Like many of us, we had along with VERY COLD weather a downfall of snow... This of course gave the perfect excuse to run a train in the garden !!! Having built a leaf/snow plough in preperation for just such an occasion I put on my wooly hat and ventured out. Much to tha amusement of my 16 year old daughter.
Christmas is here !!!!!
Its been a while since I did any model making, and even longer since I posted anything on this blog. I have been blogging in other forms. Just not here ! After a long summer and lots of Hospital visiting my mum passed away in October. This has resulted in my Dad and I spending more time together. It seemed a natural thing to find a way to share our mutual interest in model making. To that end I have taken a few tentative steps back into the shed and more tentative steps into the world of R/C mod
My Neodymium magnets arrived today, so I have spent the evening on a crash course in setting and aligning Kadee couplers, having never used them before.
After a lot of trial and even more error I finally found the best position for the magnets in relation to the couplers. I had done some internet research which had got me to the point of buying the rod magnets (3mm x 6mm) I did get to the point of wondering if I should have just bought proper Kadee magnets but as my 25 magnets only cost £2.
Over the weekend I was considering what I could fill my evenings with this week. Mrs RJR is organising a youth camp which are eldest 2 are on and the youngest has gone on Holiday with here friends family, so I am " Home Alone"
Any way I decided I would have a go at a class 20 as I could cheat and use the bogie units off the 25 to give me a head start. After sourcing some suitable plans on Sunday evening and some plasticard on the way home mid after noon today I had everything I needed
H
Been on a roll this afternoon, plus the sun was out
Painted in the sun
back in the shed for some handrails and weathering, sorry if you like clean diesels, I like mine Used
back in the sun for some better pictures
I guess cab and buffer beam details are next, then when the paint it a bit tougher glazing and other small details.
John
I have to say I don't really like the "as it comes" colour of peco track, made worse by using recycled point work that has a different colour. So having soldered all the wire links in place I let loose with the Railmatch "Frame dirt"
Track wired and painted called for a bit of running, with a couple of shots...
Caught this train leaving town
It had to slow to cross the street at the end of town
With a crewman stopping traffic, it proceeded slowly across the r
Well the modelling Mojo is at an all time low, so I have decided to tidy the shed and lock the door till it comes back.
If I get any minor interest to do anything I will probably just update my modelling blog, rjrmodels as interest in visiting forums is low at the minute too.
Enjoy life !
If you want to find me in the meantime I will be at rjrdaydreamer blogging about other things as the fancy takes me
I guess this image would be a fitting image to end to the blog for the tim
Unmarked railroad crossings are often protected by the train crew throwing red flares onto the road before crossing, as per this video.. at 1:19 in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td-Zz8UdLTs
I have been trying to work out how to do this and came up with these
Fibre optic shoelaces about £5 of ebay for a pair (2 light units)
hole drilled in the road and the fibre optic rubber "lace" pushed up from underneath, bit of paint and a piece of wire fo
Thanks to all of you who have taken time to visit my new blog, we are back to the railway business here now
Last night I spent some time painting buildings, I found it quite a challenge to paint large structures without making them look to "bland" The tower block colour was inspired by this building See what you think.
At the other end, a sign, loading bay numbers and yet more building colour
John
Well some time ago in a now dismantled layout I dabbled with using a photo to extend 3D into the back scene with reasonable success....
With this in mind I have been trying with various pictures to create an interior for the warehouse... I think this is about the best and when the fork truck I have recently purchased on Ebay is sat in front of it, It may be nearly right
John
Having had a Christmas break from modelling, mainly due to the extreme cold in the shed, but partly due to a reduced mojo, I'm easing my self back into it.
The last couple of days I have been doing a bit of ballasting on the front dummy track in front of the silos and adding colour to the buildings made so far.
I am also starting some experiments with ambient sounds. The plan is to load several mp3 files onto my blackberry that can be played in the shed through a set of speakers.
In
This afternoon I set to work on the building at the end of the downtown side of the layout. The plan was to make the straight track look like it carries on through the buildings, using a mirror. I will let you decide if it works ! I got a bit carried away a built more and more.
The mirror needed packing to get it square on to the rails.
Then I built the low relief building across the two forward tracks, with a corridor connection to hide the mirror top.
