Les1952

Bits and Pieces Starting the tunnel mouth. The girder at the top will be painted grey, though not rusty, and I'll turn the pillars into stone butresses. Amazing how 3-D the Faller cut stone paper looks.

New Years Day Some more pics from yesterday- no modelling done today as it was Newark Toyfair followed by visiting friends. The loading dock is close to finishing, needs a bit of weathering and a good selection of crates and barrels after bedding in. Ineed a good pic for an exhibition manager in fairly short order so I'm concentrating on the brewery area tomorrow. Slightly out of focus but showing the biggest of my diesel fleet testing the new tunnel entrance clearances before detailing with a proper framed aperture. The blue thing on the right is one of the Modelex hand-held controllers. Testing showed that everything works but I still need to chip away some excess ballast here and there..... Looking into the tunnel it is nice and dark and can't be seen right through.

That perishing shed.... Having got the top corner entrance for the tramway improved it needed testing. As there is also a new wall next to the shed I tested the shed again. Trams now won't go in, yet again. Back to the drawing board. Solution- take the middle of the wall out- but that also needs the interior wall to be resited. So, to go with the wall-less shed we have... the shedless interior wall! I tried hanging fire buckets below the lamps but the tram took off the one under the nearer lamp. The shed has been altered to give a false edge at both ends of this wall piece, and looking in through the door the subterfuge isn't noticeable. I'll put fire buckets and safety notices on the new forward facing piece inside the sehd, where the tram can't hit them. Various repair benches and suitable machinery to go on the area tio the left of the track, within the wall. All of that can be seen through the doorway if the shed is tramless. That Faller walling behind is very cleverly printed. It looks 3D but is actually flat. The coping is painted "Graveyard Earth" (Citadel) and will have the Chinese railings on the top.

New Years Eve. Quite a lot done today, music by Mika. First job was to do something about the top corner. I managed to find the houses cut off below the point where I cut the downward slope, and reunited them with the ones already on the backscene. Next a piece of Faller grass mat cut to shape and stuck over balsa formers, with "Graveyard Earth" patches and odd clumps of darker green flock. Not too bad a start but still much to do.. Putting the archway back into place gives this as the view through it with one of the blue trams approaching testing clearance. The Woodland Scenics kit-built pine tree in the background helps the view. Still plenty more to do. Looking down as a tall visitor would see it, the two trees in the first picture have been stuck down and help draw attention away from joins in the backscene, but don't hide the wing the trams enter behind. For this a second pair of trees are needed. These in turn decide what the ground cover behind the flat blocks will need to be. First pic also shows some bare wood visible in the backscene hole, which the extra trees hide from this angle but not from further round. Definite progress, one building and two trees now stuck down in their final positions.

The platform Walling is now painted, the brickwork colour is better when not deadened by the flashgun. Shows Fleischmann BR86 obtained cheaply as a non-runner testing the track through the station. It basically just needed some grease removing from its gear train and replacing with oil. BR86 is my favourite German steam class- I managed to talk my way into the engineering shops in Trier to photograph their "plinthed" one. Despite my not speaking German and the gateman not speaking English we still managed to get through the formalities of my signing an indemnity form to enter the works. Pic also shows the surface gone down onto the platform. Fine surface wet and dry paper (Wilko's cheapest). I'm not yet sure whether to paint it or just let it weather by itself. "Time for bed" said Zebedee- boing! Showing my age again.....

Now where was I? Sitting at the computer desk in the middle of a fit of insomnia.... T'interweb just crashed on me- doesn't like me. A tram driver's eye looking from the tram stop up the hill through the cutting. Taken on Dec 23rd ( a week ago). the walling on the left is the embossed Slater's plasticard. Good, scale-sized stones but I wasn't happy once painted as I couldn't make out the individual stones and would need a microscope to focus on them to vary the colours. Same view a week later. Shows the new Faller stone walling on the left- the stones might be on the big size but they are much better defined. Cruel enlargement shows a join to fix, though the buttresses aren't yet done. Also shows walling added (blu-tacked) at tunnel mouth on right, houses moved closer and the improvement trees make to the skyline. Work has also started on the infill between the tramway and the wall, and on putting wall covering on. Still flitting from job to job as glue has a funny habit of not drying instantly.

