MikeOxon

very apt typo : "paining" You now deserve a break.

I've been watching how this thread developed, just to see how quickly information started to appear. Now we know that there is even a 4mm kit available! For my own interest, I had tried out my method for estimating dimensions from oblique views on the photo in post #1, which indicated a wheelbase nearer 6 feet, if the length is 11 feet (though this estimate is very rough, as it was difficult to see enough of the wheel to decide when it was 'round') EDIT EddieB (#20 below) has pointed out that my baseline was incorrect, since the steps are not centred above the axles. A second attempt (with the benefit of hindsight) gave me figures closer to his measurements,so I'm pleased that the perspective method comes out quite well, if used carefully! In addition, the wheelbase on the side-on photo in post #7 seems to be a little more than half the overall length. If the length is 11 feet, then the wheelbase seems to be about 5'9". This should be more accurate than my estimate from the perspective view. I suspect these photo-estimates are fine for getting in the right ball-park but nothing beats applying a tape measure to the original Mike

Looks like the result of SHMBO giving orders to "tidy your room"

Memories! In my case, it was my elder brother who had 'Princess Elizabeth' and two coaches. Later, I added a diesel shunter, three wagons, and one of those Utility Vans with opening doors. Tri-ang really understood 'playability' Mike

A Google search will show that various file converters are available. For example, see https://www.reaconverter.com/convert/cdr_to_dxf.html There's a free trial before committing yourself to around $50. I've not used this for CDR but have used other converters successfully for DWG to DXF

be aware that Studio v.3 has some problems with DXF files, whereas Studio v.2 seemed ok. See #743 earlier in this thread for more details. Silhouette have acknowledged the problem - see #767 above - bit I don't think there's been an update yet. Mike

Sounds as though you have achieved the assumed status of a real railway modeller, as seen by many people 'out there' - congratulations! ps- don't forget the pencils up the nose

Thanks Mikkel. With my 'suck it and see' approach, I seem to have led a charmed existence most of the time There's still the dreaded matters of coupling rods and quartering to come, but they can wait till 2015!

Thank you drduncan. I've a lot to learn about tolerancing before attempting 18.2mm Mike

I had hoped to have moved a lot further with No.184 but, unfortunately, have made a very elementary mistake! I knew that one of the problems with 00-gauge is that it is, in fact, a narrow gauge, with implications for fitting the boiler, etc., between the wheels. I think this had lulled me into a false sense of security with the outer dimensions, but these do become rather important in the case of an outside-framed locomotive with outside cranks! I 'got away with it' on my earlier scratch-built 'Queen' locomotive, because it didn't have these features. My 'Queen' locomotive in photographic grey, showing excessive clearance outside 00-gauge wheels My silly mistake was not to allow for the thickness of the metal, when folding the footplate structure. I had marked it out for 7 ft (28 mm) width but, of course, the 10 thou brass sheet is, itself, 0.25 mm thick, which, doubled-up both sides, is another 1/2mm, plus a bit because the fold isn't quite 'tight'. Once the cosmetic outer sides were added, I'd run out of clearance for the outside cranks on 32 mm extended axles (which actually measured at only 31.7mm). Fortunately, my rectangular footplate is simple to re-make to a nominal 26 mm, between the fold lines, but I mention this, in the hope it might save others who may be tempted to follow my very basic approach to model-making. Another poor aspect of the design was that the large cut-out in the footplate, to accommodate the driving wheels, had weakened the structure very markedly. With my 'Queen' model, there were large areas of flat plate both in front of and behind the single drivers and these provided firm platforms on which to place the cab and smokebox. My solution for No.184 was to design the raised firebox such that it includes strengthening lugs, passing between the drivers to the outside frames. Once fixed to the front of the cab, which is itself soldered to the insides of the rear wheel splasher faces, the 'rear end' of the engine became much more rigid. Underside view (temporary fixings with 'Blu-Tack') With these 'improvements', the main components of the engine body have fitted together quite well and the overall dimensions lie close to my initial drawing, as shown in the photo below, where I have super-imposed the drawing. There is still a lot of rather 'fiddly' construction to do, including fitting the tops of the splashers and the splasher 'boxes' inside the cab. After that, the tasks change, as it becomes a matter of adding all the components, such as springs, axle boxes, and boiler fittings. Only then will the 'character' of this particular locomotive become apparent. Photo of current stage of model, with drawing super-imposed One pleasing event is that I think I have found a paint to represent 'Wolverhampton' green. I have been scouring the shelves of various suppliers and recently spotted 20 ml jars of 'Rust-oleum' 'Painter's Touch' enamel in my local 'Homebase' store. Conveniently, this paint is packaged in clear jars, which enabled me to judge that their 'Dark Green' colour had the bluish-green shade that I was looking for. I've not tried using this paint yet but I'm looking forward to seeing the effect on my model. I expect to take a break from modelling over the Christmas period so wish all members of RMWeb a Happy Christmas, with the hope that Santa proves to be a railway fan Mike Continue to next part

A 'real' use could be for making back scenes! Mike

In my opinion, the colour of the sky in your current pictures is about right for London in the 1950s, when coal fires were still used. Mike

Thanks Alan. I suspect that Farthing may turn out to have some very characterful artists of its own

