aberdare

Hi Jeff Lovely job of the tunnel portal. Like most others can't wait to see it in the hillside next year. Enjoy your break at your Dad's and it looks as if you have the best chance of snow over there. I remember staying in the Lakes for two weeks a few years ago over Xmas and the New Year and after the first day of rain it then turned into a frosty winter wonderland for the whole two weeks, fantastic. Have a great Xmas and New Year Jim

Just a quick final update before Christmas as I have to vacate the Dining table for the festivities. Things have been a bit slow due to the usual visits of friends and family but this is where we have got to. The final rafters for the roof have now been added ready for the fitting of the planking and roof tiles The finished roof rafters waiting tiling. Another view that shows the shed on its side waiting planking, the first plank is in the foreground being made up as it needs a strip attaching along its length to create the feathered step between each plank. A few of these to make up before commencing. I hope to be able to show a good bit of progress in the New Year but it all depends on how much 'table time' I can commandeer. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and if you find yourselves too merry it is a great time to make that old wonky shed you always wanted. All the best Jim

Morning Jeff Excellent work going on there and it is good to see that you have contracted 'scratchbuilders disease' where you just have to try and put in those minor details that you weren't going to bother with in the first place. You can see now why I was always (and still am) picky over my own stuff. This hobby could drive you insane at times. I'll have to try and keep off here today and get on with some work or I'll be getting left behind. Looking forward to seeing the completed portal. Jim

Jeff I had to have a few days away from modelling and started again tonight and things went really smoothly and I got more done than I normally would, just goes to show a short break and a quick recharge of the old batteries works a treat or else I just know what I'm doing now. Plenty of time tomorrow for tunnel portals. Jim

Thanks Polly Good to see you posting on here too as each post acts as a prompt to move on to the next phase. Modelling had to be postponed for a few days but it came back out tonight and I managed a couple of hours on it to get the roof timbers to three quarters complete, with a bit of luck I will complete them tomorrow. It will then be on with the boarding and the tiling, the latter of these is the one that has always bothered me as I cannot find anything that is just right, I did mention on the station building that I wasn't happy with the Wills full pantiles as they are not prototypical of Hemyock. I do have a 'cunning plan' though to make my own and will be giving that a go in a few days, fingers crossed that it works. I shall look forward to seeing you carriage shed progress as it looks as though you will have a fair bit of Kit bashing to do to get the finished article. More pics on the way when I complete the last three roof sections. Jim

Nice one Jeff, like Jason says it gives one a sense of satisfaction in building it all yourself and like me you may think 'I could have done that bit a bit better' or maybe you don't, Whatever it looks good and I would be happy to have something similar, now what sort of tunnels were around my area? Look forward to the next stages - you are taking it with you to your Dads to finish it, aren't you? Jim

(while you're at it, Hemyock as well - I'll have that £10 for the plug now, Jim!). A tenner!! it was only a fiver last time, I think you must be saving up for that loco you want LoL. Just a quick visit this as I have a few things to sort out on the domestic front before normal service resumes. The tunnel portal is looking great though Jeff, especially those steps. Back soon Jim

Morning all A few trying days ahead as Mrs A is having serious anxiety issues, everything is wrong or is going to break, there's things to do but she doesn't know what and she's very agitated about everything. Anyone would think the world is about to end, oh hang on....21st. Oh well, good job I have infinite patience, enjoy your Sunday and catch you soon. Jim

Looking good so far Jeff, that plastic will be stuck on by now won't it :-) Just looking through your method you didn't really need the first arc on the stone sheet did you? Look forward to seeing it all come together later. Yup they are stuck on alright, while I was typing.

Jeff - it was just a nice easy start to scratch building and getting used to wood, plastic and card without messing up anything critical and so easy to rebuild if I had to. It also got me to cut accurately and more importantly straight. Mikkel - Great to see you here and to receive your praise, as you know I have always found your work to be inspirational to me since I joined, so thank you for being one of those who set a standard for me to aim at. I hope to maintain that during the whole build.

