Les1952

Wednesday - no modelling today. The splint on my wrist has been causing problems today- shooting pains beyond the end of it when I try simple things like steering the car. So a day off modelling while the ibuprofen gel does its stuff. The good news is that Furtwangen Ost has a firm invitation to appear at the Cotgrave Exhibition on 21st and 22nd April at Cotgrave Miners' Welfare, Notts. Many thanks to Bingham MRC for the invite. No time to waste - tomorrow the new sky goes in and another tidy-up of the ballast. Went shopping instead of modelling- have now got 3 sheets of 0.8mm balsa, the double-sided tape, some textured paper I might try as the brewery yard surface, and some brass rod for the tramway uprights in case the plastic rodding supplied by N-Brass isn't strong enough.

An eBay find I've been looking for suitable small fencing to go on top of walls, around the brewery and as the tramway passes through the town area. If a new tramway were built through a historic area it would have smart wrought iron railings to set the job up properly, at least that is how the theory goes. This is the stuff- 4 metres of it coming. I'm not expecting it for a few weeks yet as it has to come from China.

Definitely the thirteenth of the month Trevor came around today and fitted the extensions to the backscene. Isn't industrial hot glue wonderful stuff- takes a little longer to dry than the hobby stuff giving a fighting chance of lining things up. The wrinkly sky is a result of PVA not setting evenly enough. Fortunately there is at least five feet of leftover sky so I can re-do it and use double-sided tape on the second attempt. I need more thin (1mm) balsa before I do the hills in front, so it won't hold events up too far. Positives The new ramp to the platform looks much better than the first attempt, the thinner walling is much more suitable. I'm looking for suitable width plastic strip to make the capping. The tram shelter is the first of the pair assembled and painted- positioning trial so far. I've made the wall around the steps at the far end of the ramp but not yet got the brickwork in place. I've also repositioned the town gate- at 30 degrees to the line of the layout. That will give a little more room beside it for the wall arch over the railway, and make it easier to prevent a sight-line from the arches to the hole in the backscene. I've also done a bit more on the arch house at the top end. Mr Simon came back from shopping in Lincoln over the weekend with a sheet of brick plasticard. This is the first change to the low-relief loading dock. The fancy walls and doors on the front will stay as the original Faller, with new ends and platforms. The walls on this will be white. I'm not sure whether to make use of the unused station canopy, and the bothy from the shed building may yet be used on it. Another bitza in the making.....

Very many thanks SNCF stephen for the compliment- I hope the finished article will deserve it. I'll know on Tuesday evening whether or not it is to make its exhibition debut in April at Cotgrave. Aren't photos cruel? That's why we take them. I've spent an afternoon on the walling and platform ramp, and the photo shows it looking crap. The 5mm balsa can stay for the retaining wall at the back, though I'll need to tidy the brickwork. Retaining walls often were quite thick, and this one is holding up a town. On the front of the ramp I'll replace the wall with much thinner stuff. I'm still prototyping brick paint to get the right shade for the region so for the time being it can stay as grey engineering brick. On colour schemes I've finally got the right shade of roof tiling, a ceramic paint I picked up from Hobbycraft's remainders basket. Shame it is gloss- I'll photograph it when I've got a layer of matt varnish over it.

Looking at the last two photos I'm reasonably happy with the roof, but I feel the need for a little touch up session tp the left of the upper window, and some grey around the top of the chimney won't go amiss.....

The case for the extra three inches Using some of the spare sky has rather clinched the need for a backscene that is a little higher than the buildings... The photos say it all. A quick look in the shed and a phone call to Trevor has revealed there is enough ply left to add three inches to the backboard. We've a Farndon Road day on Monday so I'll pick up the extra bits there. For those who know of Farndon Road we are selling it, but are having a work day on Monday (and Tuesday?) to finish the fiddle yard wiring and correct some ground colouring before we readvertise it. Today's work has seen the ground level of the top raised to the level of the tramway, and the disabled access ramp installed to the station. Bricking and painting of this to follow later. Music by Mika.

