What's on your 3mm workbench

[bradfordbuffer]

2 minutes ago, Phil Mason said:

Thanks Bradford, that looks a useful resource but I've done a bit of '2D'(!) printing. Just some circles in PowerPoint on the computer, saved as Jpeg and scaled to the right size using photo software and printed on normal paper. I've then given a couple of coats of Humbrol (spirit based) ' Gloss Cote'. It looks OK but I think my printer needs calibrating or something because it's very slightly fuzzy. Certainly not as crisp as Railtec but they'll blend with my general 'grunge modelling'. 
 

Here's the Beast body complete apart from buffer beam junk, windows and cab handrails. The first blue 'primer coat' is just about to be touched up using my 4:1 blue:green Tamiya mix before an overall RailMatch 'Rail Blue'. Then it's varnish, decals and weathering before the glazing and hand rails. Nearly done! 
 

Thank you so much guys for the Bluish interest; I've also a thread on here which I don't know how to link to but a search will surely find...
 

Phil

No probs Phil....Will it be dry by Easter? 

[Phil Mason]

Tamiya? It'll be dry by the time I come out of the bathroom tonight. I love the stuff! Then it's a quick dash of the Rail Match (cf my slapdash technique with TT100's painstaking but brilliant methods!). It's all brush painted acrylic. I gave up with oil paints 30 years ago and airbrush when it broke (probably because I was too lazy to clean it properly). 
 

The biggest problem is going to be getting the thing to sit on the chassis properly. I might need to re-position (or alter) the dummy tank sides to get the body sitting lower. 
 

Phil

Edited March 15 by Phil Mason
Spoiling mystique.

[bradfordbuffer]

42 minutes ago, Phil Mason said:

Tamiya? It'll be dry by the time I come out of the bathroom tonight. I love the stuff! Then it's a quick dash of the Rail Match (cf my slapdash technique with TT100's painstaking but brilliant methods!). It's all brush painted acrylic. I gave up with oil paints 30 years ago and airbrush when it broke (probably because I was too lazy to clean it properly). 
 

The biggest problem is going to be getting the thing to sit on the chassis properly. I might need to re-position (or alter) the dummy tank sides to get the body sitting lower. 
 

Phil

i can emulsion walls ....but my models go to my brother for spraying when he is on nights.....

for the quiet zone 0100hrs to about 0300hrs if he is lucky otherwise it will look like its painted with dulux soft sheen with a 3inch brush

[Flanged Wheel]

I hope Phil doesn’t mind but I’ve added a link to the ‘Bluish’ thread below. I really enjoyed the magazine article and admire the ingenuity and creativity on this thread a lot. Hopefully when i return to the UK next year, I can start sharing my progress with a pre-grouping Midland West Yorkshire terminus in 3mm. Until then, I will just enjoy everyone else’s efforts!

 

 

 

[Phil Mason]

6 hours ago, Flanged Wheel said:

pre-grouping Midland West Yorkshire

Sounds great but will surely test your ingenuity. And not a little skill to get near the standard of 'Aireworth' in terms of architectural modelling. Not that any of us are in competition but are privileged to follow. 
 

I was only admiring this typical celebration of the West Riding stone mason's art the other day - surely rivalling Machu Pichu or the Great Pyramid?

 

 

https://flic.kr/p/2jcE4GC

 

Millstone Grit. It's in your blood. Finger nails worn down and knees grazed climbing walls to see the trains. 
 

But here's a reminder of the colour the local 'Rough Rock' used to weather to:

 

 

 

Almost jet black with only little bits of grey mortar or creamy sandstone underneath where it had got chipped off. 

 

Sorry, a huge digression from 'workbench'. 
 

Phil

 

Edited March 15 by Phil Mason
Completion

[Red Devil]

1 hour ago, Phil Mason said:

Sounds great but will surely test your ingenuity. And not a little skill to get near the standard of 'Aireworth' in terms of architectural modelling. Not that any of us are in competition but are privileged to follow. 
 

I was only admiring this typical celebration of the West Riding stone mason's art the other day - surely rivalling Machu Pichu or the Great Pyramid?

