Links for later parts of the saga:
2 - What do you do in the bath?
3 - Giving the Chopper a good workout
4 - D, I, Why?
5 - Interior design
6 - Interior design - too
7 - I'll be your number one
8 - Of weeny LEDs and orange
9 - The real slim Shady
10 - His name? Number two...
11 - Mikkel made me do it ;-)
12 - Wax on. Wax off.
I have probably just made a mistake, probably quite a big mistake - I've opened the big white box of joy...
For those of you who are not aware of the
Said in best Victor Meldrew voice, as the first bogies is now 95% complete and all appears to work as intended!
The sideframes aren't glued in place yet, merely held in place by the spring pressure and the location of the axleboxes/equalising beams, but it performed successfully in a few hand propelled tests last night. I can run the bogie over an obstruction of 1.5-2mm, with all other wheels remaining in contact with the ground as demonstrated in these pics:
The bottle of flux w
As is kind of hinted at by the title, I'm pretty happy that I've finished the first side of the 09. It's just been a matter of adding the the little details with gouache and powders, so again it won't look much different to last time.
The masking tape depot plaque seems to have worked as intended, a bit more gouache washes and powders in this area have made it look as it should.
The trickiest part of this phase was the marks on the battery box where the BR arrow had been remov
Erm, rinse my kits after washing with soapy water - isn't that what everyone does?
It doesn't seem right that a 7mm kit bodyshell can be built out of this few parts, but here are all of the main structural components. These are now drying off before work commences on the cab bulkheads and sanding down the filler on the bodysides.
I've also discovered a few more parts I need that aren't included in the kit. The ETH gear is missing, despite stating that it was for a /4 at the time of
I bloody love these water mixable oil paints that I've been using!
I thought gouache was the wonder stuff, well it still is really, but these oils are even better and much more versatile. It's taken a while to figure out how to use them effectively, it requires a slightly different technique to gouache, but I'm now glad that I've persevered with them after the initial disappointment that I had.
I've used them quite successfully, I think, on a couple of the TTA wagons that have gr
This new blog format has deluded me into thinking that people may be interested in the reasons behind what I do, the inspirations and how it all started, really. They probably aren't, but I'm going to do it anyway
It really started with the introduction of the Hornby Class 50, back in 2003. I'd had a model railway before, but sold up in 1993/1994 to start modelling US prototypes due to the superior models available. That too soon fell by the wayside once girls, cars and beer were disco
As the title suggests, I'm at a stage now where I think that this loco is complete.
I've not done too much since the last update - I've added a few subtle streaks here and there using gouache, and done a little more to the coupling rods - I wasn't entirely happy with the way they looked. I've also given the body a coat of matt varnish, as some of the finishes I've used are a little fragile. If this wasn't a project destined for ebay, I'd have probably left it as I could easily touch it up a
I've had a crack at weathering the nose bulkhead this evening, and I must admit that I'm rather pleased at the way it's turned out - used, but not too grubby (please excuse the rather cruel enlargement).
Can you spot which bit has had the attention from the fitters boot?
Most of the effects have been done using gouache, but powders have been used in a couple of places to tone down the effect.
Engine room bulkheads are next.
Edit - I've taken a better, not so out of focus, pic
Number one end, that is!
A couple of views of the No 1 end cab, with virtually all of the detailing parts added.
Matt - as you see, I've added the wire to the phone handset - couldn't make the wire itself curly though, I couldn't find the unfeasibly small wire, so had to use some slightly thicker stuff. I've twisted as best I can so that it looks the part though
The radio unit has turned out a tad oversize, and that coupled with the fact that the AWS indicator is also overs
An even greater lack of imagination with the title for tonights update, on the plus side it is a little more descriptive of what's actually occuring!
Since last time Hornby class 50 buffers have been substituted for the Bachmann ones, which are too spindly IMO. To do this, twist the heads slightly to the right and pull, the head should come out with the spring. Drill down the Bachmann buffer housing with a 2.3mm drill, which will loosen the bond of the adhesive holding them in place. A
No, not finished the large 37, or the small one for that matter, but I've achieved something that I hoped was possible, but wasn't sure about.
I was given a healthy dose of reassurance by Andy, here:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/16226-andys-plop-shop/page__view__findpost__p__153226
Which showed that what I was trying to achieve is relatively simple, and all the experimentation I had done (to little avail) with Tipp-Ex and other substances wasn't really necessary.
I've been getting into 3D design in a big way of late. I need to get some parts made for the 7mm scale tank wagon projects, which are slowly progressing beyond ideas in my head, so set to learning the drawing package (Alibre) by knocking up a buffer of the type required. It's taken some time to get to this point, but I'm now happy it's as accurate as I can make it.
Behold the mysterious floating buffer:
Unfortunately, as the head has been built as the same part as the shank, it app
It has indeed been a long time, not only since I actually updated this blog, but also since the 37 project started, all those years ago. It was never intended to take quite so long and I still can't believe that nearly five years have gone by! There haven't been any updates as I didn't want to put any more pictures up until I was happy it was finished.
