Cwmhir - The camera never lies

[Ian Smith]

As promised, a link to part of my Modbury thread, showing the last coach I painted.  The coach itself is an S6 All Third which I have finished with Oil lamps (an earlier one in the same rake has Gas lamps.

 

A couple of pages earlier in the thread I described how I paint the coaches, here :

 

Hope it is helpful.

 

Ian

[Penrhos1920]

On 20/04/2021 at 18:11, Darwinian said:

 

 

Very happy with the way it looks so far. I have a suspicion that the lower panels should not be lined for the 1924 livery but hey ho.

 

 

Transfers and final varnish/weathering to go. (Yes I know one of the curly end handrails has fallen off. Luckily on the bench. And the brake pull rod on the right has been a bit squashed. Masking behind the windows is still in position.

 

 

 

 

The lower panels were lined until spring 1927 livery.

[Darwinian]

The C19 has entered the home straight. Door furniture added using Comet etched door handles and the original blacksmith G-handle etches from the kit. Held in with superglue (Gorilla). The separate droplights are individually glazed and then a strip of glazing cut to length for each window aperture in turn, with the prepared droplights fitted as I worked along the coach. I use Micro Kristal Clear to ensure no fogging of the plastic glazing. Where the door furniture wasn't projecting through on the inside the opportunity was taken to place a few droplights in a partly lowered position.

 

 

Once the glazing glue has fully hardened I will add "Smoking" signs using Railtec transfers (not quite the right period style but the best I can find). Here it is in all its glory.

 

 

[Miss Prism]

I like the colours for the bolections and the droplights.

 

[Darwinian]

2 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

I like the colours for the bolections and the droplights.

 

Thanks, praise indeed. Although I’m a little annoyed that I didn’t realise that the bolections being effectively over a cream undercoat would come out a bit brighter than the droplights . I see Hattons have the same on their Genesis coaches. 

I also forgot to varnish the droplights but that seems to make less difference.

I’ll live with it but next time might remember to paint the droplights  cream first. 

[Darwinian]

Final pictures of the C19 before I try to weather it (heavy on the roof/underframe hence the grey starting colour for the white bits of the roof).

 

Completed 19 alongside a Slaters (C10).

 

C19 in detail

 

And a vintage all 3rd valleys train with P1 power.

 

 

 

Annoyingly since I fitted the Bill Bedford rigid hook coupling the all 3rd pair won't go through the gradient change into the fiddle yard. Both run through fine  on their own. More faffing about needed but suspect I might have to change the coupling.

[Darwinian]

While I was in the shed I thought perhaps it was time to take some views showing overall layout progress.

 

 

 

I am happy with the look just wish I could get it to run better. Too many derailments and sticky patches. Some bits probably need relaying but C&L don't seem to do thin sleeper bases anymore. Like Peterborough North the Carrs ash ballast is turning to sand colour. Although the material left in the original jar has not changed at all. I suspect the PVA is to blame. Odd that the dark grey ballast doesn't seem to be affected.

[MrWolf]

I can sympathize with you on the running problems. I've had a number of dodgy points. 

I have to say that I like the aerial view of the layout, the track and landscape has a very natural flow to it. 

[Siberian Snooper]

11 hours ago, Darwinian said:

I am happy with the look just wish I could get it to run better. Too many derailments and sticky patches. Some bits probably need relaying but C&L don't seem to do thin sleeper bases anymore. Like Peterborough North the Carrs ash ballast is turning to sand colour. Although the material left in the original jar has not changed at all. I suspect the PVA is to blame. Odd that the dark grey ballast doesn't seem to be affected.

 

Why don't you use ply sleepers and crossing timbers? The plastic chairs bond just as well with the use of butanone or plastic weld. If you need to fine fettle a section of track, you just need to slip a scalpel blade under the offending chair(s) and then re-afix them in the revised position.

 

[Darwinian]

1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

 

Why don't you use ply sleepers and crossing timbers? The plastic chairs bond just as well with the use of butanone or plastic weld. If you need to fine fettle a section of track, you just need to slip a scalpel blade under the offending chair(s) and then re-afix them in the revised position.

 

That’s an excellent suggestion I will investigate options. 

The main problems are the short link between the first turnout in the station throat and the double slip where it’s not quite level. The entrance to the fiddle yard is the other because there’s a sharp change of grade on a curve. Freight stock has no problem but longer locos and bogie vehicles are more problematic.

[Darwinian]

Here's an experimental platform viewpoint. One advantage of my iPod is it is small enough to get into places like this but without any fancy range stacking the depth of field is a bit restricted. Really should have noticed that the cab roof was a bit loose.

 

[88C]

You never notice until you have taken the picture.

 

Brian

[Brassey]

23 hours ago, Darwinian said:

The main problems are the short link between the first turnout in the station throat and the double slip where it’s not quite level.

Looks like you have a slight kink in the track at that position.  My track is ply with rivets which allows for re-soldering to make adjustments.

[Siberian Snooper]

On 15/05/2021 at 09:25, Darwinian said:

That’s an excellent suggestion I will investigate options. 

The main problems are the short link between the first turnout in the station throat and the double slip where it’s not quite level. The entrance to the fiddle yard is the other because there’s a sharp change of grade on a curve. Freight stock has no problem but longer locos and bogie vehicles are more problematic.

 

Looking at the photo further up the thread, it does look as if you have a bit of a cink between the turnout and the double slip, but that may just be the camera. Did you use Templot to build the S and C?

