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paulprice

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  1. paulprice
    Well despite what seemed like an impossible task, I actually managed to find a little time this week to do some modelling (well its what I call modelling others will disagree)
     
    Is it just me or is this nearly impossible?
     
    For example during the week, I generally get up for each morning at 5-5:30 am start on my first work emails or tasks at about 6am. Then fit in a breakfast of Coffee and a shower, then leave for the office at around 8am, arrive at 9am. Then the easy task of working lunch free until around 7pm, travel home by 8pm. Then prepare dinner, and usually finish it by 9:30pm the a little time to relax, more emails then off to bed at around 11:30pm. h I forgot the occasional (multiple times a week) 4am phone calls...
     
    Anyway despite this I managed to find the time to not only sort out the relaying of the Forster Street storage yard, but also to prove my theory that it is actually possible to set my fingers on fire, before you say it I'm not an idiot, I only managed to do it twice
     
    What I have proved however is that I am a SOLDERING GOD, if anyone want to see me for lessons in this aspect of Railway modelling, write your requests on the back of a £10 note and send it to me... All I have to do now is solder the wires on the point motors and then fit them but honestly how hard can that be??
     
    Anyway when my fingers have cooled down enough for me to use my camera I may even post pictures, but more importantly I have managed to rescue a poor mistreated Jubilee that some evil manufacturer painted in a terrible mouldy green colour, but I am in the process of saving her?
     
    My intention is to represent a jubilee in the post-war lined black livery (I think its really attractive, other will disagree), which I think will produce a good companion for my crimson fleet (if any one wants a loco in this livery, now I have started this one Farish will announce them in this livery:()
     
    I also splashed some paint on my attempt to produce an original patriot, but the least said about that the better (still lots and lots and lots to do on this ) Well I did attempt to get the pictures in order but its not work, dam my still smouldering fingers......
     
    Anyway as ever Happy Modelling
  2. paulprice
    Well it was bound to happen, with my life full of mayhem at the moment with a new job, two crazy Jack Russels and numerous other demands on time, a normal sane person would think to put any idea of modelling on a back burner.
     
    A with me being a sensible, logical person that's exactly what I did, until the alignment dowels I ordered turned up not that I had anything planned but I just thought it would be handy to have a couple in stock.
     
    I believe some modellers plan the builds down to the last track pin, and I commented on this to the Domestic Overlord as we had a brief period of respite from the two puppies (they were asleep).
     
    As we mused on various topics, being the crafty little ###### that I am, the problem of cutting plans popped up, and how the efficient thing to do was to get as much usable parts from baseboards from the least number of for example ply sheets.
     
    Before long our conversation led to the solution of many problems, the downturn in the pound, Brexit talks, the North Korean problem, a justification for Tofu, and theoretical cutting plans for a new layouts baseboards (only joking nobody even us, can justify the existence of Tofu )
     
    It was soon time to get back to the domestic duties, and like a good little chap I got onto them and a little detour on the way to the supermarket let to the surprise find of some ply-wood that just happens to have been cut in the dimensions I would need, if I was planning a new layout which I'm not..and I did not lose any fingers in the progress

    I suppose, it would be worth a little time seeing if something useful could be made from them, I mean it does not necessarily mean it will lead to a new layout does it?
     
    If it did though, does it mean I would have to start a layout thread?
  3. paulprice
    Well despite the company I work for considering it acceptable for me to work nearly 24hours a day, 7 days a week, and then the demands of domestic life taking up what time I have left, I have still managed to find a little. and I mean little time for playing with my trains.
     
    With exhibitions looming for Foster Street, I should be looking at finishing off a few jobs on the layout, and giving the scenery a little refresh, I decided to spend time working on less vital projects.
     
    I have always had a bit of a thing for the old Farish Compounds, as a child I always wanted one, two or even more but despite looking at the relevant years catalogue, Santa never brought me one, yes the big guy must have just forgotten all about me, consistently year on year . Still I bear no grudges, because I am bigger than that, but if I ever meet the bearded old fart, it wont just be Rudolph with the red nose.
     
    Anyway back to the Compounds, over the last few years I have managed to accumulate a few (at bargain prices, I'm not tight I', just very prudent), anyway four examples managed to find their way onto my workbench. As every LMS fan should do, I have a thing for maroon locomotives, so the first for attention was a regular member of the Foster Street roster.

    A little black paint in the relevant areas makes in my opinion a big improvement to this livery, though it needs a steady hand with the paintbrush, and an attempt to add the missing yellow lining improves the loco (well I think so). A spot of weathering also helps hide my rough paintwork, and the removal off the moulded coal from the tender, and the addition of lamps and a crew means she is ready for traffic.

    I did say I had a bit of a thing for maroon locomotives, so another example had to join the fleet, a quick renumber and she is will receive similar detailing to her class mate, though I think she may receive a little heavier weathering.

    Not all my compounds are maroon, I have a few black examples, in a moment of madness I thought, I would liven up the livery by adding a little red lining, I thought it would be a simple quick job, I was so wrong. Shaking hands and a loaded paintbrush are not a good combination, so I think I may have to do a bit of a cover up job with a little weathering.

