RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 6, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 6, 2019 I've now got the laser-cut pieces for the first building on order, so I should be getting those soon. In the meantime, I've been working on the designs for a couple of the other structures. First up was the bridge; this isn't going to be laser-cut, but will be made from a combination of Wills sheets, plasticard, and for the girders themselves, the Wills 'vari-girder' panels. I've never used these before but they seemed like a fine idea. I picked up a pack, and using the measurements off it set to work designing the bridge abutments in SketchUp. In the end I decided to use only 4 girder sections per side, as that helped with the 'compact' look I was going for: I built one of the sides up to see what it was like to use these sectional parts, and it really was a doddle. The parts all have a slight bevel on the edge rather than being square (due to the moulding process) so the edges needed a quick sand to make them square before glueing them up. The panels need to be be glued bac-to-back, and side-to-side. I was unsure as to which to do first; in the end I glued up 2 lots of 4 panels side-by-side, then when they'd gone off for a few minutes, glued both assemblies back-to-back. After a few more minutes drying time, I sanded the top & bottom edges, and glued on the top & bottom plates: I'm not quite sure of the purpose for the additional strap down the centre of the outer panels, but the instructions were quite clear about using them! Today I've been mostly designing the second building. This is much bigger than the first, and also includes the return down the right hand side: The design isn't finalised yet, and this drawing is missing some details such as the depth on the windows, the vertical mortar courses, etc, and the loading platform needs detailing. Hopefully I can get that done over the next couple of weekends. It struck me whilst browsing Google Images that some mills had water towers and, since the 'vari-girder' pack had many more panels than I needed, I could possibly use these to represent a plate girder water tank on top of the stair tower (note that I've not shown the sides yet): Hopefully all this virtual model making will one day lead to some *actual* model making. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 I've just had a read back through your thread. You showcase some fantastic computer work and an unusual approach to creating a model railway! My guess (as a civil engineer) is that the extra straps on the girder plate bridge provide reinforcing roughly where the girders meet the stone plinth they sit on. Using the extra parts from the kit for a water tank is a great idea, although it looks like it may be too high and possibly masked by the layout's fascia from higher viewing angles. Perhaps bringing it down a storey or two would help. The tank can also be used as an excuse to run random bits of piping around the layout, perhaps even a pipe bridge from front to back to softly break up the length of the scene. Have you got plans for the inside of the mills, at least the left-hand one which has slightly more depth? Overall, it looks excellent so far; I'm looking forward to seeing you computer aided designs become reality! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 7, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 7, 2019 6 hours ago, TechnicArrow said: Using the extra parts from the kit for a water tank is a great idea, although it looks like it may be too high and possibly masked by the layout's fascia from higher viewing angles. Perhaps bringing it down a storey or two would help. Yes, it will be obscured from higher angles, but I want the buildings to go right to the top of the layout. Plus, if I lower the water tank, then I'll have to model the top/inside of it! 6 hours ago, TechnicArrow said: Have you got plans for the inside of the mills, at least the left-hand one which has slightly more depth? I have thought about it - there will be some details visible in the left hand one through the open door where the line from the wagon turntable runs, but I think modelling more than that would be far more trouble than it's worth! However - I am thinking that I will have a little cameo scene inside the mill on the nearside of the track - with a cut-out in the fascia board, so you can see the inside of that mill, and see that end of the layout through the windows. 6 hours ago, TechnicArrow said: Overall, it looks excellent so far; I'm looking forward to seeing you computer aided designs become reality! Thank you. I've made a minor revision to the bridge design, basically adding a decorative course at the height of the pads that the girders will sit on: This will mean that I don't have to worry about a horizontal joint in the Wills 'Coarse Stone' sheets that I'll be using. And yes, I will be modelling the girders underneath the bridge! Further to that, I've managed to do some 'real' work today, though more woodwork than modelling - I've made the MDF boxes that will form the bridge abutments: As you can see, that decorative course will be just slightly lower than the 3" height of the stone sheet, meaning there won't be any joints at all in the sheets (other than the mitres at the corners). I'm hoping to make a start on cladding the abutments at the club on Monday. Something that I haven't sorted yet (and will need to before the bridge can be fitted) is how I'm going to do the chimney in the back corner... 