Jonathan's Modern Image Workbench (3D-printed class 323 EMU, class 156s, 3-car 144s, a 141, 4-car class 465s)

[Jack374]

An Electrostar? Mr. Makin said he was making some more cabs...

 

Jack.

[JDW]

1 hour ago, Jack374 said:

An Electrostar? Mr. Makin said he was making some more cabs...

 

Jack.

 

Good guess, totally wrong but good guess! I'd very much like one, but totally the wrong part of the country. Its one of those I have to leave in the "would be nice but can't justify" list, bit like an NSE 159, NSE 166, 325,... 

 

It turned out to actually be quick and easy, an MML centre car. Still needs a few tweaks, its not perfect but from a foot or six it looks ok. Need to change the coach letters on the doors, and amend the livery slightly on the doors too, as well as swap the bogie frame for one with a coupling mount. The chassis came from a single unpowered driving car picked up on Ebay. 

 

 

But if anyone is doing an Electrostar, I now have two 170 cabs going spare, maybe useful for making ends to resin cast, or practising on?

 

I also have a spare bodyshell ... wasn't there some prototype using a Turbostar body on re-used Mk1 EMU chassis as a low-cost replacement for old stock? Or was it just an idea? I seem to recall a picture of it in silver. 

[OliverSR]

10 minutes ago, JDW said:

wasn't there some prototype using a Turbostar body on re-used Mk1 EMU chassis as a low-cost replacement for old stock? Or was it just an idea? I seem to recall a picture of it in silver. 

I think this page has some details on what you were thinking about.

http://www.semgonline.com/gallery/class424_exp.html

OliverSR

[JDW]

1 minute ago, OliverSR said:

I think this page has some details on what you were thinking about.

http://www.semgonline.com/gallery/class424_exp.html

OliverSR

 

Wow, that was quick, thanks Oliver! I couldn't think of the name or class, I had the Turbostar Traveller in my head, which was something else (a 'low-fat' version of the Turbostar, simpler and less powerful). Thanks for the info. Looks like a bit more work than I can be bothered with, I'd forgotten the sliding doors. Anyone else want to have a go...? 

[Gibbo675]

1 minute ago, OliverSR said:

I think this page has some details on what you were thinking about.

http://www.semgonline.com/gallery/class424_exp.html

OliverSR

Hi Oliver,

 

The 424 looks a lot like a high class version of this aberration constructed from a Mk1 and Leyland National bus bodies.

 

RDB 977091

 

More information here:

http://www.traintesting.com/leyland-coach.htm

 

Gibbo.

[JDW]

Not much happening of late, but the bodies for the 141 are pretty much complete, though I'm not altogether happy with the front ends, especially the 'bumper'. 

My WYPTE red and cream paints have both gone dry though so will need to order some. In the meantime, I'll paint the ends, and see how happy I am. I might rework it a little. 

While I was priming, I gave the Knightwing shunter a quick coat too. The lower part has been painted dark grey, not sure what to do with the body. Looking at what colours I have in stock: Dark (Northern/First) blue? Bright orange? Yellow? Minty green? Bright red? Arriva turquoise?

 

 

And since I was having a play, a few pics from my depot diorama layout. Still very unfinished, another project to get on with while not much else is happening (and yes, I know the van is too modern for the locos!)

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by JDW

[russellwar]

May I ask what you did with the 141 cab fronts, did you narrow the Hornby cabs?

what did you use for the roof as well?

 

thanks

Russell

 

[JDW]

1 hour ago, russellwar said:

May I ask what you did with the 141 cab fronts, did you narrow the Hornby cabs?

what did you use for the roof as well?

 

thanks

Russell

 

 

Hi Russell,

 

Yes, I narrowed the Hornby cabs by taking out a couple of millimetres from between the windscreens, and then filing the side profile to match the width of the roof, as per @Gibbo675's Railbus build. The lower parts had the holes for the lights filled (plasticard and filler) and were filed back at an angle, which left the bottom edges pretty thin, I had to add a bit of material behind the corners. They are still a bit flat, I think, but probably as good as its going to get without much more surgery. 

 

The roof is from Peco Leyland National Kits - I used two Peco kit roofs for each car, so that the joints would be underneath the central roof pod - each half being roughly two thirds of a Peco roof. In hindsight, as someone pointed out on the previous page of this thread, the Peco roof is poorly proportioned and too tall. If I were doing it again, better kits are probably available, or I'd maybe use cheap EFE Leyland National models as donors. 

 

[JDW]

Not much exciting happening here, but at least stuff is happening. I've been trying to actually make some progress with scenery, most of which has been unfinished for over a decade 'til I find time' or 'til I get the bits to do it'. So I've had a good look at what I have, and started trying to finish things, re-use things, and just generally do what I can with what I have. 

 

This old Hornby factory building has been filling a corner as a placeholder until I found something better for many a year, I've had it probably over 20 years. So decided to tidy it up, paint it and use it. A coat of BRT light grey saw to the concrete areas, NSE white for window frames, Arriva turquoise for the doors, and a few red and brown pencils were used to colour the brickwork. It's hardly a Pendon masterpiece, but better than it was.

