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Black5

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Blog Entries posted by Black5

  1. Black5
    Evening all,
    After a considerable number of years I decided to have a look at a Jamieson Coronation kit that I`d stripped some time ago for a re-paint.
    I built it it probably back in the early seventies and it`s powered by a Romford Bulldog motor. I`ve had it running again on DC to make sure it still worked and have now fitted a decoder to run it on DCC.
    I find some of the older models a challenge to try and bring them nearer the running capabilities of newer models.
    I need to put a bit more detail on the tender and probably will rebuild the loco and tender chassis to make them a bit lighter.
    Jamieson kits were basic nickel silver kits with all detailing done by the builder.
    At my age now, I think building something like this would be a bigger challenge, fingers and eyesight not being what they used to be!, but the few bits to do should be ok.
     
    Cheers just now,
    Jim.
  2. Black5

    Posting a video

    By Black5,

    Good morning,
    I wonder if someone could advise me on the process of posting a video on RM Web,
    .
    I`ve watched several on here with interest and some quite lengthy ones but I`m afraid all my attempts end in failure, probably because they are too long. Is it a case of trial and error till you get down to the max 30Mb or is there another way?
     
    Many thanks,
    Jim.
  3. Black5
    I arrived at a point on the layout where I needed water columns, eight of them.
    Not being able to find anything suitable on the market the only thing to do was to have a go at making them myself.
    Not having drawings at all I used pictures in books and magazines for reference regarding the height and length of overarm etc. The problem there is that the pictures can`t show you everything.
    They were all built in plasticard using tube for the columns, rod for the overarm and microstrip for the flanges.
    To put the bends in the overarm, i made a small jig to hold the straight section and using a hairdryer to warm the plastic, I bent the rod round the jig , going past the ninety degree to allow for spring back. It`s a case of trial and error in getting the bend right but the result wasn`t too bad and looked something like it should.
    Various other bits of plasticard were added to represent what i think are counter weights ( but not sure ) at the right hand upper end of the overarm and also what I think is the water control valve at the base of the column.
    To fix them to the baseboard I cut a suitable size rectangle in the surface and glued a piece of plasticard in it to represent a concrete base that the column would have been bolted to. The plasticard base has a piece of brass tube through it which takes the brass rod that`s fixed to the column base making it a plug in and removable when required.
    Some pictures showed an overarm support ( a cable may be,with a turnbuckle in it I think ) on top but other pictures didn`t so i `m undecided on that.
    i`ve not made the water bags yet but might try cutting up an old handkerchief and gluing that together to see what it looks like and as for the chain, I`ll keep looking, It`ll have to be very fine.
    At the moment I`m making good the areas around the bases .
    Once that`s done and i don`t think i can go any further they`ll be painted.
    None of this would have happened without plasticard, great stuff to work with.
    Hopefully a couple of pictures attached,
     
    Cheers just now,
     
    Jim.
  4. Black5

    Things to do this year.

    By Black5,

    A Happy New Year to everyone, hope all goes well in 2017. My thanks to all those who helped with answers to my numerous questions last year.
    How much progress in this coming year? Well for me, it`s going to be a case of trying to complete several kits that have been sitting around waiting to be built for longer than i`d like. With prices being what they are for new rtr items i just thought, for the time being, complete what you`ve already got for a change.
    So , hopefully, a set of four Stevenson T P O coaches will get looked at, along with two Jamieson locos that need re-assembling, painting and dcc fitted, a Comet chassis to go under a Mainline Scot, a twelve wheel LMS restaurant car and an `0` gauge DJH Black 5 kit plus a few other odds and sods.!
    The one frustrating thing about this hobby in particular is that there are so many sections in it to piece together that working on one bit , another has to be left alone so the word for me this year is planning ( or trying to! )
    Hopefully some success by next Christmas.
    All the best,
    Cheers just now.
    Jim.
  5. Black5

    Scratchbuilt Duchess

    By Black5,

    Hi everyone, as it`s throwing it down outside and i couldn`t do what i wanted to today i thought i`d take a few pictures of a model i built some years ago that might be of interest. It`s 90% scratch built in Nickel Silver and Brass, the bits i didn`t make being the chimney, top feed and dome ( white metal castings) lubricators on the running plate, the wheels ( Romford and Ultrascale), buffers, couplings, and i made some of the valve gear.Everything else is scratchbuilt. It`s 4mm scale, 16.5mm gauge driven by a Portiscap motor, pickups on the back of the driving wheels. Am i right in thinking i read somewhere that this motor is not for DCC? As i haven`t had a layout till now it`s only been run on a bit of test track.
    At the moment my layout runs dcc but with problems i`ve been having lately with decoders seemingly playing up i`m thinking of going back to analogue, at least i could run all the loco`s instead of just those with decoders in them. Anyway these are the pictures iv`e taken. Some of the lining on the cylinders needs attention but that`s for another rainy day. Cheers, Jim.

