Good morning,
Since its first (and probably will be its last) exhibition, the layout has been avoiding the dust for approximately 16 months now back in its boxfile(s), but was set up again briefly the other week when the Dapol 26 arrived.
I had always promised myself that I would finish off this layout and bring it up to scratch. Rather than piggyback its revamp on my coombe junction - moorswater blog, I thought perhaps it might be better having its own separate one.
Here is a quick
Update - That title's twofold really.
Firstly, I lost most of last week due to some gastro which struck me down...a trip to a rather fine Indian restaurant here soon put my stomach on track...
Secondly, I got stuck in on some more weathering of the rolling stock. Again, using dry brushing techniques and a few MIG powders with a few strokes with some cotton buds too. Its not up there with Mercig's weathering by a long shot but it has given me a little more confidence to keep having a go.
Update - After almost 2 years, KoL finally has a station building....but not a finished one...
Have been a bit quiet of late as I wanted to make some significant progress with the building before posting...and here it is...
Firstly, I know the roof needs toning down...but it does tend to take your eye off the backscene at present...
I will just give a concise history of how the station building was developed. You may recall this was Mk II as the plasticard version was too crud
Afternoon,
Just a quick entry to highlight that KoL will be appearing at the Uckfield MRC show next weekend 17/18 October 2015 - Details of the show can be found here:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/103559-uckfield-model-railway-exhibition-1718th-october-2015/
The support structure has had approximately one metre trimmed from it now, meaning the layout is about 1500mm overall now. I have added a base at the bottom which not only allows more stability to the su
Good evening
First blog entry since we relocated back to UK and the period of re adjusting continues, particularly as we have downsized and have had to shift 99% of my railway stuff from our apartment to a storage garage a brisk walk away. No longer can I meddle and tinker with something located in a spare room...as there is no spare room
Have only managed one evenings modelling since July 2013 which was a crack at a 7mm C+L turnout kit, which is 75% complete...and as I thought this wee
Afternoon all,
Firstly, many thanks for the kind comments received on the Model Rail article this month. I was really pleased with it and it was good to meet the MR team at Warley last weekend...although CJL was always busy when I tried to speak with him in the short time I was there. I have also picked up a couple of show invites on the back of the article which was nice.
I think I mentioned in my new Thurso blog that I would be making the break to DCC with that layout and with this in
Evening all and a very Happy Christmas to you,
Have been chipping away at progress and almost ready to start scenic repairs again.
The second turnout was installed in position yesterday having first gapped it, cleaned with Vim and then sprayed with a coat of primer...as before sky blue was all I had at hand
One thing you will note is the backscene and also the ramp/bridge have been removed now. This was twofold, firstly the bridge railing was getting damaged and secondly the tie bar
Update - I am of course referring to weathering. I couldn't put it off any longer so I have had a first bash with a tractor. I also seem to have got a better understanding of my camera so hopefully the latest photos are an improvement...and most importantly are more in focus...
Back to the weathering - Before I tackle the 24 and 26, I thought I would warm up on a class 37. My gradual conversion of a new Farish 37 to 37175 is taking far too long and I will probably strip the aerosoled paint
Afternoon all,
3 months since last post Actually have been suffering the post exhibition dip, loss of mojo and snowed at work...however, am on hols for a couple of weeks now so might try to make some headway. My two boys also want me to progress their 4mm shelf layout too which I promised I would do.
Following the one day exhibition at Burgess Hill I have now had confirmation of invite to this years Uckfield exhibition which I am rather excited about. One of the main objectives was to g
Good afternoon,
A quick update on last weekend and decisions going forward.
Really enjoyed to exhibit at the Uckfield show last week, the first two day show for KoL...must admit I was knackered at work on Monday - might be better to take the Monday off in future rather than the Friday.
Overall it didn't perform too badly and it received some nice comments from peopleseemingly fascinated by the fiddle yard and back scene...and the compactness. Saturday it performed better than the Sun
Good afternoon,
Further to the last update, and I guess Mike's observations, it got me wondering about the backscene.
I think it does look better with it, than the plain blue sky but I wondered whether in fact it might benefit from being toned down a tad?
I have had a little tinker in 'Paint' (as I don't have Photoshop) and basically have played around with the contrast to see whether it might look better if it is 'less in your face' (can't think of a better turn of phrase for that a
Afternoon all,
A quick update on general progress of late. Lots of small bits and pieces undertaken since the last update. First up the station sign. The original layout has had two different signs during the last two years starting with the Scottish blue one before I swapped it to the British Railways black and white sign.
I have always had a soft spot for the blue signage so set about recreating it. The previous one had been undertaken trying to match the typeface and colour to pics bu
Many thanks for all the continued comments regarding the layout, in particular the recent 'backscene crisis'. I decided to reprint option 1 as that seemed to get the most votes and I think the differences are quite subtle but worth it. Although I realise it may not be to everyone's taste, I am grateful to Mike to raise the issue, which prompted debate and actually got me to rethink it and change it albeit in a subtle way. Thanks Mike. I confess I was starting to lose a little interest again with
Good evening,
I must admit, having participated in and been following the thread on 'Blog quality' I was wondering whether to continue with my blog(s)...however, I do try to post something regularly and I accept that it may interest some...but not others.