    The final example on the work bench, met with a nasty accident, I introduced her to my new snips and she is well on her way to conversion to a 2P, this one came with no tender, miss treated by her previous owner. She will soon get a new tender, I'm thinking she may get a Deeley tender just for a little variation.

    So there you have it, when you think about it, to get this lot finished would not take your average modeller busy for long, but this is me we are talking about, and I never rush anything, just ask the Domestic Overlord about my decorating speed (positively glacial ). One thing I want to get a sorted quickly is those undersized bogie wheels, I think I can feel a ponder coming on.
     
    Until the next time as ever happy Modelling
  4. paulprice
    Well its been a while since I last posted an entry on here, some might say its not been long enough . The reason for this is not because the Domestic Overlord has been scheduling my every waking moment.
     
    The real reason is that in part I have lost my modelling mojo, and because I have been bogged down with some of the boring time consuming jobs that have been backing up, like wheel cleaning etc.
     
    Anyway thanks to Phil of this parish the fiddle yard on Foster Street is finally having the point motors wired up, and route matrixes fitted to make operation easier. Now Phil reckons, or rather tells everyone that he is an electronics Guru, but I know he is still jealous of my God like soldering ability.
     
    Anyway one of the jobs I needed to do is not only clean the wheels on the loco fleet, but to finally fit traction tyres to the Jubilees which decided to throw at least one, at the same time, at the last outing. So I got the stock box down and decided to at least get this job completed, the problem is nothing is ever easy for fast, and if I have anything to do with it usually a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

    Most of the fleet has been weathered to some degree or another, so while I had them out I decided to touch up a few areas, and ensure that they all had crews in the cabs. Not a quick process (the excitement of fitting traction tyres has to be experienced to be believed) anyway after working out how many footplate crew I needed I set about the hacking/ mutilating the little people about and fitting them to their locos.
     
    Being a cunning little squirrel I took advantage of this and added my latest Evil Bay bargain Jubilee to the fleet, which means I now have 6, I also added officially my latest Royal Scott to the fleet to, which was a gift from some very good friends. Its in the preserved Maroon livery, but its a little stunner so will stay in this livery and enter the fleet, all it needs is headlamps adding and some very light weathering.
     
    Anyway time for a quick rant........ At the latest exhibition outing, a very nice Chap, commented that my freight trains were un-prototypical as there were too many tarps on the wagons, and that they looked totally wrong.
     
    Apparently they were the wrong colour, size and the lettering was all wrong, my heinous crime must have been totally horrific as he failed to notice the presence of the Elephant train on the layout.
     
    So I took all his remarks on board, as he left viewing the layout, still with the use of his legs, and with a little smug look on his face, I vowed to resolve the situation. So what did I do? Did I return home and remove every tarp from the fleet, NO I DID NOT, I applied even more to the fleet, and as the commercial ones were so WRONG I made my own.

    Apparently I can be a little stubborn from time to time, so I have to procure more open wagons and then I can have more tarps........HA READ THAT AND WEEP ANORAK MAN....
     

    Well I think the Domestic Overlord is about to send me to bed, so until the next time, as ever Happy Modelling
  5. paulprice
    Well after another manic day at work, I finally got home, and after dinner the Domestic Overlord very kindly dismissed me after I did the dishes and sent me to the spare room to play with my trains
     
    Anyway I flicked on electric, powered up the old controllers, sat down to watch the trains going by, and slowly the work began to slip out of focus. Just as I was totally in the land of nod, I was abruptly brought back to my senses by a harsh shrill voice.....
     
    "Billy, Billy Grimes, what's that mark on your neck, if that's a rash your not getting off school, let me have another look at it, get your backside over here", before I knew it, a sudden pain in my right ear, and me suddenly accelerating despite no physical movement of my body told me that I was in the hands of my Mum.
     
    "Well you dirty little ######, I know what that is, you dirty little devil, you have been hanging around with those nasty girls again" well I wont have it, get into the front room and let your Dad sort you out. Before the final words had let her throat a sharp pain in the bottom signified that if I dawdled and did not keep out range more would follow and I was escorted to the front room.
     
    I was trapped, the door was closed behind me and I was left in a room with Dad, "So what's all this about, what's got your Mum's knickers in a knot then?", "nuffin" I replied "just mum said I was not to hang about with dirty girls, but they are not dirty, the smell of carbolic and I checked behind their ears and they are clean".
     
    "argh I guess that mark on your neck is what did it, now listen to me cloth ears, you have to be careful hanging around with these dirty girls, you might end up catching something silly, I hung around with one once and caught something nasty, its called your mum, now ###### off outside, and leave me get some peace".
     
    So where was I to go, I know the station, a few minutes later I was down on the platform. Sid the Porter told me that if I was lucky I might see the Ivatt twins, and that they were a real dirty pair. No matter how hard I looked all I could see were a couple of strange looking engines, oh well more numbers for the book.
    Well who needs girls anyway, all a lad needs are trains anyway, a few minutes later they were coupled up together and the strange pair drifted off into the distance.....

