Jump to content
 
  • entries
    364
  • comments
    811
  • views
    180,636

About this blog

War Department First World War Narrow Gauge Layout O-16.5 WDLR

Entries in this blog

Track Day!

Feeling rather proud of my self! Have actually made some significant progress pretty quickly. Only on one out of three scenic boards it has to be said but is looking good for the others. Due to our current heat wave, I was able to set up the air brush and compressor outside and gave all the track a good coat of dirty brown. Actually I went over the exposed foam board with a wash of brown acrylic first very quickly and roughly. I then airbrushed the rails in a slightly rusty colour (I hate the or

KH1

KH1

Back on track

Oh I wish I was! Should be 'back working on track' in actual fact. I have actually done the first bit of scenic work which is appropriately enough digging a ditch. A feature that is quite prominent on a lot of pictures is a small ditch dug at the sides of the track, presumably to assist drainage. Mounting the track on foam board was good here as was easy to cut and then I cut the 'spoil' strip in half-ish turned it over and stuck it at the sides of the ditch. So technically the exact same amoun

KH1

KH1

More Hunslet

Well not much more actually! I bet that if I had not tried to be clever and had just built it with a solid chassis as intended I would have a fully functioning loco by now. Instead I am still trying to get the compensation to work properly. I may be nearly there now but it has been a struggle. Latest one is that having just got the compensation beam almost working i find that it will get in the way of the motion bracket. More sawing. Other problem is that Mr Sharman in his Flexichas book says th

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - a success?

So did I achieve what I wanted from Hunslet week? Yes and no I guess. In my wildest dreams I was going to be showing pictures of a finished model! Well the impact of the real world and rather a lot of set backs scuppered that one. My stated aim was to get a working chassis and I am almost there. Here is the new gear box being run in this morning. A couple of hours in each direction in the end with no problems. Oh! the soldering of bearings while running thing? Worked a treat! Had just tack solde

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 7&8

Am afraid day seven didn't really happen at all and day eight not much better (British Grand Prix. 40's day at SVR and new Top Gear!), never stood a chance really! The new gearbox arrived yesterday and have just done a bit of work on that. Now, I have made quite a number of the Markits gearboxes now but it is either a case of a new bit in the instructions, or more likely, my inability/reluctance to read them but was rather taken by the suggestion to just tack the bearings in place and then final

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 6

OK, not sure if this is progress or not ... managed to spend three hours producing this; Now it might not look much but it is a real milestone! What it is for is aligning the axles in their pivots for the compensated bogie but what it really is, is the first time I have actually managed to do any accurate machining on the little milling machine I bought six months ago and have not got the hang of. On the whole my metal working ambitions far outweigh my abilities being armed only with 'O' leve

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 5

Another rather slow day on the Hunslet front I am afraid. Have just done some more filing and sanding of a couple of bits such as the motion bracket and cylinder block to coax them into their proper places. Fitted the brass handrails and worked on the speaker installation. My plan is to fit one speaker into each side tank although I shall only wire one with the other being a spare as they will be pretty hard to get at once the boiler is in. Hopefully I will be able o get the decoder into the boi

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 4

Have not had a great deal of time to spend on the Hunslet today but have just made a late rally with the soldering iron (turned right down!), and now have at least half a body,     The quality of the castings really shone out here as it all slotted together pretty perfectly. Actually it is not all soldered up yet as need to detail the cab back sheet so this is just nicely slotted in for now. If you look very hard you might just notice (I have lightened it in PhotoShop, the perfectly sized s

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 3

This is the state of play at the end of day three - the more observant among you will notice the lack of gearbox. I am afraid that the Branchlines box was just locking up going forward (fine in reverse though), probably down to me bending the etches while pushing the reluctant lay shaft in. Out it has come and a new Markits one should be on it's way to my right now. Have used these before and are sturdy and reliable and will actually fit without having to mess with the firebox. Why didn't I use

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 2

Compared to yesterday not a lot done (certainly nothing worthy of a photo!), I am afraid but some progress nonetheless. I took the chassis apart again and turned 1.2mm off each axle to stop them protruding and fouling the coupling rods. Sorted out the crank pin problem on front axle in one of those eureka moments when I realised I had another set of wheels for a Baldwin so just borrowed a pair of those and popped a 14ba on. Will just have to remember when I come to fitting the other set. Talking

KH1

KH1

Hunslet Week - Day 1

I wasn't actually expecting to get started on this today but the Great British weather cut short our weekend camping trip (and the music at the festival was awful - beer good though!), so came back last night and had a pretty full day of it.   Job one was making up the horn blocks. Instructions said to fix the cage with epoxy so it wouldn't come undone on soldering to frame and to save solder getting in the works. I knew better of course and thought if I used 188 degree to solder the cage and

KH1

KH1

Introducing......Hunslet week!

Still flushed with success at actually finishing something last week I have decided that the intense approach is a good one to try in sorting out my large collection of kits into working locos. So, I have come up with Hunslet week - next week (which should be fairly clear work wise), I am going to focus just on my Chivers Hunslet 4-6-0 kit and see just how far I can get in a week. It would be great if I could finish it but just getting it running to test track would be good.   I thought this k

KH1

KH1

GS Wagon finished

Finished - now that is a word that is not often associated with my models! Well finished for now that is as will need a bit more detailing when in place. This finishing lark does actually give me an interesting idea but more on this when I have thought it through a bit.   Got quite carried away with the detailing in the end with the bouncy seat, side stays and working brake lever. Seemed a pity to paint it and cover up all that brass.   It got treated to an undercoat, a couple of coats of ol

KH1

KH1

A wagon but not as we know it!

