Exhill Works and other adventures in 7/8ths

[Physicsman]

Morning John.

 

A quick visit from me (so you know I'm true to my word) but I'll be back for future discussion!

 

I see what you mean about the lack of feedback. It can be soul destroying, especially with the quality of the work on this layout. You could move the thread into the main Layouts section but you may prefer the relative quiet on here.

 

Two things strike me. The inventiveness and the scale. 

 

I guess you're having to make most of the stuff from scratch and, as I've found, it can be a lot of fun. In your case, however, it's almost everything. I do like the scenes you've created, which links to my second point....

 

In some ways I'm envious of the scale you are using. I'd never be able to build my landscape in 7/8 (21mm to the foot?) but the buildings would be fun - especially brickwork and tiling. I'd say it could be a future project, but I've already got another 4mm planned and ideas for a 7mm cameo.

 

As a lead out, for now, I can understand your frustration with the RM thread when I look at the quality of stuff on here. Just excellent.

 

Jeff

[John Besley]

Many thanks Jeff, thank you for your comments.

[Physicsman]

Still very quiet on here, John.

 

C'mon folks, the modelling on here at 21mm to the foot is excellent.

 

Jeff

[Keith Addenbrooke]

13 hours ago, Physicsman said:

Still very quiet on here, John.

 

C'mon folks, the modelling on here at 21mm to the foot is excellent.

 

Jeff

Excellent is almost an understatement (if that’s possible).  I’ve been following this thread when it was in the Narrow Gauge Forum and have ‘liked’ almost every post John has shared - it’s so far above my own modelling standards / skill level however there’s little I’ve been able to offer in terms of constructive feedback.  It is a truly wonderful layout, Keith.

[JeffP]

Just found this.

It reminds me of Roy Link's Crow's Nest Tramway with its attention to detail.

[John Besley]

1 hour ago, JeffP said:

Just found this.

It reminds me of Roy Link's Crow's Nest Tramway with its attention to detail.

 

Roy's wonderful Crowsnest Saga ( I've brought the book) has been inspirational over the years ... I have resisted the challenge of making a working door lock so far...

 

Many thanks for your coments

[John Besley]

Just to go back to your earlier comment Jeff, yes everything is scratch built apart from the wagon running gear as I use Bachman or Hornby running chassis with my body work etc. over the top. 

 

Loco chassis blocks have so far been Wren R1 chassis that I've re-motered.

 

The only other item I've brought in was a couple of dolls house windows that I've chopped up.

 

Oh and the people, these are from Rob Bennett "busy bodies" and from Si Harris - Model Earth "short staff" range, while these are not exact 7/8ths scale being slightly too short they follow on with the style that Rob created in a caricature way.

 

Track is Peco 0-16.5 

 

Yes no shaking out of the box stuff here...

[John Besley]

And now for something different...

 

 

 

 

Watch this space...

[Fishplate]

That looks like a lovely model. Eyes firmly fixed on this space. . . .👍

[John Besley]

I have now completed changing over all my Couplings to the chopper type and remotered "The Bat' ".

 

Next off finish off some detail parts then start on the 'Tinkerbell' build, or rather restart this one as it stopped in April 2020.

 

There are other items of rolling stock to create as well...

[John Besley]

Something I've been pondering over for a couple of weeks... How to make different types of weeds etc.

 

Harts Tounge Fern, simple to make out of tin foil pie trays and copper wire with a light crimp of the finger nails to form the shape and a blow over with green paint

 

The next off with the purple flowing buds if common on waste ground, rough soil etc.  (No idea what it's called) .... Made from coarse string sprayed green and the purple flowers from Woodland Scenics ground cover fixed in place with CA glues dabded on the stems

 

[John Besley]

I am throwing open a discussion and help please...

 

Following the re-motering of 'The Bat' with the Road Runner 60:1 gearbox and C1230 Coreless motor from HLK I found that this set up wouldn't run with the Hammett and Morgan Walkabout controller... However ran perfectly well with the Gaugemaster W hand held controller.