 

 

https://flic.kr/p/2jcE4GC

 

Millstone Grit. It's in your blood. Finger nails worn down and knees grazed climbing walls to see the trains. 
 

But here's a reminder of the colour the local 'Rough Rock' used to weather to:

 

 

 

Almost jet black with only little bits of grey mortar or creamy sandstone underneath where it had got chipped off. 

 

Sorry, a huge digression from 'workbench'. 
 

Phil

 

Continued digression but I see your Bradford Exchange wall and raise you the 'Walls of Jericho' that used to stand at Thornton, Bradford.....as someone who works with local stone regularly this absolutely fascinates me....

[Phil Mason]

Yes, I cycled out before the walls at Little Egypt were filled in. A sad day. 
 

Back in subject, here's the blue done and I've 'primed' the nose with yellow but I daren't mask the blue until it's fully hardened. The Rail Match gives an almost ex-works shine. One of these days I'll remember to add a bit of Tamiya 'flat base' to try and dull it down.
 

 

Hopefully, the varnish will sort things out but I'm wondering if it's now time to add decals with a shiny surface to work on. 

 

I'll be aiming for a fairly 'care-worn' appearance and I'm concerned the transfers may not stand up to handling during the my heavy weathering technique and I often add them last. 
 

The question is more layers below the decals or more afterwards. Decisions, decisions...

Housework beckons before the boss comes home. 

 

P. 

[TT-Pete]

It's been some varied stuff passing my workbench,

Starting with finally getting roundtoit applying white pinstripe lining to the Express Parcels BG (I can't believe how long that's taken) It has etched brass sides on a whitemetal castings/chopped Tri-ang chassis/roof bodge combo. Runs surprisingly well considering. Obvious cut corner is the lack of door handles.

But unfortunately not this one. Thumper bodies were stripped back, a think was had and decision reached that the best way is to cut, bend and solder the door handles/knobs myself individually (never done this before). Once thrown into it progress was steady up to the point I realised the door handles were 0.5mm longer than they should be. Might not sound like much, but is visually niggling. Current plan is to unsolder  the ones already in situ, prepare a whole pile of handles in advance then plough through them.

 

Also been a bit of maintenance work, a while back the 73 ED developed a fault throwing bogie cardan drive shafts under heavy acceleration around corners. That's really irritating as I made it a pig to take apart, so it got put to one side for a bit.

 

The chassis started life as PIKO Taurus and is much-modified being cut into 3 sections (bogie centres, motor) and plastic fillets grafted in to match the class 73 bogie centre/wheelbase dimensions. But I'd left a little too much play on one bogie so that the driveshaft could pop out at the extreme end of travel, so that's now been sorted with a shim/spacer glued in.

 

 

Must be around 18-20 years old this year and still runs smoothly.

 

 

 

[TT-Pete]

3 minutes ago, Phil Mason said:

Hopefully, the varnish will sort things out but I'm wondering if it's now time to add decals with a shiny surface to work on. 

 

I'll be aiming for a fairly 'care-worn' appearance and I'm concerned the transfers may not stand up to handling during the my heavy weathering technique and I often add them last.

 

Yes, definitely! The glossier the surface the better they stick, then a nice coat of either Satin or Matt spray varnish to seal everything in, then once fully-hardend you can be rough with the weathering as you like.

 

[Phil Mason]

The BG is stunning. 
And the wall behind the 73 echoes the one at Bradford Exchange! 
I love the layout. 
 

P. 

[bradfordbuffer]

Pca depressed center tank. Cement and dry goods.

STL off my mini factory think it was about 13quid

WB measures up 2.5mm too long I did rescale but made tank look stumpy end pipe work to tank top removed at slicing process detail looks better added later as printed merged with body and looked like 1970 Hornby handrails

Obtained the stl file a few years ago got the body to print fine but the chassis never printed correctly. 

I revisited the stl file and come up with a brain wave merge body (that is substantial) to underframe ....it lives ! On 3rd test print just about there gust one or two supports to replace as clash with detail

The printed irons and spring detail are too thin for brass bearing so two options worsley works inside w irons or a 3d printed set...

 

[Phil Mason]

Awesome! 
if you could get that pedestal suspension chassis to work it'll be useful for a variety of prototypes. It's something that's been missing from our chosen scale. 
 

