Will J

Am I right in thinking the locos / power cars repainted so far are all unnamed? It would be interesting to see if there is something new in terms of nameplate design... PS. noting all the comments about the lack of numbers on the front, how about a cheeky red 'buffer beam' at the bottom of the yellow, with a yellow number shaded in black.

It is genuinely growing on me... dynamic lines was a tough act to follow as it was, to my eye, one of the most successful of the modern corporate identities. I always thought one thing that worked well was the simple treatment of the then dark blue HST Power Cars, with the more exuberant design reserved for the carriages... in a way echoing older practices. I'd be interested to learn what the big GWRs are made from. From recent experiences with chrome effect powder coating in my day job, all that shimmers in the sun is not necessarily metal? The modern image layout I keep pondering might settle on FGW/GWR 'transition' period for a bit of variety.... recognising the fact that I like both......

Evening everyone, as advertised here: http://www.svr.co.uk/SEItem.aspx?a=68 I will be at Arley Station on Saturday and Sunday for the Autumn Steam Gala with my Victoria Bridge layout on show, back either by popular demand or because I pestered the station staff to let me get involved again. I will have an assistant this year from among the RMWeb ranks who might make the operations on the layout look more competent, though he may be shocked when presented with a H&M Clipper control box....! Do drop by and say hello to Tom or myself. Also on show will be the latest progress on my model of Arley station, still largely a bag of bits but the bits are looking more like the real thing. Now that I have a Hawksworth from Farish running on the 'Bridge' my old scratchbuilt one can be converted to a 12 wheel sleeper for Arley's siding. It is probably a bit short but the scene will be foreshortened a touch anyway! I also now have a 3D printed weighbridge so the station will be supplied with 1:148 scale cake. In other news (on show this weekend) My continued adventures in Z3 (1:220 scale on 3mm T gauge track)

Absolutely beautiful Mikkel! I have always loved that era of gwr saddle tanks, it makes me want to concoct a mini-me version for a similar n gauge pannier chassis! Modelling relatively obscure prototypes can be a frustrating business, but it is always fun and a refreshing change when a new body/ off the shelf chassis concoction just 'works' so well.

Excellent presentation on the flyer, gives me some ideas! The photo works well too, makes a micro look altogether pretty big!

Should have my paperwork with you later this evening!

Wow, I hadn't realised, always handy to have a show neighbour with a tame 'flying pig' to trot over the bridge as an escapee. I'll be sure to bring any LMS stock I have finished!

Hi Andy, form on the way.. on top of my 'to do' list! Looking forward to the Weston on Trent show!

OK, will have a go along those lines, in fact I have lots of people so I can try a few approaches and see what sticks! PS. agreed on the cars, see extra picture on the bottom of the post (all N Gauge!)

An excellent time was had at Wyre Forest MRC's 40th Anniversary show back in April. Victoria Bridge even had a brief DMU-interlude to suit my diesel-obsessed son... In his defence, he does love all things coal-fired as well, but enjoys shouting 'diesel' at the top of his voice as a prelude to investigating dad's old Lima locomotives! Remarkable what they learn by 18 months, he already seems quite happy to accept that 'duck' can be a feathered fowl, a fictional tank engine or an essential ingredient in a spring roll... I'm sure I never cottoned on to things that quickly... Work on my various projects has trundled on gently; a few projects are getting on nicely working towards the next 'module' along, Arley Station. The 3D printed station has had a lick of paint. You'll recall it came from Shapeways in plain white (see exhibition picture at the top of the post), I gave it a wash of Revell Matt 17 (a sort of sandy colour) followed by brick detail with a stuttering old black biro. This was followed by a thin wash of the same paint to smudge the brick detail and dull it a little, with some more weathering in various grey artist's markers. I am now happy with the idea of keeping the roof and walls flat without raised detail, as it has made a nice blank canvas to scribble the blocks and bricks on... well, it kept me amused for an hour or two. Next step is to build the road bridge as a scenic break, and of course the weighbridge/cake shop! One thing that I intend to do is make the whole scene as 'alive' as possible with a crowd, like a gala or awaiting a busy train. I got myself a box of Preiser N gauge figures, figuring painting them would be fun and would save a few quid on their ready painted equivalents. I have got as far as painting them all over matt black with enamel, dry brushing in light grey followed by a few dashes of Revell 'flesh'. Next step will be to add in washes of assorted colours on the clothes in watered down acrylic.. or watercolour. Any ides from folks who have done this before...? It seems I have a lot of the 'flesh' paint left... but I guess Arley's clientele includes fewer naturists or bikini-clad passengers than some model railways I have encountered....! ----------------------- Upcoming appearances by Victoria Bridge: 2015 June 27th and 28th: Flower Festival with Arts, Crafts and Hobbies; St Peter's Church, Upper Arley. (keeping it local) Provisional booking: September 19th and 20th; Arley Station, Severn Valley Railway Autumn Gala http://www.svr.co.uk/SEItem.aspx?a=68 Plus one more RMWeb related event later in the year a bit further afield.... not sure if the list of layouts for that one has been announced yet? ------------------------ Image relating to the discussion below....

