chaz Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 A short time ago I bought a couple of early Bachmann Moguls. I have given them a run (with a DC bench PSU - no DCC in them) and they are both smooth quiet runners. So I have decided to give them a bit of a make-over. In the post this morning were these... ...a couple of kits from Backwoods Miniatures for whaleback tenders. Having built the excellent slopeback tender from the same stable I think this will be a nice way to improve my Moguls. I will post details of these as I build them, but not yet! I want to get both of my doodlebugs finished and the repaint of the freight cars well underway before I tackle these. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) I have started to put together the wooden cab conversion kit for the Ixion coffeepot, a laser-cut wood kit from the Mount Blue Model Co. I am used to etched brass kits in 7mm but this is my first quarter-inch scale laser-cut wood one and I am impressed. The parts are very neat and extremely accurate, as accurate as the best etched brass. The tabs that secure them to the fret are tiny and once cut through with a scalpel are removed with two or three strokes of a fine sanding board. As an example of the quality here is the inside face of the cab front with two layers glued together with PVA. I prefer PVA to superglue for absorbent materials - I used a quality brand which is quite quick to set. In the foreground are the window sashes. Adding some PVA with a piece of wire into the rebates the sashes were an easy accurate fit. The next photo shows a side and the front (again the inside faces) with the sashes glued in place. The last photo is another example of just how accurate the parts are. These two parts are not glued - just pushed together for a trial fit, so snug it is no effort to be accurate - just an engineer's square needed to set them at 90 degrees. If this kit is typical I am severely tempted to buy a laser cut building kit. I must check how much space I am going to have for a depot.... Chaz Edited September 17, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Test piece, trying out the painting of the backscene... White emulsion paint base with lamp black and sage green added. Edge stencils cut from thick lining paper and a stencil brush to get the shapes painted. Sue wanted to try it in position so here she is holding it. The intention is that this is only going to be glimpsed through trees in the foreground. So if it looks a little too basic IMO that's all that's needed. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted September 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2015 Very interested in you Coffee Pot job Chaz, I bought one when they first appeared, but have yet to do anything with it. Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Very interested in you Coffee Pot job Chaz, I bought one when they first appeared, but have yet to do anything with it. Cheers, Dave. I had a chat with Chris Klein (the Ixion man) and neither of us could figure out how to get the two body shells apart. We came to the conclusion that if the body doesn't disassemble then the glazing will have to be left in place, so to paint the body the windows will have to be masked up. Frisk film would allow one to trim the masks to exact size - tricky job though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourthsVeil Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 ... The intention is that this is only going to be glimpsed through trees in the foreground. So if it looks a little too basic IMO that's all that's needed. This is exactly what there should be - it isn't "a little too basic". The less details the more the viewer's imagination will add to make it convincing. Well done - keep up the good work! Armin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) I didn't intend to build any stock for the FVRR relying on Bachmann, with a few conversions and repaints to get a few more interesting pieces. However in the July/Aug issue of NG&SL gazette there are a couple of photos of models of outside braced boxcars. These look good and would be a nice change from the Bachmann ones. Looking in Carsten's "Slim Gauge Cars" I was disappointed not to find a drawing of a suitable prototype however stockcars are usually (always?) outside braced. There is a good drawing of Bellevue & Cascade #163 - a neat little stockcar which scales out a tad shorter than a Bachmann one. Would it make sense to build my boxcar using this drawing and simply plank it right through rather than with the ventilating gaps that stockcars have? I am severely tempted to have a go at this. The car body and indeed the underframe would all be timber, only the trucks and some of the detail work would need to be metal or plastic. What do you think? Chaz Edited September 22, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) I have made some progress over the last three days with the backscene. Cutting the stencils... I cut these with a scalpel in thick lining paper. As this comes off the roll it will not stay flat. Two ways to correct this - either roll it the other way or dampen it with a water sprayer. The lightest colour did not need stencils, just a piece of thin card slipped behind the backscene board to keep