P. 

[bradfordbuffer]

1 hour ago, Phil Mason said:

Awesome! 
if you could get that pedestal suspension chassis to work it'll be useful for a variety of prototypes. It's something that's been missing from our chosen scale. 
 

P. 

I will try ...but don't think it will print on its own....but may be able to print like Parkside underframe to glue up🧐

[bradfordbuffer]

11 hours ago, Phil Mason said:

Awesome! 
if you could get that pedestal suspension chassis to work it'll be useful for a variety of prototypes. It's something that's been missing from our chosen scale. 
 

P. 

Hi Phil you got a mention on YouTube...8m30s to be fair don't normally give this reviewer the views as normally a bit of a arse! He done a roast of Bachmann and got very personal and was nasty...but you have got of lightly 😃

 

https://youtu.be/_w5rG8_Ix20?si=d_T6RO3_Hmoc28WM

[Phil Mason]

Ha! Apparently we're crazy doing 3mm...

 

Odd that he seemed to review the content of the mag rather than mag itself but it does come over as a great issue packed full of stuff. 
 

One comment I'd disagree with is that he doesn't like prototype stuff in model mags. Personally, it's what I look for and I'm less interested in reviews of commercial models. 
 

But MR really does come over as a magazine for modellers with lots of practical features. And NO, I don't get paid - not even got my copy yet...

 

P. 

[bradfordbuffer]

1 hour ago, Phil Mason said:

Ha! Apparently we're crazy doing 3mm...

 

Odd that he seemed to review the content of the mag rather than mag itself but it does come over as a great issue packed full of stuff. 
 

One comment I'd disagree with is that he doesn't like prototype stuff in model mags. Personally, it's what I look for and I'm less interested in reviews of commercial models. 
 

But MR really does come over as a magazine for modellers with lots of practical features. And NO, I don't get paid - not even got my copy yet...

 

P. 

Yep a very self opinionated chap...

[TT-Pete]

15 hours ago, Phil Mason said:

The BG is stunning.

 

Well thank you kindly, but I would beg to differ. 🙂 (I know where all the bodges are)

 

15 hours ago, Phil Mason said:

And the wall behind the 73 echoes the one at Bradford Exchange!

 

Aah. Vale Exchange. 😪

 

 

And I happily take the compliment of my retaining walls having reminded @Phil Mason of an actual location, particularly one such as this:

 

 

Given all the different stuff I run I need the background to be generic enough to be able to be Anytown, Egalstadt, Partouville  in TT3 or 1:120 (not to mention H0m), so hopefully they have as much of a Euro vibe as a Bradford one..

 

It runs from the station overbridge at the left down to the loco shed on the right. One day there may well be things poking over the top of it such as chimneys, low profile factory/housebacks etc..

 

 

Stonewalling paper is from Auhagen, comes on a roll and is cut it into sections that are glued on to sheets of cardboard cut from cat food boxes and to strips of dowel for the uprights. These are then glued onto a fibreboard backing sheet and built up with the different layers to give depth. Strips of Auhagen coping stones finish it off. The paper is from the "TT/HO" range and so is allegedly between the two scales of 1:87 and 1:120, oh, so let's say somewhere around 1:100, or TT3 then?  🙂

 

[TT100 Diesels]

4 hours ago, bradfordbuffer said:

Hi Phil you got a mention on YouTube...8m30s to be fair don't normally give this reviewer the views as normally a bit of a arse! He done a roast of Bachmann and got very personal and was nasty...but you have got of lightly 😃

 

https://youtu.be/_w5rG8_Ix20?si=d_T6RO3_Hmoc28WM

 

3 hours ago, Phil Mason said:

Ha! Apparently we're crazy doing 3mm...

 

Odd that he seemed to review the content of the mag rather than mag itself but it does come over as a great issue packed full of stuff. 
 

One comment I'd disagree with is that he doesn't like prototype stuff in model mags. Personally, it's what I look for and I'm less interested in reviews of commercial models. 
 

But MR really does come over as a magazine for modellers with lots of practical features. And NO, I don't get paid - not even got my copy yet...

