Hello
Just in case I dont manage to squeeze a blog posting out between now and Christmas Day I thought it would be a good idea to wish everyone a Merry Christmas
I have revisited my 52xx this past week, tweaking and yet more tweaking to try and get the engine running much better (its being shown up by my pannier tank) so the chassis has almost had another rebuild! Oh, and the muppet that I am I also manged to loose the cab roof and so I had to scratchbuild another one too. Anyway, tryi
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After running at the Abingdon Club last Friday it became apparant that my converted Farish wagons were not as free rolling as they should be and so my little pannier tank was struggling pulling them around the clubs layout. The problem is that the 2mm SA do not supply an axle the correct length for the wagons.
Taking an idea I picked up a while ago for 4mm models I decided today to take a break from Elvis and made myself a 2mm equivalent...
The tool I made was made from t
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This is more of a post to say 'Im still here' than anything else. Things are moving forward with Elvis but never more than a slow crawl really. I am still very much bogged down in sorting the electrics out for it although I have had lots of help from Nigel and Ray but with 12 LEDs to wire up to a decoder its a little beyond my capabilities and its hard to get my head around it all. Other things that have been happening are I have now got some bogie sideframes courtesy of Allen at Wors
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I had the pleasure of helping out on Stephen Harris' 2mm FS layout Ynysarwed Sidings yesterday at the NEC / Warley show. In my eyes its probably the best 2mm / N layout around when it comes to the quality of the engines and rolling stock. Its one of my insperational layouts and I always feel honoured when Stephen askes me to help run it at shows.
I always enjoy going to Warley, I love talking to people there, both traders and fellow members. This year was a bit special as the 2mm
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I am sure there is someone who can help with a question regarding DCC decoders, wiring, and lights...
On each end of Elvis I have 3 sets of lights, [A] is a single white marker light, is a pair of white marker lights, and [C] is a single red tail lamp. I would like to switch between either [A] and in the direction of travel only and the red tail lamp [C] will be on at the rear, to complicate things a little more I would also like to have the interior lights switchable and i
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Spured on by the positive comments from the Wycombe show this past weekend things have been moving forward a bit.
Firstly I made this tool for forming some plasticard into the shape of the seats, its simply been filed from a piece of 0.4mm thick hard brass K&S strip. This tool was then scraped along a piece of 1mm thick plasticard to form the shape of the seat backs. I was going to use it for the bottom bit of the seats but didnt fit them in the end as I was worried it wo
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Spured on by the positive comments from the Wycombe show this past weekend things have been moving forward a bit.
Firstly I made this tool for forming some plasticard into the shape of the seats, its simply been filed from a piece of 0.4mm thick hard brass K&S strip. This tool was then scraped along a piece of 1mm thick plasticard to form the shape of the seat backs. I was going to use it for the bottom bit of the seats but didnt fit them in the end as I was worried it wo
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Yup, part ten and still going!! My modelling speed hasnt really changed, its still a bit on the slow side for my liking but I am still doing things. Distractions like trying to find a new job dont really help as lots of my spare time is taken up with that.
Anyway, there has been a bit of progress and enough to squeeze another blog entry in. After plenty of 'tweaking' the chassis now fits into the body and I am very pleased with the fact there is next to nothing showing through the
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Things are still moving slowly on the railcar. Although I havent totally stopped on my modelling I still have a way to go until I get my modelling mojo totally back.
The chassis is now pretty much complete. I made the bracket for the motor today from a piece of brass and soldered it onto the chassis plus thanks to a tip-off from someone (thank you Brian) I found some screws that fitted the end of the motor so I could bolt it in place (they are M1.4 is anyone needs to know). I have
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Things are still happening albiet slowly on the flying banana. Since the llast post I have added a bit of detail to the roof in the shape of the roof vents and what I think is a bit of conduit which I have noticed on a few pictures. Although hard to see in the below photo I have also added the handrails and the bracket for the lamp on each end.
I have also made a start on the chassis. I have used a Tomix chassis as recommended by Bernard earlier in the posts about the railc
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Its been a while, the last time I posted it was a bit 'doom and gloom' as I had chopped one end of the railcar around a fair bit because it just wasnt right and I was faced with the prospect of completely rebuilding the end from scratch. I will be honest and this was a bit demoralising and it lead to a spell away from modelling with holidays and other things occupying my interest.
This weekend I finally sat down infront of my modelling table and made a start rebuilding the end of
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I have taken a big step backwards today with the flying banana, it has NOT been a good day...
I found out that one end of the railcar was quite a bit shorter than the other end. The only thing I can think has caused it is because its the end I have chopped around a few times to try and get the front windows the right shape. Because of that it has been repeatedly sanded smooth and with every time thats done I have taken a little more of the roof.
