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mjcampbell

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  1. The last update shows more people, animals, and some details prepared for the layout. On the top row are Bachmann trackworkers, given to me by my son when we dismantled his train set. I've touched up the paint in places and given them a shadow wash. The rest of the figures and animals are from a Finescale Figures batch I got in a sale a while back (it may have been a closing down sale as the website has gone!). They're 3D printed and appear to be scans of real people (probably not the animals though they are well proportioned), maybe not quite as crisp as Model-U figures but very good. You can see I got carried away with the animals, and even got a Dobby (if you know you know). All painted with enamels, with the aid of Google images to help with the animals. So, starting at the left hand end we have a group of (presumably volunteer) trackworkers in conversation. The compressor, welding kit and generator are by Westhill Wagon Works. There's also a robin on the wall, a squirrel on top of the container, and a (HO scale Faller) photographer in the distance behind the gate. Under the station canopy we have a lady checking her phone, and a cat (Monty's models) curled up by a bin (Layouts 4 U). The birds on the canopy have a special role. Lining the end of a carriage roof up with the blue tit puts the coupling over the magnet for Greenwich or modified Peco couplings, the same against the robin puts the coupling over the magnet for Microtrains couplings. This is a real help when uncoupling locos while operating from the fiddle yard end. Over by the café a young man seems to be in conversation with his Dalmatian while his partner checks in her handbag, there's another bin, and a long-haired lady tells her partner to hurry up with his coffee. There's a bottle of coke/beer on the table and crates of bottles left outside the café (Faller). Out of shot, the other table has a tray of bottles and an ash tray. There's a bottle on the bar of the ice cream stall too, an upturned crate serves as a step. I've added a bin too. A solitary figure waits thoughtfully at the end of the platform with his dog. Another trackworker waits by the ground-frame. His pose seemed just right, once I'd cut away the "rock" his foot was resting on. At the edge of the woods a pair of pheasants lurk in the undergrowth. The other side of the tracks a badger explores the field. Dobby lurks near the playground. The discarded pallet used as a step/duckboard for the caravan is an experiment, I've not stuck it in place yet. It may be a bit large but I quite like the effect. Let me know what you think!
  2. I've acquired a couple of road vehicles for Hexworthy, a ubiquitous Transit van and a Land Rover Defender. Both are nicely detailed models by Oxford Diecast, with interiors, UK number plates, and rubber tyres, but they are rather too shiny and clean... So I disassembled them, which is easy as they are simply screwed together (I've drilled out many rivets under toy Hotwheels cars for my Son to customise!). Removing the wheels, glazing, and interior allows weathering as follows: Rubbed down the paintwork with very fine emery and a fibreglass pencil to tone down the shine Cut off the mounting screw mounts under the Land Rover, as its high ground clearance made them visible The Transit van got dry-brushed rust (enamel) paint around the wheel arches, sills, gutter, and some panel edges - not too much, just a hint suggesting a long life Plastic bumpers were painted, almost black on the Land Rover and dark grey on the Transit van Window recesses were touched in with black paint where not already painted black A dark brown wash was applied and partially rubbed off, filling panel gaps and toning down the paint slightly. A black wash was applied to the wheels. I've started using Vallejo washes, they're convenient and work well A muddy brown was then airbrushed along the sills and around the wheel-arches, and up the rear of the vehicles from below, plus a little on the tyres Finally, the bodies got a spray of Testors Dullcote (with headlights masked) before being re-assembled The Transit van is on 1989 plates so I gave it heavier weathering with touches of rust showing through, and faded bumpers (the black plastics of vehicles of that era seemed to fade to grey very quickly). I also painted the interior a darker shade of mid-grey as it seemed a bit pale. It is lacking wing mirrors which I may have a go at making, but they would be rather delicate. The Land Rover is on 2012 plates so much newer, consequently I was much lighter on the weathering. There is still a light wash to bring out the panel gap shadows and mud behind the wheel-arches as befits a vehicle that is presumably used on country lanes a lot. The black wash on the wheels has filled the "blind" holes in the alloys, improving their looks. I'm very pleased with the results, they've lost the deep glossy finish and look more realistic, with signs of real-world use and different ageing.
