wiggoforgold Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 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. Alex 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wiggoforgold Posted February 8, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 8, 2019 It all started when the 04 tram died when I was testing Upwell Drove for the Edington show. A need for alternative motive power caused me to adopt that GE East Anglian standby, the J15. The J15s and their companion Ivatts looked so at home I thought I would give them a spin on the parent layout. Diddington was set up for diesel operation, so the turntable had been removed. I decided I needed to reinstate the turntable for steam operation. A search for turntables on RM Web showed me a link to Kitwood Hill Models, so I gave their website a visit. It was all American outline stuff, but I thought the HO scale 65’ turntable would make the basis of a medium sized 4mm table. The pit was done, and it was motorized, so much of the hard work had been done for me. I ordered one. When it came, it was my first experience of a wooden laser cut kit. It looked great. The parts were cleanly cut and fitted together perfectly. I could hardly wait to get started. I followed the instructions carefully. When detailing the pit, I added cosmetic half chairs (the inner half of old C&L chairs) to the inside of the pit rail, and made a brick lining to the pit sides. I was going to use Scalescenes paper for the brickwork, but the instructions warned against the use of water based glues such as pva, which would have been my usual method. I thought about using Pritt as an adhesive, but I then found I had some old sheets of Exactoscale self adhesive brick paper, so I cut some strips of that to line the pit. The base of the pit was treated to a sealing coat of varnish followed by a coat of primer. The ground work around the ties supporting the pit rail was built up with Das before the whole of the pit base was treated to a mix of earth coloured emulsion. The pit base was then painted with basing glue for static grass, sprinkled lightly with a mixture of ash from the fire and Treemendus earth powder, and given a coat of static grass. The grass was then given a light coat of hairspray, and layers built up with longer fibres, with more hairspray being used between each coat of fibres. The bridge was built as per the instructions. I’ve left off the handrail, as I’m going to make a handrail similar to that on the table at Huntingdon East, which is rather lighter than that which comes with the kit. Being a single rail only. I also left off the air motor, as the turntable at Huntingdon East was hand operated. Anyway, it all works, and is now awaiting installation on Diddington. I’ll do a further blog entry when that happens. Alex 23 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 11, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 11, 2019 Finally found the thread. Turntable looks very nice Alex. Rob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wiggoforgold Posted February 13, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 13, 2019 It's coming home....A J70 arrived today. Here's a picture of it crossing the bridge at Diddington A closer look.. Arriving at Upwell Drove Alex 27 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Blenk Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Brilliant!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 13, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 13, 2019 Top job Alex. Rob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Do the J70s come with any sort of ability to plug the hole made by the tension lock coupling? Martyn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) 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 February 13, 2019 by wiggoforgold Spelling 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 (edited) 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 A closer look.. Arriving at Upwell Drove Alex That little tram looks very much at home..... Lovely stuff! Edited February 15, 2019 by south_tyne Silly predictive text... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 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 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 16, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2019 Never underestimate the usefulness of foil wine bottle tops.... Rob 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 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. Alex 16 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted February 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 18, 2019 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted February 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 18, 2019 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....). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 44 minutes ago, NHY 581 said: Does wanting a J70 just to weather it make me a bad person? Rob. Not at all. It's a lovely model to work on, and makes weathering it feel particularly worthwhile. Alex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coline33 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 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 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 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. Alex Wonderful photos!! Thanks for sharing, David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coline33 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 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. 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. 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 12 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 very atmospheric 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wiggoforgold Posted March 23, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2019 A lorry stands in the yard at Upwell Drove. Today, it is an AEC Mammoth Minor owned by Cyril Ridgeon of Cambridge, delivering goods to the station for onward transit by the train from Upwell Drove. On the model, the lorry is positioned as part of the view block to reduce views of the train entering Upwell Drove through a hole in the backscene. The model started life as an EFE AEC Mammoth Minor, purchased from Antics in Plymouth’s Raleigh Street (before they moved to Royal Parade, never mind Cornwall Street) about 25 years ago. People who think EFE models should remain pristine and boxed should probably stop reading now. For my part, EFE supplied me with the basis of a 4mm, 1950’s lorry. I thanked them for their help, and proceeded to make it more suitable for my requirements. The model was first stripped down to it’s component parts, drilling out the rivets which allowed me to separate the cab and back from the chassis. Cab interior, glazing and tires were removed. The underside od the lorry body and the chassis were painted with various mixes of Tamiya NATO Black, Dark Earth and Red Brown. The whole body and cab were given a spray of Humbrol matt acrylic primer to tone down the factory finish. The inside of the lorry back was painted to represent weathered wood, starting with a spray of MIG Faded Sinai Grey”. This colour was brought to my attention recently by Martin S-C in his Green Soudley thread on this forum, and it is becoming my new “go to” colour, along with Dark Earth and Tamiya NATO black. The cab was flush glazed with thin clear plastic sheet, fixed in place with “Glue ‘n’ Glaze”, spread round the window aperture with a pin before the glazing was dropped in place with the aid of a damp finger. The tyres were painted separately, with MIG “Anthracite”. Weathering started with various mixes of Humbrol “Smoke” and “Dark Earth “ powders, mixed with water and then Humbrol Decalfix, which formed a slightly sticky mixture which was brushed on to the model. When dry, some of it was removed with micellar water (make up remover), and a 2mm glass fibre brush, used very gently. The tires were refitted to the chassis, and the chassis was then lightly sprayed with earth and dust colours, before the body and cab were refitted, using a bit of superglue on the stubs of the rivets to hold them in place. A bit of earth weathering pwder was brushed over the chassis and underside. The sheeted load is the load from an EFE Bedford TK, filed down slightly to fit. It was airbrushed with MIG colours – a pre-shading of Anthracite, before being sprayed all over with Faded Sinai Grey. It was highlighted by dry brushing with various Tamiya greys, given a dusting of Humbrol “Smoke” weathering powder, and sprayed with Humbrol Acrylic matt varnish. (Another couple for my “go to “ list) That completes progress so far. I want to add a bit more details to the cab, such as wing mirrors, do a bit more painting of the headlights, and add number plates. I’m currently working on the buildings for Upwell village street, part of which can be seen in one of the photographs. I’m also working on the fencing and gates for round the yard and road, and for the disused cattle dock. More details will follow soon. The layout is booked for the SWAG members day at Taunton at the end of April, so I’m working towards that. Tomorrow, the layout is off to the garage for some improvements to the wiring. I’m off to watch Milan – San Remo on the TV. Alex 17 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 (edited) 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. 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 April 8, 2019 by wiggoforgold Spelling 14 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 Vans for Upwell Drove wait in the yard at Diddington for transport to the SWAG members day. Looks like that photograper fellow is around somewhere..... Alex. 12 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) Duploicate post removed Edited April 10, 2019 by wiggoforgold 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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