    Hang on a minute, they looked pretty similar, in fact they were almost identical, you could say the were almost like twins.................as the penny finally dropped, I was dragged back into reality, of the Domestic Overlord standing over me, "well if you were just going to sleep up here you may as well have just gone to bed, and after I was kind enough to let you play with your trains"..................
     
    Until the next time Happy Modelling
  6. paulprice
    Well it was the weekend of the Warrington 2015 exhibition and the first time Foster Street has been at a 2 day exhibition. Despite varying degrees of panic leading up to the exhibition, mostly about whether the layout would stand up to 2 days of constant operation, and public scrutiny it seemed to have gone well.
     
    There were a couple of minor sticky points, namely when the shuttle unit decided to blow itself up, or when a couple of the locomotives decided to take a nose dive off the layout and then bounce of the floor but I suppose these things happen, apart from this the weekend was a very enjoyable one if very exhausting.
     
    However the highlight of the weekend for me, was the support I got from the team who came to the exhibition with me, the team certainly made a better job of operating the layout than I did and certainly kept the public entertained, especially with the making sure the Elephant train made regular circuits to entertain the younger visitors and of course me
     
    So Phil, Stuart and of course The Domestic Overlord Tim thanks for all your help, support and tolerance in effectively babysitting me for an entire weekend and keeping me away from the superglue
     
    Not only was Phil a good operator, even though he had a habit of constantly sneaking an SR locomotive into the storage yard, he managed to take some photo's in which he has managed to make the layout look presentable, so I thought I would include a few below.
     
    Until the next time as ever Happy Modelling
  7. paulprice
    Well this time last week, the Domestic Overlord and I were running around trying to get fit the proverbial quart into a pint pot, or more accurately Foster Street into the a Focus.
     
    Well it just about fit and I just about fit behind the steering wheel, anyway a week later, and no modelling has been done, to be honest I needed a bit if a break from it.
     
    However I could not quite break away from it entirely, and I have spent a little time working on a list of the things that either need completing, improvement or even starting.
     
    The problem is even I am amazed at how long this list is, and how many things I have added to it that are not really a priority like my pressing urge to build a breakdown train, and before anyone remarks upon it, its not because my motive power keeps failing
     
    Anyway during my moments of musing of the expanding jobs I had a look at some of the photo's of the layout taken by Phil who volunteered (press ganged) to help operate the layout at its first exhibition, and despite his constant moans about how the LMS is vastly inferior to the SR seemed to enjoy himself.
     
    What hit me is how Phil's mastery of that instrument of the black arts, aka a camera, has managed to make even my modelling look passable so here are a few of his photographs.
     
    Until Next time as ever Happy modelling
  8. paulprice
    Well its the start of the New year, and I managed to celebrate by actually doing some more modelling, and yes gluing my fingers together a couple of items. god I love super glue.
     
    Anyway while other members of
    the household, who will remain nameless lay in slumber I set about my on-going attempt to convert a springside std 4 into an Ivatt class 4.
     
    Its still early days in the process, but in certain areas I think it's beginning to take shape, even if that shape is not exactly what I intended when I set out.
     

     
    Most of the work so far has been completed with the use of my trusty files and laminations of 10 thou plasti-card, once I have the majority of the work done it will be time to get the model filler out to work on some of the joins.
     

     
    Even though it does not look like it in the photographs the chimney is on straight, to build it up after filling the original single one into shape, I grafted some plastic onto it and the shaped it until it resembled the required shape, all I have to do now is add the lip and the final shaping.
     

     
    For the chassis I have tried to get away with as little modification as possible, so for the moment I have just reduced the height if the cylinders by filling them down, but I may do a little more on this. As you can see there is still a lot to do, as it seems I'm at that stage where completing one little job just crates more new ones even if most of the new jobs are just figuring out how parts that that are not even intended for this model, are still managing to glue themselves to me
     
    Still at least I have the saving grace that the model will only need to finished in simple un-lined black, I mean what can possibly go wrong????
     
    Until Next time as ever Happy Modelling
  9. paulprice
    Well its Sunday, and I'm relaxing with a nice coffee, slowly getting over the exploits of Saturday, and Foster Street's exhibition debut at the Weston on Trent exhibition.
     
    Despite having a many, many outstanding jobs left to do, the layout was packed into the car on Friday night, god knows what the neighbours think and it just about fit, so with my six foot seven frame scrunched up behind the wheel of the car the Domestic overlord and I set off into the early morning darkness.
     
    Having arrived at the venue, and being made very welcome by Andy the exhibition host/organiser and RMweb contributor we managed to get the layout set up and not needing as much fettling as I originally thought it might, I even managed to solder back in place a power feed I managed to stand on, and a cross baseboard joint on the branch I had forgotten at home.
     
    The good news came when Phil (he of the incorrect belief that any Railway other than the Southern is inferior, I'm sure when the concussion wears off he will be okay) he soon set to work rectifying my soldering and despite the protests of them not being proper engines helped to stock the fiddle yard.
     
