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-missy-

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Blog Entries posted by -missy-

  1. -missy-
    Hello
     
    Some people have commented in the past that I have made a good job in the way I have presented Highclere. To me this is just as important as the modelling itself so I have been paying special attention to the way the whole layout looks and the way it all fits together. I seem to spend ages making sure all the little things not only work and fit together, but fit together easily. A good example are the braces that hold the pelment, I have made sure that these arent made to fit a particular position but to be all the same so they can be fitted anywhere. I think its little things like this which will hopefully make taking the layout to shows that bit easier.
     

     
    Although its the wrong pelmet for the baseboard (the other one isnt finished yet) it hopefully shows what the finished layout will look like. The text has been laser cut from plywood and left plain wood so it contrasts with the black background.
     
    Still loads to do. I honestly dont know what state the layout is going to be in at the Expo in July!
     
    Missy
  2. -missy-
    Hello.
     
    Here is what I have been upto this weekend...
     

     
    1. I have managed to get both sets of lights working on the layout. It took a bit of time to figure out why one side wasnt working but I managed to find a short across some PCB from some flux (there is a lesson there Im sure). I still have to paint the light bits black, pin the wiring down, and clip them to the brackets (one of the baseboards has already got a nice dent in it from one falling!)
     

     
    2. I have made a start on the station allotment (bottom right) and also carved a space for the waiting shelter (top left)
     

     
    3. I spent Saturday at Railex which I really enjoyed and on Monday I spent the day at the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway and met a legend in railway history.
     
    Missy
  3. -missy-
    Hello.
     
    I have got a bit more done, this time the layout lights...
     

     

     
    I have used two 30w warm white flourescent tubes which I have mounted inside some high impact clear tubing and some end caps which are a nice push fit onto the end of the tubes and also make the electrical contacts too. Hopefully the clear tubing will protect the flourescent tubes when the layout gets moved around. I have used 12v ballasts too so I dont have any mains electricity going through the layout. This means that all the mains is inside the box on the floor.
     
    Missy
     
    (trying to be healthy and safe!)
  4. -missy-

    My first etching

    By -missy-,

    Hello
     
    A while ago while at a show I spoke to a guy called Stephen Harris about the fact I really wanted to have a go at doing some etching. Stephen kindly let me use a small area from one of his test etches and with some help from him I managed to draw some bits to try out...
     

     
    A small envelope turned up today and I was really pleased to see my etches have arrived. There is my station sign, three ground signal disks, and enough sides for two GWR benches which have all been repeated. I know as far as etching goes they arent anything special but for me its quite a milestone. Next are fold lines...
     
    Thank you Stephen.
     
    Missy
  5. -missy-

    Tree!

    By -missy-,

    Me Again
     
    While I try to remember how I actually finished off the ballast on the first baseboard I have made a start finishing a couple of things that have been sitting on my table half finished. Today I have been playing around with the half finished tree to see if I could end up with something I was happy with.
     

     
    I didnt really use the normal methods but ended up using a mixture of things until I was happy. The basic tree is a normal twisted wire one but then after that there is all sorts on it! It was intending to be an oak tree but I dont think it has come out exactly how I imagined it.
     
    Missy
  6. -missy-
    Hello
     
    It was a job I was NOT looking forward to but its done now. I have managed to remove all the ballast on the board.
     

     
    It took a while to do it but chipping away at it with a flat bladed screwdriver seemed to work. There a a couple of pieces of track that need to be stuck down again and then the whole lot needs repainting but otherwise Im glad that bit is over.
     
    Missy
  7. -missy-
    Hello
     
    I think I have quite a big problem with the layout now. I was expecting the ballast on the second baseboard to lighten when the glue dried but have realised that its not actually going to change colour at all!!
     

     

     
    As you can see there is quite a difference in colour between the two baseboards and to say its a bit annoying is an understatement! but I know that it cannot go right all of the time. It now looks like I will have to chip all the ballast off and redo it as I cannot really do much with that (BTW the top one is correct!)
     
    I have learnt another lesson though...
     
    Even if ballast is labelled the same it doesnt mean it is the same!
     
    Luckily I have enough of the original ballast left...
     
    Missy
  8. -missy-

    A bit more done...

    By -missy-,

    Hello Again
     
    I thought I would put together another post to show what I have been upto...
     

     
    Inspired by another thread I had a go at making a 2mm scale padlock. According to the size of it, it works out at around 3 inches square.
     