the paint off the wall. After three or four hours the emulsion paint base has dried and the next colour can be added. For the next colour I painted the shape below the stencil. I found with care the stencil could be held in place by hand while a stencil brush was worked along the edge. Several stencils were used for this length. Provided they are placed and not moved about or slid there is no problem with colour smearing. The same stencils can be reused, moved to a new section or turned over to avoid an obvious repeat. This backscene is a compromise forced by the very narrow baseboard on this section. When Sue came up to cast a critical eye over what I had done she suggested putting the bridge back and holding the skeletal tree in one or two places to get some idea what it will look like. I am going to need an awful lot of trees. There will be trees in front of the track, trees on the narrow ledge behind the track and in front of the river, and trees (half-relief trees!) on the other side of the river. If all goes to plan the backscene will only be glimpsed here and there through gaps in the foliage. Dark patches show the paint not quite dry at the bottom. Sue reckons I need one more "layer" with a brighter, more foreground green. Like a lot of jobs which one is not looking forward to once I got on with this it went well and the result is encouraging. Next job I am not looking forward to is to make the trees. Now that is a biggy. Edited September 23, 2015 by chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 I think thats a great idea it will probably be far better than have a proper painted back scene. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 I think thats a great idea it will probably be far better than have a proper painted back scene. I hope so Peter. The idea is that your attention will naturally be focussed on the trains, the bridge, the river, the foreground trees - those parts of the scene that reward you with detail. The glimpses that can be seen of the green backscene are really there only to hint at a wooded hillsides in the distance. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fettster42 Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Looks Fantastic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 (edited) Sue's Birthday today so I haven't wanted to do much modelling but I did do a little on the wood cab project this morning. I did a test first on some "Super 'Phatic" glue that I have for a while but not yet tried. On the bottle the label claims that it is highly penentrating and good on porous surfaces such as wood and card. I tried a test, glueing two strips of thin ply' together as an overlapping joint. After half an hour this proved to be immensely strong. Some time ago I bought a steel block and some very strong magnets from Holiday Hobbies. I used these to hold the front of the cab square on the side. The glue label also suggests using the thin tube applicator to run the glue into a corner to fix a joint. The glue is very runny and I presume it flows by capillary attraction into such a joint. It's feels a bit like running molten solder into a corner to fix etched brass together. In the photo above you can see some strips from the edge of the laser-ed fret packing the steel block up to get it square so the magnet can hold the partition accurately. last of this posting's photos shows the second side popped into place and the action for putting the adhesive into the corner. When I actually glued this I held the model to get a good angle for the glue to flow in - but I needed a hand for the camera! The second side is not glued in place in this photo but the kit's fit is so good that it is held accurately by the tabs and slots. That partition seems wrong half way across those doors but I checked the instructions twice and it is right. Of course this is not a baggage space, most of the centre will be taken up with the coffee-pot's boiler - hence the arch shape which fits over it. Chaz Edited September 25, 2015 by chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) Progress on the wood cab... Switched from Super 'Phatic to a very fast-acting PVA to glue the roof pieces on. I couldn't see any easy way of keeping the springy curved shapes safely in place but holding them in position for a minute or two with my hands worked OK. (A gel CA would have been as good - but I don't have any in stock) Next photo shows the deck - which will fit around the boiler of the Ixion loco' unit - popped into place. A beautiful fit. The kit instructions tell you to fix the cab to the deck with just a spot of glue at each corner so that it can be removed to service the mech' but I'm not sure I like that idea. I will see if some small screws and captive nuts will fit in. It will involve glueing some brass tabs into the cab somewhere out of sight to hold captive nuts in place. Again I am impressed by the quality of this kit. The fit of the parts is quite outstanding (well up with the best etched-brass) and makes the kit a joy to build. Chaz Edited September 27, 2015 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) Although my FVRR progress has been held back by my work with my 7mm exhibition layout (Dock Green) I will try to make some progress in the coming months. I have just started