My Layout and other projects.

[81A Oldoak]

Getting hold of 1:43 lorries is not easy.

 

Atlas limited Editions have a series of Dinky replicas if that helps

 

Paul R

Agree. I'm desparate to find a 1:43 Bedford SL for Tonfanau Camp.

[Father Dougal]

This morning has mostly been spent touching up Mrs Doyle.

More shading washes needed before she can be posed somewhere around the mess hall in the goods shed.

The Thornycroft is coming along nicely. I have started the glazing. I have yet to fit the right hand side door or mirror as it is easier to glaze the model with them unfitted.

 

The goods yard is coming along nicely.

Fred is now busy repainting the doors....

The tin roof has been repainted...

A delivery of fish has arrived...

And the woody area beside the coal yard is looking better. I like the woodsmen in the background.

I have fitted a small LED to the buffer stop and rusted the rails...

The 08 has been faded...

I am now working on one of the Terriers. The photo was too big to upload. Once the crew are painted and the coal load dries she will be ready.

Dougal.

[Welchester]

This morning has mostly been spent touching up Mrs Doyle.

 

Is Pat Mustard about again?

[Father Dougal]

Is Pat Mustard about again?

Hmmm, the milk float has been parked outside the goods shed for a while now....

[muddys-blues]

"Touch me up Father .... "

[Father Dougal]

Hello there!

I have been keeping myself busy working on 4 TTA tank wagons. I have previously built one before. I will form a weekly oil train hauled by my class 47.

Progress so far,

Only the first walkway is fixed, the other three are still work in progress.

Once finished 3 will be in Black with Shell branding. The other will be Fina or BP.

 

My Lamps arrived from China.

They are really nice. I am not sure if I will keep the posts black or paint a dark grey. I have decided to omit the covers for the lights as it diffused the pool of light too much.

I have reworked the Backscene. I was never really happy with the printed Backscene as it kept rucking up. I used a temporary fixing agent initially so I had more time to fit it, but 7 months on it was still causing a few issues so I took it off. I repainted the backscenes in various greys with a spot of blue showing through in places. I will disguise the joins at some point with a few strategically placed trees.

The clay / cement siding needs far more trees by the retaining wall.

The engine shed has now been undercoated. I will add DAS to the side building and the paint. I plan to illuminate the building and have it removable so that I can use an identical sized Diesel shed when I operate in 1970's mode.

Everything is coming together nicely.

I have also begun having a play with timetables for 1950's and 1970's running. I don't want anything too complicated, but it will help set each time era for me and create a small sense of realism. I almost have enough stock to run both eras now.

I am not going to mention anything about my expensive stupid Railbus that has stopped working again. For safety reasons I have locked my lump hammer away for now as this model is beginning to vex me.

 

Finally, Nellie is now DCC fitted.

I used a free decoder I had with the prodigy. I will invest in a decent sound decoder with stay alive when I get around to it. It is really nice to have Nellie running on four candles, especially as she was the first steam loco I built.

Dougal.

[Father Dougal]

Just been pottering the shed. I recently received 50 seated passengers for the princely sum of £7.03. I plan to place them in my Skytrex DMU.

The DMU will be my next project once I have finished my tankers.

I bought the DMU from Feebay earlier this year. The motor and all bogies have been replaced with easybuild versions.

I plan to detail the DMU, sort out the funny looking lights on each end and fit sound.

I may repaint in blue and grey, depends if the glazing comes away easily, otherwise it will stay blue.

 

Anyone know which DMU it is supposed to be? I can't make my mind up if it is supposed to be a 101, 105 or 108?

Dougal.

[muddys-blues]

Hi Dougal, the Skytrex DMU is a Met Cam 101, they did a Blue and Green versions, they weren't to bad a model, any pics ? How much did it cost if you don't mind me asking ......... I understand if you decline the last question.

 

Best regards

Craig

[Father Dougal]

Hi Dougal, the Skytrex DMU is a Met Cam 101, they did a Blue and Green versions, they weren't to bad a model, any pics ? How much did it cost if you don't mind me asking ......... I understand if you decline the last question.

Best regards

Craig

Hi Craig, £410.00

Not bad for a 2 car set.

