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Most layouts benefit from some form of back drop. With the fenland layouts such as Diddington and Upwell Drove, the backdrop is fairly plain, to give an impression of the “big sky” typical of the area. The back drop is high, about 40 cm, with the top edge concealed by the proscenium.

Upwell Drove was designed from the outset to be portable, and fold in the middle. A fixed back drop was not an option, as that would stop the layout folding, and would make transportation more difficult. It would also add weight.  A removable, solid backscene was considered, but that would require a vertical join in the sky which would need to be disguised, and would eat in to the space available for transportation.

The answer was a roll up cloth back drop. This eliminated the vertical join in the sky, and rolled round a cardboard tube when not in use, making stowage and transportation easy. I made such a  back drop, but was not totally happy with  the results. I thought about replacing it, and compromising by using a solid back drop, split in the middle. However, after a couple of trips out, it earned a reprieve.

Initially, the back drop was made from a single thickness of Buckram, a dress stiffening material. The back drop was hung from the rear lighting gantry, and held in place with drawing pins along the lighting gantry, and at the back of the base boards. The shortcomings with this arrangement were:

  • Setting up took some time. The trains enter the layout through a hole in the back drop, and this has to be carefully lined up to prevent it catching on the trains.
  • It didn’t always hang smoothly. At first I used some curved card strips at the foot of the back drop, front and back, which were intended to help it form curves at the ends of the layout. In practice, I found these interfered with the vertical hanging of the back drop, and introduced creases. I removed one side of the strips to eliminate this.
  • When pinning the bottom edge of the back drop to the baseboards, the temptation is to pull it tight to make a smooth back drop. In practice, pulling it too tight can result in a crease along the tightest part of the back drop. What is needed is for the entire surface of the back drop to be under the same tension.  Introducing variations in tension can produce unwanted creasing.

I addressed some of these problems before the layout’s second outing to Edington. At this stage the back drop was still on trial.  I made the hole for the trains larger. My original plan had been to make it as small as possible, to increase it’s effectiveness as a view block. However, a slightly larger hole gave a little margin for error, and made it easier to align. Having found the right position, I then marked the back drop and the lighting gantry so the two could be lined up every time the layout was assembled, and the backdrop fitted to the lighting gantry before it was fitted to the layout, which mage setting up easier and because the backdrop could now be firmly fitted to the lighting gantry with confidence before being put in place on the layout, it was able to hang better.  The backdrop went to Edington in this form, and earned itself a reprieve. Once back home, the back drop was rebuilt, incorporating lessons learned.

  • The single thickness of Buckram became two. The Buckram I used is designed to iron in place on the fabric it is stiffening, so one side has a sticky coating which is activated when the material is ironed. I simply put two pieces sticky sides together, and ironed them
  • The back drop was painted, It was sprayed with Halfords matt white, and at the suggestion of Chris Challis, was then sprayed along the top edge with white and a medium blue (I used Halfords Ford Fjord Blue), both cans at once, which gives the impression of a blue sky shining through the clouds.

After these changes, the resulting back drop is smoother, hangs better, and gives a better impression of depth.  As before, it is pinned in place along the lighting gantry, and rolled up on a card tube for transportation.

Looking at the pictures, I think it may benefit from a bit more blue further down from the top. I’ll experiment further when I paint the Elm Lane backdrop, which is currently plain card.

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Alex

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, mullie said:

Do the J70s come with any sort of ability to plug the hole made by the tension lock coupling?

 

Martyn

Yes, there is a second set of cow catchers without the hole included in the box. I'm going to fit DG couplings to mine, in place of the tension locks. I think I I'll be able to do that and use the cow catchers without the hole.

Alex

Edited by wiggoforgold
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On 13/02/2019 at 20:00, wiggoforgold said:

It's coming home....A J70 arrived today. Here's a picture of it crossing the bridge at Diddington

DSCF1572.jpg.f6372a315eb80f4d6068188f5baa1ac3.jpg

 

A closer look..

DSCF1573.jpg.d6557109270733328bf6961281146aa4.jpg

 

Arriving at Upwell Drove

DSCF1562.jpg.3115e0250314cfe72da5b819643efbbc.jpg

 

Alex

 

DSCF1563.jpg

 

That little tram looks very much at home..... Lovely stuff! :good_mini:

Edited by south_tyne
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On 1 January 2019 at 21:34, NXEA! said:

I agree with that adage, I have more J15's than I really need. Lovely effort, how did you fashion the sheet rail if you don't mind me asking? 

 

I'm also desperate for an E4, would definitely have a couple of those if one was made! 

Oops, sorry I missed this. The uprights for the sheet rail are made from the etched lower coupling link on the MJT Wiron etch, with the cross bar from brass wire. The tarpaulin is folded from a foil wine bottle top.

Alex

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Weathering session on the Rapido J70 this weekend.  Still a bit left to do, it needs crew and shed plates, and the end windows need a bit of a tidy. Weathering is a mix of Humbrol powders and a bit of airbrushing.  The powders are mixed with decal fix before applying, and most of that is then taken off again removed with make up remover.

I fitted DG couplings by removing the tension locks and the cowcatchers with holes on, and making a mounting from a "U" shaped piece of wire that was superglued into the existing NEM pocket. This left two "prongs" prodruding from the NEM pocket. The alternative cowcatcher without the holes was then fitted, with the prongs protruding between the cowcatcher bars. The mounting plate was then removed from the DG coupling, and the front part of the coupling fitted to the prongs.