Thanks for the comments wenlock, Mikkel, Job. It's funny that I've had the program for some time but never thought of applying it to the railway. It's rather nice to see what one's trying to achieve, without having to face all those modelling imperfections. Even an Airfix cottage looks quite good under Amy's brush I hope you'll enjoy the software, Mikkel, and also hope that Farthing can produce a few local artists. For the record, I used the 'Benson' style, with the standard settings. I'll have to see if I can find any of Blanche's daubs too - I'm sure they will be very different! My real hope is that I will unearth something of No.184 in the not-too-distant future. Mike

I have written before in this blog about the Wilcote family, whose activities formed such a large part of the social life of North Leigh in the late 19th-century. Any regular readers will know a little about the younger daughter, Blanche, but her sister, Amy, was a far more serious character. Like any well-educated young lady of the period, Amy enjoyed practising her artistic accomplishments. Remarkably, some of her work has survived and come into my possession, so I am fortunate to be able to show some of her paintings of scenes around the village. She was no 'wishy-washy' water colourist but had clearly studied many of the new works being produced by the major artists of the period, and she attempted to copy their styles. View from North Leigh Station to the Quarries Beyond Does that sky indicate that she has, perhaps, seen works by the post-Impressionists? More conventional perhaps, is her study of one of the farms that lie below the steep slope leading up to the quarries: North Leigh farmhouse Her subject matter was not, however, confined to 'pretty' cottages and 'scenic' views but included the railway and the machinery associated with it. Indeed, she has been reported as expressing outlandish views, such as wishing to study engineering. History does not record how Sir John responded to such bizarre suggestions! North Leigh Sawmill Perhaps her most remarkable achievement is her painting of a local train, headed by one of the Dean 2-4-0s, arriving at the station. it is such a pity that there weren't more artists like her, capturing the colours and atmosphere of the late Victorian railways. North Leigh Station I wouldn't like anyone to imagine that I myself have any ability with an artist's paint brush. I was looking at some of the work in the Forum Thread on Railway Art and remembered that I have a computer program called 'Dynamic Auto Painter'. Somehow, the software seems to have encapsulated Amy's spirit and has transformed some of my layout photos into her style! Mike

I've only just found this thread and have been admiring the skills of the artists who have placed work here. For those without the necessary skills with brush or pencil, there is a 'cheat' method, through software called 'Dynamic Auto Painter' from http://www.mediachance.com/ ( no connection with the firm other than as a user of their product). The software starts with a photo, which in my case was one I took of 'Fire Fly' at the Didcot Railway Centre, and then 'paints' it in one of a choice of many different styles. The one I chose here was 'Book illustrator' I find it fascinating to watch the program working, as it builds up the picture in a series of stages, rather as a 'real' painter would, through an initial under-painting and then a succession of finer brush-strokes, using a wider range of brushes, pencils, etc. according to the chosen style. Mike

Glad to know you survived! When I'm using bottles of stuff I don't want to spill, I try to remember to stand them in a small ramekin dish. I learned this lesson after my small son spilt a tinlet of Humbrol malachite green over a new book that I'd just bought - he remembers it too - 30 years later

Hi again Don. The idea about blunting the drill came from this video: Mike

Hi Don, As I understand it, the requirement when drilling brass is to blunt the drill a little, so that it doesn't cut a spiral into the brass. I can see that broaches will be useful. As I learn more about scratch building, I realise that drawings and precise dimensions are only a guide and that the real fit is achieved with files, sandpaper, broaches, and the like Mike p.s. and when the above tools fail, it's time for the fillers

I think 'First Group' could be said to have the same conceit as 'Premier Line'! That D43 is a very attractive little vehicle. If the colour description is 'vermilion' then I think it probably should be more orange than your shade but, with 19th-century colours, who really knows? I'm interested that you jumped straight from 2mm to 7mm when so many people seem to find 4mm a good compromise.

There's one 'buy it now' at £16.50 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATLAS-1-87-Lautorail-Billard-A-75-D-1947-A040-/141433881996

Thanks DonB. I'm sure that 'real' engineers use all sorts of specialist tools to achieve optimum results in an industrial environment. As a 'part-timer' I generally make do with what I can get off the shelf at Screwfix, or wherever, but I do appreciate that the correct tool for the job can make a big difference. I have read that grinding small flats on the cutting edges of HSS drills can help a lot when drilling brass. My first test holes were a bit rough, until I used a lubricant. I believe that paraffin is best for brass but I used a very light oil, which helped a lot. 'Bits flying' was a bit of an exaggeration but I wanted to emphasise the importance of eye protection - it only needs one small speck... Mike

My drill is a Dremel 8200, which mounts onto the stand. The drill is 'cordless', which is a slightly mixed blessing when the battery goes flat at the wrong moment! I also have a very small 'cheap n cheerful' 12v drill that is useful for jobs like drilling pilot holes under the baseboard. I'll bear in mind those tips for aligning rods for my next build! I agree about lead-free solder - horrid stuff that goes all stringy. Apparently, it's banned for defence and aerospace work in the USA because of the potential for growth of tin whiskers, which can lead to short circuits. Mike

Thank you, Rich - I still can't believe it's rolling beautifully! I had ordered some 8' rods from Alan Gibson but it turns out that he's out of stock, so I'll have to make some. I had read that idea of drilling them all together but too late now! I had only 'tacked together' the body with UHU for the earlier photos, so now I'm cleaning up and preparing to solder the parts together. Apart from those coupling rods, I'm now on familiar ground Mike

A very long freight has just pulled in. Note the guy riding the buffers at the back. He joined his mates as he came alongside. There's been a long conference and it looks as though the shunters are getting into position. Mike