Squeezebelly Lane Depot N inglenook in a Table- Still Going

[devondynosoar118]

Too small plus I have never seen one at the tip! Pixie et al suggested combining 2mm fs and alcohol distribution, don't know why...

If the light is good this weekend I will post some pictures for those who missed Taunton.

[Pugsley]

I'd also missed this on the forum, and was very impressed when I saw it on Sunday. Real imaginative modelling, and I was impressed at how well the N stock did for slow running during shunting.

[devondynosoar118]

I used 2 packs of fish tank plant weights and most of the swearing dictionary on the wagons. I will get the locos running better and still have a bit more to do on the DGs to get 100% reliability. I reckon I got about 85% reliability on the day. I can get 5525 at barely moving but bizarrely 4561 which has the CT75 chip in it that cost more runs worse!

Thanks for kind comments, it will be better when properly detailed.

[bcnPete]

and most of the swearing dictionary

 

that's why its good to have a modelling swear box...say the words...then put the coppers/notes in a tin and use it to fund your hobby...works for me a f*****g treat...

[Stubby47]

Pete, I bet you can swear in two languages !

[devondynosoar118]

As it was sunny(ish) today I thought I would fill in the blanks for those who missed Taunton. There are also some details the less observant/standing peeps may have missed. The first picture shows the side that was hidden at Taunton by the viewing angle forced by the lip on the table.

 

Here is the replacement for the row of stock Scalescenes warehouses. It contains the local Morris dealers, their parts dept and a haulage firm offices. This was a post war new build on a bomb site.

 

Next the coal merchants. Had I been building this now I would have added a siding in their yard with an extra dummy point in the cobbled section. Bert the coal man tells me the building boom has tempted him to stock more timber, bricks and builders supplies again, so this may be my next bit of development. In this photograph we see Evans senior, shovelling, and Mr Ford filling sacks ready for the next days deliveries.

Evans Junior and Mr Bartosz, a naturalised Polish refugee on the shovel.

 

On the other side of the layout, I had a corner that was really awkward so I put the Scalescenes boiler house in there, converted into low relief, with a 1/2 of the chimney. 2 vies here, the B&W one was a cheat as the light got brighter!

Well thats all for this update, I will probably leave this for a few weeks now to concentrate on Kingsbridge.

[devondynosoar118]

SBL came out to play this afternoon as I had an hour or too spare. Following Taunton 4561 went into the works for overhaul and thorough cleaning. This was its first proper turn since overhaul. Performance was much improved and it took my mind off the fact that I destroyed a CT75 chip this morning in the wretched Farish 03 which I have decided to have professionally chipped as It has already consumed far too much time and energy, despite having successfully run a few times it has been plagued by shorts and poor running.

Seen from the south bridge, 4561 shunting whilst the coal men continue to load the lorry, a Base Toys Foden which is far too shiny at present but a great little model.

 

Assembling the cut of wagons of outgoing goods and making a delivery to the coal siding.

 

Pulling out the tank wagon ready to pick up a barrier van before taking the 5 wagon cut to the main yard for the morning goods.

[SNCF stephen]

This is a superb model. When I model the goods shed on my layout I intend to use the DAS clay method you have used to great effect.

[devondynosoar118]

Thanks, it is very Zen/boring depending on your mood. I stole the technique from Tetley Mills. Have you seen Ian's work here,

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/47504-the-berwick-tweed-dock-and-spittal-railway-2mm-fs/page__fromsearch__1

Some different and very successful techniques for stonework and setts. Liked your 3d printing stuff very much, innovative and well executed.

[SNCF stephen]

Thanks for the compliments RE the 3D printing. One day I hope to be able to make proper model kits.

 

I had seen Ian's work on Tetleys Mills. I have always been impressed by the level of detail achieved. However, I think this layout was one of two I saw at about the same time in N Gauge. It really adds so much more detail to an area.

[devondynosoar118]

Dave is mr Tetley, Ian is the Berwick, Tweed Dock and Spittle railway in 2FS.

I would certainly do the cobbles the same way again, the main thing is to use genuine DAS clay as other brands seem to crack.

