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JDaniels

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Blog Comments posted by JDaniels

  1. On 31/10/2019 at 21:51, Mikkel said:

    Yes it's on my list! (which is growing by the day). 

     

    That photo of the 4 wheelers at Brixham sounds good. I think there's a similar one from Uxbridge too. But where? I wish I could do a Google search in my books and magazines!

    Hi Mikkel,

     

    Yes I've been raking through my railway books and of course I can't find it. The photo was looking along the platform with the carriages on the right, all in the lake livery and spotlessly clean. It must be in a book that you wouldn't expect it to be in.

     

    There are very few photos of the 4 wheel carriages. Not surprising really as the photographers of the day concentrated on the more spectacular main line scene.

     

     

     

     

  2. Many thanks for your comments. I have to say I like the lake livery which somehow looks dignified. Those not that familiar with the GWR assume that the coaches were always chocolate and cream but for nine years lake was used whilst in the four years or so before that all over chocolate was used. I suppose that railway photography became more widespread in later years and hence chocolate and cream predominates in published material. I do recall though seeing a photo of a rake of immaculate 4 wheelers in Brixham station and thinking how smart they looked. I need to be careful though as during this period "brown" vehicles were also painted lake, perhaps an excuse to buy another horse box?

     

    Dave, yes I've learnt my lesson using cyano. I started using Araldite again and although the longer drying time is an inconvenience this has the advantage that you can reposition things. it also acts as a filler and whilst the instructions require equal amounts of the adhesive and hardener it doesn't seem to matter too much if the mix isn't quite right. I find using a cocktail stick ideal for ensuring the glue goes where it's wanted as well as for mixing.

     

    Mikkel, the coaches do look a lot better than I expected them to. I think we perhaps get too hung up over detail or flaws that aren't visible at normal viewing distance. I like having variations in liveries; modelling a small station means that not much stock is needed and it's therefore easier to cover a number of different periods.

     

    Finally, if you get the chance Mikkel do come and try some of our walks. I meet walkers from all over the world who come here, one advantage we have is what are called public rights of way. If a path has been established over the years it becomes a public right of way allowing a person to walk along a footpath or bridleway over private property, a right enshrined in law. This means that you don't look at the countryside from a distance, you can go into it and experience it.

    • Like 1
  3. 23 hours ago, Regularity said:

    Be sparing when applying it: if it gets into the bearings, it will lock them to the axle!

    When I last did this, I used a cocktail stick to put a small drop onto the outside of the hub/axle interface.

    Yes I could see that as being a problem. I've ordered a pack of 603 from Zoro.

     

    I had thrown away the wheels in disgust so last night saw me wading through the bin to find them!

    • Funny 1
  4. 20 hours ago, Regularity said:

    You need to use Loctite anaerobic adhesives/sealants, such as 603, and not cyanoacrylate “super glue” for bonding an Alan Gibson wheel to a steel axle.

    Thanks for that. I'll look out for Loctite 603 as wheels slipping on the axles is a problem I've encountered on other locos. Maybe I won't need new wheels after all.

  5. "That sounds fascinating! I have seen various clips from the period on youtube, but not what you mention I think. I'd like to see the colourised version, it really brings things to life as you say. Thanks for the tip, I will see if I can access it somehow."

     

    Mikkel,

     

    Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier. There seems to have been issues with the website.

     

    The colour film is from Channel 5:

     

    https://www.channel5.com/show/edwardian-britain-in-colour/

     

    The early black and white film was, as I recall, by Mitchel and Kenyon. What is so good about these films is that they show everyday life, not a coronation or royal wedding.

     

    Off now to complete my Siphon C blog.

     

    John

     

    • Informative/Useful 1
  6. Mikkel, I wish I had the eyes to paint figures like that. The faces on my figures progress no further than a whitish blob. There's no doubt that the extra detailing really does make all the difference and you've inspired me to have another go with a magnifying glass to see if I can add eyes and moustaches. What I like about the age that you are modelling is the elegance of the clothes. Not sure whether you've seen them but a few years ago a large amount of cine film dating back to the early 1900's was found in the cellar of a shop in the NW of England. I think it was by someone named Kenyon and after restoration gave a wonderful evocation of life at that time. More recently there was a TV programme where the film had been "colourised" and that really brought it to life. The subjects suddenly became real people, not some remote figure in the distant past.

