Hadlow Road MPD 7mm

[two tone green]

Hi Mike,

 

I will be going down to his place again soon so will mention the short falls.

[Ressaldar]

Hi TTG,

 

thanks, I don't think it would be wise for me tomake contact with him at the moment.

 

regards

 

Mike

[3 link]

I had not intended to do any work today but my curiosity got the better of me and I ventured out - just to see how the stanchions had 'set'. All was ok so I reached for the packet of 1.2mm brass rod supplied for the railing - all went well until I realised that, bearing in mind that the stanchions have two holes in them, there is only sufficient rod in the kit for a single rail on both sides -just the small amount of 12' of rod not supplied!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not good enough when the kit costs so much. I had sufficient in stock to complete the runs, but that should not have been the case.

 

P1000605.JPG

 

Thankfully, I shall not need any further of Mr Lewis's kits to go on this layout.

 

 

 

regards

 

Mike

Hi Mike,

 

I am just finishing of one of Brian's station buildings and there were a couple of omissions in that kit, but I phoned him and the parts were with me within two days.

 

Brian is in his 70's and he is still a very busy chap, so give him a chance and a phone call and I'm sure all will be resolved return of post.

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

[Ressaldar]

Hi Martyn,

 

many thanks for your comments.

 

A few omissions is one thing, but 12' of brass rod is a bit different. I too am over 70 (and busy as well) and therefore expenditure on hobby items has to be carefully thought about, especially when parting with over £300 for a 'coal hole'. The errors pointed out above should have manifested themselves during the test/prototype builds and rectified before the kit was put on the market (2010, I believe). It might be that adjustments that were found to be needed as a result of the test/prototype build had not been transfered to the cutting programme. My kit is numbered 29/40 so did the previous kit buyers/builders come across the same problems as me? 

 

There was a piece missing (the 'open end' spacer which has the brick veneer applied to form the end wall) from the ramp extension kit and yes I did telephone for a replacement, which arrived the following day - but when I offered it up, it was too thin by 1.5mm!

 

As I said earlier, I do not think that I shall be buying any TT kits in the future.

 

regards

 

Mike

[daifly]

I had similar 'thickness' issues with a TT goods shed which was documented elsewhere. Again, a phone call got a set of replacement parts next day but your first thoughts are that it's you that has cocked up somewhere. The problem:

The replacement part:

Dave

 

[3 link]

Hello Dave,

 

Humm, now that is a bit worrying, is your goods shed his "GWR Goods shed B "? As I have one to build and it must be the last of the batch as it has 40/40 on the box.

 

I do intend to butcher it a bit and convert it from a drive through jobbie into just a drive in shed, but I will go and have a measure up later.

 

Have you finished your shed Dave? What was the outcome?

 

I have nearly finished one of his stations based on Dymock which was a delight to build although it did have its moments like most kits, and also this was a recent kit of his so maybe he has a new QC.

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

[daifly]

Hi Martyn

 

It is (3 years later!) unfinished and still where I'd got to in the WT thread which also documents some other issues that I had with the Goods Shed B. A change in gauge to S7 provoked a rethink of modelling location and this brick goods shed wasn't going to be appropriate for a new location dominated by limestone walls etc.

 

Apologies to Mike for the diversion!

 

Regards

 

Dave

[3 link]

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks for the heads up, I have just read your thread on WT so I will be out with the tape measure later.

 

Sorry for the hijack Mike,

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

[Ressaldar]

Feeling somewhat under the weather this week and confined myself to the house, which gave me the opportunity to start painting the coal stage and ramps. I have use a mixture of Winsor&Newton and Railmatch acrylics, initially as a wash - raw sienna, followed by 

 

a very thin slate/sienna mix which has now been followed up with individual bricks being picked out in cadmium yellow mixed with varying amounts of sienna and the header string course above and below the recessed panel picked out in slate to represent Staffs Blue Engineering bricks. More individual bricks (in differing colours) will be done tomorrow - as well as a start on a similar exercise on the ramp.

 

The building itself presented a problem in as much as the ply veneer used for the brickwork overlay is of a very dark colour, quite the opposite to the recessed panels and the ramps which have the bricks cut into MDF. Here, the recessed panels have had the same treatment as the ramps but the 'outer panels' have had two further washes of a varying cadmium yellow/sienna mix to try and balance up the colour, followed by a very very thin slate/sienna coat, looking for the overall grubbiness feel. The arches, cills and decorative bands have been covered with a straight slate colour - again for the Staffs Blue Engineering look.

I will address the overall colour situation again tomorrow, once things have dried out overnight.

regards

Mike

Edited November 8, 2016 by Ressaldar

[two tone green]

Very nice Mike.

 

Mine is going to be more red brick colour with some of the bottom brick courses in engineers blue.

 

I did get around to opening the box to see how it goes together and for me who is going to build it in a 'none standard shape' the way the walls are built  up in layers will help when it comes to cutting them. Less thickness to deal with in one go.

