Leaderboard

Stunning work! A beautiful bit of scratchbuilding and they really look "right". JF

Very nice, exquisite work!

Yes good point. With digital photos it's easy to think of everything in terms of close-ups, but most of the time we see it from operating distance. The latter should probably be the no. 1 priority, I think.

Thank you Mikkel. It was just something that suddenly occurred to me - that I could correct No.184's problems with a simple 3D-print fix! I also discovered that small features, such as rivets, print more cleanly in the vertical plane than when the part is laid horizontally. When horizontal, there is a tendency for filament to 'string' between adjacent features although careful adjustment of 'Cura' settings can minimise this.

Thanks Dave... I did rewire with a heavier gauge of wire (more strands) not long after I started the layout when I noticed that a few of the soldered connections onto the terminal strips had become brittle and failed. I also used heat shrink sleeving to cover the joins and - touch wood - there haven't been any further problems on that score. I did make an effort to record the "as built" electrical side of things as I went along and colour coding and some cable marking has helped - the wiring diagram is becoming a work of art in itself! I now need to get on and build a signal box so that there's a signalman to register the working tell tales/blinders! Kit PW

Excellent workmanship. I do think having a tell tale to the rear and working blinders makes a big difference. Very neat wiring too, helps with troubleshooting and maintenance.

Thanks, Mikkel - yes, there is that risk but, so far, they respect the protocol (the "game" in their book) that the controllers move the trains, hands don't! And thanks SImond...I need some lessons in photography and some better lighting although I'm afraid things would look a little worse for it when posted here! If they do Jon, it's largely thanks to a close study of your own thread on signal building - for which many thanks, and for your kind remarks. Kit PW

Brilliant and way better than the sequel!

That looks good, the cattle dock is neatly done. Funny how much difference small details can make, the drain in the middle and the troughs bring it to life.

Appropriate credentials indeed! Learning to make things in a signal box, that's a proper upbringing and makes you a candidate for luckiest boy in the world, I think. Perhaps the signal box came via your great grandfather's brother? The signals look superb. I like the source of the spectacle glazing, clever stuff. But, er, I hope the posts weren't actually cut from the coffee table? I note also the diodes preventing reversal. I suppose there's a risk they will manually drag the trains backwards instead!

Thanks Mikkel I have been very impressed with the Treemedus powder; it produces a very convincing effect. I had mostly chosen to use it on the farm area where I figured the ground would be a little more on the uneven/loose side. I agree about your comment regarding the camera; when I saw that very bottom close-up photo I thought it looked quite convincing. However I'm more likely to spend time viewing it from a distance, so it's hard to say which way to go! I haven't tried pigments and also mean to look into weathering powders too. Perhaps they could have worked well here.

Thanks Mikkel. It never occurred to me to liken it to that world of Jules Verne or HG Wells, but as soon as I read it I instantly got it. The shape reminds you of all those flying blimps, futuristic cars and submarines seen in contemporary drawings of their time. The designers would have undoubtedly been influenced by what they had read themselves in their youth and it clearly shows through. This made me think about the influences on me and the way I love playing about with light, dark and shade. Also that grubby industrial background that appeals so much. This is undoubtedly down to films like Blade Runner, an all time favorite, in which Ridley Scott manipulated light so brilliantly. I remember seeing it my late teens and being totally blown away by it - who could have failed to have been dazed by those opening scenes of the big eye and nighttime flight over a futuristic LA? Of course, only a storyteller like yourself could have seen these hidden associations. Brilliant observation and it has provided me with plenty of food for thought. Many thanks again, Mike

Thanks for sharing those experiments, the Treemendus powder does look good. I haven't has much luck dry-brushing ground texture either, it looks odd. I'm finding that pigments work very well though. I think the texture issue depends on how close you go with the camera. I agree with Chris that texture isn' that important from a distance, but if you go really close with a camera it's a slightly different story, I think.

Good to see No. 184 receiving an update. Those frames look so crisp in the close-up, impressive. I can see what you mean not wanting to update the rest, it would never end!

You've been listening to those people who kept telling Stephenson that it was not possible to pull a train by revolving iron wheels above an iron rail. They said the wheel would just spin round. We shall see

Brilliant Mike, I admire your problem solving mindset. As usual, when faced with a challenge it helps to break down things into smaller parts. Thanks for another E.T. Lane sketch. Looking across Rising Star, Evening Stare and Gorgon, the lines seem to be getting straighter! And then there is Royal Star, which seems to suggest that once the initial sketches were done, they were developed into something more advanced? Regarding the wheels, even with radio control, would the printed material slip on rails? Some sort of adhesion needed?

A problem is that working models rely on the tyres for electrical pick-up. I'm now thinking about using radio control, in conjunction with on-board lithium power. I feel it could solve a lot of running problems although I expect it will introduce new ones of its own! After a period of hectic research and modelling, I now need to think about getting out more as lock-down measures start to ease Thank you for your kind remarks, Mike

Fantastic progress. The assembled loco is looking great. The interesting thing about those wheels is that they have a prototypically fine rim and tyre, something that is lost on commercial wheels with chunky rims and tyres. I always feel even the best wheels can still be too chunky for 1840s locomotives.