    I think once the layout bedded in to the hall temperature running improved and various typical LMS trains could be seen, at certain points even a Bullied West Country could be seen, well I had to try and keep Phil happy,
     
    I did learn a lot of things over the day, mostly an ever increasing list of things that need improvement/finishing/adding to the layout (Thanks Phil and Tim), but also that I'm not alone in thinking that my Elephant train is cool..............
     
    Oh and that I think I may have taken too much stock to the show, its a good job the lads did not know I had a couple more boxes hidden behind the back seats that I forgot to take into the hall, but be honest can you ever have too much stock?
     
    Well before I end this entry, I hope that anyone out there who viewed the layout at the exhibition enjoyed what they saw, and thanks for all the very kind comments and to the little Girl who asked where the model Bee's where near the hives, I'm still working on it trust me......
     
    But the big thanks must go to the Domestic Overlord - Tim, and Phil (aka LankyPhil) for their excellent operating, and for putting up with my the biggest most excitable kid at the exhibition.. Oh and the excellent photo a first for my blogs is the work of Phil, thanks for making the layout look passable
     
    Until next time Happy Modelling
  10. paulprice
    Well progress on my attempt to produce a reasonable representation of an Ivatt class 4 (Flying Pig) for Foster street has managed to get to the stage of me actually thinking about slapping a little paint onto it.
     
    The majority of the work on the project this week has seen me working on the tender, and attempting to get the complex shape of the cab tender correct. This has not been helped by my stubborn insistence on using the over length farish chassis (yes if the Domestic Overlord ever reads this it is me admitting to being stubborn, well only slightly).
     
    I know using the over scale tender length with have the rivet counters out there baying for my blood, but we all have to live with a few compromises unless we go down the FS route. I mean I have a few Fowler locomotives in my collection, all of which have the farish stretched tenders, and as long as you don't put them near a scale length on they don't look too bad with a little detailing. I have a couple of tender kits in stock, but I would need another 20+ to cover the fleet.
     
    Anyway I digress I think I have managed to produce a passable version of the cab tender, from the use of 10 thou plasti-card my trusty superglue and some files, without it looking too stretched I hope
     
    So to make the height of the Locomotive cab matched that of the tender I added a another shim of plasti-card to raise the locomotive up a little more to the correct height, and to provide the gap above the cylinders. I also changed the profile of the cab roof by adding strips of plastic to it then sanding to the correct profile, I must admit I quite enjoy this part of modelling

    So it was off to the paint shops, with N gauge sometime you can get a good finish with a brush, but for this locomotive I though I would get a can of satin black from its hiding place, I mean what could possibly go wrong?? From the locomotive point of view not a lot, it needs another coat, and there are a few areas that could do with sanding, but she took her first coat quite well, but not as good as my hand or my white shirt.

    There is still a lot of pipework to add to the locomotive, and I need to add some frames ahead of the cylinders to fill the gap, and of course paint them. Then I need to look at adding glazing to the cab, and a crew, and then make a new locomotive/tender coupling. That's before I even add its final coat of black, oh and paint the cab roof, and smoke box matt black, and some more real coal to the bunker.

    I suppose I better think about what number she is going to carry, and order the transfers, and then maybe this "pig" of a job will be complete????

    As ever until next time Happy Modelling
  11. paulprice
    Well in my last post, I started to detail some of the improvements I need to make to a few of the locomotives in my fleet. I'm still working through this process, well I would be if...
    a) I had more time and
    B) I spent the time I have working on this projects instead of starting new ones.
     
    So guess what I did, yes your right I started some new ones, but only because I needed something to do while I waited for paint and glue to dry. So really I'm just being efficient, well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
     
    A trip into the loft the other day (yes I don't get out much, I meant outside, not out of the loft or I would still be stuck up there) I found a couple of my old Farish models, which I just could not part with. The problem was what to turn them into, as I already have enough Black 5's.


    These models must be nearly as old as me, so I treated them with a little respect, and introduced them to Mr Mini-Drill and a nice cutting disc, and soon they looked a little different.

    I'm not going to tell you what I hope they will be when I'm finished, as I don't want people saying, "there's no way they look like a *****" Anyway thanks to a my habit of buying various bits an pieces at exhibitions, I soon found a couple of suitable domes, and chimneys that I could modify. After a bit of digging in the bits and bobs box, I found two lengths of a suitable boiler, and thanks to some superglue I soon had the basics of locomotives forming?

    up until this point everything seemed to be going well, and that's when it hit me, things were going well so I did the sensible thing and quit while I was ahead.
     
    So at this point until the next update as ever Happy Modelling
  12. paulprice
    Just a quick entry this time - Try not to all cheer at once
     
     
    I need a quick break from re-inventing the laws of physics and more particularly the laws governing electrics.
     
    I NEED HELP,
     
    The bay platform, and the goods yard on Foster Street are accessed by electro frog points, the are isolated from the main lines by double insulated fishplates, everything went well, running was great.
     
    After the track was ballasted and painted, second testing and everything went well, until now.
     