     

    I noticed the gas lamps which are presumably the Dart Castings ones. I nneded three for Westbrook and they are very well detailed but a pig to glaze. Two of the four supporting bars were cast in with two loose ones provided. I made a rough template to cut the Plastiglaze to the correct size and substituted Microstrip for the two bars that had to be attached. I'm still not happy with the appearance as the cyano clouded the Plastiglaze and I'm sure I can't use the excuse that the lamp glass was dirty, not at least on the GWR in the early 1930's.

    • Like 2
  7. 17 hours ago, Mikkel said:

    Hi John,  that's a really good conversion. When I looked at the photo before reading the text I thought it was the Shirescenes brass kit. I started the same conversion long ago (never finished it), and I remember how it was not as straightforward as it sounded. The roof was a bit of good luck for you (maybe from a Ratio 4-brake third?). I know all too well those frantic moments when the glue is on and you realize something is wrong and must be fixed very quickly!

     

    You mention downsizing. It would be a shame to see Blagdon disappear altogether. Is it possible to apply a modular approach maybe? I have recently decided to do something similar for my layouts, i.e. quite small boards that can be worked on one at a time and joined together on special occasions. They don't require much storage space if kept flat and low (e.g. stacked in bedrollers). 

     

    Anyway, the loco projects sound interesting, not least the 2021ST.

     

     

     

    6 hours ago, Simond said:

    Good Morning Mikkel

     

    I have just eaten my porridge, and I’m still 7mm

     

    :)

     

    Many thanks for your comments, interesting to know what you have for breakfast. I'm a muesli man myself but like porridge when it's colder.

     

    I have made some progress and will be doing a Siphon C update shortly.

    • Funny 1
  8. On 1/28/2019 at 7:35 PM, Captain Kernow said:

    That looks really good, nicely weathered and very convincing.

     

    On 1/29/2019 at 5:57 AM, Mikkel said:

    What an excellent paint job, John. The whole building is wonderfully GWR, yet maintains it's own personal style. Great modelling.

     

    I did a little Googling as you suggested. The train seen in the second photo down on this page is delightful, and no doubt the raison d'etre of your 517!

     

    http://www.ewyaslacy.org.uk/Golden-Valley/Digital-Archive-Photographs-of-the-Golden-Valley-Railway-Westbrook/1924-1951/rs_gdv_0023

     

    7 hours ago, Ian Smith said:

    What a lovely paint job, you've captured the look of stone very well.

    Many thanks for your comments. Since I started constructing this model I've looked more closely at stone buildings and it's suprising just what variations in shade there are. I do wonder though whether when the eye takes in a building close up it tends to look at parts, not the whole, and the variations, whilst there, aren't so noticeable. Looking at a model the eye takes in the whole building and whilst the variations in shade are authentic, because the eye sees the whole building it may look a little overdone.

    The website Mikkel has highlighted has I think every photo ever taken of Westbrook. The one of the station in the snow shows that I haven't got the arrangement of the notice boards quite correct, I had this photo but overlooked it. I've now rectified this adding the small enamel notice at the end of the building. The photo also shows that battens were used as I guessed. The photos show ramshackle sheds tacked on to the end of the building. I've constructed these from Plasticard although the platform facing side does not appear in any photos so have had to make a guess as to the appearance, there must have been a door. I painted the sheds but stupidly used a Humbrol dark brown wash which dries to a gloss finish.

    The Golden Valley branch was an attractive line, most trains were mixed with a couple of mismatched four wheeled coaches. The 517's worked the line until the Collett 0-4-2T's came along and after a few new examples were used, 5818 settled down to become the Golden Valley loco. It was always kept in immaculate condition.

    Next job is the platform surface and a visit to Screwfix for aluminium oxide paper.

     

    • Like 2
  9. Excellent modelling, and a very attractive prototype. The roof was well worth it, I think.

