-missy-

Hey Pete Everyone has evenings like that so you are not alone. Move onto something else for now or just take a break from it all and then come back and tackle it again. The second time always works out better. Dont give up. Missy

Hello Will This looks very interesting. If the laser cutter is anything like the one I use then a black line is a full cut line and a red one a half cut or 'etch' line. There is no need to make it out of etched metal as the laser cutter should do it fine. What material are you planning on getting it cut from? The bridge I did I got cut from plywood and super glued it together and it made a very strong bridge. I am looking forward to seeing the progress. Missy

Hello I have managed a little more today. Hopefully its getting close to completion now with the motor being the only major bit left to do on this engine. Today I have added a few details to the engine like new finer handrails and lamp mount bracket thingys instead of the moulded ones. I have also spent a bit more time on the tender wheels. The plain ones were erm, too plain, so with the help of a dividing head (thank you Mark) I added a little bit of detail to them. They finally turned out like this.. OK, not exactly how the real ones were like but they look better than plain disk wheels plus you wont really be able to see much of them once fitted anyway. Half of them have been dunked in brass blackening solution by the way. Its off to the paint shop tomorrow (Hopefully) Missy

Hello Phil Thank you. I have a SIEG C0 Lathe from Axminster tools. It does me fine and is plenty big enough for the stuff I do. At the moment I only have a small parting off tool (which weirdly I use for all sorts) and a SCL106 Tipped Tool from Chronos. The problem with the tipped tool is that all the inserts I have found for it (CCMT type) are for machining either Cast Iron, Steel, or Stainless Steel! I dont have access at the moment to a bench grinder so I cannot really grind any tools really. Hi Mark I will pick it up Wednesday if thats ok. Thank you Hello Pix WOW! That is praise indeed, thank you. I dont think you can compare me to Stephen though, although he is one of my modelling idols. As far as the grear ratio goes Im afraid I dont know. I do remember 'Dapol Dave' telling me a while ago its around 40:1. Hi Pugsley Thanks for the link. The plan is to get a rotary table sometime but to be honest I cant really convince myself its worth spending that much money on one right now. I have a Proxxon Mill which is brilliant so a 3" one would be more than enough. Hello Southernboy Thank you. Hopefully I am giving some people a bit of insperation to give things a go. The key for me is having the enthusiasm to do it. Missy

Hello Pete Nice to see CB again and Im looking forward to seeing it develop. Missy

Hello My attention has now turned to the tender. There are 2 things that I want to do with it which are 1. Change the motor to something better, and 2. Change the wheels to 2mm standards. As nothing really exists for the tender wheels I thought that this was an ideal oppertunity to have a go at machining some N Gauge wheels to 2mm SA standards so armed with a drawing of the wheels and my little lathe I managed the following.. BEFORE... AFTER... Its kinda cool that they seemed to have worked out ok as its another thing I know I can do, although I really must sort out some decent tools for my lathe to cut brass as the ones I have now are rubbish! Before I blacken them I really would like to add a bit of detail to the face of the wheels but to do that I have to get my hands on a dividing head for my milling machine. So now I have a basic frame for the tender.. And finally this one shows the difference between an untouched tender chassis and the one after I got my hands on it! Missy

Thank you guys Hi Steve. I was waiting to see if anyone commented on that stuff. I didnt realise it was there until after I downloaded the pictures. Its actually something called 'finger strip' produced for EMC of electrical cabinets and stuff. I got hold a a sample because it would make ideal electrical contacts for my cassettes (when I get round to doing them!) M.

Thank you guys Im afraid that is as close as my camera will do. I have all my macro lenses stacked on top of each other to take that picture! I think I will have to get a magnifying lens though. I am starting to struggle a bit with them. M.

Hello Well, that is the question going through my head today. Its something that has been bugging me for quite a while now. I really wanted to do point rodding on Highclere and the stools were kinda like the 'missing link'. I managed to persuade Ivan of Southwark Bridge Models to reduce an etch of his point rodding stools down to 2mm scale and as they arrived today through the post I couldnt wait to have a go... I think they look great but will anyone notice them? Let me know what you think... Missy P.S. Thank you Ivan

Hello After removing the huge joint inbetween the engine and tender for a smaller, finer brass one I was left with a huge hole and a rather blank cab so tonight I quickly put together a kind of cab just so it doesnt look as blank. Its not prototypical or anything and it was quickly glued together but hopefully it fills the gap ok. The new joint is now going through the firebox door. BEFORE... AFTER... Next is the tender... Missy