    Locomotives run well up to the first point, then crawl over it as if the brakes are applied, then stop on the second one. The rails are clean so its not rail top dirt, however if you squeeze the rails together at the switch end and hold them, the locomotives run at the same speed as they did approaching the points.
     
    AAARRRGGGHHHHHH its probably something simple, but its driving me mad, I bet my track rubbers have had something to do with it??
     
    HELP
  13. paulprice
    Well its been a while since I have posted anything on here, mostly because like most people the festive season has not allowed much time for modelling, but also because I lost my "Mojo".
     
    So I had to look for inspiration, it was during this search that I discovered Amazon, and there supply of Railway books, so three astute purchases at a gran total of 58p, plus postage (I'm not tight, just prudent, despite what other people claim )provided a little inspiration and my "Mojo" started to return.
     
    An even better source of inspiration was found in the form of "holy water" which I had to imbibe, in copious amounts as for some unfathomable reason the fridge is full of the stuff

    Taking a decent amount of this stuff to the spare room, purely of course to protect the Domestic Overlord from having to drink the stuff I set about trying to finally get one of my locomotives running as it should.
     
    The victim, was my Farish Royal Scot, it has always ran "lumpy" ever since I bought it new, I had meant to get round to this a lot sooner as I have had the loco for 4 years plus, but always found something better to do. Anyway working in a logical way (which is not something I do often) I separated the loco from the tender. A couple of minutes later I had the body off the tender, and then I noticed the problem, a bloody DCC chip . For me DC is the way to go, none of this DCC stuff for me.
     
    I had bought this loco from new, and as far as I was concerned it was not DCC fitted, someone in the shop must have fitted the chip to demonstrate it to customers, thankfully someone on another forum kindly sent me some blanking plates, and it was not long before one was fitted. Running improved but it was still no right. After more investigation, it appeared to have an intermittent short, so I went back to old fashioned technology and I stripped the chassis down, and hard wired the motor.
     
    During this I also removed a lot of what can only be described as a white waxy/oily solid material from the motor/worn, but once reassembled the loco ran brilliantly, not bad for a 4 plus year project.

    Once I got this delinquent running sweetly, I decided to look at my Jubilee fleet, and although I have not hardwired any of these I did seem to remove more of the white stuff from two of them. So I decided to run the fleet, all I need to do now is figure out where I have "safely" put their nameplates and then maybe apply some more weathering?

    5690 Leander - Dignity saved by being repainted from a terrible BR Green livery (still needs a little finishing)

    5643 Rodney - Again another fallen lady rescued from a horrible BR Green livery (soon to be weathered)

    5682 Trafalgar - looking travel weary with a heavy train

    5699 Galatea - heading a semi-fast

    Pride of the line 5572 Eire, storming past the station on pilot duty, and in very clean condition.
    As you can see they still need, a little more work, but the time taken on them so far has improved their running measurably.
     
    Now its time for a little more liquid inspiration, if only to find an viable excuse to add another Scott and maybe a Jubilee to the fleet. Until the next time as ever as ever Happy Modelling
  14. paulprice
    Apparently something is going on later this month, apparently is something big, I got a clue to this when I came home from work in the week, and the Domestic Overlord had left some tinsel on the sofa.
     
    Now possessing detection skills that would make Sherlock Holmes to shame, my little grey cells kicked into action. Tinsel, shiny, and red, elementary my dear chap, it was the DO's subtle hint that I should spend some time on my current project of producing some Crimson tanks for the fleet, see I'm no fool.
     
    So I made a effort to apply numbers and branding to the locomotives, I have been slowly adding the lining over the last few weeks and I only have a couple of boiler bands to finish, then maybe a coating of grot?
     
    Anyway just in case anyone might be interested here's how they are looking now.
     
    Fowler Half Cab 1F
    It started out as a very basic attempt to turn an old Farish 3F into something more interesting, I know the rivet counters will go mad but from a distance it looks okay. I must admit I think even with my shaky lining I think she looks pretty good, and once I get the goods yard sorted on Foster Street will be good shunting a few wagons about.

     
    Johnson 1P
    This started off as Dapol M7, in previous entries you will see that when I converted this I painted it in a black livery, because I thought that painting her crimson was a little too much effort at the time. Still this decision kept nagging away at me, in the end I gave in and she got the paint job she should have had from the start.
    All I need to do now is add a little weight to aid traction, but there is not a lot of space to play with, just to make handling the push pull coaches easier, unless I get some 4 wheelers.......

     
    Fowler Flat Iron
    This is a real miss match of bits and bobs, years ago (more than I care to remember) I remember getting a kit for this at an exhibition. Not being a Soldering God at that point, when I tried to construct it I sorted of melted the thing into a rather nice blob. Anyway not throwing anything away that might be of use if only for adding weight to locomotives it sat in a box, until Phil.
    Phil (the sensible member of the operating team, and that's saying something) is always going on about big tank engines, so out came the old kit from which I was able to rescue the smoke box, a lot of effort later and a lot of curves on the lining, and don't ask about the chassis but we have.