[SNCF stephen]

I agree. Although I purchased a brand from eBay that was DAS but branded under another name. No cracking and it is very good stuff.

[devondynosoar118]

Well, with another exhibition invite, to TRAC in November- see link, I am doing some extra stuff to SBL to make it more complete.

https://sites.google.com/site/traclubsite/2011-railex-report

 

My first job has been to add some weeds to the trackside, partly to blend the buildings in better but also because I wanted it to look a little run down as many yards did after the war. I have also now got an 08 shunter as part of my later BR fleet and this will be improved and DCC converted, as well as finishing my 04.

The weeds were made from 2 products, 6mm Mini Natur tufts (winter) either straight out the box or with the ends painted with PVA and a variety of green/brown scatters added for straggling leaves. The lower sections are strips cut from fine foliage mat, glued down then manipulated using dentistry tools to get into gaps and form more natural shapes.

Here are the two tuft types. I was aiming for a more nettle like appearance from the leaved tufts.

Here are all 3 types along the warehouse wall.

A micro close up to show cruel detail and that I need to dust the layout again. I spotted a few visible gaps this way which I went back to and filled.

All in all a fun little job to do! I am planning 2 big things for the show, which I am not going to reveal until the day, so if you are around Somerset, Devon or Dorset please come and say hello.

[Gloucester Road]

Those weeds and nettles look really good. Will need to copy this when i bed some of my buildings in.

[devondynosoar118]

Thank you- I expect you could also make some of your own tufts in the same way you do the grass mats, that way the grasses will be similar colours. One advantage about something so tiny (SBL is less than 2 square ft!) is that these little bits make a big difference.

[bcnPete]

That's the September update you promised us in August..

 

Worth the wait though...those weeds look great Tom - Nice work...

[devondynosoar118]

No, that update was for the big layout! I have that update nearly ready. Like you I have several things to dip into. Just finished a flying balsa wood hurricane last week.

[devondynosoar118]

Just to bring you all up to date, I have been making the table viewable from both sides, with a new overlay to hide the post war buildings and add to the illusion. I have had to make it very thin to fit over the stuff underneath. o explain its later demolition I modelled a bit of incendiary damage at the far end, which was fortunately put out by the works fire engine before it could spread, but enough damage to justify its post war development.

 

 

I used some photo trickery to increase the depth a bit.

 

 

What now happens when I show it is that I have the original warehouse side on show first, with the overlay on the other side of the street using my wartime mixed company stock and PO mineral wagons. Then I can turn the whole lot round so you can see the other side, with the 50's buildings, then run the BR stock and 50's road vehicles. I now have a working 03 shunter and Conflat match truck for the BR stuff and will use either a prairie or the new Dapol 57xx for the wartime stuff.

My next project is to install the micro cam so visitors to my lounge set can watch tv too! Watch out for us at the Beaminster show in January, new stuff to be added again too.

[devondynosoar118]

In response to a request elsewhere I agreed to post a brief how to on the quick and dirty way to fit DG's to NEM stock. I know that Julia has been developing an etch but this method requires no extra parts and is a bit less elegant but it does work!

Picture 1 shows two things, first just how ugly rapidos are and second the need to check the height difference between the buffing plate on the DG coupling and the top or bottom of the factory coupling. Also note the fact that the buffing plate of the DG should be set up to sit beyond the buffers to avoid buffer lock. 

 

I started by chopping the end off the rapid, leaving the part that fits the NEM socket to attach the DG to. I cut the DG off the fret and then cut the tail down to match the width of the plastic coupling. I used the rapido on my 57xx as it was in there, on the Farish 08 I used the long shafted knuckle coupling you get in loco packs as the DG needed to stick out more to clear the buffers. I chopped the end off using a sharp scalpel. Throw the big bit of Rapido away.

 

This shows how I build the hook end DG, with just the delay latch. This is less than 4mm long! At this point put the tail of the pastic coupling into the Nem pocket and check how long the "tail" of the DG will need to be. In order for it to work you must have enough room for the buffing plate to clear the model buffers and the delay latch (the bent over bit on top) must be able to lift up beyond 45 degrees and must easily drop back down when in position or the loop will get stuck or stay on the hook, causing swear words. You may have to file your plastic tail piece or cut a slot in it with a jewellers piercing saw to get the height right. You may have to raise it too, I used plasticard packing on my 08 for this.