  3. It's been a while since I posted an update but some further progress has been made over the winter... Usually I keep figures to a minimum on my layouts to suggest life, but as Hexworthy is a preserved railway station and I will be running lots of passenger trains, it will need to look like a reasonably popular tourist destination. Figures come from a variety of suppliers. I was particularly looking for children for the playground, in modern dress rather than looking like they stepped out of a "Just William" story. At the top we have a Faller set in playing poses, HO scale of course but children come in all sizes. Next we have some from Langley (which look like TT scale adults) and Pete Goss (rather chubbier). Then there are teenagers and adults from Monty's Models. The bottom two rows are loco crews from Faller, Dapol, and ModelU, some have already been assigned locos and some await fitting. The animals and fire buckets are from Dart Castings. Whitemetal figures later had their legs drilled and a length of wire superglued in to help secure them in place on the layout. These benches and picnic tables are a Metcalf Models laser-cut kit, and look just right for a modern era preserved railway. Although cut from a brown cardstock that is a reasonable representation of natural wood, they received several coats of grey and brown washes to give a more weathered finish. I also got some 3D printed station signs from Model Railway Scenes, rather easier than sticking separate letters on although painting the letters was tricky. The signs and posts are nicely printed with no visible lines, my only suggestion is that the length could do with shortening for shorter names. The pack has 4 signs with posts, but I only really have room for one standing on the platform and one on the wall of the goods shed. The benches have been added to the platform, and the picnic tables situated outside the goods shed café. A close-up of the café entrance shows the teenagers hanging around outside, while inside customers can be seen at the tables. Actually there is one table and a few chairs, more fine 3D prints by Model Railway Scenes, plus a couple of Faller seated people. The people were destined for coach passengers but these two appear to be holding drinks, so were allocated to the café. Although there is just one table, two customers and four chairs, it's enough to give an impression of a café interior since even with the light on, it's not possible to see further in. At the other end of the station the fire buckets have found a home outside the gents, while a father and son wait on the platform. The lone gent on the left is either trying to get a signal on his mobile or taking a selfie. The playground has had the most figures added to really bring it to life, in fact the playground is busier than the station, which might need a few more potential passengers. The Faller kids are ideal for the swing, see-saw, roundabout and climbing frame, with the whitemetal figures dotted around. In the far corner grandparents wait on the bench while in the gateway a mum is distracted on her phone. Meanwhile, another mum and boy are buying ice creams. The animals have also been added. Here a couple of rabbits are in danger from a fox. Another of the Model Railway Scenery chairs is see outside the old caravan. Look carefully and you can see a squirrel near the caravan, a hedgehog near the tracks on the left and a rabbit lower right. Being Dartmoor there had to be sheep too, one of which seems to have got itself the wrong side of the tracks. A hare can be seen in the field too. There's also two squirrels in this shot (one of them an unlikely red squirrel), plus the rabbit seen in the last shot. In total there are 4 sheep, 3 rabbits, 3 squirrels, 2 foxes, 2 hedgehogs, and 2 stoats on the layout. That should keep the kids busy.