With the
I believe in US parlance a team track is a shared spur allowing local industries to load and unload rail road boxcars, see I'm even learning new phrases (more info for those interested can be found HERE )
My front 2 lines are planned for just such a purpose, which requires some inlaid track, I've tried various methods, but decided I would go for low mess this time round. Out came the B&Q self adhesive vinyl tiles.
I also spent some more time loco improving
Re
I'm sat eating my dinner at a chapel I'm working in... Only 8 mins from Hattons. ;ust wondering if its safe to pop in , safe for my wallet that is truying to convince myself I have enough will power to just window shop/browse ?!?
So thanks to the response to the advert on the forum "for sale" section and the subsequent increase in available Paypal funds, I have on the way
A Bachmann A GP35 In Union Pacific livery
A Bachmann U36B in Union Pacific Livery
and an Athern GP40 in Chessie Livery
I also have bids in on several boxcars.
The layout will be on either side of the shed appropriately 6' by 20" each side, connected by a curve under what will be my new workbench across the back wall.
Each h
As the title says "what to do next"
Some modellers spend a lifetime dedicated to one thing, others of us flit from one thing to another and I'm the latter. As the nights start to draw in and the garden becomes less hospitable my thoughts are turning to change.
This is my shed as it is now.
On the main level a folded dogbone of modern image scenic N gauge that crosses over what, for N, is a massive curved viaduct. The work surface in front of the viaduct is removable and the th
The white sticky labels have been in the printer again this evening !
This time to make some Railfreight cab side logos.
I have also applied numbers. I had some white vinyl letters that I used on the 25 so rather than getting black ones I used a permanent marker to colour them in, before peeling them of the backing sheet!
This side has also had the white window frame added but the black needs some tidying up at the edges still.
I have to confess to being a plasticard-aholic, I have been routing in the scarp box for bits to finish of the shape on the first side (found enough !)
Tonight's pics include an end shot to help you decide if I have got the profile right.
Two reasons I have made the side up in sections,
1) they are easier to handle
2) I wanted to get the doors to look like they are separate.
Finally a potential caption competition ??
John
Work has now started on my latest scratch built plasti-card loco
Based on a OO model I have, it is still in the early stages, but it is taking shape now. I have always thought it would be nice to have a BO BO diesel but couldn't work out how to hide the very "steam" based playmobil motor blocks, till now !
Here with its inspiration in OO, sat next to N gauge tracks !
Very basic but the next bit is where it starts to take shape, 4 side frames like this..
Once mounte
These are never going t look right behind my nice new Rat..
But they do have a nice sturdy frame underneath.
The steps would need chopping out and the buffers raising.. But I'm sure they could form the basis of a more "respectable" model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6hp4RFY-CI
They scale at 260" across the current buffer lugs... Any ideas for an appropriate size wagon ?
I couldn't put them off any longer, those tricky front corners of the roof !! the day started with last nights filler...
and then progressed with thanks to sandpaper
John
Those familiar with some of my earlier posts about the indoor G scale layout will be familiar with "pointing man" he's back !!
Tonight on the way home I solved the grill problem, the local car spares shop sells aluminium mesh for body work repairs !!
This has been cut with scissors and stuck in, then some 10thou plasticard cut into strips to create a frame. I have also managed to get the general roof layered up to the centre point. When this has dried it will be sanded and filled wi
Okay chaps, here is tonight's update. The other end now is at the same stage. I have added steps to the bogies and the starts of the buffer beams are taking shape.
In these pictures I have clamped the side piece on to help visualise where I am going.
Looking at the pictures I realise I have marked out the grilles wrong at both ends they need making a bit bigger to take them up to the top of the cab window line.
I realise at this point, some compromises are going
Today, in between general weekend jobs, and painting the girls bedroom ! I have been putting the backs on the layouts, I have been contemplating these for the last week.
What height?
What to do at the ends?
What to do with the bit that hides the sector plate?
In the end I decided to just go for it and stop thinking about it !
The other thing that had stopped me doing the job, was having a period of time that was daylight and dry as the two halves needed to be together to make sure
I have quite liked the new format of the blog feature here. Although I have been a blogger before, the idea of replacing a forum topic with a blog did seem a bit strange at first.
As a "mixed up modeller" when I have had several layouts, hence topics on the go, I have confused myself let alone others, with cross posts. Now with a single blog it is all in one place, its more a journal of my modelling than individual projects.
After reading some posts and blogs I have now takien on board
