Oak Road - 2013 to present (a fictitious place somewhere in Somerset) - Raising Money for Meningitis Research

[KeithHC]

Right then you must get your mojo back. Your wingman is well on the road to recovery and you must now give him a new toy to play with. You have a couple of weeks get on with it,,

man...............

 

Great to hear Dave is on the mend.

 

Keith

[tjf4375]

Great to hear your good news Mike, I don't know Dave but best wishes and looking forward to seeing more updates on the layout when you're ready

[Rhysb]

Good news about you friend Mike, there is a few cans of suede paint now in my house ready for you. Looking forward to catching up soon.

[Revolution Mike B]

Well Warley was a little different yesterday as the original plan had to be scrapped due to Dave not being well and luckily, Ian (Temeraire) very kindly stepped in and provided bed, breakfast, transport and lunch!

 

As one of the premier shows, I always find it hit and miss (no disrespect to the organisers) so I go along with an open mind and see where the day (weekend) takes me. For me, it's more of a chance to catch up with my friends and acquaintances as they're all in the same place at once, and all live miles away. I'm not sure if it was just me, but this year seemed to be less busy, and there wasn't so many children about.......which to me, is a great shame. At this rate, our hobby will be taking it's place alongside the Dodo!!

 

Anyway, it was a pretty good day and I really enjoyed looking at some of the excellent quality layouts dotted around the hall, and as always, I asked loads of questions to help me move Oak Road along a bit more.

 

Alan (Modelu) gave me some updated versions of the station lamp heads which look perfect sat on top of the posts and we're now going to look at modifying them further so that I can fit some surface mount LEDs without the need for drilling holes in them. 

 

Brassmasters may have also saved the day on the long running fish plate saga with some David Barham code 75 brass cosmetic fish plates, and they seem to fit perfectly without fouling the flanges. I'll have an update shortly.

 

There is however something that was way more important to me yesterday as Roger and Ruth Manton (some of you may know them from Pete Waterman's stand) offered some advice and wonderful support on something that had nothing to do with model railways. It just goes to prove how tight knit or model train community can be when things don't always go according to plan! 

[Revolution Mike B]

Is it just me that's having issues with RMWeb at the minute?

Edited November 29, 2017 by scoobyra

[Revolution Mike B]

Here's the new light heads from Alan...

 

 

They now look in proportion to the rest of the light assembly and the double lights look spot on too. These are just roughly painted samples so ignore the finish.

 

I've also had a chance to play around with the brass fish plates which are........very fiddly!

 

 

I put a bit of black paint on one and it disappeared!!

 

 

It'll look better once I've got the magnifying glass out so I can see what I'm doing   

 

My main focus now is building the legs which will be completed by the end of next month.

 

 

Edited November 29, 2017 by scoobyra

[DJTrains]

That's great news, hope he keeps improving. I'm sure we'd all like to wish him all the best and cant wait till he feels upto some modelling.

Big Thanks to my mate Mike and everyone else on here for their best wishes.  It'S amazing how so many people I've never met have come forward with offers of help and support.    I am now home but still have a way to go to continue improving my speech and he use of my left hand,  but with luck I'll be crashing Mike's trains on Oak Road before too long.   It would be easy for me to sit glumly and feel cursed to have had a stroke at the 'young' age of 47,  but I actually feel blessed in that I have seen how bad things could have been,  and have actually come away reasonably unscathed considering how bad it could have been.     I also feel blessed knowing how many good people there are out there willing to help me.  so thank you all .

[PaulRhB]

Hello Dave, glad to hear you're home and although I bet they are tiring as hell at the mo keep up the exercises and I'm sure you'll get full recovery of speech and health.

Maybe you can then work on Mike. He spent last weekend wandering up to us and saying random words, Digitrains!, and wandering off again. He needs your help more

[Revolution Mike B]

Well with Dave back on the mend, I've got my mojo back a bit and I've been messing around with a couple of my locos.

 

First up was one of my DRS 37s. I'd always been a little cautious of weathering these as they were brand new models, but, after speaking to a few people and gaining some useful tips and tricks, I thought I'd take the plunge. It's not completely finished but it's a start....

 

 

 

I also got a little side tracked with something else today - a Vitrains 37 that I've had stuck in the cupboard for a few years with the intention of turning it in to MQoS...but as luck would have it, DRS are running 37 403 so I'm now 3/4 of the way to having my own version!

 

 

This is turning out to be a real pig of a job because the paint is so thin, it went all the way through when I tried to take off the warning flashes that were in the wrong place!! Somehow (I have no idea how), I managed to match the original paint and blow over the bare patches. The yellow ends had already been hand painted but they're not too bad so I've left them as they were, except painting the head code boxes and I've added the lamp brackets and up to date warning flashes...........but adding the cant rail stripes.......hmmmmm, not the easiest of jobs for someone like myself. Needless to say, I've put it down for the evening and I'm off out to see my mates for a few hours! 

Edited December 3, 2017 by scoobyra

[Revolution Mike B]

Well here it is, my take on 37 403 in it's current state, if not a little on the dirty side....

 

 

It's never going to win any awards but if I don't have a go, I won't learn how to do it....the only thing with this is it won't get redone 6 times     The exhaust ports look a little odd but I've copied them directly from an image I have from Norwich this year, although the body sides looked a lot cleaner than mine do.

 

The hand painted fronts still look hand painted but it'll do for a few laps of the layout, providing it's not coupled up to a Bachmann 37.....there's a lot of differences between the two that stick out like a sore thumb they're close to each other! It still needs the hoses, wiper blades (if you can call them that looking at the Vitrains excuse for them) and aerials and some better ploughs....and making the rear marker lights brighter!  