Mr Simon has suggested that as the buildings are taller than the backscene it might be an idea to raise the top of the backscene by a couple of inches. Much more and there won't be enough depth of sky to position the hills against. Time to talk to Trevor to see if there is still 5' by 2-3 inches left over from lining the shed....

We've been here before, but it shows how much difference the backscene makes, even in an unfinished state.

Two Months Progress I started this project on October 9th by dismantling the baseboard to turn the MDF top over in its frame. This photo shows how far I've got in two months. The backscene has been cut to fit and blu-tak used to hold it temporarily into place. I don't altogether like it- most of the hills work but one or two bits need moving. There is enough unsullied sky cut off the top to make a complete sky backscene and then stick the hills onto it- perhaps a millimetre proud to give slight 3D effect. Playtime with the spare three feet off the left end beckons. In the mean time I've got the balsa for the ground at the top end. A little playing to get some pics for Bingham MRC to be unimpressed over, see if I can get into the club show in April as a work in progress. Four more months will see buildings all but done and ground finished, leaving population and detailing to do, which will no doubt take forever..... A better one of the knight sitting in his alcove. The scenery behind makes it look a lot less poor.....

Positioning trial- top end Thinking about how the brewery is going to sit at the top end- the red Kibri building can have one end of the Faller goods building from eBay behind as an admin block. Putting it hard against the kibri building will hide the fact it has 2 blank walls..... The DPM building then sits above the level change, with the boiler house left over from the shed building added to it. That puts the goods lift in the Kibri building at the right place to feed the low relief loading shed below, currently in its mostly dismantled state. Back story is that the tramway was built through the brewery site, causing the rear part of the loading shed to be demolished for it. Tenuous or what? The balsa at the right hand side continues the line of the houses forming the archway for the tramway exit.

Tuesday- ballast, backscene and beyond I've got the second coat of green gloss on one end of the layout and the first coat on the other end so it was time to get the Faller backscene out and blu-tak it to the wall to get some idea of how much I'm going to use. Today's music- Moody Blues then Strawhead- a good description of my brain today. The hill falls away at the right-hand end so setting that into the right-back corner will allow the ground to fall away and some sky to show behind the arch house. the left-hand end will still be a little green and high but will have houses showing behind the shed and the town wall as the train passes through. Exactly what wants cutting for where is still a little uncertain- I'm working on it. I'll blu-tak it to the plywood once cut in case it needs some adjustment. Ballast infilling well in progress. I've stuck the platform into place so the ballast can be filled in to a proper edge. Hopefully once the sleeper tops are uncovered again not so much of the infill will come away this time. Still, it is only the second gluing- I expect another two or three rounds of infilling before it is finished. Also shows the shade of green used for the surrounds. I found some odd pieces in the bits box and have made the steps from platform to street. This is just a fitting trial at present. They need painting and then walls and railings added. To the left will be a ramp access down. I've got balsa along a lot of the vertical surfaces now, ready for the brick overlay. Also started today but not photographed- I've made a start on the low relief loading building by destroying the Faller one from eBay and gluing the two halves end-to-end. No photo yet- it now has to be painted white and then all the bits I pulled off can be stuck back and a new platform made for it to fit the location.

Sunday evening- The man in the alcove. This was the kniight before painting- not too preposessing. Progress so far with the stonework on the arch- still some more to do on the side and over the platform, which will also need some people putting on it. At least there is progress in a generally forwards direction. Tomorrow morning is booked for painting the right-hand end board. Once that has dried the paper backscene can go in and I'll get some idea of how things are really going to look.

Looking at the top picture here I've also got to pick out the iron strengtheners on the stonework.....