making trees - this is a challenge to me as I have never made a tree before - I need a lot and in 1:48 they need to be quite big. I will post some details when I have a bit more progress. I have just acquired a Multimaus system to control the FVRR. Quite astonishing value - a complete system; a handset (Fleischmann - sober grey rather than Roco bright red), a box of tricks, a plug type 18V PSU and the necessary connecting leads - £59 delivered from Germany. Now I can make the stock move without the need to "steal" the Lenz kit from Dock Green - which might well provide another incentive to "get on with it". Chaz Edited November 5, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Although my FVRR progress has been held back by my work with my 7mm exhibition layout (Dock Green) I will try to make some progress in the coming months. I have just started making trees - this is a challenge to me as I have never made a tree before - I need a lot and in 1:48 they need to be quite big. I will post some details when I have a bit more progress. Some progress (at last) with trees. The armature, made from florist's wire, is held in a vice. I tried stiffening the trunk by glueing a strip of fabric, wound tight, with PVA. I'm not sure I will bother with that step again. I made up a mix of budget PVA, 50:50 with water and then added decorator's filler (Pollyfilla or similar), stirring it in until I had a thickish paste. I worked this into the wire structure with a narrow stiff brush and then smoothed it off. I found that if I had three or four trees "on the go" by the time I had treated all the trees in the batch once the first one's filler mix was dry enough to apply a second coat (if I tried to put too thick a coat on all in one go it would just fall off ) It's very difficult to apply the thick paste to the thinner branches, where there are just two wires twisted together. So one of today's jobs is to try putting a runnier mix on these. I do need to hide the very obvious twisted wire effect - not very realistic! Chaz edit - PS - you will note the "roots" at the bottom of the trunk are bent at roughly the angle of the slope on which the tree will be fixed. Later they will be "buried" in the surface with a further application of the paper mache. Edited November 11, 2015 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 15, 2015 Author Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) I started my "forestry work" today by making a new wire armature for another tree. Checking a photo' of a winter tree (no leaves to mask the tree's structure) I formed the tree. I added some masking tape to the section of the trunk below the lowest branches. I set up the armature in a vice with a piece of cereal box card at the base of the trunk to catch any drips (other brands of cereal are available). I put the vice on my lazy susan - which makes it easy to rotate the tree without the need to handle it. I mixed up more of my bark-mix. 50:50 cheap PVA and water with B & Q own-brand filler - I also add a soupcon of artists' black acrylic - this turns the filler grey. Should the finished tree get damaged any chips or scratches in the bark will be grey rather than white and therefore much less obvious. I keep adding the filler until I have a fairly thick sticky paste and then apply it to the armature, brushing it into the gaps in the wires to lock it in place. It's quite easy to remove what you have just added if you try to put more on so better to let the first application dry before going for a thicker layer. Subsequent layers do stick better as they are put on to a rough filler surface rather than shiny wire. For the same reason later layers dry quicker. I find it better to use a runnier mix to do the thinner branches - but I don't add just water as this will weaken the result - I use more of the PVA/water mix. I find it a good idea to have several trees "on the go". Should any bark-mix be left over it can be used to good effect rather than throwing it away. Chaz Edited November 15, 2015 by chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) This tree making is a job and a half. Yesterday I made another tree armature. I used some thin plated wire that I bought at a garden centre. First step was to cut some lengths and twist them into pairs, I started by twisting both ends of the pairs together with two pairs of pliers - one to hold and the other to twist. I fixed one end of the pair in a vice and the other in a small hand-drill. As the chuck on the hand-drill would not grip the wire, which kept slipping out, I put in a pin chuck. Pulling gently to keep the pair straight I wound the wire until it was tightly coiled. Once I had sixteen pairs I held them in a tight bundle with the ends aligned. Starting near the bottom, leaving enough trunk to form "roots" and a spigot to plant in a hole, I began to wind a single wire tightly round the bundle in a close spiral. Checking a photo of a real tree for spacing I pulled a number of the twisted pairs out of the bundle and bent them at a right angle. At this stage the branch looked nothing like that on a real tree, but bending the branches out at a right angle makes it possible to carry on binding the bundle. Once I had bent out a number of branches and bound most of the thicker bundles