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What's on your 3mm workbench


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I thought I'd start a new thread to share our latest modelling exploits.

The 2mm folk's workbench is very active and informative so let's try a 3mm one.

To kick off here are a couple of shots of my latest projects.

Firstly we have a Morris 8 from the society kit.

Followed by a coal lorry from an adapted Zvezda kit. It's basically a refined WWII German Opel Blitz but passes for something British.

 

Bob

 

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Excellent idea Bob, I've been thinking about doing this myself as I also follow similar 2mm and 7mm threads by some very good modellers but have always deemed my progress as being too slow as to keep people interested. 

 

Just exhibiting my S&DJR  Masbury layout at the Leeds show this weekend but will try and post some things in future when I work out how to load up photos preferably via my phone. Anyway, looking forward to seeing others work and ideas.

 

Regards,

Ian.

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The lorry has a sort of Bedford look about it. I bought several of these kits (the WWII Russian lorry as well) with the idea of carving them up.

 

There's absolutely nothing on my workbench at the moment! The simple reason is that I vowed at the end of August to stop building anything until I had made some progress with the layout. I have a backscene to do for the end of the layout which exits off to the fiddle yard, and the inevitable bridge in front of the backscene. Once I've done that (not too hard but I'm notoriously slow on layout things) I will allow myself to return to the workbench.

 

What I was doing when work ceased was working on the Sparkshot Custom Creations (SCC) 3D printed bodies of a Cambrian Sharps 2-4-0 and 4-wheel tender. The tender is more or less complete. Here's the chassis:

m247.jpg.de54353eee7baf171c21edac2d4f1e59.jpg

 

and here's the body on the chassis:

m245.jpg.2f8931945498900471bb8281c59a74e2.jpg

 

Since that was taken I've added the handrails and brake standard at the front. They're not as straight as I would like but I found it a bit fiddly. Still need to add a vacuum pipe at the back.

 

I've completed the chassis for the engine apart from odd details like balance weights. This uses a Tramfabriek 8mmx16mm coreless motor and a modified High Level Compact+ gearbox:

m251.jpg.465dec876b7f14952703c024a3787e63.jpg

 

When I restart I'll need to order a new body as the steps broke off the current one, also the current one has faulty splashers which have since been corrected by SCC. There's very little room for extra weight in the body so I'm not sure what the final outcome will be like, but the chassis performs not badly without any.

 

Not sure if I'll actually restart straightaway with this model, as I have some etchings for a Cambrian Seaham 2-4-0T I'd like to try out. With all of them I'll have to start thinking about some Cambrian locomotive transfers. This likely means finding a new printer, as Wessex Transfers who did an excellent job on my Cambrian wagon transfers has unfortunately ceased trading due to health reasons.

 

I might just knock up a couple more Parkside or Cambrian wagon kits instead from my stockpile for a bit of light relief!

 

Nigel

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That looks a very neat little chassis Nigel.  The motor has a very good reputation, it will be interesting to see how it runs when all assembled.

 

I recently completed a radio control Class 31 based on the Triang body but with new bogies as it's 14.2 mm gauge.

 

Nothing  particularly exciting to look at but here is a photo of the power bogie half built.  The motor is an N20 motor, the drive is via a Geoff Helliwell drive train to a crown wheel on the front axle and a layshaft running under the motor to the rear axle driven by a similar drive train.  The centre axle is not driven, so  true A-1-A.

 

It runs nicely, I have two LiPo cells driving it, nominal supply voltage is 7.4 v, and control is by a Deltang Rx6 series receiver.

 

Frank

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Hello Nigel,

I was having a look at Shapeways site only yesterday and saw that loco.  Very attractive as I too have a soft spot for the Cambrian (the little 2-4-0 tanks especially) but must concentrate on my main projects!

Very nice work on the chassis by the way.

 

Bob

 

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52 minutes ago, fallen said:

I recently completed a radio control Class 31 based on the Triang body but with new bogies as it's 14.2 mm gauge.

 

Nothing  particularly exciting to look at but here is a photo of the power bogie half built.  The motor is an N20 motor, the drive is via a Geoff Helliwell drive train to a crown wheel on the front axle and a layshaft running under the motor to the rear axle driven by a similar drive train.  The centre axle is not driven, so  true A-1-A.

 

That looks very interesting, but I'm having some difficulty getting my brain around that gear train. :scratchhead: 

It would be nice to see some more photos from other angles.

 

David

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Hi David,

 

These may help.  I hope the photos insert OK.  Sorry that some are not so sharp.

 

Geoff's gear train has three gears, the top is on the motor/gearbox output shaft, the middle one is an idler in Geoff's original design, the bottom one engages with the crown wheel on the axle.

 

My chassis replaces the idler with a gear that drives a shaft running to the other end, under the motor.

 

 

Then there are two (not three) gears on the gear plate at the other end, the top one driven by the layshaft and the bottom one engaging with the crown wheel on the axle.

 

 

The system is very efficient in that there are no worms anywhere so less friction.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Frank

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IMG_0614.JPG

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Geoff does kits, for a two axle power bogie and also just the gear train for other locos, this has the gears and a plate to mount them on that fits between the frames.

 

The gears themselves are from a supplier on ebay but Geoff modifies the crown wheel by fitting a brass collar with a grub screw, which he makes himself.   This is what makes it easy to use.    The normal crown wheel gear has a plastic hub moulded on to the outside of the gears which makes them too big to fit between the frames.   The bush Geoff makes fits on the inside.   He also makes the brass fittings for mounting the gear train on the plate.