 

 

I have quite a few buses, and a bus station or at least a row of stops has always been the plan for in front of the station, when I get around to that part of the layout. So to help set the scene I decided to modify the shelters - handily already blue - to the SYPTE colours of blue and yellow. The clear Bachmann ones I just masked a narrow strip around the middle and dotted yellow paint. 

 

 

The station area itself has always been neglected, and was little more than a grand plan with Hornby platforns and a few structures. So I've made a start on developing it properly. First off, the platforms have been cleaned and sanded smooth, and will be clad with suitable brickpaper and surfacing. Not sure whether to go for concrete or brick for the sides yet though. I'm also concerned that when I ballast up to it, the watered-down glue might spoil the brickpaper/card, has anyone had problems like that? First though, rebuilding the ramps to a more realistic shape. One side of each will need to stay curved due to the track layout, the main face will be parallel to the track at least now.

 

 

And finally, after starting off applying yellow ends with the intention of painting it dark blue, I decided it didn't look right and changed to all over orange for the Knightwing shunter

 

 

It'll need a few more coats yet, but I quite like it. Although with grey chassis, it looks very similar to how it looked in raw plastic! 

 

I also dug out an old Hornby 'HST loco shed' with a view to re-purposing it as part of a steel warehouse facility. The freight side of my layout is currently pretty boring, with little more than a yard with four dead end roads and two more tracks forming a run-round loop. The original intention was that it would be a small general yard handling trains arriving from the freight only branch needing to run around before heading off to the main fiddle yard, but its never been satisfactory so am thinking of a rebuild to include a few sidings, a steelworks private siding and access to an as-yet undecided industry in an awkward narrow space behind the main station. 

[ISW]

21 hours ago, JDW said:

First off, the platforms have been cleaned and sanded smooth, and will be clad with suitable brickpaper and surfacing. Not sure whether to go for concrete or brick for the sides yet though. I'm also concerned that when I ballast up to it, the watered-down glue might spoil the brickpaper/card, has anyone had problems like that? 

 

 

I'll have the same problem when I get to that stage. One solution I have heard of is to wrap the paper-clad item in cling film while you do the ballasting. That keeps the moisture from the paper. However, this of course relies on you being able to remove the cling film afterwards - presumably by removing the said building from the layout.

 

Alternatively (and I've not tried it ...) you could spray the paper clad item with waterproofing spray prior to ballasting. I've sprayed inkjet printed paper, with waterproofing spray with no ill effects, the idea being to keep fingers and moisture off the paper. But it 'should' also resist the ballasting process.

 

[simonmcp]

If you look at Scalescenes micro layout he laid card flat strips down up to the height of the top of the ballast, as a foundation for the platform sides which he painted with dark grey non water based paint. Then when he had ballasted up to them, he stuck the platform down to the foundation. Done a search and can't find a link I'm afraid.

[JDW]

Thanks, I'll have to give it some thought, the cling film solution is probably simplest, if a little unwieldy.

 

No pics but yesterday I fitted a replacement motor from Strathpeffer Junction to a Lima 156, and am pretty pleased with the result. It went in quickly and easily, works fine if a little fast. I spent a frustrating while trying to figure out why I couldn't tame it, before realising it seems to be a decoder issue not a motor issue, so hopefully it will be even more refined once a replacement decoder is fitted. Certainly it is a lot smoother and quieter than the failing Lima one it replaced. Plenty of power too, it has no problem with my 4-car set. 

 

While I was thinking about 156s, I decided to try a technique I used on the National Power 59s to improve the look of the chassis. Using a scrap chassis, I gave it a quick spray with a coat of 'dirt' then painted the empty spaces black. 

 

I'll build up the rather flat air tanks as well, as I happen to have some suitable diameter tube in stock - another job that's been on the To Do list for ages!

 

I'm not sure if it looks better or just highlights the box more, what do people think?

 

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by JDW

[JDW]

A quick pic too of the Hornby loco shed which is to be re-purposed as part of a steel stockholders, which will fill a currently bland corner of the layout and provide some height and interest in what was a back corner.

 

I'll probably model one door open and one closed, so far the lower wall has been faced in brickpaper, the doors removed and door frames constructed. Since I took the pic I've finished the frame over the top of the door, and I plan to use printed doors from Scalemodelscenery.com. ideally I would have liked to remove some of the clutter from the roof but it's firmly glued in place. Still, its progress...

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by JDW

[JDW]

Yesterday and today's modeling time was mostly consumed by a Wills Modern level crossing kit, which is excellent but rather tedious to paint. Especially as it is moulded in suitable colours, which means painting things grey that are already grey, and white that are already white! 

 

It is excellent though, well designed and thought out. 

 

 

The kit includes barriers, lights and signs, plus a portable equipment building, along with lighting and CCTV masts and of course the road bed sections and anti-trespass boards. I painted some streetlights and extra lighting towers while I was at it, and assembled some long runs of yet more pallisade fencing. Not very exciting stuff in itself but all coming together to make a big difference to a previously empty corner of the layout.