Sunday morning, painting, weathering, sticking Before going out to the workshop I took a long hard look at some photos of the Hochburg, an old castle near Emmendingen on the edge of the Black Forest (and only 20 miles from Furtwangen). The white between the stones of the gate is actually right, but the crud the wash left on the roofs isn't anything like. So, using a tin of dark brick borrowed from Mr Simon I've repainted the two roofs, and also done the one on the small shop. Next job with the town gate will be to pick out some of the stones in a couple of different shades of grey or grey/brown. The cupola needs painting so it doesn't look plastic and the knight needs finishing- he is now Mithril silver with a white shield. I've had a paint trial on part of the brewery building, doing in white a couple of bays that can remain hidden. Result- the other side of the brewery will face the front, cleaned up a bit more rather than painted. Also done- the two halves of the arch building have been united, leaving a gap under the archways- a job for plasticard. The station platform is now stuck down. I can't get to the right hand end of the layout to paint the outside until Mr Simon takes the end board off Gresby- he'd better do it tonight or we can't eat tomorrow as the top of the freezer is currently blocked.

Spent most of yesterday afternoon washing the gateway building with dirty thinners- I don't like the result......

Déju Vu (all over again!) Looks just like an earlier post, doesn't it. This is the front of the top-end arch at the end of stage 1 of construction. About two more sessions needed to get it to the stage where I can customise it. Cutting while wearing a splint isn't easy, the splint is intended to stop you moving your wrist the way you need to in order to work the knife. Other jobs done- the first wash of dirty thinners over the town arch- I'll see how that looks in the morning before deciding what more needs doing. I've started painting the knight that lives in the alcove- Mithril silver for his armour. I've also had a little go at the ballast edge where the platform goes so I can stick the platform down before finishing the ballast. Some more prototype houses from the Black Forest. I'm finding more timbered ones which is a great relief.

Friday- ground infill My wrist has been a lot less painful today than yesterday, whatever the doctor put in the jab seems to work. However I have managed to get green paint on the splint........ A visit to Access Models today netted two pieces of Balsa wood (need two more to finsh, however) and some silver paint for the statue in the alcove. There was enough Balsa to fill the ground level at the town end to the level of the tram track. This has allowed me to try out some positioning for the buildings. Also while playing I've cleaned both the tramway and the railway track and run a few test trams and test trains. All is now running smoothly on the tramway, though there is a dip in the railway track by the station platform which I might leave as speeds are slow. This one shows the tramway and railway below. The diesel loco is new- a Fleischmann one with DCC and a flashing lamp on the cab top, even when running analogue. The buildings will stay in a row leading to the tram shed at the end, but I need another one for the left-hand corner and one in the middle, and I'm not yet totally happy with the order. I still need an identity for the white building.. Trying out some masking for the exit at the town end. The blue building fits nicely here, and a construction behind the archway with a pitched roof should mask the hole in the backscene from above. The railway will go through an arch to the left of the gateway, made as a continuation of the wall, with walling against the backscene and false walling and roofing to give the impression that it straightens up rather than continuing the curve- also to hide the second backscene hole. The blue building will be a bank. I still need another to go opposite it to give a street effect. And yes, the tram does run smoothly through the arch without hitting it.

December already.... Where did 2011 go? Today was the fitting of the backscene and end boards, and the cut-down front panel. At least Trevor did the joinery and all I had to do was hold things. just as well as I had a jab which has made my right wrist very painful, and have to wear a splint on it for eight weeks..... Next job is to paint the outside green gloss to make it look presentable, and continue with the buildings. At least now progress can be made on the shed as the position of the back of it is set by the backscene. I can also now patch the ballast.

Short day- Wednesday Got to go to the Repetitive Strain clinic today, so progress might slow for a while, especially if I have to strap up my right arm. Today' s music is Meatloaf again, largely because I couldn't be bothered to change the CD...... I resisted the temptation to touch up ballast and have been working at buildings, the town gate being almost finished. The alcove is to take a knight, but he looks naff unpainted- off to Access models (Friday?) to get some Citadel paints to make him presentable. The two dots over the smaller arch are for a date plaque which I've left off altogether. Over this arch will be a sign saying "Stadtmitte" ( Centre Ville for non-German speakers like me.....). Weathering to hide glue marks etc is also still to start- the bottle of dirty thinners for the wash isn't dirty enough yet. I've done nothing more on the shed building. that is waiting for the backscene so I can make some positioning judgements that will affect the right hand side of it. The first part of the top end arch- actually the ground floor of the back half. I've decided to build the two low relief arch houses in the Faller kit back to back to make a complete house with arch. Exactly how far round the curve to site it I'm not sure yet- it should be easier to work out when the backscene is in place and i can look at sight lines. Rather like building a set on a theatre stage, which never goes exactly where it had been designed to be, and gets moved about until you are quite sure the punters can't see into the wings too easily.

