Plan B

[Huw Griffiths]

A while back, a KitKat advert featured a Class 24 loco and some wagons on a railway somewhere. "So what" - you might ask "- a number of the things were built - so what was so remarkable about this advert?"

 

Well, said train wasn't moving. "Again, hardly remarkable."

 

It wasn't moving, because there was a leaf on the line. "Yawn! Hold the front page!"

 

OK - so trains being cancelled for what seem like very tenuous "reasons" hardly sounds like front page news to a number of commuters (and former commuters) - but this advert struck a chord with me.

 

However, using the concept for a Cake Box Challenge entry turned into a voyage of discovery for me - in which I set out to explore some cliches - and led to me trying out some non-standard materials and methods in the process.

 

My build effectively started on the Sunday of this year's "Ally Pally" show, when I worked out the main elements of my entry:

• Base - "Palfoam" rigid PVC foam, cut to fit inside 8" cakebox.
• Track - straight length, from a "first part" work, supplied with BR Mk1 SK coach model. At last, I've found a use for this track!
• Trackbed - grey "dry" floral foam.
• Train - cab end of generic multiple unit, thrown together from leftover bits of partwork coach. Interior built from various bits of scrap plastic.
• Signal - secondhand Tri-ang R43 home signal, set to show "proceed".
• Bridge - grey "dry" floral foam, with photo mounting card used for road surface.
• Bus - secondhand (and "distressed") Concept Models AEC RF. Exact type wasn't critical, but I wanted it to look rough.
• Trackside fences - leftovers from Ratio #519 "mess van / store" kit.
• Fields - either side of track, below bridge. Green "wet" floral foam.
• Leaf - this will probably be a scrap of insulating tape, stuck on top of one of the rails.
• People - model railway "people", yet to be painted and placed.

So much for what I wanted to include - hopefully the build might be slightly more interesting.

 

 

Huw.

 

Edited August 20, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[Hroth]

Sounds good.

 

How about one of your figures being an employee with a high pressure washer trying to remove the offending article?

 

and

 

• Track - straight length, from a "first part" work, supplied with BR Mk1 SK coach model. At last, I've found a use for this track!

 

Snap!

[Huw Griffiths]

How about one of your figures being an employee with a high pressure washer trying to remove the offending article?

 

That sounds better than what I've been thinking of - my thoughts were just to have the train driver, leaning against his cab, reading a newspaper.

 

When I get to the figures, I'll probably try your idea, to see if I can make it work for me.

 

 

However, I'd probably better get back to where I've got to so far:

 

After obtaining a standard 8" cakebox from a local craft shop, I cut a scrap of "Palfoam" rigid PVC foam to easily fit inside the box. In fact, there was a small bit missing from one corner of my newly cut "square" of PVC foam - but I was able to work round this.

 

Actually, I wasn't too worried about this - as I wanted to have as much space as possible available for the train - so the track runs at an angle to the base.

 

I now needed to make the road section, to go on top of the bridge. To make best use of the space, the bridge and road are triangular. Using a pencil and a wide plastic rule (a tradeshow "freebie"), I marked the edges of where the trackbed would go. I then placed a diecast bus (an EFE Bristol VRTSL3) across the trackbed markings - as close to the left hand side of the baseboard as I felt I could get away with - and placed a rule with its edge where the edge of a straight section of road surface would need to be. This allowed me to cut a triangle of photo mounting card, to represent the road. As I wanted to ensure this card wouldn't sag under the weight of a diecast bus, I also cut a triangle of the PVC foam - which I fitted to the underside of the card, using double sided carpet tape.

 

The next step was to check everything so far would fit together - so I put a piece of straight track (supplied with Issue 1 of the "Your Model Railway Village" partwork) along the middle of the area marked out for the trackbed - stuck a cheap loco on the track - put the card "road" on top of boxes, either side of the track - and put the diecast bus on top of the "road". Finally, I drew round the bus, using a pencil.

 

 

 

At this point, I mocked up the bridge abutments, using more rigid PVC foam. Although my mockups won't find their way into the final version of my build, they were used for checking dimensions.

 

Now to the track - this was from the same partwork that yielded parts for the train. However, I wanted an easy way to simulate ballast / trackbed. A few weeks ago, I got some grey "dry" floral foam - and used a snap blade knife to cut a couple of sheets from one "brick" (actually very close in size to a modern house brick - but I digress). I then cut a strip from one of these sheets, to fit the space marked out on the "baseboard" for the trackbed - put a bit of contact adhesive under this strip and positioned it in the marked space. Now, I put some adhesive under the "sleepers" of the partwork track - and pressed the track into the foam - before using a sanding sponge to bevel the sides of the "ballast" / "trackbed".

