Knightacott - 7mm newbie BLT

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

Happy new year.

 

Got some work done over the Christmas break and started the ballasting. I’ve used some javis medium but I think it is more like course in other ranges. I did have some medium woodland scenics stuff that seemed too fine. I plan to weather and mix in ash so I hope to disguise any overscale look.

 

I have also added some signal wires roughly based on the pictures above. I opted to have a bent thick piece of wire with thinner wire superglued to it after winding it around.

 

it is difficult to see below against the dry ballast.

 

 

 

When it dries it darkens a bit, but I plan to weather it further. You can see the contrast between neat and PVA applied and dried below.

 

Regards

James

 

 

 

[jamest]

Hi again,

 

Few more updates on the progress. I hope to make more steady progress this year as I’ve changed my working pattern to work my hours Monday to Thursday and not work Fridays. Trouble is I’ve also heard about some sort of list my wife is compiling!

 

I have laid some 2mm card in the yard area to enable me to create a surface close to sleeper top level. I did it before ballasting.

 

 

 

I plan to use a fair price models carcass as a base for a low relief warehouse against the end. I think it works and provides a good blend/block with the end of the back-scene.

 

The kit is a good base and includes doors and windows. I’ve used brick sheet and some plastic strip for the lintels. I’ve also used the side shop as a extension with no windows which will sit further along the back-scene behind the buffer stop.

 

 

I’ve painted the brickwork my brown mix and sealed it with Matt varnish ready for washing and wiping the mortar courses.

 

 

 

Here is the result. Started the tiling with thin card strips (it will be painted). The fascia boards need a tidy up on the edges when fully cured.

 

 

regards,

 James 

 

 

[jamest]

Ok, 

 

Ballast question..... I've put some woodland scenics stuff over the javis and I'm now thinking this is a better option? 

 

 

 

And I could lay it over the existing courser stuff. 

 

I will weather it, its more a question of size. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by jamest

[bluestag]

5 hours ago, jamest said:

Ok, 

 

Ballast question..... I've put some woodland scenics stuff over the javis and I'm now thinking this is a better option? 

 

 

 

And I could lay it over the existing courser stuff. 

 

I will weather it, its more a question of size. 

Your coarse stuff does look a little large.   If yyou don't mind doing the chore twice, I'd say do over top it.    Is that fine or medium Woodland Scenics?   I am ballasting now, with medium.   It looks right to me, but is a bit bright.   (Grey).

[jamest]

58 minutes ago, bluestag said:

Your coarse stuff does look a little large.   If yyou don't mind doing the chore twice, I'd say do over top it.    Is that fine or medium Woodland Scenics?   I am ballasting now, with medium.   It looks right to me, but is a bit bright.   (Grey).

Hi,

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

It is medium woodland scenics. It is very light but I will weather it. It’s all about getting the right size.

 

I did try to lay it over today but some of the corse ballast is relatively high with regard to the sleepers. So I put my big boy pants on and soaked and lifted all the existing ballast!

 

I will let everything dry overnight and re ballast from scratch. Lesson learned…..it’s better to err on the small size I think.

 

regards 

james

[bluestag]

1 hour ago, jamest said:

Hi,

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

It is medium woodland scenics. It is very light but I will weather it. It’s all about getting the right size.

 

I did try to lay it over today but some of the corse ballast is relatively high with regard to the sleepers. So I put my big boy pants on and soaked and lifted all the existing ballast!

 

I will let everything dry overnight and re ballast from scratch. Lesson learned…..it’s better to err on the small size I think.

 

regards 

james

Happily, it is not a huge layout.

 

 

Mine is a little larger.   I have started just ahead of the locomotive.

 

 

Lots to do.   I am having trouble not gluing ballast down to the sleepers.

Edited January 13, 2023 by bluestag

[34006]

Hi,perhaps these photos will give you a better idea of size.Taken at Chasewater Railway,last year.

 

 

 

Phil

[jamest]

Hi Phil, 

 

Thanks for sharing those photos, I think my finer WS medium ballast is closer. 

 

Hi bluestag, 

 

Yes, I think it would be better if you only ballasted once! Lol

 

Your layout looks great. 

 

Regards, 

James 

Edited January 13, 2023 by jamest

[bluestag]

58 minutes ago, jamest said:

 

Your layout looks great. 

 

 

Well, there certainly is a lot of TRACK.

[bluestag]

James,

 

How do you keep the ballast off the sleepers as you glue the stuff down?    I am having quite the battle.

 

Kevin

[jamest]

9 hours ago, bluestag said:

James,

 

How do you keep the ballast off the sleepers as you glue the stuff down?    I am having quite the battle.

 

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

 

I lay the ballast and make sure I go around with a paintbrush and remove all ballast from the rail sides and sleeper tops. This was definitely easier with coarser ballast!

 

I then spray the ballast with a mist of water with a bit of washing up liquid. I think it is very important to get a mist here as a sprayer that is too powerful will disturb all your good work. Lots of sprayers will drip as well as spray which is also a problem.

 

I then use the pva flood method with 50/50 pva and water with another drop of washing up liquid.

 

I think, especially with finer ballast, you will still get a few areas where you missed initially or where ballast is picked up by the flood and deposited where you don’t want it. You need to be prepared to clean up with a knife and hoover afterwards.

 

But the clean up process should be minimised by following the above steps.

 

Hope that helps,

James 

[bluestag]

12 hours ago, jamest said:

Hi Kevin,

 

I lay the ballast and make sure I go around with a paintbrush and remove all ballast from the rail sides and sleeper tops. This was definitely easier with coarser ballast!

 

I then spray the ballast with a mist of water with a bit of washing up liquid. I think it is very important to get a mist here as a sprayer that is too powerful will disturb all your good work. Lots of sprayers will drip as well as spray which is also a problem.

 

I then use the pva flood method with 50/50 pva and water with another drop of washing up liquid.

 

I think, especially with finer ballast, you will still get a few areas where you missed initially or where ballast is picked up by the flood and deposited where you don’t want it. You need to be prepared to clean up with a knife and hoover afterwards.

 

But the clean up process should be minimised by following the above steps.

 

Hope that helps,

James 

I take your point about the sprayer.     I brush as well, but can't seem to get all the ballast where it belongs.   I don't use wood glue, but rather acrylic matt medium.   Guaranteed to dry matt.    I use a dropper to get the medium into the ballast, rather than flooding.    So I don't get a lot of it on the tops of the sleepers.

Still I get some ballast on the sleepers and chairs.    The medium is taking two days to cure.    It has been raining here a LOT.

[jamest]

Hi Kevin,

 

I hear you on the curing. It’s not too warm here either. Not stopped raining this year yet!

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

The layout dried off after my soak and hoover session and I have now applied the grey medium woodland scenics ballast.

 

It does look quite stark, and will require toning down more than the courser stuff. I think it was worth the effort though.

 

 

 

I have not done the left hand siding below because it will be filled with finer wood burner ash.

 

 

Regards,

James

 

 

[pwr]

Looks very much the part. 

 

Tip that I use which is a bit late now but if you mix powder paints with the ballast before you lay it then you don't need to paint it afterwards. I use a mix of black, white and Burnt Ochre. See my Black Notley thread. I am afraid the pictures showing how I did it are still missing but you can see the final colour of the ballast.

 

Paul R

[47606odin]

The medium ballast, which I also use (sand for ash ballast) looks so much better than the other stuff you used. And given various washes will blend in and tone down nicely 

[jamest]

7 hours ago, 47606odin said:

The medium ballast, which I also use (sand for ash ballast) looks so much better than the other stuff you used. And given various washes will blend in and tone down nicely 

Hi,

 

I have been mucking about with ash for the yard but I do have some fine sand I got from a pet store. Its tucked away in my shed somewhere - thanks for the reminder!

 

regards,

James

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

Had a go with some fine ‘sand’ in the yard lines this morning.

 

Here are some in process pictures of the sand and the resulting pva flood. I find with finer stuff like this, and ash, that you really need to soak it first with water spray or the pva will just sit on top and ball up.

 

Here is what I used, I got it a while ago from pets at home….

 

 

I laid it fairly thick and I have not bothered about cleaning it from the sleepers as a lot of yard surfaces seem to have very little sleeper showing.

 

The colour changes a bit…..it will be interesting to see how it dries. The actual yard surface that you see is wood burner ash….depending on how the ‘sand’ looks I might cover the whole yard in that and then colour to suit.

 

 

The dark grey area between the siding and platform road is road stone.
 

 

 

Regards,

 James 

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

Few more updates.

 

First the warehouse. I’ve tiled the roof and decided on corrugated sheet for the lower extension. I’ve painted it tamiya dark grey with the odd tile picked out in a darker and lighter mix with plain black or white mixed in. The corrugated surface is gun metal but will be covered in a grime wash. The slates will also receive a black wash and the fascia will be the same blue as the doors.

 

 

 

I also got organised and ordered my missing bits from modelu…the connection between guttering and downpipes. Here is the guttering attached with the Dow pipes offered up…I plan to paint them before fixing in place. I also need to bend the extension down pipe a bit to line up with its connector, as you can see. The actual guttering is a bit of a challenge as they come slightly bent in both directions. Understandable given the thinness of the section, but it means you have to carefully over bend it back nearly straight and then hold it down with masking tape while the adhesive dries. I used plain revel contacta and it worked fine.

 

 

 

I have also experimented on a wash for the track. I did a short test section and ballasted. I speed dried the pva flood in front of the wood burner….perhaps a bit too close if you look at the sleepers! But it serves a purpose and enabled me to get on with experimentation quickly.

 

In the picture below…..

the very left is as ballasted.

the left middle is my burnt umber wash.

the middle/middle right was a less diluted wash of the same colour which was too brown. This also has black/brown powder applied for dirtier areas. I also had a bit of a go with white powders on the sleepers extreme right….not sure about that.

 

it does not show up great in the photo but I like the middle section and will apply to the layout as a base soon.

 

 

I have also coated the rest of the yard with the fine pet sand shown in my previous update. This was spread with a sieve over a thin brushed layer of neat pva. In between the track on the sidings….I scraped the excess down to the sleeper tops (ish) while the mix was still a bit mushy and not dry. I liked the effect of mess and some sleeper tops showing. It has now fully cured and will also need toning down a bit.

 

 

 

Cheers

James

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by jamest

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

Small update on the area next to my warehouse. I didn’t like the transition from bridge to building so I’ve decided to incorporate something in between that will break up the level change better between the bridge and ground level.

 

So I cut the embankment to allow for a retaining wall. I also added a card pad that will be concrete.

 

I then made a card base (2x 2mm card thicknesses) and added squires brick sheet.

 

I plan to have the fuel tank as below. It is a 3D printed item made by my friend mudmagnet. Behind it, against the back scene, there will be a wall with a door….the door is shown roughly in place. There will be a low wooden fence at the end of the concrete pad.

 

Cheers,

James

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

I’ve taken advantage of having a good amount of time in the shed this weekend.

 

First up was painting the wall shown in the previous post. You will have seen a door propped up which seemed to work so I’ve added a wall either side to sit up against the back scene. I have also fired up the grass master and started to add some basic greenery. I need to paint the fuel tank.

 

 

 

 

I have also painted the guttering on the warehouse and built a wall to finish off the blend into the back scene at the other end. I might have some bushes on the top of the wall to blend with the scene behind, it depends on how the viewing angles work.

 

 

 

 

You might have noticed I have also started adding grass patches in between sidings and tracks. It still looks a little stark, and needs to be blended, but it’s a start and I like the colour of the winter blend I’ve used.

 

 

The front embankment has also had a coat of grass. There will be wilder growth on the sides and a fence running along the top getting closer to the front edge as you work away from the bridge.

 

 

All the best,

James

 

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by jamest

[jamest]

Hi again, 

 

Thanks for all the likes/support. 

 

I also took a couple of photos from a different angle that I really like.... Through each bridge arch.... 

 

 

 

Regards 

James 

 

[mudmagnet]

Looking great James!

 

[jamest]

Thanks Richard, 

 

I've also made a slight alteration between the station building and the end of the bay road. I had made a corner in the wall on the baseboard join as it seemed sensible. I had not really considered what I wanted to put in that space though. I have a intentio pagoda shelter made, and I have another option of a concrete style waiting room from the same intentio range. Both are a little long for this space as I want a gate coming off the corner of the wall. 

 

This is how it was with a mocked up wide gate to the station building. 

 

The pagoda shelter was significantly longer than the distance from the end of the bay to the black gate.... So I removed it and did a bit of a cut and shut with a narrower gate to help. The extention piece will be hidden by whatever shelter I choose to use.... 

 

Like so... 

 

The shelter will need to be unfixed as it spans the baseboard gap.... But has the advantage of helping to hide said gap. 

 

Most of my work and musing recently has been blending the foreground with the back scene.... I think I'm getting there. Just the other side of the station building to do now. 

 

Regards 

James 

 

 

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

Small update.

 

I liked the way the retaining wall worked out on the back of the layout and while thinking about the undergrowth on the front thought it might fit well here too. So out came the knife and the foundations were laid…..

 

 

 

 

and here is the new wall…..

2mm card doubled up as before with SE Finecast brick sheet.

I also like the remnants of the grass embankment on the edge of the ballast between the wall and the track.

 

 

 

 

 

Quite pleased with it.

Regards,

 James