Hexworthy - Narrow Gauge on Dartmoor

[mjcampbell]

In the interests of catching up with posts I'll move straight on to the lighting. The layout has a simple lighting pelmet/fascia made to fit across the front edge of the layout, forming a "cameo" box. In the past I've used tungsten strips for lighting such layouts, but that now seems rather old fashioned, however I've had my doubts about some LED lighting solutions - many seem too blue, or just have a strange colour cast, which I wanted to avoid. I also wanted to make sure the light was sufficiently bright. But LED's low power and heat output, compactness and light weight mean it's the obvious solution and worth pursuing.

 

Last year I got a strip of "Natural White" (4000K) LEDs to experiment with, with this embryonic layout in mind.

• Natural White 4000K SMD 5050 LED strip, 60 LED's per meter

 

IMG_4604 by Michael Campbell, on Flickr

 

At the time I set up a strip on my then layout Awngate to experiment.
 

IMG_4602 by Michael Campbell, on Flickr

 

Set at an angle pointing back onto the layout the result seemed to work well. The colour does indeed look natural, the single strip appears to give enough light for this 12" deep layout, and a good distribution although the challenge will always be lighting the foreground.

 

IMG_4656 by Michael Campbell, on Flickr

 

As an interesting comparison, in this view the LED strip covers the left hand end of the layout, the right hand still being lit by the 30w tungsten strip light. The tungsten light looks much yellower and warmer, the LED is a much more neutral colour, and a little brighter too, but definitely not too blue. I was very happy with that result.

 

IMG_5057 by Michael Campbell, on Flickr

 

However in the event it was my son's micro layout Slugworth that got to use them first. That small layout used a short strip right under the forward edge of the fascia pointing directly down, with foil on the inside of the fascia. The result worked well on Slugworth, although each scene is no more than 8" deep.

 

2018-10-27 09.27.04 by Michael Campbell, on Flickr

 

IMG_5956 by Michael Campbell, on Flickr

Slugworth only used 1m of the 5m length, so I had plenty left for Hexworthy. The strip is self-adhesive and can be cut at the marks every 3 LED's. Easy enough, but it didn't stay stuck to the ply even though it is painted, and even after a layer of PVA was tried first. The solution was to spread contact adhesive over the wood, then when it was tacky stick the self-adhesive strip to it. So far that seems firm enough.

 

The "holy grail" of lighting a "cameo" shelf layout like Hexworthy is even lighting, including right to the front of the layout. It's difficult because we want the lighting neatly tucked out of sight in the pelmet, but really it needs to be high up and well out front - where the viewer is. LED strips are good at distributing light with minimal shadows but putting them right over the models only lights them from above. I chose to add the main strip towards the back of the pelmet bar, putting it about 2" or 3" back over the layout facing down, then a second strip split between the front fascia facing backwards, and the underside of the beam facing downwards but right at the front of the layout. Hopefully this puts plenty of light at the front. Ideally the strips would be at an angle facing the layout, but I couldn't find an easy way to do this. A hot glue-gun was used to cover the ends of the strips, securing them and protecting the soldered joins, and also to secure any loose wires.

The view of the whole beam shows the arrangement of strips, plus the foil I pushed into the front edge to hopefully reflect and diffuse any stray light. The strips were joined by soldered wires, taking care to match the "+" and "-" marked on the strips (I hadn't thought of this when sticking the strips down so some are the other way round, not a problem as the wires can be crossed provided polarity is matched), and joined by a terminal block at one end. I added 5.5x2.1mm DC connectors to both ends of the pelmet - because it might be useful being able to plug the power in at either end - and bought cheaply as a pack of 10 pairs I might as well use them! These connectors have screw terminals but no way to secure the socket in place, so a big lump of hot glue is used, along with a couple of screws so they can't pull away.

 

As there is more lighting than Slugworth (which had a 2A wall-wart) I thought Hexworthy needed a bigger power supply. The LED's use about 1A per meter, not knowing how many meters I'd use I went large and got a 6A supply - plenty as it happens, but I'd rather know it isn't overloaded. It wasn't expensive, and a sealed plug-and-play unit is convenient. I was disappointed to find it fitted with a 13A fuse though (the mains side is rated at 1.5A), I've swapped for a 5A for now as that's the smallest I had in, but will find a smaller fuse.

 

All plugged in, and we have light.



In situ in the dining room, and with the building in place, the light is bright - actually, maybe a bit too bright. There is a reasonable amount of light reaching the front of trains on the station track, even with the lighting bar in the flush position, though as expected moving the lighting bar forward really helps with light on trains on the front siding. I don't think any further light will be needed at the back of the layout.

 

When I bought the light strip I also got a dimmer switch, being ridiculously cheap and thinking it might come in useful. The easiest way to try it seemed to be to attach in-line plug and sockets, and fit between power supply and lighting.

 

It's not easy to illustrate the difference with a photo, which exposes for the amount of light, but it does allow the light to be dimmed without affecting the distribution or colour of the light. Incidentally it doesn't dim all the way to off, but switches off from a low brightness. The dimmer allows the light to be adjusted to the light in the room, but I may yet experiment with just dimming the rear strip while keeping the front strips brighter. I might even remove LED's from the rear downward facing strip, so that the bulk of the light is from the front rear-facing strip for best front lighting. 

Edited June 25, 2019 by mjcampbell

[Alister_G]

Hi Michael,

 

Thank you very much for posting this very comprehensive review of how you tackled your lighting.

 

I will be taking notes and using them to see what I can do to sort out my woes

 

One thing I notice already is you use of 4000k "natural White" which seem to be much better than the 6500k "Daylight" strip I have.

 

For what they cost I might well get a strip.

 

Thanks again,

 

Al

[46444]

Great to see the progress of Hexworthy on here Michael. 

 

The backscene looks superb and I love the station building which captures the local buildings nicely. 

