Leaderboard

Just a few pictures of a model of the Launch Umbilical Tower in 1/400 scale I made a few years ago. The Saturn V is a Dragon model. This is my tribute to those magnificent people that worked to put a man on the moon before 1970. I still quite can't believe that there are still people who refuse to believe in this brilliant achievement. Especially given the plethora of scientific information available on the web nowadays. I'm really enjoying the event and there has been some great stuff on the TV showing a load of previously unseen footage of the event. A picture sourced from NASA showing the real Apollo 11 en route to Pad 39A. My take of the Launch Umbilical Tower as copied from the picture of the real thing behind. Outside shot in the garden. The plane going over was just a lucky coincidence as I took the shot. All the way from Cape Killarney! This is where I live in Southern Ireland. A night shot - the tower has been stuffed with a set of cheap LEDs run from a battery. The light shines out of small drilled holes in the tower. I was a young boy in 1969 and the Apollo moonshots dominated our lives. It was an exciting time to be alive during an era full of hope for the future. We were a lot less introspective back then and all of us thought we'd be living on the moon by now. What a wonderful achievement - the benefits of which we have been living off ever since.

I've read that some people like blog posts to be fairly substantial, so I'll include a resumé, in this post, of the story so far, before showing photos of my model of GWR No. 184. There are more details in the earlier posts in this series. Background I chose this prototype since it was one of the first standard-gauge engines to run on the GWR, following the absorption of the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway (otherwise known as the 'Old Worse and Worse'). No.184 was one of six engines built by E.B.Wilson in 1853 and this particular engine survived almost until the end of the 19th century, appearing in several photographs that document its re-builds at Wolverhampton Works in 1871 and 1893 It is also the subject of a sketch by C M Doncaster, which shows it at the head of a train of 6-wheelers approaching Reading Station. I decided that I would like to emulate this scene on my model railway. Method of Construction The first step was to create some drawings of the engine from a mixture of both photographs and drawings of similar engine types. I used these drawings to construct paper templates, so that I could check clearances, etc. for an 00-gauge model. I then cut out the major components from brass sheet and rolled the boiler by hand. The following photographs illustrate the major stages in the construction, together with dates at which each stage was achieved. Because I was working mainly from paper templates, I made very few dimensioned drawings and fitted together the various parts by 'trial and error'. I often cut out a part from paper, initially, and then, after trimming the paper to provide a close fit, I replicated the component in brass. The major components of the engine body fitted together as shown below. Although I was concerned, in the early stages, that the structure felt rather weak, it all became pretty rigid, once the various sheets were soldered together. I was pleased to find that very little filler was needed, since the boiler and firebox fitted closely around the wheel arches. I used some book-binders' glue (which appears to be a tough form of PVA), to fill any remaining gaps. This proved very effective in providing a resilient seal, rather like bath caulk. Chassis I built the chassis from a pair of brass strips, soldered together while drilling the holes for the axles and frame spacers. For more details,see part 6 of this series. Initially, the model will be powered by its tender but I have made sure that there is sufficient space for a motor to be fitted inside the boiler. To achieve this space, I cut away the lower half of the boiler, where it is hidden behind the splashers and the firebox. Top and underside views of the body are shown below: Detailing I made boiler bands from 5 thou brass sheet, cut into strips and stuck onto the boiler barrel using super glue. I also added rivet detail to the outside frames by using the brass detailing strips supplied by 'Mainly Trains'. These were also fixed with super glue. I made sandboxes from small wooden blocks, wrapped in 2 thou brass foil, with a separate brass 'lid'. The springs are white metal, mounted above the footplate on nickel-silver wire uprights. Handrails are, similarly, nickel-silver wire (0.5mm). Outside cranks and coupling rods are from 'Alan Gibson'. Since the main dimensions and appearance of the prototype changed very little throughout its re-builds, I keep in mind the possibility of back-dating my model to an earlier time period. I found that 'RT models' supply 4mm scale brass dome and safety valve cover in the E.B.Wilson style but, for the present, I have installed an 'Alan Gibson' '517-type' brass dome. Painting I decided to paint my model in a representation of GWR 'Wolverhampton 'livery, which I understand to have been based on the former OW&W livery. The Wolverhampton style of painting differed from Swindon, in that all items above the footplate, including