And there was me thinking I was the only who did things twice, obviously not . Good to see it progressing Jeff even if I had expected to see plasticard on it by this time. Busy weekend for me so the model has been cleared from the dining table for a couple of days and I have to wait for some more strip anyway to complete the second half. Andy - (GWR water tower, such filth! ;-} ) Ouch! Pretty much like the leg pulling I get round here living amongst LNER modellers - who funnily enough have some GWR models too, work that out. Look forward to receiving a copy though, thanks . Ooo postman has just brought the bits, now can I find the time. Jim

I find it very difficult to see any difference between the first two swatches being colour blind, as for colour I have to rely on what is available and I use the Precision colour as it looks OK in my eyes. Like Kenton says it's subjective and all the different interpretations of what is right just confuses me all the more, so rightly or wrongly I think I'll stick to what I know, at least I will have some form of consistency across my locos.

Hi Michael Thanks for popping in to see what is happening and glad you like it. I remember when I found this site just over a year ago and saw what was going on I thought I would love to achieve some of the things that were being modelled. It sort stoked the embers of the fire burning within if you like and the only way to participate (in my mind) was to get started and put stuff up for scrutiny and comment. As Jeff has said before you get encouraged and want to do more, which sets off the cycle again. I never really knew what I was capable of until I had another go as I can't even remember how I went about it all those years ago, I think it is coming back to me now though. As for making something like this yourself give it a go, just take your time and practice on something small - that's why I did the cattle dock first. Jim

Morning all Frost slowly going but the road outside is a sheet of ice, mind you with only half a dozen vehicles a day it's not surprising it hangs about. No dog this morning so late up, must get on with chores now before going shopping and having an acupuncture session this afternoon. Jim

Cheers John Believe me when I started this one my initial thoughts were sides, ends and roof, nice and easy it'll be done in a few days. Then I started sketching it out, adding the detail and working out how to add it and look what it turned into, all because I want those detailed bits on. That's the trouble with prototype modelling I guess - no shortcuts.

Evening Jeff I had a quick look at the site for your wood supplies and it looks pretty good, I could have built my shed in wood after all as they have quite a selection of thin balsa. So thank you for that. As for the other things being discussed, a neighbour of mine uses mirrors on his yard which is under the baseboard and if memory serves me right it is a hinged (Piano) section with the joins on the non viewing side of some walls. It then locks at the right angle for him to view the yard. Engineers of the future - well I remember interviewing people for Technical roles before I gave up work and it was a nightmare, now my deputy is having the same issues and has just appointed two people both over 45. Very few youngsters look at it as a career now, so much different to when I was young. But then again we had manufacturing Industries in those days. Anyway far more important things to discuss, like your tunnel mouths, look forward to seeing more as you progress. I'm just giving my fingers a rest from all those fiddly bits I stick together. NB. I was always taught rules measure and rulers rule

Woo Hoo! Tate gallery here I come. Many thanks for the positive comment and yes they were a bit fiddly, well at least the first one was then it was just a question of repeating them and testing the fit to each individual post. The smaller struts I am now working on are even worse though and have caused me a few headaches today but I feel it is necessary to do them as they are visible as can be seen on the link. http://www.disused-s...k/index34.shtml I needed more than one pair of hands to get the positioning right, the bottom ends have to line up, the distance has to be consistent and it has to be upright all in the time the Mekpac sets, which as you know isn't long. So it was on with the thinking cap and this was my solution Out came the helping hands to clamp the rule and get the spacing right as well as acting as a stop for the base of the strut, the square is there just to ensure it is upright from top to bottom. The shed itself is secured to the mat to stop any movement. A close up The strut is glued to the bottom rail first as there is only contact on the corner, this means if I get it wrong it is an easy bond to break and redo before securing higher up. I left the uppermost rail out as I had loads of problems getting the alignment right to allow the struts to sit on all three surfaces, that is if you class a fraction of a mm gap here & there a problem. I obviously did. It is going to take a while cutting and fitting all 128 so I'll see you all in a few days couple of weeks.Now where did I put those tweezers. Jim Jim

Morning Jeff I was up and about getting on with the chores, now sitting down with a mug of coffee and listening to the last session of the test match. No idea what the temp was this morning but even the back door was frozen shut. Back to a bit of modelling this afternoon and evening.

