dseagull Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 So using money recieved at Christmas, I've used the time of the great server crash of 2012 productively. I've bought a Ratio Goods Shed - the shell is currently built awaiting painting - and today have built and painted a second Ratio 4 Wheeler in the 'house colours' of the Hospital railway (Tamiya USAF Olive). This is all well and good, but the thought of dismantling and spraying a Model Rail Sentinel is still more than slightly terrifying! Now instead of settling for the basic couplings and buffers that come with the kits, I'm planning on fitting Smiths 3-Links and Dean coach buffers from Dart Castings/Frogmore Confederacy. Tomorrow's task is to paint the goods shed - and build a corner insert board for it to sit on comfortably. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Well its been a busy couple of weeks back at work - I now work in Personnel, and although I've only been there 2 months, payroll deadline day seems to come round quicker every time! - On the plus side, I'm really enjoying the work - but I've also lost my phone, so no pictures at the moment! In the shed, things have progressed significantly - the point motors now all work properly, after I spent most of a Sunday adjusting the alignment to make them throw 'all the way' reliably. On the scenic front, the Ratio Goods Shed is all but complete, and the river bed is coming along nicely. With the fear that my woodworking wasn't sound enough to ensure the previous one would be leak proof, I cheated. Well, not really - but I've not heard of it being used before. A trip to Wickes revealed some 'Mini Gutter' for the princely sum of £3.69 (for a 6' length). A suitable length was cut off and then across to fit the hole - and hey presto (apart from the ends, which will need some kind of temporary dam) - a 'riverbed' which I know will be waterproof. On the rolling stock front, the second of the coaches is now all but completed, although I still await the bits from Dart Castings (Buffers) to really finish them off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 My bits arrived from Dart Castings on Saturday, and have promptly been pressed into service - both coaches now have buffers as well as 3-link couplings, and I've started the replacement of the brick platform with MJT SR Concrete supports. I'll need a few more packets to be able to complete it though! The gutter riverbed has worked wonderfully - with some rather liberal use of hot glue, I've put a couple of plasticard blocks over both ends (which will be hidden underneath bridges). I've also given the whole thing a quick once over with some Railmatch sleeper grime - the bed itself will then be treated to some sand/rocks prior to the pouring of whatever 'water' I decide to go with. Very pleased with progress this weekend, shame it wasn't a bit longer! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Tonight's little bit of work has seen an extension to the layout - the 'headshunt' of the original plan has broken through the backscene, with the resulting hole to be hidden by a large tree (one of at least two, if not more) This is something I had been pondering for some time, but tonight decided to bite the bullet. In the current format of the layout, it leads to the end of the shed. Ideally, it would lead to a sector plate and a kickback siding to allow for decent length through running - but although it doesnt at present, there is just enough length for a small loco and 2 or 3 wagons, so I'm 'imagineering' that the passenger service north of here has been ended. Really pleased with the way the layout is coming on - plenty more to do, starting with this weekend's list, which is headed by 'build a bridge for the new section' amongst other tasks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinWalsh Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hey Stu, Are you planning to model the mill? Kev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 I'm not sure Kev. Because there wasn't actually a station at Horsebridge, I've just borrowed the name and moved the Hellingly Hospital junction a bit closer to Hailsham (Mostly because there wasn't the space for the real Hellingly trackplan in the shed!) It's an idea though... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Very interesting layout and area modeled has many possibities mate of mine modeled section of line past Steyning cement works plus the works ,you started operating this section and boy was it hard to work.We ran in LBSR,SR ,and BR a hard days operating at an exhibition you had to remember what should be were,will you run any SR stock? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinWalsh Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Just a thought, you could do it in half relief as part of your backscene, and if you do it as it is now you'll need plenty of greenry growing out of it (major dereliction) Kev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Just a thought, you could do it in half relief as part of your backscene, and if you do it as it is now you'll need plenty of greenry growing out of it (major dereliction) Kev It's a thought definatley, may have to take a trip down the road and try and get some rough dimensions. Very interesting layout and area modeled has many possibities mate of mine modeled section of line past Steyning cement works plus the works ,you started operating this section and boy was it hard to work.We ran in LBSR,SR ,and BR a hard days operating at an exhibition you had to remember what should be were,will you run any SR stock? I bet! - in an ideal world, this would be LBSCR, with all the Stroudley finery and elegant Victorian/Edwardian stock - but sadly my abilities/budget don't stretch that far, so it'll be early BR (S) - with the potential for the odd item still wearing SR livery, albeit under a lot of grime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 It's been a cold few days with time limited in the shed to the moments when I decide to brave it - but there has been more progress. The bridge for the new section is now built, and DAS clay has been applied to the Goods Yard. This wasn't without it's issues - I used emulsion as reccomended by a certain Mr Nevard - but chose a rather washed out, pale colour that isn't overly convincing on my trip to Wickes. The plan is to cover that with a light spray of Sleeper Grime - with the planned 'slightly overgrown' nature of the track on this section, the ropey bit should be pretty well covered after that! Having taken today off with holiday to use up before the end of March, and having picked up some static grass fibres from The Hobby Box on Wednesday night, I decided to give the 'Hairy Cigar' method (As seen here: http://www.rmweb.co....__1#entry412208 ) a go on an offcut of the same Celotex that I have used to make the gentle slope that runs to the backscene on the fiddle yard side of the river. Results? - Well, no camera, but - after a first try which didn't work at all (due to not waiting long enough for the glue to become tacky), I'm very impressed - it stuck and stood up, and then once the hoover had been waved over it, looked a lot neater - final word on the subject goes to Charlie (4), who when asked what he thought Daddy was making, replied instantly "it looks like grass". Well, it's not quite an MRJ article or a place on the spinny gallery at the top of RMWeb, but it works for me! Finally - in the spirit of my recent Modelling Musings thread, I took the opportunity to be a tight arse experiment with some natural materials - I now have a baking tray (don't tell the Missus) with some soil from the front garden that has been ground down to powder with the aid of my old work boots and a hammer, before being dried in the oven. This will be tomorrow morning's experiment - to see how it looks (Waiting for some daylight) on another test piece of Celotex before that gets the Hairy Cigar treatment as well. I've pinched the tea strainer to apply it - definatley don't tell the missus that one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
witherbrow Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 focus work boots by any chance? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 focus work boots by any chance? Royal Mail. I've had them for 10 years and they are still going! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 The dried earth really helped - it looks the business, although I did suffer on my second test piece from using a bit of 'cigar' left over from yesterday, which really needed a bit more green and less 'blonde'. Despite this, the technique is something I'm now getting there with - still not quite ready to go to town on the actual layout with it, but it won't be long. So with no football today, perfecting one of the test pieces will be priority - but I also want to finish off the DAS-covered track in the yard and perhaps make a start on the riverbed this weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
witherbrow Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 quick before the 'snow' arrives Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 quick before the 'snow' arrives We did have a brief flurry this morning, very fine though and didn't lay. I did a second mix and it's worked excellently - more green, less blonde, over the sieved dried earth and then with earth sprinkled over the top to fill in the gaps. A quick shake, a blast with the hoover, and it looks great. I've found my 'mix'! I've also given the sidings that have been 'clayed' a blast of sleeper grime, cleaned the railtops and made a start on the riverbed. My lists don't usually get completed in under a couple of hours! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Having located the camera, as promised here are a few pictures. Firstly, an overview of the grass tester - the lighter one was my first mix - far too little green! The second part, with dried sieved earth as ground cover. Could still benefit from trimming, and the small size of this piece didn't help with photography - but I like the effect at least. Finally - the riverbed. Wickes Mini-Gutter, some offcuts of Plasticard to dam the ends, dried earth from the garden and a few stones from the edge of the road. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
