RMweb Premium DLT Posted May 19, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 19, 2016 I have seen stunning results using the salt method, but usually on models of prototypes that rust; such as tatty industrial diesels, or old water tanks. Perhaps a timber-bodied brakevan wasn't particularly suitable for this method? Just a thought, Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 Chris, Dave, Thanks for the feedback I saw a van on WT I think that showed a very effective "worn paint over wood" which inspired me to have a go. I think it's one of those things, I'd have been pretty astonished if I'd achieved perfection on the first attempt. I think the worn look will come with distressed paint, rather than starting with distressed brass. I don't want the "rotting in a field" appearance! best Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 21, 2016 Author Share Posted May 21, 2016 Need to glue the roof on. It also needs instanters but I don't have any, so 3-links for now. Best Simon 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 21, 2016 Author Share Posted May 21, 2016 The lettering looks straighter in real life.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Great looking model. I like the way you did the paint work even if not 100% succussful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 22, 2016 Author Share Posted May 22, 2016 thanks Peter the paint is rattle-can grey, and then overcoated with a mix of humbrol satin black and track dirt (much more black than dirt on the chassis, about 50/50 and lots of thinners on the body & roof - brushed downwards to simulate the effects of gravity and rain). The hand rails are thinned humbrol white with the merest drop of dirt, and thus whilst actually white, do not stand out like the proverbial thumb. The glazing was laser cut acrylic (possibly quicker than marking it out and cutting with a knife!) glued in with Glue 'n Glaze, the stove is humbrol matt black on very thin (odd, the paint had sort of gone-off since I last used it - sort of mixture of jelly and flecks - not at all sure why, so I binned it) though I could have used metalcote to get that black-lead appearance. The interior is GW coach cream, and in the end, I didn't fit the seats and stuff because you can't see them! Foot boards were a mix of a couple of likely shades of humbrol, again the thinned dirt & black mixture to highlight the edges, and tone it down a bit. The buffers were heated to red and dropped in oil to blacken them, as were the coupling links. The coupling hooks are Premier, and so milled brass. I filed the hook to a more trapeziodal section (like a long chamfer on the front) and metal blacked them as I HATE brass coupling hooks - the real things were forged steel!!! As the metal black was a tad patchy, I hid the final hints of non-ferocious metal under some black spirit felt-tip-pen. The wheels were covered in paint from the spraying, so I cleaned the treads with acetone. I will add some corrosion / rust / track dirt to the underframe and then I think it's finished. I think it looks suitably care-worn, and if I had any refils for those awful glass fibre brushes, the lettering would be even more faded. I was talking to Alan (Quarryscapes) of this parish about possibly making some stencils, as I have the laser, which will allow some fancy artwork to be made relatively easily. The plan is to facilitate spraying of the paint to get a faded and worn appearance - his experience however is that the paint can run under the stencil. I will experiment as time allows and report back. best Simon 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 22, 2016 Author Share Posted May 22, 2016 (edited) Ok, undergubbins suitably tinted.... Humbrol rust wash applied to the wheels and brake shoes, oily wash applied to springs, axle boxes and spring hangers. I reckon it's time to move on. Or back. I could get on with the JLTRT Toplights... Or the loco shed, or the baseboards. Or finally finish the b.,..,y bathroom. And the lettering isn't straight... Edited May 22, 2016 by Simond 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted May 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2016 Need to glue the roof on. It also needs instanters but I don't have any, so 3-links for now. image.jpeg Best Simon Would it have had instanters with the Cambrian lettering? GW or BR lettering with instanters sounds more likely to me. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 fair point Don, not sure when they were fitted. Your suggestion is very welcome looking at it this morning, it needs weights and a number too... best Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) Finally finished buffer beams & corridor connectors on the Toplights. Hopefully the videos will work! https://youtu.be/XL5S-CpSjzc And https://youtu.be/s6Z0DB0fX5w Bell 4-5, no tail lamp !!! Slight problems with bogies rocking to be sorted on the all third nearer the monster, as it derailed a couple of times, otherwise, it all seems to work, and I can set about window glazing, handles & commodes, transfers and weathering. Nice to see my 47xx out for a run too. They're building a new one in 12" scale, looking forward to seeing that. http://www.4709.org.uk Best Simon Edited June 11, 2016 by Simond 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 Well, Porth Dinllaen has finally kicked off. Chartham timber (usual disclaimer, excellent service) delivered the timber for the loco shed baseboards today - two pieces of 144x20 planed square white wood, two sheets of 4mm ply, and a further sheet cut into 150mm strips, and the final sheet cut in half. The latter will be the backscene. Three of the 150mm strips and the two pieces of white wood were glued and pinned together today, with the help of my daughter, to form this; a six inch square tubular spine 3.6 metres long, for the layout. All being well, the next beam will be made tomorrow, and then it'll stand on its own three legs... There will be a fourth leg, cantilevered out from the back of the main spine. This rather odd structure has been devised due to the unusual banana-shaped baseboards, and the desire to mount the whole shebang on castors. Watch this space (it'll be more interesting than the b....y referendum anyway) Best Simon 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 (edited) Next instalment. All but 3 of the bits of wood cut to complete the frames, and "shoes" put on the ends of the legs to accept the castors. I'll thin these down once the glue is set. Assembly will continue tomorrow... Best Simon Edited June 22, 2016 by Simond 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 Legs now have castors. Hammerhead is done. Will make the offset leg & join it all together tomorrow. Fingers crossed! Simon 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ChrisN Posted June 23, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 23, 2016 Simon, I assume the castors have brakes on them even though I cannot see them, well maybe one round the other side where I would expect it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 Chris, two of the four castors have brakes, they will be the front right and the left. The other two, which you can't get at, without crawling, don't. The layout is in a corner, and without crawling and climbing up the back, it would not be possible to do anything at the back - so it is arranged to move out, and back, without a fight! best Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ChrisN Posted June 23, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 23, 2016 Chris, two of the four castors have brakes, they will be the front right and the left. The other two, which you can't get at, without crawling, don't. The layout is in a corner, and without crawling and climbing up the back, it would not be possible to do anything at the back - so it is arranged to move out, and back, without a fight! best Simon Simon, Thank sounds most sensible, which is what I would expect from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Well, I've been a busy boy. Yesterday, I got the hammerhead/goalpost assembly done, and put a hole in the left hand end of the spine so if stood on three legs. Today, I fitted the fourth leg, put a cantilever in to support the other side of the turntable, and put 30 X 10 mm strip wood around the outside, and across the middle. There are still a few bits to add, but it's nearly ready for the decks to be fitted. All in all, it's gone pretty well. I made an oops with the cantilever for the rear leg, I built it "left handed" and it should have been right handed. This was annoying as I discovered it after it was fully glued & pinned. Words were spoken. Naughty, rude words, such as, "oh you are a ninny", and the like. The solution was to cut the socket for the leg off, and screw the leg to the shortened end. The leg is still removeable, nothing lost, but my pride... I have a challenge. It's not easy to measure a spline curve, and it looks like I underestimated it - I had planned for and expected the backscene to be 2' high, and a little less than 16' long, but it's just over. There will be enough spare wood from the baseboards to make a filler, but it's a bit of extra work. The front edging that is visible in the photo is temporary. I will make a narrower strip, and varnish it to give a nice finish. It will be fitted after the actual surface, so it will hide the edges. To the right of the tool drawers will be concealed by a curtain, will provide some much needed storage. I have lost about 30% of my workbench, but will compensate to some extent by hiding some LED lighting strip under the edge, to ensure that what remains is very well lit! It moves very easily. There is a knack to putting it in place, but it all fits, and I can now do it single handed after some trials with MrsD on the other end of it. Good day... There will be (temporary) track down in short order! Best Simon 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 I once made up a very nice steel castored dolly for a grand piano, and welded it up upside down for a left-handed piano....... I then had to cut it apart and do it properly- so I sympathise! It's looking excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) Well, the deck is on, and the glue's drying! Thanks due to my daughter who has held things, passed tools, nails, glue & screws, hammered in the odd panel pin, been a general all-round asset, and made the job go about twice as fast as it would have. Now it's time to reassess my track plans and make some last minute adjustments, which might result in some changes. As well as the handmade turnouts, I have some Peco track to try ideas out with, recovered from the Great Windowledge, so playtime... Best Simon EDIT in the previous post, the 32x12mm stripwood is visible - before the deck went on, a further set of stripwood battens (same size) were put in at 90 degrees to those you can see, to "half" the unsupported area of the decking. I estimate that the largest area of plywood without a batten under it would be approx 300 x 450mm. Found the photos just before the deck went on. You can see the "abbreviated" socket for the rear leg, the cantilever supports for the turntable, and the levelling screws for the turntable too. Edited June 30, 2016 by Simond 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted June 26, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 26, 2016 That looks great Simon, Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 Well, I started playing... The first train has run, the 1366 pannier can push three coal wagons up the ramp, just. There isn't room for more in the spur! I had to put some locos on the board to get a feel. Comments welcome. I'm not sure... Best Simon 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asa Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 You're doing a grand job Simon.I'm enjoying watching it come together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jintyman Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 I think it looks great Simon, the throat will look impressive but typically functional for an engine shed. The coaling stage is impressive and will probably be the center piece of the layout. Looking forward to more progress. Jinty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Thanks for the feedback, guys. It kind-of looks right, but it's just not quite scoring the points for me yet. It might be great. Or not. I think the throat is ok, but it's desperately cramped to get in the points whilst maintaining a 6-foot (well, 1800mm) minimum radius, and the shed is huge... I'll mock it up in cardboard at the weekend, and consider the view. It might dominate the scene to an unreasonable extent. It might be ossicle (Why, oh why, did the iPad smellchequer convert "possible" [a relatively common word, one would think] to "ossicle" [one of the bones of the inner ear, and rather more specialist] ????) to put the shed where the coaling stage is, and have the coaling stage where the shed should be, but I think without some radically improbable track formations, the coaling stage would be facing away from the viewers, which would be a shame. Plan and further photos to follow. Comments welcome! Best Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted June 29, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 29, 2016 I think it looks good Simon. Rather reminds me of this This is the shed area on Alan Brackenborough's layout. No TT as there was a triangle. I think your shed and coaling stage are bigger ones but the feel is similar. Don 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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