     

    I sometimes wonder what prompted the GWR to select their stone colours (I like them but they are not, perhaps, a particularly elegant or refined combination of colours). However your test colouring of the doors and windows offers some clues: The colours add warmth, are light, and are very distinctive and recogniseable. You hardly even have to paint the rest of it! :-)

    Thanks Mikkel.

     

    We'll see what the roof looks like when it's painted. I wasn't sure about the roof but the individual tiles do look better. I forgot to mention in the entry but I took the opportunity to put in a slipped tile, this quite often happened when the securing nails rusted. I've painted the walls using the photo of the bridge as a guide but it's very difficult. Weathered stone seems to take on a different hue every time you look at it.

     

    I manged to get Railmatch Light Stone (I was wrong above, it was the dark stone they didn't have) which looks very similar to the Precision Paint version of that colour I had used previously. I'm looking at the colour samples in the HMRS guide which were matched with Swindon samples and IMHO what paint manufacturers purport to be light stone looks very much like dark stone. Light stone on the colour samples is almost a pale khaki colour, quite unlike any of the model paints that I've seen which tend to have a reddish-brown hue. It's not as warm as dark stone, or stone number 3 to give it the official designation. In fact looking at the two colours it's impossible to say what is dark or light, the shade seems the same and it's only be referring to the text that we know number 1 is light and number 3 dark.Stephen Williams in his book expressed similar reservations about the shades used but given the manner in which the paint was prepared I'm not too concerned as there must have been infinite variations throughout the system.

  10. Lovely work, first time I've seen a model of one of these buildings at the upper end of the line.

     

    Congratulations on your fine work, it looks almost livable :)

    Thank you for your kind comments. I'm quite sure a model of Westbrook would be unique.

     

    I did get down to Gaugemaster yesterday and found they only had the dark stone paint. One of the frustrations of modelling! Still I was able to drool over the Dapol 'O' gauge models.

  11. What a lovely set of locos. It's the first time I've seen a model of a 14XX built from the old Perseverance etched kit. Pity it's no longer available.

     

    Have you considered one of the new Hattons/DJM 14Xxs?

    Thank you. The Perseverance kit wasn't available for long. I remember getting it after seeing it advertised in an early issue of MRJ. The instruction book, and it is a book, is one of the best I've seen and an example to kit manufacturers everywhere.

     

    I think the next 48xx model I'll be getting is the long awaited Dapol 'O' gauge version, particularly so if it's the same price as the Terrier. I saw the Dapol 64xx/74xx in the flesh yesterday and it would make anyone an instant convert to the senior scale.

  12. Excellent work John, and interesting to see the Golden Valley Railway suddenly appear in your blog. I must get that W.H. Smith book, it sounds good.

     

    Stephen Williams' books are such a big help. It is a pity they are so hard to get now, I notice that many GWR modellers on here don't even know of their existence, even though the books are not that old.

    Thanks Mikkel.

     

    i've always liked those remote branches in the Welsh border country, more so than the "chocolate box" Cornish and Devon lines. Another station I'd love to model is Dinas Mawwdwy, much of which still exists and which I've visited several times.The Golden Valley branch book is well worth looking out for; the line seemed to have offered a personal service, if you wanted a truckful of cattle delivered to you, the staff would oblige with a special trip. I wonder if the GWR's accountants were aware!

     

    I haven't constructed a building in at least 15 years and felt it was time to do something that didn't involve locomotives and rolling stock. If I'm also honest, I feel a little jaded with the hobby and hoped that the change might resurrect interest. It has as I quite like problem solving and there have been plenty of those with the turnouts. I'll try and do something on the blog about the issues I've had with them

     

    Finally, yes every GWR branch line modeller should have the Stephen Williams books. He goes into impressive detail, including as I said in my blog, the size of slates mostly used by the GWR.He also has some very practical tips on constructing a layout so some of the content extends beyond the GWR.

  13. If you don’t mind the observation, instead of half slates at the end of a row, slaters usually have a slate and a half. Nice to see it done properly with a gap between each slate.