 

Do keep the photos, hints and tips coming. Thanks

[3 link]

Hi Mike,

 

That's coming on a treat, I also had that problem regarding the darker colour MDF but on some of the ends of the layers.

 

That's where that Humbrol acrylic spray came in handy as it covered these areas in one sweep of the aerosol, as I also had problems with just trying to cover it with a couple of layers of thinned down enamel paint.

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

[Simond]

No criticism of the kit here, I also find that my laser blackens the cut faces when I make things out of MDF. I guess it's inevitable.

 

Not noticable on light card, unless it has sprung up from the laser bed, and is therefore out of focus. Very noticable on 0.8mm ply. Not at all on acrylic. Haven't tried Rowmark.

 

Best

Simon

[Ressaldar]

Hi TTG, Martyn & Simon,

 

many thanks for the comments. 

 

I am happy with the finish/colour achieved on the MDF surfaces - ie all surfaces except the outer skin of the building itself which as I said above is a veneer and very dark green in colour and it is that that has caused me the problem of 'colour matching' with the MDF. Wanting a basically yellow colour for the brickwork, I should/could have used a white primer (as if I was doing warning panels on diesels) but all of the white primers that I have seen are of the 'high build' variety and I therefore assumed that they might clog up the laser cut coursing and therefore went the 'acrylic wash' route. I shall decide what/if I need to do anything else once I have finished the ramps. Rule 1 could always be invoked - architects trial for new bricks on the market - never did get on with architects in the day job so they are a good body to blame for the 'Corporate inconsistency'. At least it gives a good contrast to the bricks in the recessed panels.

 

regards

 

Mike

[two tone green]

What colour are you doing the windows. For some reason green sticks in my mind for a lot of shed, depot, railway type buildings other than stations.

[Ressaldar]

Hi TTG,

 

a good question, (Southern) green sounds very tempting, but I may go for/stay with the two GWR colours for the wood/ironwork - I'll have a think about it while I get on with the individual brick painting today.

 

Another distraction will be the arrival of the Black Dapol 08 sometime this morning - Zimo MX644 and sugar cube speaker quietly waiting to be fitted after running in on the rolling road.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[Simond]

this briliant photo which I found only yesterday ...

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6814135795/in/photostream/

 

... doesnt look like a typical GW colour scheme, in which white windowframe woodwork might have been expected.

 

It looks very new, perhaps even "opening day" (particularly the rear view) so I'm guessing maybe 1932-3?

 

best

Simon

[Ressaldar]

Hi Simon,

 

as you say, a brilliant photo and strangely enough, I was looking at similar photos last night of Oxford shed and they too got the juices flowing. The E Lyons/OPC GWR Engine Sheds 1947 states that it replaced the timber framed coaling stage in 1944 and there is a photo in More GWR Steam on Shed/ Bradford Bartton dated 1957 showing the windows clearly as non standard GWR - Black? I will ponder.

 

cheers

 

Mike

[two tone green]

Black, now there's a thought?

[Ressaldar]

After the election result over the pond, today has to be Black Wednesday - so I thought it would be appropriate! 

[two tone green]

Yes, black for the coaling stage but may still go for green for the shed windows

[Ressaldar]

Hi TTG,

 

agreed, but my shed will be 'low relief' and stop short of the first set of windows - all part of the cunning plan!

 

cheers

 

Mike

[two tone green]

Full blown shed, workshops and offices in my case.

 

Will post photos on my thread at the weekend.

[Ressaldar]

Still under the weather, but painting on between coughing bouts. Individual bricks and string courses seem to have been the order of the day

 

followed by a 'mucky wash' that was the brush cleaning jar

 

it is unfortunate that the brick courses around the windows and door are not sufficiently 'in line' to allow a representation of Staffs Blue Engineering bricks to be painted - just about got away with it around the wagon archway though.

and a close up of the latest acquisition - ordered sooo long ago as a blue TOPS version, I could not resist the black version

 

as it will be the only diesel in the fleet - Zimo MX644 sound decoder to be fitted over the weekend when I have satisfied myself that it has run in sufficiently on the rolling road.

cheers

Mike

[John R Smith]

Very nice, Mike.

 

Funny how everybody suddenly seems to have an 08 this week !

 

I have the Skytrex oil drums too, and I note that they only have one bung (or tapping point) when I am sure they should have two. There were often loads of these drums around at loco depots (Wadebridge had zillions) and I have often wondered how they were unloaded and moved around, because when they are full they are very heavy indeed (over 2cwt I make it). I have used them in the Totnes lamp hut but never had to put a full one up on the blocks.

 

John

[Simond]

John

 

They're 200 or 205 litre so would contain 200-205 kgs of water. Oil is a bit less dense, so say around 180 kg.

 

To which you have to add the weight of the empty drum, say another 20kg, so you're back to 200kg.

 

In old money, I make that very nearly 4cwt. There are all sorts of clever barrows and trolleys nowadays, but I've never seen that kind of thing in steam-age photos, so I guess it was a case of "right, lads, heave...". And wear your toetectors or pray!

 

Best

Simon