Gareth001

Thanks Mark. Meanwhile......I've made a start on a Slater's Manning Wardle F Class. Whilst this is my first attempt at an etched kit (well overdue), and I appreciate I have a lot to learn, I have to say I've found the instructions a little thin...maybe it's me. Anyway, the chassis nearly went through the window more than once before I figured out how it was supposed to go together...a mixture of schoolboy errors, dogged persistence and extreme violence have got me this far.

Thanks Mark! Still here, wondering how I ever found time to do any work....! Still pink and wriggling down in our little corner of Kent. How did you get on with the warehouse panels?

A quick mock up, and a lick of paint....

And here's the first casting out of the mould. Couple of pinholes, but easily filled.

I've been pondering how to fill the space behind the sector plate, as there's not a lot of room, and I'm not keen on very thin low relief buildings. I've decided to have a go at a pattern for a retaining wall, and have knocked up a master from styrene sheet.

Quite a while since I last posted....had a lot going on. Completed a new mould for the 3 section warehouse, which I'm a bit happier with, and also made a pattern for rainwater hoppers which look a bit more "Victorian Industrial". I have a few of the new warehouse panels for sale if anyone's interested. They can be put together to make a much larger building....the picture shows finished low reilef panel after a light weathering.

So here's the chassis block version 2.0, complete with Slater's plunger pickups. It's tiny, but it does span the frog on an A5 point, and mine will be radio controlled anyway, only using the pickups for charging. Now awaiting the delivery of a Romford gearset to complete the chassis.

I wasn't really happy with the accuracy of the chassis block, so I invested in a 2 way machine vice and a milling cutter to use with my little drill press. even though the vice couldn't be described as a precision tool, and I had to mount it on a piece of wood (!) bolted to the base of the drill press (I know this will have many readers recoiling in horror....I can only apologise), the results are a huge step forward from a cross cut saw and a drill. And it was only £18!

and with the wheels, motor and gear in place.

and with top hat bearings:

Here's a first attempt at the chassis, cut from 1" x 1/2" ally channel.

Hello Gordon....I'm in Kent, so it's a bit of a pilgrimage to get to any of the existing examples.....

Here's the first CAD file, as close as I can get with the dimensions I have...

Having resigned myself to progress on my own layout becoming ponderously slow due to orders for kits (particularly the warehouses) and a couple of commissions, I've decided to have a go at a kit for a loco, and I'm going to make a scratchbuilt prototype first. Because I'm in uncharted territory here, I thought that the simplest possible prototype would be a good idea, and the Hibberd 11t Planet has plenty of character without too many challenging details. Also, although Nonneminstre have made a 4mm kit for ages, I don't think anything's available in 7mm scale. I think I've got most of the dimensions, but if anyone can help with any drawings, I'd be most grateful. I know others have requested this before on these forums, and there doesn't seem to be much available, so I'm not that optimistic. Fortunately, my production methods allow for changes along the way! Here are my preliminary sketches, together with a wagon which shows the diminutive size of this little loco.

Just about finished version of a 3 section low relief warehouse. With the individually cast sections the building can be as large as required. The hoist is made from individually cut pieces of 10 thou sheet and plastic rod (30 in all...must get out more) but the close up is a little cruel. The drainpipes (which I now think are a bit big in diameter for a building of this size) are styrene rod with copper wire collars and styrene mounting plates, with cast resin hoppers. The rivets and bolt heads on the hoist and mounting plates, which are a bit hard to see in the photos, are embossed in the plastic with a sharpened nail or jeweller's screwdriver.

Hi Duncan...it's a 2 part silicone rubber with catalyst. Again doesn't need any drawing down with a vacuum and cures without bubbles. Curing time about 6-8 hours.

Hi Grahame...thanks.I used a 2 part polyurethane resin (SG2000). Excellent for this sort of thing, because it doesn't need any sort of vacuum to remove bubbles, it has a low viscosity before it cures so it picks up every detail and it cures fast....removal from the mould in 30 mins or so (it takes about 2 days to fully chemically cure, but you can work it straight away. I buy mine from a company in Ireland called Polycraft.

After painting and pointing,and a light weathering. Awaiting external details.

After making a latex mould, a number of resin castings can be made to fit together to form the basis of the building pretty quickly. The detail transfers very well to the resin. Again, sorry about the pics, but you get the general idea.

I've shortened it by a storey, and made a pattern for a single bay of the building in Plasticard, built up in layers. I also cut the courses of brickwork into the edges of the pattern with a razor saw, and stuck the whole thing firmly down onto a flat background of styrene sheet fixed to mdf with contact adhesive. Sorry about the dodgy photo!

I decided that some additional buildings on the layout are well overdue, so started work on a low relief warehouse for the rear. I've based it on an old grain merchants in Sandwich, which I thought was a lovely building and could be made in modular sections.

Thanks Duncan...that's really useful. If I can't get enough grunt out of mine, I'll send off for some.

Just as a quick aside...I do now have some Branch Line Signal Box Kits available again. CNC cut styrene parts with a resin cast base. Message me if you're interested!

A little update on my ponderously slow progress....Getting a bit closer with the colours on the dockside wall, and the railings are all in. Points now work as well, and all the electromagnets are wired up for the Dingham couplers. I made the electromagnets from cut up seep point motors, and they aren't quite strong enough when powered by an old gaugemaster combi, so I need to find something a bit meatier.

I've had a Slaters Tar wagon almost finished for ages, just awaiting transfers and couplings, which I finally got around to in a quiet afternoon at what I like to call work. Tar wagons were notoriously filthy, and I think that's why there are very few photos of the real thing....but they all must have been new at some point, so I might keep this one clean for a while, as I think it looks quite nice with all the crisp white lettering.