splasher fronts and sand-boxes, were the same colour as the boiler, while the frames below the footplate and the wheels were brown. My first step in painting, after a thorough clean-up of all the brass-work, was to apply an overall spray of grey primer. Then, for the boiler colour, I chose to use 'Rustoleum Painter's Touch' dark green enamel, which looked a reasonable match to descriptions of the 'blue-green' colour used at Wolverhampton This is a water-soluble paint,with a rather 'plastic' feel that dries to a 'wet look' finish. I found that it brushed more smoothly when thinned with a little water I am fortunate to have inherited some 'Winsor & Newton' series 3A sable brushes, which have superb paint-holding capacity and super-fine tips. They really make hand painting a pleasure! I think the finish will need some matt varnish in due course, since even 19th-century cleaners would find it had to maintain such a gloss! For the brown frames and wheels, I used 'Winsor & Newton' Burnt Sienna artists' acrylic colour. Again, I thinned the paint from the tube, to produce a smooth brushing consistency with excellent covering power. If any of the 'painting gurus' on this site happen to read this, I should be interested to know why artists' acrylic is rarely mentioned for model painting, since I found it very pleasant to use. For the black areas (footplate, smokebox, etc.), I used Humbrol black acrylic, which I find dries to a good-looking 'oily' sheen. Lining and Lettering . I prepared artwork for the lining and number plate by the methods I have described previously in this blog. Wolverhampton lining was black and white, so I used white inkjet transfer paper. My copy of 'Great Western Way' (1st.ed.) gives few details, except to state that the white edges of the lining were broader than the equivalent orange edging used at Swindon. Another factor to take into account is that the printed black centre lines tend to spread slightly into the unpainted white edges. I made a few test prints to determine appropriate widths that seemed to match the visual impression seen in old photographs. I scanned one side of the model to provide 'actual size' templates of the cab sides and sand boxes, on which I 'drew' the lining on the computer screen, as shown below: For the brass fillet between the boiler and smokebox, I cut a sliver of 1 thou brass shim and attached it to the boiler with PVA glue. Cutting this very thin material produced a natural curl, which I exploited to help hold it firmly against the boiler. The 'Current' Model I cannot describe the model as 'finished', since there are still many additions and improvements that I wish to make, but it has reached the stage where photographs can give a reasonable impression of what I have been trying to achieve. My model of GWR No.184 attached to 2500 gal Dean tender (powered) As I mentioned above, the model is not yet 'self-powered' but can be 'driven' by means of the 2500 gal Dean tender that I described in a previous post. When seen in isolation, it's not easy to appreciate its small size and rather 'antique' feel, so I have taken a couple of photos to set it in context. One of my aims, at the outset of this project, was to represent the scene drawn by C M Doncaster. Here is my interpretation, built around some of the models I have built of GWR 6-wheel coaches: and here it is alongside Armstrong's 'Queen' class express 2-2-2, the first of which was designed 20 years after No.184 was built: GWR No.184 alongside 'Queen' class at North Leigh Conclusion This was the third model that I have completely 'scratch-built' from brass sheet; the others were the 'Queen'-class 2-2-2 and my interpretation of Dean's 4-2-4T, No.9. It proved a trickier build than the others, mainly because of the 4-coupled chassis but, also, the raised firebox and the need to leave space inside the structure to add a motor at a later date. My 'Queen' was only ever intended to be tender-powered, while the 4-2-4T is powered by a 'Tenshodo' SPUD in the rear bogie. Construction took longer than I expected because of many non modelling-related interruptions and I was beginning to get a little impatient towards the end. There are quite a few mistakes that could be corrected in a re-build, especially the shape of the top of the firebox. I've decided, however, to set engine building on one side, for a while, so that I can concentrate on some scenic work, which is badly needed on my layout, if it is ever to represent the sort of 19th-century scene that I have in mind. If anyone else feels moved to have a go at scratch-building a 19th-century type of locomotive, I would recommend starting with a 2-2-2, since these are very straightforward, with none of the alignment problems associated with coupled engines. I feel that, if you can build a wagon, then a 2-2-2 engine is not that different! Also, I have found that brass sheet is an easy material to use – in some ways easier than plastic card, because it can be folded and rolled into curved shapes. Once you've cut your teeth on a simple prototype, you can follow whatever course catches your imagination. I also realise how much I have learned, and absorbed, from various books, and should mention, in particular, Iain Rice's “Etched Loco Construction”, which helped me over many hurdles. Mike