 

Look forwards to more updates. 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark 

Edited June 26, 2019 by 46444

[mjcampbell]

It seems a long time since I posted progress on Hexworthy's station building, but alongside other projects I have been chipping away at finishing it off. Starting with the top down, I needed chimney pots, and having trailed around the Alexandra Palace show searching, they are something that seem surprisingly difficult to buy. In the end I decided to just use plastic tube, a basic approach but seemed to work well on a Petite Property kit I built recently.

 

 

I've a cheap and cheerful chopper tool which rarely gets used, but it worked well here, with a steel square used as a length gauge, and made chopping a dozen pots to the same length straightforward.

 

 

The base is a couple of layers of 40-thou black plasticard, with holes punched in the top one and opened out to take the pots. Simple in theory but tricky to get all the holes lined up and without distorting the plastic too much, and the pots all in straight, however it seems to have worked out well enough. Once solid the tops were all levelled by sanding.

 

 

With hindsight I should have fitted the barge boards, then slated over the top edge of them, but I didn't so I used thin plasticard (10-thou) and tried to not make it too obvious that they don't sit under the slates. Cutting them to get the angles neat takes time but I think the result will work. The 3mm wide boards hide any gaps under the roof nicely, though I'll have a challenge painting them without getting paint on the slates!

 

 

The gutters are a cheat, they're a strip of 40 thou black plastic with the front lower edge rounded to a curve with a scalpel and emery paper. Hint - do this before cutting the strip. The rear of the strip is stuck under the edge of the roof with about 1mm showing. The gutter is obviously solid rather than hollow, but no one will see, helped by shaping the end of the strip to a small "D" shape.

 

This shot reminds me I'm not happy with that roof valley. Again with hindsight, painting the roof valleys lead grey would have been a great idea before slating it, now I'll have to think of a solution.

 

 

The toilet block has gained a roof too, a simple flat roof with edging boards, and covered in strips of masking tape to represent felt.

 

 

Finally for now, down-pipes are made from 1mm plastic rod, with support brackets stuck on from microstrip. With a few to make I used a simple jig, double-sided tape on a piece of glass, and marks on masking tape. High-tech it isn't, but when making multiple parts it does help. These will be fitted after painting, though I confess I've not bothered with gutters and down-pipes for the rear.

 

Now somewhere I have a nice moulding for a station canopy valence, but can I find it now I want it? I'm still pondering whether the station needs a canopy, but as a preserved railway station (especially in an area with a reputation for being wet!) it probably should have one.

[mjcampbell]

More progress has been made with Hexworthy station building. The barge-boards have been painted, first grey - a similar shade to the slates, ensuring to cover the edges and there is no white visible. The colour was then painted on, but leaving the top edge grey to disguise the fact it is outside the slates, rather than under them. Although a bit of a cheat this has worked well, and it is certainly not obvious that the barge boards are not quite where they should be.

 

The other obvious change is the down-pipes are now fitted, having been painted matt black (along with the gutters) and super-glued to the walls. I confess I didn't bother with gutters and down-pipes at the rear of the building as it will be very hard to see. The chimney pots are also painted and fitted, though the chimneys have yet to be glued in place.

Not so obvious but internal walls are now fitted, and floors prepared. The interior is mostly painted grey for a "shadowy" interior, but the booking hall, ticket office and goods shed have pale walls and brown floors in case they are more visible.

At the other end the toilet block roof is painted - matt grey covered with talcum powder is ideal for felt. A down-pipe has been fitted going up inside the fascia board, with a hole drilled in a corner of the flat roof suggesting the drain.

The heating fuel tank is a Bachmann item, and has had a dirty weathering job so is ready to be planted, it will probably be partially hidden by bushes and flowers in due course.
 

I've been pondering how to finish the roof, it looks to consistent and clean, so I put together a small test piece - imagine it in quarters. The right-hand half was given a dirty black-green wash of well thinned enamel, but this has just darkened the paper slates. The lower half was treated to a mix of black and grey weathering powder, brushed over and into the cracks, I think this is much better at disguising the (slightly oversized) cracks and giving some variation of shade.

 

I picked up this container for the yard some time back, but while the paints were out decided it needed weathering - heavily. I rubbed off some of the lettering with a fibre-glass pencil, then gave the whole thing a wash of black-green enamels, wiping off any excess with a cotton bud and causing downward rain streaks. This collects in the detail nicely. A little rust was dry-brushed on, particularly the corners and outer corrugations, and the door closing bars. Finally a little weathering powder and a spray of Testors Dullcote to seal and it is ready.

Edited July 4, 2019 by mjcampbell

[south_tyne]

Cracking work on the station building Michael. The layout is already offering up so much atmosphere 

[mjcampbell]

Although fitting the back-scene had appeared to go well, after a few days I noticed a ridge in the middle. I'm not sure what went wrong, but probably I'd not kept enough tension on the paper while sticking it down. Attempts to smooth it down didn't work, in fact they seemed to make it worse. From some angles it wasn't too obvious, but from others it was - and once I'd noticed it I knew it would always bother me.

 

So after mulling it over I decided I wouldn't be happy with it, so ordered a replacement, only one of the two sheets was needed as the short right-hand piece looked fine. The question was how to make a better job of fitting it at the second attempt, especially as experimentation on the old piece showed the print is damaged by masking tape.

 

I decided on a 2-step approach. First I applied PVA glue to the first inch of the backboard, I don't know how well it will hold the plastic-backed print (experiment on an off-cut suggests sufficiently), but it did allow the back-scene to be positioned carefully and adjusted, checking the edge is neatly against the fixed piece and it unrolls straight.

 

When I was happy with the position the glued inch was weighted and left overnight.
 

Back out in the garden with everything (including the rolled back-scene) masked for the spray glue. This time my wife helped, while I  unrolled the back-scene carefully keeping it straight and under tension she smoothed it down a little at a time with a cloth, working away from the glued edge.

