westernviscount

So the whole thing was hit with Halfords grey primer. i wasn't hopeful of getting a good likeness for a wooden telegraph pole, painting the copper tube but i gave it a shot. The pole was dry brushed using humbrol enamels. The base colours are grey 32, pale stone 121 and gunmetal 27004. These are applied one on top of the other, dry brushed together unevenly. To attempt to show texture, in addition to layering up the paint i scraped very lightly a piece of 240 grit sand paper vertically up and down the pole whilst the paint was still tacky. After this layer dried, small amounts of humbrol natural wood 110 was dry and wet brushed vertically up and down the pole. Additional flecks of rust 113 are dry brushed to vary the wood tones. Additional humbrol grey 32 was dry brushed to suggest the weathered creosote or whatever telegraph poles are treated with. The telgraph insulators are weathered with a dark grey wash and the cross bar they are mounted on dry brushed with natural wood 110 and grey 32. The bolt in the middle is picked put with rust 113. Further rusty areas are washed over with a 113 wash. The lampholder was painted PRU blue 230 simply because i thought it looked right.

Hi All, I recently decided to revamp teh goods yard end of my layout Templefield. I never treated this end with the same care and enthusiasm as the station end. As well as refurbishing the fencing and replacing the yard gate with a mechanical opening and closing one I needed to replace a layouts4u yard lamp. I had already replaced the ladder and toned down the gloss finish but have never really been satisfied. So, a scratch build project was the order of the order of the day. I used items i already had to hand which included copper tube, .33mm brass wire, MSE ladder etch, plastikard sheet and rod. I didn't have any brass strip so cut some from the ladder itself to make the brackets and safety loop. The lamp bracket was made from .33mm brass wire. The lamp holder was shaped from 2 thicknesses of plastikard and plastic rod. The rod end was shaped to a semi circle by mounting it in a mini drill and shaping the end as it spins with 600 grit sanding block. The bottom part of the lamp holder was cut into as near a circle as posible, a whole drill to push the rod through, then again mounted in the mini drill to shape as desired. I then built the telegraph crossbeam and isulators from plastikard, plastic rod and .33mm brass wire. A comparison of the new lamp and old one. I am happy with the finer finish of my version. next will be the painting.

A couple of things have been happening on the work bench recently... Firstly, I battled through the Walrus build which was a rather difficult process. The instructions do not seem to be laid out in a sensible order and the order seems rather random. It begins with a job i would suggest should be done nearer the end and also the instruction is to 10 pieces of wire 24mm long, however the kit comes with a length not much longer than 15mm! however, this didnt cause a problem as i substituted the supplied .5mm with my own .33mm for the handrails. And here she is ready for spraying humbrol matt 33. the Walrus is accompanied by a dogfish i previously sprayed and ran out!! It's a nice looking kit by Cambrian, and despite the hard going instructions i am pleased with the outcome. Railtec decals next! I applied modelmaster decals to the dogfish. I understood that applying the matt surface would lead to some silvering but this wagon will heavily weathered to the same level as the distant catfish. In more straight forward areas, i finished a lovely parkside LNER plywood van. I use Humbrol 133 brown for the bauxite colour as prefer the coverage of humbrol enamel over the genuine rail colour paints. They also smell less offensive and i have had real problems with jamming lids on railmatch paints!!!! I added a .8mm brass wire upright vac pipe with markits steam heat brass pipes. i now need to add silver paint to the buffers. Now, in preparation for building my favourite kit, the Dapol 20t brakevan i thought i would try my hand at some CAD drawings to replace the inner doors of the kit which are a little thick and difficult to glaze convincingly. i am aware there is an etch but i thought i'd give some 3d drawing a go. I used microsoft 3d builder which is free and installed with windows 10 on most PCs. This is a very absorbing process. I am very lucky to have access to a basic 3d printer at work and knocked this out today. This shows the print in its raw form removed from the raft. some tidying will make it look pretty acceptable. Thant's it for now folks! Dave

Thanks Jason, I had a quick look and nothing jumped out at me but i shall give them a call. Many thanks!

Thanks corbs. I enjoyed bringing this old relic back to life. I have learned quite a bit during the project and have been really appreciative of the encouragement and constructive criticism above. Cheers Dave

Cheers Mike, i may persist with this. There was a box at my local model shop that has a ton of defunct transfers. trouble is, when flicking through you never know what you are going to regret not buying. If i had the means i would have bought the lot! i am pretty sure i never saw this logo set though. cheers Dave

They all look great Merfyn. Did you draw up the logo yourself? Also, what is the actual name of the logo? Modelmaster transfers refer to the "honeycomb" logo for containers. Many thanks for the reply! Dave

Thanks Merfyn, I suspected this might be the case. It would probably be cheaper for me just to buy the oxford diecast version as i don't have a fleet i want to do. Something to think about. Your vehicles look excellent. What kits are these? Great looking models. Many thanks Dave

Hi folks, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of suitable decals to finish a Dapol scammel scarab kit in br yellow with early railfreight/door to door logo? Basically...like this... Many thanks! Dave

Sounds like good advice above. Avoid brush varnishing especially gloss!! I would always recommend humbrol acrylic matt varnish spray, sprayed in warm, dry conditions as never had problems with it. Good luck!!

