Well it's addictive isn't it...
Whilst my daughter was drawing lovely pictures of her bike and our house I was drawing another sketch of what my industrial diorama mini layout looks like in my head. You can see the shed has morphed from purely based on the one at Ellesmere Port to a cross between that and the one at Mode Wheel, the hub of the MSC Railway's Trafford Park and docks complex.
The tankers are TTAs and represent the traffic from Eastham refinery - the track they're on in my head
I had a lovely weekend visiting both the Llangollen Railway and the old Manchester Ship Canal Railway at Ellesmere Port...
Saturday I headed over to Llangollen. It's my favourite preserved railway - really beautiful scenery and in recent years it has also really tidied up the sidings and yards along the route and appers much more clean, tidy and professional. Very well presented!
Anyway it was a sunny day and my daughter wanted to travel on a diesel and a steam engine. We started at Carr
Well it seems to have been an age but progress on Paxton Road has been made, despite the distractions of a new project!
The warehouse that was constructed right back in the dawn of the project before even the boards were built has been brought inside for 'finishing off'. The layered plasticard construction has caused a little warping in places that I've tried to put back with some thick bracing and superglue. The roof is going to need totally replacing.
I've started to detail it a littl
Well I don't seem to have posted on here for a very long time indeed and several large scale projects have come and gone in the last 10 months. On top of those (all detailed on my G-scale blog: http://ejklr.blogspot.co.uk) I have also been working on a variety of 009 kits (most featured on my 4mm scale blog: http://paxton-road.blogspot.co.uk)...
However for those of you regular readers of my infrequent blog who have not seen what I've been up to, and inspired a touch by Jon's magnus opus entry
Paxton Yard? You've never heard of it?
My OO gauge photo plank was getting on a bit and I wanted to try out some ballast, scenic and weathering techniques on some track work so came up with the idea of laying a couple of tracks to give a different sort of photo plank. I was inspired a few months ago by both Exactoscale's Fast-track and the P4 Diesel Depot, Weston Road, that used coaches as a scenic back drop.
I'm pretty pleased - obviously this is still a work in progress! It's built on 2
Christmas and New Year were great fun, but combining the family commitments and putting together an issue of my mountainbike e-zine I had very little time for modelling. The first two weeks of January have seen a reversal with a snow bound last week and issue deadline out of the way.
So what did I get for Christmas and what have I been working on recently?
I treated myself to the Bachmann sound equipped class 37 (in Railfreight grey) and a Dynamis controller. This has proved great fun (a
Where to go after building a pair of Worsley Works scratch aid kits?
I was looking for a natural progression, but also a nice kit of an attractive prototype...
I wanted to find something that used a proprietary N gauge chassis but perhaps needed valve gear...
I stumbled upon the Neil Sayer La Meuse quite by accident. It ticked all the boxes, exquisite design, clean etches, based on the GF 08 chassis, quite complicated valve gear, and available direct from Neil with a chassis as well.
S
So about 6 months into my 009 modelling career and the first two models are finished...
Both the diesel (a Schoema prototype, currently based on the Isle of Man Steam Railway) and the railbus (a Baguley Drewry prototype, initially an admiralty vehicle I believe, currently on the Welshpool and Llanfair) are built from etched brass Worsley Works 'scratch-aid' kits. What does 'scratch-aid' mean? Basically you get an etched brass kit with some detailing but you need to source a chassis, detail
This weekend is (approximately) the first anniversary of my garden railway...
The past 12 months have proven that a ground level line, built with good solid foundations, left floating in the ballast can survive the worst the British weather can throw at it, from baking hot summer (well spring!) days, torrential downpours, hard frost, deep snow. It is anything but maintenance free, requiring the ballast topping up, 'tamping' areas where the sub-layer subsides, and regular weeding - but i
Well my parallel modelling in G-gauge (http://ejklr.blogspot.co.uk) and 009 continues (http://paxton-road.blogspot.co.uk), albeit at a reduced pace with a busy time at work and an even busier time at home (my second child is due in about 4 weeks)…
It does seem a long time since I wrote on RMweb so in the style of Jon020 here is a bumper update. The Worsley Works (WW) kits are cheap, well designed but really are ‘scratch aids’ in that you get a body, possibly a roof, possibly a chassis
I got an hour clear to spend on Viking today...
I only had a few parts left to fit in brass, namely the hooks on the buffer beans and the foot steps. These went on without too much drama, using low melt solder and holding the parts with tweezers or pliers whilst the solder took a second to cool.
The steps at the front are formed from two pieces, but went together with ease. There are no locating half etches on the underframe for either the front or back but they went on ok, but I did
Well, despite 'Wasp' not being finished yet (it needs priming and painting before I can fit an interior) I've started my second 009 project...
My other modelling at the moment is in G-gauge, as some of you know, and in particular Austrian prototypes. Whilst searching around for a second 009 project I stumbled across the Worsley Works kit for the IOMR Schoema diesel.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/IMR-Loco-17.jpg?uselang=en-gb
A funny and odd looking prototype, bu
In just four hours modelling time the flat pack Worsley Works kit has become a diesel...