 

 

 

 

 

At this point, I used my bridge abutment mockups to check clearances.

 

 

 

This led me to the last call for the bridge abutment mockups - as cutting templates for some of the grey floral foam, from the same block as the "ballast":

 

 

 

 

The grey foam could now be cut into wedges, using the snap blade knife and the indents left in the foam. The wedges will end up as the bridge abutments - (and are actually slightly higher than the mockups used to mark them out for cutting - but there's still no shortage of vertical clearance available for them inside the box).

 

 

 

At this point, it was possible to see some visible progress. The wedges / bridge abutments were stuck to the board, using contact adhesive. Next up were some decorative strips, from the "sheets" I'd initially cut out of the foam "brick" - these represented bridge parapets, buttresses etc and were fixed using more contact adhesive, before I added the "road" I'd prepared earlier (no prizes for guessing what I used to stick it in place).

 

 

 

 

 

Now, it was time to try parking a bus on the bridge (I'm not sure the bridge would be complete otherwise). Although I tried the EFE Bristol VR (and it fitted inside the box, with height to spare), I wanted something a bit lighter. I had a plastic bus model - a Concept Models AEC RF, which actually fits into the same "footprint" as the Bristol VR, but has a lower roof. I'd initially painted the AEC in "dealer white", before I decided to strip the paint. In the process, this model ended up looking distinctly "distressed" - which only reinforced the effect I wanted to create.

 

(I'm afraid this photo didn't come out as good as I might have liked - but there's still some "fine tuning" to be done here.)

 

 

 

I have done further stuff with my build - but this seems like a convenient point to break the post - more will follow in due course.

 

 

Huw.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[Huw Griffiths]

Now that the bridge was in place, I came to the fields, either side of the track.

 

I don't doubt that it would have been possible to add something really detailed here, but I just wanted something cheap, quick and easy to throw together.

 

Here again, I opted for floral foam - albeit, this time, the green "wet" foam. (Apparently, this stuff is so called because it can be made to retain water. I'm not worried, as I've never been remotely interested in flower arranging. This is probably just as well, in view of my hayfever!)

 

Anyway, this green foam cuts cleanly, using either the same snap blade knife previously mentioned or a standard replaceable blade craft knife, like an X-Acto (or clone) with a #11 blade. As with the grey foam, I cut some of this into sheets (I probably should have cut some of this stuff slightly thicker). Contact adhesive also works well with the green foam.

 

 

 

Although the train is yet to put in an appearance, I really think it's crying out for a signal telling it to move. Here, I used a Tri-ang R43 home signal - for no reason other than that it was available cheaply.

 

 

 

 

Any further and the train would need to turn up - so this is probably a good point to take a break (if only because I haven't yet painted the front of the train yellow).

 

 

Huw.

Edited July 22, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[steamtoy]

Huw this looks like an interesting cakebox challenge really like the modelling you have achieved can't wait to see some more.

[Huw Griffiths]

If you checked out some test posts I did elsewhere on this site, you'd be aware that this thread hasn't quite caught up with where I am in the build process.

 

The filenames in this thread might also tell some people that any progress I have made on the build has been a bit intermittent at times - not that I've lost much sleep over this.

 

There have been a couple of factors at play here - caring commitments (elderly / disabled parents) - and scenery never having really been my specialist subject. This might explain me being prepared to use non-standard materials (like floral foam) and a Tri-ang signal in my build.

 

It might also explain why I don't really feel that I know what I'm doing - so only the foam elements (the bridge and the "fields")  and the fences have actually been fixed in place. Everything else has been roughly positioned, a few seconds before I take a photo - so I'm sure some stuff will appear to move about.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photos of a couple of build steps (one pair of hands ...) - although there wasn't anything exciting to see here, I'll try to fill them in as I come to them.

 

I'll start with the fences - these came from a Ratio #519 "Mess Van / Store" kit. This 4mm scale kit is essentially one of their Clayton style Midland Railway clerestory coach kits - minus most of the chassis parts - but supplied with compartment partitions, various picnic furniture and some fence panels.

