The Fatadder

I’ve yet to play fallout (I think the upgraded fallout 4 is due on Gamepass next week, so will be trying it soon). But I’ve enjoyed the series so far, which is a first for a game inspired tv show

More Seacow work…. I am now up to 4.5 out of 6 Bachmann models with the underframe repainted. The yellow stripe on the 6th is proving a pain to remove. However the wagon I’m modelling is in such a state hopefully it won’t matter too much. im working from a 1998 Tim Horn photo of 982684 on flickr I can’t decide if the top is very faded yellow or grey and would welcome feedback. Of course as a YGH I need to add the vacuum bits…. this was originally kept as the Bachmann number and weathered, now it’s awaiting new number as 982808. I only had the red triangle logo so I’ve repainted to black, the prototype photo (another of Tims from 2006) had a black rectangle where the Transrail logo is of about the same size and typical of where EWS painted out the old logos so I’ve assumed it still present in 99 for interest. Transrail Stingray repainted from the Hornby welded seacow based on a Tim Rodger’s 1999 photo on Flickr. Steps have been removed for refitting in a more prototypical location. Still needs the lights/cabinet/cables along with its new number and other transfers Bachmann 982473 based on an undated Tom Smith photo on Flickr, also still needs the lights/cabinet/cables. Hopefully planning to get on with making them this evening to complete it so I can get on with the rest of the weathering. edit: just checked some photos again, now realised it’s 3 seacow with lights and one stingray…. Which is actually pretty handy for splitting the available wagons into two sets, one fully fitted with lights and the other without

Looking at that I think you are right. Looks like one of my Kings is getting a permanent make over…. i do have a half finished GWR Dyno that I need to finish off (from the estate of the late bgman), although I’d love to see Rapido come out with something to the same standard as their LNER dyno!

Looks like a few extra details as well like the phone. Assume by the mention of an official GWR photographer this is pre nationalisation. gives me more to think about now, do I ‘ruin’ a complete king to model this properly….

This evening I’ve been looking at the remaining (lots) of Seacows that are awaiting work. The Hornby ones are pretty straight forward, a case of remove the old numbers, add new ones and in a few cases add Mainline logos then weather. It’s just the plain grey Transrail that needs more work. I tried sanding back the edge of the yellow to blend in before spraying grey, but the old stripe is still visible. Now trying to strip just the side….. Once painted this needs the electric lighting bits adding. On the Bachmann model I haven’t found any photos matching the Bachmann release of 982483. All those I’ve found with the deep yellow band have a black solbar so this needs repainting. 1 and a half of which are now done, with 3 yet to be started. 2 of these will need the sides and repainting to get a narrow yellow band (for this my plan is to try @James Makin‘s approach of removing the excess yellow with a knife. one will need the lighting bits adding Most of the models also need the cut out on one side enlarging, and of course they all need new identities and weathering edit: finally found a photo of 982473(the Bachman base model) which shows they got it wrong! It should have a grey stripe on the yellow, and lights / box / end wiring another job to do…

Have a look at Rainbow Railways if you are after a Wessex 150. They’ve just released one.

I assume you need to drill out all the marker lights on the 166? have fun with that!

New arrival today, the NIU models part for the testing shed for a King. its one of those parts that I had been intending to draw and print myself, but didn’t have a good drawing to work from (and it was deep down the list of stuff to draw from photos) disappointing to see they printed the lamp irons solid, there is no good reason for this with it being well within the capabilities of printing. These will need to be very carefully removed and replaced with etches (hopefully without damaging it.) It arrived still fitted to its supports, no doubt to keep it safe, and has been printed on a solid base (I do the same on prints to keep edges square). On the whole aside from the lamp irons I’m happy with the part One slight issue was that the model felt slightly tacky to the touch, usually indicating it wasn’t quite fully cured. So before priming ive put in my curing unit for an extra 5 mins of uv treatment after removing all of the supports. I would have removed those lamp irons as well if I’d had a proper look first! I haven’t done any tidying to the model yet, so the top edge is as it was when cut off its support. This will get a tidy up with a file tomorrow before priming and painting. I’m assuming they would be bare wood? it fits the King nicely, fitting in front of the lamps that had already been fitted to this loco. I think ideally it needs gluing in place so I will need to decide which of my Kings will get this permanently attached

Love the twin rail car!