  4. This is an interesting thread. My 009 group is looking at options for new (hand held) controllers for the club layouts, and given the increasing use of coreless motors in 009, the answer doesn't appear straightforward. The subject is often met with some confusion and potentially misleading information, even by loco and controller manufacturers, through simplification of a complex topic. I'm no expert (an engineer, but not electrical!) so have tried to understand it through reading. The key points are: Feedback and pulsed controllers are not (quite) the same thing. A pulse controller may not have feedback, but a feedback controller must be a pulsed type (as it monitors the back EMF "feedback" between pulses The main coreless motor concern is overheating, since there's no iron core to dissapate heat, and the resin bonding the coils can (in theory) be damaged. Smaller "cored" motors can also be affected. Pulsed controllers are more prone to heating (than pure variable DC), and this is not limited to feedback controllers. An old non-feedback controller with a pulsed output (H&M Clipper?) could be damaging, while some feedback types are not - depending on the heating effect of the pulses. The other potential issue is that the feedback is not tuned to the low-inertia of coreless motors (or even small, low-inertia cored motors) leading to surging or jerky running. This is related feedback controllers only, and depends on the controller and the motor. This is why some controllers have switched feedback. So, pulsed controllers bad right? Well, the problem is pulsed controll (or PWM) is the best way to regulate motors. Giving full voltage overcomes the "stiction" (friction, magnetic resistance/cogging) in the motor, and in our case, any resistance in the pickup/wheel/rail interface, gear train friction, variable friction from motion, etc... so pulsed control allows for fine control at low speeds. As noted, DCC chips use pulsed control. So, how to have pulsed control without overheating? So far as I can tell... Peak voltage - some controllers actually peak at 16V or more! Frequency - most controllers operate at 100Hz (rectified AC). Higher frequencies reduce heating apparently, but can cause noise. DCC chips operate at >20kHz (beyond the range of human hearing, does it bother dogs?). (I tried a Minitrains controller once which also operated at 20kHz, but it didn't seem to work well with any motors except Minitrains - I don't know why not but I presume tuned to tightly to their motor specification) Pulse shape. For reasons of complex physics I don't really follow, the sharper or more "peaky" the wave-form, the more heating is induced So, coreless-friendly controllers aim to address one or more of these issues. For those who are interested, some more details: https://modelrailmusings.weebly.com/controller-types.html https://www.scottpages.net/ReviewOfControllers.html From experience of controllers I've got/had/used and a recent testing session of them against a range of loco and motor types (all are of the hand-held type with 16vAC in): Gaugemaster W (or similar Combi) - pure DC control, rectified with variable voltage. A safe option which minimises motor heating. Works well enough and smooth running, but lacks reliable low-speed control. Without pulses locos can start with a jerk or stop abruptly, and some motors don't maintain a steady speed. Ideal for continuous runs. I presume the cased controllers are similar, I have an old "D" too but mainly used with my (then my Son's) train sets. I don't like the slide switch on the W as it's not kind to thumbs (horrible for shunting), and the case is a bit bulky. Gaugemaster HH - traditional feedback pulsed controller. Has a very peaky high-peak voltage waveform. Small case, but nasty slide switch. Good low speed running and for older motors, but really heats them up. Not for coreless then... in fact, I don't think they sell it any more. KPC - Also a pulsed feedback controller, but with a less peaky waveform and lower peak voltage. Mine is a fine-control with switched feedback, and seems kinder to motors. I've used mine with coreless motors (feedback switched off/down - not sure if it is actually off or just reduced), although my layouts don't exactly allow sustained running. With feedback on locos run more slowly but some coreless motors surge/vary speed. Excellent low-speed control and stable speed control, slim case and toggle switch is nice to use, but sadly out of production. AMR - feedback pulsed type, but like the KPC it is relatively kind to motors. No switched feedback though. Good low speed and start/stop control, nice ergonomics (small case and toggle switch). Also long out of production Trax - I've not got one of these, but understand it is a feedback pulsed type, but is relatively kind to motors. I believe like the AMR the output is similar to the KPC with feedback on. Interestingly, Nigel Lawton recommends one as being suited to the coreless motors he sells http://www.nigellawton009.com/TraxFC1.html - though Trax say not suited to coreless motors! Fidelity - a rare one, hand-made in New Zealand! As I understand it, the pulsed output varies in amplitude as well as pulse width and has a waveform designed to minimise heating, to be suitable for cored and coreless motors. It works very well with good low speed control and speed control. The only real issue apart from being in a large clumsy case is that it too is no longer available! Some of the details above from a testing session at an NG exhibition some years ago, at which someone had an oscilloscope, hence observing the outputs of the KPC, AMR, and Trax seemed similar. I'm aware of the Morely, but that seems to be a cased type with satelite "regulator" rather than a standalone controller, and I presume is similar to the Gaugemaster W. So, what is the holy grail of a good all-round controller for low-speed and continuous use with all motor types? Well I've not tried a Pentroller (is that in production?) but the KPC with switched feedback is my favourite, and the Fidelity excellent if less ergonomic. Neither are available. So the choice new seems to be between the W which is safe but not ideal for low-speed control, or the Trax which I expect is ideal for low-speed control and fine for most motors, but even the makers say may not be OK for all coreless motors... which doesn't really help our club decision. I guess there is more interest/demand/money in DCC but many of us are quite happy with DC for many reasons. Looking around layouts at exhibitions it is surprising how many use the yellow KPC's, even though they have been out of production for years. With today's technology surely a smooth waveform pulsed controller with adjustable feedback is possible. Why is it no-one has produced one? Does anyone have any other suggestions/experience?