Hopefully not heretical to mention on RMweb, but Sherton Abbas is featured in the August edition of Railway Modeller Magazine.

just a few pictures of my VEA vans 2 on the left are weathered by Neil Mason, the other 2 (still needing a bit more work on the underframe) by myself. Those white rims on the wheels need to go. I also intend to get some new transfers from Fox and renumber 3 of these.

When ever i visit Blandford i take a walk along the old railway from the iron bridge to the bridge over Salisbury st. A lot of old coal can still be found here and i collect it, break it down and fit it to my locos and coal wagons. Many of my loco models never ran over the S&D such as this wonderful Bachmann 44044 but the coal certainly did.

I built this a year ago with the Bachmann set and Metcalf platforms. Plan to change this a bit to move the signal box closer to the mainline and reposition the goods shed.

Hello, I am building a loft layout based around the SDJR between Sturminster Newton and Broadstone. I enjoy modelling and photography and hope to share my layout if anyone is interested.

I haven't posted in an age and, in fact, haven't even visited RMWeb for quite a while. What a great new format and I'm really interested in becoming a Gold Member - currently in negotiations with the financial controller about the monthly fee! The new layout, High Trees Junction, is nearly complete so here is a few initial test pics. This layout forms part of a roundy roundy scheme in my loft. My previous layout, Perry Barr Station, is on the opposite side. I just wanted to get my trains running for a change so have turned away from micro layout building for a while. After a previous country type layout some years ago, Cheslyn, I vowed never to go down the country route again. However, the thought of building a huge suburban theme really put me off after many hours of drawing up several schemes. It would just take too long to construct the required amount of buildings to populate it. To my surprise I enjoyed building this one. High Trees Junction is a simple enough scheme and soon became an essay in forced perspective. Having grown up in Birmingham, like most city folk, I fell in love with the English countryside. Whilst I am surrounded by natural beauty here in Ireland I do miss those English Church Spires. It always seemed to me that you could always spot two, even three, Spires from high vantage points in Britain so it seemed essential to include two in this layout. The signal box is Scalescenes and the signals are from Ratio. I really enjoyed making up these. I wanted to have a lead in curve although it is not based on a prototypical radius. I think the radius is generous enough to make it look convincing. The brambles are all made from rubberised horse hair and flock. There's always a Church Spire to be spotted somewhere in English countryside views. The small church is probably around 1/200 scale is merely a downloaded photograph that has been made up into a 3D model from card. The fabulous Lima 101 waits on signal from an imagined Branch connection to the main. The entire layout. All of the trees were handmade from seafoam and flock. It was a large task, but once a production line was set up it didn't take too long. I bought the seafoam from a Spanish modelling supplies company for a reasonable price and the flock from the UK. All the trees came in for around £150. The village scene. This hides the entrance point to the left. The church (approx N scale) is freelance from mounting card. The pub is Scalescenes and the house from Superquick. These two shots are from the same viewpoint at different angles. The illusion of distant hills is busted once viewed from above. That's it for now. More pictures at a later date.

A few more pictures of the junction in action. My track laying leaves much to be desired in some of the shots. This all looked perfect when first laid, but there are a few wobbles here and there that are more apparent in the close up shots. It all works and I've had no running problems and yet it shows just how much attention must be paid to laying perfect, level track during the construction of long line layouts. A Hornby Class 20 combo hauls a short engineering train through the junction and down the branch. A Lima Class 101 passes on the other line. This little loco is a superb runner for an old model and it has to represent Lima's finest hour with its flush glazed windows. The motor is original so the model hadn't been used much before I picked it up cheap on eBay. With a bit of weathering and detailing I think it has come up quite well. One of my favorites anyway. The superb Bachmann Class 25 hauling a short Freightliner. The factory weathering really makes this loco for me. A Lima HST set. It's a real pleasure to see this run around and around now. I gave it a new motor replacement during detailing and it goes like a rocket. It seems ironic that these older models have no problem running through Code 75 track and points. However, I did have to take down the flanges on the 'Pizza Cutter' wheels first.

