peter220950

Spring load the top roof section, so it will retract when needed, that should solve the problem! Peter

Having made a quick mock-up back in October last year I have done little to any of my cake boxes since. A combination of building the new man cave shed, Christmas, and a lack of mojo has sidelined all my projects, but there has been some positive movement recently. Progress on the smelly cakebox has been dependent upon getting some specific parts, but these have been sitting on the workbench for a few weeks now, so it was time to start getting some modelling done. The more I looked at the mock-up, the more the tunnel looked a bit too small, so the first step has been to create a second mock up with a larger bore. I went through the bits box but could only find a couple of bits of brick plastic card, one of which was attached to foam core, these bits were used to refine the mock-up and get something I was happy with. At this stage my OCD brain kicked on and I wasted a day on something that was totally pointless, I don't like the burnt edges of the Model Scenics mdf bases, so spent some time sanding the edges to get rid of the dark brown on areas that would show on the finished diorama, To compound the madness I then spent time with a tiny paint brush highlighting the makers logo, though why I should advertise someone's product for nothing defies logic, I could just have reversed it to lose the logo altogether, but then that's the beauty of these boxes, you can happily waste an hour or two on pointless detail. Having completed the base I started on the third and final version, I don't have any brick card left, so the finishing will have to wait until after the Bristol O Gauge show, but the base was cut from foam core in order to lay out all the complicated bits that will be hidden. Once the walls were all laid out, and the complicated geometry of walls sloping in two directions mastered, the markings on the base were used to mark out holes for the smelly bits. When I originally started modelling Cadburys I thought that the smell of the factory would be good to reproduce. Being brought up in the area the smell that permeates the surroundings is something that leaves a lasting memory in my mind. My first thoughts were to run a chocolate fountain under the layout, but this is not a practical solution, particularly in a cake box, however the discovery of burning oils that are chocolate scented, has solved the problem. Two of the holes are for bottles of oil, each will contain reeds to absorb the oil and draw it up in front of a couple of computer fans that draw in air through the other two holes. The air will then be channelled out through the tunnel mouth, that's the theory anyway. Once installed the fans were surrounded by the walls and sealed in with boxings of foam core. A switch is installed within the space below the deck, and holes and ducting constructed to suck in fresh air. The final scheme will have a battery box built into the below deck void and keep everything within the required dimensions. The walls have now all been fixed, with the exception of the tunnel mouth wall, and await cladding with brick card when I get it. Once the walls are clad I can get the paving in to rail level, then there will only be the other four boxes and a Cameo to do. Peter