     
    So there you have it, 3 crimson locomotives pretty much ready to add to the fleet, just a few little jobs to complete on them and they maybe a lot of weathering to cover up most of the lining, but that's it I think.

     
    What next? well I think the next locomotives will be finished in plain black, oh and as for being some sort of master detective, perhaps the Domestic Overlord was not dropping a hint to work on my trains, but because its nearly CHRISTMAS.
     
    Anyway until the next time as ever Happy Modelling and have a HAPPY CHRISTMAS :)
  15. paulprice
    Well if this series of updates on my attempt to improve some of my motive power has not bored you to tears yet, I'm pretty confident that this entry might just tip you over the edge.
     
    With all the usual demands on the very precious resource of modelling time, I have not had a lot of time to spend on the various projects I'm in the middle of in the vain hope that I may actually complete one. In the traditions of all modellers everywhere instead of finishing projects, I even managed to start new ones.
     
    Anyway from the tray of doom, two locomotives have reached the stage where I am happier to release them onto Foster Street, all I have to do now is fit some lamps (when I can actually find them)

     
    SCOTS GUARDSMAN
    This loco, has been a bit of a problem for me, I bought it new when it was first releases, god knows how many years back. It never really worked well, so I added into the "needing attention" section of the fleet. Several years later I discovered that the "crappy" running was due to a DCC chip being fitted.
     
    Anyway I soon sorted this out by hard wiring the locomotive and the running was dramatically improved, so it was time to add a little detailing, a crew, adding and a spot of weathering is all I have done to this loco, for now.


    My aim was to portray a locomotive that looks like its been earning its corn, I have tried not to go over the top on the weathering, but my research has shown these locomotives in a terrible state.

    One day I think I may invest in an airbrush to help with weathering, as imagine the destruction I could unleash with one of these
     
    CRAB
    Simple modification to the tender involved the removal of the moulded coal load and replacement with some real stuff, and a crew fitted (I hate empty cabs)

    I have tried to restrain myself with the weathering as, I don't know why but I have a struggle "grottying" up lovely crimson locomotives (though if you see some of my Jubilee's you would not think it )

    Again she just needs some lamps fitting, and of course the missing tender vents (I knew I had something to do) and she will soon find herself at the head of a freight.
     
    Other projects.
    The two Duchess locomotives I have been working on, have not seen much progress, thought the tenders have been filled with some real coal. The one that was in a terrible BR green livery has received a nice black coat of paint, and some work to produce a "semi".

    I think she will look good in the post war black livery, all I have to do is decide what identity to give her?

    As for the BR maroon one, being lazy I'm trying to get away with a total repaint, and I might be able to get away with this as I have some pictures of the class in the war years, and you would be hard pressed to figure out what colour they are under the grime.

    Oh the joys of modelling, until the next time as ever Happy Modelling
  16. paulprice
    Well what can I say, another marathon weekend of work finally over, even resulting in me visiting the office twice on a Sunday, I mean work on a Sunday!!!!!!
     
    However today I manage to fit in a little modelling time, and buy little I mean hardly any, just enough time in fact to take out my soldering iron and successfully set my fingers alight (I am beginning to hate re-wiring the layout).
     
    Being your typical tough northerner pain means nothing to me, so as I type this with still smouldering fingers, I thought I would post a little more for those of you who are interested, in the progress of my Push-Pull train for the branch.
     
    To save time the basis of this conversion was one of the older farish generic coaches from more years ago than I can remember (no seriously I cant remember how old they are, come to think of it what am I doing, Nurse, Nurse is it time for my nap nap). My aim was to produce a vague representation of an LMS auto coach, which if you don't look to closely as it trundles up and down the branch may pass muster.
     
    The progress so far has been very simple, as has involved, the removal of the coupling, a brake hose made from my trusty staple, wound with wire (does it need more, photographic evidence is sketchy), the fabrication of the window frame at the driving end oh and the sun shade (I know Sun in the north-west as if). All I need to do now is paint the end a suitable shade of maroon, paint the roof, glaze the windows and maybe add a few passengers EASY
     
    More importantly I need to decide what motive power to attach to the driven end, I'm pretty pleased with my Johnsonn 1P conversion, but I kind of like the look of one of my Ivatt tanks ant the front????
     
    The other bit of progress on the layout has been on the scenery, but not by me, the Domestic Overlord has been busy making trees for the layout, (I'm sure it was just to prove a point to me that you don't need to super glue them to your fingers). These have then been planted on the layout to improve the look of the layout, and I must say to my eyes its a brilliant job, thanks Your Supreme Overlodness
     
    Well until the next time as ever Happy Modelling
  17. paulprice
    Is it just me, or does this happen to other people too? I set out to do one thing, and ended up doing something different.
     
    I had intended to build some new storage trays for the stock I admit to owning (the stuff the Domestic Overlord has seen) and to be fair I set out to create 9 and I have its just I got fed up of fitting foam in them after the sixth one was finished.
     
    Anyway while I was doing this I looked at servicing and cleaning the locomotives I tend to use from the collection on Foster Street, all was progressing well, with only one casualty requiring parts to be ordered. Things were progressing well and I was in severe danger of actually completing a job I had started, and I was left with just a few to service.

