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About this blog

UPDATE 20TH JULY 2020:  Calshot (MkII) is no more! Sadly, I decided to abandon the project due to being stored in a dusty garage for 10 years. However it is more than likely to live on in another guise... watch this space!

 

The Ramblings of a Junior 4mm Modeller

Entries in this blog

Calshot - This is the plan

In the true style of my unusual ways of going about things, here's the plan (after I've started construction!) Sorry if the frequent updates are getting a bit tedious - just let me know and I'll reduce the number to a couple a week or something.   I notice I'm still getting plenty of people viewing the blog so I must be doing something right!   Today my order arrived of 3 lengths of PECO 009 track and 3 009 points as well as my first point motor (SEEP). I also settled on a slight change in
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The construction of Calshot - Part Three - Basic relief

Construction is ongoing on Calshot MkII. Progress is a little slow due to lack of materials but I did manage to scrounge enough polystyrene to do the majority of the first layer of the basic relief. The polystyrene isn't quite thick enough to be up to the trackbed height so another layer will be needed.   In the photo below the Walrus seaplane is standing on the slipway (yet to be carved) and the inset image is one little cameo I hope to include which will be a sunken pillbox with exposed and
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The construction of Calshot - Part Two

Click on the photos for a larger version: Next job on the list is to construct the framework for the underneath of the board. Then I need to buy 3 right handed 009 points and two yards of flexible 009 track. I will be able to get some builders insulation for the rest of the board (to keep weight down) in the week so a start can be made on the basic relief of the land. The next job then will be to drill holes for the point motors and then pin all the track do
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The construction of Calshot - Part One

I have (with the help of carpenter Dad, of course!) made a strong start on the construction of Calshot. For those that requested, I have put up a gallery that will contain all the pictures from the construction process. Total time spent so far (excluding planning (!)) - 120mins.   Here's the gallery: http://jamiewarne.fotopic.net/c1870342.html   (Can't link to one of the photos because it doesn't agree with the system so I can't show a sample image.) Should make some very visible progress
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Mock up - Final Part

Mock up - Final Part Here is the final design for the layout. The wood may well be cut out today providing I don't find any more flaws with the design. I'm relieved to have finally got this far - at some points I wasn't even sure if it would happen. Please ignore the pillbox on top of the castle - this will be relocated behind the goods platform on the other side of the narrow gauge line. The photos are from last night and so are not 100% accurate but are near enough.   I'd welcome any though
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The Mock Up - Part 2

Thanks to a member on NGRM I have a new plan:     The majority of the layout mock up   Out of focus, but it's a nice viewpoint. I really like this composition as it gives a slice of the atmosphere of Calshot.   Overall I think this plan has a lot going for it, it looks similar to the prototype and works well as a layout. The composition seems to work well. A slipway will be in the foreground in front of the hangar. There may be a pier on the extreme right where the NG siding is. Th

The Mock Up

Firstly, thanks for all your feedback - it has been most appreciated and most interesting! Here's the mock up I started last night - The hangar made out of cardboard is much bigger than I first expected! (Which is why mock ups are so vital).       Calshot MkII - A mock up trial       Aerial Photo       Inside the hangar       View from the slipway and pier       Towards the hangar and castle

Putting your foot in it! - Poll included - All help welcome!

Now we've got a basic outline, where do you progress from here? Well you draw many sketches of variations of different plans!   Here's eight I've knocked up. But I'm not sure which, if any, to go for! (Sound familiar? ). Other thoughts include adding some beach huts which are fairly common at Calshot.   Sketch 1     Sketch 2 Sketch 3 Sketch 4 Sketch 5 Sketch 6 And these two which you have seen before: Sketch 7 Sketch 8 - This plan would involve changing the layout sh

What a difference a day makes!

Some strange goings on have been happening today. Things such as walking past an aisle in a shop and something flying off the shelf without anyone there. Another strange thing has been this: The egg(ish) shaped layout works out at 4ft x 3ft It may not be what you expected (or I!), but this is the start of the construction of Calshot -MkII. It's a kind of egg-shaped layout (I like to be different, and it shows!) but I'm yet to decided what will go where yet, although I do have a vague idea.

Biro sketches

Well, I don't like blog posts without photos and I haven't made any progress so I thought I'd wait until I had something vaguely worth blogging about and that might make for some discussion or helpful comments before posting. So here we go - and it's about time I got my teeth into this project...   Sketch 1 Sketch 2   One of these sketches you've seen before, but the other one (sketch 2) you won't have. It is based on the real prototype and follows it closely looking towards the west. T
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Late night inspiration...

Just been playing around with some bits of paper after having comprehensively re-read the narrow gauge book on Calshot. This sketch doesn't sound that feasible given the right hand hangar will scale down to 36cm wide. (Not 50cm as I originally said) Alternately, the castle can be on the left hand side.   I'd ideally like to follow the prototype as close as possible, in the next few days I'll have half a dozen NG wagons to play with which will need to be modified to resemble the real things.  

Straining at the leash...