It worked!!!! The three storey block that came with it. Less tatty but still going in the second row of the town end. I've ordered a kit to get a second block to go with it. The other two storey block- they came as a set of three from Germany. I don't know whose they were but the one I cut was quite poorly built- the missing corner was very grotty- though not as grotty as after cutting it... These two will need a little TLC, some balcony straightening, detailing etc but still quicker than building them.

First try with Photobucket This should, if it works, be the block of flats with the corner missing. I decided it would be better to get a ready made block on eBay and cut it rather than buy a kit and chop the wrong parts as I built it.... The grotty parts of the two chopped sides are hard against the backscene, thank goodness, and are positioned against a join where the front layer ends.

Friday work No pics again- the server doesn't like me again today..... 1. I've found the bit I cut off the Faller backscene paper that continues the hill at the right hand end- much less obvious, especially when hiding behind a few pine trees. 2. The wall round the brewery is now present on all three sides, and complete on the back and end. Next job here is to paint the capping a suitable colour and start on the metalwork fencing to go with it. 3. I've got five trees made and tried them out in the corner. I'll fix them with blu-tak and try some clearance testing. More pics as soon as I can upload them......

Very interesting layout. Looking at the fun you've been having getting wagon loading working in OO makes me more determined that when I start my colliery layout in N next year the wagon loading in the screens will be cheated......

Very many thanks, Heruss, for the compliment- the layout too often seems like a catalogue of errors. Two more possible exhibition appearances later in 2012- I'll post when they are confirmed. Testing clearances Mr Simon decided that as Gresby is without its ends (one on the floor and the other on the workbench) he would try some of his stock on FO. The Class 60 came in useful for finding bits of track where the ballast was too close to rail top, and also gave the maximum dimensions for stuff that will run on the railway- it only just clears the corner of the wall at this point. None of my stock is as long- it is a private light railway, not the DB after all. I don't think Mr Simon was pleased that his nice modern BR bogie wagons won't go round the corners........ Tough! Side note- hole in ballast since fixed.

Top corner nasties This was taken before the roadway was entended into the front corner. The houses for the top are all now made or bought and butchered- the half-relief at the far right has been replaced by the small shop that was going to be on the lower level. The apartment block next to the backscene is chopped to fit the space. One change is that the brewery will not now have a courtyard in front of it. The gateway will be at the side and there will just be a parking and turning area in front of the buildings (front of building is side facing houses). Behind the houses is still a problem- this is to have trees- looking up "trees of the Black Forest" I find they are mostly pines or firs. The selection of firs at Wendy's today mostly looked like bog brushes, so I bought Woodland Scenics Pine kits. They may be a bit dubious as pines when finished but won't look like a small clump of bog brushes parked in the corner. Next job here is to look at how the ground cover on Rowlands Castle was done beneath the pines.

The left corner Note the taller bank building, tall enough to distract the eye from the join in the backscene just behind it. Note though that the corner behind it is still a mess- this needs to be hidden- the department strore (Kaufhaus) will go here. I've also found a better solution to the problem of the corner of the wall at the end of the railway arch on the left- more pics of this when it is finished.

First of new pics- ten weeks into the project. Taken on Christmas Day- shows the top level buildings are all now sourced, but also shows nasties to be dealt with in each corner.

Additional decisions The blue bank building has regained its two floors and has been turned through 45 degrees. This gives enough space for the low relief houses behind it. There will be the beginnings of a set of steps in sight, and the exit at that corner will be covered by a modern department store, with the railway and tramway running through the basement. The view of the turn on the railway through the gateway arch can be hidden with the Woodland Scenics stone walling, cut to fit. Turning the bank onto an angle and putting the houses at the back also means the space in front is now crying out to have a street market. DM Toys do German market stalls as lasercut kits in N, so I'll get some of those when the PayPal balance recovers. Opposite the gate on the Market Square can be a newer Rathaus. Kibri do one of the right style. The white shopping building is going altogether. I'll look for another two or three more traditional shops.