 

And it worked, a week on there is no sign of ridges or bubbles. The lesson I think is that tension must be kept evenly on the paper while applying it, and it's a two-person job to do properly.

 

The join between the two pieces is much neater this time too, here it will be partially disguised by trees but it isn't that obvious. It isn't nice deciding to re-do a job, but I'm glad I did.

[brianusa]

Dartmoor never looked so good!

    Brian.

Edited July 7, 2019 by brianusa
spelling

[mjcampbell]

 

While on the 009 stand at Ally Pally back in March I made a start on a project I've been planning for a while. Given the widespread use of ex-RNAD wagons on preserved lines, along with plant such as mini diggers, I thought a digger-carrying wagon conversion would be interesting. Now the RNAD sites had similar converted wagons to carry fork-lifts, except they were loaded from a platform onto a flat wagon, then onto an adjacent wagon which had a ramp down to a lower level deck, allowing the fork-lift to be carried within the loading gauge. These provided useful details but I envisaged an arrangement that allows the digger to be loaded onto the wagon from ground level. A low-loader might be a better solution, but preserved railways make the most of what they have.

 

So here is the nearly finished unpainted result. The mini digger is from Wiking, to HO scale but looks fine here, while both wagons are adapted from the 009 society kit. The left-hand wagon has one end removed and the other reduced to 2 planks, and is used to store ramps and timbers for unloading, as well as the drill attachment.

The digger carrying wagon itself is significantly adapted. One end is removed and the end frame tucked further under the floor, while the nearer end is sloped down. The end frame is under the sides, which are cut to a taper, and the removed wedge refitted as a sloping brace to the lower end frame. Under the end a beam is fitted just above track level, to be wedged with a timber during unloading to stop the wagon tilting (a detail taken from the RNAD forklift carrier). The wire loops are supports for the removable ramps, while the deck is reinforced with checker plate. The brake handle has had to be shortened too.
 

To hold the digger in place I fitted a 2mm diameter, 2mm deep magnet in the wagon deck, and another in a hole drilled in the underside of the digger. These tiny magnets are very strong and hold the digger firmly (it can lift the wagon), but allowing it to be removed. There's a couple of strips of lead under the wagon to make it stable. I suspect the real mini-digger would have a very low centre of gravity, despite appearances.

 

 

A picture showing how the ramps could be fitted to the wagon, packed with timbers placed over the track, to allow loading of the digger. The ramps and timbers will end up glued to the carrier truck. Note that the digger fits best if reversed on, and the top swivelled 180 degrees.

 

 

Anyway I have finally got around to painting them. To add interest to my usual wagon grey I thought the ends would look good picked out in yellow, and suits the PW train. The ramps were also yellow, but well distressed with rust and gunmetal as they would be, having a digger drive over them. The wagons got the usual dirty wash, some dry-brushing and a dusting of weathering powder before a spray of Dullcote matt varnish.

 

The digger also got a dirty weathering wash, using a cotton bud to add streaking. This was used over the windows too, cleaning with the cotton bud, while a brown wash covered the tracks. Pipework was touched in black, with gunmetal on moving parts, and dry-brushing for rust and bare metal - such as on the shovel. I added weathering powders too, but I've not varnished as it would fog the glazing.

 

The digger can still be removed and posed - it is held with a small magnet - but I've had to glue the ramps and packing timbers along with the jackhammer attachment onto the match truck. It took me a couple of attempts to arrange these in a realistic manner.

 

While the paints were out I completed this wagon built from another 009 society kit, which I'd also built back at Alexandra Palace. It's iron bodied so for a change I went for a red/brown oxide colour, and weathered as a coal wagon. It's a nice size wagon - small but not tiny - and I've a couple of wooden ones to built, but I might have to get some more.

I just need to fit couplings to these and put them into service. That digger might have work to do at Hexworthy.

[mjcampbell]

About three weeks ago I had to have an operation, which means I'll be recovering for a few weeks. However over the last week since being back home I have started some modelling - having lined up some easy tasks that would not be physically taxing.

 

First up was some wagon kits - three of the recent 009 society kits, two wooden bodied opens and a flat/bolster wagon, to join the iron sided wagon I built already. These are nice easy kits for relatively small freelance wagons with good proportions, so I will look out for some more of them. I've also made a batch of couplings and fitted them to all 4 wagons, plus to the digger wagon.

 

Another easy job was the scribing of stonework for the walls around Hexworthy. This just uses a pencil in the styrofoam. Photos of stonework in the area and the actual bridge were used to get the right style as best I can.

Here's one of the river bank retaining walls in place, with the wall to the road in the distance.

 

The bridge and wall to the road, the stonework is larger in the bridge walls.

 

At the other end of the layout is this small culvert over a stream. I'll have to get the paints out to complete these walls.

 

Before the op I'd cut platforms from 3mm foam-board, marked out from a paper template. I think the platform surface should be paved around the station building, but I'm not sure how to go about this best. I'm considering individual plastic paving slabs but I'm not sure on the size, or pattern. Here I've cut large slabs 3' x 2' (12mm x 8mm) - the same size as the pavement in our street - and smaller ones 2' x 18" (8mm x 6mm). The smaller ones probably look better though would be more tedious to lay, but the bigger ones work better along the platform edge where I expect a substantial paving slab would be required. I guess they go length-ways along the edge, but which way to lay them over the rest of the platform?

[mjcampbell]

Before my operation I figured I might be able to do some modelling while recovering, so to make that as easy as possible I sorted out various projects into some fruit trays, including easy tasks like plastic wagon kits, making and fitting couplings, through more complex repairs, adaptions, and detailing jobs. It means I have a choice of activities depending on what I feel up to, and without having to go looking.

