RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted March 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 19, 2015 Hi there, The point with the chairs plugging into holes in the base sounds very similar in concept to the Finetrax products - see http://www.britishfinescale.com/product-p/finetrax-turnout-b6.htm I've built one for a review and the idea worked very well indeed, especially for those of us who find soldered "chairs" a little unconvincing - though I accept they are probably the least worst solution until now! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2mm Andy Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) Hi there, The point with the chairs plugging into holes in the base sounds very similar in concept to the Finetrax products - see http://www.britishfinescale.com/product-p/finetrax-turnout-b6.htm I've built one for a review and the idea worked very well indeed, especially for those of us who find soldered "chairs" a little unconvincing - though I accept they are probably the least worst solution until now! cheers Ben A. Hi Ben, It is similar in concept. When Easitrac was developed (quite a few years ago now), I understand that consideration was given to having pegs on the bases of the chairs to aid location, but the idea was discarded as the designers felt that it would be too restrictive to those building custom track plans. When Wayne developed his system (aimed at a different market) he decided to go with the pegged chairs. Experience from those who have built his Finetrax point kits suggests that having the pegged chairs is a very useful aid for those building standard points or who might be less confident in building pointwork, and so the 2mm SA has decided to commission pegged chairs to accompany the unpegged type that we currently stock. There will also be a range of drilled bases to match, and milled common crossings (as opposed to the cast variety that Wayne supplies in his kits). The samples of the crossing I have seen didn't look quite as authentic as the soldered variety (unless you're modelling a cast steel crossing!) but are significantly easier to build/use. I believe that jigs for filing point blades are planned to complement those already produced for filing/assembling crossing vees. Andy Edited March 19, 2015 by 2mm Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Higgs Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Hi Ben, It is similar in concept. When Easitrac was developed (quite a few years ago now), I understand that consideration was given to having pegs on the bases of the chairs to aid location, but the idea was discarded as the designers felt that it would be too restrictive to those building custom track plans. When Wayne developed his system (aimed at a different market) he decided to go with the pegged chairs. Experience from those who have built his Finetrax point kits suggests that having the pegged chairs is a very useful aid for those building standard points or who might be less confident in building pointwork, and so the 2mm SA has decided to commission pegged chairs to accompany the unpegged type that we currently stock. There will also be a range of drilled bases to match, and milled common crossings (as opposed to the cast variety that Wayne supplies in his kits). The samples of the crossing I have seen didn't look quite as authentic as the soldered variety (unless you're modelling a cast steel crossing!) but are significantly easier to build/use. I believe that jigs for filing point blades are planned to complement those already produced for filing/assembling crossing vees. Andy I think there it was also considered at the time that the lack of adjustment possible with pegged chairs particularly around the crossing area of a point would make it difficult to produce well running pointwork. In practice this has not proved to be such an issue, and in any case you can still use chairs without pegs in that area and glue them if you wish. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted March 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 19, 2015 The most critical area in a turnout is the crossing. The milled crossing does that for you. This should be a help to those new to track building. I also found the pegs strengthen the chairs at a weak point.The 2mm Association's offering and Wayne's Finetrax are complementry giving users of both standards goodlooking track. For me the reduced flangeways of the 2mm track make a big difference and allows the use of much finer wheels. Yes there are some new jigs too. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Here's an idea I got from Richard Spratt's website and the darn thread elsewhere on this site. A number of vans to diagram V16 were built by the GWR for the Rhymney Railway. I had one unlettered from the batch I built a while ago (and documented elsewhere on here. Even if it's just that I'm out of practice that letting is ugly when photographed. I'm thinking it's time that I started using transfers but where to get large GW? Or if I look at this from a more realistic perspective where can one get artwork turned into transfers? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted March 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2015 Close up photos are rather cruel. Fox list alphabets in some suitable sizes. I assume 4mm would be reasonable for 25in 3mm is probably the nearest to 16inch. This is for white lettering. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin1985 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Fox definitely do purpose made sheets for GW wagons in 2mm, including a few sets of large lettering. They also do some dedicated sheets for brake vans and Mica B etc. Surprisingly they also do some pre-grouping freight stock transfers for MR, LBSC, LCDR, LSWR and SECR Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Yes, you get 3 sets of large, several medium and many small GWs on a sheet of fox transfers. If swaps for the 3/4s of a sheet I'm not going to use for the 3 pairs that I can could be easily set up this might make for better perceived value. You still have to make the number up from individual digits, which is tedious though not difficult. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D869 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Even if it's just that I'm out of practice that letting is ugly when photographed. I'm thinking it's time that I started using transfers but where to get large GW? Or if I look at this from a more realistic perspective where can one get artwork turned into transfers? I used John Peck's Precision Decals for getting my artwork turned into transfers using his ALPS printer and have been pleased with the results. Colour is a bit complex but plain white should be pretty straightforward. The only snag with white is that the vertical resolution is lower than the 600dpi available for other colours. Regards, Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkAustin Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I used John Peck's Precision Decals for getting my artwork turned into transfers using his ALPS printer and have been pleased with the results. Colour is a bit complex but plain white should be pretty straightforward. The only snag with white is that the vertical resolution is lower than the 600dpi available for other colours. Regards, Andy Have you got contact details fgor him? I will need some transfers. Mark A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2mm Andy Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Have you got contact details fgor him? I will need some transfers. Mark A Google is your friend; http://www.precisionlabels.com/ Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I've got a plan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin1985 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I've been focusing on trying to finish off a load of part completed wagons recently, not least as I'm helping Richard W to operate Lamboun at Epsom next weekend. Two that I'd been putting off finishing for a while were a pair of GER wagons (or NPCS) from David Eveleigh etches: a prize cattle wagon, and a horsebox. I'd been umming and arring about trying to tackle teak, or to go for post 1919 GER crimson lake livery for sake of ease. Inspired by Mike Trice's thread on painting teak in 4mm, I decided to give teak a go. I had tried the Phoenix Precision method of drybrushing a rich teak colour over a buff base on an offcut of plasticard as a sample, but wasn't happy with the texture. So I bought some burnt umber oil paint and liquin medium. After more experimentation on the offcut, I decided on Humbrol 24 as the main base colour, with some planks picked out in Phoenix's "teak basecoat" for variety. Then I set about using the oil and medium mix to add "grain". This was the first time I've used oils, and it took a while to get used to the paint coming off nearly as easily as it went on. I think I got there though, and arrived at a technique of long, slow, strokes using a small flat brush, leaving for about 4 hours, then using the same brush with some now slightly drier paint to go very gently over it again, smoothing out some of the texture from the first go, and adding a little more paint. I'll leave it a good few days before putting on some satin varnish, but I'm pretty pleased with the result! Justin 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 (edited) Hi Justin, To my eyes, they look a wee bit dark - nearer mahogany than teak. I've built four of David's kits for GER NPCS, all finished in teak. I used the method recommended by David, applying a base coat of yellow, followed by brushing burnt umber artist acrylic along the grain with a stiff brush. Results below (which were to David's critical satisfaction) sitting in the carriage siding on Connerburn. Jim Edited April 19, 2015 by Caley Jim 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardW1 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Justin, They look good to me, even if a little dark. Varnish would age and get dirty. Lambourn is kinda thirties, so for a wagon 10+ years old I wonder what colour the underlying teak would appear through layers of varnish and general grot. R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin1985 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thanks for the advice! Generally I'm aiming to model "circa WW1" - between 1910 and 1925 - ish. So these 1890s vehicles would most likely have been in "Stratford brown" rather than varnished, if not repainted in post-war GER crimson lake, in this period. So, I was going for a moderately weathered teak look. I think was also influenced by the appearance of teak coaches in preservation, which tend to appear really quite dark. The original picture was under halogen light, which I think made it look even darker than they really are. Here is a picture in (evening) daylight, with a Dapol Gresley for reference. I've decided to strip back the cattle wagon, which was a little darker, and re-try the graining with a more diluted mix of burnt umber, but I'll leave the horse box as is. The picture also really emphasises the limitations of the Dapol finish - like the Hornby coaches in MikeTrice's thread I linked to, the graining is really conspicuous in its absence on the door frames and other relief sections. Perhaps worth trying the same trick from that thread of using chrome yellow oils to tone down the solid brown with a hint of grain before a wash or two? Or in our scale would just a wash do the job of tying these contrasting areas together a little more? Cheers Justin 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CF MRC Posted April 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 22, 2015 The Dapol teaks are much improved by washing a darker, warmer brown over the grained panels to even them up a bit with an equivalent lighter wash over the brown mouldings. Most of the teak coaches on CF use a strong yellow undercoat, followed by washes of browns to bring up the grain to taste. Better on any small scale model to stay on the light side, with higher value: details are lost with dark colours. Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I repainted some early Dapol maroon and Minitrix coaches a few years back. If I recall correctly, I used an orange undercoat and then several thin coats of Ronseal teak varnish with final lining out done using a bow pen. Not as good as others I'll admit but I'm happy with them... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I've been experimenting with ballasting. I like to make yards where there is little ballast and the track has sunken into the ground. Before, I've laid the track and then added the textured paint, which ends up clumping around each sleeper and each chair. With this test track, I've laid the textured paint first and then sunk the track into it and then sprinkled on a small amount of ballast. On first appearance it does give a flatter, more uniform, more realist finish. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I've just discovered Scalescenes brick&corrugated iron sheets and just spent a happy putting this together 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted May 4, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2015 I've just discovered Scalescenes brick&corrugated iron sheets and just spent a happy putting this together Very nice are you going to add grafitti? Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Very nice are you going to add grafitti? Don That's an idea Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Looks like you can make some nice retaining walls with scalescene sheets as well Using some odds and sods, as a test mock up, I can feel a diorama coming on 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold bcnPete Posted May 14, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 14, 2015 Some rewheeled Farish cattle wagons and new association chassis beneath Farish 12T vans... 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted May 14, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 14, 2015 Looking good Pete the weathering is done well. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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