We have power! Postman was early this morning, with a delivery from Modelex of the expected pair of handheld controllers. Guess what? I spent the morning finishing and testing the wiring by doing the bits between the transformer and the switch panels... Today's music by Meatloaf, Slade again over the weekend while I patch the ballast. The green light says it all (can't you focus a picture?)- power in all the right places and no short circuits. On Thursday the whole lot goes off to Trevor Webster (aka "the man who made the baseboards") of Stamford East and Parnhams fame to have the backscene boards added. At this point it will start to look a bit like a model railway, says he hopefully.........

Sunday update I took the vacuum cleaner into the workshop and gave the track (and the floor) a going over. Most of the ballast has stuck down well- very few holes where the glue didn't go, but a few more places need patching, mostly around the points where I've been a bit timid. I can see one or two places where I've been a bit overenthusiastic and gone too far above the sleeper tops. They're tomorrow's job. Still, all of the track works, and all four points still carry current onto the blade when switched, so it isn't all bad news.

Another prototype pic This is the Riegeler Bier brewery next to the Kaiserstuhlbahn, about 30 miles from Furtwangen. Looks like painting the brewery walls white might be a good idea...... Ballast still drying, a little touching up of edges done yesterday. Visitors tomorrow so the next ballast inspection will be Monday.

Thursday- boring ballasting A day in the workshop with Slade blasting out loudly (to repel all boarders) while I busied myself with the usual mix of PVA and water (with a frissance of Fairy liquid). The area between the tracks in the loop was included as I decided it would be ballast with a hint of greenery. The areas between other tracks I left as I'm not yet sure what I'm doing with them. The pencil marks on the masking tape are an attempt to keep some form of tabs on how far I'd got- it didn't always work. Progress with the town end gateway- perhaps putting white panels on white paper aren't a good idea as the windows don't show up..... Faller's instructions are much more vague than Vollmer's. I've been told I'm on the shopping run tomorrow morning so I'll call in at Access Models for some wider styrene strip and larger angle iron for the shed front, and some Games workshop thinners to do the inside wall. Rest of the day weathering a 4MT tank and a V2. Now to have a post-ballasting nervous headache while I wait for Sunday and running the vacuum cleaner over the layout to see what didn't stick.....

Wednesday progress A pack of droppers for ballasting arrived this morning- I've promptly mislaid them! However i have painted the rail sides on the whole of the railway (yawn) after looking at a lot of photos of the Kaiserstuhlbahn which is the nearest SWEG operation to the real Furtwangen. I used Humbrol No.83 as the best match. The low releif house kits arrived from Germany this afternoon- the archways are just the right size to take the tram through.

Mr Simon made a suggestion- that I move the shed backwards so the trams straighten up before the entrance- it didn't work as the trams are too long but it set me thinking. I've moved the supports for the upper level back by about 0.5 cm which will give a little more space. These will be fixed down properly tomorrow. The new entrance is just wide enough, but I'll widen it a little further and make a roller-shutter door in the open position. Testing with the cream and green tram, chosen for the simple reason it was the first one I picked up. One of these views also shows the effect of the brick walling inside the shed, which is held up temporarily with Tomix paving pieces. Viewing that walling inside the doorway, I think I will paint it. Perhaps a sort of industrial grim green....... Looking at the second picture, to the right of the doorway- isn't it strange how a piece of styrene angle can look to the naked eye as if it is seated properly along its full length when the camera shows it isn't? Another job to correct tomorrow. For that matter the lintel looks higher at one end, despite counting brick courses. The half-covered window wants bricking up, as does its opposite number.