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GWR Down Home

Ian Smith

Entry posted by Ian Smith

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blog-0889277001428398677.jpgJust coming off my workbench is my first 2mm scale signal (actually it's my first completed signal in any scale!)

This one is the Down Home for my fictional Modbury layout. The post has been milled to a tapered profile from 3mm square brass bar, the arm, balance weight and ladder are MSE components. The lamp is my own turning fixed to a small piece of L section brass. The finial is an old (overscale) OO handrail knob with a piece of 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire pushed through, soldered and turned to a point in a mini drill. The base of the finial is a small scrap of 0.010" (or 0.008" - can't remember) nickel silver with a 0.5mm hole through it, soldered to the top of the post (with the finial) and then sanded back to be a little proud of the post on all sides.

 

The drive rod is 36SWG (0.076") phosphor bronze wire, threaded through the balance arm bent through 90 degrees and up through the rod guides (which are small pieces of 0.3mm ID tube soldered to the post oversize and filed back to a more acceptable representation of the rod guides), at the top another 90 degree bend allows the wire to pass through the arm. The ends of the drive wire snipped off and flattened to secure. The glazing in the spectacle plate is "Canopy Glue" which once dry was coloured with Staedler fine marker pens, the greeny blue being just that - coloured blue and once dry over coloured with green. The lenses of the lamp are just simple dots of Canopy Glue on the painted lamp case (although they don't really show).

 

Below are some images of the completed signal.

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The below baseboard drive arm is held in place with a piece of bent Slater's 4mm handrail steel wire, and is removable to allow the arm to be swung inside the channel so that the whole unit can be slotted into the socket in the baseboard. The 8BA bolt will be used to firmly secure the signal in place (although it will need a washer).

 

Ian

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Horsetan

The smaller they are, the more exquisite. This looks excellent.

 

Has anyone ever managed "see-through" GW finials in 2FS?

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Ian Smith

Very nice ! Signals are never easy in any of the sub 7mm scales.

Thank you.

 

Has anyone ever managed "see-through" GW finials in 2FS?

Thank you.

 

See-through finial balls -  Ummmm.  Given that the ball is only 1mm diameter, I'll let someone else try that one!!

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Jock67B

Ian,

That is fantastic intricate workmanship - afraid my hands and eyes struggle at the 4mm limit so there is no way I could ever emulate it, but I found it very inspirational, thank you,

Kind regards,

Jock.

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Donw
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Lovely work on this Ian. Signals do add a lot to the layout. I have been considering how to build some 7mm Cambrian ones to work out how to fit the servos and still make them removeable. I haven't dared to think about building 2mm ones but some very useful ideas here. I am really looking forward to seeing Modbury when it is ready.

Don

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queensquare
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Beautiful work as ever Ian. The finials on the Porte Cochere on Bath are see through - see my Queensquare thread. John Greenwood's  Wadebridge signals have see through finials - I'll post some pictures on the relevant thread later in the week and I believe those on Tom E's superb model of Ropley are also see through.

 

Jerry

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D869

Nice signal Ian. I'll have to try out the skinny tubing wire guides myself some time.

 

I'm sticking with plastic finials myself though. I prefer a broken signal to a punctured hand, but each to his own!

 

Has anyone ever managed "see-through" GW finials in 2FS?

I did draw some for 3d printing but in the end I decided that they would probably break and even if not the holes would get filled up with paint so I went back to solid ones (and a few of those broke).

 

Regards, Andy

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wenlock
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Excellent work Ian, very impressed! Soldering that 0.3mm tubing in the right place must have been entertaining:-). Good to read an update from Modbury.

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Ian Smith

Lovely work on this Ian.

 

Beautiful work as ever Ian.

Thank you Don and Jerry.  All being well I'll be at Expo 2015 in June with Modbury - I'm trying to see what I can get done before then if nothing else to provide conversation pieces.

 

Nice signal Ian. I'll have to try out the skinny tubing wire guides myself some time.

 

I'm sticking with plastic finials myself though. I prefer a broken signal to a punctured hand, but each to his own!

Thanks Andy.  I'll see how I get on with a firmly attached finial - If I do myself to many injuries I'll have to have a rethink ;-)

 

 

Excellent work Ian, very impressed! Soldering that 0.3mm tubing in the right place must have been entertaining:-). Good to read an update from Modbury.

 

Thank you Dave.  Yes, soldering the 0.3mm ID tubing in the right place was to say the very least entertaining !!  I used a blackened (with a permanent marker) piece of the wire used for the rodding to help hold the little blighters in place in the vain hope that I didn't solder the wire inside the bits of tube at the same time as securing the tube to the post.  It was reasonably successful as I only soldered the lot solid twice.  :-)  Once painted, the tube was cleaned of paint with a bit of guitar string (the phosphor bronze wire wasn't strong enough to penetrate the paint).  All in all it was a good game, but very satisfying once complete :-)

 

Ian

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Mikkel
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Impressive technical work Ian, but I also really like the creatiivty of it - eg how you've done the glazing. So Modbury will be exhibited in June! I know your stock has been exhibited before, but will that be the first outing for the layout?

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Ian Smith

Impressive technical work Ian, but I also really like the creatiivty of it - eg how you've done the glazing. So Modbury will be exhibited in June! I know your stock has been exhibited before, but will that be the first outing for the layout?

Mikkel,

 

Yes, June will be the first outing for Modbury.  It will be far from complete, but luckily because that outing is a 2mm scale Expo I'm expecting it to be a relatively informal affair with lots of chatting and discussion - All being well I'll be given a few pointers by fellow 2mm scale modellers on where I'm going wrong (this is my first 2mm scale layout after all, and I'm still learning!)  It's also the first time I've exhibited a layout of my own since about 1980.  I'm quite looking forward to it.

 

Ian

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