IanLister

Hi

It's a DG coupling. I use them on my layout and they're outstandingly good if set up accurately...delayed action uncoupling.

Ian L

Hi. First couple of fishing boats for Tweed South Bank finished.......

Hi

The stations on the branch I'm modelling had concrete slabs 18' square on most of the platform surface, with the occasional yorkstone paved area in the posh bits.

I've modelled this with Advanced Lightweight Polyfilla; the paving is precast in sections about 300mm x 75mm, stuck down, sanded and scribed, whereas the concrete area is laid in place with a pallette knife, sanded smooth, scribed and painted. Various indentations, holes etc were left in place as the concrete is 80 yrs old.......a convenient excuse.

I haven't finished weathering it yet but am posting the pics now in case it may be helpful.

Ian

Hi Polybear

I buy the walnut strip from Jotika-ltd.com.

Jotika are a manufacturer of model ship kits in the West Midlands.

They sell walnut strip in packs of 10 x 1m lengths. I buy 1mm x 4mm for turnout timbers and 1mm x 3.5mm for regular sleepers. Costs around £3  a pack if I remember correctly.

All cut to length using a small model maker's guillotine; my record is over 750 per minute, assisted by a bottle of decent beer!

Best to order by phone as the 3.5mm is a special they use for deck planking in their kits but will sell if you ask for it. Delivery usually 2-3 days. They're very helpful.

Hope this helps....

Ian 

Hi

I use butanone to fix C and L chairs to walnut strip sleepers. I find it gives a stronger bond with the walnut than with ply, as the grain is more open and allows the plastic to soak in, as it were.

I tried both and found the walnut to be far superior, less expensive and much more realistic looking.

The pic below shows walnut sleepered track with just a light wash of black after laying:

I've laid over 40 metres of track and 25 turnouts so far on my layout using this method and find it a very straightforward and satisfying process.

Hope this helps

Ian

2 hours ago, David jennings said:

Wow!! Can you tell us a bit about how / what materials etc ? 

 

Hi David.

The building shells are 3mm foamboard covered on the outside walls with a thin layer of Advanced Lightweight Polyfilla which is scribed when dry to represent the stonework.

Roofs are plasticard with slates from selfadhesive matte photopaper, cut into strips using the Silhouette cutter, which is a lot easier than the knife/ruler method I used to use!

Window and door frames etc are made using the Silhouette, as are the decorative awning valances.

The paving slabs, coping stones, chimney stacks and much of the decorative stonework detail is made from the same filler as mentioned above, but cast in slabs 2mm and 3mm thick. It's very easy to cut, sand, file , paint etc; the area of paving on the station concourse is all one piece scribed and painted.

The ironwork for the canopies was designed and cut using the Silhouette cameo.

The 'under construction' timber waiting rooms/refreshment bar is made from plasticard; every bit of it was cut or scribed using the silhouette Cameo. The diagonal 3" planking was scribed on 30 thou using a shallow blade setting on the cutter; much easier than scribing it and far more accurate. Style is based on the waiting shed at Wooler and the verandahs on the other A and C stations.Not the easiest prototypes to copy, but it's right for the model.

Hope this helps.........

Ian

Hi Ian.

Really enjoyed the video; you've created a really convincing and believable scene. It must be a very satisfying layout to operate.

Ian

Hi Ian

That's looking good. If you decide to revisit wiring your posts try EZ line; it's available in the UK. It's an elastic polymer thread which comes on a reel and the elasticity deals with the sag issue and makes it very easy to put in place. The finer grade would work well in 2mmFS. It's an American product but available in the UK. I've used it for lineside wire and post fencing and also for fishing boat rigging on my 2mm layout.

Ian

Hi.

How do I get rid of a dead blog?

Ian Lister

Hi

Self-adhesive photo paper with an appropriately sized grid printed on is easy to align. I use two rows from the grid for each visible row, with the individual slates cut halfway through (one row). The uncut row makes for easy alignment  as each row overlaps, and there's a printed line to work to. The photo paper is 110gsm, which looks about the right thickness, and is a dream to paint.

Hope this makes sense; it's easier to do than to describe!

Ian

Hi

I make my own corrugated iron sheets as used in the pic below:

I cut strips of aluminium foil (the heavier duty stuff like turkey foil works best but any will do) about 10-12cm long and about 16-20mm wide. These are wrapped round one of those plastic screwtop lids with small corrugations to aid grip when opening; coffee jars, Nutella and various others. I look for deeper ones as they're easier to use. The foils is pressed into the corrugations by finger pressure and occasionally by pressing with a screwdriver blade or something similar. It can then be removed and cut to appropriate sheet size. It's easy to do, easy to glue and paint, costs next to nothing and has appropriately thin edges, which to me is very important from the appearance point of view.

