Jump to content
 

TEAMYAKIMA

Members
  • Posts

    3,682
  • Joined

  • Last visited

1 Follower

Recent Profile Visitors

8,567 profile views

TEAMYAKIMA's Achievements

9.1k

Reputation

  1. This professional photo shoot is just 3 weeks away now and it has really prompted me to review EVERY scenic feature on the layout. The photos will all be in close-up and sharp focus which will concentrate the viewer's mind on details which would not attract much attention at an exhibition and the camera will highlight any shortcomings. Going through each scenic board in turn, I noticed things like this................ Discarded concrete sleepers - nice, but unweathered and worse still all in one colour, even the metal fixings are concrete coloured - damn you, PECO! So 30 minutes later ............................
  2. Well, yes, but I think that there is a very fine line between a 'feature' and a 'gimmick' and I think a working swing would cross that line. Feature - GOOD! 😃 Gimmick - NOT GOOD! 😒 Just my way of looking at things.
  3. Whilst the layout is now 99.5% where I want it to be, I have a professional photo shoot booked in three weeks and so I am working every day to nail that missing 0.5%. One cameo which I like is the playground scene between the buildings at the R/H end of the layout - here is an early photo - and I particularly liked the set of swings on the left hand side, but unfortunately in the last 12 months that detail was wiped out when someone lent across to re-rail a loco and their sleeve demolished that detail. So, yesterday I went looking for what 'bits' I had managed to salvage at the time. This is how the Preiser item is supposed to look and you can see that I had done nothing but repaint it really. But now, all that was left were the two main supports and the two swings - the cross member was missing. I tried to find some plastic rod to replicate the original, but didn't find anything suitable in my spares box. So, eventually I decided that a wire embedded into a hole drilled into the fixing would do the job and be far stronger anyway. So I found some suitable wire and using the smallest drill bit I've ever used in my electric drill I started the refurbishment. I superglued the swings onto the wire. And pressed ahead...................... But something looked wrong - the seats were now far too high. I measured them - 3ft off the ground. So, I just couldn't live with that and so I cut the feet off, took 3.5mm off each leg and glued the feet back on. Result - 2 ft 3 inches off the ground - a lot better! All I need to do now is glue them back on the layout and that's another thing off my list of jobs to do and then the layout will be 99.6% finished
  4. I have had a WR Hymek in my showcase for many years and I am finally thinking of adding a set of train reporting numbers to the model to 'finish it off' - shows how bored I am! :-) I trainspotted Hymeks at Ealing Broadway in the early/mid 1960's - can someone suggest which of these might suit the loco? Were they only for passenger trains? My father came from Paignton and would anyone of these suit a Paddington to Paignton train? Thanks for any help.
  5. Just out of interest, I assume those van are sold decorated like that, but did you cut the doors open yourself?
  6. I think the problem is that you/we are judging it as a serious drama, whereas it's really a comedy or maybe a comedy drama. Both Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton made their names in comedy and if you look at it as a comedy it's OK.
  7. In one shot from inside the tunnel, it's a pannier tank going in and a 2-6-2T coming out - classic film 'mistake'.
  8. TBH I haven't followed this thread, but I have just watched a videoed interview with Simon taken several years ago before the layout had ever been 'exhibited' where he says that he won't be attending normal shows, but will be hiring empty spaces for weeks at a time during the school holidays and charging an entrance fee. I have just now seen reference to the fact that back in late 2023 there was a plan to exhibit it at the (then) Warley show in 2024. Have Simon's plans regarding public exhibitions changed?
  9. If I was saying this next bit, rather than writing it, I would say it in a very quiet voice, because I have said things like this in the past - only to be proved wrong! 