     

    Very nice work. The 'slate and a half' rather than half a slate at the end of the row is correct. I found a good easy slate colour to be a blend of Humbrol Matt Black and Matt White with a tiny bit of Matt 73 to provide a blush of pink. Vary the blend and paint the slates in a patchwork approach. If I could attach a pic here I would as it's worth a thousand words as they say. Best wishes. Chris

     

    Many thanks for your comments. I should be able to amend the end tiles to a slate and a half.

     

    As for the colour, Stephen Williams used Davy's grey (actually made from slate) with white, and very small amounts of brown madder alzarin and veridian green. He warns against using blue which I guess would be the automatic choice for many. I've also just noticed that he has done the slates in strips with half cuts to represent the gaps between the tiles. That would be a lot quicker but then the station building at Farigdon is much larger than Westbrook.

  14. 1463 appears to have a shorter wheelbase, or is that an optical illusion?

    That's very observant. I hadn't noticed anything myself but you're right. The wheelbase (rear coupled wheel to trailing truck) is 30mm on 1463 but 33mm on the others. The K's kits have both got etched chassis from two different sources, I think 1463 is Perseverance whilst 4836 is Comet. I always say "never assume" but as with the smokebox door when you buy these kits you do assume that the most basic details are correct.

  15. The K’s kit and Airfix RTR locos had incorrectly sized smokebox doors because the Roche drawing on which they were based had it wrong. Nice collection of front-coupled tank engines.

    Thanks for that. I could never understand why the K's kit and the Airfix RTR version had the same fundamental error but that certainly explains why. I should have corrected it on 4836 but in those pre-internet days it wasn't quite as easy to pick these errors up. Also it wasn't easy to get parts even if I had picked up the error. In my naive 20's I assumed they got it right.

  16. Good to see the finished coaches John, and what a difference from the original Ratio coaches - although we owe the latter a lot! 

     

    I know what you mean about glazing the Shire Scene sides, not my favourite task either.

     

    Regarding the Pressfix transfers: I am a happy user myself but I never rely on the glue on the sheets to hold them in place. If they float away (and they very often do, as you say), I use the dull tip of a used scalpel or similar to gently tease them back in place. Even when the glue works I do the same to gently re-position numbers etc that did not come on 100% straight (the glue is usually flexible enough to allow this). Once dry I apply thinned matt Vallejo varnish immediately over the transfers to fix them in place. So far this has worked well for me at least, I have 10+ year old coaches with no problems. It does make it a fiddly and time consuming task of course, and may not be to everyone's taste.

    Hi Mikkel,

     

    Apologies for the delay in replying. I've just returned from a Baltic cruise which possibly visited your neck of the woods (Copenhagen and Skagen). We very much liked Denmark and its' very friendly people.

     

    With regard to Pressfix transfers, thanks for your comments I might be tempted to have another go. I wonder whether they have a short shelf life as the adhesive barely works at all on the admittedly old sheets I have. I got on better with the old Methfix transfers which used meths to activate the glue. I also wonder whether the panelling so close to the transfer makes it more difficult to get the transfer to "sit" properly on the coach surface.

     

    You're also absolutely correct about the Ratio coaches. They were introduced at a time when all that was available were proprietary coaches and were a revelation when they came out, particularly as they were based on an older design when all that was mostly available were BR standards. They set the ball rolling and we have no end of prototypes to choose from. I particularly liked the Slaters coaches, I have the Dean Diagram E37 composite and the D14 brake third and the combination of plastic and metal parts (plastic sides, metal underframe and bogies) to my mind is ideal.

     

     

    One final

  17. Many thanks for the write-up, certainly of interest to me. It looks excellent. Good to see that you got there in the end despite the various challenges. Thanks to you I also now understand CSB better.

     

    I have heard people say that once they got into 7mm modelling they discovered that the detailing issue remains the same, as the larger scale brings attention to even smaller details that we don't even consider in 4mm scale. But what do I know. In any case I share your admiration for the Lee Marsh models.

    Mikkel,

     

    Thanks for your comment. I opted for CSB as the kit made provision for it but even then I had to drill new fulcrum holes as the ones provided seemed to low. I also found that the thickness, and therefore stiffness of the steel wire is critical. Too stiff and the weight of the body won't deflect the axleboxes and then all the wheels might not sit on the track. I found adding some lead to the inside of the tanks did the trick.