After numerous comments and advice on NGRM-online by members some things have been called into question (and rightly so!). The balloon loop takes up far more space than I would and there are various other suggestions made such as adding a loop at the front of the layout for the narrow gauge. I have even had a sketch drawn up for me for which I am very grateful. I have modified it slightly to show some of the additions - hope he doesn't mind, but it's much better than I could do myself: The qu

A layout plan I'm happy with!

Click on image to enlarge Well, here it is! ( I can almost hear the sighs of 'At last, I thought he'd never shut up' ) It's been a long time coming but I think I've finally worked out a design. I must have bored you rigid with the amount of plans I've been doing and my plethora of postings about planning indecision! Hopefully this design will work. On the left hand end we have a 2ft fiddle yard including a 3 road sector plate for the SG line (thick grey lines) and 3

A scenario in 4ft

Today I took an hour off my busy revision schedule to continue planning the new layout. This is the latest (!) idea. There are bits I like, and bit's I don't.   I like the left hand end of the plan, but I'm not sure about the station as by the time I've marked out 47cm, there isn't a lot of station that can fit there! The station by the way is based on Lymington Pier as it was. I particularly liked the buffer stops that ended abruptly at the quay edge!     The second sketch shows the ba

Calshot MkII v.4 - Baseboard design - your opinion

It's about time I got my brain into gear! Today I've been thinking about baseboards, and configurations of the new layout.   I have several possible routes I could go down; 1: A 1ft x 4ft fiddle yard with a 2ft x 4ft scenic section bolted on to the front - Can get in a circle of 009 track and a bit of 00 gauge 2: A 2ft x 4ft fiddle yard (thin circular) with a 2ft x 4ft scenic section - Can get a circle of 009 track and a circle of 00 track 3: A 1ft x 2ft fiddle yard with a 3ft x 4

Calshot MkII - 3D designs - Module one with added map

Having another go with the 3D modelling today and I've come up with a possible design for Module One: The 3 road track into the engine shed can be seen top left.   I might be able to start building this before the exhibition next weekend.   Any ideas or suggestions? I think that I might add a water tower and a coal pound just to give the loco shed some facilities for the locos!
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Calshot Mk II - 3D designs - Eaglehurst Camp

Another Friday, another night to unwind doing my favourite hobby. This time, I've spent more time than I probably should have doing a 3D plan (which I started yesterday as you may have seen in the gallery). I'm pretty pleased with it so far, and it shows as accurate as possible (with only two photos for reference) what the loco shed and stores at Eaglehurst Camp (Calshot) looked like in the 1940s. Some of it maybe completely wrong, but that's the limitation of the lack of resources.   I'm quit
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Calshot MkII v.3

I suddenly had an idea today, pretty basic, but it's given me some ideas for half of the layout. (Stop laughing at the back!) "Why not copy from the prototype?" OK, it had occurred to me before today, but suddenly it all seemed to fall in place. The top screenshot shows the location of the Calshot RAF Narrow Gauge Railway and shows its route (red line) along the spit across to Eaglehurst camp. Now let's zoom in a bit: Looking north towards the end of the spit we can see a jetty (ma
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Calshot MkII - 009 Diesel Critter

As I'm sure some of you will be aware, I have started construction of a freelance diesel (009) for Calshot. It is based on the Knightwing kitbash that I started a while ago and never got round to finishing. The chassis is from a Dapol M7, but it looks as though i'll have to add some lead weight in both bonnets. Here's where I have got up to so far:       Hope you like it, there's still more to do on it such as the rear bonnet end and handrails as well as other little details and tidying up
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Debate: What makes exhibition layouts interesting

I was thinking during my struggles to come up with a plan for Calshot MkII what I would want from it when I exhibit it locally - and perhaps what other people might like to see.   Here are some of my thoughts;   1) Mainline 'roundy-roundy' - That enjoyment of watching prototypically long trains go round. 2) Something unique/unusual - That 'oh, that's a bit different' thought. With Calshot, I would like to think it falls under this category. 3) Based on a well-known prototype - Again, I wou

Unique, interesting or just plain silly?

It's about time I actually involved my brain instead of persisting that 'I can't do it' or that I've got 'modellers block' when in actual fact I haven't sat myself down and really thought about the project!   I always set out to build something unusual from the very start. Yes, there are more and more RAF base layouts nowadays, but they always use the same kits. I wanted to build something unique - a seaplane base, the only layout I can think of with a seaplane base is the inspirational and
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Progress and whetting the appetite!

Just a quick entry today with time enough to show you how I am progressing with the layout plan. It has taken me many hours to get to this stage on the 3D model, the textures aren't brilliant though. The main shell of the layout is shown, awaiting track, buildings, vegetation and the odd bits such as groynes and a jetty... Hope it whets the appetite enough, I should be able to get most of it done by tomorrow night! I appreciate there isn't much to see at the moment, but it should all become cle
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I've been given the go ahead!

Today I am very happy! As the title suggests, I have had permission to build Calshot Mk II. This decision was reached probably due to sudden brainwave this morning - when not in use, I could store Calshot Mk II in a movable unit with castors on the bottom. The unit would be 1m long by about 0.75m tall and 0.5m wide. There would be three spaces - the top space for the fiddle yard board(s) (because in theory it will be the lightest) followed by two spaces for the scenic boards.   This means I c
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