GRC Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Ill need help with my boards can do most bits but not the lift up and drop down at the end of the day Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Shouldn't be a problem Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Well didn't get the chance to do what I wanted yesterday ... events events events. Still it is progress but not as we'd like it. Managed to get the board on its legs without any help but only by putting my arm through the scenery - so not ideal and I needed something to lean on. The result is at least it can take its own weight and stand upright without falling. But it has a very distinct and unnerving wobble. I will have to re-consider at least a cross bar for each pair of legs. I guess when connected to other boards it will be much more stable. Please ignore the hasty photo and general detritus in the surrounding area. I'll try to get it to a more photogenic location for such a long shot tomorrow and go for a faster exposure with less camera shake! I also opened that tin of black paint for the fascias. It said in big letters on the tin "One Coat" :no: way it recon it will need at least 3 ... why does paint take so long to dry? 24hr and it is still tacky. [edit] a slightly better image with less wobble in my legs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Good stuff Kenton Always good to see progress - however small - as it all means we're getting together. I expect our "end of year" or "early next year" meet (assuming we decide to continue) to be our first proper "with scenery completed" type of meet. I'm just cutting special legs for another "dropped board" which I built using a slightly odd method (it was before the standards were, erm, standardised) which means that I have legs for this about an inch and a half shorter than all my other legs (when measured up against my height gauge consisting of a piece of wood with a piece of angle on it set at 45") so I'll need to paint the end of them to make sure they stand out from the pile of the 40 or so legs I need if all of my modules are used at any given time. Thankfully of course being local we can do it with two cars but for any distance I will only likely use one car and, if it's just our Fiesta, then I'm pretty limited. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Only a few trees suffered to make it all possible. I think you need to sell the fiesta and get a transit van. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Thankfully I have access to a 'family car' - a Vauxhall Zafira - which I can drive, and my wife can drive the Fiesta up with anything that doesn't fit. Just trying to think how to make a dozen silent trips up and down the stairs of our block at 6am without waking anyone up ... don't fancy leaving layout bits in a car overnight as you never know what the locals may decide to do... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I shouldn't overly stress about the wobble, individually my 3 modules don't feel stable but as soon as they are clamped together they feel solid and the wobbling stops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Is that the wobbling of the modules, or the owner - as I'm certainly very concerned about the amount of work I still have to do. It didn't help today that drilling a piece of wood the drill slipped and I now have a gash down the side of a finger the outline of a 4.5mm drill bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Ouch! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Ouch! I have to honestly say that wasn't the first word I uttered. I'm just grateful it was a sideways glance - if it had gone in straight I'd have almost certainly been looking at a hospital visit and possibly surgery too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 Well the 2nd coat of "One Coat" went on today and I'm revising my estimate to 4 coats required - still very streaky - it also claims to be "non-drip" for which is better a description "drips all over the newspaper I carefully placed on the floor. Next 3 days will be a bit of a loss and I still have to open that box to stick a chip in it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Cheap black poster paint from an arts and crafts store, it's the future Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 Cheap black poster paint from an arts and crafts store, it's the future Not much to report. Small but forward progress. Crossrails at either ends have improved the stability and the ease of module assembly. How does one photograph better stability? An issue with the wiring has been resolved by making it tidier and out of the way (not so easy to snag/damage) The black paint has dried - that was tedious to watch - thanks for the poster paint idea (noted for next time). Now to fire up the DCC controller and test (again). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 A creep drops in and the track gets a light dusting of grime before ballast. I have a big debate with myself ... Should I just get on with the soporific but pleasurable task of laying ballast before constructing the embankments? and should I build from the lowest ground level (river bed) up to the highest (a slight rise above track level at the end corner of the module? either way I guess that means a start has been made on scenics. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 If it was me, I'd start on the scenics - even if it's only polystyrene blocks shaped and covered in mod-roc, then given a coat of green poster paint to simulate grass - it'll make a huge difference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Kenton If you make cess pits either side of the track bed that will give you a natural break between the track bed and scenery Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 If it was me, I'd start on the scenics - even if it's only polystyrene blocks shaped and covered in mod-roc, then given a coat of green poster paint to simulate grass - it'll make a huge difference.Ah, but you enjoy scenics unlike me, I'd rather ballast! How about this for an idea? I am currently working on the river - the bridge over it anyway. and so have been thinking about the rolling fields that go down to it. Some may remember this image (kindly posted by someone else - embarrassingly I forget who on RMWeb) Many thanks to Steve-e see post below) which was the prototype inspiration for this simple module. Though it will bear no practical resemblance given some extreme artistic licence. I do like to refer back to it for moral mojo support. How about using sheet bubble wrap (the plain side facing up) to fill in the empty voids. I am thinking that the flexible sheet will be more able to represent any contours than a rigid framework of cardboard. The intention then being to cover lightly with a layer of papier-mâché in strips and finally a thin coat of modroc or similar. All of which is lightweight. The problem with styrene blocks is that there is nothing to build it up from (no base), the problem with plaster bandages is that they are heavy. The bubble wrap could be stuffed with temporary packing from below at the embankments and would be easy to glue down at the edges to give an outline to build up from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-e Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 That was my photo glad it provided some inspiration It is around Glenwhilly in Southern Scotland heading looking North 2x class 20's on the Skirl o The Pipes railtour c.1986. I was told that those posts sticking up are a visual check for ballast movement, not sure if thats right or they serve another purpose but it does kind of fit that if the posts have disappeared you better watch out... This is the location in bing maps http://binged.it/1QwV1DI Apparently the location also has a name of "Swan Neck Curve" now there's a name for my next board Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Kenton How about the Cob at Porthmadog ? you could even be a bit untidy ballasting.You would have to change the sleepers and rail but my locos would run on it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 There's a lovely level crossing at Wilsford, east of Grantham, on the Skegness line that's essentially a 90 degree curve but with a level crossing in the middle of it. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Grantham,+Lincolnshire/@52.975104,-0.492999,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x487820d7b8e18acd:0xec445ad0df69f289!6m1!1e1 It's on my "one day" module list. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Opened the ebay bid on a pot luck box on wheels. It runs (well enough) on DC. Any (constructive and polite) suggestions before I open the box and make it a non-runner DCC convertion? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I've dcc converted a couple of hard wired old locos with Bachmann 8 pin chips, it's simple enough with a couple of soldered wires, just remember to heat-sink the wires going to the chip! And for some reason which I've still not got to the bottom of, remove the capacitor across the motor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Use a DCC chip does it taste any better than the smoky bacon variety? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 It's better than smokey chips anyway, especially when you're on DCC. That can get expensive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 OK, first problem - how does one get the lid body off without breaking anything? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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