After a distracting cambrian walrus build i took 5 mins to finish the roof of the brake. I am definitely happier with the thinner roof and it was a lot easier than the previous method. Thanks for the comments chaps. I have certainly learnt a few things! I'm dabbling with a 3d print replacement for a Dapol/airfix 20t brake. I also stocked up on .33mm wire for handrails ;-) Cheers all.

A couple of other projects on going...

One for Beatles fans!! I AM THE WALRUS! Made a start on this last night and promptly gave up without cutting a sprue! Far too complex for a late evening. After a good night sleep, the instructions still make as much sense to me as the Beatles song and the "i'm crying, I'm crying" part is very apt. I am very much struggling to follow the instructions, finding it hard to fathom why they are not laid out in a sequential fashion. Still, with a couple of prototype photos, i am hopeful this will start to COME TOGETHER...but not RIGHT NOW;-)

That sounds like a good approach to pre-shaping the plastikard. I found 12 thous to be so thin it just holds its shape after bonding. It remains to be seen whether it distorts over time as i have laminated two sheets which is not always wise. As for the colour, thank you for the advice. Yes, i use humbrol 32 for underframes as it gives a better base than black to weather on top of. I shall give this a go! Cheers

So i ended up scratchbuilding a roof for my unfitted van, having pinched the roof for the fitted upgrade vehicle. The paint and glue on top of the body sides, where the roof is set onto the body, is scrape and sanded away back to bare plastic. I used revell contacta to bond a 12 thou thick plastikard sheet as the first layer of the roof, cut to fit flush to the bodysides. Then a second sheet of 12 thou sheet, cut 1mm larger by width and length is bonded on top. The edges of the top layer are sealed with EMA plastic weld to ensure there are no humps or ridges. Rain strips were added, cut from 12 thou sheet again into thin strips. A chimney is added using 1.3 plastic rod again. I am happier with this finish than my initial roof splice and feel it finer and more prototypical than the Dapol original. So with that in mind... I replaced the fitted roof for a 3rd time in the manner i should have used at the beginning as it was a damn sight easier than the splice!!!! Oh, if anyone could advise me on what colour you recommend for the roof then that would be much appreciated. I use br non-maroon stock grey but doubt this is correct. Many thanks guys!!

Cheers John. After such a disappointing weathering job i was happy to save it. Agreed, i think the scratchbuild roof should be fine. I did a couple for a pair of 20t standard vans. Although for this one i copied the airfix roof configuration for the chimney and vent positions which is wrong of course as the airfix is a mirror image of the prototype. We live and learn! Cheers for now. Dave

I have used DOT 4 ford brake fluid and Wilko DOT 4. Wilko DOT 4 is cheap and works perfectly well. As ever, use with caution.

So I was tempted just to complete the blog with the finished van, however things did not run smoothly last night and in the name of honesty I though I would document the problems I faced (created for myself) and how I managed to not end up smashing the damn thing the bits!! First off, I had persuaded myself that the Dapol BR 20t standard roof was wide enough for this model. After initial test fittings I felt it was sufficient. However, after joining and sanding I had reduced the width to a point where it noticably didn't fit with sufficient overhang. Having glued it on at an odd angle anyway, upon removal I broke it where I had joined the two!! the picture illustrates the roof after the fact on a different van I nicked a roof from. The roof remains loose in this picture. I applied a wash of weathering powder and decalfix which I have had success with in the past... Although under this light, things don't look too bad, under the layout lighting and to my eye it just looks a bit heavy handed and is a consequence of already being frustrated with my roof mistake!! So, luckily the powders can be taken off as the decalfix can be reactivated with water or more decalfix. So now I have the basis for further detailed weathering but I shall pick a moment when I am more focused!! I have attempted to show the rust on the veranda ends which follow the lines of the diagonal struts behind the panel. I also intend to paint the veranda floors whilst the roof is loose. So overall I am happy with the resurrection of this previously doomed model. However... I now have to scratch build a roof for this one!! my need for a fitted outweighed the need for an unfitted on this occasion. Cheers for now folks!

I've never stripped a Dapol loco but i have used brake fluid on other makes such as Hornby, lima and Bachmann. I have seen isopropyl alcohol used successfully also. I use a toothbrush with brake fluid to remove the detailed area but always use gloves and goggles!!! Also for the sake of clarity, it is methylated spirit as opposed to mentholated. That sounds more like a drink that could help with a cold :-) Good luck whichever process you choose!