Funny you should say that Bernard, I have an oddly scaled 200th scale Mini that would look nice on the road at the side of the track. The choice of 220th scale is purely to make use of commercial Z gauge figures etc....

Hi Andy, it seems pretty good, with minimal shrinkage, though it depends on how minimal your idea of minimal is.... The CAD model has a length of 66.04 mm, the model measures 65.89 (with callipers) The CAD model has a width of 21.68 mm, the model measures 21.45 (with callipers) I'm not sure whether Shapeways give the dimensions a tiny boost pre-production to keep things accurate, I suppose it would be quite an easy thing to automate if the effects of the casting process were predictable. The fractions of a millimeter involved are not going to be visible, but of course affect the fit of small interlocking parts, I am going to try some printed small gears which will test how well the brass parts perform in a more 'engineered' application. One thing I noticed was that the same Kato chassis fits snugly in the plastic bodyshell, but had to be 'encouraged' more forcibly to fit into the void in the brass version. This might have to do with the shrinkage, but remember that the plastic version is also much more flexible which is probably the bigger factor! Edit: decimal point in the right place in the dimensions!!

Hi everyone, in yesterday's blog, TomE asked 'Is there any sign of the original 3D printed mould on the final brass models? Tom.' See: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/351/entry-16019-3d-printed-brass-objects-n-gauge-class-139-and-z3-gauge-hunslet/ To answer your question Tom, there is no sign of the original wax that the 'master' was printed in, it seems that the brass artifact is very thoroughly cleaned before it leaves Shapeways. Looking very closely, you can discern the 'stepping' on curved surfaces that you get in any printed material, to different extents. For the following photos, the usual disclaimers apply... ..in that it looks much nicer to the naked eye! In the moments since the bare brass body has been cleaned some more, and given a tentative dusting of grey etch primer, which adds to the realism while sadly eliminating the brief jewel-like 'bling' effect..... I'm thinking that with some gentle sanding and a few coats of paint, the stepped effect can be almost eliminated but rest assured, from any normal viewing distance it is not that apparent anyway. The next step is the livery. I'm tempted, having already got a decent looking prototypical London Midland version, to do a version more suited to a Cornish branch line. With Kinlet Wharf appearing at Taunton later this year, http://somersetrmc.org.uk/Rail-EX/layouts.html it would be nice to have a 'Great Western' version, perhaps in FGW deep blue, or perhaps an interpretation of the forthcoming DfT specifified GWR livery. Does anybody know if this is still going ahead, and what colour would be used for branch line services? Anyhow, here are the cruel close ups... Stay tuned for more on the little Hunslet.

Thanks all.. Mikkel, couplings are still a mystery for the narrow gauge stuff, my usual bent paperclip solutions are going to look hellishly big! I do, however, have an etched brass coupling for the front of the Class 139, if you look at the prototype, there is a little red tongue sticking out of its mouth on the front valance, which allows one vehicle to rescue the other if it gets stuck down the branch. Tom... photos to follow (extreme close ups)!

You may recall in a previous episode I was pondering the best scale combination to use T gauge mechanisms and track to represent narrow gauge, balancing a 1:148 scale carriage on 3mm track. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/351/entry-15589-n-gauge-narrow-gauge-0165-009-this-must-be-n3/ It turned out a 1:148 model of a 2' gauge carriage was a bit large on what scales as 15-18" track. So a plan B has emerged, using Shapeways' 'Raw Brass' printing service, I have created a 1:220 scale quarry Hunslet, or at least the modern incarnation with cab as seen on many preserved lines. Stuck to the back (about to be Dremmeled off...) is a vaguely Corris-esque carriage with bench seats inside (honest). http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/351/entry-15589-n-gauge-narrow-gauge-0165-009-this-must-be-n3/ The process (which took about 2 weeks) starts off with a 3D print in modern casting wax, then takes a pleasingly old school diversion through traditional lost wax casting to produce the finished product. At the same time, I also got a nice, heavy version of my N Gauge Class 139 body printed/cast in brass as well. The extra weight should aid pickup as well as provide a better final paint finish, hopefully...

No brick detail to report on I'm afraid. The texture of the brick is very smooth on the real thing, so the walls are smooth and bricks will be suggested with paint. The flat surface will be broken up with plenty of posters etc... Photographed and then stuck on separately. I may use a similar trick for the tiles on the roof.