 

I hadn't managed to find a use for the fence panels - until now - so I cut up a couple of pieces, glued them together (at various angles) using PlasticWeld - and pressed them into the green foam either side of the track on my build.

 

I then "painted" all the floral foam with cheap, water based, PVA adhesive - I wanted to seal the surface, to reduce the chances of bits breaking off (I think it probably worked to some extent).

 

In case you're wondering why I needed to add a bridge to this scene, I don't think it would have been possible to fit a full-length train into the available space. The bridge offers a scenic break - and I deliberately kept it small, to ensure that very little of the train would actually be visible.

 

 

At this point, I could imagine some people wanting to see this mythical train. Well, one thing's for sure - it isn't an accurate model of any train I know. Instead, the shell was thrown together from scraps of BR Mk1 coach models - a random mix of partwork and Replica offcuts - with holes added at the front to vaguely mimic cab windows - while the interior consists of scraps of plastikard and clear styrene. I haven't taken any photos of the interior (I don't think it's anything special), but I would be able to do this at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photos bring the thread up to date with the build. It isn't complete - but, as originally planned, there aren't too many major elements left to add:

• Although a bus parked on a bridge has become something of a cliche in railway modelling, I was thinking in terms of the bus being a "rail replacement". In the past, I've travelled on a number of these. In my experience, they've often been operated by the sort of operators few passengers would actively choose to travel with - unsuitable vehicles - often very rough - take ages to turn up (and even longer to get anywhere) - and driven by people with no local knowledge.
  This might explain the "distressed" look of my bus - when I add it, the registration number ("PG 9") should eliminate any doubt. I'm also thinking of adding a driver looking at a map - but I haven't yet decided whether he'll be in his cab or stood outside the door.
   
• The KitKat advert included a train driver, stood outside his cab. I was thinking of having him reading a "red top" newspaper - and see no reason to change this. The suggestion of railway employees using a high pressure water jet to try and dislodge one leaf (amongst the backdrop of an already overgrown track) certainly sounds amusing - but I'm not sure if I can do justice to this. I'd rather leave it out than make a mess of it.
   
• As for other people, some people might recall my comment in a "MM&M" thread about train spotters turning their attentions to rail replacement buses. I doubt if anybody would be surprised by me saying that I had my CBC entry in mind when I made the comment. Right now, I've got some unpainted model railway "people" in a cupboard - I intend to find them in due course - and I'm sure some of them will find their way into my entry in the near future.
   
• While I think of it, you might have noticed the lack of windows etc on the "train". I'm still thinking of sticking on bits of old PC Models coach sides, which include windows. If I don't do this, I'll decide what further action is appropriate. As for the yellow front of the train, currently it's anything but yellow - something else which I intend to sort out in the near future.

 

I hope to complete this build in the near future - if I do, there'll be further posts here.

 

So much for what is essentially a scenery project, using scrap (and cheap) materials. I'm not planning on doing any further similar projects in the near future - as I'm rather more interested in motive power (especially "D&E", trams and railcars / multiple units). I'm reckoning on my next project being something along these lines.

 

However, I wouldn't suggest holding your breath, unless Andy's planning on a "motive power" challenge some time soon (preferably very soon, as a good friend of mine has been trying to persuade me to build an O Gauge railbus - by next April) ... .

 

 

Huw.

Edited July 23, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[Lu4472ke]

Don't the rules say it has to be a 6" cakebox?

[009 micro modeller]

Don't the rules say it has to be a 6" cakebox?

Height is 6 but the base has to be 8x8. I like the DMU thing and the scenery so far.

[Huw Griffiths]

Don't the rules say it has to be a 6" cakebox?

 

No. In his initial post outlining the challenge, Phil Parker said that:

• Entrants must build a diorama that can fit in a standard 8-inch square cardboard cake box – the sort available from shops that sell cookery items. You don't display the model in the box (unless you want to) it's simply a guide to the maximum size, a bit like the cages you find at airports to show how large your suitcase can be.

I suspect the confusion might have arisen because these boxes are often 6" high.

 

Just for information, Phil later added that there'd be no problem with people turning their cake box on its side - giving base dimensions of 8" x 6", with height of 8". Ultimately, the entries are required to be able to fit into a box of dimensions 8" x 8" x 6", with no stipulation of which way round the box rests.

 

 

Huw.

