Arrow Paints - OO in two shoeboxes

[TechnicArrow]

Thanks @Andrew D and @Multigauge! I've had a box of sprues potentially useful for pipework hanging around for years, but only just actually tried using them. I'm very happy with how they've turned out, so I'm glad you agree!

[TechnicArrow]

Another weekend, another building revamp...

 

But first; I started by once again dismantling the layout and well and truly wrapping all exposed card faces with plastic bags, so that should be the last of the damp problem.

There's also now a continuation of the parapet on the right-hand warehouse, and the beginnings of a platform and interior - that's now at a point I'm happy to leave it, since I've started work on the warehouse at the other end of the layout.

 

This one's a little more though! I've never been completely happy with it; I didn't really paint the brickwork properly, and the windows and pitched roof are a bit too small and didn't really "go" with the rest of the layout. And ever since I perched the scalescenes free-with-Hornby-magazine grain silo there, I've been thinking... so it was cardboard mock-up time.

 

 

The idea is to keep the platform, but replace the flat slot-in warehouse with a shorter, deeper version of the scalescenes kit. I started by printing a cut-down copy of the large concrete wall section from the kit (it's available as a free download from the "Scalescenes Modellers" Facebook group). This was affixed to thick card, shaped with the tabs in the correct place to fit in the existing slots in the "baseboard". The tower structure was then built out of cereal box card, with a slightly longer wall on the right-hand side in order to keep flush with the angled backscene. A slot on the back of the tower also helps to support the backscene.

 

 

Then it was brickpaper time. In order to save my housemate's printer's ink, I used my existing stock of Superquick brick paper rather than the bits from the original kit. The lintels are plain white paper, I haven't painted them yet. A right-hand wall was also constructed to give the structure depth, again using the concrete part from the kit. You can also see a bit of card standing in for the roof.

 

 

Whilst assembling this, I have remembered to keep everything fairly flat-packable (although I've kind of given up on this layout being "portable", it's just "moveable" - it will probably take a fair bit of packing, I've not tried since it's been setup here!). In the next photo the vertical bracing on the short wall section fits into a slot on the end of the main structure, although it's difficult to see since it's all plain card. You can also see plenty of bracing, the slim tabs at the base that locate it on the baseboard, and the slot on the end of the tower that supports the backscene.

 

 

And finally for now, the roof was built from thicker card and has the additional brick structure on top. I decided to include a door, since there's more roof space now that needs to be accessible.

 

 

All in all it's looking pretty tidy so far; I like how the square, brick-and-concrete structure mirrors the Arrow Paints factory, and it has a lot more height and depth than the warehouse did. The varying depths also disguise the angled backscene much more than the plain pitched roof ever did.

 

 

Structurally, it's complete; next up is windows, doors, drainpipes, signage, weathering... the list goes on.

I'm also considering something to go at the extreme left-hand end, to cover up the plain card lighting rig support, as well as a plain-concrete canopy over part of the platform - as ever, we'll see!

[Multigauge]

Looking good. 

[TechnicArrow]

On 16/02/2021 at 17:35, Multigauge said:

Looking good. 

 

Cheers!

 

Work has been progressing slowly over the past few evenings.

 

First up was the addition of capping to the tops of the parapets, as well as details sich as drainpipes and grilles. And then it was painting time - various shades of brownish-grey now cover all the window sills, lintels and capping, as well as darker greys on the roofs and some other spots on the brickwork for weathering effects. Finally the windows (printed) and doors (cereal box card with the coloured face outward, scored) were added.

 

 

 

Spot the accidental paint fleck that I've tried to blend into weathering!

Clearly the signage is yet to be added; I'm not sure whether to go with the name that's currently perched on the side or not, since the structure is still fairly grain-silo like so pretending it's just a warehouse doesn't really work.

But other than that, I'm very happy with this building - it's got a lot of depth (especially compared with the rest of the layout) and varying shapes, and seems to disguise the angled backscene well. I'll take another overall shot of the layout when it's not dark - that's a problem with a windowsill layout, it's behind the curtains!