A little while ago I mentioned I was drawing up a 3D model of Arley station (as preserved on the Severn Valley Railway) and the results have arrived from Shapeways, rendered in the relatively coarse 'White Strong and Flexible' material which was the same thing I used for the stone abutments on N Gauge Victoria Bridge... All scaled from the very useful drawings in Barrie Geens' very useful book 'The Severn Valley Railway at Arley'. Nice to see the drawing apparently rising up from the surface of the page! In the 3D model I left the door to the gents' loos slightly open.... for no other reason than 'because you can'.... other details like the post box on the other end came out crisply, able to accept little 2mm/ft letters.... Next step... make a start on painting it, and create a station around the building. Some interesting challenges lie in store like the smart Hawksworth 12 wheeled sleeping car which provides volunteer accommodation in the yard. Back to mini Victoria Bridge, a wonderful weekend was spent (with the station building 'fresh' from the printers on show) in Arley waiting room itself in March for the unusually spring-like Spring Gala. I really enjoyed being a small part of an excellent event and it was great to meet such an appreciative crowd at Arley. I will have Victoria Bridge, and the beginnings of mini-Arley, on show at Wyre Forest MRC's 40th anniversary event in Stourport on Severn (a short hop from Kidderminster and Bewdley) on the 25th April. See: http://www.wyreforestmrc.com/exhibition.html Please come along and support the show if you are in the area. It is a small local event bringing layouts for all tastes, N gauge, OO modern image depot, 009 micro, big 009 layout, scenic 0-16.5, even bigger Canadian HO scale, drawn from our club members collections. We will have layouts on shelves and ironing boards, up to something more ambitious in scale: http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/great-canadian-model-railroad-in-england.html

Thank you Bob! There was talk of maybe a return visit for the Autumn Gala, hopefully something can be arranged!

Ah, you never know. Both venues have been chosen for their supply of excellent cake... Which may be about as rock'n'roll as it gets!

I am planning a small 'tour' of local venues with mini-Victoria Bridge. More to come, but in the meantime.... March 21st and 22nd Firstly, the SVR Spring Gala.... I will have the layout on show inside Arley station on the Saturday and Sunday of the event, if you are travelling on the train on the day, do arrange a stop at Arley and come and say hello! http://www.svr.co.uk/SEItem.aspx?a=65 April 25th Then, on the 25th April, an anniversary show is planned by Wyre Forest MRC in a community centre in Stourport. It is a small local event but you will all be made very welcome, Victoria Bridge will be among the layouts, more news to come. http://www.wyreforestmrc.com/exhibition.html

Cheers Tom, speaking of small cars, any progress on the car park at Ropley? I'm sure it could host a Triumph parked at an abrupt and unexpected angle... PS. looking at the lower of the two pictures, the carriage seems to float a little high on its bogies so I have lowered it a bit, correcting a slight lean it had which would not have aided stability!

Hello everyone, right, determined to get back blogging and true to the title, another truly random tangent of N-gaugery, this time going narrow gauge. A while back as a sheer impulse buy I picked up a 2mm/ft static model kit of a GWR era Vale of Rheidol railway carriage from NBrass. I have to confess this has sat for a year or two on a shelf but inspired by some 009 carriage-bodging I had been working on (more of this soon) I wondered if it could be made into something vaguely 'operational'. As I have mentioned in the past, I have a bundle of T-gauge equipment but have yet to work out a plan for what to do with it. There have been a number of interesting layouts and models built representing various narrow gauges alongside N, usually employing the fairly wide 6.5mm gauge track adapted from Z gauge. I did a bit of maths and figured that 3mm gauge (as denoted by the T in Tgauge) in scales around the 1:150 region works out at near enough 18" gauge, so in theory good for representing railways at the larger end of 'miniature' but a bit short of a proper 'narrow' representation. In fact to represent 2' gauge in theory you are better off modelling at 1:220 scale where you can at least borrow scenic bits and bobs from established Z gauge suppliers. However I reckon it is not quite that simple, and that this T-gauge stuff can be used to represent 2' gauge in N. Remember that the T gauge flexi track (as illustrated below) has quite 'chunky' section rail so the overall impression is of a track wider than the nominal gauge suggests, add to that the height (..code) of the rail and it does look more substantial in a 1:150 gauge context than a lightly laid 18" line. Are you keeping up with all this waffle, well done if you are! So, to cut a long story short, I stuck together said carriage kit and mounted it on a plain T gauge 'adjustable' truck chassis. Happily, it was about the right length without needing adjusting so saved me the bother of hacking it about. The couplers are no longer of any use but they are not too clever in the way they couple anyway, so I will have to rethink joining vehicles together. And you know what it kind of works. I think i'd rather the narrow gauge track beneath it was too narrow than too wide (as in the case of N6.5...) and sat on some track, it is not as unstable and wobbly as I'd imagined. I will continue the research!

Looking good....! (I'm only jealous as it would look handsome, in an ugly way, on my Victoria Bridge..). I wonder if it is the first 'Flying Pig' to be fashioned in N gauge, keep up the good work..!