Had a couple of GWR ground signals turn up from an outstanding order a few months back so I thought I'd do a bit more work on Cheslyn. Also started installing some Spratt and Winkle couplings on some more coach stock.
One day I was playing with a Vi Trains class 37 whilst working on the couplings at the same time - never a good idea. After the session I picked up the 37 and found a dirty great superglue blemish and a bit of finger tip hanging off the bodywork. This was quite a shock and I di
Iv'e gone with LMS upper quadrant signals after taking Dave's advice. These should now match the BR period depicted. Instead of rushing these, I should have researched Semaphore signals properly - alas, that's how we learn!
A class 31/4 waits on signal.
A HST speeds past the junction on the main line. This is a much beloved Lima set and it's great to see it run around and around.
An old, detailed Lima 50 pulls an old Hornby class 86. The 'Freigh
I have decided to put another removable, half-relief shed where the backscene photo of the Cooling Towers are - they can still be viewed by simply removing the new structure if desired. The new shed is being constructed at the moment. I have also still got a pile of work to do on the steel wagon fleet - all will need Spratt & Winkle couplings like the rest of my wagons.
The Yorkshire, sloped-sided shunter, common at Bilston was from Judith Edge. I'm not particular
Time for an update. The station building has now been completed (few minor details to do). This is the Scalescenes Small Station Building kit which has been extended - the Scalescenes Gent's Kit has also been added to the gable end. I'm a bit of a Scalescenes nut and very much enjoy making and modifying the kits. I'm crap at painting plastic building kits so really love the crisp detail of the textures - there is a wide range of kits and papers allowing you to scratchbuild and modify to your
The roof covering is complete. Just waiting for some lights to arrive in the post now. There's still a load to do - the gable roof caps and the top capping over the ridge spines (which are channels for the wires for the lights etc). Then it's on to the interior overhead cranes and elevated offices along the back gable end wall. After that it's the locos and all the rest of the stuff needed to complete a realistic works setting.
This is the effect I'm after - a shot of
State of play thus far with 'The Works' - new wire roof fitted before covering. The roof is designed so that it can be removed for track cleaning and loco placing. I've tried hard with this one to get everything straight and square.
I'm trying to achieve something like the roof at Loughborough Works. This photo is from The Railway Magazine (Nov 2012 souvenir issue) - it show the works in the late 80's building the Class 60. It's a former wagon works, but loco erecting shops and wagon
Stage 1 of the roof covering. Scale scenes corrugated roof texture has been photocopied on to 160 gsm light card and window openings cut out. I thought I might get away with just one layer with the texture on both sides, but it leaks too much light. Another layer will be applied - another lot of windows to cut!! The openings have been covered over with a transparency which has had the same texture copied onto it - this nicely emulates dirt that has collected in the corrugations as on a real
The walls have gone up and after a lot of MacGyvering everything has come square - phew!
The above shots are through a couple of the openings in the opposite wall - these will have either removable mirrors or wall blanks for internal viewing.
This shot is through the left hand door opening on the left hand gable wall. This end has been designed so that the entire wall can be lifted out to provide an unhindered view into the interior even when the roof is on.
The much awaited package from Express Models arrived on Friday so I got beavering away on Saturday evening and have just finished. I used their pendant lights on my Barrow Hill model so was familiar with the electronics involved. This time, however, they made up a bespoke dimmer switch so I can play around with the light levels. A few pics so far.
This last shot is a close up of the elevated works office at the rear. The steps are from Scalelink and were eas
The fascia and lighting units and have now been installed - nearly there! I use a glue gun to speed things along and have found it an invaluable tool when it comes to baseboard construction. If you're going to use one though, spend a few quid on a good one as I learnt the hard way with a cheap Aldi type first. I bought a Stanley gun and it really heats the glue up - the hotter the better - you have to watch your fingers mind!
I picked up a couple of display tube lights in a sale, but
Smoke hoods now in. I only intend to cover 12 roads out of the 24. I took on board the advice about lowering them closer to the locos but looking at the pictures of Saltley and old pics of Barrow Hill I noted that they are about this height anyway. I guess that when initially installed in Victorian times they suited the height of the tall stacks on the steam engines of that time. Hoods for newer roundhouses were then brought down much closer to suit later train design.
Below is a pictu
Some Edwardian style postcards. These have been made using a free program on the internet called Be Funky. The new store shed is made from coffee stirrers and matchsticks - I used the Scalescenes free upload of the same shed as a template to stick the cut wood on. Can't say enough about the versatility of Scalescenes products - brilliant little kits to make.