    I have always liked the Ivatt Mogul, and a new Bachmann example had joined the collection several months back, shortly after one of my old Minitrix examples exploded (actually just threw its valve gear on one side). The problem is the newer loco just looked far too clean so I thought it was time it got a coat of grime.

    So out came the old paintbrushes and the paints, and I set to work making a dirty girl out of her, don't worry no airbrushes where damaged in this process.

    As these locomotives appeared relatively late in the life of the GREAT LMS, I thought a light weathering would be in order, to portray a working engine (even though some locomotives were in a terrible external state in LMS days).
     
    The only problem is that I have not got one of the new models, I actually have two, so now I have another job to complete, renumbering and weathering the other one.

     
    So as ever until the next time Happy Modelling
  18. paulprice
    Well apparently something called Christmas is approaching, which I think is just an excuse from the Domestic Overlord to stop me modelling, or at least playing with my trains. Yes you read that correctly, I meant it I PLAY WITH TRAINS and if anyone has a problem with that TOUGH
     
    Anyway the last couple of days have been quite fruitful for my trains set, I have given up referring to it as my layout, the so called "normal" people keep calling it my train set so I have given up.... This week has seen a little envelope arrive from Bachmann with a few replacement drawbars, so I can finally get some of the fleet back in action.
     
    This has meant that my recent rescue job, on a poor Jubilee that some evil manufacturer had painted in a terrible BR livery is nearly complete. Once her new drawbar was fitted she managed a few laps of the layout, all I need to do now is fit her crew and a lamps to the front and she will be fine, not bad for £45 dabs off Ebay

    I still think a little more weathering is needed, my luck was also in this week as another Ebay bargain arrived at Price mansions, for a massive total of £40 another Duchess was added to the fleet.

    I know its the older version, but with a little work, a reasonable model can be turned out, and hopefully a little effort on this one may be worth it. All I have done to this old girl was a quick chassis rebuild and she runs as sweet as a nut. Again the poor old girl has the indignity of being painted in a terrible BR livery, I do with the manufactures would stop this evil trait so I need to figure out what decent LMS livery to apply to her, and if I should attempt a semi???
     
    The final bit of good luck to land on my doorstep was a complementary copy of the Railway Modeller, along with a cheque for the article, which in theory means I can visit a model shop and make some astute purchase, or I could treat the Domestic Overlord to something nice (really what more could anyone want if they already had me in their life ) I mean after all accoriding to the endless adverts on the TV it is Christmas....
     
    So until next time BAR HUMBUG, sorry I mean Happy Modelling
  19. paulprice
    Well as Christmas day is rapidly approaching, the usual colds and sniffles have hit the Price mansions and the Domestic Overlord has been hit with the dreaded lurgy
     
    Every cloud has a silver lining though, and it has meant that I can play with my trains, so today I have managed to spend a hour our so just running trains around Foster Street.
     
    While I was doing this I a couple of thoughts hit me, one of which was a little concerning, do I have too much stock? The question raised itself from the depths as I looked for a couple of con-flats I knew I had somewhere, but could not lay my hands on. Eventually I found the con-flats all three of them, which is a bit of luck as I thought I only had two as well as a load of tank wagons I seemed to have forgotten and some Toad brake vans I just wished I could forget about
     
    So the first question is... If you have too much stock to put on your layout, does that mean you have too much stock, or as I suspect you need a bigger layout (I already have plans for Foster Streets replacement, but don't tell the Domestic Overlord its a secret).
     
    The second question, is..... Am I the only one who seems to connect certain types of locomotives with certain types of train? For example my Ivatt Class 4 does not seem right unless its at the head of the milk train. Or my Patriot seems to suit my parcels train, or the coal trains need 4F's. Does this happen to anyone else, of so let me know what locomotives you associate with which trains?

    As ever until the next time Happy Modelling
  20. paulprice
    Well as hard LMS fan, I think I may have suffered a major head injury, as I have recently added two Terriers to the fleet. The injury must have been really bad, as you will see from the results below, it's worst than actually owning the Southern loco's.

    The new additions have certainly added a bit of life to the household, and at 11 weeks they have already established themselves in the running order.
     
    As a result modelling time has been in very very short supply, what I have managed to do is get the Post-War black Jubilee fully lined, and ready for the finishing details to be added. The problem is I cannot decide on a number or name for her.

     
    After all that lining, and shaking hands I swore I would not do any more for a while, but then I remembered that I still had to my Stanier Mogul to line. The lining is nearly complete but I swear once this loco has been completed, I will definitely take a break from more lining.

    You can see the effects of my shaky hands, but one I have numbered and branded her, I will apply a good coat of grime and hide the worst of it.
     
    Now all I need to do is concentrate on unlined black locomotives, I mean what could possibly go wrong.
     
    Until next time as ever Happy Modelling
  21. paulprice
    Well its Christmas day, because I was a clever little boy, I put the Christmas sprouts on to boil in September, I had a little spare time today, the question was what to do with it?
     