[JDW]

Yesterday I decided that, instead of finishing something else, I'd start something new. I've had a pair of snowploughs for years, that have barely been out of their box. The shade of yellow was far too lemon, and the density poor, so I got out the masking tape and made a start repainting them with a better shade. Still got the middle stripe to do once the outer ones are completely dry and I can mask it off.

 

 

I'd also started constructing platforms a few days back but having run out of glue set them aside for a while. I think the brickpaper (card) is from Metcalfe though I could be wrong, I've had it a while. For the surface I used Scalemodelscenery's texture sheets - pre-printed ones, of high quality and printed on good, if slightly glossy, paper.

 

 

It started to look pretty decent, but after setting it aside, I came back a day later to find this: 

 

 

It doesn't show well in the picture but the surface has wrinkled quite badly. I can't see any option other than remove it, I'll probably try and find a thicker (card) covering to use. I used contact adhesive, coated both surfaces as per the instructions, and did my best to ensure there was no trapped air. A bit of a disappointment really.

I also really need to dust (and repaint) the roof of the 158!

 

Finally, the doors in place on what will be the steel warehouse, open on one end, closed on the other. Still needs a coat of paint though.

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by JDW
Spelling

[cheesysmith]

notice the 141 has yellow ends, is it going red?

[JDW]

6 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

notice the 141 has yellow ends, is it going red?

 

That's the plan, but my tin of WYPTE red has gone off, so it will have to wait. I'm not altogether sure my painting skills are up to it, so it might have to wait til the virus has gone, and be entrusted to a friend who is much better at painting than I am. I did consider doing it in Serco colors (its half way there already in grey undercoat!) but think I'll stick with the original plan and have it in red and cream. Plus, I already have some MetroTrain transfers left from doing the 144. 

[JDW]

A quick before ad after pic of the WYPTE 158 roof. I used a Railmatch aerosol. I built up the paint gradually in light passes, but at first I was worried about the finish, it looked a bit 'orange peel' when wet. As it dried it flattened out nicely though, and looks fine now.

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by JDW

[Guest Half-full]

I don't know if Im more impressed by the painting, or the fact that you managed to get a Railmatch rattle can to work long enough!

[JDW]

6 minutes ago, Half-full said:

I don't know if Im more impressed by the painting, or the fact that you managed to get a Railmatch rattle can to work long enough!

 

I'd heard bad things about them too, but figured it was worth a try since the alternative was brush painting, which on a large smooth area of single colour like a roof would likely have been beyond my skill level to get looking good. Half a dozen light passes built up the first coat, then when dry another few light passes. It covered very well.

Other than making sure the can was warm and well shaken and the plastic warm, no other special preparations were made, and it was left to dry in the sun on a windowsill. 

[JDW]

Not a lot happening, and nothing really worth taking pictures of, but I have at least confirmed that I should be able to get the 141 to fit on a Realtrack 144 chassis with a lot of cutting, trimming and filing. I used a spare (scrap) one from the unit I used for the 3-car conversion as a test bed, to avoid any expensive mistakes on a good one. Just need to source a 143/144 to use as a donor now... 

 

[JDW]

Thank you for the "craftsmanship/clever" rating, but in reality it is just perched on top of a scrap stripped down plastic chassis moulding! I wish I shared the optimism 

[Gibbo675]

6 hours ago, JDW said:

Not a lot happening, and nothing really worth taking pictures of, but I have at least confirmed that I should be able to get the 141 to fit on a Realtrack 144 chassis with a lot of cutting, trimming and filing. I used a spare (scrap) one from the unit I used for the 3-car conversion as a test bed, to avoid any expensive mistakes on a good one. Just need to source a 143/144 to use as a donor now... 

 

Hi Jonathon,

 

Looking good, I shall have to pull my finger out with my rail-bus contraptions.

 

Gibbo.

[JDW]

A quick snapshot from my desk this afternoon. Can't be many if these left unbuilt, but what is it...?

 

 

I was contemplating using up my final Hurst class 156 detailing kit but this has been sat on the shelf taunting me for years. I can't even remember when I bought it, apart from it came from Ebay. I have (as some may remember from page 1) a small fleet of Dyna-Drive fitted locos: the first I built in my teens, a class 66 conversion. The next ones didn't appear until a few years ago, purchased via ebay. One pair of National Power 59s from Rails of Sheffield, advertised as non-runners but a simple enough fix, and from a private seller a Trainload Construction 37 and RfD 47.

I still have this unbuilt kit though, and am wondering what to fit it to. It fits a 37 or 47, the obvious candidate being another RfD 47 (306) but that runs sweetly on its original Lima motor. A Trainload Coal 37 would be the other sensible option, but that is also a good runner. 

Freightliner green 47193? Porterbrook purple 47817? Loadhaul 37713? Dutch 47976?

Or maybe I should finish off some of the things I've already started first. But where's the fun in that!

[Gibbo675]

1 hour ago, JDW said:

A quick snapshot from my desk this afternoon. Can't be many if these left unbuilt, but what is it...?

Or maybe I should finish off some of the things I've already started first. But where's the fun in that!

Hi Jonathan,

 

I find the term, "nearly started", helps soothe the mind with regard such matters.

 

Gibbo,