KH1

Little Iz swears it was her idea - personally I am not quite so sure (she would probably have preferred Wombles living under there anyway!), but here we are with a little underground distraction. Firstly a foamboard box split into three compartments Then some paneling. Note that I quickly grew board of gluing each one so applied some double sided tape to the walls and stuck the coffee stirrer planks to that. Then a bit of wood stain. And some furniture from scraps of balsa; Then it was off to The Range for some battery powered Christmas LED lights. Now I know the sort of down lighting that has resulted is not really correct but I did build a hurricane lamp around an LED but it was just too bright. I then made some candles from fiber optic but, although cool weren't bright enough. I may try these again later but Christmas lights will do for now. And now all detailed with lots of stuff you can't really see; And here it is all in place under the layout; I really enjoyed this little project - a bit slap dash with no real plan but has turned out rather well in the end and should be a bit of a talking point at exhibitions (of which I have several more lined up for next year now), even if it is almost impossible to photograph properly!

Greenscene do something that would replace the clay which is just painted on. Mind you it does remind me of a slightly rubbery Artex so you could experiment with a bit of that and PVA or even decorators caulk and fine sand to give a bit more texture.

In that glorious country of France they sell sirop of grenadine etc in metal tube like containers. I know it might not be as exciting as beer to drink but am sure they would be long enough to do a coach in one go.

Firstly a big thank you for all the fine comments on the pictures in last post - is good to know I am doing something right! But now onto less conclusive matters..... Having had a bit of a busy spell with work progress has been a bit slow on the KB Scale Hudson but have been managing to do a little bit each day and have made it to here; I know the boiler isn't fitting correctly but that is because I haven't cut off the spare length of motor shaft yet and may not get around to doing it as you are about to find out. Was just at the stage where I was going to apply some power to the chassis when I found that the little lugs which the wires are soldered to on the motor had disappeared inside the plastic upper casing. Could just see one of them but other was gone. My attempts at fishing out the one only resulted in it too disappearing. A bit of a fuzzy pic but hope you can see the problem. I did try to lever off the little metal tabs that secure the end of the Mashima but they seem very firmly fixed and can't get anything substantial enough in there to shift them. Unless anyone knows of another way (except buying a new one!), I shall have to grind them off to get inside but that then leaves me with the problem of how to fix the top back on again. Any suggestions?

Have finally got around to taking some decent pics of the layout so as they will make up for a thousand words I shall just let them do the talking!

'Bottom of the garden' contains a very small amount of artistic license but is not far off the truth - can hear and smell them every day but can only see them in Winter when there are no leaves on the trees! The station is only a minutes walk away though and often down there for a look around and the twin delights of a quick pint or ice cream! With the Hudson, the water tank is out as it is filled with the compensating mechanism so that does leave the on of the side bunkers as the best option. I will need to remove one bulkhead though. The thing with the boiler though is that there is room for a sound chip and speaker which just wouldn't fit anywhere else.

Hudsons and Deltics may sound like an odd mixture but all will be reviled shortly. The Hudson is the other little project that I alluded to last time. This is the KB Scale kit originally produced by Roy Link. Etched brass, white metal and a fiendishly designed compensated chassis. Am very annoyed with myself as I forgot to photograph this rather complicated item before I installed it in the frames as I consider it quite an achievement that I managed to construct successfully and in fully working order. Is all going together rather well but have made one complication for myself in that the kit is O-14 and I need it to be O-16.5. Longer axles and some washers are no problem - rebuilding the motion brackets and packing out the cylinders will be a bit trickier but if I can build that chassis I can do anything! My other dilemma is that the white metal boiler is just asking to be filled with lead as I think getting lots of weight into this one will be essential. Only problem is that it is the only place I can see to hide a chip! The other distraction this week has been the pair of Deltics living at the bottom of my garden (along with loads of other hardware for the SVR diesel gala). Now these sort of things don't really excite me anymore but I can't help but admit that I still do have rather a soft spot for Deltics.