Yes John, on reflection I will probably elect to use .3mm for finer projects. I have a Dapol 20t brake van to build next so will try this out. I am interested in the "real or actual modelling" idea. I really enjoy this type of project because it helps me achieve what I want out of the hobby which is to become immersed in an activity which is challenging enough to keep my mind occupied and not too challenging as to frustrate me!! flow state I believe this is called. Certain projects can tip into frustrating and border line despair!!!

Well Mike I used brass tube for the pole, a wider diameter tube used for the base. I laminated and shaped plastikard for the lamp with a plastikard top. The name was simply printed on paper and stuck on which is slightly rough and ready but it looks OK I think.

Thanks Clag. Yes, i have enjoyed this project probably because the end is in sight early on and each element is fairly straight forward Thanks Mike, Yes, I agree on both counts. The handrails are .5mm because the model is handled regularly, however i doubt this actually makes much difference. I may well still act upon your lanarkshire buffers suggestion as i have used Dave's buffers for locos (a dropped Hymek!!!) in the past. In truth, i wanted this "build" to be zero expense which so far it has proven to be. I will post the final shots as soon as i complete the build as soon as i can! Then there will be the weathering! Cheers chaps.

Hi folks, I thought I would start a blog over here as opposed to the usual blog area. I enjoy kit building and bashing, weathering and general model making. I have a small layout, Templefield which is based around 1970 in West London Area on western metals. I recently was given 2 pretty rough Dapol LMS brake vans by my Dad. It seems they have lain dormant for a few years and are missing there roofs. One is missing an inner end and the other has broken/cracked roof supports at both ends. Both are missing their roofs. With this in mind, one decent brake will be cobbled from two for the time being, with one being stored for now. The model is a decent representation of the prototype however some mods will be needed. These will be: Wire handrails flush glazing ballast box underfloor Instanter couplings new roof refine the foot board struts repaint (partial, keeping the current numbers for convenience) Warning flashes to be added weathering The vehicles are easily dismantled using a blunt narrow tool like a screwdriver to press the clips out from the floor of the van. The door ends slide upwards and out quite easily. The tension lock couplings and mounting blocks are removed with a chisel blade and the plastic hook and plate molding cut away and sanded. A brand new chisel knife is used to remove the handrail molds. The sharper the blade the cleaner the removal. It was possible to remove the whole handrail flush to the body in one movement. I kept the handrail bracket moldings in situ as I didn't think I would create anything finer. The wire is .5mm brass. holes .5mm were drilled, although having done plenty of hand rails before I thought a finer tolerance would be OK. It proved almost impossible for me to get the wire to sit straight as the holes needed to be in absolutely the correct spot and the wire bent up to exact measurements for it not to bend once placed in. Therefore I reverted to my usual hole size of .6mm which allow a little room for error and lets the wire sit true. I found myself creating rivets for the headstock and making a plate for the hook. It seemed to just happen!!! I used a plastikard rivet sheet, scraping off rivets and welding them in place with Tamiya solvent. In this view, the thickness of the footboard brackets can be seen clearly. The brackets were thinned down with a chisel blade, They are still not fine enough but spending life on a small terminus to fiddle layout, regular handling requires some robustness! In the box my Dad gave me were some airfix brake van kit roofs. He said he had intended to try and fashion a roof from them. I toyed with the idea of making a plastikard replacement but decided to try splicing two roofs. It just so happened the profiles are pretty much identical. The two roofs were scraped clean with a chisel knife and sanded with 240 then 600 grit sand paper then a final 1000 grit. EMA solvent was used which gave a clean join but this was then filled and left to dry. A review of picture of the prototype suggested rain strips were placed in the above formation and the stoke chimney position was copied from another LMS brake I already have. Note the .3mm wire guard rail on the verandas. A ballast box was fabricated from plastikard with the bottom edges sanded to a curve. This was then fitted underneath between the foot boards. Here the under frame is primed and the ballast box in place. A smiths coupling hook is also in place. A coat of precision bauxite has been brush applied, painting around the numbers. Weathering will be to a "semi-disgraceful" level so this should not matter too much. Flush glazing is added to the inner ends and the duckets. I use plastic from my daughter's toy packaging usually. A set of Vernier calipers is useful here for getting the aperture size. I set the height then scrape the caliper along a straight edge of the plastic which scribes the height. this strip is cut out then the widths marked in the same manner. 600 grit sandpaper refines the size. I use PVA glue to set them in place as a tiny amount is strong enough and dries clear. And so we are up to date. The under frame is painted HUMBROL 32 dark grey as this assists the weathering process. Black is just too...well black! The handrails are painted white. I have not fitted the inner ends yet or the roof, which will be sprayed roof blue grey. instanter couplings will be added also. Thanks for now guys. I will check in shortly with the steps to completion.

Hi folks, I thought I would start a blog over here as opposed to the usual blog area. I enjoy kit building and bashing, weathering and general model making. I have a small layout, Templefield which is based around 1970 in West London Area on western metals. Having posted in the wrong forum, i have moved a blog about an LMS brake van over to modifying RTR. Here I will detail some actual kits i have built!!