  5. One last post to bring things up to date. Hexworthy is modelled in the preservation era, and I want the scene to be recognisable as a modern era preserved railway that might be running steam engines rather than a period layout with some modern anachronisms. One characteristic feature of many preserved railway station yards is an old caravan that has seen better days, used as accomodation for volunteers. I got an old Oxford Diecast caravan, and I want it to look old as though it has been there many years. First I gave the shiny white glossy finish a rub down with a fibreglass pencil to reduce the shine and allow the weathering to stick. Some details were touched in with paint - gunmetal on the steps, hinges, handles, hitch, and jockey wheel, matt black-grey on rubber parts, and subtle dry-brushing of rust colours in some places like wheels and hitch (but caravan bodies are aluminium). The first weathering coat is a well diluted dirty brown, streaked with a brush dampened with thinners, worked into joins and cracks, and stippled on the roof. A further coat of dirty green was used to add traces of mould. It's intentioally a pretty heavy weathering. The carvan would have its legs down, but the model didn't have any, so I added some. Small holes were drilled in each corner of the floor, staples cut and bent to make the angled legs, and superglued into the holes. There should be secondary arms forming a triangle back to the body but I figured they wouldn't be visible from normal angles. Small "wood" blocks were cut from plasticard and superglued to the bottom of the legs. To fix the caravan in place, fine wire was looped around the axle behind each wheel and twisted together as with the kiosk. Two holes were puched through the scenery, polystyrene and foam-core base, the twisted wires coated with glue (well I used matt Modge Podge) and pushed into the holes. The blocks under the legs and the bottom of the wheels also had a dab of matt modge-podge as it was pushed into place. Here's the caravan in place under the trees and surrounded by undergrowth, which explains its dirty and slightly mouldy state. It sits in a corner of the station site past the end of what would once have been the goods yard but is now part car-park, and part playground, I guess the caravan was put there before the playground was built. It's accessed through a gate at the end of the playground. I chose not to fit lighting partly as I want it to appear empty but possibly still occasionally used, it could do with a little clutter around it though. Still, it does add a little visual interest at this end of the station.
  6. Yes, if I'd thought of that before glazing it! There's a square of black paper under the roof and the glow through the sides isn't as noticable to the eye as it appears in the photo.
  7. To add interest I decided to add some lighting. There's only one building... To complement the platform lamps I thought there should be lighting under the canopy. I had some tiny surface-mount LEDs (SMLED) with wires attached, the wires were passed through holes punched through the foam walls just under the canopy and the LEDs were fixed under the canopy bracing with a dot of superglue. For the indoor lights normal 3mm LEDs were used, I tried white but the colour was too stark and blue, so I settled on yellow, a bit too yellow but it looks OK. The corridor and booking office share an LED in a hole in the wall, inserted through the ceiling, while the right-hand room has an LED pushed through the wall from the old goods shed. Being made from polystyrene foam it is very easy to make holes in the walls for wires or LEDs. From above the lighting installation is not so neat! The rear upper roms house the connections out of sight. The power comes up in the back left corner (seen in the previous photo), and the negative is a bare single-core wire that all the LED negative wires could be connected to. This is a bit nerve racking as one downside of a polystyrene foam building is it isn't compatible with a soldering iron! The four canopy LEDs are wired from the 5-way terminal block rear right, and each have their own resistor. However, the four indoor LEDs are wired in parallel pairs sharing a resistor, mainly to save terminal block space. From the upstairs rooms an LED pokes through the wall to light the front centre room, while another serves the old goods shed via a hole in the end wall. In a darkened room the effect works quite well, the canopy lights are remarkably bright, the indoor lights a bit yellow but give a cosy feel. As I'd previously painted the inside walls there is little light bleed, except where I poked LEDs through holes in the walls - light seems to travel through the walls and make them glow (as seen where the goods shed meets the station). Some black paper or foil around the sides of the LED might stop this. I then had an idea. Could I put a light inside the phonebox? Well it seems with one of the SMLEDs it isn't that hard! Here the LED is glued to a