Title says it all. BR-built variants with the reinforced strapping and LMS clasp brake. Missing lots of things as usual, and the spring dampers are only a rough sketch thus far. Ron

Maybe I should title these usefully, huh? First off, the contest I built the wolfman for came and went. I didn't even place. Disappointing, really. I had decently high hopes. Maybe the SD contest will go better. Speaking of the SD contest, I've started on paint - maybe a beat early. Base colors here; Additional filling on the head. I greatly overcomplicated the build with this aspect. Here's some parts that I thought only needed the satin black, plus a drybrush. I used Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver as the drybrush color. I like the effect; Maybe a little heavy on the two. Still learning, I am. Lastly, my centaur is actually nearing completion. I reckon on a clear to protect the paint so far. I will follow that with some pastel work. I hope to approximate a Palomino with the horse body. The tutorial I found for Palominos used almost exclusively pastels to get there. That will be a new experience. I also need to paint the base. I think I will do a simple sand base. Once the heatwave here in Illinois breaks, I can continue with clear on the centaur, and color on the contest model. I'll punch myself with yellow again. Can't spray when it is 100 F. Just doesn't work right. I'll do better. Updates should be more reliable soon. Also, pay attention to my other blog! I have a stupid idea I'll post there soon.

The final tasks for this project are to sort out the cab windows and finish off the dirt and mud effects. The muck on the windows is removed by dipping a cotton bud into white spirit and gently rubbing the glazing until the underlying Dullcote softens and comes off. I have deliberately not got right into all the corners to leave a film of dirt there.. The glazing can be polished with a dry clean cotton bud to finish off with. Final touches to the dirt and mud involve abrasion to some areas to remove the surface pigment to reveal the differing tones underneath. Difficult to describe exactly how to do this, except to say, "Poke and see what happens!" The filbert brush still has some pigment residue on it, so it is dragged across a few edges and corners to add that little bit of definition to the detail.

latest addition to the fleet is a Hornby CAR brake van needs weathering and a suitable crew adding. also need to take off the large tension lock

A bit of history The earliest record of a tenant in The Greyhound public house was a Mary Stiff in 1822. The Upper Grange Road (now Dunton Road) Bermondsey was likely a relatively quiet lane leading off the Kent Road before the arrival of the Bricklayers Arms Extension Railway in 1843/4. At first it was suggested that the railway should cross the road on the level, but the contractors Grissell & Peto constructed a bridge to carry the road over the four running lines. The inconvenience to the occupants of the Greyhound and the neighbouring houses in Greyhound Place is well recorded in the Committee Minutes of the BAER held in the National Archives at Kew. Significant amounts of compensation was paid out for the inconvenience of having a large brick structure right outside the front of the dwellings. The owner of the Greyhound, William Rolls received £2310, a huge sum in 1844. The tenant at this time was William James Peirse and his four daughters. The Greyhound itself was significantly altered as a result of the rising road in front of it and the public rooms were moved up to the first floor on a level with the new road. Thankfully one photograph exists taken at the end of the 19th century which just about shows this unusual arrangement. Access to the six houses further along was via a walkway underneath the frontage. The model The basic shell of the building is in 3mm perspex which I find very robust and resistant to warping over time. Brickwork is embossed styrene, windows in clear styrene with fine strips of styrene overlaid to produce the window frame. The sash windows at the back actually work, a completely unnecessary indulgence! It is not known what the back yard looked like. An aerial photograph taken in the 1930s gives a rough idea but it is so indistinct as to be of no real help. I added a stable block which is rather unlikely but in studying the history of the Greyhound and it's tenant W. J. Peirse, who left the tenancy in his will "to my four dear daughters", I grew rather fond of him and thought he deserved such a luxury. The figures are from scratch, perhaps William's eldest daughter Martha is telling the potman just how queer the rocking motion of the carriages on the new railway made her feel on her recent trip to Croydon. The yard surface is decorating filler with the cobbles scratched in. There are further buildings to come, particularly those of Greyhound Place, and of course the Upper Grange Road Bridge itself which is in the process of construction.