 

A relatively easy pick this week is this Welsh Highland coach from Dundas, which I figured would make a good preserved-era observation coach to run on Hexworthy. The kit is good quality and went together well, with just a little flash on the bogie mouldings that was easily cleaned. The instructions could have been clearer on how the seats went together, but I figured it out in the end. I decided not to fit glazing first as the instructions suggest - as that would make painting a real pain - but I can see cutting the glazing to fit each window will be the most fiddly part of the build.

 

As you can see I did "open" some of the drop-frame windows by cutting away the upper part of the frame and gluing in a piece of microstrip at the part-open level. This isn't hard to do and gives the coach life. The day after assembling the body I found the sides bowing in already, so added some strengthening from 40-thou plastic, though I can see they won't help the fitting of glazing!

 

Underneath the bogie securing nuts work loose quickly and will need fixing with glue. I'd prefer to see a captive nut in the floor myself. I trimmed the step support slightly to ensure plenty of bogie swing, and fixed Microtrains couplings to the floor with a piece of packing. As the couplings pivot and are sprung they work well body-mounted.

 

Another kit from the pile assembled, and awaiting the paint shop!

[mjcampbell]

I recently picked up a Bachmann WD Baldwin which should be a useful loco, but I need to fit couplings to match the Microtrains "buckeye" type I use on most of my 009 fleet. Unfortunately Microtrains don't make a version to fit the NEM coupler pockets fitted to this loco. I had hoped to remove the couplings and fit standard Microtrains into the recess, but I found the recess was about 1 mm too narrow for the Microtrains draft box, and the shaft in the centre too large to pass through the coupling. As this part of the loco is cast metal and close to the chassis I couldn't see how to open it up without risking damage.

I did some searching. Dapol "Easi-shunt" buckeye couplings fit NEM sockets, however they are quite pricey, and from what I have read online they are not compatible with Microtrains. Bachmann make their own "EZ-mate" N-gauge buckeye coupling for the US market, and although there is no NEM version, from pictures it looked like the mounting was very similar to that used for the NEM bracket in the Baldwin loco. As they were reasonably priced I ordered some to try (type 78503).

 

Comparing the "EZ-Mate" buckeye above to the coupling removed from the Baldwin the pivot with "whisker" springs appears very similar. So on to fitting to the loco...

 

The guard-rail is removed from the front and rear with the tiny screw, which also frees the coupling. One of the guard rails appeared to have stuck in place (paint?), a little work with a knife and gentle leverage freed it. The EZ-mate coupling then just replaces the coupling and the guard rail and screw replaced.

 

However, the trip pin fouls the track, and the coupling droops - it is too free to move vertically.

 

So to restrict vertical movement a piece of plasticard was cut to fit the coupling recess with a 2 mm hole to clear the pivot shaft, and acts as a spacer or washer to support the coupling. The photo shows the rear coupling, and you can see graphite powder (Kadee lubricant) to help free movement. Once assembled the height of the trip pin was checked - is should just clear a piece of 10-thou plastic placed on the track. It was still a little low so the trip pin was pushed up through the coupling by about 1 mm. 

 

As you can see the result is couplings that match the height I set the Microtrains at (which I think is about 1 mm lower than they should be for US N-gauge), and despite a slightly different design, couples up with them and look similar. Coupling seems quite reliable, uncoupling is a little less so as the Bachmann coupling seems more reluctant to swing over a magnet than the Microtrains. I've tried to ensure they are free to swing, and if the spring is any more slack they wouldn't centre, so I'm not sure why. However testing suggests they work reasonably well. The delayed action is rather hit and miss as even if they uncouple, the Bachmann EZ-mate often doesn't swing far enough to not re-couple.

So maybe this won't work for reliable delayed action shunting, but the conversion to couplings that are compatible with the Microtrains was relatively easy and didn't involve any non-reversible changes to the loco. Assuming other Bachmann 009 stock uses the same coupling mounting, I should be able to use the same EZ-mate couplings for easy conversion of those too.

[mjcampbell]

Gosh I realised it's been years since I updated this thread! The build got interrupted when I decided to build an entry to a 009 Society challenge, which resulted in Loctern Quay, which I will have to post a thread on elsewhere. Then after a busy period at work and a bit of a modelling lull, I have got back to working on Hexworthy. Here's an accelerated update...

 

 

The station building got a canopy.  It's made from plasticard edged with some plastic valancing I've had for "one day" for years. The felt roof is just masking tape, applied in slightly overlapping strips. Also in this photo can be seen one of the chimneys with flashing fitted just before final installation.

 

 

The underside of the canopy is braced with plastic section and strip (the black diagonals are difficult to see but help prevent warping), and a centre rib made from the sprue from the valance. Paper-clip wires are fixed in place to provide a mounting to the building - holes were punched in the wall for them to push into. 

 

 

It was several months later until I got around to painting it. It was made harder when I realised the colour wasn't straight from a tin, I must have mixed it! Eventually I got a reasonable match to the doors, though this is a lesson to use an available colour when it might need to be matched in the future...

 

 

Anyway, with the canopy fitted and the chimneys now fixed, I think the station is finished. I have wondered about fitting lighting before it is too difficult, but there are more pressing matters so we will see. Round the back there is less detail, with no gutters or downpipes, though since it will be a couple of inches from the backscene it could probably have managed even without doors and windows!

 

 

Hmm, the café in the old goods shed could do with some interior detail though. The roof is not fixed on yet...

[mjcampbell]

A while back I got a resin kit for a water tower from Anyscale Models. It's a nice small size just right for 009, and the stone base fits well with Hexworthy. It came with some wire for pipework, but no outlet for locos to use, so I found a corner of plastic sprue and carved out the resin to set it under the tank, the filler bag is a piece of electrical heat-shrink insulation and a wire handle was added for operating a valve. 

