Freight only micro layout: for sale

[marc smith]

As ever Matt, some stirling work here.
I really like that faded blue 08 - top job there sir :) 

[Enfys_Rainbow]

42 minutes ago, marc smith said:

As ever Matt, some stirling work here.
I really like that faded blue 08 - top job there sir :) 

 

Thanks Marc, appreciate you looking in on the thread!

[sb67]

On 29/11/2022 at 07:48, Enfys_Rainbow said:

@sb67 I used isopropanol to strip the paint, however I use acrylics so they come off easily. I'm told that this will also strip RTR paintwork, but I've not attempted it myself yet. Dettol has to be the worst method, I stripped a Lima Class 31 a while back...talk about a sticky mess!

You're not wrong about the Dettol! Unfortunately, it's the only thing that has worked so far, Isopropanol and brake fluid haven't touched the Lima factory finish, neither has Mr Muscle at the moment. 

[Enterprisingwestern]

16 hours ago, sb67 said:

You're not wrong about the Dettol! Unfortunately, it's the only thing that has worked so far, Isopropanol and brake fluid haven't touched the Lima factory finish, neither has Mr Muscle at the moment. 

 

You surprise me, they are my weapons of choice for Lima locose, are you sure the fluids are fresh?, they lose their "corrosive" properties when used a few times.

 

Mike.

[sb67]

7 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

You surprise me, they are my weapons of choice for Lima locose, are you sure the fluids are fresh?, they lose their "corrosive" properties when used a few times.

 

Mike.

The brake fluid was 4 dot and fresh. The Mr Muscle was new as well, I've just covered it in it again and I'll see how it goes this weekend. 

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Hello all,

 

I'm no telegraph pole expert, but having looked at the available offerings in 4mm scale, I decided I wasn't keen.

 

I might feel different if I had a 40ft long layout that needed 400 telegraph poles, but seeing as I only need a handful, I think I could and should do better.

 

After a few hours with various offcuts of plastic and other (sadly) unidentified bits from the spares box, here's what I've come up with...or at least 2 of the 5 I'll need anyway!

 

 

 

Very enjoyable!

 

Matt

Edited December 5, 2022 by Enfys_Rainbow

[bradfordbuffer]

9 hours ago, Enfys_Rainbow said:

Hello all,

 

I'm no telegraph pole expert, but having looked at the available offerings in 4mm scale, I decided I wasn't keen.

 

I might feel different if I had a 40ft long layout that needed 400 telegraph poles, but seeing as I only need a handful, I think I could and should do better.

 

After a few hours with various offcuts of plastic and other (sadly) unidentified bits from the spares box, here's what I've come up with...or at least 2 of the 5 I'll need anyway!

 

 

 

Very enjoyable!

 

Matt

Get ready for the pole expert's.....Mmm incorrect spacing for a GPO Mk3b tgp! 🤣 but as a pice of scenery for a model train set....spot on! Love the steps....to be fair I prefer to see my poles 12 ft tall and chrome? 🙈

 

There will be a expert some where on rmweb I've been sucked in to the rabbit hole one that is the 'pylon' section on this forum! If you go looking for it it's your own fault if you fall in!

 

Brill modeling as usual...

[Captain Kernow]

I really like this project.

 

Small shunting layout, freight-only, excellent modelling - ticks all my boxes!

 

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Thanks both, I appreciate the comments.

 

@bradfordbuffer - I can live with the incorrect spacing...and any other inaccuracies - they look ok to me! 🤣

 

Matt 

[bradfordbuffer]

48 minutes ago, Enfys_Rainbow said:

Thanks both, I appreciate the comments.

 

@bradfordbuffer - I can live with the incorrect spacing...and any other inaccuracies - they look ok to me! 🤣

 

Matt 

Quote I'm not the pole expert (wooden or chromed) !but there WILL be one....looks good to me too!

 

 

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Hi all,

 

Latest bit of scratchbuilding!

 

 

I wanted some gates at my road crossing. Having looked at those available RTR or as kits, I quickly decided to make my own.

 

Inspiration is a combination of photos of gates from a variety of different locations found online.

 

The gate itself is made entirely from offcuts of plastic section and rod, with the side posts being several strips glued together as I had nothing else suitable. The angled capping is yet more offcuts sanded to shape.

 

Not perfect by any means, but an enjoyable afternoon modelling project, and continues my attempt to scratchbuilt as much as possible.

 

Now I just have to make another set...

 

Matt

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Here's the painted gate. It's relatively dirty and rusted, but I figured a gate on a line such as this would only be closed when needed, which isn't often, so may have been neglected...my story anyhow!

 

 

Bit rough and ready up close, but ok at a distance.

 

Matt

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Hi all,

 

Here's the first layout photo I've posted for a long, long time!

 

 

As can be seen, a small amount of ballasting has taken place, and also the first bit of scenic work has been added.

 

Long time since I've done anything like this!

 

Matt

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Hello all,

 

With work having started on some ballasting, my thoughts turned towards one of the two bufferstops. Given their close proximity to the backscene, painting and weathering, not to mention ballasting, would be very awkward if done after fixing them in place. 

 

First the bufferstop itself - this is one of the sublime Lanarkshire Models items supplied by @davefrk. Painting was actually trickier than I expected, my first few attempts were much too dark. After much mixing of various brown and orange paint, I've got a shade I'm much happier with.

 

I decided to glue the whole thing to a piece of paper, cut to fit the exact space, then ballast it. This way, I can glue the more or less completed item in situ and then just blend in the edges at a later stage.

