David41283 Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not sure where to post this -so hopefully someone with the answer will stumble across this question! I now have two old Farish 37/47 chassis, both of which run really well. The only problem is that I now only have 3/8 of the plastic L shaped bogie retaining clips in one piece. This is apparently a common problem with these chassis, but I have scoured the web looking for a solution to no avail. ( a part of the problem may be my terminology!) Does anyone have a tried and tested solution they've used, or knowledge of a source of spares? Someone I was chatting to mention old cassette tape boxes bring ideal - is this true? Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted May 3, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 3, 2014 I bought some from BR lines. Not listed on website but if you ring him he will know what you mean. I found the new ones were a little tighter than the original and needed fettling so the bogie pivoted loosely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Thanks Steve, I've dropped him a line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi everyone, Again it's been a while since my last update. At the Bristol show I purchased a couple of Townscene back scene sheets, which I have subsequently cut up into individual buildings and smaller blocks. I also did the same with a couple of the classic Peco back scenes. These were the best two "urban skyline" back grounds I could find, and hopefully by cutting them up and making my own back scene 'collage' this now looks a bit more individual and not another layout with the same generic background. Here is the overview of the whole layout, with the back scene pasted in place. I have tried to mix up and layer the buildings. I used "View Glue" which has proved excellent. I plan to make a little low retaining wall to run along the back of the layout a small distance inside the back scene to add a bit more depth. Here are a few more views of the layout with the back scene in place. In the alternative 1:148 world, the area of the city is being considered for a feature in the forthcoming "BBC N gauge Springwatch" as the urban wildlife seems to have increased. A pair of urban foxes have set up home on the former track bed behind the engineers compound. (terrifyingly I reckon these would scale up to be approximately tiger sized!) Three rabbits have been sighted nibbling the green shoots coming through the track side wasteland. Most notably for N gauge Chris and Micheala is the widely unknown Urban Badger which has been sighted in the cutting. In other developments Di Canio's coffee stand has invested in some rather gaudy and fashionable out door seating and some parasols. Finally I have added buffer beam detailling and some TPM snowploughs to my FGW 57. I think this looks pretty good for the small scale. Thanks for all the positive comments and 'likes', all feedback is very much appreciated. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Really like the details. That backscene is very effective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cklammer Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 The backscenes are very effective. Nice touch with the animals - just that I am missing some (larger?) birds. All in all it really came together for me with the backscene. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 I've finished my 37 project. Here it is on it's slightly lowered chassis, looking filthy after a winter on the RHTT. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddletank Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Looking good so far, I'm following this one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Hi everyone, I am desperately attempting to finish projects before starting the next ones! A few minor updates, but mainly some new stock has arrived, courtesy of the NGS shop and the classifieds on here. An NGS Queen Mary Brake Van - the livery is way out, but it is my favourite of the options available! (My other favourite was the SR with red ends, but I figured this was a little more plausible!) A rake of MOAs trundle past behind a class 66. 31601 pulls an inspection saloon into the station. The poor lighting in my kitchen cruelly highlighting some interesting cloud formations in the "sky"! My completed 37 now has a suitable train to pull, heading to Devonport with an empty flask and escort coach. Yet more people have arrived in the city - there are now approximately 100 figures on the layout. I've decided to re-do the depot corner, as this was my least satisfactory area of backscene. I had never been particularly impressed with the Kestrel kits, and to be honest, having built some I'm still not. Even the illustrations on the packaging show gaps between the parts! However they're a cheap source of parts for some kit-bashing. The town houses have been completely cut up to be offset, they have been made low-relief and a whole row of windows removed. I have added chimney pots and drainpipes from bits of plastic. The office building has simply been made low-relief with guttering, drain pipes and a CCTV camera added from plastic bits. The back building is a hacked about fire station, with the doors replaced with parts from the industrial unit kits, and spotlights, downpipes etc added from plastic bits. They need painting, but these fill a tricky corner nicely. A couple of weeks ago I painted the bare plywood with black emulsion - the layout looks much more presentable now. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Here is the overall view, with the fascia and ends painted black, which tidies it up no end. I am currently debating over whether to add a bar across the front at the top, just above the height of the sides. This would contain LED lights to illuminate the layout. In order for the layout to fit into the wardrobe where it lives, I only have a few centimetres more height to play with. The main advantages of this would be that it would nicely "frame" the view, and would add structural strength to the 6mm ply ends which are currently unsupported. The disadvantage being that with the height restriction and three levels of the layout to see the top level you'd have to be more-or-less at eye-level with the layout to view it adequately. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 What about an all over curved dome of some sort. Curve starts at the back of the scene and curves up and over towards the front; sort of like a concert band shell. Would give you a place to put lighting at the front and not block the view of upper level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danfilm007 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hi David Loving the idea - quite interesting way to fit 3 layouts in 1! Long may your good work continue! Dan M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Evening all, Since the last update - where I was musing on the idea of a top fascia and lighting - I decided to take the plunge and over the last week or so, some off-cuts of ply and timber have been fashioned into a top frame. I ordered a 5m roll of LED lights from Ebay - but mistakenly ordered a set without an adapter - however a quick test confirmed that the 12v feed from my Gaugemaster controller was man enough to power the lights and the signals with no problems. I now have a lit layout, but still with only one plug and one