Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, t-b-g said:

People have taken distracting backgrounds out of railway photos since they started taking photos. Many official works photos were done that way.

 

I think my problem is more about adding things that don't really exist, like a grass foreground or an 8ft high backscene.rather than cropping out stuff that spoils the photo.

Good afternoon Tony,

 

Even though Stoke Summit's backscene was very tall, I still had to extend it upwards in the two previous pictures. Otherwise climbing ropes, bars and nets (plus a scoreboard) would have been visible above it. In that respect, I cropped out the stuff which would have spoiled the picture(s). No grass foreground was added....................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Pebbles]

55 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

 

I am a bit like that too Clive.

 

Recently, I have taken to clearing the workbench down to a bare board every few days but that just means that I can't find any tools that I knew exactly where I had left them.

 

This was the old way!

 

 

[Pebbles]

I wonder why you have a drawing of a B3/2? Possibly 6164 or  6166.

[t-b-g]

1 minute ago, Pebbles said:

I wonder why you have a drawing of a B3/2? Possibly 6164 or  6166.

 

Good spot!

 

It is the bottom half of the Nick Campling B3 drawing from Railway Modeller that was used when I was building the model of Valour that has featured on here before. I had that, the Isinglass drawing and a GA. 

 

Don't worry, I have no intention of building one of those magnificent locos in that state!

 

I do plan to do another one, with the D shaped cut out cab sides rather than the pair of windows but that will also be in GCR condition.

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, t-b-g said:

 

I am a bit like that too Clive.

 

Recently, I have taken to clearing the workbench down to a bare board every few days but that just means that I can't find any tools that I knew exactly where I had left them.

 

This was the old way!

 

Crikey, I thought I was the only one who worked like that.

 

A load of shame has lifted from my shoulders.

 

I am trying to be more tidy, though...

 

John

[t-b-g]

1 minute ago, Dunsignalling said:

Crikey, I thought I was the only one who worked like that.

 

A load of shame has lifted from my shoulders.

 

I am trying to be more tidy, though...

 

John

 

Me too. I am full of good intentions but after a couple of days, it always looks a bit like that.

[drmditch]

Please excuse a question. I'm planning some work on an A3 and/or a D49/2. I'm sure I have seen recent reference on RMWeb to a supplier of nameplates but now I can't find it.

Could anybody give me any advice please?

 

(Usually most of my locomotives are black without names!)

 

PS - I tidy my work surfaces between projects, but since my projects seem to take a long time I do get very cluttered. Also, I don't like throwing away offcuts of materials, so these eventually pile up.

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by drmditch

[LNER4479]

I was just about to go and tidy up my workbench. I don't think I'll bother now ...

[micknich2003]

Years ago, I had an idea for a nice tidy work bench. The idea was to have a separate "Work board for each ongoing project and store them in a purpose made rack under a bench. The attached pictures will hopefully explain my idea, but as you can see my theory did not last long, and it was not long before organised chaos returned. Nevertheless the engine was completed as likewise the signal, which I think is now on "Sir's" layout.

[t-b-g]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

I was just about to go and tidy up my workbench. I don't think I'll bother now ...

 

That looks like the "after" shot in the tidying to me.

 

Just to prove that mine does get a bit better sometimes, apart from the clutter beyond the cutting mat which is semi permanent, this is what it looks like right now. The canopy for a new station has just been finished and the bench gets a clear before something else goes on it.

 

[gr.king]

I know from experience that I run out of working space and get fed-up of spending longer looking for the tools than I spend doing the intended job if everything gets heaped up chaotically on the bench (or portable work-board which is all I actually have). That's why I built myself a gate-fold style tool box with (originally) a dedicated slot or shallow shelf for every necessary tool, plus solder, flux, glues etc. More recently, things have improved further as I acquired a load of unwanted, stackable, job-trays with sides about 40mm high, from a small workshop which, while not huge, will hold a part-built loco and tender plus a selection of parts, in handily divided portions of the tray. I also got four or five larger stackable trays with deeper sides. Switching from project to project without creating chaos, without losing track of what needs to be done next, and without filling more and more table-top space is now vastly easier.

[Paddy]

Hi Folks,

 

Personally, I think the ultra realistic model railways (Pendon, LB etc.) are really pieces of 3D art.   Not sure the term “model railway” does them justice as the attention to detail and skill is superb.

 

There definitely seems to be a split between operators and builders though.  For an example of an operator, see some of Barrie’s videos (see link below) where there is next to no scenery.  However, Barrie is a life long “toy train” (his words) enthusiast and ex-railwayman (driver, signalman etc.).  Barrie’s “train set” might not be pretty but it is run strictly to prototype practice even if the loco and stock do not match!
 

Our hobby is very broad and what pleases me is the delight and enthusiasm that modellers of all ilks demonstrate.

 

Kind regards 

 

Paddy

 

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, drmditch said:

Please excuse a question. I'm planning some work on an A3 and/or a D49/2. I'm sure I have seen recent reference on RMWeb to a supplier of nameplates but now I can't find it.

Could anybody give me any advice please?

 

(Usually most of my locomotives are black without names!)

 

PS - I tidy my work surfaces between projects, but since my projects seem to take a long time I do get very cluttered. Also, I don't like throwing away offcuts of materials, so these eventually pile up.

 

I use 247 Developments' 'plates. 

 

Tel: 01639 701583.

