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Flymo748

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Blog Comments posted by Flymo748

  1. Ian,

    You did extremely well.  And you came away having built things, and having learned things.  I will bet that your modelling will be more enjoyable in the future because of it.  I always go to Missenden with the ojective of finishing an entire kit.  And always monumentally fail.  But I have a lot of fun doing it...

    The social aspects of Missenden are fantastic, wandering around and seeing what other people are doing.  It almost convinced me to try something in 7mm scale (thanks to Kevin Bloody Wilson).

    Perhaps I'll see you again in the Autumn?
    Cheers
    Paul

  2. We'll miss you in the 4mm loco building group...

     

    Has Ian sent out any pre-course material or requirements?  From what I recall from dropping into his room on several previous weekends is he has you preparing practice panels for the first part of the course, to ensure you are confident in smoothly and evenly applying a base coat of paint to a flat surface.

     

    It's only later on you're let loose on a real live model. 

     

    Cheers

    Flymo

  3. Looking good Knuckles. All these little trials and tribulations are part of trying something new and learning new skills.

     

    Yes, the plastic fishplates are remarkably fragile - I've broken a fair few myself. However remember that they aren't truly structural, and you can actually use them for their intended purposes - keeping the electrically live ends of the rail apart, and looking prototypical, by gluing them in place in separate pieces, or from both sides. This is what I've done ;-) P4 isn't about perfection in everything you know...

     

    Keep it up!F

     

    Flymo

  4. I had the same issues with soldering the smokebox wrapper on my Gibson Y14. It needed the same method as well, with the RSU cranked up. I effectively spot-welded it into place, then used a conventional iron to run a seam around the front and back edges.

     

    The use of a brass tube avoids the need to roll boilers by hand, but it does bring complications of its own.

  5. And thanks from me to Morgan, who very patiently showed me how to get a trackplan scanned from a map into Templot, and start laying track templates over it.

     

    He even gave me the two files that he produced to take home and build further onto. Unfortunately, one of them seems to have blank content when I try and load it, but this is why I <heart> Templot so much...

     

    Flymo

  6. I was reminded of your model of Clevedon a few weeks ago when I flew out of Bristol on a business trip.

     

    Curving around over the Severn Estuary to head to Amsterdam, I could look down between Weston and Clevedon. From the air, it was amazing how much of the route of the railway could still be traced. It was almost entirely visible between the edges of the towns.

     

    Having just looked on Google Maps, there is far less identifiable, so it must have been the particular growth of the crops that made it stand out across fields.

     

    Have you ever overflown it yourself?

     

    Flymo

  7. I agree with Tony, they really should be narrower/shorter.

     

    Given the skill level that you've showed with the rest of this build, it should be no problem for you to sweat them onto a piece of scrap brass and file them down to size together. Separate them by heating gently again with the edge of a sharp scalpel inserted in the join.

     

    If you've seen my post on Beer & Buckjumpers about making a replacement brakeblock, then you'll see what I mean.

     

    Flymo

  8. Had you thought of the 3D plastic moulding service of Impossible Creations for the mouldings and brackets?

     

    I saw the demonstration production of a sample piece at Missenden and was extremely impressed in the architectural possibilities. For this sort of detailing it seems ideal.

     

    Co-incidentally, contact details are in SSF in the latest MRJ, or http://www.impossiblecreations.co.uk/

  9. Hi James,

     

    Very nice work there. Can I make one suggestion that will make the soldering much easier for you?

     

    Forgive me if you have done this, but it isn't apparent from the photos. If you use a fibreglass pencil or brush to polish the etchings before assembling them, the soldering will be much easier.

     

    It physically removes the oxides from the surface, which makes the flux cleaning more effective and the solder "take" to the metal much more cleanly.

     

    The etches are obviously not as old as some twenty years ones covered in sellotape from the back of the kit cupboard, but even on good quality etches it will make a difference. Consider the method of making an etched kit, which is based on a resist film and it becomes an even clearer necessity.

     

    HTH

    Flymo

  10. If it's not going to be a second RMWeb 2010 Challenge layout, what about entering it in the Scalefour Society's Armchair Modeller's Challenge?

     

    "The diorama must not exceed 600mm long x 400mm wide x 600mm tall but may be smaller. It must include at least one length of track made to P4 standards and at least one item of stock or a locomotive that must have P4 wheels fitted. The item of stock does not have to be capable of movement. At least two figures must be modelled."

     

    It sounds ideal in subject - you don't have to enter the fiddle yard as part of the diorama and the rest may fit nicely.

     

    Flymo

  11. Excellent work. The AJ jigs are the single thing that makes forming and mounting these couplings none of the black art that they used to be.