 

Now trim the tail of the DG to length and glue on top or underneath the plastic piece in the NEM pocket with cyano (tiny bit only!) if all your testing is right it should look like the above picture. Note the position of the buffing plate and the wire loop only on the wagon coupling. Compare this with picture 1 to see the massive visual improvement over Rapidos!

 

When you get it right it should sit fairly nicely when coupled. You can get quite close coupling on wagons but this is trickier on the locos as the cosmetic coupling hook and vacuum pipes tend to get in the way. 

 

Hope that helped, I will post a better picture explaining the parts of the DG in a bit.

 

 

[SNCF stephen]

Nice work with the couplings there. I am also really impressed with the burnt out building. That is superb. 

[Black Sheep]

Got a few jobs done this weekend. With this layout I can work at home which is a definite plus.

First I did the area of inset track with DAS CLAY. Having seen the poor finish of its rivals I decided to use the real branded stuff. This area will be a small cobbled yard area which I want to have the feel of a pre grouping open yard modernised with a crane and small shed and loading platform.

Board 2.jpg

 

 

 

Then I ballasted the tracks, using my usual sand and tinted PVA method. When everything is dry I will highlight the ballast and track, as well as sand and scribe the DAS.

Board 1.jpg

 

 

Wheel clearance was done with a coarse wheeled wagon on the wet clay, then careful removal of some of the clay from the rail edges with a scalpel. You can also use strips of card or plasticard laid along the inside of the rail.

 

 

so a small piece of plastic strip in and on top of the rail to keep clearance and clean?

 

been trying to figure out how I can make a dirt yard with the rails set into the surface.

not sure I have the patience of cobbles.

[Mikkel]

Hi dd, I really like the damaged building and the photo trickery you've made. It's very convincing. It couldn't have been easy finding a photo that fitted the scene so well?

 

I like the idea of turning things around to get a different time period - clever stuff.

[devondynosoar118]

Thanks gents, just to answer a few questions:

Inset track, you can put strips of plasticard along the inside edge in the wet clay to form the flange way, I found it not necessary as careful scalpel work and running a wagon thru worked fine. No need to cover the rail top as you can clean it easily when the clay is dry. For ash or dirt up to the rail top I would use Chris Nevard's clay technique shown in his blog and Tom F's "Leaman Road" this uses DAS clay and a brush to do the dirt. Inset track is only do able with a limited number of products as the thickness required causes shrink cracking, only genuine DAS clay worked for me, but CK and Mr Harrap are fans of Tetrion tile grout and filler. Cobbles are worth the effort, if you can't be bothered to scribe them Chris Nevard used the end of a ball point pen to great effect on his brewery layout, just dabbed into the wet clay. In N a small brass tube would probably work.

Mikkel, I stole the multiple viewing angles idea from you! It took a while to find a suitable picture, if you look carefully there are a number of anachronisms like aluminium scaffold in there. My lounge stage set that goes with it now includes comfy chairs for viewers and a TV showing the layout from a boom mounted mini camera, a rug and eventually the layout information will be in the form of mocked up newspapers for viewers to read in the "lounge." I have a furniture to trainset ratio of about 6:1! The pictures above have highlighted the need to hide the cardboard edge in the rubble a bit.

Stephen, thanks for kind comments!

[mjcampbell]

been trying to figure out how I can make a dirt yard with the rails set into the surface.

not sure I have the patience of cobbles.

 

Here's how I did it using DAS - albeit in 014, but other than the flange clearances and the size of the cobbles/setts I'm sure the same technique would work in other scales. In N you wouldn't need much depth, so some kind of press might work well? Anyway, I found it less tedious than I expected, and better than trying to cut plastic sheet to fit round the pointwork!

 

http://michaelsrailways.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/load-of-old-cobbles.html

[devondynosoar118]

Very useful and informative, thanks for that, the technique around point work was very clever.