Dock Green

[chaz]

I have earlier Modellers from the late 50s / early 60s which are Dock Green era. Could scan a cover, ie The Denny Special if you you wish Chaz.

 

I think my leg is being pulled.....what size does the cover of RM scale to at 1:43.5?   

[Donw]

I don't think even my double strength reading glasses I use for 2mm stuff would enable me to read an 0 scale Modeller.

 

Don

[chaz]

Progress....

I assembled the remaining landings, so now all four are ready to install with the top one already attached to a flight of stairs.

I also fitted the brackets with the fixing pins which will secure them to the wall. These are short lengths of 0.7mm NS wire (brass would be just as good but I have plenty of NS,  bought for a model which was not carried through).

 

 

I used a simple technique for getting the wires to project the desired distance from the wall. The wires were started in the holes and a piece of packing was placed up against them. The wires wire then pressed in with a piece of card, the packing stopping them at the required distance. I then tried the bracket on the wires. If it would not sit quite upright when looked at from the front I eased the two holes slightly with a cutting broach to give a little "wiggle room". the brackets themselves are very delicate and will not stand bending or twisting.

I placed a block of pine against the side of the bracket - which I could then hold square to the surface whilst I soldered it. I cut a "V" shaped indent in the bottom edge of the block to accommodate the boss and the wire so that the bracket could sit accurately against it.

 

 

Bearing in mind that the holes in the wall might vary a little from one bracket to another (down to my marking out and the hole being drilled through card and wood) all the brackets have been numbered so that they can matched up with the holes. As they are so small I put the "numbers" on as dots with a spirit-based pen.

 

When the fire escape is finished I will fix it in position by soldering washer plates to the wires where they come through the wall.  Part of the wall sits against the lighting pillar so the wires must not project - the back of the wall on this section must remain flush. So I have cut the card away, revealing the wood spacers inside and forming a rebate in which the wires can be fixed without  protruding.

 

 

It won't be long now before I start soldering up the sub-assemblies, landings onto brackets and then stair flights to landings.

 

 

Here are the brackets on the wall and the landings ready to be added.

 

 

The brackets are a very snug fit so I am sure I need to ease the wire holes from 0.7mm to 0.8mm before I assemble. Getting the escape off the wall once it's one complete unit will not be easy without damage if the grip on the wires is too firm.

 

More soon.

 

Chaz

Edited June 11, 2015 by chaz

[Donw]

You have really thought this out well. No wonder is it coming together fast. Great stuff.

Don

[chaz]

You have really thought this out well. No wonder is it coming together fast. Great stuff.

Don

 

Thanks Don. I think the only way to assemble it is to use the wall itself as a building jig. This is a bit scary - it's only when I assemble it that I will see how accurately I have positioned the holes in the wall. There is little chance of adjustment in Peter's etched parts - they demand accuracy.

 

Once the landings are on the brackets the stairs can be added to the landings. Once all the joints are securely soldered I will slide the wires out and lift the model clear. With 12 wires very snug in their holes this could be tricky - easing these from 0.7mm to 0.8mm should make it easier to get the assembly off the wall. Once it's off I can finish the wall and while I am doing that I can order up the brass I need for the railing supports. I haven't decided exactly what material I will use - possible 1mm square angle or maybe small tube - either choice will require some nifty drilling jigs.

 

Looking out of the window I don't think today is going to be a butterfly day (see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/83228-spring-is-sprung-butterflies-are-out/page-7) so I might well make some progress.

 

I think I might also put the numbers etc on the tube wagon. The paint doesn't need two weeks to harden for that, but I will allow a fortnight or so before I weather it.

 

Chaz

 

edit - after a little thought I think it best to solder the landings on the brackets before I open the holes to 0.8mm. There should be no problem getting them off the wall and there will be some advantage in keeping accuracy just so.

Edited June 12, 2015 by chaz

[Pete Harvey]

Ah but was was the filling?  

[Donw]

Plastikard :-)

 

supermarket ones then.

Don

[chaz]

Ah but was was the filling?  

 

 

Plastikard :-)

 

YUM!

[chaz]

Test fitting a landing on its bracket...

 

 

...and tack soldered at the back....

 

 

...then checking that it sits square on the wall....

 

 

 

OOPS  

a test fit of a flight of stairs from the top landing to the next down revealed an error, witnessed by the fact that the notches on the underside of the landing frame missed the brackets by some 7mm.

 

 

Obviously I had made a mistake with my marking out. Ten minutes with a rule and Peter's dimensioned drawing showed that the holes for the the right hand brackets were 7mm too close to my vertical datum - the left hand edge of the wall. Not a problem, four new holes quickly drilled in the correct position  and I am back on track. Fortunately the wood spacers through which the holes pass are horizontal  so the new holes pass through just like the incorrect ones.