    After several glasses of some strange substance called alcohol, I decided see how I got along with acrylic paint, so slapped a bit on the parcel vans I had been working on a couple of weeks ago before my time had been taken up with endless house decorating.
     
    Its the first time that I have used acrylic like this on models, and even though applied with a brush, I was quite impressed with the coverage on the models, though it will need at least a couple more coats. The paint is from the Humbrol range and is the Crimson colour, which at the time in the model shop, I thought would be good for touching up the paintwork on an old Farish compound I have, but the colour will need a lot of blending (I need a re-think).
     
    While I was contemplating the Crimson/Maroon situation, I decided to look at my plan to convert a Std 4, 2-6-0 that I bought on Ebay to an Ivatt Class 4, I reckon with a little work to the cylinders and by removing a bit from the back of the chassis, and a new cab, and altering the front footplate and a far bit of work on the tender, I may be just able to get away with it. Like they say a nod is a good as a wink to a blind man
     
    What this latest acquisition has shown me is the actual extent the old Farish tender chassis was over scale especially when a more to scale body was plopped on top like this one by the previous owner. Well this should keep me out of trouble for a few weeks at least, until the next time as ever Happy Modelling, and have a very Merry Christmas
  22. paulprice
    Well with everything that has been going on lately here at "Trump Towers" (named due to a recent a prolonged outbreak of wind) modelling time has been in very short supply. I have been working on finishing my Stannier 2-6-4T and have managed with a very shaky hand to lined the loco, well at least sort of.
     
    Anyway the project that has really been eating into my time is the populating of the area surrounding Foster street with some of the your average locals. Well at least my representation of the typical down to earth, honest working class characters so typical of your average town in the Northwest. That was my intention at any rate, where some of the more "dodgy" individuals came from I have no idea )
     
    All have originated from the standard Peco N Guage modelscene range, and I have attempted to paint them in colours subtle enough to let them blend into the environment rather than stand out. Some I have even modified with the aid of a little modelling putty to provide some of the more unusual inhabitants including Death and the Penguins of Doom (Not a pop act, but actual Nuns ) the reprobate Billy Grimes has even made an appearance, he is the one in the Red blazer.
     
    The results will have to do for now, as the effect of trying to paint ties on N gauge figures has not only had an effect on my fragile eyesight, but also my sanity (according to the Domestic Overlord my sanity is a quickly diminishing resource ). So until the next time, if I can escape my padded cell Happy Modelling
  23. paulprice
    Well I have finally finished weathering the Milk tanks (all 15 of them) that will form one of the trains on Foster Street. My usual method was used of a limited pallet, dry brushed, and them topped off when dry with a coat of my favourite "dirty" thinners.
     
    I tried to avoid the uniformed look, and after the research I have made, some of the tankers seem very, very clean, considering the real things carried fresh Moo Moo juice it certainly make you think.
     
    There are a coupe of areas I think can be improved but I think I will leave the wagons for a few days, to see if I remain happy with the overall finish. I know really speaking for the timeframe of the layout they need to be six wheelers (an excuse to but more stock maybe). I really hope the Domestic overlord never reads this
     
    All I now need to do is find/build a suitable brake vehicle for the end of the train and decide on suitable motive power for the front, any ideas??
     
    Anyway as always until the next time happy modelling
  24. paulprice
    Sometimes even the shortest amount of modelling time, can be far, far too much and lead to mistakes that take seconds to create but maybe hours to fix.
     
    Yes in the short time I had today to do so modelling I decided that I test fit the backscene to board 3, the initial fit showed that I had to trim a little off the scenery, which I managed to achieve without any mishaps.
     
    Filled with confidence I then decided to cut the holes where the track run off into the storage yard, and whoops I think I have cut them a little too high
     

     
    I think I may have to add a low relief road bridge or something to try and fix the situation, or maybe I just put up with it?
     
    Any ideas?
     
    Until next time as ever Happy Modelling
  25. paulprice
    Well despite the constant demands of the real world, I have managed to get a little time to spend on the more important things in life MY TRAINS (of course if the Domestic Overlord is reading this, I meant my trains are the second most important thing in my life )

    Anyway a while back, I managed to get a Duchess locomotive at a bargain price from evil bay, which was in a terrible BR Green livery. Even though Foster Street is a secondary line, I thought I could find some justification in running one on the layout (I need to find a good excuse I have 4 now), but there was no way I could justify having one in BR livery.

    While the body was covered in paint stripper, I got to work on improving the tender, just by removing the moulded coal and replacing with some real stuff.

    That's when I had the idea to paint the locomotive into post war black, as I despite my love of crimson locomotives I have a soft spot for this livery, and to make it worst I thought I would attempt a "semi".

    It was at this stage in the process that everything stopped, that is until yesterday when I decided to start the lining process. Even though this livery was supposed to be a simple livery, in N gauge it is still a challenge, so progress is slow, all I have to do is line the cylinders and the tender and that's one side complete, easy or what

    The I can apply her number and name, and for the moment I think she might end up as City of London? What do you think?

    As ever until the next time, Happy Modelling
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