After two weeks of Christmas parties, its time to rest the liver and slot in some modelling...tonight being one such night.
The first layer I am referring to is the glazing layer which was applied a few nights ago and has helped giv
Good morning,
Kyle took a back seat for about a week as my brother visited us. He gifted me an original Hornby HST that he had bought on ebay as a non runner, stripped it down and he had got it running...not bad for a 35 year old model with a 3 pole motor...problem was, the layout I am making for my sons is an end to end on an IKEA (longer) lack shelf. So we went down the DIY store and knocked out a 7' x 4' roundy roundy for the kids in a day using all the setrack from their boxes...they als
Evening all,
A resume of the day yesterday where KoL 2015 had its first exhibition since it was flown over as a box file layout in 2010 - same venue BHMRC one day exhibition.
The first show resulted in a number of changes to be made namely, viewing height, lack of lighting, redoing the back-scene, build the station building, build a fiddle yard, more appropriate rolling stock, general running qualities etc as depicted by the image below:
Following the two makeovers since (the fi
Good evening,
Further to the backscene crisis I have been undertaking some experiments. My tinkering with GIMP and Paint was getting me nowhere. Enter, Glen, a good friend from School for over 34 years now (an ex rail enthusiast who still has a light flickering for the hobby I think) who offered his photoshopping skills, as that's one of his skills from his profession, who kindly offered to tweak the backscene.
Glen was briefed (from the comments made last entry) to try and keep the clou
Good morning,
An update on the 2mmFS AGM yesterday and KoL's appearance.
Whilst presenting at exhibitions is still a relatively new thing for me, putting your work on show to your fellow 2mmFS peers with a common interest is a somewhat slightly nerve racking experience This was my first attendance at an AGM, mainly due to AWOL in BCN but it was Mick Simpson who suggested at Warley last year that I bring the layout along. Set up was pretty smooth and this was the first outing with the la
Afternoon all - 6 months since the last update
Work has been relentless and it will continue as that well into the new year...but I have since committed myself to take Kyle to the Burgess Hill MRC one day show in May 2015 as it made its original debut there as a boxfile layout in 2010 flown in as part of my handluggage from BCN and its had a couple of makeovers since then.
Nothing like a deadline to get you focussed Here's the crack - Get new FY and tidy up scenics by 1 Jan 2015 leavin
Afternoon all,
After the AGM the other week, 2mmFS mojo has been topped up and it was time to start looking at the rolling stock for KoL. I had always had the intention to have a class 24/1 as they were more frequent on the line than the 24/0 and the Etched Pixels etches were getting a little fidgety in the gloat box.
Following some filing away to the front cabs to remove door hinges etc. some filler has been added to create the distinctive smooth fronts. The roof fan has been drilled ou
Morning all,
A quick update from Kyle’s appearance at the one day Steyning show last Sunday.
Whilst not actually a Model Railway Club, the Wielden Railway Group have a one day show each year attended by members layouts and those they choose to invite. Andrew Knights kindly invited me when we met at the Essex show last year. Seeing as how Steyning is only half an hour away from my folks, it seemed a good opportunity to visit them and throw the layout in the back of the car
Evening all - smashing weather the last few days
Last year I accepted an invite to the Billericay Model Railway Group one day show on 5th May 2018, so Kyle is Essex bound.
It’s a small one day show which is my preference at the moment juggling the hobby with work and family commitments as many of us do.
I wanted to try and do some work on the rolling stock for the show, having now got two class 24’s sound fitted. My priority was to try and get 37025 (purchased from TMC as 37035) als
Evening all,
Quick update on progress around Easter - my recently returned turned down wheels were reinserted and after a second period of running in on the rolling road the locos were tried on the layout - some fettling was required to the two turnouts so the bare solder may be visible in some pics below prior to getting retouched in with a paint brush.
With most of the big tasks for scenery, lighting and wiring undertaken my attention has now turned to the rolling stock. My primary aim
Update - Its been a bit of a frustrating 10 days or so for me...
Last week our two boys were away on holidays so I took the opportunity to work on their 4mm roundy roundy. I made quite a bit of progress although when they returned this weekend it wasn't long before the screaming, shouting, arguing and fighting started and I nearly went a threw the whole lot on the floor in frustration
So, rather than work on finishing the station building and weathering it, I decided to work a little on
Evening all,
A debrief from the excellent Stafford show of last weekend. I did draft up the post last week but as I was getting used to the new software I managed to delete the entry just as I was about to post it Start again, fresh eyes...
As previous entries have described, I decided to replace the two turnouts to try and improve running as they were built almost 10 years ago. This turned out to include other remedials and more than I had anticipated in the last few m