     
    Here it is fitted to my new little hut I made. From that photo it looks a little too big for a padlock. That photo shows the laser engraved brickwork quite well. The building still needs weathering but I will do that when I next am using the airbrush.
     

     

     
    I have also had some time off from bits under the baseboards and moved onto a little bit of scenic stuff. This board was looking a little bare compared to the board with the bridge on so I have done some fencing, added a few bushes, and also made a start on the grass by sticking down some Woodland scenics blended turf. Once this is all dry then I can have a go with some more static grass.
     
    So there you have it. A bit of progress...
     
    Missy
  9. -missy-
    Me again
     
    I have a few more photos that I thought I would add to my blog. I have now painted all the track on the board I have been working on recently, added some static grass, plus ballasted the track (the ballast was still wet when I took the photos.
     

     

     
    Oh, and I have made a start on the first of many, many trees!
     

     
    Missy
  10. -missy-
    Hello
     
    I was holding off posting an entry until I had something worth talking about and now I think I have.
     
    FINALLY! I have managed to get my little pannier tank engine working on the layout. Its quite a serious milestone for me which has been about 4 years(ish) in the making, Im very happy
     

     

     
    It took a bit of head scratching but now electrically everything works. I had 3 faults with the wiring on this board in the end..
    1. I had a short across 2 tracks on a piece of veroboard (a bit of solder)
    2. I had wired the relay that controls the building lights the wrong way round
    3. I had wired the LEDs on the control panel the wrong way round (this one took me about a week to figure out!)
     
    I have a couple of points to tweak a bit as the engine struggles going through them but other than that it all works on this board (the most complicated one)
     
    Finally a photo of the control panel which to me looks a bit cool...
     

     
    Missy
  11. -missy-

    And more electrics...

    By -missy-,

    Hello
     
    I have this week off work (woohoo!) and one of my goals is to finish off the electrics and actually get something working on the layout, after all its only been about 4 years now plus I think people will get a bit bored at shows if nothing actually works!
     
    Anyway, day 1 of my break this is how far I have got...
     

     
    The control panel is now 90% finished. I just need to fix some magnets to it to hold the top bit down (which are on order)
     

     
    Apart from bits like uncouplers and signals I THINK I have finished the wiring on both basebords now. I have one cable left to make and in theory I should be able to plug it all together and it hopefully will work! Thats quite a big milestone for me.
     

     
    I thought I would post this as it shows how I have fitted the little flicker things (from the tea lights) to the layout. I have soldered them to a bit of veroboard and also added a variable resistor so I can tweak the brightness of them.
     

     
    The final picture shows some more woodwork mods. I am fitting some cross braces to the underside of the baseboard which the legs slot into. The idea is to reduce the flex of the legs a bit.
     
    On the subject of exhibitions I am getting a little worried. I am starting to think about taking the layout to some exhibitions (as I am starting to get invites for it) but reading some postings it seems people are getting quite critical over layouts they see. I dont mind constuctive critism but please be gentle with mine!
     
    Missy
  12. -missy-

    how I take pictures

    By -missy-,

    Hello
     
    In one of my previous blogs Alex asked how I take my photos so as promised here is how. Now before I start I want to point out that I am far from a photography expert or anything and this is how I do it. It probably is wrong in some way but it works for me!
     

     
    This is how I set everything up. The two lamps are 60w daylight bulbs, the embankment is a bit of left over foam sheet with a bit of track stuck to it and covered in some very well trimmed fake fur, the backscene is an A3 sheet of paper with a countryside picture printed on it. The camera is a Canon Digital Rebel 300D.
     

     
    This is what the picture taken looks like untouched. To take the picture I set the camera to apeture priority and set it to the slowest speed possible to get the depth of field. They are always taken with the camera on a tripod and using the self timer or remote control. I also always use manual focus too.
     

     
    Thats what it looks like after its cropped to remove the cutting mat.
     
    And there you go. Like I said its not perfect and no doubt can be improved quite a bit but it looks a bit better than something just sitting on my table.
     
    Missy
  13. -missy-

    Pink my controller

    By -missy-,

    Hello
     
    Just a quick post really. What do you do when the club layout you are a part of uses the same controllers and your own controller could easily get mixed up?
     
    This is my solution...
     

     
    Paint it PINK!
     
    Missy
  14. -missy-
    Me again
     
    As mentioned in the last post, the tank wagons needed a splash of varnish and weathering. Well here are the first six finished...
     