Dec 29th I was going to post plenty of pictures this evening but the uploader won't co-operate. So a list of what has happened- 1. The stone walling above the railway has been done as far as the goods laoding dock. 2. The track has been vacuumed again and holes in the ballast repaired again. This part is getting tedious.... 3. The stone walling on the tramway cutting has been removed and replaced by Faller Black forest stone card- as Faller are from Gutenbach which is only 5Km from Furtwangen I reckon they have a better chance of getting the stone colour right than I do! 4. The nasty loading dock is now almost finished- the roof is complete, platforms added and canopies applied. 5. I've been over to Wendy's and spent a small fortune, coming away with cobblestones for the factory area, and some Woodland Scenics pine tree kits. She didn't have barrels or similar, but Newark Toyfair is on Sunday so I might get some there. Only 16 weeks to its first exhibition outing at Cotgrave, (but that is more weeks than it has been in build so far)

Mr Simon has suggested making the roof as two seperate pieces. Back to the drawing board..........

Wednesday- shopping finished (for now). Walked to town this morning- no Slaters plasticard on sale in Newark- will have to source that after Christmas. Plenty of other things to do apart from the arch. The Chinese railings arrived this morning. They look a bit big. I'll try a few tests here and there. As I still want them round the brewery I'll have to widen the top of the wall. I'll not now put them on the ramp to the platform. This pic also shows the Italian Sand colour of the walling, prior to weathering. Nasty enlargement also shows brickwork lifting- more fettling to add to the list. Today's workshop music by Meatloaf. Still nasty but getting better.... The apex of the loading bay has been giving me problems, exacerbated by not being able to cut straight even when my wrist is working. The first shows an attempt to get the gap closed with microstrip. Even after painting I'm not happy with it. Kitichen foil has improved it but will need the front edge gluing down better. Getting there but still a long way to go.

Slow Tuesday Wrist acting up today so an early stop as I'm having difficulty holding a paintbrush. One decision- to go with Humbrol for the stonework around the gateway and Citadel's Italian Sand for the brickwork around the tramway. Both should show up reasonably when weathered- in the case of the brickwork very lightly weathered! This shows the first coat of brown on the arch over the railway, not a bad match. The gubbins at the far left doesn't work, so I'll get some OO stonework card to fill the gap up to the sidescene. I've done a little remedial work on the ballast, and will need to do more yet.... This view through the tramway arch shows what I've got to hide! This corner isn't nice- however there will be a building over both railway and tramway into the corner, and I need curved walling to hide the view through the hole. There isn't room for a street- this would be beyond the building.

Monday again.... Not a lot of modelling done this morning, the priority being improving the workshop. I did a trial a couple of months back with secondary double glazing using A3 acrylic sheets- saves me shattering them by cutting. Six sheets fits one window aperture- the non-opening windows being done across the frame edges and the openers on the actual opeining window. I tested the heat loss and decided it was effective- but the supplier had run out of sheets. . However he had more last week to order and it arrived this morning. . Here is the result, looking down the shed from my seat. Mr Simon had placed one end of Gresby on the bench, and the test track is beyond. Good news is that there were two sheets left over, an order for 18 sheets appeared as 20!!!!!. These will (hopefully) cut down the middle (I'll ask Trevor to use his circular saw bench) and will make a perspex anti-gerfingerpoken screen.

