Jump to content
 

Paul Robertson

393 views

It's been a while since I last added an entry. Family life and slightly less photogenic progress has meant little visually discernable progress. 

 

The first item of note are the trestle legs that I have been building with my rather rough and ready carpentry skillsIMG_20201003_200942.jpg.4644162e530ad15e4dcd4a5789a07e4b.jpg

(nearly completed trestle legs) 

 

They just need something at the base to stop them doing the splits when weight is applied. I have a bit of rope off cut that I think will do the job. 

 

The other main job being done was the sealing of plywood and balsa with resin and sanding down. Having applied one coat I trial painted the ferry and to be honest I could tell much difference to if I hadn't bothered to seal it! (rushing again!!). So out with the resin and sandpaper and three coats later I tried again. A better finish was obtained if a little grainy, but my overall lesson learnt was if you don't want a grainy ship don't build it from wood! 

 

IMG_20201003_205155.jpg.a9ebca56ba6b9443009cdc1ac54cfde4.jpg

(second coat applied) 

 

In terms of colour the train ferry in its first and second liveries used the old sealink blue which as far as I could work out was like BR blue. The acrylic paint I bought seemed a little light so I mixed in some black to try and tone it down. When applied this just dried far too dark so after that I used the blue paint as is. It's not a specialist colour matched paint but actually looks surprisingly accurate. Having completed 3 coats of blue I measured and masked up the sides ready for the white paint. 

 

IMG_20201005_075418.jpg.bfb00609bd1f44d6b70c0ed0bd37c156.jpg

(first coat of white paint on) 

 

To be honest its rather difficult to notice from the photo that I've applied any white at all! I guess it will take at least 3-4 coats to cover up the wood and blue overspill before the black and red on the funnel can be added. 

 

Other balsa / ply structures are also going through similar resin prep. Now I understand why plasticard is so popular! I live and learn. 

 

Thanks for reading

  • Like 3

3 Comments


Recommended Comments

6 hours ago, goldngreen said:

Like to see how the balsa structures are progressing.

I'm concentrating on the ship first. Allowing myself to make mistakes on that and learn the art of prepping and painting then will get on to the other structures. Watch this space! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

Ok. Good luck with it. It is all looking good.

 

I like the art deco style of the buildings you are creating and, as a maker of buildings primarily in card or plasticard, I am interested to see how the balsa approach goes. I am considering using balsa for coal staithes in my much less ambitious n gauge project which is a bit stalled at the moment. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...