RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted July 1, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 1, 2014 Truly Excellent David, I have said this before I'm suire but your layout really shows the benefits of N gauge and what can be achieved in a small space and still hold plenty of operational interest - without looking crowded! Well done Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Truly Excellent David, I have said this before I'm suire but your layout really shows the benefits of N gauge and what can be achieved in a small space and still hold plenty of operational interest - without looking crowded! Well done Steve Thanks Steve - like you I'm now thinking of my next project - but I am determined to get Exchange Square finished first - a bit more to do. Congratulations on the Magazine Article - I'm very jealous! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Good evening everyone, Worryingly, and I say this carefully, I think this layout may be almost finished... After a hiatus of a few weeks due to having a new kitchen fitted (both the time taken in having the kitchen fitted and the fact that I now need to be extra careful when using the kitchen my workshop!),various visitors and a very busy time at work I have completed a number of the last few tasks that I felt I needed to do..... I called into Chris' Crafts and Model Railways in Plymouth today, and picked up loads of really nice bits of greenery - made by a local chap apparently - they look like the Noch bits but cost about a quarter as much. This evening I have filled the bare section behind the station in front of the back-scene. I had initially planned a low retaining wall, but couldn't get this to look right. For the perspective to look OK the wall needed to be so short it was impossible to make something which worked. The area has now been filled with greenery, which looks the part and adds a bit of depth in front of the back-scene. I have also replaced the contents of all the flower beds in the street. The Faller Kit included loads of brightly coloured sponge pieces to represent the flowers, which I used, but ever since I have felt they were too crude and just looked like chunks of sponge. I replaced them with more realistic flowers this evening. I also managed to sort out the bikes in the bike racks - I didn't bother painting them initially, which was a big mistake, they looked far too bright and plasticky. I was able to slide scraps of paper under and behind the bikes to mask the surrounding area, and mix up a mix of weathered black and a metallic silver to airbursh the bikes a much more satisfactory finish. Finally, acknowledging my really wonky coping stones on top of the viaduct wall, I made this scaffold from 1mm round Evergreen strip, 00 gauge clapboard for the planks and some spare Ratio signal ladders. Thanks for all the comments throughout the last 6 months, as this layout has developed. I am planning a few more updates as locos I am respraying make their debuts on the layout. If anyone does fancy having a really small layout, with untested pedigree to fill a corner at an exhibition give me a shout, I won't take up much room!! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Those touches are really nice; I like the the flower beds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Evening everyone, I am having a go at a "Realistic Photo" competition on the N Gauge Forum (if it's allowed to mention other forums on here!). So I thought I'd share the fruits of my evenings efforts with the camera on here too. Here are my 10 best pics.. Here are the two I've actually entered - they aren't just close ups of an out-of-the-box loco and they showcase some of my favourite parts of the layout. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddletank Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Looking good, can I suggest though that if you're taking photos of your layout intending them to look realistic, you'll improve the effect dramatically by getting the lens centre point down to the level of your N gauge figures heads. Yours look similar to what's seen in a lot of magazine articles, the camera height is slightly too high and you end up looking down on stock - fine if that's what you're going for but looking up at a loco passing the line side or along the carriages when stood on a platform is how many of us experience trains in real life. Mimicking that experience might bring benefits, you could perhaps try imitating the position of the camera in a photo of a real loco to hone the technique. Maybe try using a macro mode on your camera when taking a photo of a long train at the front of your layout, it would keep the front sharp and blur slightly towards the rear of the train as our eyes tend to when focusing on a nearby object, just don't overdo it or it will definitely look like a model! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Looking good, can I suggest though that if you're taking photos of your layout intending them to look realistic, you'll improve the effect dramatically by getting the lens centre point down to the level of your N gauge figures heads. Yours look similar to what's seen in a lot of magazine articles, the camera height is slightly too high and you end up looking down on stock - fine if that's what you're going for but looking up at a loco passing the line side or along the carriages when stood on a platform is how many of us experience trains in real life. Mimicking that experience might bring benefits, you could perhaps try imitating the position of the camera in a photo of a real loco to hone the technique. Maybe try using a macro mode on your camera when taking a photo of a long train at the front of your layout, it would keep the front sharp and blur slightly towards the rear of the train as our eyes tend to when focusing on a nearby object, just don't overdo it or it will definitely look like a model! Thanks for the tips - I must admit I know nothing about photography (as you can see!) and I am only just discovering my interest as I am starting to enjoy trying to make my models look good. I'm not sure if my basic compact digital camera even has these functions! I'll have to have a search online and see if I can find some good tutorials on making the most of a basic camera. I'll have a bit of a practice and see what I can do. I'd love a better camera, but unfortunately model railways seem to be able to make most of my spending money vanish each month!! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddletank Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 No problem, I know next to nothing about digital cameras either but just enough to get by with the basics. Fairly certain your camera will have a macro mode - it's denoted by a small flower symbol either in a scene mode menu or selectable by a button on the back of your camera. It just allows the camera to focus on objects that are very close, handy when forcing the perspective on a model railway photograph. I'd still point out that lowering the lens so it looks like a photo taken by an actual model person will do a lot to improve the feel of the photograph. How many photos do you see in magazines looking along the roof a rake of coaches in a station, no person can see that unless they're on a bridge. Bring it down so you get the same perspective as though you were standig on the platform and it should help considerably. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Evening all, A fair while since my last post, and as promised it's a refurbished, repainted loco. You may have noticed a "dutch" Dapol 73 in earlier pictures, I got this cheap on Ebay with a view to repainting it, and nearly 6 months later I have finished. I have gone for 73213, in its last livery prior to it's recent repaint into GBRF orange and blue. It was one of three locos painted into First GBRF blue/purple/pink, and subsequently once First had parted company with GBRF it ran for a few years in a dirty, faded de-branded version of this livery - which I thought look pretty good. Like a darker, almost navy version of rail blue. '213 is also more noteworthy, as Railtrack decided to lop off the rubbing plate and buck-eye at one end only and fit a set of mini-ploughs to one end. I am firmly of the belief that any loco looks cooler with snowploughs fitted!! Here is a photo of the real thing in the condition I was aiming for.. 291143.jpg Here is my model (which I am absolutely over the moon with!) It's not often a project goes far better than you dare hope!) In a nutshell, for those who are interested, I have dispensed with the Dapol lighting and replaced the ridiculously huge headlight with a scale size version. I modified one of the bogies with a Dapol NEM socket and some TPM snow-ploughs, I also removed the rubbing bar at the same end. The loco was sprayed a mixture of Phoenix First Blue and Humbrol no 15 Navy (I think the real colour looks too purple in N Gauge), the ends are railmatch warning panel yellow. The cantrail lines and handrails were painted using thick humbrol paint and an artists bow pen. Transfers came from Precision Decals, who produce a pack for this loco, the warning flashes are from fox. I experimented with a number of fading techniques, but the best I found was spraying two coats of a mix of humbrol matt cote, with a dash of humbrol matt white thinned with white spirit. Detail has been highlighted with thin washes of artists oil paint. Finally the roof has had a dusting of Railmatch roof dirt and the underframe with Railmatch frame dirt. Thanks for all the views, likes and positive comments. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 I've only just found this thread- just shows I need to look harder.... Excellent work, and a lot of ideas to chew over. I may have missed it, but what was the source of the rabbits, badger and foxes, please? All the very best Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 I've only just found this thread- just shows I need to look harder.... Excellent work, and a lot of ideas to chew over. I may have missed it, but what was the source of the rabbits, badger and foxes, please? All the very best Les Hi Les, Thanks for your comment. I pretty sure I recall buying the tiny animals from Langley Models on their stand at the Bristol exhibition earlier this year. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted August 26, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 26, 2014 This is looking really good! Very atmospheric photos, love the soft focused Colas 56! Where are your bikes from? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 This is looking really good! Very atmospheric photos, love the soft focused Colas 56! Where are your bikes from? Thanks for your comment. I think I would say more "out of focus" than "soft focus" - you are very generous! My interest in photography lags somewhat behind my interest in model making, although I am enjoying trying to improve! The Bikes are from a kit by Faller which I purchased from Osborns in Bideford. Faller 272544. There used to be roofs to the bike racks, but my two-year old got rid of them!! However I think they look more like the sort of "after-thought" that reflects bike provision in the UK in their current state, as opposed to the well-catered-for European cyclist! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Here is a short video, I shot last night. I think I am doing something wrong when uploading to YouTube. The footage from the camera looks in focus. I wonder if I am uploading too small a file, which reduced the quality of the picture. Please forgive my background song selection, but it's better than a noisy motor and the sound of me shuffling around and changing switches! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Hi David, Nice video, and excellent work on the 73. no need to apologies about the music either, I like Kasabian. Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Evening all, A few more rolling stock pictures... (taken low down, using the Macro mode as suggested!) Hopefully you can just about make out my much improved container train in the video in my last post. The Farish 57 was my test-bed for all the weathering and painting techniques I used on my 73 project. I am pretty pleased with the results given that this had all sorts of washes and paints thrown at it in a variety of ways! I have now also aquired a pair of Dapol Megafrets and the Hi-Cube Containers, which have been heavily weathered to tone down the bright light-blue finish. Anyone following this topic will know this is a staged shot as the station is a dead-end, but I like this picture of a container train heading through the station. I know eBay gets some bad press, but occasionally you do get a gem. My best purchase to date was this unopened ATM KQA Pocket Wagon Kit, which I have now finished. It is the first wagon in the video, but here is a better photo. It has been fitted with a spare container. Finally, with a busy weekend's engineering planned a class 20 has been hired in to shunt the yard. In reality this was an absolute steal I picked up via Cheltenham Model Centre's website - just £62.00 - more than £30 less than Hattons. I planned to add a headlight and fill the holes for the discs and paint a cantrail line, but it is too nice a model. All I have done is fitted the buffer beam detail to the cab end and fitted the discs. This is a favourite from my childhood, so will probably stay like this for quite a while rather than being repainted. Thanks for all the comments. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddletank Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 They're some good looking photos nice work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckymucklebackit Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Hi - I viewed this terrific thread with an amazing feeling of Dajavu, I was involve whith Cumbernauld MRC in the 1990s and was instrumental in creating a 00 cross city layout, with trams, called Exchange Square, it also had a low level freight line, but he trams on that layout were on a road level above the station!! Sadly that one is long dismantled, but great minds and all that. Great work on this one!! Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Hi - I viewed this terrific thread with an amazing feeling of Dajavu, I was involve whith Cumbernauld MRC in the 1990s and was instrumental in creating a 00 cross city layout, with trams, called Exchange Square, it also had a low level freight line, but he trams on that layout were on a road level above the station!! Sadly that one is long dismantled, but great minds and all that. Great work on this one!! Jim Thanks - it doesn't surprise me! I have since discovered real Exchange Squares in Manchester and Bristol! I guess the name gives the impression of a once important railway interchange which is now coming back to life - which is why I chose it, it's a great non-specific city name! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Good evening everyone, It's been two months since I last posted, and more significantly pretty much a full year since I started this project. This means that this is the first time I've stuck with a project for so long, and secondly this is really the first layout I can say that I've really "finished". I have made a few updates... Firstly, in order to simply improve the operate-ability of the layout I have added a new fiddle-yard to the top layer. I was getting fed up with so much taking things on and off the track, which is a real pain in N gauge, in a small space!. This has been added using some off-cuts of 6mm + 9mm ply and some second hand track from Chris' Crafts in Plymouth (25p a piece! Bargain!). Here it is under construction (sorry for the mobile phone pic) And finished - I also took the opportunity of tidying up the back of the layout while I had the black emulsion out. On a more exciting note (and maybe a bit of a teaser towards my 2015 project!) I wanted to have a go at improving the catenary for the tram line. Much searching took me towards EZ-Line, from the states, which is a super-stretchy, extremely fine polymer thread. I went for the green version (looks nicely like weathered copper) and chose the "fine" (3 thou) version. You get 100 feet / 30 meters for £12 from a UK supplier called "little cars" who are going to be selling this at Warley - specifically for this purpose. Anyway - here are some pictures. I simply fixed it in place with CA glue on the end of a cocktail stick. According to the info leaflet it stretches up to 700%, so they advise you to stretch it around 200% when fixing it in position to keep tension. I reckon a huge web of this, attached to Dapol masts would look brill. The real beauty of this product is nicely illustrated thus: Finally - I actually had some time to play with the layout this evening: This is my latest re-spray - completely fictitious - inspired by the fact that there did used to be an RTC test coach based upon a Mk1 Pullman, and mainly just that the rather nice Farish model seems to be heavily discounted everywhere! This one cost me £9.99 from Kernow. I know 57310 isn't the right number, but I had a sheet of decals for a NR cl 57, and I am a bit lazy! Thanks for looking David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted October 17, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 17, 2014 That EZ-line looks brilliant, have to pick some of that up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 The latest addition to the fleet - a "spares or repair" bargain. Farish 04, which had a mysterious short-circuit, which I never found, but disappeared after a complete strip down and rebuild using the service sheet from the Farish Website. Something clearly was touching something it shouldn't have been! I cannot resist a repairable bargain, so I have had to think of a way to get an 04 into a modern image layout. It is pretending to be one of the WR 9765x shunters which I recall seeing at the back of various depots well into the 1990's - (at the very end of a siding by the mainline at Reading being a particular memory). The biggest challenge was getting the body apart to paint it! I also had to replace a few missing handrails with thin wire. After waiting about a week for the Railmatch primer to dry, I masked the wasp stripes and air-brushed it Railmatch yellow, which has then been weathered with thin oil paints and faded with matt varnish with a drop of white added. This just about gets round the Tomix tram curves, so this may become the Tram company's maintenance engine! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Evening everyone, I had the layout out over the weekend, and my sons and I had a good play. I temporarily hooked up a spare train-set controller to the tram lines, which meant the boys could just do some simple driving round the loop, stopping at the station. My eldest is starting to get to grips with the switches for isolating sections, points and signals and enjoys playing "signalman" behind the layout. I am getting better at the Macro mode on my camera - here is a mixed bag of photos. New departmental shunter in action, this actually runs better than my Farish 08 at slow speed. Tramway maintenance - it must be very early in the morning! Shunting in the station I am going to revisit my first n-gauge conversion of this ancient Farish 37 - it runs very noisily and still sits a little higher on it's bogies than I'd like. Looks the part from a normal viewing distance though. Finally the whole thing from the front yesterday. I've just ordered my first 3d print from Shapeways - a pair of cl 165 turbo cabs for converting a cheap 170 I picked up from eBay. Looking forward to a new project in a couple of weeks! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBM37404 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Good stuff mate, the EZ line looks great. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Good stuff mate, the EZ line looks great. Thanks, the EZ line is brilliant, and I've got about 27.5m of my 30m left to use. I am very tempted to further electrify now - but I am held back as the top level can only really cope with 2 car trains (no suitable panto EMUs) and the clearances on the bottom level are too tight for anything with a panto to get through the tunnels! Who needs forward planning eh! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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