A little more progress with my Worsley Works 4 and 6 wheel coaches - the painting stage!!
The models were given an all over coat of etch primer after the models were thoroughly scrubbed with kitchen cleaner and rinsed thoroughly (and allowed to dry of course). Each was then masked so they the cream upper body could be sprayed (Precision Paints GWR Coach Cream) with the air brush. Once that had dried for a day or two, the masking was removed, and the whole of the cream area painted with Hum
After a few trials and tribulations, I've done it!!! I've finally managed to scratch build a working locomotive in 2mm Finescale
Since the last instalment, the sub assemblies have been primed with Halfords No 8 Self Etch Primer, the footplate sprayed with Precision Paints Indian Red. Before the buffer beams and footplate top were brush painted the pre-turned spring cups were super-glued in place behind the valances (the bond made more secure with 24 hour epoxy), and the assembly sprayed
More progress has been made on this little project, such that she is now ready for the paint shops.
To finish her off, the cab roof needed some detail (the whistles won't be added until she has been painted). There is a rain strip along the back edge of the cab roof, this was added from a single strand of multi-core wire (0.2mm diameter). To get this perfectly straight before attempting to solder it in place it was rolled on a flat surface (a piece of sheet steel) beneath another flat surf
Today I have well and truly been brought kicking and screaming into the 21st century!! I've been playing with static grass - the last time I did any scenery on a model railway I used surgical lint a'la Barry Norman.
So having purchased a couple of bags of Heki grass (a green and a beige, both 2-3mm long), borrowed a friends static grass applicator and inspired by Gordon Gravett's book on grass etc I had a go. Mr Gravett seems to advocate blending his static grasses, so that is precisely wh
Following a thoroughly enjoyable day out at the RM Web members day on Saturday - many thanks especially to Julia (Missy) for taking time out to talk to me.
Anyway, I came away inspired and spurred on to get some more modelling done. Luckily, the TV content on Saturday evening wasn't my cup of tea (but was very fortunately wifey's), so out came sheets of plasticard, scalpel, and blown up drawing of a 14' 6" over headstocks dumb buffered open coal wagon (courtesy of a book on the Gloucester C
Following on from the theme of my last blog entry, I have continued with the Virtual Modelling. This time I have been drawing up the plans for my signal box, this is based on the one surviving (and preserved) at Bodmin General. I have a 4mm scale plan from the SLAG series of "Bodmin" articles in the Model Railway Constructor (and indeed built such a box from my 4mm layout many years ago). However, because I want to get the windows and doors etched I felt it would make sense to draw up a 2mm scal
Having seen some of the great models that can be produced from 3D Printing, I have begun (for the second time) to produce the 3D model for a GWR Outside Framed Goods Van. These early vans were 15'6" long with a total body height of only 6'8". The earliest ones had wooden underframes, and they had a long life some ending up as Sand Vans.
I am using Google Sketch-Up to do the modelling, and so far have put together the main body, and outside frames. I am now in the process of adding the iro
Now that most of the trackwork has been installed on the first (Exeter end) baseboard, it is time to try it out!!!
Before I can though, a Turnout Operating Unit needed to be built. The first thing required is a method of connecting the Switch Rails to any under board gubbins. Obviously I had already thought all of this out up front, but I did need to open up the holes that I'd drilled to accommodate these fixings because I couldn't feed them down!! These first items were bent up from some 0.
Following on from the successful drawing of a GWR Outside Framed Goods Van (awaiting production and receipt of printed models from Shapeways), I decided to try to capture another of my favourite wagons in Google SketchUp.
This time I've drawn up a GWR Outside Framed Cattle Wagon (which became daigram W2). A SketchUp screen shot of the wagon can be seen below. I do wonder if this may be pushing the current limits of 3D printing as I've made the side planking only 0.6mm thick (although with
Continuing with the addition of detail, I have now completed the bunker assembly. This required the addition of the coal rails, the lamp sockets, the handrails and the fire iron hooks.
The coal rails are simply 2 lengths of 0.3mm straight brass wire that were taped down while narrow strips of 0.004" nickel silver were soldered across them centrally and about 11mm either side of the centre line for the support brackets. Once the brackets had been soldered on and cleaned up, the bunker rails w
The chassis has moved on a little since the previous post, a gearbox has been milled and the profile of the chassis has been milled/filed to shape.
The gearbox has a peg at the rear right corner which locates in a corresponding hole in the main chassis block, and a 12BA bolt secures the gearbox to the block at the front. Cutouts in the main chassis (and side frame) also locate the gearbox (although the one in the side frame is generous to prevent any shorts between the frame and the main c
Some significant progress has been made with my first scratch built 2FS loco - It works!!!
Following on from the last instalment, I had determined that I needed to construct some of the body work in order that I could determine how well or otherwise my dog clutch arrangement would be successful in transferring drive from the motor to the gearbox. A dog clutch is used in engineering when turning between centres so I had some conviction that it would work, but I was a little worried that if t
Armed with the knowledge gained from failure, I have handed the task over to my good friend Percy V. Runce.
So to Mark II...