[Lu4472ke]

No. In his initial post outlining the challenge, Phil Parker said that:

• Entrants must build a diorama that can fit in a standard 8-inch square cardboard cake box – the sort available from shops that sell cookery items. You don't display the model in the box (unless you want to) it's simply a guide to the maximum size, a bit like the cages you find at airports to show how large your suitcase can be.

I suspect the confusion might have arisen because these boxes are often 6" high.

 

Just for information, Phil later added that there'd be no problem with people turning their cake box on its side - giving base dimensions of 8" x 6", with height of 8". Ultimately, the entries are required to be able to fit into a box of dimensions 8" x 8" x 6", with no stipulation of which way round the box rests.

 

 

Huw.

 

Ah OK, I had forgotten that, I knew there was a 6 in it somewhere.

[steamtoy]

As long as it fit in an 8x8 cakebox it should be fine Huw and I like your progress.

[Andy McV]

Interesting to watch this one as it develops, and I really like that you're exploring different materials. Are they particularly messy to work with?

[Huw Griffiths]

Interesting to watch this one as it develops, and I really like that you're exploring different materials. Are they particularly messy to work with?

Andy,

 

Thanks for your encouragement - and your kind comments.

 

I'd be surprised if any of the materials I used were to cause anyone too many problems in this "department".

 

 

The PVC "Palfoam" / "Palight" is very clean to work with - it offers a bit of resistance to a #11 X-Acto blade, but I've found it very easy to cut. I'd definitely use this stuff again, without hesitation.

 

4D Modelshop sell the stuff - and they've got a guide to working with the stuff on their website:

http://modelshop.co.uk/Content/DynamicMedia/cms-uploaded/files/4D_guide-foamed_PVC(3).pdf

 

I can't remember whether my base is 2mm or 3mm thick - I guess it doesn't really matter, as both hold their shape pretty well - but the 1mm stuff would almost certainly flop around a bit.

 

 

The floral foam generates a bit of dust (actually less than I might have expected) - the green stuff having a smaller "grain" than the grey - but, as supplied, this foam wants to break up a bit. Both are very soft and a bit brittle, really (especially the green stuff, which seems to cut like butter) - this was why I was able to shape these foams using a sanding sponge. For example, when I shaped the ballast / trackbed, it started off with a rectangular cross section - and took 1 or 2 passes with the sanding sponge to give a clean bevelled edge.

 

You might be wondering why I even considered using these foams - and why I painted on some water based PVA craft glue (using a flat #12 craft brush).

 

Well, I don't know if you're aware of some of our friends from the USA talking in terms of "chainsaw layouts" - layouts or modules that are so cheap that, after completion, they wouldn't be worried about introducing them to the "business end" of a chainsaw. That's right - I'm treating this exercise as a "chainsaw diorama".

 

This might also explain why I was happy to use a Tri-ang signal here - for once, it doesn't need to be realistic - it's not as if I'm planning on holding on to my entry after this challenge finishes.

 

Scenery's never really been "my thing", so I don't have a reputation to maintain or lose. I just wanted stuff that would be cheap and easy to work with. For example, I've recently seen Hobbycraft selling housebrick sized blocks of both types of branded ("Oasis") foam at £1.50 a pop - with their "own brand" equivalents at £1 a pop. At prices like these, experimentation becomes affordable.

 

 

A number of years back, I came across another phenolic foam marketed as "Lexathane MFP-5". This stuff came in packs of 2 sheets - about A5 size - with some instructions suggesting the use of epoxy adhesive to glue it and seal it against light knocks. (I'm not sure, but I seem to recall there might also have been some mention of thinning the epoxy using something like acetone - but please don't quote me on that!)

 

Right now, I don't have any epoxy adhesive at home - so I decided to try bonding the stuff with some contact adhesive I got from Lidl a few years back. This stuff worked extremely well. As for sealing the foam, I tried PVA, which seems better than nothing - but the PVA doesn't seem brilliant for bonding.

 

 

I don't know how well the floral foams would stand up to being carried around on a baseboard - certainly as manufactured (or sold in places like Hobbycraft), they are susceptible to knocks and fingernail damage. When I pressed the piece of track into a strip of the grey foam, it offered a bit of resistance but not very much. I suspect the green stuff would have offered even less - in the past, I've been able to press objects into the stuff and get clean impressions.

 

OK - I don't have a layout (though I've seriously considered building a depot-based "novelty" switching microlayout, with all switching done using a turntable and a traverser). I don't know if I'd risk using any phenolic foams on a "proper" layout - as I haven't got a clue whether any of the foams might react with anything else - but I might be tempted to give it a go, as long as there's nothing there that I'd be worried about damaging.

