Only-Me

Hi Nick, good luck in Ramsey ive been missing all our outings recently but hopefully everything will settle down come September... The cl150 looks excellent...

Evening All!! Well its been a bit hot lately to be stuck in the garage so updates have been few and far between... With the bus turning circle giving me a headache on the left board I decided to run a test train to try and spur me ino life !! I heated up the glue gun and attached the tunnel in a permanent guise and it looks ok, will require proper painting once finished. Whilst running I found my misplaced Chicken Wire (thanks John for that!) so decided to start another hill and leave the dreaded road for a while... Then out came the water and plaster bandage ive had for months... Slap it on, let it dry then in a week or so I will apply a top filler screed to the mess Only another side to do!!!

Thank you very much for your reply there John. We intend a shingle beach at the cliff base, however I have taken on board your ideas for future use Paul

Well in the background to my efforts, Mr Robinson had been very busy indeed... the signalbox is coming along like a dream.... If you would like to read the trials and tribulations Iain has faced then read on ....http://iainrobinsonmodels.blogspot.co.uk/ it's well worth the click ! What am I up to you may ask ? Well the weather has been hot hot hot here, so apart from applying yet more filler...absolutely nothing TTFN...

Still waiting for more filler to dry so started on the vehicle route... A little taster for you:

I need to clock on because until it gets to you I have no space for project HF2 to start !!

Tonight i have been finishing the river valley, plenty of brush to add when the first layer is dry, the rocks came out quite well in the end!!

Thanks nick. I dont intend a maintenance stairway as only seen it on one out of all the pictures ive looked at. There will however be a set of stairs down from the cliff top for tourists

So its back to the grind of cliff making tonight now i've put in the funicular track, a before and after shot for your perusal... This is wickes best ready mixed filler... Its spread on thick and I expect it to take two or three days to dry but its pretty rock solid after that, then I can start to sand where necessary and paint... I know people will say buy self mix stuff and add black or brown paint, unfortunately... A) im too lazy and B) i cant get the consistency right so this is my preferred method

Evening all... So I managed to take the layout into the garden this afternoon.... Two updates, now measured and fitted the funicular track and built a box around the underboard where the track dips below the river bank level. At least it now means I can fit the winding motor, reed switches and start to build the cliffs down to the river estuary now this is in place.... In the mean time my japanese bus chassis arrived (all be it customs saw through my plans and ended up doubling the original cost!! ) So..naturally opened the box and took it apart.....anyone for an N gauge Fodden lorry? A bit more work to do on this but it is all coming together... Better than just a bus now eh

My brass making is pretty shoddy! However for the purposes of measurements then I think this will do nicely.... Anyways im off to cut a big hole in the base board for the lower funicular station

Well moving swiftly along now I purchased some thin ply from K&S Models at the weekend and have used it to construct the platform edges. After measuring and cutting I applied some Redulex self adhesive embossed stone to them as can be seen in the pictures. Hot glue gun was my choice for fixing them to the board. Night All!

I think now as colour starts to turn "Tormouth" into something more than Brown painted wood I should let you into a little secret, I have comissioned Iain Robinson to build the Tormouth Signal Box as I wanted a certain design which would fit in with my location and era. This totally out strips my current modelling skills, so after straying across his website by complete accident and being so taken by the high standards and superb detailing I jumped straight in with my request.....Hopefully a few photos of it will grace us in the near future...... Currently I still have another 8 feet of cliffs and hills to build on the lower level, a funicular to create from a Langley Brass kit and install then I can start on the upper hills, road, station, platforms, etc, etc..............the list is long, but I've decided to go for quality over speed on this build... My main worry now is my building modelling skills will look shoddy compared to the Signal box Paul.

A bit of colour added this evening by the wife... Wish the Japanese kit would hurry and clear customs... Pictures speak a 1000 words so here you go!

Very difficult to see from the photo but there are quite a few greys in this now as well as stone, brown etc... As the cliffs are so close to the track and town they couldnt of course be mud or sandstone as it would be washed away!! So this is about the limit of my skills!!

Seem to have got my mojo back again, so been working on the cliffs now... Think they will need to be a bit lighter but its coming along nicely....

Not much in the way of updates, awaiting some things to arrive from Japan. In the meantime I received a Farish Diesel fueling point from EvilBay which I have converted to have some realistic strip lighting installed on. This will eventually be located on the old siding to the depot (long since gone) along from the signalbox. Parts required are :- 0603 Yellow SMD (I used yellow as I remember them being this dirty cheap strip light colour in Hornsey as a kid!) 2 Small strands of wire 1 resistor 3 tie wraps 1mm thick Fibre Optic 1 x 1mm Drill bit 320 Grit sandpaper Drill through the ends of the tie wraps with the 1mm bit as centrally as possible. This is the end where you would put the loop through to secure it (the thick piece). Cut the parts out as shown in diagram. Now you have three mounting clips. Paint the parts any colour you wish... Sand the fibre optic with 320 grit sand paper (this allows the light to bleed out the sides) Solder your wires to the SMD, then glue the SMD (I used Rocket 16 Second Glue) to one side of one of your mounting clips ensuring the SMD is central to the hole. IMPORTANT let it dry thoroughly first as cynoacrylic eats Fibre Optics ! Measure the correct Fibre Optic Length you require and cut the end dead straight so that it will fit tightly against the SMD Push the fibre optic carefully into the end with the SMD on until it touches up to the LED. Slide on the central holder and then the end one. Glue the holders to the roof of the Fueling point extremely carefully, ensuring no glue touches the fibre optic. Push the wires through a suitably drilled hole in the base and solder on resistor. Connect to 9V battery and test. Result should be similar to the photo in picture

Impressed Steve, Congratulations. I may be tempted to enter Tormouth next year if it gets finished!

Hi Ben. Next tasks are the hills on either side and the funicular........I will probbaly make the funicular a priority as there are still electrical parts and motors to fit for it. Will have to build one of the cars for it first as I need to chop open the base board to allow it to sit at river level....

Was just trying to give you a view of it actually running and Ben some ideas!!! As you can see the two platforms of the Terminus could easily accommodate four 121's per platform... I made them that long with the idea of three and four car 101's and 108's (i am aware that its very unlikely that a 108 made it this far south but I have four of them i like to run!! Then if it runs in modern guise it should fit a 220 or three car 170 without issues!

Hi ben, yes i'd wired one points frog to the wrong motor under the board, it caused all sorts of chaos!! Schoolboy error!!

Electrical niggles sorted, shame i cant video!! Still it shows the 121 and 122 moving around the scenic section! If you turn your screens on their side it may be better Light bar is programmed to flash..however its gone mad!'

Unfortunately I just cant see it being finished by the weekend!! However another part is.. Control Box complete !! Had to reprint the mimic as i noticed id printed a set of crossover points backwards and the LED panels were 3mm instead of 4mm. I know its almost nothing but makes a big difference when they are turned on. Then I built the boxing in around the panel mounts so all the wires are nicely hidden ! Under the box are the two DMU sidings and a set of points, have been running my 08 around as its pretty wide and it clears without issues, next its fixing a couple of wiring fopars underneath..

Here is board one now its dry and I think the tin foil usage has come out pretty well.. As Ben says maybe some extra filler here and there to add ridges and some air brushing etc..