In desperation, I painted over the previous attempt with 3 coats of white emulsion to cover it. Then I mixed up a yellowy green colour and lathered it all over the area up to where I wanted the horizon to be - in hindsight a slightly lighter shade would have been easier to paint over!
Once this had dried, I then began sketching on where I wanted the fields to b
After a few months of doing other things, I have once again started work on my 3rd loco. Previously, I had formed the saddle tank (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1009/entry-16413-gwr-buffalo-1076-class-in-2fs/) and there the project had stalled for no other reason than I wanted to progress Modbury for the 2mm Association's Supermeet last month.
Picking up the reigns again, I have made a start on the chassis. Once again I have decided to provide the engine with a milled soli
Over the Christmas period I have been giving further thought to the signalling diagram for Modbury, and its associated Locking Chart.
I really want to get this as sensible/accurate as possible because it is my intention to use the signals to allow power to be provided/denied to the various track sections, effectively engines will only get power if the correct signal(s) have been Cleared to allow entry into the section.
To this end, I have come up with the following :
I still have a
The results of my labours with Google SketchUp have finally arrived from Shapeways, detailed in previous blog entries.
This time I have received a complete GWR Catte Train comprising 2 x Large W1/5 Cattle Wagons, 1 x Medium W2 (Outside Framed) Cattle Wagon, 3 x Small W3 Cattle Wagons (this was a bit of a cock up copying and pasting as there should have been 2 of each! ), and to tail them off an AA16 Outside Framed Brake Van. Each of these were drawn in SketchUp in separate files, and a ne
A mad dash to complete the third coach in the set in readiness for the 2mm Scale Association Supermeet at Kidderminster tomorrow has seen the T47 Brake Third almost finished. Unfortunately, time has just run out so it will have to run on St Ruth as it is.
This coach is another of the set from Worsley Works, and is again riding on a slightly modified David Eveleigh chassis. Once again the chassis has undergone a couple of adjustments to the brake blocks, and also this time to the position o
Work has begun in earnest on the GWR Small Metro Tank that I wanted to build, some of you may already have seen the little gearbox that I had built for the project in a reply I had posted in Missy's blog http://www.rmweb.co....-2mm-finescale/.
Well as the chassis was being built I decided that the gearbox already built was a little too large and would encroach into the cab space (the model I am attempting to make will be an open cabbed Metro Tank to suit my preferred modelling period of c190
A couple of weeks work has seen the exterior of the Signal Box fundamentally complete.
Firstly, I added the gutters. These were simply 0.030" plastic sheet gouged out with a 0.9mm drill close to the edge of the sheet. Once a suitable furrow had been ploughed, the sheet was turned over and what will become the underside scraped with a razor blade to provide the outside curvature. A strip was then cut parallel to the gouged gutter such that the gutter itself would be a mil or two off the bu
I was hoping that I would be able to add this entry to the 2mm Midland Area Group's St Ruth blog (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/595-st-ruth/), but despite assurances from Andy (D869) I don't seem to have the ability. Never mind I'll post it in my own blog for now.
At the last Area Group Meeting, I rather foolishly / bravely / enthusiastically (delete as appropriate) said that I would have a go at making some trees for St Ruth - We plan to have a wooded section behind the b
A couple of years ago, I made a somewhat abortive start on a 2FS scratch built loco. I had got to the stage of a rolling chassis, and a body that consisted of footplate, valances, buffer beams and a cab bunker. Where I had failed was getting the chassis to actually run happily. In the end, I decided to shelve the project and move onto my 1854 Saddle Tank that has been documented previously that used one of the 2mm Association etched chassis kits.
Now that I have proved to myself that I can c
It's been a long time since I posted anything in my blog. However some of the items I've been working on have been documented elsewhere on RMweb :
GWR 1854 Saddle Tank conversion from Graham Farish 57xx
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65499-whats-on-your-2mm-work-bench/?p=904684
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65499-whats-on-your-2mm-work-bench/?p=922762
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65499-whats-on-your-2mm-work-bench/?p=925638
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For my next 2mm scale engine I had been considering an Armstrong Goods 0-6-0 tender engine (which I will also build) but in the end I've decided to begin work on a GWR "Buffalo" 1076 class. This engine is effectively a tank engine version of the Armstrong Goods, having the same wheelbase but slightly smaller wheels (and obviously no tender), and also has outside frames. For my chosen period (c.1906) nearly all of this class still had their saddle tanks (they were later rebuilt with pannier tanks
Just coming off my workbench is my first 2mm scale signal (actually it's my first completed signal in any scale!)
This one is the Down Home for my fictional Modbury layout. The post has been milled to a tapered profile from 3mm square brass bar, the arm, balance weight and ladder are MSE components. The lamp is my own turning fixed to a small piece of L section brass. The finial is an old (overscale) OO handrail knob with a piece of 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire pushed through, soldered and turned
Finally, a start on building the Baulk Road track work for Modbury...
Initially, the baulks for the station approach along the embankment have been laid. These were fixed to the track bed with really runny super glue, capillary action sucking the adhesive under the baulk as it was held in position. The baulk for the other rail was laid at the same time using the previously prepared "Baulk Roller Gauges". Once the position of the first turnout was reached, the positions for the switch tie bar