 

 

While the tank is a nice size for 009, the base is too short - leaving the tank too low to fill a loco. I decided to make a platform for it to stand on, which could provide a coaling area too. The platform was made from pizza base foam and embossed as with the other stonework on Hexworthy, with some steps at the platform end and a wall behind. I will add the coal later. 

 

 

As you can see this now puts the tank at a good height for filling the tanks of locos. It is situated beyond the end of the platform alongside the loco release, where locos can be serviced after uncoupling from their train and running round. Similar arrangements are seen in preservation at Porthmadog and Welshpool. 

 

 

A close-up shows the pipework detail, a filler pipe and another outlet. The water is a piece of clear plastic painted murky green on the underside, there's a small gap which I should fill with gloss medium at some point. Really there should be some kind of level indicator or float valve on the inlet pipe. 

 

 

At the end of the running line a large stone forms a stop-block, hopefully preventing the road wall being demolished. The siding to the left has a Peco buffer stop. 

 

The problem with the Peco buffer stop is it looks a bit flimsy, not so bad on the end of a long siding but it doesn't look very substantial if used on a platform or running line. For the bay platform I beefed up the Peco moulding with some diagonal pieces of plasticard, suggesting hefty timbers set into the ground to reinforce the stop beam. It's simple but does make the little buffer stop look like it could survive a gentle nudge. 

[mjcampbell]

Fast forward through the ballasting and ground cover (scatter and static grass), all fairly conventiona. I wanted a post and rail fence separating the railway land from surrounding farmland, but was wary that model fences can be vulnerable. I decided to make my own. 

 

 

I made fence posts from wire. Most are straightened paperclips, each provides 4 inch-long posts which are stiff but bendable (i.e. wont break if knocked), and at about 1mm diameter (scale 3") seem the right thickness. I reckoned about 14-16mm is needed above ground (3'6" to 4'), the rest will keep it vertical. However, such fences have braced posts at ends and intervals, those I made from 1mm brass wire so a second bracing piece could be soldered to it at an angle. After soldering the angled leg was bent parallel to the post at ground level so it could go into the ground. Finally, the posts were left in blackening solution for a little while, I then taped them to the edge of a piece of card and painted them a grey-brown colour. 

 

 

The fence was made up on a "jig" on a piece of packaging card (hence the pictures of saucepans). A strip of card makes an end-stop for the tops of the posts, and the bottoms are held on a strip of double-sided tape. The posts were placed at scale 6' intervals (24mm) using a piece of card as a spacer, this doesn't need to be accurate but the posts were set "vertically" as best as possible.

 

 

For the wire I got some "EZ-line", an elastic that stays taut and of course stretches if caught, it comes in various colours so I chose a rust colour. https://www.modelscenerysupplies.co.uk/EZ-Line-Rust
The spacing is helped by notched paper "combs", folded and all cut together, crude but seemed to keep the elastic in place. The notches are a about 3.5mm apart as I chose 4 wires - 5 might be better but the effect of 4 is sufficient. The elastic line is pressed into double sided tape at the end and placed over the posts and through the paper notches, taut but only very slightly stretched, and fixed to tape at the other end. I then secured each line to each post with a drop of superglue from the end of a piece of wire. The superglue seems to hold it quite securely. 

 

 

The fence is simply planted into holes in the scenery, which if you recall consists of expanded polystyrene covered in a kitchen roll/PVA "shell" and a layer of tile grout. It is easy to push a dental probe in to puncture the shell, then force the post into the hole by hand (or pliers if stiff), the polystyrene holds the post upright while the hole in the shell stops it moving. Holes were spaced with the same piece of card, ensuring the elastic "wires" are taut (although too much or unequal tension might force the post to lean). Of course while the posts are placed vertically to about the same depth (around 16mm above ground), the wires follow the landscape staying parallel to each other.

 

 

As the fence progressed the unfixed end could get itself in a tangle. These clips held the end posts apart until I was ready to plant them. The card has a dab of PVA glue which was wiped onto the ends of the posts before planting, just in case they should come loose, although friction should be enough to hold them. 

 

 

The effect is rather pleasing, following the contours nicely, while being very robust - the posts are more likely to cause injury than break but could be straightened if they do bend, while the elastic wire stretches but seems strong and firmly fixed. I placed the posts with the wire on the far side, but the superglue doesn't seem obvious anyway. The braced posts add a nice detail. It's pretty cheap too, the only significant cost is the EZ-line but I think it worth it. 

[mjcampbell]

After the grass and fencing the next task was to add some shrubbery - bushes and undergrowth - which abound in the sheltered parts of Dartmoor where the sheep can't reach. 

 

 

My favourite base is some old fibrous carpet underlay which I tried to dye green intending to use it for making long grass many years ago, before the days of static grass. It turned out to be the wrong sort of underlay, but by happy accident it forms a nice bushy shape when teased out, like rubberised horsehair but much finer. 

 

 

The teased-out chunks are then sprayed liberally with hairspray and coated in scatter, ensuring all sides are well covered. Sometimes the bush is dunked in a pot of scatter. I use a selection of shades and coarseness, but try to limit the range of colours. 

 

 

The bush is then stuck down with a wipe of matt medium. The hedge on the right was an Auhagen product, with a little extra teasing out and scatter added, with a few strategically planted cocktail sticks to keep it upright. 

 

 

I also use rubberised horsehair (left), which is more coarse than the underlay (right) but makes quite good brambles, and the traditional lichen (centre). 

 

 

Either way the procedure is the same - hairspray and scatter. 

 

Quite a few bushes would be needed...

[mjcampbell]

I've found an easy way to represent low weed growth. This started when applying the static grass, by building layers of longer (4mm and 6mm) grass. 

 

 

Then the grass is wiped with a brush loaded with just a little of the matt modge podge, so a little collects on the tips. The matt medium dries clear and (obviously) matt so any that would be left visible dries invisible. 

 

 

Scatter material of the ground foam variety is sprinkled onto and dabbed into the grass, where it sticks to the tips. I find a slightly darker shade than the surrounding grass works well, and sometimes use two or more shades. 