I'm pleased to say that the 37 is complete for now. It's taken a little while to get the lighting right, after its maiden running ses
There are periods of doing this kind of thing where I feel like I've spent an awful lot of time doing something, but don't really have much to show for it.
I've started on the roof of the 09, with the cab roof getting the most treatment. A mix of weathering powders and hairspray was used for this - mostly Mig Europe Dust, with a little Brick Dust and Gulf War Sand chucked in for good measure.
This is mixed up and applied with a brush. If it goes on too thin, add more. If it go
Links for the final parts of the saga: 38 - A little pick-me-up 39 - He ain't heavy.....enough 40 - Tarmac Yer Drive Mister? 41 - The Current State of Play 42 - The Spaghetti Incident 43 - What a difference.... 44 - A Quick Update 45 - And So It Begins 46 - It's Been a Long Time
A further, small, milestone has been reached since the last update - the first bogie has been wired up and tested with an old Hornby controller. As shown in the photo below, it all works together! I did have two sw
From the moment I saw this picture:
http://gallery6801.f.../p61948874.html
I knew I wanted to model it. Admittedly, I've not gone down the 100% fidelity route, so the details are still that of the Bachmann tank, representing a Met-Camm built example, but it's close enough, I feel. It certainly captures the essence of the prototype, in my opinion.
The first stage was to mix up a wash of white spirit and grimy black powder, and give the barrel a good coat of that. Once dry, any excess
It feels a bit like the old maths question at the minute - there are three steps forward, and two steps back again. The bogie artwork is currently undergoing another tweaking, but I'm hopeful that the mark 3 version will be the final version, as I've just about discovered everything that could be improved upon, I think..
It's mostly little things, like adding a couple of extra positioning holes on the parts that are soldered on to the mounting plate, but the frames have required a comple
This is it for a while now, I promise! The more I use these oils, the more I like them, and the more I'm getting to grips with using them. The 3rd wagon is by far my favourite of the ones I've done recently, it just looks that bit better than the others.
I've used a photo of a different tank as a guide for this one, for a bit of variety:
http://www.flickr.co...57603195747980/
The model:
I've used the same techniques that I've developed over the other two wagons, but have added m
The second bogie has now reached a stage where I could plonk the loco down on the pair of them to see how everything looked and worked, so I couldn't resist giving it a go! It has highlighted a couple of minor, related, problems that are going to be fairly easily corrected. The bogie pivots need to be cut down a bit further as they currently hit the centre traction motor on each bogie, and the loco isn't quite heavy enough for everything to sit right. The first problem can be cured with a big
An appropriate title in a couple of ways, one, that the first of the production primary springs have taken shape this afternoon, and the coming of Spring has given me a chance to get on with this madcap scheme.
So, for starters, a view of the first bogie with one of the equalising beams in place, on the first two springs:
To the front left are some more springs in various stages of completion. The long coil of wire behind the individual springs is how it starts. This is 0.61mm soft c
With the coming of Spring, almost, I've been able to get on with the class 37 bogies, with the key being the assembly of enough traction motors to test assemble the first one. It's been too cold to do anything in the shed!
Putting the 3 motors in place showed exactly where the cross-members needed to be trimmed, to prevent the reduction gears fouling on them. A bit of a design cock-up there! These have now had sections cut out with a piercing saw, which doesn't seem to have affected
Progress is at it's usual snails pace, but it is progress none the less! I've managed to get the first of the traction motor/axle assemblies complete, and it all fits between the wheels. I knew it would...
The R on the top of this one denotes that it is the innermost unit of the bogie, and as such has the motor mounted the other way round, so is wired to run in the opposite direction to the other two on the bogie, whilst keeping the wire colours consistent.
A view of another,
It's not often I feel compelled to compose a more typical blog post with my general wittering (I think two in as many years is quite sufficient) but over the last few days I've been, well overwhelmed isn't quite the right word, but I've come to truly appreciate what a fantastic tool the Internet really is.
Of course, there are the more immediate aspects, (one of which I'd probably best not mention here ) such as bringing together like minded groups to discuss their interests and share their
Slow progress continues with the bogie project, although the end of the first one is in sight, and as can be seen from the background of the pics below, the second is coming on quite nicely. It's taken me a little while to work out what I was going to do with current collection, but have settled on a fairly simple setup that picks up from 4 wheels on each bogie. I may add pick-ups to the centre axles at a later stage, but figured I'd try without to begin with, as it's easier!
This is the f
As the pictures in the printed magazine haven't shown up some of the subtle effects that can be achieved with the oil paints as much as I'd like, I've taken the liberty of putting the pictures used in the article, plus a couple of bonus ones, here. I'm not including the words though - this is in addition to the article, not instead of it
Click each photo for a larger view.
Intro:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
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