DSCF1574.jpg.1e5b869e0193d4deb6b48c903d73991a.jpg

 

 

DSCF1575.jpg.fb56888049a0dbba9cf780a739011688.jpg

 

Alex

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Nice job Alex.

 

The height difference between the van and the J70 really emphasises how small these are. 

 

Does wanting a J70 just to weather it make me a bad person?

 

Rob. 

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20 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

Nice job Alex.

 

The height difference between the van and the J70 really emphasises how small these are. 

 

Does wanting a J70 just to weather it make me a bad person?

 

Rob. 

 

You're not helping ( yourself... go on, go on, go on....).

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Alex, your weathering makes 68222 look just right for its penultimate W&U condition.   Mine has just had its mandatory run-in and performs beautifully at slow speed.   Did you use the factory fitted end window frames in the open position or do as recommended in the booklet, please?   I am thinking of altering the side skirts to give it the final W&U condition to run with the diesels.   So pleased with the performance of 68222 that I immediately ordered 68225.   Kind regards, Colin.

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Hi Colin. I used the factory firtted windows. I wanted to use the supplied froms but I couldn't get them to stick to the glazing as recommended in the booklet. I'll have another go at tidying the windows, as I think the factory ones might be a bit to thick to use in the open position.

Alex

 

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19 hours ago, wiggoforgold said:

Weathering session on the Rapido J70 this weekend.  Still a bit left to do, it needs crew and shed plates, and the end windows need a bit of a tidy. Weathering is a mix of Humbrol powders and a bit of airbrushing.  The powders are mixed with decal fix before applying, and most of that is then taken off again removed with make up remover.

I fitted DG couplings by removing the tension locks and the cowcatchers with holes on, and making a mounting from a "U" shaped piece of wire that was superglued into the existing NEM pocket. This left two "prongs" prodruding from the NEM pocket. The alternative cowcatcher without the holes was then fitted, with the prongs protruding between the cowcatcher bars. The mounting plate was then removed from the DG coupling, and the front part of the coupling fitted to the prongs.

DSCF1574.jpg.1e5b869e0193d4deb6b48c903d73991a.jpg

 

 

DSCF1575.jpg.fb56888049a0dbba9cf780a739011688.jpg

 

Alex

 

Wonderful photos!! 

Thanks for sharing,

David

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Many thanks, Alex, for confirming my hopes!   I know what you mean by the thickness.   In turning my 68222 into its W&U final condition, I have to repaint the window frames seemingly white.   I will now hold off till 68225 arrives later this week and prepare the two together.   Colin.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I haven’t posted in this thread for a couple of weeks, but there has been progress. The water tower and water column have been built and placed on the layout. I haven’t fixed them in place yet as I am still working out the final position.

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I had a couple of false starts on the water tower. The original plan was to make a model of the tank at Wisbech East. I built the frame and placed it on the layout, but immediately felt it was too big.  Cut the frame in half, which can be seen in some of the earlier pictures of the layout, but I still wasn’t happy with it. I started to make a tank for it, but again it was too big, so progress stopped while I though of suitable alternatives. I then read on this forum about someone using Wills girder bridge panels to make the sides of a tank. I had some panels in stock, and a bit of experimenting with these gave me the tank size I wanted. I then built a base for it from Plastruct square section strip. I haven’t finished the top of the tank yet. I’ve modelled it open, but would that be the case in reality? Being open would allow rainwater to get in. and I’m thinking some sort of cover (I have in mind a planked top) would be more appropriate.

1603623346_J70bywatertank08_03_19.jpg.24e83dc6dec63602f819884608824b4c.jpg

 

793368261_J70bywatertowerbirdseyeview.jpg.46fb41dd1e49a39bdf1105d200c5a3bf.jpg

The water column is based on the one at Upwell, and was soldered up from various diameters of brass tube, detailed with wire. 46444 of this parish kindly gave me an etched handwheel which was fitted to the column. The delivery “bag” is from a folded piece of masking tape.

Using different media for construction got me thinking about the different materials used for various projects in the last month. I’ve used  several:

·        Diddington turntable – wood

·        Upwell Drove water tank – Plastic

·        Upwell Drove water column – metal

·        Houses for Upwell Drove village street – card

·        Lorry for Upwell Drove yard – resin

I’ve also built an electrical connector for the control panel, and weathered the J70 and a couple of wagons.

 

That’s all for now. More soon.

Alex

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Work is in progress for Upwell Drove's trip to the SWAG members day on 28th April. The landform is now pretty much complete, and I'm installing the buidings at the village end of the layout.

At the terminus end, I've bedded in the base for the water tank, and added some bramble to make it look slightly overgrown. Here's some more pictures of the current state of play.456234921_Villagestreet37.4_19.jpg.8c199bf00dc8588fbd4cd8de968be542.jpg1301735862_Villagestreet7.4_19.jpg.91271f46cfc7273202b1a9f151dd013c.jpg

 

Taunton will be the last public appearance of the Elm Lane section. We are putting a new fitted cupboard in the layout room, which wont leave space for Elm Lane, so a reborn Middle Fen is planned, shorter and wider, with a model of a fen drainage engine.

 

Alex

 

Edited by wiggoforgold
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