Dougal

[Father Dougal]

After a few weeks with precious little modelling time, I have now almost finished two tankers, with number three not far behind.

Here is 65652. The shell logo and stripes were fairly easy to apply over white blanking transfers.

67496 in BP Green. Both of these tankers still need to be weathered.

This will also be painted black and carry Shell livery. I have yet to add all the white metal details to this model, I wanted to make sure the axles were nice and level first.

 

Two more tankers are almost done. I have to do the ladders and they are a bit of a to do.

Dougal.

[Father Dougal]

Lots of modelling this weekend as I am shortly to go on my hols to the land of the alcoholic beverage with worms in it.

Two tankers all done, except the teeny weeny numbers on the panels.

My newest addition, a little conflat. Loads to do here. Sorry for the glare on the photo.

I have also been tinkering with a cassette for the fiddle yard.

 

I used a bit of basswood, wooden L section and fixed the track. The bulldog clips are covering the brass strip- I plan to fix power wires to two clips and use these as a reliable power source whilst running trains off of the cassette.

This is a prototype, but I think it works. I tested my heavest and most expensive loco on it and everything was OK.

The last image shows my repainted terrier and a short rake of clay wagons. This is probably about the right length for most of the cassettes I will use and not too heavy to lift.

I think I will make 6 or 7 cassettes of similar lengths plus a few shorter ones for my bigger diesels to run light engine.

No more posts for a few weeks.

Underlay, underlay!

Dougal.

[Father Dougal]

Hola!

Back from sunny Mexico.

During the last two weeks I have been considering extending the old layout from an L section to a roundy roundy layout.

As the shed gives 8 X 14 foot I should be able to get away with it.

I can relocate a lot of my buildings and scenic items.

I think a lift out section by the door would work, rather than a duck under section. And, I could have a hinged section over the work bench so I can raise this when I building stock.

Any thoughts from members of this parish?

Dougal.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Father Dougal

[John R Smith]

Go for it, Father.

[Father Dougal]

Hello, This last week I have been building the extension pieces and fitting the track to make the layout a complete circuit.

Over the weekend I fitted the boards, raised the height of the layout and fitted the track.

 

Although I have a template of 8 foot by 14 foot, This does not give loads of space for a circuit and sidings.

In the end I decided to fit the circuit with space for a short coal siding attached to the circuit and fit a clay siding that is independent from the main circuit.

I had to compromise as I just couldn't get the extra sidings to fit without affecting the running performance of my bigger diesels.

 

This works out better for me as I can sit and watch my trains go by and indulge in some simple shunting when the mood takes me.

I will post some pictures when I start fixing all the track and ballasting. At the moment there is not much to show, aside from a circuit of track placed on the insulation boards.

 

I need to fit the lift out, bridge section this week and triple check that all my stock runs without buffer lock, derailments etc.

 

I plan to fit cable trunking this time. I expect I will have to scratch build these components, unless anyone knows of a supplier in 7mm?

 

Finally, I doubt I can use my engine shed or goods shed now as they are too big for my needs. If anyone wants them just PM me. They would need to be picked up from Bristol.

Dougal.

[Father Dougal]

Feeling very pleased with myself today. The trains are now running and I have cut the track at the lift out section.

I had a few problems yesterday with the 47 derailing on the curve by the workbench but with slight tweaking this morning it now runs.

Here is the 47 pulling the track cleaning car.

The same train heading towards the soon to be tunnel area.

The grass you can see are samples I am tinkering with. I have recently purchased a variety of higher end scenic items to see if I can create more realistic scenery this time.

This is the shelf area by my workbench. It is about 1 foot wide. I decided to try this rather than a hinged section as I needed a simple solution giving maximum space for my work bench.

The bridge are a has been started. This is on the lift out section by the door.

This is where the clay sidings will be.

 

Hopefully once I have fixed all the track on cork underlay, painted the track and ballasted I can start sculpting the insulation boards to form realistic embankments, hills etc.

I have decided to use small buildings where I can so that hopefully, the trains will be part of the landscape.

More soon.

Dougal.

[Father Dougal]

September! Can't believe it has been that long since I last posted.

I have been a busy bee. I will post some pictures soon.