Sure; https://www.shapeways.com/shops/recreation21?section=1%2F43+versions&s=0#more-products

Having got a bit bored of fiddling about with all the little odds and ends of problems that were thrown up by the first exhibition I just couldn't resist the primal urge to build something new for any longer! At the TTTT show the chap next to me had a whole display of 3D printed models and on going through his shop on Shapeways when I got back, found that there were quite a few things that would fill gaps in my roster. A few days later a remarkably light parcel arrived from Holland. First up was a Kerr Stuart Joffre. Which I was going to put on a Roco BR80 chassis Well that sounds simple doesn't it? Think again! The amount of material I had to cut out of the body shell was remarkable and even more remarkable was the fact that the material put up with all of the abuse and that the shell still holds together. There was also a fair amount of work to do on the chassis which led to the blood and sweat. The chassis has a huge block of diecast metal on it so at least adding weight into the body wasn't a problem but cutting it although possible, was quite an effort - hence the sweat. The blood occurred when, having got used to the ease with which the 3D material cut, I attacked the plastic on the chassis which immediately repelled my blade straight into my thumb. The rather good rust effect on the white body is not a method of weathering I would recommend! Rather than leaving the couplings to last as is my usual habit, I tackled them at this stage. Good job really as a fair amount of machining was involved to get them to fit inside the chassis. After realising at the exhibition that you could hardly hear the sound in my locos, I have decided to save a bit of money and effort and just fit standard chips for a while at least. The same thing goes for super detailing as well as just want to build up a selection of locos that will primarily work well and keep all the good stuff for playing with at home. So, after a very small amount of detailing it was off to the paint shop; Not a bad finish in the end I think and relatively quick to achieve. There are a couple of other 3D things in the pipeline and, just because I can, something that goes back into the super detail camp.

Yes, still fiddling with the fiddle yard - just taken all week, so nothing to worry about! Really don't know why it has taken so long and unfortunately not totally convinced I have even got it right. Have persevered with the Conti board sandwich the principal of which should be evident here; It is relying ob the slidyness of the plastic facing on the plastic facing. Big advantage though is that it means that the vertical track alignment is spot on across all of the roads - something that really could not be said about my previous effort. Here it is almost finished; And getting a coat of paint; It does seem a bit too stiff to me at the moment but have attacked it with a pencil which does seem to have eased it. Unless someone can think of anything else, I think graphite will be the best lubricant as don't think I can get away with anything remotely wet as it might make the chip board swell which would not be good. A bit of exercise should also do ut some good but at least it won't have the problem of being too free moving as was the last one. Just some track to put down and the wiring to go now.

Thanks Mike, I knew I had seen something like this but would never have found it myself! My mock up uses white faced melamine and the two smooth surfaces do slide very nicely - much better than ordinary wood on wood but as I say, not sure for how long!

In truth we probably have - had friends staying this weekend and it took almost all week to get the house into a decent state - but that is not what this is about! Top of my list to sort out for the next outing is the traverser fiddle yard and have mad a bit of a start here. Have decided to look at a rather more low tech solution and as an experiment I knocked up a test slider from some laminate shelving. Actually seems to work pretty well now but will it with loads of weight on it and a fair helping of dust and other grot? The advantage of this over my previous attempt is that the rail height should be identical between the two pieces. I do have to make a couple of decisions though - do I leave the profile of the lower piece as is and use a traverser table again or omit the lower (locking) piece and just drop in several cassettes ? My worry about the cassette idea is that they will be pretty heavy and unwieldy. Problem with the traverser is that, as I intend to try and fit everything back into the existing baseboard frames is that I might only be able to manage three roads rather than the five I have at present. Possible answer to this though is that three roads that all work have to be better than five roads of which only one works! Another dilemma is do I use plain track or aluminum angle as seems popular. Am thinking that the angle might add anti warping strength to the fairly long boards and possible make re-railing wagons easier. Oh and yet another - do I use a run off at the other end for locos? I do have this on the current one and intended it to be used for running around trains but in practice it was easier to just pick the loco up and plonk it back at the other end. If I only end up with three roads I would then have to leave one clear for the run around. A thought has literally just occurred to me - could I have a cassette at the end just for the loco which would then be inserted at the other end? Yet another thing that I have been pondering is if I could get it to run on a length of M10 studding which I could turn with a handle. Will have to think all this through a bit but suggestions on any of the above would be most welcome!