Quiet Sunday Oh no it wasn't - this morning's music was Slade, to repel all visitors before they get to the door. Quieter aftermoon with Gryphon. Mr Simon was in town photographing buildings so didn't need the workshop for Gresby. I spent quite some time fettling the tramway points. They now all stay set for the route I want thanks to a tiny dab of superglue to hold the blade against the stockrail. Trams just ride over a point set against them. I could have done this ages ago if I'd thought of it and reclaimed the motors for the three on the front. A lot of time also spent scraping invisible glue from the running rails. Trams will now cruise at a steady 10mph. Still a few bits to clean to get them even slower. Also shows progress on the stairs and the top of the ramp, brickwork mostly done but capping yet to be put on. I've been flitting from job to job to allow glue to dry on each part thoroughly. Having put part of the roof on the loading bay I'd not realised just how much the tram disappears as it comes down the hill. I think I like the result. Also shows the wall behind the cutting starting to appear. Loading bay has had some more work done since this pic, as has the wall. The top end of the backscene with all bits in place. Most of this will have buildings in front of the backscene, though as yet they either haven't arrived or are stlll in their boxes waiting to be built. The dodgy bit just off the photo to the left will be behind the brewery chimney. The Town Gate is now stuck down and I've begun the wall extension beyond it. The white is the Woodland scenics walling I had intended to use at the top end, all of this being held up with blu-tak while I look at clearances and effect.. The back of the arch has had stones made up separately to match the effect of the Ratio front. Cruel enlargement and low angle also shows the amount of work still needed to finish the ballast.

We did try Mr Simon's pair on my Kato Unitrack test track, and they worked on the Kato magnet, which is slightly longer than the Dapol one.

Another compliment, many thanks for that- I'm sure I don't deserve them... Saturday- backscene done. A day off yesterday, morning spent shopping and afternoon at a funeral. Evening spent earning the next expenditure on eBay. Today's music by the Moody Blues then Mika. The second (and third) layers of the backscene are now in place. I can now get a better idea of where buildings are going to be- in some cases going to HAVE to be. This bit works reasonably well, though it is a shame Faller couldn't match colours of sky that continues across two sheets....... Mr Simon has attacked the white top edges of the layers with green or blue chalk so the edges are a little less pronounced- said he didn't trust me to do it with fibre pen (cheek!). The bottom corner doesn't work so well yet- too many joins between backscene parts. I'm currently thinking of hiding the two holes in the backscene here with a building right in the corner- built on stilts to allow the railway and tramway to escape under it easliy. Other work moving is the white loading dock which now has its roof on (if unfinished) and the floor completed. All I need are about 400 beer crates and a number of kegs to go in it. I've also started the stone wall behind the loading dock and tramway, and done most of the brickwork in the station area. I'm getting a bit worried about the points at the right-hand end of the station. I'm going to apply a dose of oil to them tomorrow and then have some intensive running of the tramway. Plan B is to replace them with a pair of the new ones set into paving already- though that is a last resort if they fall apart.

Looking at the second sky and comparing it with pictures of the first one I think I've got better cloud arrangements second time (as well as missing the wrinkles out...) The interesting clouds are away from the hill this time. I've also discovered about ten feet of low hills I cut off the bottom of the backscene sheet, larger and closer than the hill I've used. Just right for the front layer.

Thursday- a good day. Back to normal today- the wrist splint is in the wash and the ibuprofen gel overnight worked. Have stopped at 2.30pm as the wrist is getting tired. Music today by Slade, Meatloaf and Russ Conway, though not all at the same time. This corner looks familiar, but moving the gate round about 30 degrees means I can use a Ratio tunnel mouth as a wall extension with an archway over the railway. The Woodland scenics walling from page 1 can go behind this as a wall extension, together with some bits from Faller. It works!!!!! I must confess I wasn't sure whether I would be able to repair the backscene but the new sky has gone on just about flat, though with a drop of about 1mm every 3 feet across at the top. I'll use some plastic channeling to finish the top and hide this... The first (or rearmost) hill has also gone on- held off the back with 0.8 mm balso to give the 3-D effect. The hill is now higher than it was, so a second, closer hill will go in front of it at each end when my wrist is well enough to spend 2 hours with a craft knife cutting them out. Now for something nasty. The loading dock with its first coat of whitewash, which might be the only coat if it dries solid enough just to weather over the top. Also showing that the balsa retaining wall has now progressed at this end as far as the loading dock.