 

I have no connection with the firm, other than as a satisfied customer. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Tony Wright
to add something

[Barry Ten]

A few years ago I got fed up of riffling through various tupperware boxes marked "loco stuff", "wagon stuff" etc and organised this set of labelled drawers on my workbench. The bench itself still descends into a mess every few months but at least there's a semblance of order with these labels, and I've found they've helped speed up kit construction. I've also got a better idea now of when I'm getting low on certain supplies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Barry Ten

[Tony Wright]

All these various workbenches shown have lightened my heart today. 

 

I used to think I worked in an irredeemable, chaotic mess.....................

 

 

This is my 'constructional' bench. At the moment, amazingly, there is nothing currently under construction.

 

The drawers and cupboards are packed with model railway stuff (and camera equipment), almost nothing of it organised.

 

 

My painting/transfer area, with the next batch of locos to build (or some of them). 

 

 

More kits to build or RTR stuff to alter appear here. 

 

I'm lucky in that I have the largest bedroom (fortunately, there are four others) which serves as my workshop, digital darkroom and photo studio. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Tony Wright]

I've processed the Retford picture shown earlier...............

 

 

My cloning a section of the (average) sky tone has resulted in a rather leaden sky, but any obtrusive clutter has largely gone. 

 

The wonderful brass footbridge has reflected some of the ceiling lights' output, and a further shot from this viewpoint is called for once it's painted. 

 

 

[dibateg]

Yes - I much prefer the extended sky than background clutter Tony. For me the idea is to create a realistic, convincing scene and you are doing that in a photo by manually removing what the brain would ignore if the viewer where actually there. On the other hand, if you are photographing a layout under construction ( like mine ) , there is absolutely no point in removing the background full of embarrassing clutter. Although each time I see it, I resolve to purge more of the junk that gravitates to the railway room... One day - if there is any left, it will be hidden by curtains.

 

Best wishes all for 2021.

 

Tony

[dibateg]

Oh yes - and on the subject of workbenches - far too much going on...

[APOLLO]

My workbench - It's cold in conservatory now so jobs have to wait till spring. Kitchen table is off limits for anything over one hour or so.

 

 

 

Kits are O scale Intermountain  - a real joy to make (no painting !!).

 

A couple of points.

 

The glasses are a cheap pair of strong reading glasses, very useful for up close detail work. Get these at the cheapie shops.

A sheet of thin MDF protects the table & cloth. (any painting is in a home made spray booth in the shed, as is grinding, metal cutting etc)

The Revel Contacta cement (next to the scissors) is the best plastic cement I have ever used, has a fine metal needle applicator on the bottle. Box of four off ebay for around a tenner.

An old pair of Xuron track cutters are useful for cutting small parts off sprues

The black foam is from a Bachman On3 model box. Cut in half it is good for gently holding models upside down on a foam pad (also from the box).

The Lump hammer and half a brick are for --------- (well it is O gauge ) !!!!

 

Happy new year folks - another year of lockdown modelling looming  I suppose.

 

Brit15

 

[LNER4479]

Pictures of model railways the 'look like the real thing' are inevitably very impressive and a combination of the model maker's and photographer's art, but ...

 

(you knew there was a but)

 

Having been excited by pictures of it in a magazine, many can be such a disappointment when seen in the flesh at an exhibition.

 

First of all, it can be difficult - or actually impossible - to view the layout from the same viewpoint as the camera of the 'looks like the real thing' photographer. Forced to adopt a more 'helicopter' viewpoint, and without the benefit of a blanked out background, the effect can be completely different - ruined even.

 

Secondly, the dazzling magazine photos give no clue as to how the thing actually runs! Good running and realistic operation can be the antidote to my first point - but if it disappoints in this respect as well then it's time to move along.

 

Stoke Summit was notable in achieving both the above (ie it WAS possible to view it from the same viewpoint as the camera AND it ran well) but its real spectacle was the procession of accurately modelled train formations that either transported you back to the late 1950s or, for those of us too young, gave you a time machine glimpse of the past. Not the sort of thing that's so easy to convey in the pages of a magazine.

Edited January 4, 2021 by LNER4479

[LNER4479]

7 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

 

The Lump hammer and half a brick are for --------- (well it is O gauge ) !!!!

 

 

Magically turned into a drill in the second picture!

[APOLLO]

6 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

Magically turned into a drill in the second picture!

 

It's a Bosch Hammer Drill - damn clever these Germans !!!!

 

Brit15

[APOLLO]

I like a few pictures of model railway rooms (or bits of them) now and again. Some are wonderfully neat and tidy, some are not, all are interesting.

 

Here's my loft.  Generic BR (Eastern region circa1966) OO above, Wigan GC  Ince & LNWR (BR era 1955 ish) Springs Branch sectional  layout below. I'm up here in the winter (with a fan heater on !!).

 

I have a "workbench" of sorts up here, a piece of chipboard with 2" x 1" support underneath  that spans between two rafters, sitting on choc blocks (just visible lower left) and just above top layout level. Two minutes to erect / take down and fairly solid. 

 

 

Brit15

Edited January 4, 2021 by APOLLO
typo

[Manxcat]

 

 

Mine. A place for everything and (almost) everything in its place.

 

Most recent item completed, a small wiring loom lying on the cutting mat.

[richard i]

Br steam I can not often contribute to. However, work bench, ( nook), I can do. Considering how tidy I am everywhere else the surfaces are more free flowing with useful things. It is wedged between bookcases in a corner of the living room. It has doors so in theory it can be shut up when guests come round.....so that has not happened for a while. 

it allows me enough space, ( just), to build my GCR stock. Currently a rake of Parker stock. Others have more space, but if you always yearn for what others have, you will never be happy. 
richard