[mjcampbell]

The trees come from Woodland Scenics "tree armatures", plastic mouldings for trees 5 to 7 inches tall, a pack contains 12 in 4 designs. 

 

 

The procedure I use is as follows:

• Cut off the base, any moulding lines and release marks
• Drill the base "peg" to accept a piece of straightened paper-clip wire, superglued in place. Drilling has to be done slowly and in brief bursts as the plastic melts easily, binding the drill
• Now the armatures are dunked in boiling water for a few minutes, this warms the plastic making it more malleable. 
• Remove and shake/dab off excess water, taking care not to get scalded - but the tree itself won't be too hot to touch
• Now twist the trunk. I grip at the lowest set of branches (sometimes pliers helps) and at the next set of branches up and firmly twist through about 60 degrees. Repeat at the next set of branches up, and the next... it gets easier as the trunk tapers. Each 60 degree (ish) twist means branches now fan out all around the tree
• Each branch then is then shaped and has its own branches twisted to hopefully natural shapes that fill the space
• Trunks are then painted to reduce their plasticky sheen

This is actually quite easy, although the pointy branches are not kind to the thumbs. 

 

Foliage can come from different sources, but the Woodland Scenics foliage works well, as does the similar Heiki-Flor foliage. Small pieces are cut then teased out in all 3 dimensions - tweezers help - to get a delicate spread. This is then threaded onto a branch covered with a little matt modge podge. In the process a lot of the foam "leaves" fall off, so when the tree is complete it is sprayed liberally with hairspray and the fallen leaves sprinkled back on. 

 

 

The effect works well, surprisingly well given it's ease, and can result in pleasingly light and delicate foliage - although the density of the tree depends how much foliage is applied and how far it is teased out. While not exactly quick - I guess the whole process takes about 2.5-3 hours per tree in total - these trees are much quicker to make than completely hand-made trees and look far better than most shop-bought trees.

 

 Another method of adding foliage to the trees is to use a fibrous material and a separate scatter material. I think my fibrous material came from Green Scene although I don't see it listed now, the Woodland Scenics polyfibre looks similar. The leaves can use any scatter material, I use a fine ground foam from various sources. 

 

 

The fibre is applied in a similar way to the foliage matting, but there are differences. I tended to cut off a chunk and tease out to a large "cloud", then cut smaller pieces from it to attach to the tree, using matt modge podge. This material is teased out to a much greater extent than foliage matting, taking up many times its initial volume.

 

 

 

The fibres fill out the tree shape, effectively providing the twigs without leaves. I suppose it looks like a winter tree, although the transition between the plastic branches and the fine fibres looks rather abrupt. At this stage the tree is sprayed liberally with hairspray and the chosen scatter applied, sprinkled from all sides - including from below, but mainly from above and the sides. A repeat hairspray application and scatter make sure the covering is secure and even.

 

 

The result is a more bulbous tree with a relatively dense covering of leaves, although the leaves are around the outside of the tree shape and not through it - as often seen on real trees. I guess the foliage could be less dense if the fibres are teased out even more, although if that leaves the fibres visible I find the result less convincing. 

 

In this tree line-up tree one (on the left) uses Woodland Scenics dark green foliage, two uses Heiki-flor foliage in light green, tree four (far right) uses Woodland Scenics mid green foliage, but tree three (third from left) uses the fibres and foam scatter as shown above. The resulting different shape of the foliage adds variety, and the denser foliage can be useful when using the tree to block out a background or give the appearance of more dense woodland. It is also useful to be able to use a wider range of scatter material colours and textures. 

[mjcampbell]

Since the baseboard is foam-core board and landscape is expanded polystyrene covered in a PVA-soaked tissue and tile grout skin, planting the trees is easy. A dental probe is used to punch a hole through the hard skin of the scenery after which the tree can be "planted", it's wire "root" pushing easily through polystyrene and foam-core. The wire and base of the trunk are coated with matt modge-podge to hold it and if needed gound cover is pushed out the way to allow the trunk to sit on the landscape, any gaps being disguised with a little extra ground foam scatter. 

 

 

The right-hand end of the layout now looks quite wooded, as is the intention since the river valleys are filled with trees. Although the trees form a row only one tree deep the use of denser foliage on trees in the centre suggest the woodland is more dense than it actually is. One tree sits at the front adding depth to the scene and acting as a view-blocker, while the trees at the right-hand end very effectively screen the track exit. With the tree at the front too, the exit is not easily visible even looking along the layout. 

 

 

 

At the left hand end a couple of large trees break up the scene and help disguise the compressed road, the tree at the rear having more dense foliage. I added some commercial poplar trees behind the station where there is a narrow embankment, hopefully adding some visual interest. 

 

 

 

At the right-hand end the trees can be seen to hide the exit track, while the tree at the front frames a scene around the bridge. My wife observed that the tree at the front has become a regular feature of my layouts, including Loctern Quay and Awngate! At the rear a tree by the stream both disguises the join in the backscene and casts a shadow where the stream meets the backscene. Grass tufts can be seen in the fields too. 

[mjcampbell]

To add interest I decided to add some lighting. There's only one building...

 

 

To complement the platform lamps I thought there should be lighting under the canopy. I had some tiny surface-mount LEDs (SMLED) with wires attached, the wires were passed through holes punched through the foam walls just under the canopy and the LEDs were fixed under the canopy bracing with a dot of superglue. For the indoor lights normal 3mm LEDs were used, I tried white but the colour was too stark and blue, so I settled on yellow, a bit too yellow but it looks OK. The corridor and booking office share an LED in a hole in the wall, inserted through the ceiling, while the right-hand room has an LED pushed through the wall from the old goods shed. Being made from polystyrene foam it is very easy to make holes in the walls for wires or LEDs. 