square of black paper (to stop the top of the phonebox glowing), the wires bound in heat-shrink to protect them and keep them stiff. Installation needed a hole drilling through the clay base, then punching through the polystyrene landscape and foam-core board. The wire was then passed through and connected up underneath, and the phonebox glued in place. The result works quite nicely. Being a plastic phonebox it does glow through the red, although it isn't so obvious to the eye as it looks in this photo. I may go for a bigger resistor to dim it a little. I like the way this is largely hidden by the water tower from some angles, but comes into view as a splash of red in daylight or now as a glowing beacon in the dark - rather like real old phoneboxes did. Some time (years) ago I'd picked up this ice cream kiosk fitted with lighting, thinking it would add some colour and light to the car park at Hexworthy. When I eventually got it out of its box and applied power to the leads nothing happenned - no light at all. Of course I dismantled the kiosk but the problem wasn't a dodgy lead, so I presume something is amis inside the strip of 3 LEDs. Still, now it's in pieces it wasn't hard to fit a replacement light, I chose a white LED, which gives a cold white rather like flourescant lighting. The new LED was fitted in a top corner where it wouldn't be seen through the open hatch and the wire run out through the existing hole. While it was apart, I painted the interior and the plasticky and featureless person that had been crudely stuck in - no real detail is needed - and the visible parts of the chassis. The kiosk was reassembled and given light weathering using a dirty wash, adding shadow to panel gaps and very slight streaking in places, plus a dirty roof. I also added fine wire lengths looped around the axles behind the wheels and twisted together. The wire tails behind the wheels are to hold the relatively heavy die-cast model in place, glue on the wheels wouldn't be adequate. Small holes were punched through the ground just inside each wheel, and a larger hole for the lighting wires. The twisted holding wires were coated with matt medium before being pushed down through the holes. On the right, the playground was lifted out so I could reach the wires underneath, the lighting wires being passed through to the relevant terminal block. The kiosk in place next to the playground, the roof is grubby but the sides have only slight streaking as though kept clean. The last lighting job was to fit the platform lamps. These are Gaugemaster/DCC Concepts, but I found the green a little bright, so I painted them a darker, more muted shade. The fitting of the platform lamps was left until now so they are not knocked when working on other scenics. Two are easily visible, the third is the far end of the station near the water tower. At dusk the lighting is quite effective and atmospheric, the station area being well lit by the under-canopy lights as well as the platform lights, and the ice cream kiosk casting a stark light across the car park. In the far distance, the glowing phone box is tricky to spot. The station cafe (old goods shed) will need some interior detail!
  8. Since the baseboard is foam-core board and landscape is expanded polystyrene covered in a PVA-soaked tissue and tile grout skin, planting the trees is easy. A dental probe is used to punch a hole through the hard skin of the scenery after which the tree can be "planted", it's wire "root" pushing easily through polystyrene and foam-core. The wire and base of the trunk are coated with matt modge-podge to hold it and if needed gound cover is pushed out the way to allow the trunk to sit on the landscape, any gaps being disguised with a little extra ground foam scatter. The right-hand end of the layout now looks quite wooded, as is the intention since the river valleys are filled with trees. Although the trees form a row only one tree deep the use of denser foliage on trees in the centre suggest the woodland is more dense than it actually is. One tree sits at the front adding depth to the scene and acting as a view-blocker, while the trees at the right-hand end very effectively screen the track exit. With the tree at the front too, the exit is not easily visible even looking along the layout. At the left hand end a couple of large trees break up the scene and help disguise the compressed road, the tree at the rear having more dense foliage. I added some commercial poplar trees behind the station where there is a narrow embankment, hopefully adding some visual interest. At the right-hand end the trees can be seen to hide the exit track, while the tree at the front frames a scene around the bridge. My wife observed that the tree at the front has become a regular feature of my layouts, including Loctern Quay and Awngate! At the rear a tree by the stream both disguises the join in the backscene and casts a shadow where the stream meets the backscene. Grass tufts can be seen in the fields too.
