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Stringfingerling

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Blog Comments posted by Stringfingerling

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    On 12/06/2021 at 10:06, wellseasoned said:

    I was and remain captivated by the layout called Abermynach back at the beginning/mid 1980s. Indeed I have the three copies of R/M that featured it. Your superb layout is in the same vein and inspires me to build something loosely similar.  I am wedded in N gauge and I'm tempted by the soon to be released Sonic models 56xx. 

    Thanks very much!
    Me too!  Abermynach was unforgettable to me.   In spite of being built with RTR stock, and off the shelf (though adapted) model buildings, it captured something particular about the Welsh landscape.  I would be very interested to hear more of Jurgen Mehnhert who built it.  (I think that's the spelling :) )

    Stringfingerling

    Posted · Edited by Stringfingerling

    16 hours ago, bgman said:

    " It's all ok, but I would like it to be as good as possible - the loco looks great and it would be nice to have that same feeling about the running qualities.  I might be a bit spoiled by some of my other locos."

     

    Thank you for posting your second video, superb atmosphere.

     

    I would agree with the above in respect of its running qualities, I too have had similar issues, although not quite as pronounced, and I am slightly disappointed with Heljans gears, if that is what the problem is ?

    Not yet had the opportunity to open the body up but after fitting the ESU decoder and trying all known settings I still can't get that slight stutter sorted, and yet as yours seems to be, mine runs well in reverse.

    I am seriously considering replacement metal gears for the whole thing if any can be found.

     

    All that said it is a lovely loco that I am loath to part with.

     

    G

    If the issue is the gears then there are probably quite a lot of people who would welcome a solution such as a replacement set of metal gears though  I have no idea how difficult it would be to fit them .  Reading through various posts on here and on tbe o gauge Facebook group I'm coming to the conclusion that improved pick up arrangements and large stay alive capacitors still may not address the issue.  I'm no kind of engineer but it seems quite plausible that a bit of excess slop in the gear train would  allow the jerking movement to happen. It's the kind of thing that I can live with but it would be nice to get a proper fix.  

    • Friendly/supportive 1
    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, goldngreen said:

    Excellent. I really enjoyed the video. The slate walls of the cottages and other buildings are very convincing. I love the looming backscene which really evokes the scale of the mountains in the area especially with the cloudy forbidding sky. In particular I like the way you have integrated the backscene with the model at the top of the street. I could say so much more but it all looks great and leaves  viewers in no doubt about which part of the world we are in.

    Thank you very much!

    • Like 1
    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Mikkel said:

    Simply excellent and so well observed. I watched it twice.  The view up the street at 0:59, the brooding scene at 2:03 and the details around the buffer stops at 5:36 were the highlights for me. Other than the shed it's looking finished, or are there plans for more? 


    Thank you very much Mikkel!  I have tried to approach the layout in a bit of a "broad brush strokes first" way - meaning that there is a lot of detail work to do, even on parts that appear finished.  The shed is now complete with roof etc, but that whole area of the layout is still very much a work in progress.   Future projects on the layout include a small amount of narrow gauge of rolling stock and a derelict carriage shed behind the engine shed, Development of the derelict cottage scene at the top of the Southern (tunnel) end of the layout, one or two road vehicles amongst others.  I'll be occupied with the layout for a long time yet!

    • Like 1
    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    Thanks Mikkel for the nice comments!
     

    With regards to the site, the mobile version seems easier to navigate than the desktop version, but in both cases I don't understand how to directly access my blog from my account; I would have thought that would be a simple thing to do.  I'm fairly sure that in the old version of the site it was one of the items in the menu that dropped down from the user name link.   I get a bit grumpy about sites that seem difficult to navigate as after more than 20 years of widespread web creation and use, I feel that site owners and developers have plenty of examples of how to make them easy and clear to access.  In the early days there would be instructions  such as "Click here..." etc, but nowadays people are so familiar with navigating new sites, that I'm surprised by sites which feel clunky to navigate.  I do think that a well designed site navigation system should need little or no explanation in its use.