  6. Black5

    A little progress

    By Black5,

    Hi all,
    Somewhat slow progress through this year. The engine shed is virtually complete, just a couple of ladders to make ( from brass rod ) up the outsides of the wall and a bit more weathering.
    Earlier on in the year i added some internal detail to the shed and also fitted lights. The four corner platforms were also made using plasticard for the platforms and brass rod for the handrails. Everything plugs into it`s position so can be stored easily to prevent any accidents when not in use
    The shed floor has been filled in now to complete the internal pits with the wooden extensions beyond the concrete bases for the water columns.
    The black electrical wire on the roof is my representation of a hosepipe, ( for cleaning the top lights!)
    Iv`e also spent time building the wall down the back edge of the layout ( all 17ft of it ) which will have half relieve buildings between that and the back scene.
    Iv`e also built another aquaduct (modellers license ) which is purely to give me some sort of scenic break at that end. I v`e attached ( hopefully ) some pictures.
    All the best for the New Year.
    Jim.
  7. Black5

    Water tower and ash tubs

    By Black5,

    Afternoon all,
    With all the usual things going on in the year ( and a few extras ) modelling has been a wee bit on the slow side but one or two things have been managed.
    The one thing i wanted to try and complete was my water tower. I managed to get started back in April and it`s been slow progress since but apart from making some dummy lights i`ve just about finished it. Hopefully i can manage to add a couple of pictures at the end of this blog.
    I took inspiration from watching Ian in his Camden blog in the layout topics section and more or less built it the same way but i jigged the frame a different way when soldering. So if you read this Ian, many thanks.
    It`s an all brass construction except for the tank cover and frame plates which are both plasticard.
    The hand rails were made from brass wire and tinned to help with the paint.
    The five ash tubs are again plasticard made and i used Graham Farrish N gauge wagon axles with the pinpoint ground back to the axle diameter and they stand on suitably buried track, the idea coming from various pictures.
    The next bit to make now will be some water columns, if i can find a suitable picture to use as a reference.
    Hopefully the pictures are on here and haven`t disappeared into the ether!
     
    Cheers just now.
  8. Black5

    Split chassis loco to DCC

    By Black5,

    Afternoon all,
    While waiting for a ballasting session to dry properly i`ve been looking at converting a Bachman loco (The Ranger ) to DCC..As this has quite a heav chassis i`m wondering on which decoder to try and fit.
    At the moment i`ve used Hornbys R8249 decoders in most of my other locos but i`m not sure, with my limited dcc knowledge, whether this would be suitable.
    My layout is a simple end to end mpd favouring good slow running so there is not going to be any heavy loads being pulled.
    I also use the basic Select controller which i know is not everyones choice but it was passed on to me as a gift and got me started in DCC.
    Any suggestions as to improving decoder choice or controller would be most helpful.
    Many thanks.
    Jim.
  9. Black5

    New Member

    By Black5,

    Hi everyone,
    Just found my way on to the site. Presently building a model of Camden MPD with modified track plan owing to the usual space restrictions in 00 gauge. Started from scratch in the garage 4 yrs ago as a solo modeller so progress is fairly slow. To date, the track is laid and wired for DCC operation.Some ballasting has been done. All points and diamond crossings are hand built using copperclad sleepers and code 75 rail. I started to build a reduced size engine last year but that was a disaster as the glue used warped everything badly. To help things along iv`e scratch built the Ash Hoist and am 90% into the coal tower both made in plasticard. Ladders need to be fitted to the coal tower and the small control cabins made then both stuctures sprayed and weathered. Iv`e included a few pictures of the two models.
  10. Black5
    Afternoon all,
    I have on my layout a Peco turntable which at present is operated by handwheel directly through the side of the baseboard. I`ve tried different types of power sources but none gave a smooth rotation, it tending to be rather jerky. Disconnection from the worm and wheel seems to be an improvement. My question is, has anyone any experience in using the motor/gearbox combination by Igarashi as found in the Expo catalogue?.
    Also from Expo, i was given one of their airbrushes ,Code AB725 and wondered if anyone has any experience of using one of these.
     