Hope this helps

Ian

Nice layout with a lot of details in the scenery. Did you use extruded polystyrene for your hills?

The scenery formers are XPS craftfoam sawn and sanded to shape and painted before static grass etc.

Ian

I have been looking at flock/scatter and I wonder if this might help [i'm not tech savvy enough to create a hyperlink, but cut and paste into a search engine should do it]

http://www.modelscenerysupplies.co.uk/scatter-flock-ground-cover-trees-and-bushes/flowers/coarse-purple-flock-fP392

It's difficult to tell from images, and how coarse do you want the flock. Maybe worth contacting them - their contact page gives a  few options.

Hope this helps,

Macbear.

Hi

If you have trouble finding the flock, try artists oil pastels grated with a fine cheese grater. You can get a set of 50 for about a fiver and there will be several shades of purple in there. All the flowers in the pics below were done with this method:

Hi Tim

Great to see you finally able to make some progress with time and space to get on. No excuses.........

My Spittal and Tweed Dock EM layout is developing just a couple of miles along the road from Coldstream in a 40ft workshop in Wark. Any time you're up here doing research pop in for a chat.

Regards

Ian

Spittal Forge in place on the layout, with stables, garden and the beginnings of scenery:

Excuse the temporary backscene; if I put the full one on I can't reach to work and if I leave it off most of the stuff ends up on the floor..............

Ian

IanLister - that looks absolutely amazing. Scribed foamex?

Hi.

The stonework is scribed Advanced Lightweight Polyfilla on plasticard. Same stuff used for stone setts (with a homemade stamp), gungy looking ash and cinders and the pile of sand. I also mould it into flat sheets about 3mm thick and make steps, coping stones, flagstones etc out of it.

Ian

Hi

Spittal Upper Forge...first building on my new 4mm layout:

Ian

One thing I would be concerned about with wood (from an outside point of view with no experience) is long term warping or moisture induced swelling (e.g. when soaking the ballast with glue).  Can anyone who has used this before comment on it's long term stability vs. plastic or soldered track?  Is it fine so long as you do something to protect the wood?

Hi Rabs

I did quite a bit of research before settling on my material of choice, and 2 things influenced my decision in a big way apart from the properties of the walnut strip. Firstly, it's used by professional builders of very expensive model sailing ships for deck planking and other things in quite long lengths with no major issues, apparently. Secondly, and after I'd done some experimenting, I read an article in the railway modelling press by someone whose name escapes me at the moment who has apparently been testing different woods for track building for many years and reckons walnut is the best to use; I was impressed by the evident knowledge and tone of authority in the article so like a typical beginner decided to blindly follow his lead......sorry to be so vague about the source but I can't find the article to give you the details! I think it was in the copy of MRJ that featured 'Tucking Mill' by Jerry Clifford....a magazine which I inadvertently left on the Caledonian Night Sleeper somewhere between Euston and Glasgow.

Ian

Hi

The sleepers for the experimental turnout I built just before Christmas are 2mm walnut strip; it's very easy to work and quite inexpensive...13p per metre in fact, if I remember correctly.......

That looks amazing in the close up pics Steve. It must look even better 'normal size'!

Ian

Congratulations Jerry. A great read, wonderful pictures and a real source of inspiration to other 2mm layout builders. Strangely, my drive to Camborne to buy the MRJ took me through Tuckingmill...........

Ian

I bought a largish sheet of 1/32 ply cut a piece about 50mm wide (25ft timbers?) then with a steel rule and a standly knife cut off strips using one of the plastic strips as a guide. Do the first cut lightly ensuring it runs straight and parallel to the edge then the next passes can be heavier and will follow the line of the first. The strips can be cut to legth to match your template (or guide lines if you haven't bother with a template). Something you can do on a board on your lap whilst either not really listening to the TV or sat in the motorhome. Do beware of a small dog sharing the seat with you. I might try 1/64th another time as it should cut easier and need less ballast.

Don

Thanks Don.....I might give that a try; looks good.

Ian

Hi Don

Very impressed by your use of plywood sleepers; if you don't mind me asking, did you cut these yourself or buy them ready-cut from somewhere? I've looked but can't find a supplier........

Ian

Hi. I saw this layout at the Bodmin show today and it is much much better even than the excellent pictures suggest. Val and I spent the whole of our 3 hour visit studying it and could have stayed longer. Thanks also to John and Jerry for the very helpful and informative conversations.

Ian