo, work has started on trying to get the van finish
The Op now completed awaiting decals and sourcing of suitable scale chain, a new wagon build has been started.
Although information and prototype images have been some what illusive, work has started on an SRJ N1 wagon.
Seen here in early stages of build and sat temporarily on a pair of 3 hole disc wheels, these will be replaced with a set of Slaters S7 open spoked wheels.
Work is required to bring the W irons nearer to the prototype however in dimensions they are tha
So some three months since the beginning of the build, the Op wagon is pretty much complete.
With brake gear, safety loops complete and seen here wearing its first coat of paint (GWR Frame Red) the wagon awaits decals, weathering and some suitable chain for the side and end stanchions.
And here lies a problem – finding scale chain. Most of the scale chain I have found is far from scale. It also (to me) doesn't look like chain. It is usually consist of rounded links and has a
"When" Ystad is finally up and running, the locos and railcars will require the care and attention of the small loco shed situated near to the yard and station to help keep things in running order, and to counteract the harsh Swedish environment. This is some way off as although rolling stock construction continues, initial track plans haven't even touched paper.
However, returning from my hols I'd managed to pick up some dirt cheap Tamiya 1/35 Oil Drums/Barrels for the princely sum of £2.
So its been nearly six months into the project and thought it might be worth while doing a short overview of progress thus far.
It may seem that not much work has been done on the project, however this isnt going to be a 5min wonder. A significant amount of time has been spent researching prototypes and sourcing information and details on the various locos wagons and structures that can be found on the many 3foot lines dotted around Sweden. This is of course made increasingly more difficult
As work progressed on the Op project one thing that has been concerning me was the ability to form multiple numbers of identical roller axleboxes and brake shoes from scratch. Searching the very few O gauge wagon accessory suppliers it was becoming obvious that no product existed similar in appearance to that on the Op wagon. Looking through the range of Parkside Dundas wagon kits I noticed that their excellent kit of the BR Blue Spot Fish Van was supplied with "similar" axle boxes to those on t