together I went over them with masking tape. I cut this into thin strips (about 5mm) by sticking it to a plastic sheet and cutting it with a scalpel. Narrower strips are much easier to apply, especially around the branch roots. The wire bundles remain flexible enough to bend into shapes that more closely resemble trees. I untwisted the ends of the wound pairs to form twigs. Other twigs were added during the process by winding single wires around the twisted pairs before binding. Last job of the day was to paint the masking tape all over with PVA. I couldn't see which bits I had treated and which I hadn't so I mixed in some black acrylic paint. It looks a right mess but will be OK tomorrow when I add a layer of bark-mix. Getting the tree this far took me about four hours so I must reserve this technique for a few deluxe foreground models. Simpler, quicker techniques will suffice for the larger numbers I need to get a woodland look. Chaz Edited November 17, 2015 by chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 After lunch I settled down to add my bark mix to the tree started yesterday. This is a tricky job, getting the brush to some of the branches being a matter of finding a way through. As I said earlier adding more 50:50 PVA/water to the mix makes it runnier and therefore easier to apply to the thinner twigs. How well this will stick to single strands of wire remains to be seen. I couldn't resist trying the tree in one or two positions where it might be used, just to see how it will look. It does look big and will certainly dwarf the Bachmann On30 stock - but at about ten inches tall it scales out to forty feet - a relatively modest height for a tree. Sue asked me what species of tree it is. My response - "A wooden one" - was not altogether flippant. I think the Furness Valley woodland might well be full of trees that are nondescript (in the true meaning of the word). The next hurdle, once the bark is finished, will be the foliage. I may need to take a bit of a run up for that. Chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) "....adding more 50:50 PVA/water to the mix makes it runnier and therefore easier to apply to the thinner twigs. How well this will stick to single strands of wire remains to be seen." Well I popped up into the roof this morning to check how good the adhesion is to the single strands and found it to be excellent. It also has a degree of flexibility. To see how well the mix was sticking I bent one of the twigs to a new shape with my fingers and the coating survived, bending with the wire. It must be the PVA that gives it this property - filler mixed only with water has little or no flexibility. Obviously there will be a limit beyond which the mix may well flake off and using pliers on branches is likely to damage the bark - just like it would paint. I am very encouraged by this - the bark on the trees will not be too fragile and the occasional knock as I operate the layout should not matter. Onward! Next job is to find a supplier of postiche in bulk. The tiny packets available from scenic items suppliers are priced rather high - fine if you are making a couple of trees but I'm making rather a lot.... Chaz Edited November 18, 2015 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 The search for a supplier of postiche led me quickly into the strange world of wig making. Anybody out there been down this route and found a good sensibly priced supplier? Some of the prices for real human hair are staggering - a good synthetic substitute is what I need... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 2mmMark Posted November 18, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 18, 2015 William Shatner might be able to help http://www.metv.com/stories/unearthed-document-suggests-william-shatner-took-wigs-from-star-trek Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) Postiche is available from Green Scenes, but you may need Poly Fibre from Woodland Scenics. Postiche should also be available from Theatrical suppliers Edited November 18, 2015 by shortliner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Is it worth checking out cheap wigs in the fancy dress shop? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 2mmMark Posted November 18, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 18, 2015 What about teased-out kapok? (The fluffy white stuff that pads out cheap anoraks and body warmers) That might be usable. It's something I've intended to try the next time I do some trees. It's not a very convenient colour but I spray paint trees anyway. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourthsVeil Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Chaz, often aquarist's filter floss is recommended – must be applied very sparingly (otherwise one gets leaf balls/clumps). I personally now prefer cocos (or sisal?) fibres cut down to 6-12mm (see there). Also, I find masking tape a bit too stiff to wrap neatly around the stem and branches. Soft tissue (split and soaked with glue) adheres much better… Like your choice of grey colour for the bark – well observed! Armin PS: instead of PVA I now use latex binder, remains flexible and can be coloured as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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