Morning all Another cold start here but due to change, I do love the papers weather reports with the 'beast from the east' now leaving and the 'pest from the west' arriving, what next I wonder. Up at half six this morning as one of the Villagers with a very yappy dog has taken to walking up our lane and it sets the neighbours dogs off, mind you I'll probably lay in if they change their route. The good thing about it was the fire was still in the grate so me and the cat are warming our feet/paws by the hearth. Mrs A won't surface until around 10 when all chores will be done with a nice cup of coffee waiting for her, Have a good day. Jim

Your control panel reminds me a bit of mine, the one I made back in 84 if you recall, it is for all the sections that are going to be in Tiverton Jn (DC control)and all the switches are mounted onto ply with the track plan. It has all the sections painted in the colour of the wires underneath for identification, looks a bit dated now but I thought it was great at the time. Mild weather back for Friday, well normal temperatures for the time of year at least, could be the day for that bus wiring. Jim

Hi Jeff Thank you, yes it is all made out of plastic strip, either Slaters or Evergreen depending on what I already had or where I could find the right size. As for cost it's surprising how the cost of even small items add up, that's why I try and do as much for as little as possible to make my budget go further. I must admit now that the other 128 (64 per side) roof struts are going on it does look complex, I would probably have left these off if they didn't protrude over the sides to be visible, Mind you it is easier than trying to stick on the same amount of ends a couple of mm long. I thought this was the easy one as it had no doors or windows, just shows how wrong you can be once you get into the detail. Jim

Thank you for the positive comments it makes it really worthwhile putting the effort in, I hope to keep the level of detail across all buildings if I feel it is needed as I want any pictures I take to look as close to the prototype as possible. Stefan - I did consider lighting the buildings but think it is too much work and expense for what will be a large layout when complete, however after making the frame I have thought that I might take some dusk shots of a porter with a lamp inside the shed doing a last check at the end of the day. But that is for the future. Many thanks again for the positive comments. Jim

A bit more progress made, the station is still undergoing painting and finishing but will remain incomplete as I have knocked the fencing off 4 times, therefore I thought it best to leave the remainder of that until it gets fixed in place. So it was on with the carriage shed. As this is an open type of building and the internal framework is visible I decided to model all the internal detail as best I could by studying all the relevant photographs, such as in the following link. http://www.disused-s...ck/index4.shtml it is a bit of a distant shot but I have closer ones in my books to work from. I started with the sides and the following pictured show the progress of the build. This was the main posts being fitted to the top rail to form the side. The bottom rail was then added in sections as was an intermediate rail near the top, the roof trusses pass through the gap and extend to the exterior of the shed. The cross bracing was then added to each section. Cross bracing complete. There were then three uprights to add to each section, the centre one in two parts and the outer two in three sections. The completed sections, I found it easier to fit the middle vertical section of the outer struts to make sure they were upright, they took a fair bit of time to fit as I had to cut them a fraction long and keep shaving bits off until I had a good fit. Just as well I do the housework as there were shavings everywhere. The other side was completed in the same way and the end made ready to assemble. I did think about planking the sides first as it would be easier with them flat on the bench, but as the trusses extend through the sides I thought it best to get the roof fit correct before boarding them up. Whether I will regret this or not we will find out. I then started to make the roof trusses so that all the parts could be fitted to get the basic shell. Roof trusses being made. The assembled framework showing the protruding trusses, There are other roof timbers that also protrude from under the roof and these are the next thing on the list but as there are about 64 of them it may take a while. A final interior shot. I think I might need to get the tripod in from the garage and improve the lighting to get a better shot next time. I think my cutting is getting more accurate as each thing is built and I am quite happy with this so far and am looking forward to seeing it completed, Maybe I should set myself a deadline, or maybe not as I don't want to rush it and.... well best not think about that. Plenty left to do yet so I'd better not dally too long on here. Thanks for looking in and feel free to comment. Jim

Morning all A rare visit from me this morning and not even going to attempt catching up on the last few weeks. It's definitely minus a few degrees C out there so I'm keeping myself on the warm side of the back door today. Talking of back doors - wooden ones that is - they always stick in the winter and no matter how much you shave of them they still stick, if I take any more off it won't fit in the summer. Will pop back on here whenever time allows, in the meantime have a good day whatever you do. Jim

Morning Jeff I don't know, I have a few days RMweb free and one of my favourite threads and its OP take to the sick bed, just been catching up on the last few posts pages and expected the tunnel mouth (saturday you said), Oh well it will soon appear now. As for the virus I hope you feel much better today after a good rest, luckily those things are very rare for me, Nov 2007 was the last one as I have an over efficient immunity system. Gives me a few other problems instead. Looking back through the posts I always loved those Beyer Garret engines despite being a western man, I think it was just the engineering aspect of it that fascinated me. Right back to the carriage shed for me and maybe post some of those pictures I keep taking. Keep warm, maintain the caffeine intake and get well soon. Jim