  9. The trees come from Woodland Scenics "tree armatures", plastic mouldings for trees 5 to 7 inches tall, a pack contains 12 in 4 designs. The procedure I use is as follows: Cut off the base, any moulding lines and release marks Drill the base "peg" to accept a piece of straightened paper-clip wire, superglued in place. Drilling has to be done slowly and in brief bursts as the plastic melts easily, binding the drill Now the armatures are dunked in boiling water for a few minutes, this warms the plastic making it more malleable. Remove and shake/dab off excess water, taking care not to get scalded - but the tree itself won't be too hot to touch Now twist the trunk. I grip at the lowest set of branches (sometimes pliers helps) and at the next set of branches up and firmly twist through about 60 degrees. Repeat at the next set of branches up, and the next... it gets easier as the trunk tapers. Each 60 degree (ish) twist means branches now fan out all around the tree Each branch then is then shaped and has its own branches twisted to hopefully natural shapes that fill the space Trunks are then painted to reduce their plasticky sheen This is actually quite easy, although the pointy branches are not kind to the thumbs. Foliage can come from different sources, but the Woodland Scenics foliage works well, as does the similar Heiki-Flor foliage. Small pieces are cut then teased out in all 3 dimensions - tweezers help - to get a delicate spread. This is then threaded onto a branch covered with a little matt modge podge. In the process a lot of the foam "leaves" fall off, so when the tree is complete it is sprayed liberally with hairspray and the fallen leaves sprinkled back on. The effect works well, surprisingly well given it's ease, and can result in pleasingly light and delicate foliage - although the density of the tree depends how much foliage is applied and how far it is teased out. While not exactly quick - I guess the whole process takes about 2.5-3 hours per tree in total - these trees are much quicker to make than completely hand-made trees and look far better than most shop-bought trees. Another method of adding foliage to the trees is to use a fibrous material and a separate scatter material. I think my fibrous material came from Green Scene although I don't see it listed now, the Woodland Scenics polyfibre looks similar. The leaves can use any scatter material, I use a fine ground foam from various sources. The fibre is applied in a similar way to the foliage matting, but there are differences. I tended to cut off a chunk and tease out to a large "cloud", then cut smaller pieces from it to attach to the tree, using matt modge podge. This material is teased out to a much greater extent than foliage matting, taking up many times its initial volume. The fibres fill out the tree shape, effectively providing the twigs without leaves. I suppose it looks like a winter tree, although the transition between the plastic branches and the fine fibres looks rather abrupt. At this stage the tree is sprayed liberally with hairspray and the chosen scatter applied, sprinkled from all sides - including from below, but mainly from above and the sides. A repeat hairspray application and scatter make sure the covering is secure and even. The result is a more bulbous tree with a relatively dense covering of leaves, although the leaves are around the outside of the tree shape and not through it - as often seen on real trees. I guess the foliage could be less dense if the fibres are teased out even more, although if that leaves the fibres visible I find the result less convincing. In this tree line-up tree one (on the left) uses Woodland Scenics dark green foliage, two uses Heiki-flor foliage in light green, tree four (far right) uses Woodland Scenics mid green foliage, but tree three (third from left) uses the fibres and foam scatter as shown above. The resulting different shape of the foliage adds variety, and the denser foliage can be useful when using the tree to block out a background or give the appearance of more dense woodland. It is also useful to be able to use a wider range of scatter material colours and textures.
  10. I've found an easy way to represent low weed growth. This started when applying the static grass, by building layers of longer (4mm and 6mm) grass. Then the grass is wiped with a brush loaded with just a little of the matt modge podge, so a little collects on the tips. The matt medium dries clear and (obviously) matt so any that would be left visible dries invisible. Scatter material of the ground foam variety is sprinkled onto and dabbed into the grass, where it sticks to the tips. I find a slightly darker shade than the surrounding grass works well, and sometimes use two or more shades.
