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Welcome to the New Copley Hill Works!

Welcome to the New Copley Hill Works!         I much enjoyed my time updating the old Copley Hill Works blog on the old RMweb (and for those interested, it can be found as a link in my signature for the time being), and in my time updating the blog, I had a stab at making quite a few locomotives. Some went well, some didn't quite make the grade, but nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed working on my projects and was delighted to share them with so many knowledgeable people willing to help

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Two Birds and a Boat

Two birds and a Boat.   It's a stunning lineup. Now that I have my Heljan Kestrel home for the holidays, the fun of comparing it to the two diesels before it come to pass...but a disclaimer first:     From right to left, we have Falcon (2007), Deltic (2008) and Kestrel (2009). The two birds are from the Heljan stable of model locomotives, while Bachmann is a National Railway Museum commissioned piece from Bachmann.       The Reviews     Falcon - Heljan     Base

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Thompson L1 - kit of parts

The above is reproduced for educational purposes only. It is a comparison chart of L1, V3 and N class. Photos come from the LNER Encyclopedia and SEMG, my thanks to them.   After discussion on Sean's L1 blog, found here: Sean's L1 Blog , I've decided to throw my hat into the ring as I have always wanted one of these locomotives for my Eastern Region themed layout.   The difference between my build and Sean's will be in all likelihood choice of chassis. Sean is advocating the 2MT, and I am le

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Thompson K1 kitbash

Just a quick note for the day - full details to be revealed later. I'm going for a K1 instead of an L1!   Update to follow when back at my normal PC.

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

The Shed Goes Up...

This is an update I've been meaning to post for a while now, but couldn't find the relevant photographs to do it with!   I've been building a shed for 56C, being made from plasticard, Peco Roof kits, Scalescene scratch building aids and similar - in essence, it has been built in the same way as the carriage shed.   Here's a few photographs, taken at the end of August:               Since these pictures were taken, I've added a lot more details to it and weathered it - ful

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Storm Warning!

A big shout out to the Loughborough Model Centre for holding onto my Tornado order - I picked it up today, and, well...   Fabulous! Every little detail I can think of has been done on this model (bar the roller bearings, but that's an accepted compromise). The livery is perfectly applied, right down to the maker's plate on the tender frame, picked out in silver. Under a magnifying glass you can read the legible printing on the dedictation plaque too...!     This is by far the best A1 mode

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Storm in a teacup!

The above model was my first airbrushing attempt, way back in the November of 2008, on the old RMweb. A few comments were made from an Equine member regarding the thickness and I made no attempt to disguise the fact it was a little...thick.   Okay, a LOT thick. However that being said, I had done a lot of modifications to the model, and mixed the paint colour myself. Transfers were applied, and I even detailed the cab interior and the tender. It was my first real conversion, first air brushing

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Somewhat relieved...

It's official: Hornby is making the Thompson L1 for 2010.   Therefore sadly I am cancelling my kitbash, but turning towards making something else using the same pieces I picked up for the L1. Another thompson machine perhaps...   I am thrilled by the presence of an Express Passenger blue A4 train pack set - I will buy two, one to match with a non-corridor tender and rename/number, and the other to keep as is to match that one.   That, and the absolutely stunning USA Tour Flying Scotsman...

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

See you on the other side!

You may be wondering why I haven't updated anything recently - I wanted to wait until the changeover of RMweb from a new server was finished. New posts are ready to go up (J11 and D11 to talk about next) and some other bits and bobs, but for now - see you on the other side!   Good Luck with the changeover, Andy!

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Scenic Work on the baseboards

It was about mid-August 2009 before I could do any more work on the baseboards. Part of the problem was funding. Being a student, I don't have much money! However after three weeks working as a fencing Instructor for a Kids Camp (thats the sword fighting variety and not the white picket fencing variety) I was ready to start work once more!   Scenic matts were ordered from Noch, and stuck own with diluted PVA glue after being cut to size and shape. I tightened the matts at the edges with a nail

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Railroad Black Five

I bought this wonderful model for a small sum at the Loughborough Model Centre recently. It's the latest Hornby Railroad Black Five, in an LMS livery. The model itself is forty pounds cheaper than the super detailed model, but I don't think the detail is that much worse, in all honesty.   I intend to modify this model into 45249 - one of the Black Fives seen in and around the Leeds area in the 60s. There's a photo on Flikr - found here. A fabulous photograph, and I hope to make the black five

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Normal Service will be resumed shortly!

Hi all,   Been quite ill recently! A swine flu bout, followed by an infected lung and throat. Happily after four weeks of bed rest, antiobiotics and lots of strepsils and lemsips, I'm feeling much better and raring to do some modelling (if funds allow before Xmas!)   Until next time (with a full and proper update).

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

No.1's Tender Moments

While Andy's been fixing the image display problem (thank you Andy! :icon_thumbsup2: ), I've had the flu and have had little energy to do any modelling. However the last few days I have felt a little better, so cracked on with modifying the tender for my Stirling Single No.1 bash.   First up, I have two plans - and am going to do both and fit whichever one fits the "look" better. First up then, is removing the coal rails from the Bachmann Emily tender.   This is how the tender looked a mont

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

No.1's Cab and further Tender Moments...