D-sub electrical connection - although more by luck than judgement in this instance! Here is the layout just now, at half-time in the France Switzerland game. You'll note the dust-sheet along the bottom of the photo. I am brave enough to risk painting and working on the layout in the living room (so I can watch the football) while my Wife is away for the weekend, but not brave enough to risk her finding dots of black emulsion on her return! I have no excuses for poor pictures now, other than my lack of ability with a camera! The height of the front piece works well, I think. I had been concerned that it would severely limit the viewing angle, but I am happy with the effect. The height of the layout is limited by it's permanent home - this rather nice vintage cupboard has been purchased to house my trains in the guest room. Exchange Square takes up exactly half of the available space, and fits easily though one door when standing on end. Having invested in this furniture it now seems almost unfair not to build another layout to use the other half of the storage space! I just need to finish the re-configuration of the buildings on the left hand side of the layout and Exchange Square will be something approaching "finished". It's looking pretty presentable now. Off to have a look round the Plymouth show tomorrow. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Hi David, What was already a great layout has now become a fantastic layout! The facia and lighting has really enhanced the whole thing. Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 That really has made the layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 A few well-light pictures. I've been slowly working on the buildings for the depot area, they still need glazing and finishing, but here they are today.. Also in a corner you can hardly see behind the repositioned office block, there are now a couple of posh town houses, presumably now a solicitors office. These fill in an awkward corner! I picked up an Oxford Diecast Coach at the Plymouth show yesterday and a bit of butchery has opened a few doors. Here is is outside the station - just need a few students and runaways clambering off now! I must give the credit for this idea to one of the winning entries in the latest N Gauge Society Journal, whose idea I have shamelessly pinched! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Opening the doors on the bus is a neat idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Hi all, Can anyone recommend a source of N gauge Modern tail lamps? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted June 23, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 23, 2014 Hi all, Can anyone recommend a source of N gauge Modern tail lamps? Thanks I got the flashing ones off ebay, about £3 i think... Edit: here they are http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/N-gauge-Flashing-Tail-Lamp-kit-wagon-is-not-in-the-sale-/271523675076?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item3f38127bc4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thanks Steve - I'm rather looking for ones which look the part, but don't necessarily work. I used to get Springside ones in 00, but can't find the equivalent in N. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PaulCheffus Posted June 23, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thanks Steve - I'm rather looking for ones which look the part, but don't necessarily work. I used to get Springside ones in 00, but can't find the equivalent in N. Cheers Hi The only ones I know of in N are by Springside but they are not what I would call modern. More like what you would see in the late 70s/80s on the lamp irons of DMUs. Cheers Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 This is a US FRED light but might be able to painted/adapted. http://www.detailsnscale.com/n_lighting_products.htm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Thanks for the replies re tail lamps - it seems to reaffirm my suspicions that there aren't any decent modern N gauge ones around, except maybe the plastic moulded ones you get in the accessory bag of a few items of rolling stock. Anyway.... as alluded to previously I have been making an effort to finish up the numerous ongoing projects that I've had in various tupperware boxes for the last few months, before I commence any new ones. This C-Rails TankTainer has been sitting waiting for the transfers to arrive for weeks, then the transfers arrived and it waited some more - I finally finished it and added it to a Farish flat. My rake of Chivers OTAs have been sitting around for ages - I've finally got them painted - just need a coat of varnish and the wheels clipping back in. I've finished the two buildings for the depot area, both heavily modified Kestrel kits. Here they are sitting on my laptop while I was "working". And here they are this evening having been located into holes cut into the lino floor tile "concrete hardstanding". Having got these projects complete, I have now taken my Dapol 73 to bits ready to improve and paint it. I am going for 73213 in de-branded First GBRF livery. This is effectively plain faded First navyish-purple with full yellow ends, which looks pretty good. 73213 is also interesting to model as for some reason, when it was owned by Network Rail, they removed the rubbing plate and fitted mini-snowploughs to one end only. In my opinion all locos look a lot cooler with snow-ploughs! I am probably going to dispense with the working lights as they are far too bright and white, and the headlight is HUGE! I intend to fit a scale size, albeit non-working headlamp. Cheers for all the positive comments. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 Evening everyone, One aspect of the layout which has really grated with me is the retaining wall. More specifically, my ham-fisted attempts to shade the white edges of the brick paper with a brown marker pen which left a less than subtle effect. This was a simple fix, but one which needed time and space to get the airbrush out. Tonight I managed to get round to doing so. With a crude right-angle card mask made from a cereal packet, I have hopefully given some extra depth and realism to the viaduct wall, and corrected the mess which existed previously. here is the before: and after: In other news - I've spent the evening making a video! It;s my first go at using i-Movie on my Mac, and the footage is from a phone camera. If you can look past the fact that the focusing for the first 2/3rds is a bit dodgy, my train driving is suspect to say the least and the first two locos have a wheel off the track, I hope you can enjoy it! http://youtu.be/bNCrhgxh0bM David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 Evening all, I enjoyed making the first video, but I would be the first to admit that I'm not going to be challenging Steven Spielberg anytime soon! I've had another go, with a few new features. I purchased a new loco this week - Dapol's Colas 56. Unfortunately given that this is only the 3rd loco I've bought new and not off eBay, it was disappointing to have to take it back to Kernow Model Rail Centre and swap it as the lights only worked one way. Kernow were excellent and swapped it over with no quibbles and tested the new one for me. Anyway, after two round trips to Camborne, I am very happy with the loco. http://youtu.be/GljXLng8Q1Y Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.