Popular Post Ian Smith Posted May 1, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 1, 2019 In readiness for taking Modbury to the Lutterworth exhibition this weekend (https://www.lutterworthrailwaysociety.co.uk/exhibitions), I spent some time this afternoon disassembling the layout and packing it up ready for the weekend. However before doing that I popped my Buffalo Saddle Tank onto the layout for a photo opportunity to record and show progress to date. Since the last update, the smokebox door has been epoxied to the front of the tank, the lamp socket/handrail knob for the tank front finished and the handrails added around the tank itself. The photos were taken in the evening light coming into the workshop window as I had already removed the layout lighting rig, so were taken with a tripod and long exposures (over 15 seconds!) Firstly the bunker end : Finally the smokebox end (I remembered to switch on the signal box light for this shot - it is a small LED (painted yellow to better reflect type of lighting that would have been in a c1906 signal box), and powered by a little box of 3 AA batteries glued below the baseboard : The signalman is recording something in his ledger at his desk. The buffalo will be plying back and forth this weekend resplendent in its "North Somerset Light" livery. Ian 18 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drduncan Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Beautiful workmanship on the Buffalo and I love the illuminated signal box interior. Duncan 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted May 4, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2019 I made the trip to Lutterworth especially to see this, and I am glad I did: so much better in 3D, and a superb example of “trains in the landscape” in a fairly restricted space - which is what (IMO) 2mm is best at. And Ian is a nice guy to talk to, too. Having seen how small the locos are, I am in even more awe of Ian’s modelling. Shock horror: out of period loco! 16 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted May 4, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2019 And the train now departing... 17 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post Regularity Posted May 5, 2019 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted May 5, 2019 (edited) Some more: For comparison (4 years previously, courtesy of Don on the 2mm on the road thread): Edited May 5, 2019 by Regularity Link to 4 years ago added 21 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 On 04/05/2019 at 15:55, Regularity said: I made the trip to Lutterworth especially to see this, and I am glad I did: so much better in 3D, and a superb example of “trains in the landscape” in a fairly restricted space - which is what (IMO) 2mm is best at. And Ian is a nice guy to talk to, too. Having seen how small the locos are, I am in even more awe of Ian’s modelling. On 04/05/2019 at 15:56, Regularity said: And the train now departing... 7 hours ago, Regularity said: For comparison (4 years previously, courtesy of Don on the 2mm on the road thread): Simon, Thank you for the positive comments and for taking the time to post the photos you took! I hope that Modbury (and everything else on offer) was worth the trip to the Lutterworth exhibition too! It was good to talk and to be able to put a face to a name/pseudonym as well. Obviously, as the builder I am conscious of how Modbury has developed since it's first outing to the 2mm Expo 4 years ago, and also how I've tried to develop the layout at each event I've been lucky enough to be invited to. A few days ago I decided to add a new page to my website to document that progress in both words and pictures (as much for my own benefit as anything as I do find that looking back helps keep the momentum going). If anyone else is interested the relevant page can be found here http://www.modbury2fs.co.uk/Exhibitions.html Ian 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2019 On 04/05/2019 at 16:55, Regularity said: Shock horror: out of period loco! Aha! Caught in the act Ian. After years of nursing the refined pre-grouping look, a photo slips past the controls of the Modbury publicity department and all is revealed Thanks Regularity for sharing those photos, I can never get enough of Modbury. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted May 7, 2019 Author Share Posted May 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Mikkel said: Aha! Caught in the act Ian. After years of nursing the refined pre-grouping look, a photo slips past the controls of the Modbury publicity department and all is revealed Thanks Regularity for sharing those photos, I can never get enough of Modbury. Ah Mikkel, the secret's out Seriously though, the Collett Goods (and a very dirty 57xx) belong to one of my fellow operators over the weekend. She is a beautiful runner though, and until I build some more relevant pre-grouping engines of my own I'm afraid that I have to borrow motive power for exhibitions. At least she's not a diseasel, although I think at Modbury's first outing to the 2mm Expo in 2015 Chris or Andy Carlson had a Pendelino running while I was away looking at the other exhibits! Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2019 There is a tradition of allowing visiting locos a run at shows which is part of the camadarie of 2mm. Apart from the bulk road track which would probably been relaid with cross timbering by the time the Collett goods appeared little else would have changed that much. The layout is looking as good as ever. If Taunton would not be too far to travel let me have your contact details and I will pass them on to Steve our exhibition manager. I expect he is fully booked for this October. Don 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinerChris Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 5 hours ago, Ian Smith said: Ah Mikkel, the secret's out Seriously though, the Collett Goods (and a very dirty 57xx) belong to one of my fellow operators over the weekend. She is a beautiful runner though, and until I build some more relevant pre-grouping engines of my own I'm afraid that I have to borrow motive power for exhibitions. At least she's not a diseasel, although I think at Modbury's first outing to the 2mm Expo in 2015 Chris or Andy Carlson had a Pendelino running while I was away looking at the other exhibits! Ian I think you'll find that a Pendelino if far too WCML for the quiet backwaters of Devon. Voyagers, Class 153's and Class 66's all the way... Interesting comparison about how far you've come Ian, it's looking good! Best wishes. Chris. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2019 5 hours ago, Donw said: There is a tradition of allowing visiting locos a run at shows which is part of the camadarie of 2mm. Yet another similarity between 2mm and S. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 18 hours ago, MinerChris said: I think you'll find that a Pendelino if far too WCML for the quiet backwaters of Devon. Voyagers, Class 153's and Class 66's all the way... Interesting comparison about how far you've come Ian, it's looking good! Best wishes. Chris. Chris, You know me - I haven't got a clue what class any of the locomotives are that aren't green with nice shiny bits stuck on the top! I merely remembered that either you or you dad (or both) had a red thing with a sloping front trundling around Modbury when I came back, I'd forgotten about the other ones Thank you for posting the images though - I think those 3 images show all of the stock I had at the time. See you when you're next back in the country, Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted May 21, 2019 Author Share Posted May 21, 2019 After taking some photos of something else (a clerestory coach that's on the workbench), I discovered a few photos I'd taken of Modbury at the recent Lutterworth exhibition. Most suffered from severe depth-of-field issues, but there was quite a nice one of the overall setup that I took before the public were allowed in : 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ian Smith Posted May 30, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 30, 2019 One of the things that has been bugging me for a really long time is the Goods Shed. It is the first building I started (and is the last to be completed). Although to all intents and purposes it looked finished, there were a few things missing - hence my being bugged about it! The offending missing items being the large sliding doors on the ends and rear of the shed, and the runners from which they hang (although in actuality the runners themselves are hidden by "weather proofing covers"). So to rectify this situation, at the last Midland Area Group meeting I spent an hour or so scribing the doors on 0.040" plastic sheet, the edges of which were then thinned so that when glued to the stone work they appeared to stand off the surface a little. A pair of thin strips of 0.005" were added to the tops of the doors to represent the brackets that the little wheels that run on the runners were attached to. When painted the doors were super glued in place on the ends of the shed (I had made and fitted the rear doors for the road access ages ago but from normal viewing angles they can't be seen). To make the covers for the runners I had originally tried to fabricate one in plastic but found it ridiculously flimsy, so while at Railex at the weekend I obtained a couple of pieces of brass angle with a view to soldering some up. Hopefully the diagram below will illustrate how ... Once the two angles had been sweated together a rebate was formed to allow the 0.010" end piece to fit snuggly behind the upright of the 2mm angle. The end pieces themselves were made from 8 pieces of scrap etch sweated together then filed to shape (to give me a couple of spares in case I lost any). Once the main pieces were together I added three 0.5mm pegs behind the 2mm angle to allow the covers to be fixed to the walls in corresponding holes. To finish the covers a sloping roof of 0.010" plastic card was super-glued in place (I was reluctant to add this in metal as I felt the odds of something else coming adrift was too high!) Finally they were held in pin chucks (by one of the pegs) and given a spray of self etch primer. To save ruining my pin chucks I wrapped each in cling film before applying the paint!! Another of the missing items on the shed were the downpipes. These were bent up from 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire with little brackets soldered on from twists of fine wire, the tails of the twists being secured in holes in the walls. The resultant downpipes were then carefully painted in my usual mix of GWR Dark Stone (PP Dark Stone with a little White added). The final item that always bugged me was the crane inside the building - I had made it (like myself) far too overweight (the woodwork being made from 3mm (18") square section). So another evenings work provided a replacement in 2mm square section. A few photos of the finished Goods Shed ... West end of the Goods Shed (the office door has also acquired a brass door handle - a stub of 0.33mm wire) A view of the West end of the Goods shed and cattle dock. Excuse the detritus in the background - I should have dropped the dust cover down! A mobile phone view of the East end of the shed. A mobile phone view of the rear of the shed - this view is only achievable with a small camera (or phone camera) A view of the platform elevation of the Goods Shed (again taken with a mobile phone camera) A final shot down the length of the layout (taken under layout lighting with the dust cover is in place to block out ambient light from the window and hide the detritus of the workshop) Ian 12 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ian Smith Posted June 4, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2019 Mainly to see whether I could, I have made the first of one of these ... It is a representation of a platform Oil Lamp on a 6'0" post. The prototype I made had a 1mm diameter nickel silver wire post that I had tapered slightly, I had turned a little foot and a single ring of fine wire made the collar - both soldered in place. Unfortunately when trying to add the support for the lamp itself the ring forever slipped so that it ended up lop-sided so the prototype was consigned to the bin and after a rethink I decided to hand