  11. After the grass and fencing the next task was to add some shrubbery - bushes and undergrowth - which abound in the sheltered parts of Dartmoor where the sheep can't reach. My favourite base is some old fibrous carpet underlay which I tried to dye green intending to use it for making long grass many years ago, before the days of static grass. It turned out to be the wrong sort of underlay, but by happy accident it forms a nice bushy shape when teased out, like rubberised horsehair but much finer. The teased-out chunks are then sprayed liberally with hairspray and coated in scatter, ensuring all sides are well covered. Sometimes the bush is dunked in a pot of scatter. I use a selection of shades and coarseness, but try to limit the range of colours. The bush is then stuck down with a wipe of matt medium. The hedge on the right was an Auhagen product, with a little extra teasing out and scatter added, with a few strategically planted cocktail sticks to keep it upright. I also use rubberised horsehair (left), which is more coarse than the underlay (right) but makes quite good brambles, and the traditional lichen (centre). Either way the procedure is the same - hairspray and scatter. Quite a few bushes would be needed...
  12. Fast forward through the ballasting and ground cover (scatter and static grass), all fairly conventiona. I wanted a post and rail fence separating the railway land from surrounding farmland, but was wary that model fences can be vulnerable. I decided to make my own. I made fence posts from wire. Most are straightened paperclips, each provides 4 inch-long posts which are stiff but bendable (i.e. wont break if knocked), and at about 1mm diameter (scale 3") seem the right thickness. I reckoned about 14-16mm is needed above ground (3'6" to 4'), the rest will keep it vertical. However, such fences have braced posts at ends and intervals, those I made from 1mm brass wire so a second bracing piece could be soldered to it at an angle. After soldering the angled leg was bent parallel to the post at ground level so it could go into the ground. Finally, the posts were left in blackening solution for a little while, I then taped them to the edge of a piece of card and painted them a grey-brown colour. The fence was made up on a "jig" on a piece of packaging card (hence the pictures of saucepans). A strip of card makes an end-stop for the tops of the posts, and the bottoms are held on a strip of double-sided tape. The posts were placed at scale 6' intervals (24mm) using a piece of card as a spacer, this doesn't need to be accurate but the posts were set "vertically" as best as possible. For the wire I got some "EZ-line", an elastic that stays taut and of course stretches if caught, it comes in various colours so I chose a rust colour. https://www.modelscenerysupplies.co.uk/EZ-Line-Rust The spacing is helped by notched paper "combs", folded and all cut together, crude but seemed to keep the elastic in place. The notches are a about 3.5mm apart as I chose 4 wires - 5 might be better but the effect of 4 is sufficient. The elastic line is pressed into double sided tape at the end and placed over the posts and through the paper notches, taut but only very slightly stretched, and fixed to tape at the other end. I then secured each line to each post with a drop of superglue from the end of a piece of wire. The superglue seems to hold it quite securely. The fence is simply planted into holes in the scenery, which if you recall consists of expanded polystyrene covered in a kitchen roll/PVA "shell" and a layer of tile grout. It is easy to push a dental probe in to puncture the shell, then force the post into the hole by hand (or pliers if stiff), the polystyrene holds the post upright while the hole in the shell stops it moving. Holes were spaced with the same piece of card, ensuring the elastic "wires" are taut (although too much or unequal tension might force the post to lean). Of course while the posts are placed vertically to about the same depth (around 16mm above ground), the wires follow the landscape staying parallel to each other. As the fence progressed the unfixed end could get itself in a tangle. These clips held the end posts apart until I was ready to plant them. The card has a dab of PVA glue which was wiped onto the ends of the posts before planting, just in case they should come loose, although friction should be enough to hold them. The effect is rather pleasing, following the contours nicely, while being very robust - the posts are more likely to cause injury than break but could be straightened if they do bend, while the elastic wire stretches but seems strong and firmly fixed. I placed the posts with the wire on the far side, but the superglue doesn't seem obvious anyway. The braced posts add a nice detail. It's pretty cheap too, the only significant cost is the EZ-line but I think it worth it.