    I would be interested how many visitors this site is receiving now in comparison to before it re-vamp, though I accept that, at least now, there is a much more mobile friendly version.

    Rant over :)

    If I've overlooked something really obvious please enlighten me.
     

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    Thanks for the nice comments and suggestions everyone!   I am probably going to  go the "leave it as derelict" lobby as represented very well here :)

     

    I have to agree with Wenlock that i like it as it is. Not only does it block the view but I think that having the derelict arch allows for the imagination to take over rather than have everything "explained". 

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    Very nice.

     

    Considering the number of extant disused viaducts from an earlier age (Treffry in Cornwall springs to mind), why not have a complete viaduct?

    That's a valid point but whether the viaduct gets restored or not is going to be an aesthetic choice rather than one driven by what would be the most likely outcome for such a structure. I've done sketches a long time ago which show the viaduct more complete though still derelict and they do appeal to me but the problem is that it might block the view along the main line a bit too much . I shall probably do a quick rough model of the completed viaduct to put in place and try it for appearance and then decide what to do .

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/120431-show-us-your-pugbashes-nellieboshes-desmondifications-jintysteins/

     

    14 pages of extraordinary little locos all based on Nellies, smokey Joes,  pugs and similar.  But be warned, it's huge fun and very addictive

    Yes, it's great!  I did have to Google it externally to find it.... I could just be me but the RMWeb site search facilities didn't help me much at all and I think that the way the topics are accessed is not always that apparent.

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    How did you get the pale lining? I know that most printers will not print white, which would suggest you're using white transfer paper, but then how did you get such lovely neat curves?

    I used white decal paper from Crafty Computer Paper.  The background colours are printed on the white paper and the painted parts of the model are matched by mixing Humbrol colours..   That's fairly easy for me to do, because I paint (pictures) and I'm used to mixing colours.  The lining itself was drawn up on Adobe Illustrator CS2 (which is now very out of date - there may be much improved facilities in the current version of the software), and the basic shapes were defined as rectangles with rounded corners.  I overlaid a series of such rectangles in the order Cream/ Black/ Cream/  Body colour , stepping down a bit in size each time if that makes sense to you :)

    I had to cut out a hole in the decal covering the saddle tank to allow for the water filler, ditto the lining on the back of the cab, which you can't see.  There is a large circular hole there which I believe was used to help with loading coal; that made the decal very flimsy, but it has gone on ok.

    The decal paper has a bit of an "orange peel" finish but that might be due to the way I used the spray varnish as much as the paper itself.  I think by the time the loco has been finished with a slightly more matte finish and some weathering has been added, the orange peel won't really show.

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    That's an extraordinary build, and in many ways more creative than building a kit. Looks like it runs very well too. Very inspirational, I for one would like to see such builds documented in full. 

    Once again, that's very kind of you Mikkel.  I will be happy to do this when I've got a bit further.  I have felt a bit reluctant to do it in  a blow-by-blow way, because I tend to go  along making methods up as I go, and I don't claim any great knowledge of working with the materials I'm using, but I do think I've spotted one or two technical tricks which could be useful to other people.

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    I like that idea too. I generally mark dimensions onto fineline masking tape.  I would have never thought of printing an entire parts onto sticky labels....brilliant!

    The nice things about using a drawing programme like Illustrator include:

    1) you can be incredibly accurate without needing 20/20 eyesight

    2) the lines can be as thin as you like

    3) you can copy, paste pieces or repeat them at will

    Stringfingerling

    Posted

    This is what I use at the moment; they work a treat, and its easy enough to remove the remnants when the part is cut out:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BZ2YOYK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I like that idea too. I generally mark dimensions onto fineline masking tape.  I would have never thought of printing an entire parts onto sticky labels....brilliant!

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