[6990WitherslackHall]

On 28/01/2021 at 10:56, TechnicArrow said:

 

 

When I saw this post, I remembered an article I read in a magazine (I think it was Railway Modeller) about a man (his name slips my mind) who made cardboard locomotives. They were in O gauge and they looked pretty good.

 

 

Also, do you happen to know the measurements for each part of your cardboard loco body? I want to see if I can recreate this and use it on my layout I'm working on. I've posted the link below. 

 

 

Thanks,

 

James

Edited February 23, 2021 by 6990WitherslackHall

[Andrew D]

59 minutes ago, 6990WitherslackHall said:

 

When I saw this post, I remembered an article I read in a magazine (I think it was Railway Modeller) about a man (his name slips my mind) who made cardboard locomotives. They were in O gauge and they looked pretty good.

 

 

 

 

I imagine that gentleman was @JimRead. He has an excellent blog about his builds here.

[TechnicArrow]

4 hours ago, Andrew D said:

I imagine that gentleman was @JimRead. He has an excellent blog about his builds here.

 

I imagine it would be, he takes card to a whole other level!

 

@6990WitherslackHall These builds are relatively simple - only the bodyshell is card, the chassis and running plate are standard Hornby items. Which one would you like, the one in the picture you quoted or the one I'm still working on? I've got both hanging around, since I'm not doing much in the evenings at the moment I'll measure it up and create a template if anyone wants to build their own.

 

In the meantime, I took the rare opportunity of a dry, still and mild day yesterday to finally get the spray paints out on this loco. First up was 3 coats of primer:

 

 

Already looking tidier. As you can see, taped to a bit of cardboard wedged in the doors of the bin store worked perfectly - until my housemate for some reason tried shutting the lid...

Luckily not too much damage, since it came down on the bonnet which was directly supported by the cardboard (you can just about see the dent). I also sanded off a few rough edges the primer coat highlighted. But then it was on to 3 coats of satin black:

 

 

Much smarter! And also unexpectedly shinier. I think this is partially due to the shiny card as well as the paint itself, despite the primer coat. But nonetheless this is an excellent base I can start weathering and detailing on. Plenty to get on with now!

 

 

[6990WitherslackHall]

7 minutes ago, TechnicArrow said:

Which one would you like, the one in the picture you quoted or the one I'm still working on? I've got both hanging around, since I'm not doing much in the evenings at the moment I'll measure it up and create a template if anyone wants to build their own.

Thank you so much. @TechnicArrow .  Could i please have the template for the one you are still working on? 

 

Many thanks, 

 

James

[TechnicArrow]

9 hours ago, 6990WitherslackHall said:

Thank you so much. @TechnicArrow .  Could i please have the template for the one you are still working on? 

 

Many thanks, 

 

James

 

I'm glad you said that one, as my most recent model it's the one I'm happiest with.

 

I know it's way over the top for what you need, but as well as the templates I created a small instructions document, with all the hints and recommendations I could think of - just so they're in one place.

 

So if anyone fancies a go at building one, or just wants some inspiration, feel free to have a look!

Templates for Freelance Diesel Shunter Bodyshell.pdf

[TechnicArrow]

The Barclay-ish loco's had a little more attention since Tuesday.

 

First off the windows were fitted - I considered cutting the plastic to the right size to make it flush with the cab walls, but decided against as there's 8 to do and just gluing 4 pieces to the inside of the cab is easier. Then I got the acrylics out and painted the cab roof dark grey, the indside of the cab yellowy-brown, and black on the parts of the grey chassis visible above the footplate, as well as touching up a few other corners. She seems to have lost a bit of her shine too; I was going to experiment with weathering, but I think she looks pretty good as she is for now. So here's some photos!

Starting with the now-obligatory shot for any new loco, parked on the headshunt being attended to by crew:

 

 

And a couple other shots from around the yard.

 

 

For such a small change, it never ceases to surprise me how much of a difference adding the windows make! The only issue I have with this loco now is the couplings, but being moulded to the chassis they're a little tricky to change. Other than that she's a joy to shunt with; quieter than the old 04 mechanism and perfectly capable of managing fairly slow speeds over the pointwork, although stalls aren't uncommon. I suppose I need to make another video now!

[andyram]

Love this layout. So much detail packed into the space.

[TechnicArrow]

On 26/02/2021 at 00:00, andyram said:

Love this layout. So much detail packed into the space.

 

Thank you! Being a relatively small layout, I can spend time paying attention to nearly everything; not that that stops me leaving some corners unfinished!

 

Today I managed to film, edit and upload yet another video; I'm getting quicker at this. This one mostly focuses on the new Barclay-inspired shunter, but nevertheless the crane gets a bit more action time too.

 

 

Out of interest, what do you think of my videos so far? What should I try to improve on next time?

[Kevin Johnson]

Great video, I like the Barclay inspired shunter. Looks and runs great.

[DK123GWR]

As I've said before, this is a beautiful layout. Do you mind me asking how you align the track and carry current between the boxes?

[TechnicArrow]

13 hours ago, DK123GWR said:

As I've said before, this is a beautiful layout. Do you mind me asking how you align the track and carry current between the boxes?

 

Thanks for your compliment!

 

Both alignment and power is fairly simple - track power is carried between boxes by the standard fishplates, although only on rails which cross the box joints at right-angles - connecting multiple tracks at varying angles simultaneously is not fun, as I found out on Green Lane Wagon Works.

The fishplates also provide alignment, although for security the sector-plate board is also held up by lollipop sticks that fit snugly into slots on the end of the box, as can be seen in this older photo:

 

This method is also used for the short extension at the other end of the layout and actually woks rather well, provided the slots are made in a thick piece of card that won't wear down and fray too much.

 

To keep trains running over some questionable second-hand pointwork, a mess of wires and dodgy soldering joints ensure that every rail is always powered, no matter the position of the points. A rough plan is shown below, although I'm really not sure where the connecting wires are - I just know it works! I think the controller is connected to the rails under the bridge, but it doesn't really matter.

red = fishplates          blue = additional connecting wires          black cross = no connection

 

Finally, a general update - there have been no changes to the layout since I last posted, and it hasn't really seen much use recently either. Turns out 3rd year Civil Engineering can get pretty involved, even when everything's online...

[6990WitherslackHall]

Looking good so far!

[TechnicArrow]

Just a quick update on the Barclay-ish 0-4-0 shunter. Can you tell what's changed?

 

 

It's not that easy to tell when the model is so dark, but I've modelled one of the doors as open, and finally added a cab interior.

The door was fairly easy to modify with a fresh, sharp blade cutting easily through the card.  Then I put together a simple control desk from some card and a few bits from the sprues box - the raised gauge display bit in the middle is in order to let it fit over the motor mount.  Finally the whole unit was painted grey, the controls picked out in black, and that's all there is to it. It's not even fixed in place - I could attach it to either the chassis or the bodyshell, but it fits so snugly when everything's together there's not a lot of need.

 

 

'tis a small difference, but a driver in the doorway adds another little touch of life to the scene. And unless I put in some form of light source you'll never see the controls, but I know they're there.

 

 

That's all for now!

[SteveyDee68]

On 17/02/2021 at 21:43, TechnicArrow said:

 

Cheers!

 

Work has been progressing slowly over the past few evenings.

 

First up was the addition of capping to the tops of the parapets, as well as details sich as drainpipes and grilles. And then it was painting time - various shades of brownish-grey now cover all the window sills, lintels and capping, as well as darker greys on the roofs and some other spots on the brickwork for weathering effects. Finally the windows (printed) and doors (cereal box card with the coloured face outward, scored) were added.

 

 

 

Spot the accidental paint fleck that I've tried to blend into weathering!

Clearly the signage is yet to be added; I'm not sure whether to go with the name that's currently perched on the side or not, since the structure is still fairly grain-silo like so pretending it's just a warehouse doesn't really work.

But other than that, I'm very happy with this building - it's got a lot of depth (especially compared with the rest of the layout) and varying shapes, and seems to disguise the angled backscene well. I'll take another overall shot of the layout when it's not dark - that's a problem with a windowsill layout, it's behind the curtains!

 

If you like the concrete as a contrasting texture but are not sure about the grain silo itself, why not replace that section with something based upon the Burtons Biscuit Factory in Ipswich?

 

Steve S