The next seacow has now reached the workbench, this one had been partially graffitied (I can’t tell if they didn’t finish the job or it was partially cleaned off). It also has a white on clear tops panel (yet to be added) and a grey solbar (I used Phoenix Silver Grey which was a pretty close match for the RTR grey) the printed tops panel and the dodgy H&S logos were removed before painting the solbar and graffiti, along with back dating the ohle flashes to match the photo and adding Mainline logos. It now goes back in the box until I get on with the transfers. the Seacow branding on the prototype was pretty faded out, so I’ve removed the top coat of the black which seems to have done the job. looking again at the prototype all of the wagons need some rework on the chutes to add more white to the mix. the next wagon in the list needs the yellow removing completely which is going to be a bit more involved. Given the make up of the ends I’m reluctant to just dunk in ipa…

A little bit of Seacow weathering this evening, finally sorting one of the last few unweathered rakes on the layout. This uses the Bachmann and Hornby models with their original numbers (there are another ten awaiting renumbering before weathering). Of the others several need partial repainting, either adding a black solbar or narrowing the yellow stripe on the Bachmann examples, along with a Hornby that will be converted to a stingray and finished in transrail all over grey. the set of 5 also has a choice of Shark (again with the EWS example awaiting transfers). Eventually the plan once the whole rake is finished there will be two outer wagons and pick a random 3 inners from the rest of the box. Come to think of it, looking at the above I think I really need to extend the Newquay fiddleyard to match the length of the Par one allowing a 4ft train.

I see Finn Russell is out for the rest of the season, Thats Bath's season over I suspect, just as I was starting to believe.....

A trio of repainted 2022 Bachmann 37s in EWS livery. I now need to do some work on my last gen 37670 (with rebuilt windows) to get it fully to standard. It needs a pair of my 3d printed one piece headcode boxes adding (along with respraying the noses.)

A little more progress before work this morning on both the 153 and the 37. 37057 has now been fitted with its ends, and is now complete ready for weathering. Looking at period photos the sides were pretty clean while the roof was filthy, so should be an interesting one to model. On the 153 the cdl lights have now been fitted, and the rest of the wiring is now in place. Of course it now needs a 5 function decoder so it’s going to have to wait (DCC Concepts do a suitable wired 6 function chip). The model now needs transfers, new ploughs and a missing step adding on one side. I will also try to do something to sort out the visible wiring through the window nearest to the motor. It will also need a modified magnetic coupling adding along the lines of that in my other 153 in order to work with its partner half 150. I’m still in two minds as to what to do with the latter as to whether or not to make it unpowered / a full interior.

A couple of other projects on the bench this evening. first up 37057 has now been fitted with its glazing and will soon be reattached to its chassis. This uses a detailed last gen chassis which has a broken frame with one bufferbeam not attached to the block. This causes issues when you can’t screw it in place, for which my planned solution is to just glue it directly to the end. next up the 153, Annoyingly this is a Hornby special with incorrect colours on the Regional Railways logos. Removing them left a mark in the paint which has been touched in with Phoenix Rail Grey which is a pretty close match. I have also cut off the CDL lights ready for fitting working lights, and removed the moulded on handrails. I haven’t got any Regional Railways transfers so this will be stuck until I next need enough to place a Railtec order. Now to start on the wiring…

A little more work on the cement rake, all of which have now had the repairs finished (mostly adding replacement handrails). Along with fitting new couplings. the bigger job was to remove all the printed numbers and replace with a set of Railtec transfers. Eventually I want to add another 4 or 5 wagons, but with the planned fiddleyard extension I should be able to add a cargowaggon onto the rear.

It was started by the late Mike Casey many years back (I think It featured in MRJ at some point?). He also had many top quality locos and coaches built for it (roecar etc). From memory the layout was built in a former indoor swimming pool! At the time it was sold (not that long before I started Brent) I made serious enquires about purchasing it, before deciding that the layout was far too big for my garage and unfortunately it would not be a viable proposition

Thats good to know, I quite fancy getting one of the kingsbridge wagon along with a couple of Forrest of Dean examples of places we regularly visit (of which one is in Rapido's range causing all this temptation.)

