MikeOxon

Having looked at the photo full-size, assuming we are talking about wagon no.25637, I can see the letters G.W... disappearing under the tarpaulin at the right hand end, which seems pretty suggestive

It's good to see reasonably realistically-sized fields - possible in 2mm whereas, in 4mm, one tends to settle for fields that are about the size of a modern estate back garden! The face of the soldier on the right seems to be 'fuzzed-out' - is he the MI6 man? Mike

If you use the gradient method, then careful profiling towards a flat section in the biscuit shed should bring wagons to a halt automatically. Plenty of scope for experiment here. Alternatively, some form of light rubbing strip, perhaps disguised as a check rail, could apply a little friction. Incidentally, your biscuit shed could receive one of those tilt wagons, shown in this photo at Huntley & Palmer's biscuit factory. Mike

There's a lot of truth in that I need to stop rushing off on tangents and actually complete a few things, instead of thinking about hat boxes! Still, the main thing is to enjoy it all :

Many thanks for the comments. I agree, Mikkel, that the rivets are crucial to the appearance, especially around the bonnets. I think the Silhouette could do a good job scribing matchboarded sides, for example. By using multiple passes, the scribed lines can be quite deep. It is rather fun to have a 'unique' model. I have something else in the wings, too. Being somewhat out of the mainstream, the Witney branch via North Leigh saw a number of interesting vehicles that have otherwise been almost lost to history Incidentally, Sir John was overheard to remark "Maybe that wagon would hold all Blanche's hat boxes" I'm still pondering the undergear, Buffalo. As you have noted, the W-irons are rather spindly and there's also the matter of the inside springs. Having got this far, I expect I shall scratch-build the rest. I shall use a diamond slitting disk on my mini-drill to open out the floor apertures for the wheels. Mike

Splendid BW shot

In my previous post, I made the self-fulfilling prophesy that I would be distracted by the forum thread on GWR standard gauge 'tilt' wagons, started by drduncan. Initially there was some discussion as to whether the photo shown was, in fact, of a Broad Gauge wagon but the dimensions (especially the height) seemed sufficiently different to indicate that the vehicle under discussion was indeed Standard Gauge. Something 'clicked' for me and I decided that I had to add one to my stock, so I began to prepare simple drawings by scaling the photograph, using the assumption that the wheelbase was 9' 9", as in the BG versions. The result, produced in Autosketch by tracing over the photograph, looked like this: Because the original was of metal construction, I wanted to do the same with my model but I also decided to try a new way of marking out my 10 thou (0.25 mm) brass sheet, making use of my Silhouette Portrait cutter. Previously, my method has been to cut out sections of drawings on paper and stick these to brass sheet, using a glue pen. I then simply cut out the parts by following the printed lines with jewellers' snips. This time, I decided to use a diamond scriber in the pen holder of the Silhouette cutter, to mark out the outlines of the components directly onto brass sheet. As well as the outlines, this method also enabled me to scribe details, such as planking and guidelines for attaching surface details. In addition, I realised that if I drew the outline of my rectangular brass sheet on a sheet of paper and also added the Silhouette registration marks, then I could scribe both sides of the brass sheet, in registration. To do this, I lightly taped the brass to the paper, aligned with my outline drawing, and then scribed the detail. I then turned the brass over and scribed the other side with the appropriate designs - remembering to flip the Silhouette image to correspond with the way I turned the sheet over. Scribing Brass Sheet with a Silhouette Cutter After cutting out the individual components, I assembled the basic shape of the Tilt Wagon, as shown below. I have a set of socket spanners in a wide range of diameters which provide useful 'jigs' for setting the curvature of the end bonnets. I used super-glue to fix the bonnets inside the folded wagon sides and then inserted the curved ends into the bonnets. I prefer using super-glue to solder where there are lots of different small parts to be fitted together, as it avoids earlier joints melting while new ones are being made. Inevitably, some glue extrudes from the sides of the joints and I use a small stainless steel chisel, intended for wax carving, to remove this excess while it is still at a 'cheesy' consistency. A prominent feature of the prototype is the extensive use of rivets! I decided to 'cheat' and use the rivet strips that are currently available from 'Mainly Trains'. I realise that this means the rivet heads are on a raised 'plinth' but I find that the near-perfect alignment is preferable, at normal viewing distances, to my attempts at embossing even lines! Additional details are the angle-iron stiffeners along the tops of the sides and on the side doors (1mm brass angle), and the wooden cross-bar at the top of the doors (plasticard). I still have to add the rails above the sides and between the tops of the end bonnets. There remains the little matter of a chassis! I find that the GWR W-irons from MJT are still listed as "temporarily out of stock", as they have been all year! In addition, I see that 'Mainly Trains' have a notice on their website that "After 35 Years of trading we are beginning the process of winding down." It looks rather ominous for the future supply of many very useful detailing components! Perhaps I shall have to turn to completely scratch-building the chassis as well.... In the meantime, my 'work in progress' looks like this, making an interesting comparison with a round-ended 3-planker from David Geen. Continue to next part Mike

