Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Hi Folks, here is a photo demo of the construction of a model signal box, the photos apear concave due to no wide angled lens but the model is square. cheers Peter more to come bare with me :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos more to come Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos more to come Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos more to come Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruffalo Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Very nice work so far Peter. I guess this is for 7mm? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 more photos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted April 10, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 10, 2013 Excellent work Peter - thanks for posting this. (And a suitable company too!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 and now the box finished, this is 7mm scale but I find the constructional principles aply to 4mm also cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBE Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Very nice work. Cav Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebs Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 This is a thing of absolute beauty. Thank you for this - it's amazing. How long did it take you to build this little gem? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold imt Posted April 10, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 10, 2013 Indeed a thing of beauty and I am awestruck with admiration. BUT it would help the ignorant and two left handed like myself if you could say if this came from a kit (which I doubt) and if so which one. If not which materials were selected and why, and where sourced, and which paints/finishes were used etc. The finishing "bits" like the finials, chimney etc. may be well known to better modellers but it would certainly help others (like me) to be informed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebs Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Indeed a thing of beauty and I am awestruck with admiration. BUT it would help the ignorant and two left handed like myself if you could say if this came from a kit (which I doubt) and if so which one. If not which materials were selected and why, and where sourced, and which paints/finishes were used etc. The finishing "bits" like the finials, chimney etc. may be well known to better modellers but it would certainly help others (like me) to be informed. Whilst I'm not an expert, not in anyway anywhere near gravytrain, I'd be able to tell you that he's completely scratch built this using styrene sheet of varying thicknesses, and styrene sectional pieces with Microstrip for window glazing. If you look at the finials - it looks to me like a piece of wire threaded through a plastic tube with plastic beads either end - very effective modelling Chimney - again looks like a piece of (Evergreen?) Plastic tubing - simple but effective. Forgive me if I'm being overpresumptive for answering. I'm just breaking into scratch building myself, and find it helps enormously to study the materials available (it can get rather expensive) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hi everyone and thanks for the kind comments, have thought of putting this up for some time as it gives a clearer insight to the construction methods as oposed to just text, I hope its a benefit to some. firstly this is not a kit of parts but a scratchbuild from 40thou plasticard, the windows are formed from a sheet of 60thou clear plastic, the thicker the better as you cannot see both out and in at the same time and it adds to the stability of the cabin etc. .Its not the only way to build a model signal box but one I have found to be the quickest way to construct, within a week from start to finish this model was to 7mm scale but the same methods can be used for 2 and 4mm etc. The finials were narrow Evergreen tube with lase pins super glued upside down on each end, I do use ready made finials wheneverr I can get hold of them and a good tip for 4mm scale is a cocktail stick, filed up, a few minutes work in that.. The floorboards are Slaters 4mm planking painted buff then imidiatley sanded off with wet and dry then matt black laid on and wiped away all in one go, no wiating time to dry and fixed to a piece of plasticard. the windows are formed from Evergreen microstrip 20x20 grade and fixed directly with Mek-Pak liquid glue with the use of a Mek brush which I find a must for this job as it forms a point at the end of the bristles and just a touch to the corner of the strip and the strip is fixed to the clear plastic without frosting. Slates are.paper by meanes of forming a grid pattern on the computer then printed out, and cut into strips with a sharp scalpel then a blunt scalper to nick in 3/4 way up to form the indentations then laid on by overlaping the other by milky PVA onto a sheet of cartride paper that has been stuck to the plasticard roof with Liquid poly, again a few minutes work. any more questions, ask away.. cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebs Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Once again, an absolutely fantastic tutorial. You couldn't ask for anything more comprehensive, pictorially. Thanks Peter! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hi Freebs Thanks for your apreciative comments Cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Absolutely STUNNING workmanship by a TRUE Master of the art ! Faultless!! Allan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 Hi Alan, many thanks for those encouraging comments allways very much apreciated , are you still making models? Peter A L. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted May 9, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 9, 2013 Stunning work, Peter, many thanks for posting this. Very impressed by the colouring of the brickwork - you appear to have simply left the mortar as the original base grey undercoat that you seemed to have applied part-way through the build - would I be correct in thinking this? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi Captain, Yes, re the mortar colour, the grey was the colour diliberatly applied at the start, it was the nearest colour match I could find at the time, no 147 humbrol. I must emphasise that I do my boxes similar to the way i did then but use a skeleton frame for my wall sections were as back then as in this case. laminated plastic. cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRealistic Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Wonderful piece of modelling, Peter... again, like all your stuff!! With all your experience, it must be nice to know what you're doing from start to finish... the order of things, I mean... what to do first, next, etc and how to achieve it. I seem to spend half my time just thinking about 'when and how' as my experience is minimal! I'm 'doing' a 'box at the mo and I've just picked up a couple of Springside's 4mm interior kits (Graham operates from just outside the village where I live!). He suggested I prime all the bits first... after removing the flash... but I'm wondering how on earth you go about doing that, and all the painting as well. They're things of beauty... but all so tiny. How does an experienced modeller tackle them??? I'd love to know... 'cause I'm baffled!!! Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravy Train Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 Hi Brealistic, Yes, to get the best results, clean up with a fine wire brush and or jiff and tooth brush and perhaps Humbrol primer. I just clean up with a wire brush and paint directly with enamels without primer, which might be a shock to some given the fact that I was a full time Painter & decorater for many years working for myself. I tend to make up the box first and put it together including the floor but leave the rear section off so that I can fit the interior, when fixing the instrument shelf it is allways worth checking that the levers will fit underneath :-) assuming that is their position for that type of box then fix in place the rear of the box. cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRealistic Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Really helpful advice, Peter. Thanks so much. I'll see how the 'jiff-toothbrush' combination goes first. Thing is, once painted and fitted, the parts will hardly suffer from handling... so missing out the primer shouldn't really be a problem. I've actually reached the stage you mention, except it's the front I haven't fixed yet... but having done a test, at least I know it'll be a good fit when I do! Roof yet to be got under way, but when I've finished the thing I'll post a pic or two on the 'box portfolio thread you started... which I must say has been an invaluable source of info. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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