Your cellar looks just like mine with all the lime wash blown out around the mortar joints. I have not yet managed to get any rails down there yet and maybe some time off due to the unfeasible amount of junk down there. Don't forget though that the most important thing in keeping a cellar damp free is venilation and am looking at some rather more modern solutions than just air bricks.

Another day of domestic duties so no physical progress to report but did manage a bit of a brain storm about what really needs doing before next outing. The trick now is to prioritse them to make the most of two months especially as I am honour bound to reapply myself to various DIY tasks which have already resulting in me dismantling the cooker and the Dyson (twice!). So what needs to be done; 1) Fiddle yard needs to work reliably. Andy managed to get it working OK on Saturday but, possibly due to the rather rare circumstance of having a simmering steam engine next to it all night, nothing aligned in the morning. Coupled to this, it did rather suffer from my attempts to get it back into the top box from which it had emerged on Friday. Nor sure exactly what to do but have realised that I probably don't need so many roads and that it is not that much trouble to lift a loco off and replace it at other end rather than run around on the fiddle yard. 2) Get more locos running! As I have now come to the conclusion that, (in this scale at least), having a highly detailed loco and one that works are mutually exclusive. Also, the vast majority of exhibition viewers just want something to watch and don't care about the finer details. Two pronged answer to this one, first is to just have a play with existing stock and second is thanks to a well known 3D printing site. 3) Get the couplings sorted out. I managed to get over half of the vehicles working properly in the end but does take a far bit of filing of the hooks to get there and a couple of the locos are are set at slightly the wrong height so that needs addressing. 4) Sound. i think some ambient sound (and possibly lights), would really set things off nicely but this has to be done properly. 5) Get more people. 7mm scale ones on the layout is what I was thinking but more real bodies (above the age of 9!), to help wouldn't go amiss. There are more things but they have been shoved on the end of the to do list. Well enough theorising and back to some pics from the weekend. Not the layout this time but a few of the show, of which I saw lamentably little and was so dog tired on the night photo shoot that I had to give up and go home!

Thanks for all the nice comments - really makes it worth while! Now for some answers... Weston , in Derbyshire I think - really must make sure where it is! (organised by Andy from this site) on 14th November and Nottingham 21st and 22nd March next year. I also have a feeling that there will be a few more in the pipeline. If you knew the times I have been going to bed you would definitely be telling me off again! Was that your article in RM this month? Didn't know there was a smaller version of the cameo cutter - one will be arriving here shortly! Left right, left right left right left ..... Neither I am afraid - these were a couple of the re-enactors that happened by. I don't actually thing there are any pics of me! One of the approaches I have had is in the lower quarter of the country. Spent most of the afternoon dismantling the cooker after a botched attempt at changing a grill element so no action today but will be an up date tomorrow, Kevin.

I also meant to say a big Thank You for all the kind comments and encouragement - it is very useful and appreciated!

Well here I am, after my first (3 day!), exhibition and everything went perfectly and nothing at all went wrong - if you believe that you will believe anything! Of course things went wrong but in the best of British traditions we carried on and there was always something running but not necessarily what I had planed. To be absolutely truthful it didn't really matter what was running as it was not a model railway exhibition as such but a themed addition to a much larger and very impressive weekend. Having said that though, I did meet and get to talk to, quite a number of other RM Webbers and O-14 forum (yes I know I am O-16.5 but I have been granted honorary membership!). The main impression I got was that people had enjoyed the blog and found it very entertaining and useful which is really very gratifying! There is absolutely no way I could have managed this weekend without the the massive help of some wonderful people who between them traveled well over a thousand miles for nothing but some hard work and a quick ham and tomato roll. So thanks to Tevor for helping to unload and set up on Friday, Andy for being so rational on Saturday, Simon and son for packing up and little Iz for enjoying her nine year old self so much running trains backwards and forwards while I was busy talking to people on Sunday and of course my lovely wife for putting up with me and transporting Iz. And, not forgetting Dan and Jarrod, all the other exhibitors and loads of people from Apedale who were always there when help was needed. Altogether a great (long) weekend and a great show, so now you want pictures ...... Well I didn't think I had taken that many but have just been sorting them out and there are loads and has taken so long that I just don't have time to organise them now so will end with just a few. A huge amount of stuff has been learned though and now just have to think about what are my priorities for getting stuff done before the next outing in two months and managing to stay married!

Well that is what I keep telling myself! Having completely ignored any domestic or work duties for the last five days I may have it cracked. Got wagons (most of them work), got locos (most of them work). got the layout (most of it works) - are you getting a picture here? I just did not have enough time for the exhaustive running session I promised myself so will just have to wing it. Car is ready outside with top box fitted (that is a story for another day), and everything is ready for loading in the morning - and what a pile it is! Am very glad I don't have a passenger to take. One thing that I must mention, although will leave names out for now, is the massive amount of support and assistance I have had, sometimes from complete strangers, in getting this far. Also, the support from various traders who have come up with the goods bang on time. They all know who they are and a great big THANK YOU from me. Guess I ought to get some sleep now, although it won't be much. If you do make it to Apedale this weekend do come and say hello http://www.ww1-event.org/

Despite the lack of posts there has been loads going on and lets face it - it needs to! Less than a week now to the first outing and still loads I want to get done. Unfortunately I have to work this week end but after that everyone has been given notice that I am 100 percent modeling - no washing up, no school runs, no shopping (except for model bits!), you get the picture! The Baldwin problem seems to be sorted although haven't run it yet. Managed to get the shorting wheel off and excavated the burnt patch of insulation between the wheel and rim and it stopped shorting so filled it with epoxy and is now back on. Here is the offending item; And now back together again. You might notice that I have made up for the motor in the cab by building a prototypical home made conversion to block the view. Before I forget I really must thank the various people who have offered help on this and not just words but offers of spares and kits to get it sorted out. In the meantime I had attacked the Hunslet with the dodgy DCC chip. You may remember this from about a year ago but has never run properly. I was really loath to disturb the rather neat DCC installation so had the brainwave of disconnecting the connectors on the actual chip and change just that. Has worked perfectly and the loco now runs beautifully with probably the best low speed performance I have ever managed and with sound too! Just have to finish the kit off now! Now, while all of this has been going on I have been setting a new world record for wagon building. I had been waiting (for two months!), for the last lot of kits to arrive so that I could batch build the entire lot in one go. Is probably saving time but is a lot in one go especially as I have to drill and mill each one several times to get it up to my specification. Twelve wagons might not sound like a lot but that is 24 bogies which is 48 wheel sets which is 96 bearings and so on. The bodies are now being sprayed in batches in my cellar workshop and the bogies are just awaiting couplings - and there is another tale! I knew I was going to be a bit short of the Zamzoodle scale choppers so went to order some more only to find out that the man behind it all has gone on holiday for a month! A plea for help on the O-14 forum though soon produced an offer of some spare couplings which should arrive tomorrow. Again a huge thank you to Richard - a complete stranger until yesterday who has loaned me some spare couplings. While I am on this subject I must also say that I have been offered some really kind help for the actual show from a number of people which should make it a far smoother and enjoyable event. While all this has been going on have also been chipping away at the wagon load situation and now have some track panels and two and a half loads of duck boards and A frames but still not enough for all the wagons!

Despite the lack of post (too busy panic modelling!), there has been a lot going on with only a matter of days now to the big show debut. Last thing I need then is one of the locos throwing a wobbler on me. This is the Baldwin that I threw together a few weeks ago and was working fine but..... Was just giving it a quick run when it stopped amid a cloud of smoke and shorted right out. I have tracked the problem down to one of the insulated wheels which isn't! Dead short across it and yes, I have isolated the pick up and no bits of valve gear or anything like that is touching. It appears, therefore, that the insulation has broken down. I have cleaned around both rims but nothing obvious. Have also sprayed around with switch cleaner but nothing doing. Has anyone met this before and is there any cure? I do have a spare wheel I can put on but this will mean dismantling the valve gear and rods to get to it which I am not looking forward to. The culprit is there at the front behind all the valve gear - wouldn't have been as bad if it was one of the others.