I agree with previous replies about your very atmospheric modelling. Your knowledge of the British way of life is remarkable - I could not attempt to characterise a Dutch town in this way but I believe that many Dutch people like to think of themselves as 'world citizens'. May I suggest that you could try to capture the idea that most British casual conversations start from the topic of the weather - 'too hot', 'chilly today', 'raining again'. Also, we are far more likely to share a cup of tea, rather than coffee, especially back in the1950s, when real coffee hardly existed for most people! A tin of Nescafe would be the nearest most households would get. I'm afraid I couldn't help noticing the Fish & Ships(sic) sign - that sounds rather indigestible. As I said at the outset, beautiful modelling and I especially like the 'pub atmosphere', inside and out, which you have represented very well . Mike

This is looking really good. Can't wait to see it with the backscene in place. I'm fairly sure that there are connectors for joining LED strips but I expect your method is perfectly OK. I'm planning to replace the fluorescent tubes above my layout with these strips.

Sounds like a good plan. I'll look forward to reading about how it all develops Mike

Like D869, I always enjoying reading the blogs (and your tags). Write when you feel like it and not ....... Mike

I had to look up your keyword 'sloath' According to http://www.riotseason.com/REPOSELP023.htm " Sloath are a sickly, unwholesome, long & short-haired five piece from the south coast of England, brought together by a mutual desire to play the slowest, loudest and heaviest music possible using guitars, bass, drums and chant-like vocalisations." Perhaps you're a fan. Lovely modelling - I have to keep reminding myself that its 2mm. Keep rolling Mike

Is it just me? For some strange reason, the containers seem detached from the train and to be some sort of colourful hoarding on the signal gantry! Mike

I'm sure it has impressive functionality but its appearance doesn't inspire me Mike

Personally, I'd try a tighter crop - I feel that the rather 'ordinary' building reduces the 'creative' impact. Mike

My original post (#533) was about printed decal paper and, in that case, I arrange to print the decals near the top of the sheet and then guillotine off the rest of the sheet. If you've actually cut shapes out of a sheet then do not try to put the cut areas through the printer again - they will snag! From personal experience it can be quite a job to clear the paper path again. If you guillotine off all the cut-out areas and leave a straight edge, then the uncut part of the sheet will run through the printer OK. Mike

EDIT: see post #722 below. It can be done with v.3 of the Silhouette software! The cutting file is in vector format and can't be printed on a normal printer. If you want to draw it, then use the accessory pen-holder in the Silhouette. Another work-around is to take a screen grab with the Windows 'PrtScr' key and then print that but you will have to re-scale it. If you want to cut around a printed image then there is information in this thread or on my blog at: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1405/entry-13122-instant-chocolate-with-cream/ Mike

Read some of the customer reviews on Amazon to see how limited the Cricut machine is. It only cuts shapes from their (expensive) cartridges - pretty, twee things for birthday cards etc.

I agree that these points are useful space-savers but their compact design does create some difficulties. It is perhaps worth adding that other types of motor can be used. I used two SEEP motors with integral switches and operate these from two separate toggle switches, through a CDU. The moving blades for the two turnouts overlap so, if you try to switch from one of the branches directly to the other, the point motor has to carry both sets of blades. For this reason, I always switch from branch to centre first and then to the other branch. To help with wiring, I mounted my SEEP motors on a small sub-board, with screw connectors to eliminate the need for soldering under the layout and to make correction of errors easier I show my arrangement at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1405/entry-12368-a-bit-about-the-track/ Mike

I was pointed in this direction by Mikkel, after I made a comment about "drifting off into another world" on his blog. This rates 6.0 for artistic impression, technical merit, and presentation, helped, in no small measure, by excellent photography. It just needs a sound track from Benjamin Britten Mike

Looks beautiful! I do like your ink-jet printed panels in exactly the right idiom. Mike

also guilty as charged - at least on points 1 and 3 - I don't have enough locos to have fallen foul of 2 yet It's a good job your crews don't have 'human rights' or you'd be in deep trouble, keeping them standing stock still on continuous 24 hour shifts - including weekends. I expect they mutter under their breath "Doesn't this chap know this engine's electric? - he ought to model the DLR"

I agree with that point of view. I also liked the Erik Erikson quote, from Job, very much - the parallel reality is what it's about for me - to drift off into another world - whether or not that world ever existed as I imagine it. Unfortunately, it would be fatal to "drift off" in an exhibition

Thanks, Mikkel, for the reference to Knobhead's beautiful conversion. I think that the spectacles and chimney are as important as the firebox in establishing the character of his model. It seems odd that there is no RTR model of the Dean Goods at present. I remember that I bought a black version of the Mainline model, because it was quite a lot cheaper than the green, but only afterwards realised that it also had moulded-in number and shed plates on the smokebox door. I've never plucked up courage to remove them - tricky on the curved door! I agree, Donw, that the undulating roof-line is an appealing characteristic of GWR trains and one that I intend to try to capture. I might also try to include some pre-Dean stock, to add extra variety. As I mentioned in my entry, the Silhouette cutter opens up so many possibilities that it is hard to know where to begin but I'll take the plunge eventually Mike