Modelling on a teenager's budget in OO.

[tubs01]

And why not some vent vans too. Bought 5 on eBay, 17 quid, I've weathered most, just acrylic washes and the wipe technique

[tubs01]

And a personal favourite of mine

[tubs01]

And a little fun project, not to be taken too seriously. Idea here is that BR built a fleet of planked general merchandise wagons in the late 50s- early 60s, then when speedlink came around in 77 they were upgraded and given air brakes under the same reason as the VEA vans, ex-vanwide. Needs decals and then of course will get a good bit of weathering!

Edited December 7, 2021 by tubs01
Grammar

[tubs01]

and a humdrum little wagon

[tubs01]

And an 0-4-0 done up

[Chrisr40]

On 04/09/2021 at 17:27, tubs01 said:

Grid came today, I'd love to get another

Hi, I know it's a while since your post regards getting another grid but I saw the locos below just came in at Elaine's Trains and it reminded me of your thread. Hope these are of interest.

Chris

 

[tubs01]

3 hours ago, Chrisr40 said:

Hi, I know it's a while since your post regards getting another grid but I saw the locos below just came in at Elaine's Trains and it reminded me of your thread. Hope these are of interest.

Chris

 

thanks! Still not got another grid, I had no idea about this website, I'll have to look into it, some great prices there

[Chrisr40]

1 hour ago, tubs01 said:

thanks! Still not got another grid, I had no idea about this website, I'll have to look into it, some great prices there

No worries, always a few bargains to be had there.

[tubs01]

Just to let everyone know I have created a new thread called Tub's workbench (I think, it's something like that) I thought it would probably suit me more with how I prefer to share my work. In other news Christmas presents were 3 Bachmann PNAs (two I've already weathered, one of which you can see on the new thread) and 3 of the newer Hornby CDAs. I've also gone and bought a Chiltern bubble car so I'll have some passenger stock when I start work on the layout, and also an ews Queen Mary for propelling moves. I might try and bring my grid more up to date, would make a nice repaint project, probably dcr 56303, same loco different livery. Then hopefully I can bag some more CDAs, plan is atleast 9 for something that looks long on a smaller layout

[The Evil Bus Driver]

On 02/12/2020 at 17:02, The Johnster said:

What they said.   Also, while there is nothing wrong with a trackmat based layout, it does take a lot of space, which is why many of us go end to end. fiddle yard to terminus, or around the walls of a room for a continuous circuit, usually with the fiddle yard on one side and the other 3 being 'scenic'.  A trackmat or trackmat style trackplan fixed to a board is a heavy and awkward thing to manipulate in a room, especially one with delicacies like windows, light fittings, computer monitors and a modelling desk...  Therefore, my advice would be to establish, as a first step before anything else is done, where the layout is going to go and what limitations that will impose on it. I fully understand that this may not be easy   You are a teenager and living at home I guess, so some negotiation will need to to take place with 'rents and siblings.  Do you have your own bedroom?.    The end to end sort of layout is fundamentally a shelf on the wall, and can be anything from a mimimum space shunting puzzle to a main line empire circumnavigating the whole room with a lift out or duckunder at the door, depending on the running length available.  As a rule of thumb, for an end to end terminus/fiddle yard, allow a third of the overall length for the fiddle yard, a third for the terminus, and a third for the station throat.  In the case of a fy/through station/fy set up, make that quarters, or 5ths if you want throats at both ends. 

 

If there is no space for a permanant or semi-permanent layout, the trackmat may be the only option, but you will have to set it up for operating sessions and put it away again when someone else needs the space for something, which is onerous and a pita but sometimes needs must.  if this is the case, go easy on the stock as you will need to spend as little time as possible setting things up and will sometimes have very little time to take it all down and put it away; delicate models don't like this scenario!  There will I'm sure be suggestions that you use the loft or garage/shed; before agreeing to this don't make the mistake I made  as a teenager in your position, and establish in advance how the location is to be heated, ventialted, accesses, and who is going to pay for it and do the converssion work (my attic layout was mostly too cold or too hot to use and it eventually tore itself literally apart with expansion and contraction. 

 

My personal view, 'informed' by this experience and freezing the familiy jewels off in a clubroom, is that if I can't have a layout inside the living area of the house where there is heating, ventilation, and I can control humidity, I'll do without until I can.

 

If this is your situation, you can still model, a joyful experience in itself, which only requires a small working surface and a ventilated room.  Be careful (you need to keep 'rents and siblings on board) of how you use things that do not smell nice, such as glues and paints; I use spray paints in rattlecans on the patio, which needs calm and dry weather, and a cardboard box as a booth to prevent the spray going where I don't want it.  As well as the tools, invest in a good anglepoise led lamp and a cutting mat, and a comfy work chair.  In the meantime, as you are building up stock and buildings for a future layout, you can plan schemes suitable for various types of potential future spaces.  I spent years doing this, and when i finally got a flat with a suitable bedroom had a variety of plans retady to go that fitted the 16 feet linear, actually doglegged around a bay window and curving 70 or so degrees, and ploughed straight into building it!  It has been an overall success, but owes a lot to the planning.There are computer apps for planning but I find them restrictive and preferred to draw plans out on imperial graph paper at 1" to 1' scale, using home made card templates for various radii of curves. 

 

When you acquire good tools, obviously look after them and they'll look after you, and never, ever, lend them to anyone except on the condition that you are present and supervising their use.  Do not borrow tools either, unliess it is on the same basis, as otherwise friction will, I absolutly guarantee, result between borrower and lender.  I have  two sets of tools, the 'precious' tools that I go all Gollum over, and the cheapo tools which I am happy to lend out.  These cheapos are useful for work that involves tool abuse, and while pound shop screwdrivers are rubbish as screwdrivers, they are perfect for opening paint tins, stirring paint, levering, cleaning out flangeways (childrens' stiff nylon paint brushes good for this too), prising bodies off, and all sorts of other useful misuse!  Pound shop chisels are good for clearing glue and ballast if you are relaying track, and so on.

 

If you don't have a life, and as a teenager you really should have a life, you can check out the story on Layout Topics/South Wales Valleys in the 1950s.

 

 

I needed some modelling tools quickly so I bought a £25 set from Amazon. Not the best but they'll do for now and allow me to replace things as and when rather than pay for each thing and have to wait for it to arrive. I'll be putting a layout in the left in thd next couple of years but I need to get insulation and flooring sorted out as well as lighting and power. Possibly a skylight too. It also allows me to put my locos and stock in one place and store it safely as well as plastic crates are OK but they do take up a lot of space and a lower fiddld yard with all my less operated stock will keep it safer. 

 

If you're planning to put thd layout on rollers then you'll definitely need to plan where everything goes. My old layout was hinged to the wall with an extension and a shelf holding it off the wall. Maybe something like that might work for you. Box it in and it'll look neat when folded up.