Johns' Blagdon Blog

The pics look great and seem rectangular on my screen.  I usually do mine at 800x600 size, which shows more detail but can still be quite a small file-size.  If you want the pics to appear within the text then you just place the cursor where you want each to appear and click 'add to post' alongside the relevant image in the list.

 

I do like the outside-framed brake van and the lining on the railmotor looks pretty good, too

 

Mike

The pics also look fine to me. Lovely stock - and a particularly appealing rendition of No. 1384.

Blagdon was one of the places I considered modelling before settling on Hemyock so it is good to see it here in model form.

 

I was looking forward to seeing the photograph of 1384 as I have the very same model in the 'to do' pile and I hope mine will look equally as good once made;  I also have an outside framed brake in the same pile.

I also have the auto coach painted in a very similar livery and even though it is not required I just can't bear to part with an old favourite.

 

I look forward to seeing further progress and thank you for posting

 

Jim

The pics look great and seem rectangular on my screen.  I usually do mine at 800x600 size, which shows more detail but can still be quite a small file-size.  If you want the pics to appear within the text then you just place the cursor where you want each to appear and click 'add to post' alongside the relevant image in the list.

 

I do like the outside-framed brake van and the lining on the railmotor looks pretty good, too

 

Mike

Mike,

 

Thanks for your help, I'm bveginning to understand how this works with the help of my son and daughter. Yes the photos are OK, i was probably looking at a thumbnail where the photo was square. Now I'm sorted I'll be able to post some more photos.

 

Regarding the paint, I did stir it for a long time, in fact I had the bright idea of fixing a piece of bent brass rod in my Minidrill and using that to stir the paint. I learnt just how much mess a small amount of paint can make, fortunately Blagdon and my workbench is in the utility room but I had to hastily wipe black paint off the fridge and freezer before anyone noticed!

 

Many years ago I had most of my locos painted by Larry Goddard and a great job he made of them, 1384 in particular. I asked if he would paint the railmotor but he does not like doing panelling on coaches so I had to do that myself. Originally I painted it in lake but changed it to fully lined chocolate and cream as it would have been in the 1920's.

 

Thanks again for your help, I'm getting there.

 

John

Blagdon was one of the places I considered modelling before settling on Hemyock so it is good to see it here in model form.

 

I was looking forward to seeing the photograph of 1384 as I have the very same model in the 'to do' pile and I hope mine will look equally as good once made;  I also have an outside framed brake in the same pile.

I also have the auto coach painted in a very similar livery and even though it is not required I just can't bear to part with an old favourite.

 

I look forward to seeing further progress and thank you for posting

 

Jim

Jim,

 

Thank you for your comments. 1384 was one of the first etched kits I made and I did have a number of false starts. It was very difficult to get this running properly as the space available for moror and gears is very limited and inevitably they intrude into the cab. I had to use Comet 38:1 gears but I was able to use a slightly larger motor than I originally planned. I guess you have to compromise on either the gears or the motor. The fact that I managed to construct the kit shows that it is not too difficult, I gave up on a 517 0-4-2T as it used thin NS overlays to represent the rivets etc. and there was no way I could solder these satisfactorily to the main structure.

 

I have some odd used chassis parts for 1384 so if you need anything let me know. Out of curiousity I had a look at the date Larry Goddard painted 1384, he signed the underside July 1987.

 

Hemyock is a great choice for a prototype, I saw Chris Lamacraft's layout at Expo EM earlier this year. I've always liked the look of Ashburton but the thought of just being able to run an auto train backwards and forwards (if modelling from the 1920's on)  seems a bit tedious. If you need any photos of Hemyock let me know. I have a copy of the excellent Twelveheads Press book, Paul Karau's GWR branch line stations (which features Hemyock) and the 1964 book published by the Narrow Gauge and Light Railway Society. The best photo of 1384 though is in the Watlington Branch book published by OPC, a full page broadside shot.

 

I'l try posting a few more photos.

 

John

The pics also look fine to me. Lovely stock - and a particularly appealing rendition of No. 1384.

Mikkel,

 

Thank you for your kind comments. I was looking at the thumbnails which were square so I was pleased to see the correct proportions in the published blog.

 

I'll see if I can add a few more photos now that my daughter (who happened to phone as I was struggling) emlightened me on reducing the file size. The original photos were something like 6 or 7 mb.

 

Thanks again,

 

John