Having tackled the sides, now comes the time to assemble them into a body. First we need a couple of ends. These are an excellent design and very easy to make, being just a single etch which then folds up into a self-locating component for both the chassis and the sides.
Here's one such end (they're handed, so need to be at the right end of the coach!) with two nuts soldered in place as was also done with the bogie mounts. One very nice bit of design is two small
tabs which fold
I've done quite a bit more this week (thanks, all, for the kind comments - a real spur to get on with it!) so here a few more snaps. Most of the work has been at the station end of the module, but it's not easy to get my camera onto it in my train room, so I'll wait until the sun comes out. In the meantime these were taken at the other end of the layout, under room lighting this time.
I've put a temporary sheet of white card behind the scenery to serve as a photographic backgr
French RTR at its exquisite best here, with this REE 231K ex-PLM pacific on "proving trials" at King's Hintock. Sound-equipped, and with pulsed steam (with emission controllable from both chimney and cylinders), it's a stunner of a model. I haven't tested the smoke yet, but it runs a treat on DCC.
Purchased as part of the long-term plan for a larger French layout, after testing the waters with Cogirep. With the new Roco and Jouef models of both steam, diesel and electric prototy
My wife was unwell yesterday, so rather than retire to the railway room, I did the chivalrous thing and brought a modelling project down to the living room. While she watched tennis, I busied myself with files and drills. Several hours later, I was the happy owner of a spruced up Hornby 14xx, courtesy of a Mainly Trains detailing kit and some bits and bobs from the scrap/detailing box.
The main alterations to the model concern the boiler fittings; the smokebox door is replaced, as is the chi
With the layout set up in the conservatory, and the sun out, I thought the late afternoon light looked pretty good. Here are a few snaps of the more developed left hand side of the layout. The right side is still awaiting some remedial scenery and final detailing work after some major changes, but hopefully it should all come together in the next couple of weeks.
Gwrrob suggested that it would have been nice to see the King, and how could I refuse? Apologies for a couple of "arty" interludes between the moving stuff...
Cheers!
Ideally you'd design and install an operating level crossing at the early stages of layout construction, but things don't always work that way. When I built the boards and put in the track for the layout, I hadn't really been thinking about servo motors and so on, regarding such things as far beyond my ability to work with. Once I got further along with the model, and started gaining more experience, I began to think it would be nice to have operating gates, so while there wasn't yet a plan in m
Bullfinch is just about done, apart from some small but enjoyable final touches such as crew, glazing and some suitable lamps. Here it faces off against City of Truro! The plates are from 247 Developments and It's numbered for the post-1912 numbering scheme.
The kit has been terrific fun and while the end result is more impressionistic than anything else, it does look different enough to the City to represent the small-drivered 4-4-0s and is certainly a nice runner.
I ca
With apologies to XTC...
On and off the workbench these last couple of weeks has been a new GWR outside-framed 4-4-0, following my earlier exploits with a City class.
I fancied building one of the Bulldog/Bird/Fllower types with smaller drivers, so an order was placed with Branchlines for their excellent mixed-media kit (also the basis of the City), only this time specifying the 5' 8" driving wheel options. All the other variations are already ca
Way, way back in the mists of the old forum, I posted about the return to service of a veritable Lima King which had long since been consigned to the non-runners box. The model was given a new loco and tender chassis from Comet, and much super-detailing of the plastic body. I painted the loco in BR express passenger blue and was pleased with the outcome.
But - as always with a Barry Ten project - there were a few bits still to be done. The running was smooth, but there was an occasional and
Couple more shots of the BP under moonlight, this time on the winter module.
Looking at this model now, I'm thinking how great a full HST set with lighting would be...
A few more pics showing development of the station area and steps in the direction of a backscene:
I am intending to keep the backscene quite minimalist, hoping to convey that lunar landscape look which is
typical of so much of the valleys, but there is still work to do. The station is still rudimentary, but hopefully will
start looking a bit more finished in coming weeks - however, I think you can get the general idea.
Just a quick update from me - here are some summery snaps of a "quickie" layout I've been knocking together since Christmas. The idea was to have something other than Cogirep to exhibit this year, and to plunder the scrap box and general leftovers from my old layouts to the fullest extent. For a long while I've also wanted to create a compact, valleys-themed terminus on which 56xxs and panniers can potter about happily, and which gets away from the chocolate box look of so many GWR branch line t
Apologies for yet another picture of my beloved blue King, but I couldn't resist. I thought it might also be worth mentioning that this is partly a Tony Wright build, for it was with Tony's tuition that I put together the Comet chassis during a very enjoyable Missenden Abbey weekend back in - I think - 2006.