The above picture shows th
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The summer holiday away from my modelling desk has caught up with me and although I have finally sorted the front windows (hopefully!) things have slowed down to a very very slow pace.
I do have one excuse though, it all happened yesterday and I am still smiling because of it.....
Some of you might be aware of THIS POST I made a (short) while ago. This was the result of myself and a friend going over to the railway to see a pannier tank being 'delivered', we were kindly invited o
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OK. Third time lucky?
To me it looks much better and you can see by how much gap there is between the roof and the top of the windows how much I have lowered them. I havent figured out the best way to fill that gap yet!
Missy
Hello Again
I have learnt a few things this week...
1. Its not possible for me to survive a week on £10!
2. There isnt such a thing as a 'standard' mountain bike part!
3. Adjusting the windows on a flying banana isnt as straightforward as it first seems...
I havent done much modelling this week mainly due to number '2' above, but I have managed to get one end of the flying banana changed...
BEFORE.
AFTER.
I ended up cutting away the central window frame post
Me again
Im still working on the flying banana. Things have now turned to a bit of detailing plus adding the bits for the lights. The roof proved to be a bit more of a pain than I first thought getting it to fit flush onto the top of the sides but now its nearly there plus it seems to 'clip' on so I dont think I will need to hold it in place with anything else. Anyway here are some pictures...
The above two photos show how far I have got with one end. I have added the buffer p
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Things are still moving forward on the railcar. I have now been concentrating on the roof and this is how far I have got. Let me know if you are getting bored yet!
I firstly laminated some black plasticard onto the brass roof profile I previously made. In this case it was 5 layers of 0.5mm thick sheet. The reason was because it was easier to get the sheet to fit the profile at the ends with thinner sheet.
I left the roof overnight so the plastic had time to set afte
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This is one of the hardest kits I have done so far! I have spent most of today making a start on the roof, trying to get one end to fit the streamlined shape of the cab. Below is how far I have got and to be honest I dont think I can get it any better. Since the last post I have finished the cabs on both ends, below are a few pictures on how far I have got...
The last picture shows how I am making the roof. The main section is a piece of brass sheet which will event
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Like so many 2mm bods I have gained quite a bit of enthusiasm from last weekends 2mm Expo so, taking a break from the layout for a short while I have taken on another engine.
At the Expo I picked up a 2mm Scale GWR Diesel Railcar aka 'Flying Banana' and armed with the book 'Great Western Diesel Railcars' by J.H.Russell I have made a start...
So far all I can say is OMG this is going to be a little more difficult than I first thought. I have had to make a couple of ne
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Im sitting here tired but happy. The layout is safely back and unpacked from the short trip from Oxford and my mind is still buzzing from the show.
For me the 2mm Expo show was amazing. I know it was a very specialised show and alot of people not really intersted in 2mm FS would find it a tad boring but so far this year it was definately the highlight in my modelling calander. The members of the 2mm SA are so friendly and welcoming and it was fantastic to spend time and talk to so
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Recently I made a decision on how Highclere was going to turn up at the Expo. The choice was between having the curved end boards done so I could run something through the station or getting the uncoupling magnets done so I could shunt a few things around the layout. I decided the latter would probably be a more sensible thing to do so I made a start on the uncoupling magnets...
A while ago I picked up some SEEP electromagnet uncoupling coil thingies to use on Highclere but I have
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Although I am not setting any world records for the speed of my modelling I like to think that slow and steady 'wins the race' (well thats what I keep saying to myself!). I got a few more things done this weekend, mainly some more scenics which I enjoy, I will let the pictures say the rest...
Missy
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Some people have commented in the past that I have made a good job in the way I have presented Highclere. To me this is just as important as the modelling itself so I have been paying special attention to the way the whole layout looks and the way it all fits together. I seem to spend ages making sure all the little things not only work and fit together, but fit together easily. A good example are the braces that hold the pelment, I have made sure that these arent made to fit a partic
Hello.
Here is what I have been upto this weekend...
1. I have managed to get both sets of lights working on the layout. It took a bit of time to figure out why one side wasnt working but I managed to find a short across some PCB from some flux (there is a lesson there Im sure). I still have to paint the light bits black, pin the wiring down, and clip them to the brackets (one of the baseboards has already got a nice dent in it from one falling!)
2. I have made a start on t
Hello.
I have got a bit more done, this time the layout lights...
I have used two 30w warm white flourescent tubes which I have mounted inside some high impact clear tubing and some end caps which are a nice push fit onto the end of the tubes and also make the electrical contacts too. Hopefully the clear tubing will protect the flourescent tubes when the layout gets moved around. I have used 12v ballasts too so I dont have any mains electricity going through the layout. This me