 

 

 

All in all, I'm relatively pleased but happy to take feedback, particularly about the colour.

 

Matt

[Sweet pea]

5 hours ago, Enfys_Rainbow said:

Hello all,

 

With work having started on some ballasting, my thoughts turned towards one of the two bufferstops. Given their close proximity to the backscene, painting and weathering, not to mention ballasting, would be very awkward if done after fixing them in place. 

 

First the bufferstop itself - this is one of the sublime Lanarkshire Models items supplied by @davefrk. Painting was actually trickier than I expected, my first few attempts were much too dark. After much mixing of various brown and orange paint, I've got a shade I'm much happier with.

 

I decided to glue the whole thing to a piece of paper, cut to fit the exact space, then ballast it. This way, I can glue the more or less completed item in situ and then just blend in the edges at a later stage.

 

 

 

 

All in all, I'm relatively pleased but happy to take feedback, particularly about the colour.

 

Matt

Matt that's a nice piece of modelling the buffer stop, ground cover and foliage all look great. Thanks for sharing.🧑‍🎄

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Thanks to the generosity of a fellow modeller, my Class 08 now has new rods.

 

It's taken me a while to get around to fitting them but they're the regular Brassmasters ones, filed down to reduce the width slightly.

 

Fitting them was the least fun I've had but the visual improvement is huge!

 

 

I'm still having problems with the (Bachmann) pins popping out occasionally, does anyone have any clever solutions to stop this happening?

 

Matt

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Spot the difference!

 

 

No? Well I'll tell you - I've painted the fuel stain. Lots of 08's have really filthy fuel stains, to the point the sides are almost black. The photos I've found of 08945 show far less staining which I've tried to represent. I've also added further weathering to the cab roof.

 

Cruel close up:

 

 

Matt

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Here's the other buffer stop for the layout - same concept, pre-ballasted and painted as I'll not be able to do it after installation.

 

 

 

 

This one was built a few years ago, so is a bit wobbly in places!

 

Matt

[Enfys_Rainbow]

Hello all,

 

The photo I posted of the layout on 19th December shows a white structure in the background. It was always my intention to use this building on the layout - as I've said previously, I try to reuse/repurpose things where I can and it was built for a now stalled layout. However, even though it's actually a really small building, it was too big for the available space.

 

I wanted something there, otherwise the backscene is very obvious, but finding a suitably small building that isn't a cliché is actually quite difficult!

 

I stumbled across a photo online of what can only be described as a shed, made out of corrugated metal, and I knew I had to use it as inspiration.

 

I really like rusty corrugated metal, but it's a challenge to make it look convincing. Other than the painting, the challenge for me is creating the effect of individual panels. Obviously you can use embossed corrugated sheet, but you either have a continuous wall, which isn't right, or you end up butt-jointing sections together which can look clunky if not done well. Alternatively you can buy metal corrugated sections, but I'd prefer to avoid the added cost if I can (gas and electric ain't getting any cheaper!). A while ago I made a building and attempted to represent the sheeting using tinfoil glued to the embossed plastic. It looked ok, but attaching the tinfoil to the plastic was difficult, messy and it wasn't robust enough to withstand much handling.

 

This time around I've used far simpler methods - the building's shell is 1mm plastic sheet laminated with embossed plastic then good old regular tape stuck to it to represent the individual sheets. It's sticky enough to stay attached to the plastic, and thin enough to look convincing (in my opinion). Obviously you have to take care to position the tape accurately and burnish it down over the ridges.

 

 

 

The photo I used as inspiration only showed the end, so the rest had to be guessed at. Everything is scratchbuilt, including the window. The door is from a now demolished building [reuse, reuse, reuse!]

 

Painting was fun, if time consuming, and is entirely acrylic paint. Main colours were applied by airbrush, and the "rust" by brush and sponge.

 

 

 

I'm pleased with it and it fits the space nicely - plus it was an enjoyable little project.

 

Matt

Edited January 2, 2023 by Enfys_Rainbow

[Sweet pea]

Matt you are producing some really nice modelling.

[Enfys_Rainbow]

This one has been on the to-do list for well over 12 months. Bachmann OBA originally in EWS colours, repainted into faded RF livery.

 

Still a few bits to do, I want to weather the interior and I've just noticed I've missed the lamp iron on the end.

 

Incidentally the mismatched planks are necessity rather than for effect. I had issues applying the Railfreight branding and a few spots where the paint lifted so factored them into the final paintwork.

 

Hope you like it!

 

 

 

 

Matt

[sb67]

That OAA is very, very nice! 👍

[Enfys_Rainbow]

23 minutes ago, sb67 said:

That OAA is very, very nice! 👍

 

Thanks Steve!

 

I've since corrected the replacement plank length (incorrectly painted above!) and done some minor weathering within (just visible if you look carefully at the photo below).

 

I also repainted the "pink" plank as I really didn't like it!

 

Matt

Edited January 4, 2023 by Enfys_Rainbow

[bradfordbuffer]

13 minutes ago, Enfys_Rainbow said:

 

Thanks Steve!

 

I've since corrected the replacement plank length (incorrectly painted above!) and done some minor weathering within (just visible if you look carefully at the photo below).

 

I also repainted the "pink" plank as I really didn't like it!

 

Matt

When are you going to do a YouTube how too?...brill weathered wagon

[Enfys_Rainbow]

1 hour ago, bradfordbuffer said:

When are you going to do a YouTube how too?...brill weathered wagon

 

Thanks! Not sure YouTube is ready for this level of excitement yet!