 

 

Huw.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[Huw Griffiths]

A number of weeks have passed - and there's finally some further progress on my build. (Caring commitments have been a bit of an issue recently.)

 

Some things have gone to plan - for some others, I've had to dream up new plans - which probably explains the rather odd title to my build. Anyway, here goes:

 

 

A few days back, I fished out an old pack of Preiser HO model railway figures - some of which I had previously painted - some others had just had fleshtone paint added in a few places. Not having a full painting "kit" immediately to hand, I set about a few of these using OHP marker pens (far from ideal, I know, but I'm not too worried - I'm viewing this whole enterprise as a "chainsaw" exercise).

 

At this point, I should also add that a small number of figures in the pack had got damaged in storage - due to several tyres from EFE buses having found their way into the same bag some years back. (I'd tried doing some homebrew repaints - with "varying" degrees of "success" ... .) The lesson from this is obvious - but I managed to salvage some of the figures concerned - and used them in this build, with the damaged bits hidden from view in various ways.

 

In case you're wondering about the rail replacement bus driver sat on the steps of his bus, reading a map, I commuted by train for a number of years. I also encountered a number of rail replacement buses - the drivers weren't always from the area. I can remember one of these guys asking me for directions, along roads neither of us had seen before (we got there OK, but it helps that I've got a good sense of direction).

 

 

Another "Plan B" involved the "rail replacement coach". I always intended the bus to be as rough - and disreputable looking - as possible. Well, I think it's fair to say that it looks rough ... . I also intended it to carry a "registration plate" reflecting this. When vehicle inspectors encounter a commercial vehicle that is not in a fit state to be used in service, they often issue a prohibition notice - called a "PG9". I originally intended to use this on the "number plate" - but this turned out to be unworkable.

 

I didn't have any "number plate" transfers that could be adapted to this mark - I didn't think I'd be able to generate clear enough "white on black" lettering in a small enough size using my home computer and printer - and I also wasn't sure it would have shown up properly in photos. Instead, I decided to use "PG9" as a "route number" - and I used the smallest transfer lettering I had for this purpose.

 

A number of years back, one shop was selling off loads of transfer letters very cheaply - so I acquired some. At the time, I tended to use the stuff when labelling control panels on electronics projects. My favoured method came from the pages of a 1970s edition of (I think) Everyday Electronics - place a strip of good quality clear tape (usually "Sellotape" or "Scotch tape") onto a clean, flat, surface and apply the letter transfers - then apply another layer of tape to protect the letters against scratching. Another option involves using PVA glue as a "varnish" - but here I used tape. One of the photos includes some of my "labels" on a scrap of red styrene sheet.

 

With the bus "company" label, I stuck the basic label onto some thin white PVC insulating tape - before using a scalpel to cut it to size and apply it to the model. For the "destination screen", I used black insulating tape as the "base layer" - then applied the transfers (and a strip of white tape, for the blank destination), followed by a layer of "Scotch tape"

 

In case you're wondering about the "bus company" name, some bus operators make a point of buying cheap (ie rough) old buses for contract use - they sometimes come from dealers painted all over in white (sometimes called "dealer white"), to hide the previous operator's identity - these vehicles are sometimes described as "contract motors" (although I'd imagine that a lot of people just call them "bangers").

 

The patchy paint job on the bus was actually a bit of an accident. Initially, I tried painting it all over in white (actually thinned Tipp-ex, from a pot that had dried out before I was handed it to throw away). I wasn't happy with the way it looked, so I tried using paint thinner to remove the Tipp-ex. Unfortunately, I also ended up removing quite a bit of the green paint that had covered the bus when I acquired it - but I thought the resultant patchy paint job worked quite well here, so I left it.

 

If you're also wondering why the British Rail logo looks rough, this is because it's built up from layers of different coloured insulating tape. I'm not sure I'd choose this method again.

 

The paint job on the train is even rougher - but then what do you expect when the "primer" is old Tipp-ex, with some dried bits in it? The yellow colour came from some leftover yellow acrylic paint (probably left over from about 20 years ago - but I digress).

 

 

The leaf on the line is just a scrap of coloured cardboard - itself taken from an offcut - recycling inaction in action. (I know - I was into recycling years before it became fashionable - I even recycle my "jokes". That's right - I even recycle ... oh, never mind ... .)