It's gone together really easily actually, and I am pleased with the result. It's not perfect, but it's close enough and what a well proportioned, detailed and designed kit - it basically just falls together. You don't need instructions when something is as self explanatory as this!
I always use 145degC low melt solder - it means you don't have to worry about damaging components from excessive h
I've finally 'taken the plunge' in 009 after many years in 4mm (both OO and a toe dipping in P4) and more recently a G scale (Austrian narrow gauge) project in the garden. The draw of British narrow gauge, in particular the L&B, the L&M and the W&L - big(ish) locos and English (or Welsh!) countryside, rolling hills, trees and not a bit of slate in sight... I have to admit I've been slowly drawn back into smaller scale modelling and have been browsing this site for many months...
The wonderful thing about model railways is that it's a hobby with so many different areas to maintain your interest...
Take the garden railway in these photos, a totally different scale, with a totally different prototype - needing lots of research. Then there is the building of a layout and buildings, then modifying or building your stock. Throughout the whole experience there is photography.
Adjusting photographs to improve their realism is nothing new in the hobby. These days with mu
Welcome (back) to part 4 of my Class 66 project...
The last entry was about 9 months ago (http://www.rmweb.co....he-under-belly/) and in that time a whole lot of life has happened, and a fun, energising and exciting new project, scale and prototype has inspired me (http://ejklr.blogspot.com).
But for some reason I found myself picking up the dusty Class 66 this evening and getting further than just a casual inspection of the work completed so far...
Actually if I'm honest I suspect I
My G-scale journey continues and I'm beginning to really really enjoy working in this scale. It feels much more liberating and the bulk and familiarity of the materials you can use is really refreshing. So the EJ&KLR (read my blog - much more regular updates than on here) needs a shed.
This project is very emotional because although these plans were discussed with my father, I never had a chance to show him the plans before he passed away on the 10th, earlier this month. Buildings and s
I really ought to start a seperate blog for this project, but for fear of duplication I'll stick to this one for now.
So the large scale bug has well and truly bitten - so much so that I'm sat here contemplating selling some of my OO stock to make it pay it's way - however, in the short term at least I'm all spent up having no more disposable/savings before my birthday in August. So what's been happening in the last few weeks?
It all started with the repainting of my LGB 2-axle coaches int
This G-scale stuff is quite addictive and I'm finding that you can get as good a finish as 4mm...
Part of me wonders whether to 'thin' and 'focus' the 4mm stuff sooner rather than later?
Anyhow, this blog is about recent progress on the G-scale project, the EJ&KLR. I've 90% completed the brake van and started on the shunter. First up let's talk about the LGB post van that's been modified into this brake van. I've refurbished the lighting circuits, modified the body by removing the ho
When I started the LGB project a few weeks ago I wasn't sure if it was going to lead here...
But it has - so this first blog entry charts my first steps in transfering my 4mm detailing, painting and weathering skills to the larger G-scale. For those who aren't familiar with garden railways LGB is approximately 1:20ish, running on 45mm track with mainly European prototypes.
This project is based upon the ubiquitous LGB post van that has been in the range for 30 years. Today I have str
Today was the inaugural running of the EJ&KLR (http://ejklr.blogspot.com) and it has been a wonderful day.
If success can be measured by the size of the smiles then it's been a triumph. The LGB starter set has run faultlessly, nice and quiet and smooth - and easy for my daughter to play with - expecially with the roof that pops off the coach to allow her to load up her Playmobil people.
The more grown up LGB coaches are lovely and look wonderful behind the Stainz, and my little die
I've started a Blogger blog to keep the history of this project in one place so please do check it out here: http://ejklr.blogspot.com/
I will also make updates on this, my workbench thread for those 'smaller scale' modellers more interested in the journey than the details themselves.
My father and I took a nostalgic trip down to Ontracks at Pontrilas today to collect the start of this project. It's a road trip that we used to make every year to see my Nan, Dad's step mother every Christ
Countess coaling up [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], by fairlightworks (originally posted to Flickr as Countess coaling up), from Wikimedia Commons
European coaches and small powerful steam locomotives on a picturesque line in mid Wales! The Welshpool and Llanfair has been a favourite of mine for many years - especially it's original steam locomotives with the GW rebuilt chimney, dome, safety valve and number plates. Chunky and purposeful.
I have wanted an LGB garde
My Mainline freight liveried tractor is finished for the third time and I'm absolutely thrilled!
I've really raised my game on this one and she's a worn worn super detailed stunner with faded paint and much finer detail then I've managed before. This evening saw the finishing touches and a dusting of grime over the weather finish applied by hand to the underframe and lower body. This has pulled the previous powder/paint/dry brush/wash finishes together an absolute treat.
She started out
I've had three models sat on Paxton Yard plank in my study for several weeks with NO progress but a surprise parcel from MG Sharp this week has spurred me back into action.
I had some brake cylinders on back order and to be honest I'd forgotten about them so when they arrived it was actually a really pleasant surprise. So this evening I carefully dug out my modelling tools and made a start on bringing 37013 up to scratch.
First up here is what the brake cylinders look like on a Bachmann