     

    I noticed I hadn't shown a photo of the body and chassis together. I'll be rectifying that now.

  18. Sounds like it was an interesting time at Hamblings!

     

    Good luck with the chassis. I hope all the work with the suspension pays off. By the way thanks for mentioning that Eileens Emporium have steel wire, I had been looking for that.

    Hi Mikkel,

     

    Eileens Emporium have everything. First class service too, I ordered the wire in the morning and it had been sent early in the afternoon. Their website is well worth a look.

  19. Thanks for the update John, I had been wondering how this project was going. It sounds a bit tricky. Maybe a case of knowing too much? I know how frustrating it can be when your research doesn't match what is provided in the kit. I've just been through the same with a couple of crane kits.

     

    I liked your story about Iain Rice and the K's kits. I wonder why they had to be taken out of the moulds hot? (probably revealing my ignorance there).

    Hi Mikkel,

     

    Thank you for your comments. Coincidentally the shop I was working in was owned by Bob Wills, the owner of the kits. Iain,who lived nearby, often spent some time with us in the afternoon. He was always very entertaining but not sure if his story about K's kits was apocryphal but certainly at the time the popular feeling was that Wills kits were better. It was Iain who got me a temporary job in Hamblings (older readers may remember the wheels and Bilteezi card building sheets) and we worked together constructing a small exhibition layout for the shop.

     

    I don't think there can be any other class of locomotive that underwent so many changes through their life and I'm not surprised that model manufacturers have steered clear of them. Last night I had a look at the various collected bunkers that I have and the one that would be suitable is too wide so I'm stuck with the version that came with the kit. Yes you're right in that the more you research this, and far more photographs are now readily available, then the more the shortcomings become apparent. I daren't look again at the photos of 559, my other 517 0-4-2T. This one though, an M&L kit, didn't pretend to be anything other than a short wheelbase, inside rear axlebox loco and as I recall had separate Wolverhampton and Swindon bunkers as well as separate round and Belpaire fireboxes.

     

    I think now I'll get the chassis running using the Alan Gibson plunger pick-ups and see how we go from there.

  20. You have my sympathy, finding a way through the maze that is the 517 class is difficult enough, but with a kit that sets down those conditions it must be even more difficult.

     

    A bit odd that the kit only provides for a Collett cab.

    Yes Mikkel, it's even more difficult than I imagined.

     

    I spent last night poring through photographs, and there are 10 or so prototypes that are closest to the kit although I only have photos of half the ones fitted with a Collett cab. One issue though is the smokebox, all the photos I have show that this was riveted whereas the kit provides for a flush finish. Early photographs of the class, 524 at Abbotsbury in 1908 for example, show that at least some have a flush finish with no rivets but I've found no photos of the class in the 1920's with this feature. I wondered whether the boiler fitted dictated the smokebox but think this is unlikely to be the case.

     

    When you study the photos you appreciate the variations in the class are staggering. One had a domeless boiler with a very tall safety valve cover that looked really odd.

     

    Yes it's a shame that the kit is so restrictive. The M&L kit provided for Swindon or Wolverhampton bunkers and Belpaire or round top fireboxes. As examples with the older bunkers survived into the 1930's that kit was suitable for a wide time span, say 1900's to 1930's.

     

    I've now got to select a prototype but the quality of the photo and availability of nameplates will decide which of the ten I select. But that's not till Thursday, off to Bath behind "Oliver Cromwell" tomorrow!

  21.  Sorry I haven't mastered the art of copying photos.

     

    With help from my son who has a Flickr account I can now attach a better copy of my photo. The file reduction involved in putting the photos on the blog does mean some detail is lost. I have been able to zoom in to some of the detail which is quite revealing showing small flaws in the lining out.

     

    https://flic.kr/p/HDi7Sc

     

    One thing I find interesting is that despite the paintwork being perhaps 150 years old the varnish has weathered to nothing more than an off white, a long way from what we term "cream." I wonder whether the oft quoted theory that cream upper panels were based on weathered varnish involves some artistic licence, in my personal opinion cream looks better with chocolate than off white and maybe those who decided these things thought the same.

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