 

Anyway, since I wouldn't be able to fit a convincing tree into the space available, I decided that how the leaf got on the line was best left to the imagination. All I know is that it's held there using a spot of PVA - as are the train, the bus and the figures.

 

 

Meanwhile, the train interior is built up from scraps of styrene. This even includes the seating strip - which consists of 2 strips of coloured styrene sheet, glued at an angle and stuck onto a strip of clear plastic to raise the seat height. (Well, like most of this build, it seemed like a good idea at the time ... .)

 

The "blob" towards the rear of the train interior is a bolt, with the visible bit of the thread introduced to "business end" of a paint pen. From various photos, it can be seen that the train was removed and returned to the scene several times. I'd noticed that it seemed to be slightly "nose-heavy" - the bolt was an effort to counteract this.

 

 

Anyway, that's enough waffle - here are some photos, for what they're worth ... .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, here's a photo that shows that the whole build fits inside the prescribed box:

 

 

 

Anyway, that's enough from me. For better or (more likely) for worse, I've had enough of scenery, so my entry's finished. I'll sort out my comments - and which photos I'll use - in the next few days.

 

I suspect my next experiments are more likely to involve something I'm more comfortable with - motive power - but I'm not expecting the chance to do much with that any time soon.

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[Andy McV]

Andy,

 

Thanks for your encouragement - and your kind comments.

 

I'd be surprised if any of the materials I used were to cause anyone too many problems in this "department".

 

 

The PVC "Palfoam" / "Palight" is very clean to work with - it offers a bit of resistance to a #11 X-Acto blade, but I've found it very easy to cut. I'd definitely use this stuff again, without hesitation.

 

4D Modelshop sell the stuff - and they've got a guide to working with the stuff on their website:

http://modelshop.co.uk/Content/DynamicMedia/cms-uploaded/files/4D_guide-foamed_PVC(3).pdf

 

I can't remember whether my base is 2mm or 3mm thick - I guess it doesn't really matter, as both hold their shape pretty well - but the 1mm stuff would almost certainly flop around a bit.

 

 

The floral foam generates a bit of dust (actually less than I might have expected) - the green stuff having a smaller "grain" than the grey - but, as supplied, this foam wants to break up a bit. Both are very soft and a bit brittle, really (especially the green stuff, which seems to cut like butter) - this was why I was able to shape these foams using a sanding sponge. For example, when I shaped the ballast / trackbed, it started off with a rectangular cross section - and took 1 or 2 passes with the sanding sponge to give a clean bevelled edge.

 

You might be wondering why I even considered using these foams - and why I painted on some water based PVA craft glue (using a flat #12 craft brush).

 

Well, I don't know if you're aware of some of our friends from the USA talking in terms of "chainsaw layouts" - layouts or modules that are so cheap that, after completion, they wouldn't be worried about introducing them to the "business end" of a chainsaw. That's right - I'm treating this exercise as a "chainsaw diorama".

 

This might also explain why I was happy to use a Tri-ang signal here - for once, it doesn't need to be realistic - it's not as if I'm planning on holding on to my entry after this challenge finishes.

 

Scenery's never really been "my thing", so I don't have a reputation to maintain or lose. I just wanted stuff that would be cheap and easy to work with. For example, I've recently seen Hobbycraft selling housebrick sized blocks of both types of branded ("Oasis") foam at £1.50 a pop - with their "own brand" equivalents at £1 a pop. At prices like these, experimentation becomes affordable.

 

 

A number of years back, I came across another phenolic foam marketed as "Lexathane MFP-5". This stuff came in packs of 2 sheets - about A5 size - with some instructions suggesting the use of epoxy adhesive to glue it and seal it against light knocks. (I'm not sure, but I seem to recall there might also have been some mention of thinning the epoxy using something like acetone - but please don't quote me on that!)

 

Right now, I don't have any epoxy adhesive at home - so I decided to try bonding the stuff with some contact adhesive I got from Lidl a few years back. This stuff worked extremely well. As for sealing the foam, I tried PVA, which seems better than nothing - but the PVA doesn't seem brilliant for bonding.

 

 

I don't know how well the floral foams would stand up to being carried around on a baseboard - certainly as manufactured (or sold in places like Hobbycraft), they are susceptible to knocks and fingernail damage. When I pressed the piece of track into a strip of the grey foam, it offered a bit of resistance but not very much. I suspect the green stuff would have offered even less - in the past, I've been able to press objects into the stuff and get clean impressions.