witherbrow Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 you have been busy! looks bloody marvelous Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Cheers Ash. The quality of the photos isn't the best due to the light in our kitchen, but I'm pleased with the real thing at least! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 The chance discovery of a packet of unopened Evergreen 'H' Section at the weekend led to an interesting discovery. If I put it on it's side, it is just the right height for a Monty's Models Tradesman to sit on. Needless to say, I took advantage of this and have used it with some plasticard partitions to model the interior of the coaches. Painting (with partitions in situ) was a little tricky, but I've managed it and it looks good, if you get down to eye level - I'll try and get the coaches out in the garden on Saturday morning to see how they look in natural daylight. Sadly though I can still not declare the 'rake' (all 2 of them, unless someone can think of a way to make a curved platform section to extent the Wills Halt?) finished, as I will need some more passengers to sit inside alongside the little fella from Montys - but at least the roofs have been painted too, so can sit on the top pending final fixing. On a more disapointing note, I also managed to spill a bit of poly cement on the side of one of the coaches when I was fitting the partitions - wiping it off took the spray paint with it, so this will have to face 'away from operator'! In better news though, I've also found some unopened and unwanted scenic bits which will be offloaded to invest in another pack of static grass (more colour variation), which should mean I can finally crack on with that. Finally - the station building. Perusing the Cuckoo Line (AC Elliott/Wild Swan) book the other night, I decided that a scale model of Hellingly Station wouldn't fit. The Up Platform Shelter from Hailsham though, with a bit of careful slicing and fitting into the backscene, will. Only problem now is how to scale up from the 2mm/ft drawings in the book to 4mm/ft for the model - this should be one of those things that is devastatingly simple, but I worry that if I try and make a photocopy, straight lines won't be straight due to the binding of the book, etc. Would it be easier to measure and draw? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinWalsh Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Finally - the station building. Perusing the Cuckoo Line (AC Elliott/Wild Swan) book the other night, I decided that a scale model of Hellingly Station wouldn't fit. The Up Platform Shelter from Hailsham though, with a bit of careful slicing and fitting into the backscene, will. Only problem now is how to scale up from the 2mm/ft drawings in the book to 4mm/ft for the model - this should be one of those things that is devastatingly simple, but I worry that if I try and make a photocopy, straight lines won't be straight due to the binding of the book, etc. Would it be easier to measure and draw? Stu, One of the member's of our club is doing a 7mm:1ft version of the main station building at hailsham for the new O scale layout set loosely in the Brighton region/era, would you like me to ask him if it's possible to do a line drawing of the shelter at 4mm:1ft for you? Kev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Stu, One of the member's of our club is doing a 7mm:1ft version of the main station building at hailsham for the new O scale layout set loosely in the Brighton region/era, would you like me to ask him if it's possible to do a line drawing of the shelter at 4mm:1ft for you? Kev If you could Kev that would be wonderful! - I plan to do several trial runs with paper templates as I am going to need to cut slices of the back off to get the best balance between what fits and the space available, so that would be great! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinWalsh Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I've spoken to my friend and he said he should be able to run you up some line drawings in the next couple of weeks. When he has done them I'll arrange someway of getting them to you. Kev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 I've spoken to my friend and he said he should be able to run you up some line drawings in the next couple of weeks. When he has done them I'll arrange someway of getting them to you. Kev Excellent, many thanks! - Let me know when they are ready and come round for a cuppa! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dseagull Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 And as promised, a picture of those coaches in daylight. I used the auto setting on digital camera, which appears to have made things a little dark, but I'm happy. Roof of the coach with the bricks behind it needs touching up on the end, both coaches need a few passengers and the roofs fixed down, but still, I think they'll look the part trunding down the branch behind a suitably grotty tank engine of some variety (D1 please Bachmann/Dapol ) EDIT: Photo in better light on Page 5 Apologies that my photo plank is little more than a plank! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
witherbrow Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 cracking pair you've got there Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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