It's been a bit quiet since Gaydon and the Club open day, a combination of Christmas, building a new man cave shed, and a slight lack of railway modelling mojo. However the layout is booked to go to Milton Keynes in early February, so rather than my usual ‘leave it until the last minute’ approach I thought I would make a start on the snags that had been highlighted on the preliminary outings. There were a number of minor issues to deal with, and without much enthusiasm I made a start today, knowing that in showing my grandson the layout in its box I had dropped it and dislodged the tippler, so that was the starting point. Since it was constructed the tippler has been a problem when moved, the main pivot rod is not constrained and moving the layout, (or dropping it), tends to dislocate the pivot. A quick fiddle saw it back in place and working but a more substantial repair was felt necessary. One end of the pivot is constrained by a post, which carries the track feeds, but the other is free to float, and allows the pivot to drop out at the other end. A new post was cut out of tube, and a capping made with a drawing pin, which now hopefully prevents end play in the pivot. And a new set of foam rubber pieces were prepared to clamp the deck and counterweight together, it was found that clamping it together caused less damage than having the counterweight swinging free. Despite putting different voltage regulators in the up and down feeds the effects of gravity still made the return too fast. I decided to try a quick and dirty approach, the switch was taken apart and a diode inserted into the return feed, not for its real purpose to allow current to flow in one direction only, but for the by-product of dropping about .7 of a volt. A quick test, and much to my surprise, it made a difference, so I put another in and it now raises and lowers at the same speed, - result. Clearly I was on a roll, so I addressed another issue the protruding motor shaft, I had constructed a control cabinet to cover it, but it still tends to rub on wiring and the access platform, so I took a cutting disc to it, and solved another minor niggle. As I only had one board out I couldn't address the track level issue, but I made a start by checking levels on the approach tracks, one seemed a little low, so a screwdriver was inserted below the sleeper, lifted, and some wood glue squeezed in and left to dry. The magnets for the uncouplers were then removed from between the sleepers, ready to be cleaned and relocated in areas of clear plain track. By this time I decided it was one of those rare days when everything went right, I need to make a leaflet holder to take flyers for our Club Exhibition, a measure of the leaflet gave a width of 105mm, I knew I had an offcut of Perspex in the garage which might suit, and not only did I find it straight away, but it measured just over 106mm, another result. Having suffered with the Peckett jumping off the end of the turntable, and decided that I only really needed a sector plate, I next looked at putting in some stops to prevent further costly flights. Threaded inserts were fitted into the turntable, and blocks fitted to provide substantial buffers. Then two things happened to give warning that the good fortune was about to end, while oiling the tippler with Electolube the tube split, then after I cleaned up my hand I decided to re-apply some treatment to a small wart on my finger, you can guess the rest, never put two similar tubes of anything on the workbench. Having unstuck myself I decided to call it a day, hopefully the next session will go as well. Next task is to get the other board up and remove the magnets, check the other track joint, before putting them together for a final alignment of the joint. Peter

Tell me about it, one of my Pensions is sitting with them, having had 13 years working for a Company they took over, I hope for my sake it gets sorted! Quite a few of my old colleagues are still there and pretty depressed, the atmosphere is not good. Peter

111,111 x 111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 Peter

I have the Anglepoise type, with a fluorescent ring, but like some others tend to find it difficult to work with. I now mainly use it just as a light source, and wear magnifying glasses or a head visor. However the aim of the post is not to influnce your choice, it's more of a warning. As a child we used to set fire to pieces of paper by focusing sunlight through a lens. I can confirm that this also works with desk magnifiers, and have the burn mark on furniture to prove it. Keep them away from the window when not in use. Peter

Hit me with your Rythm Stick, Ian Dury

Missed it earlier, done it now. Peter

'Fraid I've no idea, but it would be worth giving them a ring, I have only used them for rail. Peter

Hi Martin, Is that a total of 250g mix, or 250g of hardener and 250g of resin? Peter

Are the ones from 3SMR any use, they do packs of 240 (TOC 1). http://www.3smr.co.uk/track.html They are available to anyone. Peter

Hi John, For low relief have a look at Skytrex stuff, it only requires painting, and is modular, so you can mix and match to suit. http://www.ogauge.co.uk/66-industrial-buildings-north-lights They also sell buildings such as coal offices and loading docks. There's loads of stuff on the website, or try to catch up with them at an Exhibition, where they often have offers on some pieces. Peter

I finally cracked the 3D problem last night, I used a second pair of glasses that I found in the cupboard, If you half fill them with this, then drink it, the Pendon photo's look superb, - however the rest of the magazine is just a blurry mess. Peter

Rather than trying to get solvent onto a large area, without it evaporating before you get a chance to stick pieces together, you can drill holes in the base layer amd glue from the back to get addional 'stick' without using gallons of solvent, with inevitable problems later on. I would also echo Colin's advice and go for three layers if possible, to equalise stresses and keep things flat in the long term, in which case you drill through the middle layer, attach the back, re-drill the holes then clad the outside, if that makes sense. Peter

Hi Helmut, If you work to dimensions of 200mm x 200mm x 150mm the diorama will fit inside the standard cake box. This is the size of the Model Scenery bases I am using https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/shop/bb006-small-diorama-baseboard-200x200mm-with-backscene-board/?v=79cba1185463 These fit within the box exactly, and are the size listed above, though there's nothing to stop you building on a base 200mm x 150mm x 200mm high. Good luck with the challenge, I look forward to seeing another entry. Peter