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 17, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 17, 2019 A little more progress on the chimney: I wanted the chimney to have a realistic taper, and after looking at the possibility of 3D printing one in a number of sections, I simplified my thinking & bought a table leg from Ikea! Cut down, it was the perfect size/shape. It's around 55mm dia at the bottom, tapering to (IIRC) about 45mm at the top. I figured I could wrap the timber in embossed plasticard - I knew it wouldn't line up properly round the back, but since it's in the corner & will only ever be seen from a very limited viewing angle, I knew it would look ok. Got the first bridge abutment clad with the Wills sheets: Then made up the other bridge side & made up the bridge with the girders under: Shaped the cobblestone sheet slightly around the girders, and glued that into place onto the bridge assembly, and glued the mating piece to the abutment: The view from underneath: I used slater's 7mm brick sheet for the chimney; this will be painted to look like fairly regular stone blocks. Added some strip around for the iron bands (2 still to be added): All in all, a good bit of progress 15 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted September 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 18, 2019 Hi, Great work there. I am impressed how you have worked around the stone/cobble sheet sizes to keep your joins to a minimum. That said the mitred external corner of the bridge under the plate girder portion looks excellent - I assume you have taken your time to fill in any gaps and file them down? Did you file an angle on the edges first to lessen the gap? anyway - top work - following with interest. Regards, James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Kevin Johnson Posted September 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 18, 2019 Hi some very nice modelling, the bridge and stone work looks great. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Fantastic work jrb, love the 'how to' on building a bridge, I've kept all the photo's for future reference! I've tried in the past to do similar from card but find the measurements difficult to get right i.e. the height of the road surface from the ground and what to do with the underside of the bridge. How did you do the decorative course, was it plastic strip? Steve. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 18, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 18, 2019 Thanks all for your kind comments James, That corner joint is where 2 sheets meet (I think they're designed to match end-to- end). I did mitre/chamfer the ends, and then once I'd superglued the sheets to the MDF core I liberally applied some liquid cement to soften the plastic and then manipulated the edges of the plastic with a screwdriver blade, to close up any gaps. Some of the other joints are mitred, but some are simply butt-jointed (overlapped) and then the projecting edge filed to shape. Most of the joints do need going over with a bit of filler before painting though. Steve, One of the main advantages of designing it in CAD first is that it's easy to get the measurements required for every bit of it before making. The decorative course is just 80 thou square plasticard strip, with 'joints' filed into it. jrb 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquireBev Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Very impressive stuff - I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted September 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 18, 2019 4 hours ago, jrb said: That corner joint is where 2 sheets meet (I think they're designed to match end-to- end). I did mitre/chamfer the ends, and then once I'd superglued the sheets to the MDF core I liberally applied some liquid cement to soften the plastic and then manipulated the edges of the plastic with a screwdriver blade, to close up any gaps. jrb, Right....that makes sense - common sense to match them like that (not so common in my builds!) - I suppose with the randomness of the pattern it is definately best to do it that way. It all goes back to my admiration of the planning and execution of the job! Regards, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 20, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2019 More work on the chimney/boilerhouse... Added the final 2 straps that I didn't have time to do the other day. This is the side of the chimney that will be seen: ...and this horrific mess is the side that's into the corner, and thankfully will never be seen: I added a sloping roof from some 80-thou plasticard, on MDF supports, and glued an off-cut of stone embossed plasticard to the front wall: And then did something that I've never tried before, and never thought I would; I added individual roof slates, cut from 20 thou plasticard. I always thought it would be far too time consuming to do roofs this way, but it only took around 2 hours to cut and apply them all, and it was actually quite theraputic! I've still to work out how to model the flashing around the bottom (which will have to cover all of the gaps, dodgy cuts, and tiles that in real life would have fallen straight off due to having no means of securing them!) but other than that I'm very pleased with how it came out: Next job up will be the flashing, and then getting some paint on it. Like I said I'm pleased with how it's come out, but most of it won't be seen once it's in position - only the top few rows over the bridge: And the bottom few under it: After not doing any real modelmaking for 12-18 months, I'm very happy I've got my 'modelling mojo' back, and am really enjoying this build. JRB 10 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Fantastic James, I like your wooden shells, they look very sturdy and some very neat work, wish I could cut as neat as that! Steve. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 20, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, sb67 said: Fantastic James, I like your wooden shells, they look very sturdy and some very neat work, wish I could cut as neat as that! Steve. I'm not James (though I am a J (Jonathan), hence jrb) but thank you! Also, being a cabinet maker helps with being able to cut wood neatly!!! Edited September 20, 2019 by jrb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Ooops, sorry, not sure where that name came from! Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 20, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2019 I'm so excited right now - far more excited than I feel a man of my age should be!!! This has just been delivered: I'll post some pictures of the contents shortly... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post JSModels Posted September 20, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted September 20, 2019 All I can say is... WOW! To say I'm impressed with the laser cutting is an understatement! Just spent a few minutes going through all the pieces. Here's the main walls - both the inner window layer, and the outer stone layer, roughly aligned: The cills are separate pieces (from slightly thicker MDF, to make them slightly proud) so they aren't in position. The inner window layers, along with the floors and a small amount of internal detail, clip together really well - so well that they hold together (just!) without any glue: The steps: And lasty, with the outer stone layers held in position: Seeing it now 'in the flesh', I may have to go to the extra effort of putting some internal detail in on each floor - the windows are quite big & give a great view inside (I know I designed it, so should know how big the windows were going to be, but even when designing something in CAD things often look slightly different to how you imagine!) I can't wait to get this glued up & painted!!! JRB 13 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chuffinghell Posted September 20, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2019 WOW!! that looks fantastic. I can certainly appreciate the design work that went into that If I knew where to get stuff laser cut I think I'd opt for that over 3D printing for larger items 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Even unpainted that does look very impressive, great stuff! Steve. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 20, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2019 31 minutes ago, chuffinghell said: WOW!! that looks fantastic. I can certainly appreciate the design work that went into that Thanks, that's very kind. There are a few (very minor) errors in the drawing that I've spotted in the finished result, but nothing that's critical. And it helps me design the next one. 33 minutes ago, chuffinghell said: If I knew where to get stuff laser cut I think I'd opt for that over 3D printing for larger items Definitely. If only I had a few grand spare, I'd get a laser cutter myself!!! JRB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMU Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Impressive layout design, this I will be watching with great interest. The laser cut building look brilliant even unpainted.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquireBev Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Apologies if you've already said it and I've just missed it - where did you order your laser-cut stuff from? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 27, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 27, 2019 1 hour ago, SquireBev said: Apologies if you've already said it and I've just missed it - where did you order your laser-cut stuff from? You haven't missed it, I haven't mentioned it! I got it done by a guy I was introduced to by another member of my model club. He's just a hobbyist not a business, so not sure if he'd want me giving his details out. I'll check with him, & if he's ok with it I'll PM you his details. jrb PS - I'm following your North Bridge thread with interest; I used to live very near there, and still live fairly close, and a couple of years ago I did some provisional research on NB myself with a view to doing it in N. In fact I'll be there tomorrow for the Halifax show, at the leisure centre that is on the old site... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquireBev Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Ahh, fair enough. Don't worry about it - I'm not in any position to be placing orders yet anyway! Enjoy the Halifax show - it always used to be a good one. I'll have to enjoy it vicariously through Youtube. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted September 28, 2019 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 28, 2019 Not much to update really; I've started getting some paint on the chimney (primer & a light coat of stone colour) and on the bridge abutment (just primer). Oh, and the bridge walls now have cappings on them: The only other thing to update is that I have added to the motive power available, in that I bought a Ruston 48ds: It's really rather nice! I had to chip it, which was a bit of a pain; there's just about enough room for the supplied blanking chip, which is 1/4 the size of a DCC chip; but getting the body back on with a full-size 6-pin chip in there is nigh-on impossible! I also had to tweak the pick-ups on the shunting truck; of the 4 contacts fitted, precisely ZERO were actually touching a wheel... Even with 8-wheel pick-up, I need to replace the chip with one that has a decent-size stay-alive, as it has a tendency to stall in places at very low speed. Luckily there's enough room for the capacitors in the floor of the cab. JRB 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke the train spotter Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 37 minutes ago, jrb said: Not much to update really; I've started getting some paint on the chimney (primer & a light coat of stone colour) and on the bridge abutment (just primer). Oh, and the bridge walls now have cappings on them: The only other thing to update is that I have added to the motive power available, in that I bought a Ruston 48ds: It's really rather nice! I had to chip it, which was a bit of a pain; there's just about enough room for the supplied blanking chip, which is 1/4 the size of a DCC chip; but getting the body back on with a full-size 6-pin chip in there is nigh-on impossible! I also had to tweak the pick-ups on the shunting truck; of the 4 contacts fitted, precisely ZERO were actually touching a wheel... Even with 8-wheel pick-up, I need to replace the chip with one that has a decent-size stay-alive, as it has a tendency to stall in places at very low speed. Luckily there's enough room for the capacitors in the floor of the cab. JRB I'm still waiting for mine to arrive and hope to fit high capacity stay alive to mine so I can remove the running wagon. From my calculations from scale drawings there should be plenty of room. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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