 

Quite a lot of anglo-saxon before I got to this stage. One of the landings just wouldn't fit nicely onto its bracket and it took two attempts at dismantling and re-assembling it before it would.

 

 

In the photo above you can see the "wrong" holes to the left of the brackets, fitted into correctly positioned ones. The mistakes will disappear when the brick sheets are glued on.

 

Last picture for today is the fire escape in position (I just had to try it  ).

 

 

I couldn't push the brackets fully home as the fixing wires can't be trimmed until the wall is faced with brick, and the excess is fouling the lighting pillar.

 

I haven't put the bottom flight on yet. As the building is going to be fitted and removed when setting the layout up and breaking it down I need to think about whether the bottom of the flight needs a fixing and if so how this will work.

 

Chaz

Edited June 12, 2015 by chaz

[Simond]

Chaz

 

Maybe a magnet - could hide under the half-landing?

 

(Well, assuming you can't buy brass magnets, maybe two magnets )

 

 

Best

Simon

[Pete Harvey]

Chaz

 

Are you going to solder a plate across the back of the pins to fix it to the wall?

 

Pete

[chaz]

Chaz

 

Are you going to solder a plate across the back of the pins to fix it to the wall?

 

Pete

 

Yes Peter, but obviously not until the wall is finished.

Edited June 13, 2015 by chaz

[chaz]

I did drill out the wire holes, not to 0.8mm as I couldn't find that size drill but I found an old number drill that was 0.78mm or thereabouts, before I soldered in the flights. The fire escape now lifts off easily with no tendency for a too tight grip causing problems.

 

 

It's not going to look convincing until the railings are added.

 

 

With so many wires a pair of tweezers is essential to put it back.

 

Attention will now switch to the wall.

 

Chaz

Edited June 13, 2015 by chaz

[Donw]

Good work Chaz. regarding the bottom flight. I assume you want to be able to remove the building with the fire escape attached. I would suggest a piece of rod soldered onto the last tread on the underside which would go through the wall like the others. ground level built up to the underside.

Don

[Siberian Snooper]

Chaz

 

Would it be possible to fit a permanently attached paved area to the bottom of the wall, to which you could affix the bottom ladder to. If the paved are was different to the surrounding area a few weeds along the join would help disguise it, hopefully!

[chaz]

Good work Chaz. regarding the bottom flight. I assume you want to be able to remove the building with the fire escape attached. I would suggest a piece of rod soldered onto the last tread on the underside which would go through the wall like the others. ground level built up to the underside.

Don

 

Thanks Don.

 

"you want to be able to remove the building with the fire escape attached"   Oh yes. When we are packing up at the end of a show speed is of the essence.

 

"a piece of rod soldered onto the last tread on the underside which would go through the wall like the others. ground level built up to the underside"

That would be possible, but it would need disguising or hiding - the bottom of that flight will be 22mm from the wall.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

Chaz

 

Would it be possible to fit a permanently attached paved area to the bottom of the wall, to which you could affix the bottom ladder to. If the paved are was different to the surrounding area a few weeds along the join would help disguise it, hopefully!

 

Yes it would. I wouldn't be too worried about hiding a join - joins, slight changes in level etc are commonplace. Weeds might well feature - the base of the wall itself is difficult as it needs to slide sideways to release the whole thing from the fitting on the back of the warehouse. A few weeds and clutter glued to the wall will help to hide the slight gap that haunts some model buildings.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

Thinking back to yesterday and the assembly of the various bits of the fire escape the thing that impressed me the most was how well it all went together. The landings were very tricky to assemble with the deck plates etched from very thin brass, thinned even further with a lovely half-etched chequerplate effect. These buckled and rippled quite quickly with the heat from the soldering iron which did make for some fun and games. I had several goes at assembling the second landing (counting from the ground) to get the frame to fit the notches on the brackets. This was made trickier because the deck plate is in two pieces which butt together above the central frame member. It was all getting close to the limit of my skills.....but the landings had to be close to spot on if the flights of stairs were to fit.

 

Once I had the landings soldered to their brackets and in place on the wall I faced up to the scary bit - would the stairs fit? They were tricky to place until I realised that if the top ends were engaged with the landing first the bottoms would slide through the slots that Peter had designed into the deck plates. Some of these had to be eased slightly - tricky, as these were far too narrow to allow use of a needle file. A piece of fine grade wet and dry paper could be slipped in and would allow the gap to be widened - very gently! But the flights fitted nigh on perfectly, the half-etch overlaps closing up very nicely and the resultant angle of the flights looking good.

