RMweb Premium AdeMoore Posted January 19, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 19, 2020 Nice work Alex, liking the effect you have achieved there. looking spot on. Cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Thanks for sharing your work, the building construction is quite inspirational. It would make sense for me to construct the key buildings for my layout now before I go any further with the scenery. Any excuse, I'm quite looking forward to it! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wiggoforgold Posted January 26, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 26, 2020 (edited) I've made a bit more progress with painting the up platform building. The plinth is now done. I did the pointing by first giving it a couple of washes of heavily thinned mix of mig dark greys, matt black and earth, followed by a wash of a mix of white, smoke and earth Humbrol weathering powders, which was immediately wiped off with a damp finger, leaving the pointing between the bricks.. I've also built the small hut at the south end of the up platform, which gave me the opportunity to try out a few ideas. The hut is a Wiils platelayer's hut, built almost straight, save I redid the window by removing the moulded glazing bars, and sustituting new, regular bars from Plastruct strip. Glazing is a microscope cover slip, held in place with Clearfix. The building was sprayed with Mig primer, then the sides and ends were painted with various mixes of Mig old wood, faded Sinai grey and schwartzgrau. The window frame was painted matt white, before being masked off, The body was then lightly sprayed with a mix of matt black and schwartzgrau, befire being given a dark grey wash and brushed with weathering powders mainly Humbrol smoke. The roof was sprayed with various rust shades, and given a coat of chipping effects before being given a light coat of a matt black/schwartzgrau mix, which once dry was activated with water. The roof was then given a light rust enamel wash, and rust streaking effects added. The land form was built up with a closed cell foam, which can be cut with a scalpel, stuck with pva, and sanded.. the whole was then given a coat of Das modelling clay. Rhodedendron bushes were made from seafoam, sprayed dark grey, and given a coat of hairspray followed by dark green scatter. The flowers were pink scatter, applied over more hairspray. The first public appearane of the layout is due to be the Edington show in January next year. I was giving some thought to freight stock. I had thought that I could use the existing freight stock for Diddington, with the addition of a few conflats, 6 wheel milk tanks and a couple of toads. I then realised that this would still leave me woefully short, so a search through books and my stock of unmade kits ensued. I've drawn up a building schedule of a further twenty, (not including the toads, conflats, etc). Suffice to say that Rumney models, Lanarkshire models and Cambrian models will be hearing from me! Finally a picture of some of the progress to date: Alex Edited January 26, 2020 by wiggoforgold 28 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted January 26, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2020 Outstanding Alex. Regards Lez. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Nice work Alex, I like the hut and Rhododendrons 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted January 26, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2020 Simply lovely, Alex. This will be a splendid layout. No doubt about that. Rob. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 46444 Posted January 26, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2020 Cracking work Alex. Fine attention to detail and lovely subtle colouring and weathering. Cheers, Mark 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium AdeMoore Posted January 26, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2020 Great work and pretty lifelike, 10 outa 10 Alex, top drawer stuff. Thats a definite Edington attendance for me next year! Cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Excellent; the rhodies look a bit like ours in the garden, maybe better this time of year! Brian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, brianusa said: the rhodies look a bit like ours in the garden, maybe better this time of year! Brian. After the rain stopped this morning I went and looked at ours in the garden. Ours are a bit behind yours - plenty of buds, but I don't think we will be seeing blooms for a few weeks. I realised I should have sprayed the bushes a reddish brown, not grey. Ah well, a lesson for next time Alex Edited January 27, 2020 by wiggoforgold 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 I have considered doing exactly the same thing as you with the little hut, I tend to modify a lot of things. I suspect that whoever designed the kit did so from an old photograph. I have definitely seen a photo of a very similar hut with the window arrangement as per the kit. It looks like one of those Crittall steel frames which date back to the 20s, but to me just looks odd. The six pane window is a definite improvement to my eye. Your paintwork has also lifted it out of the ordinary, it no longer looks like a generic kit seen on every other layout. It shows what a good basis that kit is with a bit of observation of the real thing. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wiggoforgold Posted February 2, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 2, 2020 Preparatory work for construction of the baseboards has started. The plan is for a total of five boards. The three middle boards are the scenic section. At the south end there will be a cassette fiddle yard, and at the north end a sector plate will give access to a hidden return track which will allow trains to return to the fiddle yard. The whole is about 14' long. The scenic section will be supported on a pair of "L" girders on two Screwfix trestles. The fiddle deck and sector plate board will have self contained folding legs, and will piggyback off the scenic boards. I started by drawing out the plan full size on wallpaper lining paper. This enables me to check that the sections will fit in the car as planned, and I've set out the buildings in their planned places to make sure everything is in the right relative place. I'll leave things for a couple of weeks now, so I can tweak the plan, and see if any previously unforeseen problems arise. Here's some pictures of the pla and buildings. The signal box is currently represented by an oblong of green card Alex 26 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 On 27/01/2020 at 04:29, wiggoforgold said: After the rain stopped this morning I went and looked at ours in the garden. Ours are a bit behind yours - plenty of buds, but I don't think we will be seeing blooms for a few weeks. I realised I should have sprayed the bushes a reddish brown, not grey. Ah well, a lesson for next time Alex I've been out on the motorcycle today, testing a new carburetor setup and tuning. I stopped to check things over in the relative shelter of some woodland that had quite a good growth of self set Rhododendrons. There were so many growing around where I lived as a child I never took much notice of them. Reminded of your above comment on colouring, I had a closer look. The younger branches and twigs are indeed a reddish brown, but once they grow much beyond an inch or two thick, they become a slightly silvery grey in colour, usually with a hint of mossy green on the really big branches. At twenty feet away, all grey. At 90mph on a seventy year old bike, just a dark green blur, but that's another story. But I wouldn't worry too much about the rhododendrons. I do like the way you are working on all the structural aspects of the layout at once, shouldn't be too much juggling of features or nasty surprises. I haven't got many buildings sorted for my layout yet, but I do know the footprint sizes. I'll be cutting out some bits of card marked Crossing keepers house ' etc. It will at least give me confidence to fix the track permanently. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 What appears to be a seasonal computer outage means I haven't been able to post here for a few days. Construction has continued though, and I have started work on the baseboards. Construction is mostly 9mm ply for the frames. There are 3 scenic boards, supported on a pair of 9mm ply "L" girders, which in turn are supported on a pair of Screwfix trestle. The "L" girders are hinged in the middle, so they can be folded for transportation. Alex 12 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 46444 Posted February 13, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) Nice work Alex. At some point can you take some snaps of the 'L' girders on their own please on top of the Screwfix trestles. I'm in the process of planing for my new project and considering baseboard design in the School of Rice. Cheers, Mark Edited February 13, 2020 by 46444 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) On 13/02/2020 at 19:03, 46444 said: Nice work Alex. At some point can you take some snaps of the 'L' girders on their own please on top of the Screwfix trestles. I'm in the process of planing for my new project and considering baseboard design in the School of Rice. Cheers, Mark Hi Mark. Sorry for the delayed reply - ongoing internet problems mean my visits have been intermittent in the last few days. Here are some pictures of the supporting structure. The starting point was the "Ulysses" design in Iain Rice's " Finescale for small spaces" book. First a picture of the girders on a Screwfix trestle. The girder will be retained in place on the trestle by small metal right angle brackets. The folding girder is stiffened in the centre by a ply bracket, which will also serve to locate the central baseboard and provide a support for the proscenium. One thing I would do differently is put the hinge at the bottom of the joint. I underestimated the slop in the hinges, with the result that once unfolded and placed on the trestle, it sagged in the middle. If it was doing it again I would put the hinges on the bottom, so the weight of the beam would hold it level. Finally, a picture of the layout so far, from what will be the southern (Plymouth) end. Alex Edited February 19, 2020 by wiggoforgold 13 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 20, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hi Alex, You may recall that I use folding 3x2 ( nominal) timbers to support my layouts. The hinges are placed on the side of the timbers as are the catches to lock them together. I have cut and glued squares of rubber on the faces of the timbers where they meet. This takes up any slack and makes for a more rigid 'girder'. Rob. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 That's a thought. I could do that with the front beam. Thanks. Alex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 46444 Posted February 20, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2020 21 hours ago, wiggoforgold said: Hi Mark. Sorry for the delayed reply - ongoing internet problems mean my visits have been intermittent in the last few days. Here are some pictures of the supporting structure. The starting point was the "Ulysses" design in Iain Rice's " Finescale for small spaces" book. First a picture of the girders on a Screwfix trestle. The girder will be retained in place on the trestle by small metal right angle brackets. The folding girder is stiffened in the centre by a ply bracket, which will also serve to locate the central baseboard and provide a support for the proscenium. One thing I would do differently is put the hinge at the bottom of the joint. I underestimated the slop in the hinges, with the result that once unfolded and placed on the trestle, it sagged in the middle. If it was doing it again I would put the hinges on the bottom, so the weight of the beam would hold it level. Finally, a picture of the layout so far, from what will be the southern (Plymouth) end. Alex Evening Alex, Great stuff. Thanks for the explanation and snaps. Certainly clarifies what I've read in my Rice books. Handy hint from Rob as well. Looking forwards to seeing more progress. Getting ready this end to order some timber. I've a layout to build by July... Cheers, Mark 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 46444 Posted February 20, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2020 8 hours ago, NHY 581 said: Hi Alex, You may recall that I use folding 3x2 ( nominal) timbers to support my layouts. The hinges are placed on the side of the timbers as are the catches to lock them together. I have cut and glued squares of rubber on the faces of the timbers where they meet. This takes up any slack and makes for a more rigid 'girder'. Rob. Thanks Rob. Some 'Top Tips' there. Cheers, Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) 19 hours ago, 46444 said: Getting ready this end to order some timber. I've a layout to build by July... In Plymouth, B&Q is your friend. They 've go a nice machine for cutting sheets of ply into strips, and you get 15 free cuts. I just go in with a list of sizes Edited February 21, 2020 by wiggoforgold 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 I took this view on Saturday. It's no longer possible, as the end of the backscene now blocks the view. It shows the different levels at the southern end of the layout. On the left, behind the back scene, is the hidden return track, which will link the cassette deck and the sector plate. Next is the private lane which descends behind the station. To it's right is the refuge siding, level with the running lines through the station. Next right, the running lines fall on a 1/60 gradient. The line is on an embankment at this point, so the board has been left open for the scenery Alex 9 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted February 24, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 24, 2020 Nice I like a rat run on a layout you can get away with all sorts of stuff with a rat run. Regards Lez. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wiggoforgold Posted February 27, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 27, 2020 A bit more progress on the baseboards, and I'm experimenting with the placing of buildings. 19 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 28, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 28, 2020 (edited) Positively romping along, Wiggers. This is looking just splendid. Rob. Edited February 28, 2020 by NHY 581 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now