I too get ratty about the BBC Iplayer and the like, that seem to get changed by the IT geeks just because they can, and need to justify their existence. Then I see a Hillman Avenger, or an old brick mobile 'phone, a stack of 78's in a junk shop, and the Amstrad 1512 that's still in the roof, and realise there's probably a point to it all, even if I don't appreciate it at the time. I have a couple of Toshiba laptops still running Windows 95, and on the whole I prefer the tablet running Marshmallow or some other stupid name. Peter

Good news indeed, I have been badgering Mr Chetter for a Sentinel sound file for a couple of years for my Y10, this may produce enough demand for a chain driven project, hint hint......... Peter

A warning to all be careful about drink driving as we are getting near to Christmas and the police are out checking on people. Last night I was out for a few drinks and one thing led to another and I had a few to many, not a good idea. Knowing I was over the limit I decided to leave the car at the pub and took a bus home, I passed the police check point, where they were pulling over drivers and performing breath tests, because I was in a bus they just waved it past. I arrived home safely and no accidents, which was a real surprise because I have never driven a bus before and I'm not even sure where I got it from. Peter

Check out model boat suppliers for appropriately sized stanchions, you can usually find something to suit. http://www.modelshopleeds.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=17125&gclid=Cj0KCQiAl8rQBRDrARIsAEW_To8IcEfq00NqnwMJ8zIo8tLtQaB870Y3vJBWLDxenwOjANxTJkUpJC0aAvMMEALw_wcB Peter

Khris, No air in the mix, it just goes like that if you leave the ingredients out for a day or so, it was done to test my theory on moisture in the mix. It looks like it proved correct, and that water in the mould was proably the cause of the OP's issue. The rest of the days casting with the same resin went perfectly fine, I had noticed that the last pours from old resins tended to be like an Aero bar, and it happened once when I left new resin out for a day, the test piece was a deliberate mistreatement of the resin, and boy did it bubble. Air in the mix just reults in a few trapped air bubbles, this stuff foamed up like a volcano! Peter

It's also worth looking at this thread http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/119462-respectable-o-gauge-mk3s/ For the HST coaches, there are some moves afoot to resurrect/modify the Skytrex coaches, which might mean less work in building a full HST rake than doing them from brass kits. (I'm probably showing my ignorance of HST's here, I assume they are pretty much standard Mk 3's between the Power Cars?) Although out of my modelling era I would love to build a full HST set, - and have somewhere to run it! but theres a Blue Pullman in the roof that needs my attention first. Peter

Given the Heljan response to previous requests for solutions to the problem is 'Howes are our UK agent, they sell spares', and that this problem has been ongoing for at least 4 years with no real interest from them, it's hard not to be negative. For some loco's the replacements are no better than the originals, 3 or 4 years on with a known fault. Its only recently, when various social media platforms have started a groundswell of discontent that they are finally acknowledging that there is actually a problem, though no doubt any solution will still be at a cost to the consumer, so I can't really see a lot to be positive about, I have more faith that after market solutions by others will be available, and won't continue to break. Rather than get the same unhelpful response from Heljan that they have given at several previous Exhibitions they I have attended I have simply chosen to take my money elsewhere, they started the negativity by refusing to accept there was a problem and doing nothing about it for years. Peter

Archers rivet transfers maybe? http://www.archertransfers.com./SurfaceDetailsMain.html Peter

Hi Len, I don't think it's anything to do with metal in the resin, I regularly cast nuts and mdf into it, to make knobs and the like, without any issues. How old is the resin, and how long was it left poured into mixing cups before actual mixing? I have had problems in the past with this happening, and carried out an experiment. I poured resin and hardener into two cups and left them out for 24 hours, then mixed them. This was the result, I think the resin or hardener is hygroscopic, and draws moisture from the atmosphere, this then reacts when the two components are mixed. It's just a theory, but I can't find any other explanation at present, and the result is similar to the Gorilla glue that advises one surface to be wetted. Hope this helps. Peter