 

Full credit is due to Peter Harvey - I can't begin to understand how the design work for this model could be so accurate that the only slight bodges (solder fills, gently bending of tabs etc) are entirely down to my assembly. If I have any criticism of Peter's work it is that it includes few if any concessions to the skill of the modeller - you have to get good at putting it together as the parts are so fine - there is little room for error.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

Here is the fire escape on the wall with the bottom flight popped into place but not yet soldered...

 

 

...and a view from the side shows the way the bottom of the escape is spaced away from the wall.

 

 

On reflection I'm not sure whether I need to worry about fixing the bottom. The escape will eventually be fixed to the wall. I plan to make a box to protect the model on the drive to and from a show. When the wall is fitted it is slid sideways a little above its final position and then firmed down onto the platform once it is locked into the rebate. Providing I am careful (and it will always be me!) when fitting and removing the wall the brasswork should be fine.

 

I could put a piece of card under the wall extending out over the platform to which the steps could be fixed - but I can't see how this could be braced and so it would be susceptable to warping, certainly a gap or two is likely to show.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

That last photo shows up the featureless, uninteresting top surface of the platform. I think a few joints, repairs etc with a few weeds would improve the look and would suggest that this end see little activity - there hasn't been a fire! Up to now I have ignored this little corner as I suspect most show visitors do. But if I am attracting their attention with the fire escape I need to think again.

 

Chaz

[Simond]

Chaz

 

If you can find a way of ensuring flatness (and I suspect 1/4" Perspex might be a suitable route) then the pavement-fixed-to-the-wall suggestion from SS is attractive. Maybe it could be braced with a suitable buttress course along the foot of the wall, and a couple of blocks of something solid camouflaged as those ubiquitous but anonymous cupboards that one finds in such places. Perhaps a fire hose cupboard, or a wiring cabinet?

 

With weeds etc along the kerb edge it would hopefully disguise its join, and break up the featurelessness of the platform below. And provide an excuse for grids, etc, and imaginatively, stop any rainwater in the street finding its way into the lower doorway in your wall.

 

Great fun, this "modelling by proxy",

 

Cheers

Simon

[chaz]

Chaz

 

If you can find a way of ensuring flatness (and I suspect 1/4" Perspex might be a suitable route) then the pavement-fixed-to-the-wall suggestion from SS is attractive. Maybe it could be braced with a suitable buttress course along the foot of the wall, and a couple of blocks of something solid camouflaged as those ubiquitous but anonymous cupboards that one finds in such places. Perhaps a fire hose cupboard, or a wiring cabinet?

 

With weeds etc along the kerb edge it would hopefully disguise its join, and break up the featurelessness of the platform below. And provide an excuse for grids, etc, and imaginatively, stop any rainwater in the street finding its way into the lower doorway in your wall.

 

Great fun, this "modelling by proxy",

 

Cheers

Simon

 

Thanks for that Simon. However I have decided that there is no need for the bottom flight of steps to be fixed at all. It will not be vulnerable when in position, nor when in its box. The only time it will be at risk is when fitting the wall in position or removing it, and as I will be doing that I should be able to ensure that it doesn't get damaged. In fact it's probably less fragile than the somersault signal. In any case an impact strong enough to damage the fire escape is likely to do so whether the bottom flight is anchored or not. Yes?

 

"A couple of blocks of something solid camouflaged as those ubiquitous but anonymous cupboards that one finds in such places. Perhaps a fire hose cupboard, or a wiring cabinet?"

 

That's a good idea. When the detailing of the wall is done and the fire escape finished and painted I will look at what other bits and bobs might be arranged under the steps and against the wall. You might recall the "anonymous cupboards" I used to disguise some afterthought T-nuts on the retaining walls.

 

 

 

 

Something a bit bigger and on the ground, not on legs might answer.....

 

Chaz

Edited June 14, 2015 by chaz

[Barnaby]

A bike rack or power transformer feeder station mounted on hard standing of some description.  Mind you thinking about that, having the stairs pass over the top of the transformers may not be a wise move nor would storing anything that could catch fire there.

 

I'm sure something will spring into your mind.

[chaz]

A bike rack or power transformer feeder station mounted on hard standing of some description.  Mind you thinking about that, having the stairs pass over the top of the transformers may not be a wise move nor would storing anything that could catch fire there.

 

I'm sure something will spring into your mind.

 

You are pre-supposing intelligence on the part of pre-H & S managers Barnaby! But, yes, something will, but probably not a spirit store 

[chaz]

A bit of progress with the wall...

 

I have glued on some strips of buff card to represent sills and lintels but the extra thickness will cause a problem with the escape. The brackets need a level surface.

 

Adding a few extra strips of the card has produced a level surface for the brackets.

 

It's going to be a challenge fitting the brick sheets around all these. The extra strips do look a bit unlikely but will make sense when the escape is fitted. Of course they have covered the holes but these can be drilled through from the back once the PVA has dried.

 

Chaz