The circle is now laid and the basic scenic areas laid. Loads more to do, but looking good.

Anyway, I digress.....

 

Decided to take a break from scenic work to build a Vanwide that I bought at the lovely Bristol show yesterday.

I have tried Royal Mail red before but this is too, umm, red.

Lots of photos appear to indicate the rail freight red fades to a scarlet / orange hue after a while.

A Doogle search suggests Halfords carnival red is a good match.

Anyone used this?

Paul - aka Father Dougal.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Father Dougal

[Jintyman]

Nice to see you back good Father, obviously the ecclesiastical demands over the festive season have kept you away from your models!!!

I look forward to seeing your scenic adventures

 

Jinty

[Father Dougal]

As requested here are a few photos of progress so far....

08 passing under the road bridge on a short clay working on the branch line.

Engine shed and rusty tool shed on the clay siding.

08 shunting a van to the loading area.

Must get a burger van to go near this. The sign is at the front of what will be a village scene eventually.

Fowler in ECC livery shunting a Palvan and Mogo.

Class 47 heading north on the branch line with oil tankers / TTA's.

An Arty shot of the gamekeepers cottage near the coal siding.

Farmer Palmer tinkering with his Tractor.

The coal siding. Loads to do here!

Some of the cliff face that dominates the left side of the Branchline.

Paul- aka Father Dongel.

[Father Dougal]

After spending a few days trying not to cough up my lungs, I got around to building the VEA / Vanwide.

A very nice kit.

This was a first for me, as I have never used MEKPAK before. A very easy bonding agent- shame I knocked the bottle over this afternoon!

I have ordered a can of Carnival red which appears to be a good match for Railfreight red.

I will post a few pics once the VEA is painted.

Paul - AKA Further Dongal.

[3 link]

This was a first for me, as I have never used MEKPAK before. A very easy bonding agent- shame I knocked the bottle over this afternoon!

 

Paul - AKA Further Dongal.

Hi Paul,

 

I have also knocked over a few bottles in my time so below is what I do now, cheap and cheerful but it works. Even the odd shaped flux bottles are not a problem, it's just an off cut of a insulation material called Celotex but it does go by other names.

 

 

HTH,

 

Martyn.

Edited January 26, 2017 by 3 link

[Father Dougal]

Hi Paul,

I have also knocked over a few bottles in my time so below is what I do now, cheap and cheerful but it works. Even the odd shaped flux bottles are not a problem.

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HTH,

Martyn.

I like that idea. Might copy it,

Thanks.

[Father Dougal]

Hello,

Whilst I eagerly await the delivery of my Railfreight paint, I have been busy sorting out a few wagons.

I purchased several wagons of mixed heritage from Feebay a while ago. They are reasonably well built but need buffer and coupling repairs.

I have sorted out a few private owner coal wagons this morning so my SR Livered Terrier has something more authentic to pull along.

 

I am ready to paint the wagons, but I have run into difficulties finding suitable private owner transfers.

 

A Doogle search was not much good. No luck also from Fox.

 

Does anyone know of a supplier of any type of 7mm private owner wagon transfers? I really don't mind what they depict as long as they look the part.

Thanks,

Paul.

[davan]

Hi Paul,

 

Parkside do show some PO wagon transfers on their web site. They are intended for 7 plank wagons, hope this is of some use.

 

Regards,

Dave

[MarcD]

try POWSides they must be getting close to 1000 PO wagons from all over the county. We use them on our wagons all the time. there is a knack to putting them on. Hold them down with scotch magic tape, don't try to rub them down freehand. Not so many from Cornwall apart from China clay wagons.

 

http://www.powsides.co.uk/

 

 

Marc

[Father Dougal]

try POWSides they must be getting close to 1000 PO wagons from all over the county. We use them on our wagons all the time. there is a knack to putting them on. Hold them down with scotch magic tape, don't try to rub them down freehand. Not so many from Cornwall apart from China clay wagons.

 

http://www.powsides.co.uk/

 

Thanks Marc,

I have ordered a couple of Torquay Coal transfers. Not quite Cornwall, but not I imagine wagons from Devon would have made occasional incursions into Cornwall.

Thanks,

Paul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc