Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[MrWolf]

Thank you all for your comments. I'm not disappointed with the paint itself, just the fact that the means of application wasn't fit for purpose.

When it has dried I will hand paint the points before painting individual sleepers / dry brushing and painting the rail sides with Humbrol 173. 

This is a purplish ultra dark rust which IMHO is the closest to the actual colour of rail sides and chairs. 

I've seen a lot of rail sides painted with shades of rust closer to brick red, which is more like brand new rail.

It's an odd thing that I have always used acrylic paint for my paintings and enamel for my models with the odd bit of acrylic for weathering.

I do use Halfords white primer for a lot of things, particularly metal items and undercoat for GWR coaches.

That really does stink and only gets used in the workshop or outside.

I've used airbrushes and there seems to be two types, cheap ones that don't work at all and expensive ones that do.

It's  the compressor that bumps up the costs I have a 14cfm Ingersoll Rand which will run any power tool and paint cars all day, but it's somewhat of an overkill for running an airbrush! 

A lot of the small compressors sold for hobby use fall into the same categories as airbrushes. I would find one very useful to be honest, it's on the list for when I am rich! 

[Mick Bonwick]

12 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Are you breeding those? Be careful that builders of new housing developments don't send their spies to steal your recipe...

 

They came about as an exercise in building Scalescenes kits. The first one wasn't quite right because I didn't read the instructions properly, so I had to build another one, and so on and so on.

 

I've seen that aerosol splodge pattern before.

[MrWolf]

I've never tried building the print it yourself kits (not having a computer / printer is a bit of a discouragement )

But I like the colours available, like the printed sheets that Kevin @KNP uses, they're a far cry from the awful "brick paper"of 40 years ago. You don't notice the lack of texture at all.

They are each better than the next, which is how we all hope to progress.

I'm looking at a shed I made last year now and thinking that I can improve the paintwork.

 

It'll be the shed equivalent to the Forth Bridge....

 

As for the splodge pattern, it reminds me of being a country kid and sticking fireworks in cowpats.

 

You learn to run very fast.....

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by MrWolf
Stupid autocorrect

[MrWolf]

Well, it's dried a splendid shade of matt filth.

 

I call that a result. 

[Rowsley17D]

Deepest sympathies for the Railmatch experience. Their cans must be the worst in the hobby. The can I used on my layout was no where near as bad as yours but after one use it was difficult to get it going again until I discovered soaking the nozzle in nail varnish remover and putting a drop of it down the can's tube. I wasn't going to have 1/2 a can going to waste. The varnish remover is from the late first Mrs 19D's estate and must be getting on for 20 years old by now.

[Regularity]

A friend used to take the nozzles off, and fit replacements from other brands which he had found useable. Can’t remember which ones, and can’t ask him as he’s dead. Well, I can ask him, but a reply would be more than a bit disturbing.

[MrWolf]

3 hours ago, Rowsley17D said:

Deepest sympathies for the Railmatch experience. Their cans must be the worst in the hobby. The can I used on my layout was no where near as bad as yours but after one use it was difficult to get it going again until I discovered soaking the nozzle in nail varnish remover and putting a drop of it down the can's tube. I wasn't going to have 1/2 a can going to waste. The varnish remover is from the late first Mrs 19D's estate and must be getting on for 20 years old by now.

 

It's basically Acetone thinner. Difficult to get hold of in larger than nail varnish remover quantities due to being a good basis for incendiary devices. 

I keep meaning to buy some, it's often useful and I can't pinch it off Miss Riding Hood either because she keeps her nails short so she can play her instruments without bum notes.

 

11 minutes ago, Regularity said:

A friend used to take the nozzles off, and fit replacements from other brands which he had found useable. Can’t remember which ones, and can’t ask him as he’s dead. Well, I can ask him, but a reply would be more than a bit disturbing.

 

I used to save the nozzles from paint cans because the weld through and high zinc primer cans always blocked up. I might have a couple lying around. I'm busy masking the contacts on the point blades and am going to get it all painted today I hope!

[MrWolf]

 

That worked, cheers @Regularity! 

FYI the nozzle from a SupaDec (DIY store craft paint)  can, turns the Railmatch rattle can from a Super Soaker water pistol into a Binks JGA spraygun. 

 

The scraps of corrugated card are cut from the cheap squashy type in the absence of foam masking tape and carefully wedged between the point blades where they make contact.

Hopefully I haven't painted anything that will make a dog's breakfast of the continuity...

 

More wire has arrived in the post today so it's time to connect up the point motors and replace the temporary power feeds.

Well it IS the weekend, so we can kick back and step the fun up a gear, doesn't matter if we stay in bed til lunchtime tomorrow....

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by MrWolf
Image missing

[Simond]

Acetone.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acrylic-Nail-Remover-Nail-Polish-Remover-Pure-Acetone-98-Pure-1Litre/233492592985?hash=item365d3e3959:g:KjMAAOSwkoleQyHP

 

I get it from our local fibreglass manufacturer, in 5litre plastic cans.  They wanted my name & address first time, they know me now.

 

[Simond]

Relying on point blades for continuity is likely to be frustrating!  

[MrWolf]

20 minutes ago, Simond said:

Relying on point blades for continuity is likely to be frustrating!  

 

I was under the impression that the end of the point blade touching the rail was a part of the circuit? 

 

Would you mind putting me right on that one?

[Alister_G]

6 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

I was under the impression that the end of the point blade touching the rail was a part of the circuit? 

 

Only if you don't use droppers on each section of track.

 

If you do, then electrical continuity of the point blades is not necessary, as each section of track, including the stock rails and closure rails on turnouts, are powered from the bus.

 

Al

Edited April 10, 2021 by Alister_G

[chuffinghell]

15 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

 

Only if you don't use droppers on each section of track.

 

If you do, then electrical continuity of the point blades is not necessary, as each section of track, including the stock rails and closure rails on turnouts, are powered from the bus.

 

Al

That’s how I’ve wired my points, I just painted over the everything because blade contact isn’t required for electrical continuity

[MrWolf]

It looks like I had better figure out where to solder in some dropper wires then.

[chuffinghell]

2 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

It looks like I had better figure out where to solder in some dropper wires then.

I did mine like this

 

[Alister_G]

Rob have you already laid your points?

 

The reason I ask is that you would need to cut the bridging wires on the underside of Peco points between the frog and the closure rails, and also extend the wire from the frog down through the baseboard. If your points are already stuck down then you will struggle.

 

Al.

[MrWolf]

12 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

I did mine like this

 

 

Having had a look at some of the odds and ends I have lying around, I'd say that is the underside of an Electrofrog point? 

Mine are Insulfrog. I was told that they were simpler to wire up for DC especially as I still run some older locos.

If you ask 100 people you seem to get 100 different answers! 

 

15 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

Rob have you already laid your points?

 

The reason I ask is that you would need to cut the bridging wires on the underside of Peco points between the frog and the closure rails, and also extend the wire from the frog down through the baseboard. If your points are already stuck down then you will struggle.

 

Al.

 

Are we talking Electrofrog or Insulfrog points. Both seem to have a couple of bits of hard wire underneath anyway.

It's kind of academic anyway because the track is fixed down and the tin fishplates are soldered up - something that I always did to avoid breaks in the circuit.

At this rate I may well be having a bonfire soon!

[Alister_G]

7 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

It's kind of academic anyway because the track is fixed down

 

Ah well in that case I think you will have to rely on the conductivity of the point blades, I'm afraid.

 

I was mostly talking about electrofrog, but insulfrogs can be similarly butchered.

 

On a standard unmodified turnout, both closure rails have the same polarity, which changes depending on which way the turnout is thrown. If it's an electrofrog, the frog is also at the same polarity as the closure rails.

 

The modifications that are commonly carried out break the link between the closure rails, and add a bridge to each stock rail, so the closure rail and adjacent stock rail maintain a common polarity at all times, but the two closure rails are at opposite polarity. Further, on electrofrog ,the link between the frog and closure rails is broken, and a separate power feed is attached to the frog, which is then separately switched.

 

Al.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Alister_G

[NHY 581]

For what its worth, all of my points are Code 75 Electrofroggies. 

All of the layouts are reliant on the conductivity of the point blades only. I have no droppers or additional track feeds or isolating sections. 

 

Not in any way refined but they work. 

 

Rob. 

[MrWolf]

That was the main reason for scrapping a previous layout. I got sick of locos stalling no matter how clean the wheels and track were. It's all supposed to work straight out of the box (it's the law actually) so you don't really expect to have to hack things about. 

There's no way that I am spending time and money building a layout if the most basic part is going to let me down. 

I think that I might be better off pulling it all up and starting again, but last time I did that it was 20 years until I started again. 

If I can't get what I have working like it's supposed to I might as well junk it and stick to playing with motorbikes to be honest.

At least you can kick them when they p### you off.

[Alister_G]

Sorry Rob, I was in no way trying to discourage you.

 

As (other) Rob says, the basic out of the box turnout works fine for most occasions, particularly on smaller layouts, so ignore all the preceding bull and keep on modelling(TM).

 

Al.

[chuffinghell]

My apologies also, I didn’t realise we were talking insulfrogs and DC so ignore my previous BS too

 

If you do happen to get a little paint on the blades you can clean it off with a fibreglass pencil

 

I opted for DCC because it’s only two wires!

 

apparently 

Edited April 10, 2021 by chuffinghell

[MrWolf]

No need to apologise guys, you have been most encouraging and supportive. Without actually being able to see the patient, you have offered possible diagnosis based upon your own experience and I'm grateful for that. 

What I do have is a power feed in at the toe of every point so that at least I am not relying upon just one feed in. The only thing vaguely like a model railway track that works that way is an electric fence. 

I am not intending on making a MK2 here, unless or until I get bored with the scenery! 

Too many false starts over the years, I think that is what puts most people off! 

[chuffinghell]

I thought you were talking electric frogs

Not insulated ones

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by chuffinghell

[Alister_G]

42 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

I thought you were talking electric frogs

 

Now that's just crazy talk

 

 

Al.