 

I'll PM you his email.

 

Frank

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Having recently finished another William Clarke style station building I'm off to our group modelling day today and my project.. ..a William Clarke goods shed to accompany it.  Here's a shot of the station to be going on with.

 

 

20190924_205204.jpg

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Superb. I'm a fan of William Clarke buildings. As a child, in 1957 my family moved from North Wales to temporary accomodation near Tibberton not far from Gloucester. I used Barber's Bridge station quite a lot, which had an excellent example of one of these.

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Thanks Nigel,

I've always liked them too. How I wish I could have seen Barber's Bridge when it was in use.

Thankfully the building at Rowden Mill is now a holiday let so might have to treat my other half to a short break away. 

 

Bob.

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To the layout. Or rather the end of it, as I mentioned above. I've sourced a bit of ply to support the backscene, but then decided to get things properly arranged I needed to do the bridge under which the railway disappears. Couldn't find a suitable off the shelf one, but managed to produce something using the Wills 4mm bridge kit. Here it is so far:

 

m1020401.jpg.33f12bd9ed4fc2e97ec64f6db5fbc682.jpg

 

The panels are rather large for 3mm/ft, but I reckoned if I raised the roadway so that the distance from the surface to the top of the parapet was just a tad over a scale 5' then it wouldn't look too bad. So I've a bit more to add.

 

I was cutting the 2mmx3mm plastic strips glued between base and sides last night, and made the mistake of doing the cutting on the edge of the table. Things slipped and I stabbed my leg with a Stanley knife. Doh! However, a trip to A&E and a couple of stitches sorted it; it was quite deep.

 

Nigel

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9 hours ago, NCB said:

The panels are rather large for 3mm/ft, but I reckoned if I raised the roadway so that the distance from the surface to the top of the parapet was just a tad over a scale 5' then it wouldn't look too bad. So I've a bit more to add.

 

I was cutting the 2mmx3mm plastic strips glued between base and sides last night, and made the mistake of doing the cutting on the edge of the table. Things slipped and I stabbed my leg with a Stanley knife. Doh! However, a trip to A&E and a couple of stitches sorted it; it was quite deep.

 

Nigel

 

I can still hear my Dad's advice; "Always cut away from you..." and my passport used to say "Scar on back of left thumb" under "Distinguishing marks" - consequence of a very similar situation to yours above aged about 11. Hope there wasn't too much blood.

 

I have found the sides of the BTTB/Tillig "Entladungsbruecke" (unloading bridge) very useful for exactly that reason;

07112.jpg.4f091c722b24cea743aa1259e80387aa.jpg

 

They look ok when re-purposed:

bridge.jpg.695e7d3b601dff8f23e0eee19f39d5a5.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Yep that was the sort of thing I was looking for! Did find a 3D printed N scale one but it was done in soft plastic and was warped and floppy.

 

Found a couple of wipes and pressed firmly which stopped the bleeding pretty quickly; luckily hadn't struck a significant blood vessel. Nothing like the burst femoral artery which I once had, which was fairly spectacular!

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I've added 1.5mm plasticard onto the existing 2mmx3mm supports then 3mm foamboard on top of that, to give the height of the roadway I wanted. Here it is:

m1020404.jpg.bfeedab8f0e7c235c9e792e490ffeadb.jpg

and here it is with a lorry on it:

m1020405.jpg.b9486839ecde15bcb1af85b9ed19e56d.jpg

 

Nigel

 

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Just beginning to dip the aged toe into 1:100 - still nothing really definite as yet, but I thought it best to try a few buildings for a start, to make sure that I like the scale.

 

                                     

              IMG_20191106_183903_3.jpg.43977c0932fe98e0f3fd2dc00b2d4b4c.jpg

 

The Three Mile House is a tribute to the late John Ahern, whose little book Miniature Building Construction has been a source of delight to me for many years. Based on his sketch of The Duchess of Albany pub, which was an Ushers house in Salisbury, my effort has been transposed to a Dales of Cambridge pub in East Anglia. It isn't finished, and lacks any interior detail at the mo, but the back of the building is removable so it can be done, and also lighting.

 

The unfinished Fry's newsagents is scratch built, but using elements from various Scalescenes downloads, reduced to 76%, and the terraced houses are also Scalescenes, but being unlit, they are built using a foam core and MDF gable ends.

   

The truck is a Zvezda 3 ton GAZ, which was actually based on  a 1930's Ford AA flat bed, which were built for many years in the Ford factory in Gorky. I think the Model AA was also one of the first products of the then new Ford factory at Dagenham about 1930, so it would not necessarily be such a stranger in the Fens around the 1950's!

 

Best,Mike

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I'm enjoying making a series of buildings for the new layout. Starting with the William Clarke station previously posted on here, followed by a William Clarke goods shed I'm now well advanced on Watlington signal box.  Always liked this diminutive cabin and it's just the right size fof the layout.  I usually prefer card for buildings but opted for styrene on this one and I'm rather enjoying it.

 

Bob.

20191124_213422.jpg

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With a bridge deck built, now's the time to start embedding it in the layout. Here's where it'll go at the layout's end.

 

h1020407.jpg.22c2c447b1425b47800e8ea5433a6e7e.jpg

 

The two upright bits of MDF are there to support the scenery, essentially the bridge and approach roads, at the layout end. The vertical backscene support is attached to them using a couple of bolts and wingnuts; the backscene is intended to be removable to allow for pics taken looking down the layout. Two more MDF bits will support this side of the approach roads.

 

Nigel

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