 

Whereas the 'Baldwin' wouldn't run with the Gaugemaster controller 100% in particular when coming down the slight slope it tended to run in pulses - this is fitted with a Mashima motor as brought back in 2020 now no longer available, oddly enough this ran perfectly with the H&M controller (guess it must be down to old technology)

 

To this end I now have a replacement motor on its was to swop over and see how this goes - such is life...

 

What I really miss with the Gaugemaster is,

(a) the neat coiled flexi 4 core cable instead of the 6 core intruder white cable (is it possabile to replace this) and the fact the forward and reverse switch is back to front - surely forward should be Right and reverse Left

(b) the H&M had a brake function which was amazing and put you very much 'in the cab'

 

What is the options - no I am not going DCC - can't afford it for just 2 locos 'in steam' - is there a comparable hand held controller that will replace the old H&M and handle the new coreless motors 

 

Answers on a postcard please

[Ramrig]

Hi John

 

I use a Gaugemaster Hand Held W controller for my 009 stock and the Bachmann Baldwins, double Fairlees and Skarloey/ Rheneas, along  with the Kato chassis’s and have never had a problem. The Bachmann locos are all coreless motors. Avoid using feedback controls with coreless motors.

 

Steve

[John Besley]

26 minutes ago, Ramrig said:

Hi John

 

I use a Gaugemaster Hand Held W controller for my 009 stock and the Bachmann Baldwins, double Fairlees and Skarloey/ Rheneas, along  with the Kato chassis’s and have never had a problem. The Bachmann locos are all coreless motors. Avoid using feedback controls with coreless motors.

 

Steve

 

That's pretty much the same conclusion I've come to as well

[John Besley]

Further plants / weeds created this one required individual leaves - I used a 1/32 scale leaf punch from Green Stuff World cutting them out of a brown paper envelope before fixing with CA glue and PVA with an spray of acitone.

 

 

A start was also made on the coal wagon that works in conjunction with the stationary boiler, used a Dapol chassis and steel pin point wheels from Bachman, our own axleboxes and chopper couplings.

This will have an end opening doors along with a fall plate

 

 

[John Besley]

The photo plank is 90% finished (there's always something else to add sometime) so with the sun in the right place a couple of shots where taken...

 

 

[Fishplate]

That is superb. The colours on the plank blend in perfectly with the "scenic background".

 

[John Besley]

5 minutes ago, Fishplate said:

That is superb. The colours on the plank blend in perfectly with the "scenic background".

 

 

I used dried garden soil to form the basic ground cover so that would help.... I did have to chop a couple of overgrown bushes down - but they where coming out anyway....

 

Need to add more weeds at some point...

[John Besley]

As a bit of a diversion I've made some cardboard boxes...

 

Marked out and cut up an brown envelope once this was folded and glued with PVA I dismanted a double wall corrugated box lid to strip off the thin card to make the inside stiffener and base.

 

The pictures are pretty self-explanatory... Once the PVA is hard I can the crumple the box a bit and distress this to age it

 

 

 

 

[JeffP]

Nah...those are real ones, photoshopped. You can't fool me🙂

[JeffP]

By the way, I'm glad this thread has moved, easier to follow.

I had a quiet chuckle at the post about adding weeds...at this time of year in real life it's a losing battle keeping their numbers down.

[CameronL]

12 hours ago, John Besley said:

As a bit of a diversion I've made some cardboard boxes...

 

Do you have a 7/8 works cat to sit in one?

[John Besley]

48 minutes ago, CameronL said:

Do you have a 7/8 works cat to sit in one?

 

Now that's a thought... Someone must make some cats.... plenty of them in the smaller scales...

 

I like that idea

[John Besley]

I am pondering printing them with a logo or something ...

[CameronL]

1 hour ago, John Besley said:

 

Now that's a thought... Someone must make some cats.... plenty of them in the smaller scales...

 

I like that idea

There are lots of 1:12 scale dollshouse cats available. Slightly oversized for7/8 but it could just be a big works cat. (My Dad was an engineer and his works cat, Tiger, was a monster).