turn the whole post as a single entity using gravers on the lathe ... The lamp support was made from a cross of window framing from some 4mm scale signal box windows, soldered to the top of the post then all four arms carefully bent to meet at the top. Once made flat the four arms were given a quick wipe with the soldering iron to secure them together. The lamp itself is some 3mm thick perspex or acrylic that I've had for years. A piece was sawn off and filed to provide a 3mm x 3mm bar. This was popped into a chuck secured on the vertical slide on the lathe, which in turn was set at 10degrees. A small milling cutter was mounted in a jacobs chuck attached to the headstock and each facet of the lamp milled to give me the tapered glass shape required. The embryonic lamp case was then polished before being cut from the bar and the roof facets filed. A small flat was filed at the apex of the roof to allow a 0.5mm hole to be drilled vertically into the roof portion of the lamp. The chimney/finial is very much a representation of the real thing - a small turning of 1.5mm diameter brass (with a 0.5mm hole down the middle) representing the chimney part mounted on a piece of 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire filed to a point to represent the finial. The whole thing from the foot of the post to the top of the finial is 2cm tall ! Only need another 8 to 10 of them ! Should keep me quiet for a few days Ian 5 19 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted June 5, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 5, 2019 The psychiatrist will see you now, Mr. Smith... 1 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted June 5, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 5, 2019 Ever onward! Excellent work Ian. We'll understand if you only do 8 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drduncan Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 (edited) Ian, Good grief that’s unbelievable craftsmanship! I’ll never complain about 4mm again! Duncan Edited June 5, 2019 by drduncan 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ian Smith Posted June 5, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 5, 2019 A bit of a paint job, a 1mm hole drilled in the platform and voila!! I decided that the safest place for my new lamp is actually on the layout (I've so far managed to lose two lamp glasses - One is somewhere in the workshop and the other is somewhere in the garden between the workshop and the back door - I was bringing a completed lamp (secure in a pin chuck) in home to paint it but managed to drop it as I shut the workshop door, the post was fine, the lamp supports were somewhat crushed but the lamp glass and finial could be anywhere!!) Ian 10 12 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ian Smith Posted July 4, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 4, 2019 Over the last couple of weeks, I've been adding the finishing touches to my Buffalo Saddle Tank. It's not quite there yet as I've still got to add the brakes and sand pipes to the chassis but superficially its all done. A few shots of her posed on Modbury's embankment section : The lining is Fox transfers except the rather poorer curved bits around the cab cut outs - they being hand painted with a fine brush because none of the curvy bits of transfer seemed to match the cut outs. On the model it doesn't look too bad but seeing it blown up on a computer screen some 3 times the size of the model, I'll let you decide how successful I've been! The ejectors under the saddle just forward of the cab were soldered up from bits of brass wire and tube, and are a representation of the early type - they seemed to get ever more complex as time went on. The number plates are from my first attempt at drawing up artwork for etching, and were etched in 0.006" brass. Looking at the last photo in particular, it looks like I need to loosen the bolt securing the safety valve cover and rotate it through 90 degrees. Ian 9 21 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted July 4, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 4, 2019 Excellent work Ian. Those platform photos really show off the details well, such as the barrow. I'm extra impressed by the ejectors! 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 43 minutes ago, Mikkel said: Excellent work Ian. Those platform photos really show off the details well, such as the barrow. I'm extra impressed by the ejectors! Thank you Mikkel. The barrows are Shire Scenes etches (not strictly GWR ones but life is short). The 4 wheel platform trolley's are my own etches (as indeed is the bench). I have some Shire Scenes etched benches to make up too at some point, although for our Edwardian period the all wood benches seemed to be more prevalent - At some point I want to try to make some of those too. Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D869 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Lovely job Ian. Decided not to stick with the NSLR livery then? A set of compasses with a bow pen on one arm and a blunt bit of brass rod in place of the sharp bit is worth a try for painting lines around corners. Probably best to practice on something else though. Regards, Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 9 hours ago, D869 said: Lovely job Ian. Decided not to stick with the NSLR livery then? A set of compasses with a bow pen on one arm and a blunt bit of brass rod in place of the sharp bit is worth a try for painting lines around corners. Probably best to practice on something else though. Regards, Andy Thanks Andy. I thought she had spent long enough in NSLR livery, and needed her finished before I progress too far with my Dean Goods. Never thought of trying a compass bow pen. I've got my dads old set kicking around somewhere that has one of those in. I'll have to dìg it out for the next time. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CF MRC Posted July 5, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 5, 2019 That is one cute little Buffalo, if Buffalos are capable of being cute. Lovely work. Tim 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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