A slight departure from my usual 1840s stock, but I was given the masters to cast into a kit and also a set of transfers to go with it, so it seemed rude not to pursue it to completion! The wagon is cast white metal in 4mm scale from some excellent (as always) masters by Simon Turner of the Birghton Circle. I don't profess to know much about South Yorkshire collieries, or the South Yorkshire Coal & Iron Company. The wagon will never run on my layout as it is in fact a Christmas present for my sister since her surname is conveniently Silkstone. I was also given a set of masters and transfers for a Nunnery wagon but that one will have to wait until after Christmas; I don't know any nuns! I thought I'd share it here before it's mounted on a plinth in a little perspex display case. I do appreciate this makes me sound like some evil taxidermist )aka Nicole Kidman in the movie Paddington)?!

Some update pics for the new Southern layout as promised. I've set this around the early 70's period - still want to use the Hornby 2 HAL and realise this was retired in 1971. I'm also a bit confused about using the Blue/Grey 411 CEP for this period as I've always laboured under the assumption that no DMU or EMU received this livery until the mid 80's and ran in complete Blue up until this time. However, I've seen a couple of pics (one on Mike Morant's site) dated around 1969 and 1971 that clearly show it running in the Blue/Grey livery - wonder if any Southern fans could enlighten me on this. There's bound to be a load of mistakes with accuracy but I'm really into atmosphere more than in getting it right. Besides, the layout is more a train set and it can be used for any city in any region - it's primary function is to play trains really. Detail shot of the scrap yard under the first two arches. It was a common site to see tower blocks going up in old run down industrial areas back in the 70's. Being from Birmingham, I remember a large scrap yard across the road from Tower Blocks in the Aston area - this was probably also the same state of affairs for parts of London at that time. Shot of the whole layout - doesn't look much from this angle but it's suprising what you can squeeze into a micro. The first batch of Class 20's delivered did work across London on freight duties so it's not beyond the realm of possibility to see them on Southern metals from time to time. The Crane is a Hornby offer - I've detailed it up slightly although it stills looks rather toy like. The jib runner is scratchbuilt from an old Lima car flat wagon - Jib runners were made from old coaching stock at that time. The Hornby Steam crane carries transfers showing it to belong to the Eastleigh depot - true enough as it's my understanding that the Southern ran the only Cowans Sheldon Steam crane at that time. The fleet waiting on the service loops behind the layout. The right hand scenic section - the flats behind the warehouse are photos sourced from the web and sized accordingly. 'Mind the Gap' - even using the short connecter bars on the 411 the gap is still about 5mm wide. I've made some corridor connections - not the neatest effort but it all works fine and gets rid of that awful gap between corridor connections. This Bachmann model is superb and the interior detail is brilliant. A superb Bachmann Sealion - this is a Western Region machine. Civil equipment ended up all over the place so it wouldn't be out of place on a Southern layout (well I hope not anyway). A Midland Region sand tippler wagon - would love to know what region the van came from but can't ID it. An ex Southern Brake Van painted in Civil's Olive Green - note the air brake pipe at the side. The Southern Region was the first (I think) to have all its civils stock to go to air braking. There should be hoses fitted to the sole bars but I haven't got round to this yet. A couple of Eastern Region Grampus wagons - these are still in Engineer's Black and it took a long time for them to go over to Olive Green. Some never even made it and jumped Olive to the later Yellow and Grey livery of the 80's. Engineer wagons were a mish mash of different livieries and Codes. Note the S&W couplings - whilst not ideal they are a much better look than tension lock and they work brilliantly with the hand held magnet that is worked from under the base board. That's the lot for now - still having loads of fun running trains around. Might get the Green stuff out in a few weeks and have a go at the early 60's.

A start has been made on weathering the PWAs. Railmatch Frame Dirt has been used. The next one will be even muckier! I also want to remove the Procor signs on a couple.

having recently bought 3 more Lima Palvans (2 UKF, 1 Fissons) I thought I had better make a start on painting the 4 UKF versions. A trip to Howes of Oxford provided a jar of Railmatch Bauxite paint and a start was made on painting the ends brown. Here's 3 drying in the sun. just need to make them mucky now