 

 

From above the lighting installation is not so neat! The rear upper roms house the connections out of sight. The power comes up in the back left corner (seen in the previous photo), and the negative is a bare single-core wire that all the LED negative wires could be connected to. This is a bit nerve racking as one downside of a polystyrene foam building is it isn't compatible with a soldering iron! The four canopy LEDs are wired from the 5-way terminal block rear right, and each have their own resistor. However, the four indoor LEDs are wired in parallel pairs sharing a resistor, mainly to save terminal block space. From the upstairs rooms an LED pokes through the wall to light the front centre room, while another serves the old goods shed via a hole in the end wall. 

 

 

In a darkened room the effect works quite well, the canopy lights are remarkably bright, the indoor lights a bit yellow but give a cosy feel. As I'd previously painted the inside walls there is little light bleed, except where I poked LEDs through holes in the walls - light seems to travel through the walls and make them glow (as seen where the goods shed meets the station). Some black paper or foil around the sides of the LED might stop this. 

 

 

I then had an idea. Could I put a light inside the phonebox? Well it seems with one of the SMLEDs it isn't that hard! Here the LED is glued to a square of black paper (to stop the top of the phonebox glowing), the wires bound in heat-shrink to protect them and keep them stiff. 

 

 

Installation needed a hole drilling through the clay base, then punching through the polystyrene landscape and foam-core board. The wire was then passed through and connected up underneath, and the phonebox glued in place. 

 

 

The result works quite nicely. Being a plastic phonebox it does glow through the red, although it isn't so obvious to the eye as it looks in this photo. I may go for a bigger resistor to dim it a little. I like the way this is largely hidden by the water tower from some angles, but comes into view as a splash of red in daylight or now as a glowing beacon in the dark - rather like real old phoneboxes did. 

 

 

Some time (years) ago I'd picked up this ice cream kiosk fitted with lighting, thinking it would add some colour and light to the car park at Hexworthy. When I eventually got it out of its box and applied power to the leads nothing happenned - no light at all. Of course I dismantled the kiosk but the problem wasn't a dodgy lead, so I presume something is amis inside the strip of 3 LEDs. Still, now it's in pieces it wasn't hard to fit a replacement light, I chose a white LED, which gives a cold white rather like flourescant lighting. 

 

 

The new LED was fitted in a top corner where it wouldn't be seen through the open hatch and the wire run out through the existing hole. While it was apart, I painted the interior and the plasticky and featureless person that had been crudely stuck in - no real detail is needed - and the visible parts of the chassis. 

 

 

The kiosk was reassembled and given light weathering using a dirty wash, adding shadow to panel gaps and very slight streaking in places, plus a dirty roof. I also added fine wire lengths looped around the axles behind the wheels and twisted together. 

 

 

The wire tails behind the wheels are to hold the relatively heavy die-cast model in place, glue on the wheels wouldn't be adequate. Small holes were punched through the ground just inside each wheel, and a larger hole for the lighting wires. The twisted holding wires were coated with matt medium before being pushed down through the holes. On the right, the playground was lifted out so I could reach the wires underneath, the lighting wires being passed through to the relevant terminal block. 

 

 

The kiosk in place next to the playground, the roof is grubby but the sides have only slight streaking as though kept clean. 

 

 

The last lighting job was to fit the platform lamps. These are Gaugemaster/DCC Concepts, but I found the green a little bright, so I painted them a darker, more muted shade. 

 

The fitting of the platform lamps was left until now so they are not knocked when working on other scenics. Two are easily visible, the third is the far end of the station near the water tower. 

 

 

At dusk the lighting is quite effective and atmospheric, the station area being well lit by the under-canopy lights as well as the platform lights, and the ice cream kiosk casting a stark light across the car park. In the far distance, the glowing phone box is tricky to spot. The station cafe (old goods shed) will need some interior detail!

[Garry D100]

Looks great.

Is it worth painting the inside of the telephone box with black paint to cut down the light bleed in the plastic ?

[mjcampbell]

45 minutes ago, Garry D100 said:

Looks great.

Is it worth painting the inside of the telephone box with black paint to cut down the light bleed in the plastic ?

Yes, if I'd thought of that before glazing it!

 

There's a square of black paper under the roof and the glow through the sides isn't as noticable to the eye as it appears in the photo. 

[mjcampbell]

One last post to bring things up to date. Hexworthy is modelled in the preservation era, and I want the scene to be recognisable as a modern era preserved railway that might be running steam engines rather than a period layout with some modern anachronisms. One characteristic feature of many preserved railway station yards is an old caravan that has seen better days, used as accomodation for volunteers. I got an old Oxford Diecast caravan, and I want it to look old as though it has been there many years. 

 

 

First I gave the shiny white glossy finish a rub down with a fibreglass pencil to reduce the shine and allow the weathering to stick. Some details were touched in with paint - gunmetal on the steps, hinges, handles, hitch, and jockey wheel, matt black-grey on rubber parts, and subtle dry-brushing of rust colours in some places like wheels and hitch (but caravan bodies are aluminium). The first weathering coat is a well diluted dirty brown, streaked with a brush dampened with thinners, worked into joins and cracks, and stippled on the roof. A further coat of dirty green was used to add traces of mould. It's intentioally a pretty heavy weathering. 

 

 

The carvan would have its legs down, but the model didn't have any, so I added some. Small holes were drilled in each corner of the floor, staples cut and bent to make the angled legs, and superglued into the holes. There should be secondary arms forming a triangle back to the body but I figured they wouldn't be visible from normal angles. Small "wood" blocks were cut from plasticard and superglued to the bottom of the legs. 

 

To fix the caravan in place, fine wire was looped around the axle behind each wheel and twisted together as with the kiosk. Two holes were puched through the scenery, polystyrene and foam-core base, the twisted wires coated with glue (well I used matt Modge Podge) and pushed into the holes. The blocks under the legs and the bottom of the wheels also had a dab of matt modge-podge as it was pushed into place. 

