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All those close-ups of Code 100 track in my past couple of entries made me want to push ahead with the C+L track for "The depot". So here's a little interlude to the "All in a day's work" story, showing what I've been up to with the track inside the depot. Timbertracks panels stuck down, sleepers shortened to appropriate length, and webbing removed (see the earlier dicussion in this entry). Next time I'll just lay some individual timbers! The track is inside a goods depot, so I wanted that look where the timbers are almost embedded in the ground. Using the plastic filling knife in the photo, I "dragged" Polyfilla at a 45 degree angle across the timbers, until it was level with the timber tops. When the Polyfilla dries up it contracts a little, leaving the timbers just proud of the ground. A slight "shoulder" is left on some timbers, which I scraped away with a scalpel. The result was more or less what I was after: Timbers slightly proud of the ground. But they are looking a bit thirsty! The Polyfilla residue on the timbers was cleaned off with a wet cloth (you'll notice the high-tech approaches here!) ... ...and the timbers were given a bit of thinned matt varnish to restore some of their colour. I should've done this before laying the timbers, which would also have prevented the original wood stain from seeping into the Polyfilla. I managed to cover this by rubbing dry Polyfilla powder into it. After giving the ground a light wash of grey and cork, I laid the track. The chairs were threaded on to the rail first, and then stuck down with Butanone. I was worried if the latter would give a strong bond, since the timbers had been exposed to quite a lot at this point! So far I am satisifed, but time will tell. It seems there are as many experiences with Butanone as there are modellers! Hey dude, want some good dust? A heady mix of white baby talc (sic) and Carr's light grey weathering powder. Rock and roll! This was brushed across the track to blend things together and tone down colours. C+L etched fishplates, shortened to simulate the GWR type. I bet you can't see the gap in the rails. See how good a joiner I am? ;-) That's it then. I do wonder if the timbers are a bit too light, but things will look darker once the depot is placed around them.

The J is done bar some touching up of the paint. When this is done I'll take some decent photos and upload them I've (foolishly) decided to scratchbuild an LBSC I4 for the 2012 challenge. http://www.rmweb.co....-atlantic-tank/ This lead me to dig out my one and only previous attempt at scratchbuilding a loco chassis in 4mm scale. It's incomplete and has been lurking in my box of half finished projects for about 4 years. I had trouble finding a suitable motor and gearbox to fit, due my liking for flywheels and dislike of small open frame motors. I've decided to get it finished, before staring on the I4 chassis. After a couple of hours with the Branchlines motor and gearbox data sheet/price list I reckon one of their multiboxes will do, so one is on order. The frames were drilled out using a hand held drill. Despite this it's far more free running than any of the kit chassis I've assembled. The chassis goes under this, which is not for the faint hearted. A Hornby E2 body stretched to scale length. I've been working on this on and off for for far longer than the chassis - about 12 years. It made use of the Hornby bodies multi part construction - the boiler and footplate were cut in different places, glued back together with plasticard spacers and then carefully sanded to shape. The tanks were extended with new sections at the front and the skirt under the boiler removed. The Hornby loco sits too high, with the drop in the frames increased - this was removed. The biggest remaining dimensional issue is the side tanks - they are 1mm too low. I'm still deciding what to do (if anything) about that. It needs a lot more work before it's finished. The other loco project I'm now working on is a Craftsman ex-LSWR T1 0-4-4 tank. This is a bit out of place with the Kent/East Sussex locqtion of my planned layout (although they did work in to West Sussex on the Midhurst branch). I'm really building it as an introduction to etched loco kits, and also to practise my soldering in case I decide to go for a metal body on the I4. So far so good - this is the result of an hour and half of soldering:

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. I also dunked some DG couplings in a shallow bath of metal black and will swap some of the earlier fitted ones which tend to stick out like a sore thumb in brass. I attach a few photos first of the Dapol 26 and then the Farish 24. I wish the respective manufacturers in China would sit round a table and agree a common colour for BR Blue It makes it impossible for them to appear together on the layout...although on this layout I think the loco employed on pass engaged in some shunting between shifts. Enough of this waffle...here's some photos... Dapol 26...a little more grubbier now... Farish 24...hopefully not overcooked... They make a lovely couple... This one is for Mike (PaternosterRow) who asked to see the station building...damn that platform surface needs resticking... Side on view... 26038 awaits its next turn of duty... Seen arriving from a small boat... With 24113 shunting some vans... 26038 bound for Inverness... Awaiting clearance... 26038 rearranging some 16T minerals between duties... 24113 waits to depart... 26038 idles in the sun... I think that probably now brings a close to the recent work revamping the layout now. Although it is tempting to keep tinkering with it, I am also conscious that I don't want to overcook it with bits and bobs and I nearly ruined the backscene last week at one point. I will swap the DG's over the weekend and take some final shots next week as the layout is set to appear in a certain 2mmFS bi-monthly publication soon. Perhaps I will post some more shots next week if peeps aren't fed up to see it now. Thanks all for your interest in this project. Pete