As a bit of light relief I started PLM Castaways GS wagon kit last night. I had looked at it a few weeks ago but have now got the little Shires book 'Horse Drawn Transport of the British Army' - now there is a title I never though would be gracing my book shelves! Although the parts are nicely cast there are no instructions and bits do not just seem to fall into place as I hoped they would. To make matters worse It just does not seem to fit any one of the pictures, drawings or diagrams I have fo

KH1

KH1

Busy Weekend

Yes, a very busy weekend but unfortunately not with modeling so have missed my little bit every day for two days - will have to catch up! Did take 7 year old daughter up Snowden (no not on the train!), though so not completely wasted.   Have got loads of proper work on now but am getting a bit bored of it so a decent break is looming so shall put kettle and soldering iron on and do a bit more of tidying up the wiring.

KH1

KH1

DCC Meltdown

Have rewired the first and second boards now and I am sure you will agree that they are a lot prettier. Have been thinking about the control panels and think that rather than having switches for each point, I shall have route switches that will select all points on that part of the loop which should drastically reduce the chances of running into a close point.   Obvious question here is why don't I just use DCC? Answer is two part: 1) I just prefer the idea of a route panel and 2) My DCC has s

KH1

KH1

Relayed and rewired

Managed to get track on first board relayed to correct my mess up that I decided I couldn't live with. There is now a much bigger run in area before the points which will not only help to give a slightly more open feel but will make disguising the fiddle yard much easier - there is a distinct lack of road bridges and tunnels on the Western Front!   Also took the opportunity to tidy up the wiring and introduce a bit of colour coding which should make things easier later especially when the cont

KH1

KH1

Tommies

Have done a bit more work on the figures today - drilled their feet or bottoms (ouch!), and super glued a piece of wire to aid handling and eventual fixing to the layout. A good wash and then an undercoat of Halfords best grey en-mass on a polystyrene plant tray - very handy.   Managed a trip to Maplins for switches for control panels and ended up with some coloured wire to tidy up undersides of the boards a bit. I think this is necessary as things could well get a bit out of hand when I start

KH1

KH1

Astonishing!

At last I have found a local supplier for Astonish floor polish which, if you have not been following this quest, is brilliant for sticking down ballast. A new branch of JTF Mega Discount Warehouse has just opened outside town and they have it at 89p + vat which is far cheaper than anywhere else I have seen it on the web.   Other than this startling discovery I have ripped up the track on the left had board as I managed to get the points in the wrong place and decided that I couldn't live with

KH1

KH1

Busy Day

Well no actual modeling today but progress in other areas. Was up at Burton on Trent for the 7mm narrow gauge association exhibition. Picked up a whole load of figures from PLM Castaways which now need painting and met up with quite a few of the suppliers I have got to know.   From there it was a rather ambitious two hours over to Wales and up to Glyn Ceriog where the GVT were having a bash with a couple of hundred yards of two foot track and a replica DeWinton giving rides. OK, not one for th

KH1

KH1

One step forward ....

That is the way it feels at the moment.... Have made some very big steps in the last two days but these have thrown up new issues. What I have managed is all the track is now laid and it is all wired up albeit in a rather messy fashion. I have run my first trains. However..... These trains have only run on DC, when I connect DCC there seem to be several shorts whicj is really strange as the slow running on DC is actually really good.   Other big issue is that I have decided that I cannot live

KH1

KH1

Track, Cobolts and wiring

A very busy day but got a bit late and dark again so no pic of progress again I am afraid. Finished off the track this morning and right on cue a box of six Cobolts arrives. Great service from http://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/ only ordered yesterday, very good price and very reasonable postage. Have fitted most of the motors which was very easy and seem to work well from an old mobile charger.   Have actually managed to run some trains although the wiring is not complete yet and is unfortu

KH1

KH1

Track almost finished

Firstly a thank you to the very helpful comments about the point motor dilemma. Solution is an order of six Cobalt (I know, I spelt it incorrectly before !), is winging its way here right now. I think I will make up a temporary control panel and do the clever stuff in stages just to make sure I am walking before running as although I have a basic understanding of electronics putting it into practice is another matter.   Managed quite a lot today although no picture as was pretty late and dark

KH1

KH1

Fulgurex or Colbolt

Have just made up a kit of parts for the last pair of legs but a screw shortage means a delay until this afternoon when I can get some more. Also took the opportunity to shorten the locating tangs on the top of the legs. Just need to clear space in conservatory now and can soon have them all put up - all eighteen and a half feet of it.   But a big question now..... I was going to use Fulgurex point motors and have four out of the six I will need but they seem to be in short supply at the momen

KH1

KH1

Track on traverser

Managed to get a fair bit done today despite a couple of setbacks - ran out of wood and found big sheet of foam board I had in stock was 3mm not 5mm as is being used for track bed. Both easily sorted but trips to DIY and art store do eat into available time.   Main tracks are now laid and wired on traverser, not sure exactly where the in road will come in so am leaving that for now. Realised that need the other points sorted out before I can lay track on adjacent board so set about that tonigh

KH1

KH1

×
×
  • Create New...