 

OK - I don't have a layout (though I've seriously considered building a depot-based "novelty" switching microlayout, with all switching done using a turntable and a traverser). I don't know if I'd risk using any phenolic foams on a "proper" layout - as I haven't got a clue whether any of the foams might react with anything else - but I might be tempted to give it a go, as long as there's nothing there that I'd be worried about damaging.

 

 

Huw.

Thanks for the explanation, Huw. I considered using Oasis on my 'Crimble Cakebox', but watched a wargame modeller making good use of spray can expanding foam. On balance, and given the proper mess I created, I should have stuck with my first thought. 'Chainsaw layouts' is a new term on me, but that has given me an idea that I will explore with the team!

 

Best regards

 

Andy

[The Evil Bus Driver]

A while back, a KitKat advert featured a Class 24 loco and some wagons on a railway somewhere. "So what" - you might ask "- a number of the things were built - so what was so remarkable about this advert?"

 

Well, said train wasn't moving. "Again, hardly remarkable."

 

It wasn't moving, because there was a leaf on the line. "Yawn! Hold the front page!"

 

OK - so trains being cancelled for what seem like very tenuous "reasons" hardly sounds like front page news to a number of commuters (and former commuters) - but this advert struck a chord with me.

 

However, using the concept for a Cake Box Challenge entry turned into a voyage of discovery for me - in which I set out to explore some cliches - and led to me trying out some non-standard materials and methods in the process.

 

My build effectively started on the Sunday of this year's "Ally Pally" show, when I worked out the main elements of my entry:

• Base - "Palfoam" rigid PVC foam, cut to fit inside 8" cakebox.
• Track - straight length, from a "first part" work, supplied with BR Mk1 SK coach model. At last, I've found a use for this track!
• Trackbed - grey "dry" floral foam.
• Train - cab end of generic multiple unit, thrown together from leftover bits of partwork coach. Interior built from various bits of scrap plastic.
• Signal - secondhand Tri-ang R43 home signal, set to show "proceed".
• Bridge - grey "dry" floral foam, with photo mounting card used for road surface.
• Bus - secondhand (and "distressed") Concept Models AEC RF. Exact type wasn't critical, but I wanted it to look rough.
• Trackside fences - leftovers from Ratio #519 "mess van / store" kit.
• Fields - either side of track, below bridge. Green "wet" floral foam.
• Leaf - this will probably be a scrap of insulating tape, stuck on top of one of the rails.
• People - model railway "people", yet to be painted and placed.

So much for what I wanted to include - hopefully the build might be slightly more interesting.

 

 

Huw.

How about old tea leaves?

 

btw which part of Cwmbran are you in? I have relatives up Thornhill and Greenmeadow

[Huw Griffiths]

Tea leaves would probably have worked better for the leaf - however, my caring commitments seriously limited the time I had to complete my build, so I just had to do something quickly (even if I knew it would be less than ideal). Frustrating - but that's life. I also had some scraps of green card to hand, so that's what I used.

 

 

Huw.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[The Evil Bus Driver]

It's looking good though, It's a great diorama, sometimes that's all you see of a railway anyway. BTW do you remember that old steamroller in Fairwater?

[Huw Griffiths]

It's looking good though, It's a great diorama, sometimes that's all you see of a railway anyway. BTW do you remember that old steamroller in Fairwater?

Thanks for your kind comments.

 

I certainly remember that steamroller - I dread to think what happened to it.

 

EDIT: a few minutes after I originally put in this post, I tried googling the steamroller - somebody had posted a photo of a restored Aveling Barford, at a rally, referring to it as "Fairwater steamroller" or something like that. I'm not sure if this is the same machine - but I obviously hope there was a happy ending for the roller I remember.

 

I often passed it on my way home when I was a nipper (well it was very close to Fairhill - at the end of a row of houses).

 

Despite a few stretches living "away", I still live about half a mile away - in the house my family moved into, early in 1971 (when I was 5) - so the steamroller was never really out of my way, if I was walking home from the town centre.

 

The last time I passed where the steamroller used to be, the bit of concrete it used to stand on was still there (it did look somewhat bare, though - it was definitely missing something).

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw.

Edited September 5, 2018 by Huw Griffiths

[Sir Hadyn]

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