RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted August 5, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 5, 2015 Nice stonework Chris. Just be a bit careful that all your stones are not an exact fit - it can produce some unlikely shapes. It will be more work but some small pieces cut into corners will make your bigger stones more credible shapes. Agreed Chaz, there's a couple I'm going to tweak to add a bit more cement. It's amazing what you spot in photos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Agreed Chaz, there's a couple I'm going to tweak to add a bit more cement. It's amazing what you spot in photos. A digital camera is one of the tools a modeller ought to use a lot. It's power to reveal defects can be really helpful, often revealing what might otherwise be overlooked. It has certainly helped me improve my models. I hope to make more progress today spiking down rail. It's turning out to be job similar to ballasting, tedious. but if you just get on with it... Chaz Edited August 6, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) This is going to sound pathetic... Yesterday afternoon I went up into the roof fully intending to spike the rail from where the fiddle yard Peco track ends round the first curve at least as far as the next baseboard joint. No chance! Even with both Velux windows open it was unbearable hot up there and I was forced back down. Early morning and late evening might offer better conditions at least while the sun is shining. Chaz edit - PS - of course this does not bode well for relying on superglue to fix rails to ties - temperature extremes up there are likely to break the joints - so I consider the spikes essential. Better to look on the superglue as a temporary fixing, making it easier to get the spiking done. Edited August 7, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Did a bit more spiking today. I encountered a problem with the track being only about six inches from the wall and under a low ceiling sloping down I couldn't see the part of the tie behind the rail where the spike will be. The solution.... The photo shows me holding the drilling jig against the rail prior to drilling for the spike. I do think it important not to rely on the superglue joints between rail and ties - expansion and contraction of the rails is likely to cause at least some these to fail. Temperature variations in my roof can be quite alarming - hence the need for accurately placed spikes. The battered and abused old jeweller's screwdriver is a marker, lying in line with the tie I am working on. Here I am only spiking every fourth tie, later I will add spikes to all the "blank" ones but it probably isn't worth putting spikes behind the rails where they will be hidden from view and will serve no useful purpose. Chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) I do need to sort out some of the scenery "stuff" under and behind the girder bridge before I fix it in place and spike the rail on the approaches. So today I did some work on the river edges. First step was a sandy beach effect. I used gloss gel medium (the same stuff that I used to get the ripple effect), painting on a thickish layer and sprinkling on fine sand. After this had dried (overnight) I vacuumed the excess sand away. Next I added three sizes of "rocks" and "stones", trying to get the sort of random effect that a river bed would exhibit. Photo above shows both sides of the river and below is a close up of the RH bank. And this is my river bed kit - three bags of Woodland Scenics Talus (whatever that is), coarse, medium and fine, a pot of fine sand, and a squeezy dropper bottle containing a 50/50 mix of PVA and water. This should bond it all together, it certainly works well on track ballast. Chaz Edited August 11, 2015 by chaz 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted August 11, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 11, 2015 Looks good Chaz, I do like the colouring of your stone abutment too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Sometime ago I did most of the work to convert a Bacmann Forney to a 2-4-0 switcher with the Backwoods Miniatures excellent kit for a slope-backed tender. I put this aside to concentrate on my exhibition layout Dock Green but with my attention now focussed on the FVRR I decided to press on with it. The transfers are ALPS printed waterslides that I had done to my own artwork. The rather obvious outline to the #7 transfer should disappear with a good coat of Dullcote (This does work - I proved it on a ten-wheeler).I had two A5 sheets of transfers in white, one of numbers and one of roadnames. A third in gold has both numbers and roadnames for passenger cars but also includes small numbers for the smokebox door number plates. That spark-arrestor top to the stack has got a sad, flattened look. It may push back into shape. The final photo shows how well the Backwoods tender makes up. That backup light is a spare from one of the Bachmann locos (I can't remember which - either the 2-8-0 or the ten-wheeler). Inside the tender is a speaker and an ESU Loksound decoder. My only criticism of the Bachmann range of On30 steam locos is that is impossible to fit a speaker in the loco body - it has to go in the tender. One or two small jobs remain to do - the coal heap needs finishing, the pickups on the tender bogies must be fixed properly and a spray of Dullcote has to be put on, followed by some weathering. It would be good to get it done - a powerful motive to get some track spiked so that running can commence.... Chaz Edited August 11, 2015 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted August 11, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 11, 2015 I have used the mirror technique myself to solder connection to the far side of the rails (no one can see if I make a mess of it) takes a bit to get used to moving the wrong way. I like the detailing at the sides of the bridge. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Like you "beach" very effective!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 Like you "beach" very effective!! Thanks for that. It was quite quick to do, but I was very pleased with the way the colour of the rocks and sand worked with the paint underneath the acrylic sheet. My only slight reservation is that you can't see any rocks under the surface of the water - too late to do anything about that now.... I'm still not sure what to do at the back of the river where the "water" reaches the backscene. Whatever I do has to take up almost no space as the whole baseboard is so narrow. I am going to need a lot of greenery to screen the shortcomings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Your store box for the "Talus" will brighten anyone's day, I like it. Some good progress occurring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 Your store box for the "Talus" will brighten anyone's day, I like it. Some good progress occurring. "Your store box for the "Talus" will brighten anyone's day". Yes - it's just a shoe box courtesy of Sue, a good strong one though, so ideal. Incidentally "Talus" - Wikipedia - "rock debris" - so now I know. Wonderful thing the internet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 (edited) I have made some progress spiking rail to the ties on the curve leading to the girder bridge. I tested the stretch of track by running #25, my Bachmann ten-wheeler from the fiddle yard, across the transition from Peco OO code 100 to the code 83 spiked to balsa ties and round the curve. The DCC is not yet installed on the layout so I used my bench PSU. As you will see I didn't stop it quite as soon as I should have.... https://youtu.be/rQnqnmdOlgc At the moment the rail is spiked to every other tie. Filling in the gaps will be a job for later. Chaz Edited August 15, 2015 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted August 14, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 14, 2015 You can just imagine the driver turning to the fireman and saying this new track is pretty good just before running out of rail. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Very good Chaz As for the link I think you need to copy it from your channel with out opening it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Very good Chaz As for the link I think you need to copy it from your channel with out opening it. Got it! Don't copy the tag that Youtube provides when it finishes uploading, copy the address from browser top line! Thanks. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 (edited) You can just imagine the driver turning to the fireman and saying this new track is pretty good just before running out of rail. Don Driver Don? Engineer surely? Yes, that damned bridge is a block on progress. I am sure that I must sort the area behind the bridge before it gets fixed in place. As I intend to spike the rail that extends either side of the span to the ties to get a smooth ride through, the bridge will not be removeable. If I fix it too early it will get damaged. Still there is no rush and the back of this section is an ideal place to ease myself into tree-making as it will later be partially screened by trees and foliage in front of the track. Chaz Edited August 15, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) A bit more progress, this time with rolling stock. I sprayed the 2-4-0 switcher conversion with Dullcote. A very effective matte varnish which has done an excellent job of hiding the edges of the transfers. I have also done some work on the doodlebug conversion, which has been sitting around for a long time in a cupboard. Above - the body, with a driver's door fitted with handrails either side formed of 0.7mm nickel-silver wire. The door knob is a brass pin, I turned down the head by mounting it in the Dremel and applying a fine file to the edge. Below - a view of the other side with the exhaust "muffler" and pipe fixed in place on the roof. In Backwoods' instructions they suggest that the non-driven truck should have pick-ups fitted to improve the running. Of course the truck is already wired to one side - the original arrangement served to power the internal light. I made a mounting plate and bracket with a strip of phosphor-bronze soldered in place as the pickup. I fixed this in place with 12BA screws. The arrangement is more symmetrical than it looks. The important thing is that the wipers should run on the backs of the wheels - but must not touch the axles which are live to the other rail. And here is the top of the truck with the wire and solder-tag from the discarded truck from the other end added so that both rails are connected. So, all eight wheels are used to pick-up (the Tenshodo SPUD picks up on all four wheels) and the running should benefit. Now, what colour should this railcar be painted? I am tempted to use either crimson, or brunswick green. I have a couple of tatty 2nd hand passenger cars, one of which might get painted as a colour test, crimson on one side, green on the other. Chaz Edited August 18, 2015 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted August 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 19, 2015 I seem to remember pictures of the standard gauge ones in Model Railroader looking quite good in a dark green as always though it is your choice. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 I seem to remember pictures of the standard gauge ones in Model Railroader looking quite good in a dark green as always though it is your choice. Don Oh, after all this effort I don't want to settle for "looking quite good", Don. I am aiming for "looking totally brilliant" So they match the rest of the layout! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 More pickup stuff... Turning a 2-4-4 Forney into a 2-4-0 means that it only picks up on the four driving wheels unless provision is made on the tender. A quick test run early on in the conversion confirmed that removing the rear truck had spoilt the running. My first solution involved glueing phosphor bronze strips to the stretchers of the tender trucks. When I picked this model up to finish it I found that one of the pickup strips had detached itself. To avoid this happening again I soldered the strips to brass tabs which I fixed to the stretcher beams with 12BA screws. I made a couple of solder tags from scrap brass strip (bought-in solder tags are too big for this job). This will make it easier to renew or adjust the strips if it proves necessary. Ironically the strip that hadn't fallen off proved quite difficult to remove - its glue was holding on really tightly. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) Doodlebug progress... I cut a piece of matrix board (Veroboard) as a drilling jig and fixed it to the floor with double-sided tape to drill some sound holes. It made a bit of a mess of Bachmann's underfloor detail - no matter, none of it can be seen when the car is on the track. Here is the speaker fastened into position with 8BA screws. The shortened floor moulding is also fastened at the front with the 8BA screw. There is plenty of room for the decoder (an ESU loksound). Chaz Edited August 20, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted August 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 20, 2015 Oh, after all this effort I don't want to settle for "looking quite good", Don. I am aiming for "looking totally brilliant" So they match the rest of the layout! I think that would be down to the modelling I don't think changing the colour would make that much difference. One did stand out it had a scratch built body Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 I think that would be down to the modelling I don't think changing the colour would make that much difference. Don I agree but the colour needs to be credible. I may get the best of both worlds, making the railcar a different colour to the steam-hauled passenger cars. You might change your mind if I paint it pink Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJon30 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Railcar colours. The East Broad Top M1 stuck with the Pullman green (which seems to be the default colour for a lot of american coaches) but with a brown roof (to match the locomotives. The Silverton went for a yellow to match their coaching stock (but that was a more modern vehicle) It was common, on standard gauge at least to paint the driving end (will you have a cab at both ends?) with stripes as a warning So perhaps the basic Pullman green with a dazzle end? Rgds Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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