😐 As I write this my hands are trembling, but nevertheless I going to be bold (wreckless) and say that, after six years of trying, I have finally got the level crossing to work properly! This was always supposed to be one of the layout's real "WOW!" moments. There is a working Faller roadway system along the front of the layout and I can divert a car or minibus over the level crossing for the amusement of viewers and, more importantly, if the barriers are down the van stops automatically and then sets off again once the train has passed and the barriers are up again. That was the theory at least - in six years and various exhibitions it has never operated reliably, but now I think I've finally cracked it! The reality was that there were at least FOUR separate 'issues' which were causing the level crossing to misbehave and this morning I have finally sorted the last one. Originally, we used IRDOT's to message the module which controls the level crossing and when I replaced them with reed switches several exhibitions ago I thought that would solve the problem, but it didn't. Having dealt with three of the problems over the last year or so, the last problem seemed to be the power and the length of the magnets I fixed under the rolling stock. There are two reed switches, one either side of the level crossing and some magnets would work over one reed switch, but not the other and on further analysis this week I concluded that sometimes it could be the speed of the train as it ran over the reed switch which might be part of the problem. SOLUTION - replace all the magnets with more powerful and longer ones i.e. the longer the magnet is, the longer the time is that the reed switch is active and so, the longer the electrical pulse is that goes into the electronic module. RESULT - on test in my shed this morning - 100% reliability! But, I have often found that things which work well in my shed when I have just two or three boards up, don't always work when I have all 12 boards up in exhibition conditions. At our next show we will see if my optimism is justified!
  10. I have been quietly working on some relatively minor issues which came to light at the Abingdon show and some longer term issues which we are finally able to deal with. Consequently, I am pondering a (rather anal) issue which I've had at the back of my mind for some time. Should the layout attempt to be be 100% accurate or should the layout have some 'artistic license'? And if so, how much? I'm mainly thinking of the choice of locomotives. The first priority has always been reliability and that has largely now been achieved with the large range of locos in my collection. Let's face it, by 2001 the vast majority of China Rail trains were hauled by green DF4B's and yet I have tried to vary things by including locos which you MIGHT have seen in 2001, rather than locos you were likely to see in 2001. Having thought about it, I think I will tip the balance slightly more to what you would have definitely seen in 2001 rather than what you might have seen if you were very lucky. The change won't be great, let's say from 60/40 to 70/30. I'll simply prioritise the usual and keep the unusual in reserve if things go wrong or just to spice things up.
  11. Yes, I agree, but it's not quite as simple as that. My team member who deals with DCC issues live 2 hours drive from where I live and so the next time he will be available to deal with this issue is at the set-up day of KEYMODELWORLD and whilst he is 99.9% certain he knows the drill, he would prefer to have a DIGITRAX specialist in the background if things go wrong. Thanks (as usual) for everyone's support/advice, but we have now found someone who will be able to step in and help at KEYMODELWORLD if things do go pear-shaped and so we are now sorted.
  12. Thank you (and others) for your comments. I think the situation is that my resident DCC team member (who doesn't use Digitrax on his own layout) has read up on the problem and knows (in theory) what to do when we get to our next show (KEYMODELWORLD) but would just like the reassurance that there might be someone on hand who could be called upon if something goes wrong.
  13. If you look at Dawn Quest's video of Abingdon show we are featured at about 14.00 and at 15.04 you will see a short section where we experiment with one of the smoking QJ's - running tender first light loco heading from the MPD to the freight yard. We are building on that to make it more of a feature at future shows.
  14. Yes, I agree and, to a limited extent, that is in hand. I now have two QJ's with smoke and I am arranging things so that they are prominent in the latest operating protocols. We experimented with them at Abingdon and they will feature heavily at our next show - KEYMODELWORLD LIVE. We deliberately stop them at a signal on the scenic section as the smoke effects are most dramatic starting off.
  15. I emphasise DIGITRAX expert rather than DCC expert as I always find that DIGITRAX can be subtly 'different'. I am exhibiting my large DIGITRAX controlled layout at KeyModelWorld Live and I have a DIGITRAX issue that my team know how to solve 'in theory', but whilst I have two DCC 'experts' in my team they use LENZ and are very reluctant to make significant changes to my command station just hours before a major show. Allow to to explain further, my team all live many miles away from me and so there is no chance to deal with this issue before we all meet on Friday April 26th at the NEC. So, I was hoping that someone who is experienced with Digitrax might be on hand to supervise the changes we need to make to the command station. Perhaps if there is anyone, it would be better to send me a PM. Many thanks. Paul
×
×
  • Create New...