     

     

     
    Once varnished with a matt varnish I used a bit of light grey weathering powder to take away the harshness of the black. I then used a mix of black and dark rust weathering powders to add a few highlights / roof muck and then I gave them all a light dusting of some railmatch sleeper grime (to take away the harshness of the white transfers more than anything).
     
    Im happy with them so its time to move on to the next thing, probably more electrics!!
     
    Missy
  15. -missy-
    Hello
     
    Today has been a good day. Firstly I went to the Basingstoke show and met a few nice people form here and the 2mmSA. I also picked up a some paints and things from Squires and finally after a couple of years I can now paint things with my airbrush again (which is really really cool). I spent this afternoon giving the Oil Tankers I built last weekend a coat of gloss black in readyness for the transfers.
     
    While I am on the subject of transfers I also managed to apply some to the Tanker I had painted a while ago to see how easy it would be...
     

     
    First of all earlier this weekend I drew in Corel Draw the transfers I needed for the wagons. I then sent these to John at precision labels to be printed in white on waterslide transfer paper. John did a fantastic job and returned the transfers to me in a couple of days.
     
    I then applied them to the wagon using the famous Klear floor polish stuff which surprised me to be honest how well it worked. I tried to get some Micro Sol at the show today but unfortunately I couldnt find any. It went well although the numbers were a bit fiddly, the transfers are a bit delicate though as they needed to be printed thinly to get the detail (hence the 'E' missing from the 'Esso' text) Anyway here are the results...
     

     

     
    The wagon now needs a coat of matt varnish to finish it off and seal in the transfers then a splash of weathering but I am pleased on how it has turned out.
     
    Missy
  16. -missy-
    Hello
     
    Thought I should put a post together to show what I got upto this weekend just gone.
     
    Firstly there was of course the Abingdon show organised by the Abingdon and District Model Railway Club which as I am a member I kinda went along with a few bits of mine from Highclere.
     

     

     

     

     
    As it is the 50th Anniversary of the 2mm Scale Association we all made an extra special effort this year with lots of 2mm FS stuff going on. As I was taking the photos thankfully I am not in them but you get the idea.
     
    At the show I made a start on another one of my many tank wagon kits like the one on my old postings but as expected I didnt get much done, so this weekend I also tried out a bit of batch building and the results are below.
     

     
    I have loads more of them to make but its a start.
     
    Missy
  17. -missy-
    Hello
     
    Im back! I have been a bit stupid! I was kinda holding off posting anything until the blogs were 'fixed' but didnt realise that I could just upload the pictures to my picture thing then link them here!
     
    Anyway. 2mm realistic ground signals, are they possible....?
     
    I think they are. Below are a couple of pictures of the first one out of four for Highclere. Its been made in a much similar way to the other signal I have made earlier on. It will be operated by a servo as with the other ones eventually. The disk and balance weight are from a MSE etch.
     
     

     
     

    I am hoping that now I have done one I will loose interest doing the others. It was a nice little break from the layout electrics anyway.
     
    Missy
  18. -missy-

    More illuminating stuff

    By -missy-,

    Me again
     
    I thought to myself this weekend instead of doing more electrics I would carry on with a bit of 'fun' modelling and figure out how to improve the little morris minor as mentioned way back in the old forums. I thought to myself it will be a quickie and I would finish it in a day but here I am now, Sunday evening and now thinking thats enough....
     

     

     

    I wanted at least one car on the layout with lights as it would fit in with my plan of being able to run the layout in the dark. As the moris minor needed a bit of surgery to fix the wheels I decided to fit lights to this. The idea was quite simple, in the middle of the car there is a bit of double sided PCB with one of my favorite mini LEDs soldered to each side. These are then covered in a bit of plasticard and some fibre optic is fitted where each light is on the car going through a small hole in the plasticard. The red rear lights are done by simply colouring in the end of the fibre optic with a red felt tip pen. The whole thing took me all weekend to do in the end, much longer thasn I really wanted plus its not perfect, the front headlights are not quite the same brightness but the idea is there and no doubt I will get back to it again oneday.
     
    Missy
  19. -missy-
    Hello
     
    As the title says, I am getting a bit bored of these electrics! The whole thing of wiring the layout up seems to be endless at the moment. I am not the fastest of people by a long way but this is just going on forever and ever!
     