 

P. 

 

Made me smile, "labour of love" and "crazy guy".........

 

But joking apart, the Bluish bit of the review did seem to come over well, and a super advert for Phil's scratch building skills, certainly I don't disagree with the "labour of love" comments.

 

But, have to say I am not a fan of you tube "reviewers". I generally don't search them out, only saw this via Mr Buffers link above.

 

Ho hum, back to reading the actual paper magazine......

 

Cheers

 

D.

 

[Phil Mason]

Backwards pacific storming the 1 in 49 from a dead start. I can hear it now! I loved those engines as a kid they seemed massive. If I remember rightly, they could lift eight coaches but I was too young to count properly. Pacific's built the other way round (with all the weight in a tender) were not so clever. I believe some southern thing stalled there in the preserved era. 
 

Then you've also got EE and Sulzer competing and echoing off that wall. What a soundscape! Makes me want to go out and buy some sound chips.... almost. 
 

But I was a softy from the north side of town. This (probably) posed picture in my local shed with another pocket rocket being turned is my favourite ever:  

 

https://flic.kr/p/87U4Lz

 

 

I cried for hours when it all finished (aged 7). 
 

P. 

[TT-Pete]

1 hour ago, TT100 Diesels said:

But, have to say I am not a fan of you tube "reviewers". I generally don't search them out, only saw this via Mr Buffers link above.

 

Agree, I find most influencers "much ado about nothing", or at least more ado about themselves than the models/hobby.

 

[TT-Pete]

1 hour ago, Phil Mason said:

https://flic.kr/p/87U4Lz

I cried for hours when it all finished (aged 7). 
P. 

 

Awesome picture. :^)

 

[03060]

Having (so far) failed in my attempt to finish the L&Y fish van in time for the Kingsbury meeting yesterday, mainly due to having been on nights all week, I had a very late brainwave as to what I could finish and enter in time in order to meet the competition rules of trains being made up from at least 2 group members work.

 

With only Friday being of any sort of use to me (and that being limited due to Thurs night working) I next considered two 5 plank wagons that I have that were built and painted for my Masbury layout but are so far unlettered as they are to become Emborough Quarry wagons but this needs to be done using individual letters on an arc which I haven't gotten around to yet. Surely, I thought that I could finish these off with some pre-printed transfers of a more Northern persuassion to go behind Alan Smith's LMS Crab but alas I had to dismiss this idea as all of my transfers were for 7 plank wagons and just wouldn't fit !

 

A Thurs afternoon dogwalk brainwave though provided a solution !
 

Many years ago I had been given (or probably had to buy from Maurice Pilsworth !!) a trio of generally built but unpainted Slaters Coke wagons which I have struggled to find prototypes of in the format of the kits design and had so far only managed to spray them matt black in the last 15 years or so that I've had them. Anyway ... out came the paints when I got home at 8am Fri and a 1st rather weak coat of Railmatch Signal Red was applied before trying to get some much needed sleep.

 

 3hrs later I was back up and downstairs only to find that the paint was unsurprising still tacky and really hadn't gone on very well at all ... b****r ... game over ... time for a cup of tea and an RM Web update. Reading the then latest posts by @Phil Mason unwittingly provided a last chance saloon, get out of jail card in his description of painting his Class 37 using Tamiya accrylics which "will be dry by the time I come out of the bathroom tonight" comment resulted in a quick dash down to my local model shop FMR and a small collection of said paints acquired.

 

A quick blast with the hairdryer and the still tacky surface was almost dry to the touch so a 2nd coat of red using the accrylics was applied just before 6pm. The result was better but still not fantastic as the black was still showing in patches (not the end of the world as it's a coal wagon after all) but I decided a 3rd coat would be best after a bath and dropping the wife off at the pub. 3rd coat applied around 8pm and blasted with the hair dryer. Black strappings painted around 9pm, chassis given a weathering coat of a mixed reddy brown, hair dryer used in between, coupling mounts made and fitted having unblocked the super glue ! Transfers cut out and applied with water (haven't done this for years !) and managed to get them in position first attempt, not that this type can be moved once water is applied as I found out trying to adjust a single number and ruined and had to change but was pleased with the results.