  13. A while back I got a resin kit for a water tower from Anyscale Models. It's a nice small size just right for 009, and the stone base fits well with Hexworthy. It came with some wire for pipework, but no outlet for locos to use, so I found a corner of plastic sprue and carved out the resin to set it under the tank, the filler bag is a piece of electrical heat-shrink insulation and a wire handle was added for operating a valve. While the tank is a nice size for 009, the base is too short - leaving the tank too low to fill a loco. I decided to make a platform for it to stand on, which could provide a coaling area too. The platform was made from pizza base foam and embossed as with the other stonework on Hexworthy, with some steps at the platform end and a wall behind. I will add the coal later. As you can see this now puts the tank at a good height for filling the tanks of locos. It is situated beyond the end of the platform alongside the loco release, where locos can be serviced after uncoupling from their train and running round. Similar arrangements are seen in preservation at Porthmadog and Welshpool. A close-up shows the pipework detail, a filler pipe and another outlet. The water is a piece of clear plastic painted murky green on the underside, there's a small gap which I should fill with gloss medium at some point. Really there should be some kind of level indicator or float valve on the inlet pipe. At the end of the running line a large stone forms a stop-block, hopefully preventing the road wall being demolished. The siding to the left has a Peco buffer stop. The problem with the Peco buffer stop is it looks a bit flimsy, not so bad on the end of a long siding but it doesn't look very substantial if used on a platform or running line. For the bay platform I beefed up the Peco moulding with some diagonal pieces of plasticard, suggesting hefty timbers set into the ground to reinforce the stop beam. It's simple but does make the little buffer stop look like it could survive a gentle nudge.
  14. Gosh I realised it's been years since I updated this thread! The build got interrupted when I decided to build an entry to a 009 Society challenge, which resulted in Loctern Quay, which I will have to post a thread on elsewhere. Then after a busy period at work and a bit of a modelling lull, I have got back to working on Hexworthy. Here's an accelerated update... The station building got a canopy. It's made from plasticard edged with some plastic valancing I've had for "one day" for years. The felt roof is just masking tape, applied in slightly overlapping strips. Also in this photo can be seen one of the chimneys with flashing fitted just before final installation. The underside of the canopy is braced with plastic section and strip (the black diagonals are difficult to see but help prevent warping), and a centre rib made from the sprue from the valance. Paper-clip wires are fixed in place to provide a mounting to the building - holes were punched in the wall for them to push into. It was several months later until I got around to painting it. It was made harder when I realised the colour wasn't straight from a tin, I must have mixed it! Eventually I got a reasonable match to the doors, though this is a lesson to use an available colour when it might need to be matched in the future... Anyway, with the canopy fitted and the chimneys now fixed, I think the station is finished. I have wondered about fitting lighting before it is too difficult, but there are more pressing matters so we will see. Round the back there is less detail, with no gutters or downpipes, though since it will be a couple of inches from the backscene it could probably have managed even without doors and windows! Hmm, the café in the old goods shed could do with some interior detail though. The roof is not fixed on yet...
  15. My son has decided he no longer wants a trainset attached to his bedroom wall, so it will shortly have to be dismantled. If anyone is interested let me know! Photos below. Overall size is 8ft long by a little over 4ft wide, and it is pivoted from two frames that attach to the wall - but that carry most of the weight on legs to the floor. The other legs swing down, and there are catches to hold it up. There's a double-track circuit with a loop & siding on the inner circuit, and a gradient up to a 4-platform terminus station with goods yard, and loco yard with turntable. Points and turntable are manually operated, and there are switch panels allowing up to 3 controllers. There's little scenic work but there are two stations, goods shed, some loose buildings and a little walling, the rest never got done. It was built as four separate boards but they were screwed together, and track and wiring crosses the joins, so disassembly and reassembly will need some work but should be doable. The track (which was mostly second hand anyway) wouldn't fetch much so open to low offers, and the controllers (Gaugemaster D and a Hornby unit) can be included if required. Located in Worthing.
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