I had a delivery from Grange and Hodder waiting for me at lunchtime today containing the core of the baseboard for Rosevean, naturally i couldnt resist getting stuck in and building it (who needs to eat!) Once the basic board was dry two additional cross braces needed fitting, so after taking approximate dimensions from the Wheal Imogen board templates were placed in position to check the tiebars were not overlapping any obstructions. This required the removal of one arm of the cross member (hence the slightly odd arrangement in the below photo) Its good to start to see how its all going to look, I am still a little unsure as to whether I will use the whole of the larger building or if I will use the smaller half and extend the rural scenery a little further. One area that will need a little more thought is going to be the scenic exit (more specifically how to hide it), given it will cut through the middle of the platform. I am reluctant to add another bridge but it may end up being the only way. It would at least give a set of stairs down to the platform (along the lines of another station on the branch). My original plan had been to have the track running past the end of the platform, this would have given enough space to fit a house (or at least part of a house) on the far end as a scenic brake). This would have required adding an extra 12 inches or so to the baseboard, which would have made transport more difficult (as well as preventing setting the board up in the study. If I do end up going for the bridge approach to the scenic brake, I am tempted to build it on the fixed section of the fiddleyard rather than the scenic board (maximising the platform length). Either way I will give it some more thought as the construction progresses, in particular to see what alternative approaches to hide the hole in the wall / abrupt end of the platform. I still need to buy some sheet ply from which I will add the backscene and build up the open frame section (100mm deep) that will fit to the front of the board where the river will be located. This will then be filled with foam insulation profiled to the terrain (which hopefully will prevent leaks a bit better than last time!) I've yet to mention to the wife that I will be needing to do another water pour on the kitchen floor..... Sorting out some legs will also be a priority so I can get the two scenic boards set up together and get the track across the joint marked out.

I'm really torn between placing an order for a couple of them, or buying 4 pre lettered kits from POW sides. They do look rather nice!

I should really have checked this already, can anyone confirm if the double slip is an A or B switch? My templot plan has it drawn as an A7 slip but I have a feeling I should have drawn it as a B7... (or does it not make any difference with a slip?) From what I can see on the website it just describes it as a 1:7 slip

Tank wagons are an area I’ve really struggled to find many decent photos to work from, so feel your pain there. i have a fair few Bachmann models awaiting work, all of which are no doubt in the wrong liveries (dating back to when the new blue ribbon version was released). Will be a good winter project I think

Finally got round to showing the prospective names for the layout to no1 daughter. So the station has now got a name, Rosevean, the real place located a little south of the line between Roche and Luxulyan.

Just ordered one of these from Niu models https://niumodels.co.uk/f/gwr-king-indicator-shelter---oo-gauge?blogcategory=New+Products I’ve wanted to model a loco with the test shelter for a while but never got round to scratch building. Will need to finish the dyno coach to go with it now.

The next step on 37057, which has now been fitted with custom Railtec transfers for the EW&S logos and numbers. It just needs varnishing before it will be ready for reassembly. work on the double slip has now halted as there was an issue with the baseplate (British Finescale have been excellent in their resolution of this, but I need to wait for a replacement part before doing more work on it). I had confirmation today that Grainge and Hodder have dispatched the baseboard kit and I should receive it early in the week. The plan is to temporarily fit it up to the existing board to mark up the alignments, before getting the templot plan glued down. in the mean time I picked up a non running Hornby 153 from the classifieds. The plan is to finish it as 153328 in the condition running as half a 150. To this I needed to be able to properly control the lights, meaning they need converting from Hornby’s common negative to the standard dcc common positive. For this I will junk the Hornby pcb and replace with my own board. The lighting units are modified cutting across the centre as indicated in red, to brake the common negative. Then soldering on a replacement wire (shown in white) and joining together the two positives. This means the existing wiring from the cab at the dummy bogie end can be used to connect to the circuit board at the other end. before refitting the lighting boards a dab of translucent orange paint was applied to tone down the overly bright white lights. I will also be fitting working cdl lights (so it will now need a 6 function decoder to work it all. Longer term I now plan to do the same modifications to my other 153 which will enable me to run 153s as a single, a pair or with the 158. (The Bachmann 150 also has odd wiring and if I recall correctly is not possible to isolate the tail lights)