 

I'd managed to break a brake lever so this had to be repaired with solvent whilst I looked in vain for my can of Games Workshop spray varnish ... which is lurking somewhere in either room or in the attic room after my recent re-organisation but was nowhere to be found !! Panic ... look through my paint tins but no varnish ... Eureka moment when I spotted a small box of paints from Phil Kirtley's (Aireworth) left overs and found a very, very old tin of matt varnish which after a quick test was brushed on. Couplings super glued on at midnight ... and a hot toddy of whiskey and honey poured just as the wife arrived home.

 

Bed for 1am and back up again very bleary eyed at 7am ... wagon was good to go but a little pristine so was given a quick overpaint with a very weak wash of black accrylic ... better but still not quite right. Broke out the powder paints and gave it a dusting of black which looked better than I'd dared hoped for and could have ruined it all together ... but didn't ... PHEW !!!

 

 

Left for Kingsbury at 08.30 to collect Alan and the rest of our train entry which got us a joint 3rd which was nice and even I voted for the winning entry of a pre-grouping freight train from the Woking group which was fronted by a lovely SECR green painted and lined 0-6-0T which I thought deserved it.

 

Anyway this last couple of weeks has been eventful but ultimately worth it as it's gotten me actually making things again instead of just buying and will hopefully see me reinstate Masbury back up to working order up in the loft this week where it's sat for the last 5 years or so in it's 'transportable' state since it's last exhibition outing. Sturminster Newton will just have to wait a bit longer to be built ! So all is good again in my 3mm world.

 

Sorry for the ramble ... but to quote Vinnie Jones ... "It's been emotional !!" LoL.

 

Regards,

Ian ... who can't sleep !!

 

 

Edited March 17 by 03060
Corrections

[TT100 Diesels]

Very nice work Ian, I must say that "old" PO wagons are not at all my era, but have to say I am very impressed, especially "Dinnington", the weathering is very subtle.

 

Congrats on the third in the Kingsbury competition, made all the effort worth it.

 

Super modelling, 

 

Cheers

 

D.

[Phil Mason]

Enjoyed the story but what kind of a marriage is this? Wife down the pub and you secretly using her hair drier! 
 

Sounds like my kind of modelling. I'm glad the Tamiya worked OK, but you were pushing it. Red on black is perhaps the one area where I might try a neutral primer or undercoat. Next time you go shopping, may I suggest a jar each of clear, semi gloss and matt varnish. You may have noticed that most of the paints on sale are actually gloss. This is not a problem because they make a remarkable product called 'flat base'. A tiny spot mixed into gloss turns it matt and, as you become expert, you therefore have control of exactly how matt. 
 

Other tips for using these paints (and I hope I'm forgiven if I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs) are:

 

Stir well and plonk a bit on a palette. 
Wipe the jar and replace lid. 
Add a bit of water to the palette and keep adding more as you work. 
Never use direct from the jar. 
If you're spraying, use their acrylic thinner, not water. 
 

This advice, I've learnt through 35 years experience and I think helps because the paint dries so quickly. I've heard of people complaining about brush strokes. I think it's because they don't flood the model with thin paint but dab bits from the jar which will be drying as they work. I've not opened a tin of oil paint since being introduced to these by club member at Macc, John Brown who used to paint up crappy old models and sell them in the club shop. They looked fantastic with a better finish than the (sometimes) toy like new models. 
 

Other methods are available (as they say) but none as quick. 

 

 Phil 

15 hours ago, 03060 said:

blasted with the hair dryer

 

[Phil Mason]

Job almost done. With weathering paint still damp, 37140 poses on a 00 Scalescenes diorama (which appears to be falling apart!). 

 

Various tweaks are required - windows could do with cleaning, some handrails look a bit dodgy and weathering needs to be tidied up. 
 

So not quite finished and, therefore, still qualifies as being on the workbench! 

 

 

Thank you to everybody who's shown interest in this project. It's much appreciated. You've certainly kept me going and, in turn, my greatest hope is that somebody else will have a go at plastic bashing. What have you got to lose? It's cheap, it's creative, it uses simple tools and is limited only by your imagination. 
 

Phil