wombatofludham Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Photos of Kings Oak at RMWeb Live. The T-shirts carried a spoof sponsorship message from Crossroads Motel...quite why I look so severe I don't know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub39h Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Looks excellent! Really love your layout Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bescotbeast Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I'd imagine the facial expression is a result of someone criticizing "Cross Roads" . Anyway seriously well done Mark on all the work you've done from bareboards to a show . Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 RMlive 2014 Thank you very much for letting me get in close for the houses and gardens Kings Oak rmweb2895show116 love the suburbs......my favourite bit Like x 9 List Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 You're welcome, if people are kind enough to show interest the least I can do is enable people to engage fully and chat as much as they like. Thanks for posting the pictures they are very good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 A month on and I've just realised I've forgotten to do an entry re RMWeb Live! For the first big model exhibition showing of Kings Oak I must admit I was a bit apprehensive of how it would be received. It's not perfect, it's not a Miss Marpleshire branch-line terminus, it doesn't have loads of action, most certainly doesn't involve anything finescale and uses a lot of out of the box items. I needn't have panicked. Over the weekend there were a number of people who stopped by to have a chat, and what was nice was a couple of people commented on how being small and easy to assemble (four builder's plastic collapsible saw horses for supports and two bolts holding the two boards together, although at RMWeb live it rested on a trestle table) had given them ideas to take away for space-conscious modelling. A couple of people also commented on how seeing something made largely from off the peg items, in some cases given a mild customisation by paint, a in the case of the station building, a modest kit-bashing, had made them feel more inspired to do something, as they sometimes found the larger layouts were a bit too far beyond their abilities and finances and therefore felt a bit deflated about their efforts. In that respect, the layout did what I expected it to do when I pitched it to Andy and his team when invited, so I felt I had in some small way given a realistic view of what a newbie or returning modeller could achieve with ready to plant, off the peg kits and ready to run rolling stock in a small space and yet not feel completely embarrassed by the results. The presentational changes I had made worked well, the back boards really did improve the viewing and amazingly the only failure I had over the weekend was a possibly fried chip in the Central sound-chipped 153, fortunately I had bought last minute a second Central 153 with a none-sound dcc chip with a view to running them as a pair, so the service timetable could be maintained albeit short formed!. The mains LED spotlight I bought off e-Bay for a fiver, which was hidden under the fiddle yard fascia canopy was a good buy and again a number of people commented on how good it was and being discretely tucked away how unobtrusive it looked. The male-female power lead connectors, again another cheap e-Bay purchase and intended for CCTV camera systems, survived the weekend and were quick and simple to use, so they will be being used again on the shed layouts where I will need to be able to easily disconnect the bridging piece where the door is, and electrically isolate the DCC and DC controllers from the track so I can alternately run DCC and non-DCC sessions on the same two track layout. If I get any more invites to other exhibitions (not sure how you get on the "circuit", do you wait for an invite or do you get pushy and tell the organisers you are up for it?) I will be looking at modelling the junction just outside the station from the two platforms to a single running line on a half-length scenic board, which will feature "Crossroads Motel" together with film crew recording outside. As King's Oak is entirely fictional, in our world ATV never disappeared so the OB units will carry their blue and yellow colours and the famous double eye logo! I'll also look at how it is transported, I think putting a reinforced frame around the fiddle yard so I can stack the two boards on top of each other would help although they went in the Saab OK turned on their side. All in all, it was a very positive experience and well worth the effort. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 Well, a few months on again and plans are changing regarding "Kings Oak". Whilst I still would like to make a half-board to fit between the fiddle yard and main station to house "Crossroads", I've decided that I also want to construct another micro-layout, this time based on Kings Oak 1845 (the year, not quarter to seven...). I've just taken delivery from the US of a Bachmann Norris 4-2-0 and three four wheel early Victorian carriages from a train set they produced in 1985-8 ( http://www.ho-scaletrains.net/bachmannhoscaletrainsets/id49.html ) and have another one crossing the Atlantic as we speak. Although Norris locos were made in America, the Birmingham and Gloucester railway imported a number when British locomotive manufacturers couldn't provide locos with enough power to cope with the Lickey Incline, and as Bromsgrove isn't that far from "King's Oak", I figured it would be reasonable to project a fictional line from Bromsgrove to Whitacre on the Birmingham and Derby, and for the line to have acquired a small fleet of Norris locos as an "add-on" order to the B&G to work the route. The plan currently is for a simple two track passenger station worked by both first and mixed class passenger trains, with passing coal and general merchandise freights hauled by less-ornate versions of the Norris locos (the current catalogue has a model of the Baltimore and Ohio's "Pegasus" with a simple green livery and black chimney, much more appropriate for a "goods engine"!), using trains formed of the Smallbrook Studio "Chauldron" wagon kits and their small open wagon, which look like the kind of kits even I can