Tony must have seen thousands of chassis being built by now, by him or under his supervision, but he might remember that I managed to solder in the axle bearings on the same side of both
Some close-ups were kindly requested, so here are a few recent shots of the Spring module.
Tree with enclosure around base of trunk, inspired by one I saw from a train on the Severn Valley Railway:
Close-up of the tree with Preiser horses:
An attempt at tall, unruly grass in the meadow around the abandoned barn. I used Woodland Scenics long grass, glued down in clumps, then trimmed with scissors once it was dry. Finally, I hit it with some household bleach to try and tone d
I used to be a fairly disciplined modeller with an interest fixed firmly on the BR steam era, mostly the Western Region, but with a bit of LMR for good measure. To that end, when I got back into the hobby in the 90s, I went to a lot of trouble to repaint and modify most of the pre-nationalisation models that I'd acquired during my childhood, such that they fitted into the later period. However, such commitment to one period was not to last - I soon "cracked" in both directions. When Hornby bough
Self-explanatory, really! Two coats of Precision GWR green brushed painted on an undercoat of Games Workshop Chaos Black, and I may add a third layer. Hopefully the worst of the pitting has been taken care of; there are still a few blemishes visible in the photo but they're not so apparent in real life, and I think once the model is finished and decorated, there'll be enough "bling" to take the eye away from the remaining imperfections.
Next I'll order some plates and see if I can get "Great
This week's project has been this Maudslay ML3 bus from the very old Peco kit.
I built one of these for my old layout back in the 80s, but for some mysterious reason it never resurfaced when my train stuff finally came out of storage a decade
and a half later. Everything else did, but not the bus, which was always considered a bit of a shame as I was fond of the model and reckoned I'd done not too bad
a job on it considering my teenage modelling abilities.
The last week has seen some relaxing, low-stress scenic modelling around the area of the level crossing. After fiddling around with
loco chassis and so on, it's nice to cut loose and just hack away some polystyrene with a kichen knife.
Perhaps the most obvious development here is the sudden arrival of a pub, where previously there was just a steeply sloping hillside.
This has caused no end of comment in the King's Hintock parish newspaper, but since the establlshment appare
Over the last few years I've dipped in and out of a very long-term project to create an 8-car Western Pullman set. As the model is now close to completion, and there is interest in the 6-car WR sets due to Bachmann's new version of their original Midland Pullman, I thought it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of a recap of the story so far.
Back in 2007 there wasn't any hint of an RTR Blue Pullman on the horizon from any of the manufacturers, with most commentators of the view that it would
Another brief offering of blue diesel action, since the first seemed to go down well.
Heljan Hymek D7036 on the parcels service, which has gained a bit of weathering since the last set of shots. Blue sits well on Hymeks, doesn't it, especially with the white window surrounds. What fine looking diesels these were.
Meanwhile the 08 potters about in the yard with a pair of conflats. I've no idea if these containers persisted into the blue diesel era, never
Gosh, this is a rather nice piece of kit, isn't it? What an absolute stunner of a model - thank you, Bachmann.
I've been playing around with a "moonlight" mode for the spring module, using an inexpensive anglepoise LED lamp, to which I've added a home made blue filter. Most of my trains don't as yet have coach lighting, though, and the Bachmann 108 DMU, while a lovely model, has quite faint interior lighting which doesn't show up particularly well even in night shots. The BP Is a different b
Viewers of a nervous disposition, look away now...
Long-time followers of the blog may remember my 28xx, which was a detailed and repainted Hornby model:
The model has always been a favorite of mine, not only because of the work invested in it, but also because it was a birthday present from my wife and therefore had a bit more significance than just any old model bought by me. It has also always run well, in fact it is probably the best of the traditional Hornby tender drive l
Following high level discussions with PMP, there's a chance these two cheeky chappies may make an appearance on Albion Yard during its Railex showing. Both are suitable for the Forest of Dean although I make no claims for appropriate loco shed allocations, etc.
The 94XX has featured on my blog in the past but it has now received a little more work and a touch of light weathering, hopefully to suggest a loco that could plausibly be running in early BR days, despite retaining GWR colours. I wa
Before I finish the framing of the fascia, I wanted to finish some of the more fiddly jobs at the back of the layout, which will be tricky to reach when the top framing is done. It'll always be removable - I've used the same design on the other two modules - but the less you have to do it the better. Adding a row of telegraph poles was one of those fiddly jobs...
As on the spring module, I used Ratio poles, simplifed the number of bars slightly, and added a suggestion of wires by using four