    Thanks and cheers for now,
    Jim.
  11. Black5

    Shed Roof

    By Black5,

    Hi everyone, it`s been a while since i was last on here, mainly because i`ve been trying to progress on my shed roof.
    It`s been steady but due to the number of bits of plastic that needed cutting, glueing and painting it`s taken longer than i thought.
    At present the smoke outlets are complete along with my representation of the toplights. I only had some internal pictures to go by and this is what i turned them into.
    I`m going to put drain covers in what i hope would be an appropriate position.
    Everything on the top at the momnent is painted in dark colours and is a bit smooth so i`m thinking of glueing some emery paper of a reasonable courseness to the surfaces where a person would walk to represent some sort of rough finish. Again, i have no idea as to the sort of material used up there.
    I need to break up the colour a little bit just to tone down the greys and black.
    Next to do are the two walkways at each end of the shed along with the access ladders.
    Other bits and pieces need to be added for detail as you are always looking down on the roof.
    After that, i hope to try and fit some lights inside. I did put some detail inside so it would be nice to have a go.
    Iv`e attached some pictures of where i`ve got to at the moment.
    Best wishes to everyone for 2015.
    Jim.


  12. Black5

    slow progress

    By Black5,

    Morning all,
    Due to a lot of family commitments ( and me being a slow builder), progress has not been as quick as i would have liked so far this year.
    I've made a start on a water tower and have looked into scratch building some half relief buildings using the shell of the buildings made from the backing board on the clip on type picture frames from The Range shop. The board is 2mm thick MDF so should be a good surface for applying the embossed plasticard too. I looked for Daler board but no one seems to keep it in my area.
    Once the water tower is finished it'll be water columns next ( maybe another attempt at scratch building).
     

    Cheers just now,
     
    Jim.
  13. Black5

    diffusers

    By Black5,

    While walking round the local garden centre recently and seeing all these different diffusers on display I wondered when we might get one that smells of steam smoke and hot oil!
    Extra atmosphere when watching a railway video but not sure how other occupants of the house would take it.
     
    Jim.
  14. Black5

    Buildings, First attempt

    By Black5,

    Afternoon all,
    I haven`t posted for a while ( although once or twice on the hints and tips forum ) as most of what i`ve been up to is basically starting to try and add general clutter around the yard, but it needs a great deal more yet.
    A while ago I bought a turntable drive from locomotech and I find it works well. Very easy to fit, with nice slow running. I use the mark one eyeball to line up tracks as I only have four tracks to bother about! The turntable is a modified Peco. Handrails all rebuilt and detail added below the deck.
    Time has lately been spent on squeezing in a crossover to make operating things more interesting ( in my eyes anyway ).
    I`m also in the middle of my first attempt at half relief buildings. Earlier blog postings showed I`d built an aqueduct at one end of the layout. This was an attempt at giving the layout a bit of depth but really should never have been there and now the buildings are going in it was obvious it would have to go.
    One thing I`ve struggled with is trying to get the right perspective of buildings behind the half relief one. I`ve had a go at the roof on one but it doesn`t look quite right to me. More practice needed.
    Hopefully I`ve managed to post some pictures.
     
    Cheers just now,
     
    Jim.
  15. Black5

    March BRM

    By Black5,

    Just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to read the article by Tony Wright on David Jenkinson in the latest edition of the BRM magazine.
    Those of us of a certain age would remember the name very well. My very first attempt at scratchbuiding was two twelve wheel LMS sleeping cars following construction tecniques he described in a series of articles in the Railway Modeller magazine in the late sixties. At one point the series stopped and he wrote articles later explaining that he`d changed to 7mm.
    With todays productions of coaching stock being as good as it is , scratch building has probably diminished somewhat, plus the model shops like Eames at Reading and my local, Cove models, who used to sell great numbers of bits and pieces for the scratch builder, are no more.
    Reading those articles in the sixties certainly fired my enjoyment in the hobby and it was great to see David Jenkinsons name mentioned again after all this time.
     
    Jim.
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