Hello Peter I pulled out of the challenge earlier this year. I decided to concentrate on Highclere isntead of starting another layout. That doesnt mean you can though! I made a drawing for the bushes with the plan on getting them manufactured but happened to stumble across some in the Oxford groups vault of spares! I think they are from the association but are years and years old. I have quite a few so if you need some let me know. Hi Bryn Thank you. I use the Birchwood blackening fluids. See http://www.eileensemporium.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=29&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26 Hello Mikkel Thank you. As mentioned before the Q1 is my favorite engine, I really like the functionality of them. Its surprised me how doing something as little as chaging the wheels for finer ones has changed the appearance of it. So far its taken me a weekend to get this far but as mentioned there is still quite a bit to do. I have nearly finished the engine now so its the tender next. Im going to have a go at machining the tender wheels from N Gauge to 2mm finescale myself as a bit of an experiment. Missy

Thanks guys Hello Geoff. I ended up scratch building a chassis for the pannier tank. It started off as a conversion similar to that article but I was told it had to have daylight under the boiler so the original chassis had to go! Missy

Hi Kris Thank you I did it exactly how you described it there. As Nigel mentions its quite important to get the hole in the wheel in the middle so fortunately I have a small lathe with a collet chuck so I can get the wheel turning very true. I cannot see any reason why anyone cant use this idea for any of the RTR engines but remember the 2mm SA are in the process of producing drop in wheels for engines and no doubt will be available soon If you have the right tools (lathe and wheel quatering jig) I cant see any reason why anyone cant do this, its not that difficult, no. Missy

Hello They look really cool and a refreshing change from men in orange jackets, although it was a bit weird to read... "They will shortly be joined by Mrs Longbottom??

Hello This week I have been mostly working on a Dapol Q1. The Q1 is my favorite engine and I have had one lying around now for a while so it was about time I turned my attention to it. The Dapol model is fantastically well detailed so I dont really need to do much to it. The only thing that bugs me about it is the N Gauge wheel standards, the wheels on the engine arent hidden in any way so its more obvious than usual. Fortunately the 2mm SA do a set of replacement wheels so I got hold of those but I didnt want to scratch build a chassis for it. I came up with a plan on how to convert it using some nickel rod, converted 2mm SA wheels and some small plastic insulating bushes. Other things I have started to change include changing the huge moulded plastic drive between to tender and the engine for a finer metal one as well as lowering the height of the drive with a little gearbox. There are still plenty of bits to do including the front steps, the tender, handrails, etc, but its comming together slowly Missy

Hello Ian I have just measured the wood for the backscenes and I need a backscene roughly 300mm high by 3200mm long to be split into 2 half way along the length. Missy

Hello This seems like an ideal time to look back at the progress on Highclere. Im sure everyone is familiar with the layout by now so I wont bore anyone with the reasons why, what it is, etc, etc.. Anyway here is where I am... The layout on the whole is comming together slowly. All the major bits and pieces are there and done and now its time to look at some of the fiddly detail bits (the bits I like) I still have the backscene to do which is scaring me right now plus another bit I really need to look at sometime soon is the rest of the boards for the fiddle yard and stuff. I have figured out how to do the grass type stuff. Its a mixture of static fibres applied with one of the 'fly-swat grass' machines. After a bit of tweaking with a paint brush I am happy with the results (plus it feels great too!) There is plenty more to stick down though which I am looking forward to The buildings are comming along well although as with everything else are taking a long time to do. I am happy with how they look so far and have figured out a way to do them with a handy laser cutter. I still have the goods shed, platform waiting shelter, cattle dock, and a little lineside hut to do. The electrics still need a bit of work. Its not one of my strong points and as yet nothing has actually worked on the layout! This is something I NEED to get sorted soon. Who knows, the whole thing might not ever work! Trying to make everything light up and work doesnt help either, it just adds to the wiring. Fiddly bits, these are the bits I enjoy doing. I really do like a challenge and luckily there are more to do. Now if I can just figure out how to do ground signals.... Rolling stock is also comming along well. As this stuff cannot be bought from a shop I am not getting a huge collection of stuff. I have one or two more tank wagons to go to get a Fawley tank train (plus a 9F kit too!). I enjoy building this stuff, its what I did before Highclere came along. So there you have it! I think I have come a fair way in the past couple of years but I am more than aware that its not going to finished anytime soon but one thing for sure is I am really really enjoying making Highclere so watch out for more posts soon Missy