lesmond Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Last year the mrs and I were at a craft fair / fun day thingy. In the car park I spotted this: IMAG0002 by lesmond2009, on Flickr remembered about this: 81AZtkk4xuL by lesmond2009, on Flickr and decided to make an evil children's train ride, with the locomotive powered by condensed fear from the passengers. I liked the look of the spindly track, so decided on Gnine (1:24 scale on 9mm track) using Joueff HOe track (mainly 'cos I had some too): s-l1600 by lesmond2009, on Flickr Next was the baseboard, made from part of a wooden cable reel and a laser cut mdf ring (the middle bit went on to be Das Blumentopfbahn): 2018-12-30 16.46.49 by lesmond2009, on Flickr The ring was covered in Das clay to give some texture to the "ground", then the basics of the wiring were added and the track checked for alignment: 2019-01-14 19.21.26 by lesmond2009, on Flickr I like light and ambient sound on a layout, so made a control panel (its DC controlled as there is one engine, going in a circle, occasionally backwards) and added speakers to the baseboard. There's an amplifier in the control panel: P1070032 by lesmond2009, on Flickr P1080034 by lesmond2009, on Flickr P1200005 by lesmond2009, on Flickr P1050028 by lesmond2009, on Flickr I added a framework to the bottom of the base to support two styrene sheets. These will form the base of the abandoned swimming pool the Charlie circles as well as hiding the wiring: P1130035 by lesmond2009, on Flickr Then we laid the track: P1140001 by lesmond2009, on Flickr More to follow, apologies for a long post Les 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesGWR101 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Looking good so far. I'll keep an eye out for updates. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivor_harley Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Les I’m starting to become a fan of your little round layout, I’m looking forward to this build. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestTom Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Sounds like fun, insofar as a fear-powered train can be fun... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesmond Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 Thanks for the kind words Thoughts turned to Charlie himself and some rolling stock. I really like the much missed Kato 11-103 chassis, so this was my weapon of choice for motive power. Chassis aren't the end of the world to build, but 9mm ones can be fiddly, so I use these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/009-rolling-chassis/323658386083?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 (usual no connection except satisfied punter etc). The original plan was for the locomotive, a tender / driving car, then a "bug box" type coach, then a cage similar to the Child Catcher's from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: 20181227_161016 by lesmond2009, on Flickr The coach uses Peco 009 bogies. The whole thing is made from styrene, with the exception of Charlie's boiler which is a bit of copper pipe filled with lead. 20181227_182129 by lesmond2009, on Flickr 20181231_175520 by lesmond2009, on Flickr He will also have a fairly unique "headlight" 20181231_175703 by lesmond2009, on Flickr I decided not to make (yet) the cage wagon as the ensemble looks ok without it. 2019-03-25 19.28.04 by lesmond2009, on Flickr More later... Les 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivor_harley Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Les nice scratch building, this is starting to look good. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesGWR101 Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Glad to see that the locomotive and the coaches/wagons are coming together nicely 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke the train spotter Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 The stock is looking great! What sort of colour scheme are you thinking for the loco and coaches? It amused me that a head was being used as a headlight, quite a literal interpretation of the phrase. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesmond Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 The next job was to finish the abandoned swimming pool. The backstory is that the pool (and surrounding city, off scene) were abandoned after some apocalypse or other a long time ago, and left to fall into disrepair. Charlie was installed some time later, and is now also abandoned, living off stored fear (more of this later). I'd an idea for a platform sticking out into the empty pool with a ticket office on it, so using balsa and coffee stirrers made a start at it: 2019-01-12 18.27.47 by lesmond2009, on Flickr The pool base is temporarily in place at this stage as the wiring for the lights isn't done. I based the office one this one: 178402 by lesmond2009, on Flickr and made a start: P1200013 by lesmond2009, on Flickr The tube up the back wall is to hide the wiring for a light in the roof. I also made an entrance arch: P1190004 by lesmond2009, on Flickr and the scene started to come together: P1200008 by lesmond2009, on Flickr Next were the stands for the lights, and also for Tannoy speakers. These were a right, fiddly PITA to make, and I'd not be in a hurry to do more . The fake speakers are fitted above the real ones which hide behind the pool sides, and play spooky carnival music. 2019-02-09 16.00.18 by lesmond2009, on Flickr 2019-03-25 19.27.26 by lesmond2009, on Flickr Once the lights were in place and the wiring for them in, I could fit the pool floor and sides. The mrs came into her own with painting and weathering: 2019-03-27 20.12.01 by lesmond2009, on Flickr Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Charlie and the rest got a coat of paint. Citadel Mephiston Red and Averland Sunset applied over grey primer from a can. Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Les 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesmond Posted April 19, 2019 Author Share Posted April 19, 2019 (edited) Thanks again for all the "likes". I touched in the paint on Charlie with a fine brush, and made a control panel. The "dials" are the small brass washers and the lever and big wheel are from Pepper 7. The tanks on the tender top are from a 1:35 scale military workshop kit I picked up for a pound or so years ago at a show. Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Next up were the steps down into the pool. They started out like this: 2019-03-30 17.09.23 by lesmond2009, on Flickr Then after some fairly brutal hacking and a visit to Leanne (the mrs / scenic director) ended up like this: Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr She also had a look at the entrance arch and the Tannoys, as well as Charlie's face (ex Bachmann "Skarloey", kindly given to me): Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Then we tackled the ground cover... Les Edited April 19, 2019 by lesmond Spelling 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivor_harley Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Great modelling Les. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesmond Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 (edited) Thanks Ivor - I make them, then the mrs makes them look good For initial rough ground cover we used sieved ash from a wood burning stove. This cover well and look the part for neglected yards etc or in this case an ancient, derelict site: Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr A coat of PVA first on the painted DAS, then the ash, leave it to set overnight and blow the excess off - outside is definitely best for this, preferably over the bin. Before a small amount of greenery, "rocks" (very small stones) and the rest of the structures it looked like this: Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr We then added the finished, weathered platform and ticket office, as well as some scabby grass: Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr The speakers and entrance arch were the last to go on, as being fairly tall they were prone to damage: Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr Charlie got a whistle (an On30 Porter one, from Bachmann UK spares) and after some serious track cleaning was on the prowl: Untitled by lesmond2009, on Flickr The layout had its first outing at the NDMRS show in Bangor. Co Down last weekend, and apart from one bumpy track joint and some coupler issues (the 009 type don't like the tight curves, and will be replaced by short chains) it all went well. There's a tiny bit more to do, and I'll post pictures when its done Here's a wee video: Les Edited April 20, 2019 by lesmond Spelling mistake corrected 4 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium BR60103 Posted April 21, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 21, 2019 I looked up Charlie the Choo Choo and I've since had 2 emails from the bookstore chain offering me a copy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesGWR101 Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 That is looking good. What's next for the layout? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Sweet pea Posted July 6, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 6, 2019 Les this is a super little fun layout, some great modelling to produce this lovely layout. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattawa Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 It's a very good question: what's next ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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