     

     
    Apart from a couple of fuses and cables I think there is now no real reason why I cant get the thing working, the 2 boards should now work. There are still things like uncoupling magnets and signals to fit and wire but I guess the bulk of it is done now. I have found out though that I might have to re-do the point mechanisms as some of them dont seem to be working right now.
     
    Hmmmmm.
     
    Missy
  20. -missy-

    more electrickery

    By -missy-,

    Hello again
     
    It was about time to post something as I have been quiet recently. I have been back onto the electrics for the layout in a desperate attempt to get something running in the traditional style of a railway layout (is a layout a layout if there arent any moving trains on it?) and with the help of Mark again helping me get a bit of woodwork done here is how far I have got with it...
     

    This is my main board which has a few more connectors screwed to it now. The white one at the bottom is the power connector which will eventually connect to all the transformers and stuff on the floor, the little one just above it is the connector for the lenz controller, then about that are two D type connectors, the one on the left is the one for the control panel and the right one is the connector to the next board. I have tried to keep it tidy but its starting to look a bit messy now. Thankfully there isnt much more to add to this board.
     

     
    This is the beginnings of the box which holds all the mains power stuff along with the lenz unit thingy. I need cut a few more holes into it, glue it together, then fit hinges/handles/catches but its getting there. Thank you Mark.
     
    I havent given up with all this yet. Fingers crossed it works when I finally flick the switch!
     
    Missy
  21. -missy-
    Me Again
     
    Mark asked how did I do the sacks and things for the goods shed so I thought I would post a couple of piccies. The crates were made from small bits of plasticard and plastic strip. The sacks were made from Milliput...
     

    Once mixed the Milliput was then rolled out into a large sausage about 4-5mm in diameter (see on the right)
     

     
    This was then chopped up into 6-7mm lengths using a blunt edge (in this case a 6 inch rule). The little bit of Milliput was then lightly squashed with my finger and then left to harden. Once hard they were then painted with acrylics.
     
    Simples! I dont lay claim to thinking of this. I remember seeing it in a 2FS magazine a while back.
     
    Oh, and here are a couple more pictures of the goods shed...
     

     

    Missy
  22. -missy-
    Hello
     
    Finally! After a few revelations while studying the books I have come up with my final version of Highclere's goods shed. I also found out that I had got the doors totally wrong so they had to be changed too otherwise it would just bug me rotten. I have added a few bits and pieces inside it too just so if anyone decides to look too close as well as a porter taking a 5 min break (and he has still got his tie on!). The whole thing needs a bit of weathering but that will come in time...
     

     

     

     
    Missy
  23. -missy-
    Hello
     
    I thought this was worth posting...
     
    After flicking through my books to see if I could find out a bit more about the goods sheds on the railway I found out that the goods sheds were raised to platform level themselves and didnt sit on a platform (if that makes sense) so I tried to add the extra bit to the bottom of the shed without much luck. The only was to sort this is to strip things back to a bare shell and redo most of it.
     

     
    The thing is its annoying, yes but these things happen and there is no point giving up but instead just getting stuck in and fixing it.
     
    Missy
  24. -missy-

    Goods Shed Shenanigans

    By -missy-,

    Hello again
     
    As mentioned in my last post I managed to get a bit more done on the goods shed for Highclere at the St Albans show over the weekend and as I had today off work I decided to take a short break from the electrics and carry on with the shed. I have manged to get a bit done today, so much so that I thought I might as well post a blog entry on the good shed...
     
    The goods shed has been made in the same way I have done the other buildings with laser engraved brick paper stuck onto a plasti-card shell. The only real difference with this one is that I have added a rough impression on roof beams as I think there might be a chance you could see them one its on the layout. I have also added a LED. Anyway here are some pictures (in no particular order)...
     

     

     

     

     
     
    Missy
     
     
  25. -missy-

    St Albans Show 2010

    By -missy-,

    Hello
     
    I spent this weekend at the St Albans show courtesy of the CMRA with a demo of my modelling bits for Highclere.
     

    -My (messy) stand closest to the camera-
     
    I just wanted to say that I had a great time and thank you to everyone who came and spoke to me (David Bigcheeseplant, Atso, Halfwit, and others from RMWeb), it was the first 2 day show that I have done and I still got hardly any modelling done! (Apparantly this is a good thing ) I hope that I have inspired a few people to give 2FS a go.
     
    A special thanks goes out to the guy who told me I had the wrong type of 'flicker' to my station lamps too
     
    Missy
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