0 Gauge micro layout and wagon building

[Georgeham]

2 hours ago, 47606odin said:

I like the platform. Is it a kit that’s available? I may have missed it if it was mentioned earlier 

Hi there - the platform is available from KS laser designs - it is a kit that you will scratch build a few bits for - but it is a solid base for the platform.  Getting it straight is the main challenge!

[Georgeham]

I have continued to make some sporadic progress on the layout.  Firstly I got some track wired up on DC just to move a train around and check the rails and platform would all fit in.  I have made some good progress on painting the platform and the base coats are done (a lot of pre-shading here) - ready for some detailing and colour.  The pub is also coming along nicely - with the exterior largely finished.  It is going to have some basic internal lighting and detailing - I have built a simple bar and some tables and today will fit in the windows properly and paint the interior walls.

[Georgeham]

I have made a bit more progress over the last week or so.  The platform has now been painted and I have made another simple platform for the dairy.  This means I can line the track up and get on with some track laying over the next couple of weeks.  The goods/dairy platform will be flush against the backscene with low relief buildings - so it is a bit of guestimate where to position this without installing the backscene first. The passenger platform has a lot of subtle colour variation that just does not come out in these pictures.....(it is there honest gov!)

The pub has also made some good progress and is nearly finished - it has an internal light fitted alongside some basic internal decoration.  I need to finish the guttering off and a few other external details, but this should not take to long.  Feel pretty pleased with how it has turned out.  The pub and the platforms are the 'big buildings' - so with these done, track laying should make quick progress!

[Baggies1961]

Love the pub building its spot on and the platform looks excellent 

All coming along very nicely.

Regards

Julian.

[Georgeham]

20 hours ago, Baggies1961 said:

Love the pub building its spot on and the platform looks excellent 

All coming along very nicely.

Regards

Julian.

Thanks Julian - all slow progress but it is getting there!

[Georgeham]

Well a rather work intensive few months have passed by, but there has ben a little progress on the layout. It has been sporadic at best, but finally today the powerbus and points have been tested and the layout is now operational.  The platform needs gluing down and the track painting, but a real relief to have trains running again.  My thoughts - O gauge takes up a lot of room - it is all a bit of a tight squeeze but it works!

 

I am using a NCE Powercab but have installed the Tam Valley booster (a huge thank you to Cravensdmufan for his help with this), which is all running on the Express Models DCC powerbus kit.  All the soldering is now thankfully complete, although I do need to adjust the point motors (DCC Concepts running through an Alpha) - the rodding is bending when moving the 0 gauge points. However, that should be a simple job and I can move onto the more interesting bits of building the layout

[Georgeham]

So a little further progress has been made.  The track is currently in the process of being painted and I have also managed to reset a slightly problematic point motor (caused by my poor positioning).  I have also managed to finish the first of 4 wagons that will be used on a goods train, delivering fertiliser to the goods line/diary.  It is a 12t standard van from the Slaters kit and I am pretty pleased with the outcome so far.  It is heading into the paintshop this week, alongside a rtr Dapol 12t van with Plywood sides.

[Georgeham]

So a little bit more progress has been made.  The track has been painted - a somewhat tedious job, but I am glad it is done.  The platform has also been glued into place and the dairy platform has entered the paintshop.  Once the dairy platform has been finished I can make a start on ballasting the track. Everything is working on the DCC side and and I managed to sound chip a Dapol class 122 DMU, which can now head into the paintshop for some weathering, alongside putting a dcc chip into a class 08.  The 08 is going to be used to test the layout whilst I detail the other locomotives.  All in all some satisfying progress and hopefully I can move onto the more interesting bits of scenic detailing over the next couple of weeks.

[Georgeham]

I have made a bit more progress on the layout.  A couple of weeks ago I added some plaster bandage to the front of the layout to start to make the form of quay wall.  This has really started to give a feel of how the quay front will work on the layout.  Tomorrow I am hoping to get the top of this plaster bandage smoothed over with some DAS clay and then I will scribe the quay wall.   The dairy platform also continues to make sporadic progress with painting and I am optimistic that I can finish this and get it glued down in the next couple of weeks.  I have also started to construct the buildings for the rail served dairy, that will sit on top of the platform - these are plodding on in the background.

However, we are also about to move house back to glorious North Devon (which is providing me a much better railway room!) - so there will be even less progress than normal to report in the next couple of weeks.  However, once moving is done I am optimistic I can really push on with the detailing of the layout.  

[jamest]

Hi,

 

Enjoying following your build.

 

Hope the move goes well.

 

atb

James 

[Georgeham]

Made a little more progress on wagon painting and building this week - so a quick update on the 13t open wagon.  This is shaping up for transfers, although there are still a few more details to pick out during the painting process.

[Georgeham]

The last few weeks has been a bit busy with moving, but the new layout room is now set up (just about) and I have finally managed to grab a few hours of modelling time.  The layout is not yet operational since the move primarily because I covered the platform and track to protect them, whilst adding in the clay to form the quay wall.  The quay wall now requires a lot of sanding down and scribing and is best described as 'ongoing'. So in the meantime I have been occasionally working on a few of the buildings for the layout. The pub is nearly finished, with a few more details to add and a little bit more painting required here and there.  The roof has now been finished, there is one more set of guttering to add in, it needs a sign and porch, and the chimney pots need toning down a little. I will set this onto some foam board and build the garden around this, before plonking on the layout (if it will fit, it is a tight squeeze).  However, I must say, that with the interior light working, it looks very cosy, with local landlady visible in the window).

