SonOfMike Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) A little more progress: here is the low relief structure just resting in place on the baseboard, held in place by gravity alone. Apologies for the "Help Wanted" poster - it's there to amuse / annoy my girlfriend who is of Irish parentage and not meant to cause offence. There is still plenty to do before it is finished but I will finish it off once it's stuck in place and I have other jobs to get around to before I can do that. Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 7 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 On 28/02/2020 at 14:11, F-UnitMad said: Impressive collection of bottles behind the layout I'm glad of them now If this weather holds out then I might just get the track sprayed one lunchtime whilst I'm working from home. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielB Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 For a more area specific diesel scheme have you considered North Louisiana and Gulf? They had some interesting combine cabeese that you might enjoy modelling. https://www.american-rails.com/nlg.html 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 2 hours ago, DanielB said: or a more area specific diesel scheme have you considered North Louisiana and Gulf? Funnily enough, I do have quite a few photos of the North Louisiana and Gulf saved in my reference folder on my PC . Thanks Daniel 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielB Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 No problem. My first layout was a freelance set in LA, so I'm fairly well versed on some of their more interesting shortlines. That they still used combine cabooses up until they were bought out in the seventies caught my attention. Louisiana Midland is another great little shortline, as most of their rolling stock was ex-Penn Central stuff that they literally just patched out the reporting marks - usually kept the same car numbers. I converted a load of N scale stock from PC to LOAM before I sold up and moved to O scale. I'm tempted to do it again now I've started collecting HO again too. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 Bizarrely, despite the social distancing and working from home, I somehow haven't found as much time to work on the layout as I had hoped; certainly not whilst I've also had mojo. I think this could be that work activities seem to take longer when at home, and therefore I end up working longer hours. Nevertheless, I have commenced construction of a small depot - photos to follow once there's a bit more to see... 2 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 Progress slightly hampered by me just spilling an entire pot of paint over just about everything whilst simply opening the lid. Luckily for me it was Humbrol acrylic and not something that actually has any actual covering power so damage was kept to a minimum . 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) So here is the depot - like with the other structures, I won't add the final details until it is installed on the layout. I was rather pleased with it until the camera close-ups revealed all the "oh Sh*t!s" Never mind, it looks fine to me under normal viewing conditions and building it kept me happy over the last couple of days, even when I ended up having to completely redo the roof after the paint spilling incident. It's not based on any specific prototype; it's sort of an amalgam of various things that I had seen and liked. The main structure is built from card and some Titchy Trains doors and windows with some bits of balsa used for the roof trusses. The shingles on the roof are cut from strips of masking tape and the deck is balsa stuck to an off-cut of foam board. I am hoping the foam board won't be seen once it's bedded in. The "plain " side is actually the viewing side; that's why I added the depot name there even though it's potentially an odd place for it to be. My logic is that off-scene at the front of the layout there is some reason for it to be seen - maybe another track or a road or something. Anyway, it's my train set and I can do what I like . Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 5 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Whilst the sun was shining, and in the absence of any hay that needed making, I managed to give all of the track a quick blow over with a rattle can of Halfords Camouflage Brown and guess what? Everything still works!!!! Sometimes I manage to impress myself . I have some unexpected time off work coming up in a day or so and I intend to try and make some serious progress if I can. I have some more structures to build, ballasting to do and scenic work to get stuck into. That should keep be busy for a while. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 On 05/04/2020 at 11:45, SonOfMike said: I was rather pleased with it until the camera close-ups revealed all the "oh Sh*t!s" I bet the builders of some of those real life shantys you posted pictures of had some of those moments - very quickly superceded by "oh s*d it" moments... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Just to prove that I haven't been idle in the last few days, here are a few quick snaps of some bits and pieces currently under construction. I am not working for the next few weeks and so I need to be careful what I spend - I am using what I have in stock or whatever I can find that looks useful. A speeder shed, a background-flat of a store of some kind (needs a sign or two but I don't have access to a printer at the moment) and a couple of switch stands. The structures are mostly card and balsa as per usual. The switch stands are each made from half a rawlplug, a panel pin, a sliver of plastic cut from the curved bit of a cable tidy and some card. Yellow targets because it's not a main line, diamonds because they were easier to cut out, plus it's my train set and I'll do what I like Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 (edited) I'm not 100% sure what this one is, but I do know where it will go on the layout . Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielB Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Some great structures there. Very nice indeed. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 2 hours ago, DanielB said: Some great structures there. Very nice indeed. Thanks very much for your encouragement. Hopefully it won't be long before I have something to show in addition to structures. I want to get all of the main structures built before I start on the scenic work so that I can put them into position and bed them in with the ground cover. Later on I will go back to them and add further details. I have a rough idea in my head of how I want things to look but I'm mostly making things up as I go along and the design of some of the structures has been very much dictated by the types and quantities of the materials I have at hand. I quite enjoy having to think laterally though; this is the one hobby of mine where I try to spend as little as possible anyway as, for me personally, it's all about making things rather than buying them. I have at least one more structure to design and build. This one is proving to be a bit of a head-scratcher as I didn't pay attention when I glued the track down and haven't left quite enough space for what I originally had in mind; more lateral thinking required! I have removed the backscene ready for scenery to commence so that I don't have to worry about getting stuff all over it. Ballasting and laying a road surface will be amongst the first of the scenic jobs when I get that far. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 (edited) Another quick snap while the paint and glue dry; this is the last of the main "planned" structures. This one is a background flat which will go at the end of one of the spurs, hopefully giving the impression that the track continues inside the building. The last piece left to construct will be an industrial bridge of some sort which will link this structure to the main Anneka Rice Co. building and frame / help disguise the hole in the backscene leading to one of the fiddlesticks. That's the idea anyway. Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike 7 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Not much to report since the last update; circumstances have meant that I haven't had much time or inclination for the past day or so but I have at least built the industrial bridge, fixed the switch stands in place and cut and stained some wood for a grade crossing. I aim to start ballasting tomorrow if all goes to plan - can't keep putting it off... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 Ballasting has occurred. Whether or not ballasting has succeeded is a different matter; I shall find out tomorrow (or later) when the glue is dry... fingers crossed. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 20, 2020 Author Share Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) Well, I'd definitely classify it as a success, especially considering that this is the first time I have attempted anything like this in around 37 years. Everything is stuck down as intended, the switch blades still move and a boxcar rolls freely over the rails and through the turnouts. It's not exciting enough to warrant a photograph, I don't think, but there will be more pictures soon once I start to affix buildings and start on the scenery etc. I have added a pinch or two of ballast where it was a bit sparse, added a tiny bit more around the moving parts of the switches where I had been a little too cautious and carefully scraped a few bits from the tops of the ties where I thought it needed doing. I spent ages carefully brushing them as I laid the ballast but the misting and pipetting (is that a word?) disturbed a fair bit. I have also cleaned the rail tops again. Once the re-done bits are dry I will shake off / hoover up any excess and give it another test with a loco just be to sure everything still works. I may give the ties a light dry-brushing later, and add a bit of weathering to the ballast in places where locos would stop, then I will start on the road and the grade crossing. Photographs to follow when there is something worth looking at. Edited April 20, 2020 by SonOfMike Spelling 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bergerac Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Great work. Could you post an overview or/and a short video of your masterpiece ? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 17 hours ago, Chris Bergerac said: Could you post an overview or/and a short video At this stage of construction, there isn't much to look at; the 9th post on the first page of the thread is pretty much the overview. As explained in the thread narrative, it's basically a 3-2-2 (ish) Inglenook on a base made from a floating shelf measuring about 46.5 inches x 9.25 inches. I say "ish" because I haven't really checked clearances etc. It may be a 2-1-1 for practical purposes for all I know but I'm more interested in construction than operation, so as long as I can at least shuffle a few boxcars about I'm happy. I have built the structures for the layout but none of them are fixed in place yet. I will do that as I work on the scenery. At the moment the backscene has been removed, as mentioned previously, to protect it from damage during the scenic treatment and to allow easy access to all parts of the baseboard. Track has been painted, ballast applied and I have started work on a road and grade crossing. Then it will be a case of working on small sections at a time; putting the structures in place and adding ground cover. Once the basics are done I will add trees and bushes etc. and then start adding finer details. It's nearly 4 decades since I have done any modelling so I am approaching every task like a novice and with much trepidation The picture below shows the layout as it is this morning, with ballast and burgeoning road. I may try a video once the layout is more complete, but probably not before. Video isn't something I really enjoy doing. P.S. The wine is all for genuine medicinal purposes . 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 A word of caution: When working outside in the garden to apply Woodland Scenics fine turf, even in the most gentle of breezes, always make sure that your cup of coffee is not downwind of the layout. Ask me how I know this . 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted April 23, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2020 Bet that flocked you off a bit... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) Now I have got to the stage where the structures are in place and the very basic scenery has been added. At this stage there are no bushes, no trees, no weeds, no details and no figures but we do have ground cover and some static grass down. You will also see that the "proof of concept" backscene which I decided to keep needs re-doing; the cheap own-brand Pritt-Stick alternative that I used has caused the printed scene to crinkle and, in some places, lift from the board. Good news - this will be easy to rectify - I just need to reprint the backscene and fix it in place with some spray mount after removing the old one. Bad news - I don't have access to a printer at the moment and I can't justify the expense of buying one due to the joys of being "furloughed". I can live with this for now, and who knows, once the trees and some other details are in place it might not be so noticeable. We shall have to wait and see. Firstly - an overview of the layout as it is now: Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) And now a few close-ups of a few bits: Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfMike Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) Edited April 9, 2022 by SonOfMike Replaced missing pics 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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