manage with glue and hand brushing. Goods facilities will be off-stage, partly because I can't find any suitable references for how freight was handled in the 1840s, and partly because I suspect it involved a lot of horse and manual shunting as early locos were not really up to the job, and as I have yet to find an RTR horse shunter, I think I'll cop-out and have passing freight with a yard off scene. The idea is really to paint a compact, 3d impressionist image of how an early country railway station could have looked before the arrival of proper signalling technology, through braking, with "tramway" style freight wagons and primitive rolling stock and before the railway led to the growth of the settlements they served. As such, operation will be simple, and the scenery limited in scope (my kind of project, really!) but hopefully it will be something a bit different and as no-one who witnessed the early railway scene will still be alive, it will be hard for others to pick fault... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bescotbeast Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 A very exciting development Mark and one I'm looking forward to seeing develop, maybe you could make a version of Kings Oak in the Grouping period as I know you like your LMS stock, with a grouping period layout it wouldn't take much to use it for either pre-grouping or post Nationalisation giving a real "Kings Oak" through the ages. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Latest Update: Kings Oak version 2.1 is nearing completion ready for Sundays Aston Manor Bus Museum Model Day, which despite the name is actually at Aldridge north of Walsall. Kings Oak v2.1 now has added Crossroads, comprising a second hand Kibri "Esso Motel" from the 1970s that I bought ages ago off eBay and a Heljan "Maisonette" kit representing the old chalets, at least those that didn't burn down in the numerous fires the scriptwriters used to inflict on Crossroads when they wanted to redesign the set. An Oxford Diecast horsebox, de-horseboxed and lettered up for 021 Television will be the outside broadcast control van (021 TV were the old Central TV OB unit) and there will be two film crews filming some live action outside the foyer to the motel, whilst a discretely hidden burger van serves a motley collection of crew and extras lounging around waiting their next scene. Meg Mortimer and groundsman Benny have gone a bit mental with the flower beds in an effort to win Kings Oak in Bloom... Operationally the layout has been modified to have a single line from the fiddle yard splitting into the two platform roads with an electrically operated point, the first time I've ever had remotely controlled pointwork - and done without the need for soldering! Unfortunately I've left it too late to install working colour light signals so for Sunday a couple of Merit non-working colour lights will act as placeholders, I've been a bit of a lazy git and left everything to the last minute. Operationally it will be set in 2006, with three class 150s, three class 153s, a 170 and a 156 operating the service (two class 153s working as a pair as happened on the Snow Hill lines for a while in 2006) Hopefully if it's a nice day on Wednesday I'll take some pictures and upload them to show the new module in place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 The new Crossroads module Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Exhibited Kings Oak v2.1 yesterday at the Aston Manor Bus Museum in Aldridge at their "Models in the Museum" event. Had a few snags, one of the soldered droppers on Platform 2 became detached on the journey across so I had to resort to single platform operation although luckily no-one noticed, and the 156 went tech but normal service was maintained with the rest of the stock. As an event aimed at families there were a lot of youngsters who enjoyed the DCC sound and the "Crossroads Motel" diorama went down very well with the adults particularly as new Birmingham based local tv station "Big Centre TV" has just restarted showing random episodes of the old ATV series on their channel! All in all despite the teething problems a jolly and fun show which everyone enjoyed. I also got an invite to another Midlands exhibition for 2016! Before the next outing in August I'm going to re-do the wiring to make it more robust, and thoroughly sort out the rolling stock, weathering the new acquisitions, and re-lay the fiddle yard which also suffered a few niggles. General view of the extended layout, "Crossroads" on the left Closer view of "Crossroads". You can just make out the film crew shooting a scene outside the hotel entrance - two static cameras (one behind the flower bed, one on the footpath) and two shoulder mounted "wobblecams" filming "Adam Chance", "Jill Harvey" and a figure that is suspiciously like "Meg Mortimer" but must be her ghost as Noele Gordon had sadly died by 2006. The Carlton Television OB unit is parked outside a chalet block on the right, again screened by the trees. The station car park at the front isn't very busy so it must be a Sunday. Neverthless, the director (out of sight on the corner of the driveway but visible on the layout) must be tearing his hair out with trains passing by blowing their horns every 20 minutes or so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 More photos from the weekend taken by my friend and co-operator Dai. First an aerial shot of the filming scene outside Crossroads with "Jill", "Adam" and "The Ghost of Meg" stood in front of Adam's flash sh*gmagnet Jaguar XJS OB units from Carlton's 021 Television subsidiary parked (badly) outside the last remaining chalet block that didn't burn down. The director is sat on the corner wondering where his runners have gone and if those bloody trains will ever stop making a noise when he's trying to film... One of the new additions to the 2006 fleet ...and another running as a four car unit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Very nice modelling here Wil follow this now..... cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Thanks Neil. What it lacks in finesse and operational variety it makes up with quirkiness and amusement. Kids (and some adults) love the sound effects and the inclusion of Crossroads caused some amusement for the adults at the AMRTM show. I firmly pitched it as a demonstration of what a newbie could achieve relatively quickly with off the peg and mildly kitbashed stuff and the fact it is all easily available has inspired a lot of people I was talking with to think about doing something themselves, which is good. Just got to fix the transit damage to the scenery and the duff electrics before August when hopefully it'll be Nottingham bound to the GCR a Ruddington! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bescotbeast Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Great work Mark and love the Crossroads cameo extension. You've really got the exhibition bug now, is that Dave pictured to the right of the layout in some of your pictures? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Yes, head carpenter, chief wielder of the soldering iron and deputy fat controller Dave came along to the show. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Looks good. Nice idea with the tv motel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Next exhibition outing will be this weekend at Ruddington GCR(N). Since Aldridge Dave and I have re wired the layout to make the electricals more robust, and added some adjustable bolts as feet to allow for uneven trestle tables which caused a few issues at Aldridge. Following transit damage to the fragile metal platform lamps I've come up with a ruse whereby holes have been drilled into the platform and the lamps (Bachmann modern image non-working lamps) will be inserted at set up and removed at close of play, similarly with the street lamps, to protect from transit damage. I've had some Perspex screens made for the scenic section to prevent any accidental damage by the obligatory backpacks which nearly happened a couple of times in March. Some scenic tidying has been done and some of the units which had started to run erratically have been reprogrammed to run better, so hopefully we won't be on single platform operation come Saturday and Sunday. It'll be operated as in 2006 again with Central dmus, this seemed to go down well with people in March who recognised the trains as "being local" and the youngsters enjoyed them as well, so I'll stick with the Central theme for Nottingham. Hopefully it'll act as a demonstration and inspiration for new or returning modellers again as it has done the past two exhibitions. Following Ruddington it'll be returning to it's spiritual home of the Fairbourne Model Show on Sunday 16th August in the Village Hall. If you are in the area why not pop in, it's open 10.30 until about 4pm (don't know the admin price yet but we do try and keep it reasonable) and you could always combine your visit with a ride on the Fairbourne Railway. They are a friendly bunch who are always willing to have a chat and show the railway off! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trains12 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Hi Mark Nice talking to you today. Like the layout. Try and contact me as soon as you can and come over. Will pm you my details and phone number. Do they want anybody demonstrating at Fairbourne? Always willing to help out. Regards Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Hi Guys, Good to meet you both today and I did enjoy you Layout, and also glad I could put you in touch with Peter, All the best, and I hope to see you around again soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Hi Andrew, it was great to meet you and thanks for putting us in touch with Peter. I still need to upload the photos and videos Dave took, I've not forgotten, I just need to get his SD card off him! Overall I thought the show was very good, lots of normal families through the doors which is nice. I'm pleased to report that the modifications we made all paid off. The new wiring circuit worked faultlessly, the adjustable bolt legs enabled the joints to remain level and the Perspex screens across the front allowed youngsters to get up close and personal without giving their parents a cardiac arrest for fear of causing damage. As it is child height, Kings Oak allows youngsters to watch the trains at eye-level and kids being kids, they want to point at things in their excitement so having screens to save the parents the terror that their little precious is about to cause mayhem seemed a good idea. It's a friendly show in an interesting location and hopefully we'll give it another go next year. If Dapol are correct and they will be releasing the additional overhead electrification masts they plan for their range in the new year, we may even see Kings Oak being electrified to become Version 3.0. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 I've Exhibited there in my own right 5 times, firstly with the original Deesdale Road as a Terminus, then with Glen Roy, then with Trebudoc in its original form as a goods yard, and then again with the latest incarnation of Trebudoc, and then with Loch Leven, but I have always been down the end of the yard in the Model Engineering building / Office which is a nice posh room with carpets and a proper kitchen and loo's etc. Looking forward to the Electrified version. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 King's Oak now prepped for tomorrow's Village Hall model show, returning to it's spiritual birthplace so to speak, although it's the first time Version 2.1 has been shown in Fairbourne. I'm returning to 1989 and the gala opening day theme with T305, two Class 108s, a brand new 156 and a Provincial 150 showing off what the locals can expect to be working the line in the future, together with a Standard 4 tank and three coaches working a steam shuttle. As Kings Oak doesn't have run-round facilities (and the sound fitted 37 I ordered to top and tail the rake hasn't arrived although I did cut it a bit too fine!) the steamer will have to propel the empty stock out of the platform to a conveniently off stage run round facility further up the line before propelling the stock back into the platform to pick up the next crowd of happy punters ready to return to Snow Hill. All of which will continue to annoy the Crossroads director who will be even more exasperated as a hooting kettle keeps chuffing past in shot. As if being given the oldest Outside Broadcast Bedford TK in the fleet, still branded ATV some years after Central took over wasn't bad enough! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.