Some friends came to visit yesterday with their small child of similar specification to ours with the intention of going out for a nice country stroll and the usual wasp inflicted snacks. Not what I had planned! So, while the girls disappeared I subjected my long suffering pal Al (at least it wasn't the garage roof this time!), to what turned out to be a four hour session of getting the fiddle yard to work properly. I have to admit that I have rather ignored this task when I have erected the layout I have missed this board off as it has to stick out of the door and if you do attach it you can't slide it due to aforementioned door. Was sensible for once and just erected the two end boards but it soon became apparent that all was not well. I am sure that it worked better than this when I built it but with a bit of timber warping and so on nothing seemed to line up at all. Much head scratching, dismantling, packing, strengthening and cursing ensued but got there in the end. The real break through came when I developed my new vertical track alignment and fixing tool Yes I know it is just a lump of BluTack but it was very useful indeed, in fact another thing that I must add to my emergency list of tools to take to the exhibition.

Apart from lots of driving and being ill I did manage something constructive while we were away in France. I carefully packed just the body castings from some Wrightlines D class wagons, small soldering iron, flux. solder, files, knife... you get the picture! Quite a lot of stuff really as well as lots of pre stained balsa and my invaluable balsa stripper. I started off one lazy afternoon on some A frames and in my now customary fashion I placed precut strips onto a sheet of templates overlayed with some double sided tape. Pretty tedious really but the sort of job you do find little short cuts for as you go along. Quite a lot of PVA later I had my first 20 odd. Then came several sessions of duck boards which along with PVA needed plenty of local lubricants to perhaps not speed up but to make the process a bit more enjoyable. At this stage I didn't really know how many I needed (duck boards not drinks!), so got down to it while every one else was in the pool and soldered up the wagon bodies. The awful truth that I had been dreading then came fully home - I would need an awful lot! I tried to work out ways of building a box and just putting a few around the outside but was just not going to work. Nothing for it then but to just get on with it. With the 'help' of a small person I eventually ended up with this lot; With a bit of luck there should be enough for three of these;

At least we now have Trip Advisor to get our own back!

Finally back from that annual ritual of the Summer Holiday and have just about survived the over optimistic schedule, leaky cars with wobbly wheels and dodgy stomachs and now have to go hell for leather for a couple of weeks to get everything as ready as it can be for the first outing. There was a bit of progress in the week before we went but was just too busy to write it up and manage to take a bit of stuff with me so shall up date on these soon. Right now it is write a big to do list and do some serious prioritising. Before any of this however, I really must tell you about the lovely little line that we visited yesterday, le Petit Train Baie de Somme. I had heard some good things about this line and they are all true! Unfortunately we didn't manage a ride (didn't fancy the though of being without access to a toilet for an hour at the time - dodgy steak tatre!), but did chase the train through some very varied coastal scenery, over bridges, along roads and even pavements. When the show is over I shall do a bit more research and post some more pictures.

In an attempt to make up for some of the lost ground this week (and kindly facilitated by the awful weather), I attacked another Wrightlines Baldwin and have made great progress; OK, so I cheated a bit. This is one which I got from Ebay a while ago with the chassis already completed and rather well at that! Only downside though is that it has been made as per the instructions so the flat motor drives the center wheel thus being visible where there should be daylight and it invades the cab. I had intended to rebuild it like my other Baldwin driving the rear axle and reversing a Mashima can motor into the boiler but am now taking the line of 'if it 'aint broke don't fix it!' Not everything went smoothly though. I know the reason Wrightlines stopped producing this kit was that the moulds were worn out. Well I think this one must have been one of the very last. The castings are far from flash free, sometimes misaligned and generally just not of the quality you would expect. Lots of sanding, filing and filling. Good progress all the same and as I made it past midnight without turning into a pumpkin, I might manage a bit more. Now I know I have two spare sound decoders somewhere ........