Today I made a little breakthrough. I modified the cab of the Emily loco to better represent the shape of the preserved single. Note, in the above picture I've removed the horizontal handrails but not the vertical ones - I am using the moulded handrails to measure up my plasticard tender body (seen later in this post):     Now I've been experimenting with plasticard this week. I wasn't happy with modifying the original bodyshell as its proportions are too large for the tender I am modelling

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

No.1 - Preparing for Drilling...

In my last update, I was test fitting the tender body. Thats now been stuck together, and once painted with a coat of black paint to show up where filling needs to be done with some milliput, hasn't scrubbed up too badly:       On the locomotive side, I've removed the raised printing and am preparing to drill out the driving wheel splasher. This was done using a cotton bud, some nail varnish remover and some wet'n'dry paper to smooth it down afterwards.     Getting there, bit by bit

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Motive Power Debate

For the past few months I've been having an argument with myself regarding what the Sidcup & Danson Lake Railway would use for motive power.   I've been drawn to the idea of some resin kits from the Smallbrook range (and indeed, an order is on its way to them shortly for a body kit and brakevan kit), but my initial thoughts in my "Creative Writing" blog entry, gave Kerr Stuart and their Tattoo design as a strong contender.   I've been thinking about that over and over, and I've realised

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

K3 and Coach

I've been quite ill over the October and November period, and for the most part, confined to bed. However my darling girlfriend bought me an E-Z Command Controller (to act as a spare for my ever suffering Dynamis system at home), and some track so I could play with the birthday present she'd got me in September.   Happy man, despite the swine flu and infected lung!   At any rate, my little test track on my desk at university has been reborn, with the sole intention of testing models an

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Inspiration Strikes

It all started, with a map drawn on the back of a lecture handout:     A very rough idea of a railway situated around a lake. I have always wanted to make a small, exhibitable lake railway layout for myself, but never quite known in what sense and what gauge I'd like to make it. I had had some very ambitious ideas for the layout, like creating a tank to actually put real water into, and using a wave machine to make it appear like a real lake...   At the same time, my ambitious plans for t

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Inspiration on Ebay

Interesting 0-16.5 Engine   I've been looking at this engine with some interest. It has what I believe is a rivarossi chassis, and bits of a Hornby "Bill" or "Ben" saddletank coupled with some parts from a Dapol Pug kit, and a cab which looks scratchbuilt.   I'm interested. My finger was hovering over the "bid" button.   If I did end up buying it, I'd make some changes to the model - removing the weathering being the first job, maybe adding a few details - and definitely making it an 0-4-2

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Hornby Tornado VS Bachmann Tornado!

In my previous review of the Hornby Railroad Tornado, I was impressed with the overall quality of the mechanism, and the accuracy of the model. I made a mistake in my review, where I incorrectly stated that there was no detail pack included in the box. It was in fact, stuck into a recess on the back of the polysterene packing.   The Special Edition model of Tornado has now been released, and with it comes the opportunity to compare it with the Bachmann model of Tornado. The Hornby model is an

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Hornby 2010

Can't believe I'm doing this...but due to some rumours surrounding the Hornby 2010 announcements, I have decided to wait to start cutting up my spare V3 bodyshell until after the Hornby announcements on Christmas day.   In all honesty, if what has been hinted it being announced I can think of at least two people, myself included, who'll be happy to the extent its being made, but absolutely furious that for the second year running, I start a project and Hornby announce that they are making it (

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Dismantling 56C

After I took the decision to dismantle the old set and build a new one, I got straight to it! Track taken up, scenic mats ripped up and chucked, buildings removed (but stored for possible further use), and then an ideas session where I looked at track available RTR and thought long and hard about what I wanted and what I needed from this new set.   Shots for filming meant that the layout would be seen in extreme close quarters. There would be no snow to hide the lack of ballasting or weatherin

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Creative Writing

In my last update, I outlined my other ongoing project in the Copley Hill Works Blog. That was to create a Lake Railway layout, to exhibit and hopefully have some building at the same time.   I've written a short history section, which has a fictional and real history section, which should hopefully explain what my little layout should be able to convey:         Now, bearing that in mind, here is my summation of the truth of the matter:       I will be making edits to this section o

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Copley Hill MK1

Copley Hill is a shed I am fascinated by, and indeed is the subject of my external blog, found here:   COPLEY HILL   Over the years I've tried modelling Copley Hill in an extremely small space, as part of a film project I have been working on, known as The British Railway Series. The series is set around Leeds in the 1950s, and the focal point for the locomotive characters to meet is, typically, the shed.   The idea was to make the set as believeable as possible while making the most com

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

Concrete Proof

The above shows an unpainted concrete floor for a steam-era shed. I hope!   Basically I needed to make a proper concrete floor to the shed to give it some realism. I followed Andy Y's advice on his excellent Keyhaven thread (thankfully and delightfully fully ported for RMweb's viewing pleasure) by using Polyfilla. Easy to mould, quick to dry, and then easy to sand down, its a perfect tip for making something look like concrete. And this was my very first attempt...I plan on trying this again s

S.A.C Martin

S.A.C Martin

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