     

    Did you also get a copy of the book published by the Scalefour Society that extends the original articles by the MMRS?

     

    It also gives a few alternative methods of mounting the couplings that can be useful on other types of rolling stock.

     

    Flymo

  12. I'd agree with your compression factor. It's simply an unfortunate fact of life that railways take up a lot more space in the prototype than we generally have available for them :-(

     

    If there is one thing that perhaps you could try, it would be to move the bridge (and thus the whole ensemble) along maybe 15-20 cm towards the baseboard end. That may allow you a little more platform length, and preserve a proper slope down the ramp, as to change that would look odd in the vertical dimension.

     

    I believe that for contemporary modelling, the "gaps" such as that between the location of the pacer and the end of the line are essential to give that feeling of space. Not often noticed, but vital.

     

    HTH

  13. Construction as you describe it sounds simple enough, but then of course there are the points. Photos of construction would be great (and maybe of wider interest?), but please don't go out of your way.

     

    If you'd like to read another P4 newcomer's first experience of building a P4 turnout, have a look at:

     

    http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=421

     

    Non-members of the Society can view the Scalefour Society Forum and, if they wish, post comments in the Guest Book.

     

    There is a slightly longer version of it at http://4mmscaleagonies.blogspot.com/2009/06/make-your-point.html

     

    HTH

    Flymo

  14. A bit late now but if you needed to drill out pinpoints a little then the freebie from Ultrascale - 26mm Pinpoint axle Bearing drill http://www.ultrascale.co.uk/mis0001.php# is rather good.

     

     

    Seconded... An excellent piece of kit for the job - which is one that you don't realise is needed until you see how much RTR and kits can vary from each other in this vital dimension.

     

    Flymo

  15. Aaaaahhhh this is making things sound complicated. I thought there would be one standard - get a b2b and set them up - that's three standards you've quoted!!! Which one do I go for?! Not something to drop on a newby - I'm sure I can get it to work but that does sound off putting - I'm an engineer by back ground so like precision, but don't like ambiguity!

     

    One thing I do like is the fidelity of the tyres and flanges on the P4 wheels - beautiful to a man used to RP25 and coarse OO :)

     

    Hiya James,

     

    Don't worry too much about being quoted three different numbers. They are, in order:

     

    17.67 - the MINIMUM acceptable BtB under P4 standards

     

    17.75 - the MAXIMUM suggested BtB under P4 standards

     

    17.87 - the BtB for S4 modelling, which if you hadn't heard of the difference is a true scaled down set of dimensions.

     

    Although you've seen the superb visual benefits of P4 wheels, there are still slight variations from 1:76.2 dimensions for practical and manufacturing purposes. There are a few cracking S4 layouts out there - google Ray Hammond's Buntingham for one - but it is very much the hair-shirt end of the Scalefour Society.

     

    The Society Digets on track standards recommends going to the higher end of the BtB as this will give less slop through pointwork, and a generally better ride. I'd go with the 17.75 one if I were you.

     

    However, the main thing (as with much of P4 modelling) is that once you've made your choice and bought a gauge, it doesn't matter if it is expressed to four decimal places, it Just Works.

     

    FWIW, my BtB for P4, as scribbled on a corner of my workbench, is 17.78mm, as measured on a digital mic. That's just what the Society gauge was when I bought it years ago, and that's what i;ve used ever since!

     

    HTH de-mystify things,

    Flymo

  16. Hi Mikkel

     

    You asked:

    "2. Were locos at any time allowed into these large goods depots?"

     

    Well, Buckjumper said the same as I would, that most of the work was done by hydraulic capstan, and of course the ubiquitous railway horse.

     

    However before work this morning I pulled my copies of Great Western Miscellany Volumes 1 & 2 to have a look through, as I was sure that there were a couple of photos of large goods sheds there. And indeed there are excellent photos from the early 20th century of the large shed at Birmingham Moor Street.

     

    More particularly, in Volume 1 there is a lovely photo as plate 123 that shows the exterior, and the road nearest the platforms clearly shows smoke marks from locomotives above the entry to the goods shed.

     

    HTH

    Flymo

  17. I remember using the same approach of painting Ratio GWR four-wheelers many years ago...

     

    If you get the cream colour to the right consistency - thick enough so the the black doesn't shine through, and runny enough so that it flows right up to the corners - it works extremely well. It's helped by the fact that the Ratio panelling is a little over scale depth.

     

    You may also find a blunt cocktail stick works better than a brush in teasing the paint up into the corners.

     

    Good luck, and I look forward to seeing the results.

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