 

Here's the caravan in place under the trees and surrounded by undergrowth, which explains its dirty and slightly mouldy state. It sits in a corner of the station site past the end of what would once have been the goods yard but is now part car-park, and part playground, I guess the caravan was put there before the playground was built. It's accessed through a gate at the end of the playground. I chose not to fit lighting partly as I want it to appear empty but possibly still occasionally used, it could do with a little clutter around it though. Still, it does add a little visual interest at this end of the station. 

[mjcampbell]

It's been a while since I posted an update but some further progress has been made over the winter...

 

Usually I keep figures to a minimum on my layouts to suggest life, but as Hexworthy is a preserved railway station and I will be running lots of passenger trains, it will need to look like a reasonably popular tourist destination. 

 

 

Figures come from a variety of suppliers. I was particularly looking for children for the playground, in modern dress rather than looking like they stepped out of a "Just William" story. At the top we have a Faller set in playing poses, HO scale of course but children come in all sizes. Next we have some from Langley (which look like TT scale adults) and Pete Goss (rather chubbier). Then there are teenagers and adults from Monty's Models. The bottom two rows are loco crews from Faller, Dapol, and ModelU, some have already been assigned locos and some await fitting. The animals and fire buckets are from Dart Castings. Whitemetal figures later had their legs drilled and a length of wire superglued in to help secure them in place on the layout. 

 

 

These benches and picnic tables are a Metcalf Models laser-cut kit, and look just right for a modern era preserved railway. Although cut from a brown cardstock that is a reasonable representation of natural wood, they received several coats of grey and brown washes to give a more weathered finish. 

 

 

I also got some 3D printed station signs from Model Railway Scenes, rather easier than sticking separate letters on although painting the letters was tricky. The signs and posts are nicely printed with no visible lines, my only suggestion is that the length could do with shortening for shorter names. The pack has 4 signs with posts, but I only really have room for one standing on the platform and one on the wall of the goods shed. The benches have been added to the platform, and the picnic tables situated outside the goods shed café. 

 

 

A close-up of the café entrance shows the teenagers hanging around outside, while inside customers can be seen at the tables. Actually there is one table and a few chairs, more fine 3D prints by Model Railway Scenes, plus a couple of Faller seated people. The people were destined for coach passengers but these two appear to be holding drinks, so were allocated to the café. Although there is just one table, two customers and four chairs, it's enough to give an impression of a café interior since even with the light on, it's not possible to see further in. 

 

 

At the other end of the station the fire buckets have found a home outside the gents, while a father and son wait on the platform. The lone gent on the left is either trying to get a signal on his mobile or taking a selfie. 

 

 

The playground has had the most figures added to really bring it to life, in fact the playground is busier than the station, which might need a few more potential passengers. The Faller kids are ideal for the swing, see-saw, roundabout and climbing frame, with the whitemetal figures dotted around. In the far corner grandparents wait on the bench while in the gateway a mum is distracted on her phone. Meanwhile, another mum and boy are buying ice creams. 

 

 

The animals have also been added. Here a couple of rabbits are in danger from a fox. 

 

 

Another of the Model Railway Scenery chairs is see outside the old caravan. Look carefully and you can see a squirrel near the caravan, a hedgehog near the tracks on the left and a rabbit lower right. 

 

Being Dartmoor there had to be sheep too, one of which seems to have got itself the wrong side of the tracks. A hare can be seen in the field too. There's also two squirrels in this shot (one of them an unlikely red squirrel), plus the rabbit seen in the last shot. In total there are 4 sheep, 3 rabbits, 3 squirrels, 2 foxes, 2 hedgehogs, and 2 stoats on the layout. That should keep the kids busy.

[mjcampbell]

I've acquired a couple of road vehicles for Hexworthy, a ubiquitous Transit van and a Land Rover Defender. Both are nicely detailed models by Oxford Diecast, with interiors, UK number plates, and rubber tyres, but they are rather too shiny and clean...

 

 

So I disassembled them, which is easy as they are simply screwed together (I've drilled out many rivets under toy Hotwheels cars for my Son to customise!). Removing the wheels, glazing, and interior allows weathering as follows:

• Rubbed down the paintwork with very fine emery and a fibreglass pencil to tone down the shine
• Cut off the mounting screw mounts under the Land Rover, as its high ground clearance made them visible
• The Transit van got dry-brushed rust (enamel) paint around the wheel arches, sills, gutter, and some panel edges - not too much, just a hint suggesting a long life
• Plastic bumpers were painted, almost black on the Land Rover and dark grey on the Transit van
• Window recesses were touched in with black paint where not already painted black
• A dark brown wash was applied and partially rubbed off, filling panel gaps and toning down the paint slightly. A black wash was applied to the wheels. I've started using Vallejo washes, they're convenient and work well
• A muddy brown was then airbrushed along the sills and around the wheel-arches, and up the rear of the vehicles from below, plus a little on the tyres
• Finally, the bodies got a spray of Testors Dullcote (with headlights masked) before being re-assembled

 

 

The Transit van is on 1989 plates so I gave it heavier weathering with touches of rust showing through, and faded bumpers (the black plastics of vehicles of that era seemed to fade to grey very quickly). I also painted the interior a darker shade of mid-grey as it seemed a bit pale. It is lacking wing mirrors which I may have a go at making, but they would be rather delicate. 

 

 

The Land Rover is on 2012 plates so much newer, consequently I was much lighter on the weathering. There is still a light wash to bring out the panel gap shadows and mud behind the wheel-arches as befits a vehicle that is presumably used on country lanes a lot. The black wash on the wheels has filled the "blind" holes in the alloys, improving their looks.

 

 

I'm very pleased with the results, they've lost the deep glossy finish and look more realistic, with signs of real-world use and different ageing.