 

The dairy platform is painted, but it really needs some varnish just to unify the paint job.  However, it was awkward to paint, so I am glad it is done. The first of the dairy buildings is in progress, with the outside largely painted.  It now needs some interior details added (lights, desks, etc) and of course the roof.  The next big building is the Quay Masters office, which is now started and ready for some painting and scribing. This building will sit right at the front of the layout and provide a scenic block to the exit point for the layout opposite the dairy.

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Georgeham

[Baggies1961]

Looks excellent, love the the buildings and platform, looking forward to seeing more.

Regards

Julian.

[Georgeham]

4 hours ago, Baggies1961 said:

Looks excellent, love the the buildings and platform, looking forward to seeing more.

Regards

Julian.

Thanks Julian - hope all is well.

Hoping to get the quay side sorted soon, so I can get these buildings stuck down.

[Baggies1961]

Im great thanks, hope you are too. Looking forwards to that.

[Georgeham]

I hope everyone enjoyed a good bank holiday!  I managed to find a little time to sand down and start painting the quay side over the weekend.  It needs some washes before scribing and then dry brushing, with only the base coat done so far. It is quite imperfect, which I like, giving it a rustic feel.  The quay wall partially extends over 3 boards, although the picture only shows the first two. 

The scribing of the Quay Masters cottage has also been started, quite an enjoyable job, which I have been doing in the evenings. My better half has also recently approved a planning application for an extension to the layout  So next week, I am extending the layout on the exit side to the fiddle yard by 3ft.  This will allow me to fit in the pub I am finishing as a scenic block to a tunnel, whilst also allowing me enough space to properly use the track loop. I have the extension board built, but it all needs joining together now. This will give me a total running length of 15ft before the fiddle yard, so it is becoming much bigger than I originally intended. although I think this extension will really help the operation of the layout.

 

 

[Georgeham]

So finally the layout has been put back together. I had a little test run with the class 08 this morning. However, I am going to re-model the far end of the track on the curve, as there is now a 3ft extension to add. It is a job for this weekend to lay the track on the extension and wire it up to the curved board.  In the mean time I placed the dairy platform on the layout, with the quay masters cottage and the dairy buildings in varying degrees of build progress - just to test how it looks. All in all I am pretty happy with how it is shaping up.  I have also installed lighting on 2 of the 4 boards - there are a further 2 sets of lights to add to the other boards this weekend. This lighting has transformed the look of the first two boards.  The next job is to finish the quay wall which now needs some painting and scribing, alongside getting some of these buildings finished!

 

[Georgeham]

After not making as much progress as I had hoped on the layout in the last few weeks - I have spent some time on building/painting some wagons.  The 13t open wagon is now thankfully finished - it is my first Slaters wagon - and after a few mistakes here and there, I am pretty happy with the end result.  I also found a Parkside Pipe wagon, which I had built years ago, hidden away in a box when we moved.  So this has been in the paint boxes and it is now ready for some transfers and a bit more weathering.

[Georgeham]

So I have been plodding on with a few tasks on the layout over the weekend.  I have managed to get some fencing and a buffer stop built, ready for painting for this week. I have also received a tunnel portal from Invertrain, which I aim to assemble this evening, to again be painted next week.  The scribing of the quay wall has started, although it will be a long job! However, it is good to get an idea of how this will look when it is finished.

 

The plan is to then finish track laying on the extension and start with the ballasting, adding in the fences/tunnel portal and get the quay wall scribed and painted next weekend (well that is the idea any how!)

Edited July 24, 2022 by Georgeham

[Georgeham]

Over the weekend I managed to lay the track on the extension, wire it all up and fit the last two lighting units in.  The layout was then reassembled and I had a good running session - checking everything worked OK (which it did thankfully).  The small extension has transformed the layout.  It has taken a lot longer to get this stage than I originally anticipated - but it is done.  I can now get on with some landscape building/detailing (finally!)

[Georgeham]

Well a little more progress has been made, with the quay wall starting to really come along.  The scribing has been finished, which took a fair few hours, although I hope the end result has been worth it.  I have put on the base coats so far, a couple of washes to tone it all down a little.  This is in preparation for some dry brushing, to hopefully achieve the same colour scheme as some of the other buildings that are almost(!) ready to go on the layout.

[brossard]

Wow, the patience of Job but it looks to be a very good effect.

 

John

[Georgeham]

On 14/08/2022 at 13:16, brossard said:

Wow, the patience of Job but it looks to be a very good effect.

 

John

Thanks John - a long job for sure.  Now need to get the dry brushing done!

[Georgeham]

Over the last couple of weeks I have finished the dry bushing of the quay wall and sealed it with some coats of varnish.  The wall has some lovely tonal variation in it, that my phone camera does absolutely no justice too! The ballasting has been started, alongside adding some sand between the track and the quay wall - the sand will be painted and then have landscaping put over the top of it. I will add a crane and small building alongside the track here, next to the quay masters office. I have also constructed some bases for the point levers and started to install these, alongside starting to build a small track crossing.

 

[Nick G]

Nice work, looks great.