The 67 project was coming along nicely and it was time to start getting the sound vs speed relationship how I wanted it. I fired in some settings based on previous experience and ran the loco round and it was clear all was not well. Before I got to halfway on the throttle the sound had already worked its way up through every notch to full tilt! After studying the flowchart it dawned on me what had happened; the most recent software upgrade from ESU had corrected a discrepancy that has existed in the Lokprogrammer v4 software from day one. All I had to do was double some of my numbers and problem solved - for the 67 at least. I then had to go back to every other project I've updated to v4 standards (20+), change all the numbers and test each one again. Needless to say this took me some time and I was not a happy bunny. The arrival of my 350 has seen a temporary diversion to tweak all of the settings to suit the model. This has taken a couple of days on & off but now things are pretty much how I want them to be. The extra room in the v4 chip has enabled me to include a couple of on-board announcements (one long one for an 'all-stations' service, and another shorter one for a 'limited stop' service). I've set the volume of these fairly low so they sound as if heard through the open doors when passengers are getting on and off. A speaker has been fitted in the large battery box under the driving vehicle next to the motorised car. The sound is now better but the plan is do an identical fit in the other half of the train with a second chip and speaker. On a 3-car unit you can just about get away with a single chip and two speakers (one in the first and one in the third carriage) but with a four-car unit that's stretching it too much. Once I've done this and weathered the underfame I'll post a video. I'll get back to that skip one day...

Pete Very nice. Some top notch modelling! I did get your PM about Brafferton. Nottingham was fairly successful and I think a couple of photos have made their way into the exhibition thread. I hope to get the layout re-erected this week and I'll attempt to emulate your success with the camera.

PENMAENPOOL MPD. Now that Morfa Bach is nearing completion it's time to consider my options for board 2 of my new modular layout. This board (whatever the final decision) has got to fit next to Morfa Bach to provide a continuous run from fiddle yard to fiddle yard. Yet more scenic boards could be built, making the layout more flexible for exhibiting. One option I am considering for module 2 is Penmaenpool MPD. Unlike most small steam sheds Penmaenpool was not located at a terminus, neither did it have locomotive turning facilities, just a two road shed, water tank, coal stage and foremans residence. Located on the former Cambrian line from Dolgellau to Morfa Mawddach (Barmouth Junction) it was a sub shed of Machynlleth (89C). Here's a rough sketch showing how the track plan would fit a 4ftx 1ft board. With only 2 turnouts it will not be too complex to build. Again track will be C&L finescale or SMP with hand built copper clad points. Apart from the shed itself there will be the Foremans house, water tank, coal stage signals. All to be scratch built or made from propriety parts. I hope to include the set of buildings as an entry in the RMWeb 2012 challenge, so if I finally decide on this plan I better get my finger out and start wood butchering some baseboards! More news as it happens (or doesn't happen!) Cheers for now Frank

Gosh, I thought this was O gauge, and it was only the running in board that made the grey cells wake up - truly amazing stuff, the whole package!

Thanks Mike - Good point on the Br Blue shades... Thanks Chris - Its already on a tripod and shooting at F25! Chris Nevard need not have anything to worry about though... Many thanks Dave - that's some really nice compliments... Thanks Bryn - That neatly puts me off respraying those two locos for a while then!... Thanks Tom... Thanks Nick - I won't be drawn...I won't be drawn...

This really is the most I've done in ages - whilst on a roll I thought I'd make a start on the weathering. I used the water mixable oils for this, just to see if they were any good for loco, as well as wagon, weathering. They are! Well, subject to some limitations, anyway. This is how things now stand: I've used a combination of Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Black and White oils for the body grime. This has mostly been acheived by almost drybrushing the colour on, before running over it with a small flat brush, moistened with a screenwash solution. After this stage, when still damp, a dry number 12 flat brush was flicked over the surface in a top to bottom, vertical, motion to remove more paint and give the rain streaked appearance. The oils have also been used on the nose grilles and to recreate the grime deposits that gather in the cab door recesses. I'm going for subtle on this one, working from a pic that I can't post, unfortunately. The underframe has just had it's first coat, a mix of Vallejo Flat Earth and Black acrylics, applied by brush. No airbrush has been ued on this so far (except for the repaint). It's a bit glossy still, but later processes will tone this down to dead flat where required. I did try to use the oils straight on the underframe, but it didn't really work, they need to be used on top of something else for full effect. That's it for the time being, as everything will now need to be left for at least 24 hours to dry - the biggest disadvantage of using the oils. More as it happens

EMU workbench by pete_mcfarlane original page on Old RMweb __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Dec 06, 2007 11:49 pm A couple of DC Kits EMUs on my work bench. The MLV was bought at Wakefield a couple of weeks ago. Basic construction is now complete (in 2 weeks, which must be a record for me). Now awaiting underframe and end details. I'm planning on using the Southern Pride underframe mouldings in place of the etches that comes with the kit. I've always thought that the quality of the cast and etched details that come with these kits is a lot lower than the excellent plastic body mouldings. Power is from a Black Beetle with a dummy beetle added at the non-power bogie end. This involved hacking an extra hole in the floor. I also ended up hacking out the moulded well in the floor at the power bogie end, as this was too shallow and made the unit ride too high. Even now I'm not convinced about the ride height. It could also do with a good scrub to get rid of all the dust from sanding. Most of the moulded on jumper detail is removed and will be replaced with Heljan mouldings. To be finished in 1970 condition, ideally as the blue liveried one, or possibly green with small yellow panels if I can find a suitable photo. Otherwise it will be bog standard blue and grey. Next up is a 2-EPB. I bought this when the kits first came about about 7 years ago, and it's been slowly progressing. There's nothing actually wrong with the kit itself. The main issue is that the 2-EPB units had 1951 type control gear, and I'm struggling to reproduce this. The etched underframe detial that came with the kit isn't brilliant and the Southern Pride mouldings are for 1957/1963 type control gear, which has some major differences. Some of the underframe gear is adapted from SP mouldings, and other bits are scratchbuilt. I'm not happy with the quality or positioning of some of the bits (especially the scratch built resistance banks after looking at the photos) so more work is needed. The other problem I'm having, as you can see from this photo is getting the roof electric cabling straight. I'm using the SP turnings and brass wire, and it's a nightmare. This is my second go and its still very wonky __________________________________________ Comment posted by michael delamar on Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:05 am being a bit harsh on yourself there, they look great Mike __________________________________________ Comment posted by Miss Prism on Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:36 am pete_mcfarlane wrote: The other problem I'm having, as you can see from this photo is getting the roof electric cabling straight. I'm using the SP turnings and brass wire, and it's a nightmare. This is my second go and its still very wonky Use guitar string, Pete. It won't solder readily, but it will lay straight. __________________________________________ Comment posted by rich_eason on Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:11 pm The other method I've used with sucess is to use very fine Evergreen rod. Easy to stick where you need too and if you wish to thread it through small upstands a slight dab with mek will be enough to hold it in place. For straight runs where you are not bothered with visible air beneath the pipe work then tack the starting end with Mek and using a steel rule as a guide continue to stick the rod down making sure that the steel rule does not come into contact with the Mek. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:14 pm Thanks for the suggestions about the roof cables - will give them a try. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:48 pm No progress on the EPB, but the MLV is getting there. End and body detail now mostly complete. I've used very of the DC Kits parts for the underframe - most of it is from the Southern Pride underframe set, with a bit of scratchbuilding. From photos the underframe equipment on these units seems to be a bit of a minefield as it changed over time. At no point did it include giant self tapping screws though - I forgot to screw them back in before taking the photos. End pipes are Heljan ones which are designed for a 33/1 so need a bit of tweaking. I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing wrong with the ride height, but that the bogie sideframes were too close together. This is because I glued them straight on to the stretchers on the side of the Black Beetle units (which are set to HO spacing?). Padding them out with bits of 40 thou plasticard seems to improve the appearance no end, as there's no big gap between the body and the bogies. I've also discovered that these units had at least 3 different arrangements of the battery box covers. The kit represents the most recent (as preserved) so I've bodified them with plastic strip to represent the in c1970 condition. The main remaining task is to detail the bogies. The only thing I'm not happy with are the buffers, which are Comet extended Mk1 buffers (as this MLV will be used to pull parcels stick). The moulds look very worn and I was lucky to get 4 usuable ones out of a pack of 12 which is unusal for Comet as most of their castings seem pretty good. They were the only extended Mk1 buffers I could find though. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Dagworth on Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:28 am Miss Prism wrote: pete_mcfarlane wrote: The other problem I'm having, as you can see from this photo is getting the roof electric cabling straight. I'm using the SP turnings and brass wire, and it's a nightmare. This is my second go and its still very wonky Use guitar string, Pete. It won't solder readily, but it will lay straight. I've never had any trouble soldering guitar string. Solder paste makes it even easier though. I use guitar string for all my OHLE. Andi __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:09 pm Dagworth wrote: I've never had any trouble soldering guitar string. Solder paste makes it even easier though. I use guitar string for all my OHLE. Not being musical and knowing anything about guitar strings, what type of string do you use and what diameters do they come in? Pete __________________________________________ Comment posted by keefer on Wed Dec 26, 2007 8:34 pm the 'plain' electric guitar strings are usually steel and are usually referred to in 'thou' sizes - can be bought individually in sizes from .008" up to (i think) .020" or .022" strings any thicker than this tend have a winding wrap over a steel 'plain' core - these are 'wound' strings and tend to be from about .018" upwards (these are the type which look like they could be use for vac. brake pipes!) - these tend to have a steel core wire, with steel, stainless steel or nickel wrap just go into a music shop and ask for electric guitar strings - when asked for the size just say 'a twelve' for a .012" or whatever - but for .018" or more, make sure you ask for a 'plain' as these come in 'wound' as well hth __________________________________________ Comment posted by Alex on Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:38 pm Perhaps Bass guitar strings would make good vacuum pipes... __________________________________________ ??? posted on Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:05 am The MLV is now almost ready for the paint shops - just needs a few slightly wonky details adjusting. Being able to view digital photos of models is a big help, as it lets you spot things you'd otherwise miss. Like the wonky lamp iron The slightly iffy Comet buffers have been replaced with some much better ones from ABS. The various etched window frames are from NNK, as are the cast fuseboxes above the shoe beams. Big one of these to NNK for the quality of their parts -the window frames in particular are first rate, easy to cut away from the fret and needed no cleaning up. Details like Buckeye couplers, handrails and vacuum pipes to be added after painting. I've had no luck in tracking down photos of the blue one, so it will be blue and grey. One tip to anybody building a DC kits EMU - you can improve the front end appearance by filing down the edge of the roof to make it less thick and closer to scale. I used a half round file, and the filled any gap between the roof and the body with filler. Another thing I've noticed about the DCK front end is that all three window rainstrips are at the same height, when on a real EPB based unit the middle one is slightly lower, which is quite noticeable. This was corrected after I added the etched window frames by adding new rainstrips above the outer windows. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Phil on Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:43 am That MLV is looking really good. __________________________________________ Comment posted by mines a pint on Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:48 am Alex wrote: Perhaps Bass guitar strings would make good vacuum pipes... read an article where these were indeed used but it must have been over 10 yrs ago, assumed things might of moved on since then. I'm with Mike on his first comment, even with the wonky roof pipes I'd be incredibly pleased with the results so far. __________________________________________ Comment posted by michael delamar on Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:56 am looking great now, well worth the extra effort go on paint it green you know you want too btw, whats with the small insulated piece of track on your workbench? Mike __________________________________________ ??? posted on Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:25 pm michael delamar wrote: btw, whats with the small insulated piece of track on your workbench? It's for testing kit built loco chassis. The idea is that if they can run over the short bit of dead track without stalling, then all of their pickups are working OK and they can cope with any dirt, dead spots etc that they'll encounter. Not really needed for testing EMU motor coaches though. __________________________________________ Comment posted by edmac on Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:44 pm pete_mcfarlane wrote: The MLV is now almost ready for the paint shops - just needs a few slightly wonky details adjusting. Being able to view digital photos of models is a big help, as it lets you spot things you'd otherwise miss. Like the wonky lamp iron MLV 1.jpgMLV 2.JPGMLV 3.jpg The slightly iffy Comet buffers have been replaced with some much better ones from ABS. The various etched window frames are from NNK, as are the cast fuseboxes above the shoe beams. Big one of these to NNK for the quality of their parts -the window frames in particular are first rate, easy to cut away from the fret and needed no cleaning up. Details like Buckeye couplers, handrails and vacuum pipes to be added after painting. I've had no luck in tracking down photos of the blue one, so it will be blue and grey. One tip to anybody building a DC kits EMU - you can improve the front end appearance by filing down the edge of the roof to make it less thick and closer to scale. I used a half round file, and the filled any gap between the roof and the body with filler. Another thing I've noticed about the DCK front end is that all three window rainstrips are at the same height, when on a real EPB based unit the middle one is slightly lower, which is quite noticeable. This was corrected after I added the etched window frames by adding new rainstrips above the outer windows. Have you finished your MLV yet ? Ed __________________________________________ ??? posted on Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:49 pm edmac wrote: Have you finished your MLV yet ? Ed Nearly - I wasn't happy with the glazing, so now I'm flush glazing it the hard way using plastic sheet cut to shape. This is a bit boring and takes ages, as my patience is only up to a couple of windows at a time __________________________________________ Comment posted by Gallows Close on Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:21 pm pete_mcfarlane wrote: The MLV is now almost ready for the paint shops - Hi Pete, Just seen your thread. The EPB looks really good, (as does the MLV ) but I have a question. I notice that you have drilled out the holes for the door handles and handrails, as well as fitted the roof cabling. Do you intend to paint the model with these details in place? or would you fit them later... Same goes for the door hinges. Please show us the result when it comes out from the shop. Cheers, Chris. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:37 pm Gallows Close wrote: Just seen your thread. The EPB looks really good, (as does the MLV ) but I have a question. I notice that you have drilled out the holes for the door handles and handrails, as well as fitted the roof cabling. Do you intend to paint the model with these details in place? or would you fit them later... Same goes for the door hinges. Depends - the stuff that is the same colour as the underlying body (roof cables, end handrails etc) will be glued in place and painted in situ. Stuff like door handles that are a different colour will be stuck on after painting but before the final coat of varnish. It also helps that the EPB will be plain blue - the MLV is blue/grey and needs most of the side detail left off to allow for masking. Hope this makes sense. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Gallows Close on Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:00 pm pete_mcfarlane wrote: Depends - the stuff that is the same colour as the underlying body (roof cables, end handrails etc) will be glued in place and painted in situ. Stuff like door handles that are a different colour will be stuck on after painting but before the final coat of varnish. It also helps that the EPB will be plain blue - the MLV is blue/grey and needs most of the side detail left off to allow for masking. Hope this makes sense. Yup, Sure does. The only thing that would worry me would be painting the roof cables - especially by air brush. Do you have a method to stop the paint 'gathering' on the cables? Also, whilst I agree on leaving off the door knobs and grab handles, but have you ever had any trouble re-locating the holes? Thanks for your reply, it is of much interest as I will be painting something similar in a few weeks, Chris. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:35 am Gallows Close wrote: Yup, Sure does. The only thing that would worry me would be painting the roof cables - especially by air brush. Do you have a method to stop the paint 'gathering' on the cables? Also, whilst I agree on leaving off the door knobs and grab handles, but have you ever had any trouble re-locating the holes? Thanks for your reply, it is of much interest as I will be painting something similar in a few weeks, Chris. I don't use an airbrush, so have never had this problem. You do have to be sparing with the paint when brush painting detail like this though. I've never had much trouble finding the holes. Most of them end up partially clogged with paint, but can be found and cleaned out with a pin (or the .5mm drill used to drill them originally). __________________________________________ Comment posted by 5Bel on Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:23 am Hi Pete, Excellent work, good to see another 3rd rail modeller. You say that you are flush glazing with clear plastic cut to shape. Have you tried Replica flush glazing, all you do is cut the bar out of the windows and the new glazing just slots in. It's even easier now that he does a pack for his own MLV. If you want to see some results look at my 4mm workbench thread. It really does make a difference. Replica also do suburban flush glazing which will fit the 2EPB and they do interiors which can be made to fit easily. Keep up the good work, Cheers Ian. __________________________________________ Comment posted by edmac on Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:20 pm Any updates Pete ? __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:05 am edmac wrote: Any updates Pete ? Nearly done - just a few more windwos to go and some final detailing: __________________________________________ Comment posted by edmac on Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:40 am Looks great Pete , hows the EPB coming along ? Ed __________________________________________