This is an ordinary shot of the new store shed. It took about 4 hrs to make start to finish. The n
Progress so far. Walls are up - some Scalescenes papers and a few spare Brassmasters windows later and the roof still fits fine. Smoke Hoods, detailing and roof covering still to complete.
Another pic from a different angle.
It isn't an exact copy of Barrow Hill, rather a mish mash of what a Round House would look like although the roof profile is the same. I've used a pictures from Both Barrow Hill and some old photos of Saltley as a reference.
Some pics of the roof covering going on. Mounting card pasted with the Scalescenes Aged Clapboard render has been used as an outer cover leaving the window openings clear. The outside of the card will be covered with simple strips of masking tape which will then be painted in black acrylic - this will nicely simulate an asphalt covering (this worked well on my model of a track side store on my Cheslyn layout).
What's great about taking photos during a build is that it shows up detai
The roof panels are now complete. A couple of pics to show different light levels achieved by altering the camera settings.
A first shot showing the Stygian gloom on an ordinary indoor setting (candlelight).
The next shot on a sensitive setting at a longer exposure. Quality is compromised on this type of setting.
I'm not entirely happy with some of the openings - they are not all flat, but this is because of the thinness of the card used. However, what can you expect whe
Been off line for a while as the veg patch and garden have had to come first. Mind you, given the awful wet weather here it has been a bit of a waste of time.
I've returned to the model for a bit of light relief and decided to hack off a couple of inches from the back scene as I was disappointed with the look of it when it was first attached. I only ever wanted gentle rolling hills in the distance and not the mountains of the previous version. This is part of the build process I suppose
Smoke Hoods are now all in - phew! I actually do think it looks better now, but comments/suggestions always welcome.
Been experimenting with a roof finish also. On the last model I used 160gsm light card that was photocopied with Scale-scene's corrugated texture on both sides and transparencies with the same pattern as the windows, but it never looked right. This time I've used 1.5mm card with cut out window openings - the papers have been pasted on and transparencies with the corrug
Tried a couple of smoke hoods just to see if they look okay. These are copies of the old types as used at Saltley. I tried another design first and made twenty before deciding that I didn't like them!! The ones in the pics actually look as if they are designed to do the job.
Tried a long exposure shot -
Comments most welcome because I don't want to destroy the look already achieved without the hoods. I notice that at Barrow Hill only under half the roads have hoods for
I've just started to play about with Microsoft Home Video software and have just come up with the following. It has been inspired by The Farthing Layout videos, which are absolutely brilliant. Whilst it's obviously not a new idea, I think being able to film your models and edit the result is an exciting development to the hobby. Hope you enjoy.
Had a recent birthday and with the money bought some goodies. However, the credit card bill revealed a bit of an overspend and collars were duly felt. But after much wailing, gnashing of teeth and a few recriminations the new stock was quickly whipped out of the box for a few update shots.
The Bachmann Warship is a beautiful model and whilst the grills are only moulded they really give the impression of something beyond. However, the cab crew are a bit on the naff side so they'll hav
The back scene has now been finished (nearly). This was made from a simple frame covered in 3mm MDF. I've found in the past that if you don't prime the MDF with a coat of oil based undercoat first then the emulsion/acrylic used after will only crack and peel.
Ordinary white emulsion was used for the sky. Some tester pots were obtained from Homebase (cheap) - sky blue and slate grey - these were dabbed on in several places and the white worked in. It creates a good effect without
Just an update after some much needed correction to the signals. Many thanks to Dave for pointing out my glaring error in having the signal arms the wrong way around! Despite having built loads of schemes, read numerous books about the railways and pouring over thousands of prototype pictures I am still prone to making embarrassing mistakes from time to time. But that's what great about being a member of RMWeb - always loads of help and objective advice from my fellow modellers. It also has
The Lights are in - blew one up by not using resistor when testing, but the rest work fine! Here's a smoky shot (cigarette smoke) with the lights on (I've used 8 in total).
The next shot is a smoky one with outside daylight (simulated by a couple of 100watt bulbs). I'm trying to get the sunlight streaming through the smoke effect, but just can't get it to work yet.
I've included this last picture because I quite like the mottled effect from the roof windows on the walls.
Can anyone help with this. I want to avoid the 20 pence look of long length trains that are so typical with set track radius curves and want to aim for that more smooth prototypical look. What minimum radius should be aimed for - say a minimum 6 foot radius, or can you get away with something smaller? I have a twelve by twelve space in which to construct a layout and was thinking of a simple circle to fill the space.
Mike