 

Happy for any criticism / advice / directions to the bin....... 

Edited December 5, 2017 by scoobyra

[Melly]

Well here it is, my take on 37 403 in it's current state, if not a little on the dirty side....

 

Isle of Mull.jpg

 

It's never going to win any awards but if I don't have a go, I won't learn how to do it....the only thing with this is it won't get redone 6 times     The exhaust ports look a little odd but I've copied them directly from an image I have from Norwich this year, although the body sides looked a lot cleaner than mine do.

 

The hand painted fronts still look hand painted but it'll do for a few laps of the layout, providing it's not coupled up to a Bachmann 37.....there's a lot of differences between the two that stick out like a sore thumb they're close to each other! It still needs the hoses, wiper blades (if you can call them that looking at the Vitrains excuse for them) and aerials and some better ploughs....and making the rear marker lights brighter!  

 

Happy for any criticism / advice / directions to the bin....... 

 

Hi Mike (And Dave - good to hear you're recovering :-)) Are you going to paint the wheels?  I usually paint rail match brake dust and add some Mig powders held in place with cheap hairspray.  That's my first job as I start at the bottom then work up.  Bogie side frames and tanks etc treated similar with different shades of powders.

 

Regards

Melly

 

 

 

[Revolution Mike B]

Hi Mike (And Dave - good to hear you're recovering :-)) Are you going to paint the wheels?  I usually paint rail match brake dust and add some Mig powders held in place with cheap hairspray.  That's my first job as I start at the bottom then work up.  Bogie side frames and tanks etc treated similar with different shades of powders.

 

Regards

Melly

 

Yes Melly, I'll paint them eventually.

[Revolution Mike B]

If anyone's bored of reading through my thread, have a look at this https://realrail.smugmug.com/Trains/37403-Restoration-at-Boness/

 

Incredible stuff!!

[DJTrains]

Hello Dave, glad to hear you're home and although I bet they are tiring as hell at the mo keep up the exercises and I'm sure you'll get full recovery of speech and health.

Maybe you can then work on Mike. He spent last weekend wandering up to us and saying random words, Digitrains!, and wandering off again. He needs your help more

Thanks Paul, I can work on fixing myself ok,  but Mike is too much of a challenge for anyone !!

[tjf4375]

The weathering is looking great Mike - I like the variation of tones you've got on the 47 bogie frames, harder than it looks!

[Revolution Mike B]

The weathering is looking great Mike - I like the variation of tones you've got on the 47 bogie frames, harder than it looks!

I didn't do the 47 Tim, Melly did

[Revolution Mike B]

And here's the old girl more or less finished.

 

 

I've added the silver beneath the cab doors, painted the wheels, and added a some butchered Bachmann ploughs. All that's left is to get the correct hoses (and the right sizes) for the buffer beams, some wipers and aerials.......... and put some sound in it!

[newbryford]

And here's the old girl more or less finished.

 

Proper Train.jpg

 

I've added the silver beneath the cab doors, painted the wheels, and added a some butchered Bachmann ploughs. All that's left is to get the correct hoses (and the right sizes) for the buffer beams, some wipers and aerials.......... and put some sound in it!

 

I use a toothbrush bristle for aerials.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Phil Mc]

I use a toothbrush bristle for aerials.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Or one of those polishing wheels that go in a minidrill, think I got one from Eileens Emporium.

The bristles are slightly finer than a toothbrush, and they're already Black !!

 

Cheers,

Phil.

[Shoey]

Good evening scoobyra, absolutely brilliant work as always. I’m pretty much in the same boat as you at the moment, I haven’t got a clue how to weather at all but have taken the plunge just as you have. This forum is so useful and is full of help and tips which having a good read around and seeing what you do certainly gives me the confidence to keep trying. I’ve finished my FGW power cars now and I’m happy with how they look. It’s so easy to go too far with the weathering but think you have got yours spot on! I look forward to more updates and keep up the great work.

[Diesel Do Nicely]

Excellent work Mike, as you say, you won’t be able to do it at all, if you don’t have a go! Now, get on with the rest!

[Revolution Mike B]

Excellent work Mike, as you say, you won’t be able to do it at all, if you don’t have a go! Now, get on with the rest!

 

Cheers mate.

 

I was going to send it up to you to finish off!   

[Diesel Do Nicely]

Perfectly capable yourself!

[Revolution Mike B]

Well I may have not done much to the layout but at least I've got a bit more stuff to run on it now!

 

The DRS short set is back together and again, whilst it's not the best example of how to respray stuff, it'll do for now. I've never been one for painting models so as with the layout, this is a first for me too.....and it's taken me around 5 months to get them done!

 

 

I've now got three 37/4s that can be used on a variety of trains so all I need to do now is sort out the 150/2 and the 158 and I'll have some decent stock to run at Rotarail next year 

 

I've also been busy adding a few hundred brake discs to my large collection of MK3s and trying to finish off my BSO for the sleeper set.

 

Dave's loaned me his chop saw so I've been cracking on with the legs and hopefully, I'll get the whole layout up for the Christmas break and then I can start track laying proper for the fiddle yard.  

 

With my personal life taking a bit more of a priority at present, I'm not aiming to get the scenery 100% complete for the first show but to the average person watching the trains go by, it'll look convincing enough.

[Rhysb]

Great stuff Mike. I’m sure there is a DMU or twenty you could borrow from my collection

 

Short set is looking good well done.