 

 

[Mrs Durby]

There's one tool I have found invaluable when track-laying; a mirror on a stick!   (It lets one look along the rails and see the alignment as if a 6ft ganger with a keen eye! )  Here's one example for you;

 

Proops Dental Mirror with Knurled Handle, Excellent Quality. V5403  

 

"Others are available", as they say, some of which are flexible at the end and thus even more useful.

 

That might help resolve your issues...    

 

[Darwinian]

3 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

 

Did you use Templot to build the S and C?

 

 

Nope, I used the C&L templates adapted as described by Normon Solomon in MRJ.

 

I think the main problems are because I forgot to pre-curve the stock rails and didn’t put in a set for the blades to sit in. When laying this bit it was prone to twisting. As a result stock if fractionally out of gauge or due to the weight of adjacent vehicles sometimes catches on the v or switch blades.

 

I was able to use a mirror tile to help with aligning it all.

 

In hindsight pre forming the rails and building the turnout and double slip as one unit (or in situ) would have helped.

 

I’ve done some experiments today on the fiddle yard exit and the problems with bogie stock seem to be more due to issues with the effect of coupling them to one another. My paper concertina corridor connectors were too stiff. Also had to make sure to avoid hook and bar couplings lifting the adjacent coach at gradient changes.

[Siberian Snooper]

I think Templot would have the advantage that the templates are constructed in a linear progression and because of the grid pattern they can be joined very accurately or if you have a decent print shop in one or two sheets.

 

The downside is the learning curve for Templot, but it's not as steep as it was when I learnt to use it, I still don't know all the ins and outs of it. Each time Martin does one of his online seminars I learn a few more tricks or more precisely where to find the tricks.

 

 

[Darwinian]

18 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I think Templot would have the advantage that the templates are constructed in a linear progression and because of the grid pattern they can be joined very accurately or if you have a decent print shop in one or two sheets.

 

The downside is the learning curve for Templot, but it's not as steep as it was when I learnt to use it, I still don't know all the ins and outs of it. Each time Martin does one of his online seminars I learn a few more tricks or more precisely where to find the tricks.

 

 

If I was staring again then I would certainly give templot a try. 

[Darwinian]

Just to complete the picture here are the same trains viewed from the other end of the layout.

 

[Darwinian]

Well I plucked up courage to attempt weathering the C19 and also a Hornby Collett Bow End composite that I've done a little work on.

This was done with Vallejo Air acrylics sprayed on and then variously scrubbed off with cotton buds and a flattie brush dampened with Vallejo thinner. Because the acrylics dry quickly this is best done in cool conditions immediately after spraying.

I'm not sure I really like the very dark roof of the clerestory unless I can go back and increase the grime on the paneling, it looks too clean for such a dirty roof?

 

[kandc_au]

Personally I wouldn't be to perturbed about the roof. It is not as if that got a wash except by the rain!
In real life you really only saw the roof from bridges etc ....not like us giants who are modellers
Weathering looks good and realistic to me.

Khris

[Darwinian]

The LMS D1666 wagon is nearing completion. Just needs a coat of matt varnish to seal the transfers (Pressfix) and the interior painted worn wood colour.

Sat next to it is my attempt at runner beans for the station allotment area. Brass wire soldered up to make the poles and MP scenery products "Green climbing vines" for the plants. Really needs a scattering of small red flowers too.

 

 

My 850 and 57xx panniers have also received some fire irons and the obligatory bucket on their bunkers. Unfortunately the photo emphasises that the 850's bunker is out of true made worse by the buffer beam being slightly out as well! The camera is so cruel.

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Darwinian
Restore image

[Darwinian]

I have spent time over the last couple of weeks developing the station allotments at the very end of Cwmhir station area. These are right at the front of the board so I've gone for detailed representation of some plants moving to a more representative form towards the end of the baseboard/layout.

 

Here's how it now looks, still some work to do as I'm planning a fruit (Raspberry/Gooseberry) cage at the very end of the space. The season is supposed to be late summer (Sept/Oct)

 

First up an aerial view of the whole plot.

 

 

This is the view from the end of the layout towards the station building. The static grass will be thinned out to hopefully look like young leeks (this is S.Wales after all).

 

 

And finally a ground level view from the station forecourt, the Rowan tree is from Scale link etches.

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Darwinian
Restore image

[Darwinian]

Time for another clerestory, this time its a Mallard/Blacksmith D37 non-corridor brake third. This time I have gone for full length stepboards on the bogies. The etched ones were beefed up with an additional lamination and a kick step along the back edge. I soldered that on as one strip and then sawed away the lengths across the cutouts.

 

Sorry image has been lost.

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Darwinian
Image update

[Paul H Vigor]

On 01/06/2016 at 12:30, Darwinian said:

Time constraints mean I've made little obvious progress with Cwmhir. Much of my model building time has been spent battling with the Collet non-corridor bow end build.

 

However I decided to try out photgraphing the coal wagon collection and station area that are slowly progressing.

 

First of all here is a general view of the station as it stands at present. The rectangle of MDF shows the location of the goods shed (yet to be built, a stone version of Abbotsbury with a more Rhymney esque canopy arrangement).

 

This is what it's all about, coal, coal and more coal.

 

End of the coal yard sidings.

 

 

The "snow" on the end of the coal sorting sidings is where I am in the process of burriying the sleepers in clay to represent the gunge that stands in for ballast in such locations.

 

I am undecided as to what to do with the area to the right of the water tank, between the coal sidings and the run round loop. Add a raised area linking n to the hill at the end  or leave it flat. It's in the wrong place for a colliers platform being next to the loco release turnouts. 

 

Any suggestions?

Do you happen to recall who supplied the Ynys Amman coal wagon kit? TIA.