richard w

Been a while since the last update. I've been busy building some low relief flats to go somewhere behind the scrapyard scene. I used the cricut maker machine I've had for a while to assist me. No way was I going to cut all those windows by hand! Lots of detail left to add but for now I'm going to take a break from it. Looks right at home overlooking the scrap yard.

I've also added another 5 HEAs to my existing rake. They started out as bauxite HSAs that I had spare as they didn't fit on the previous layout. Painted them up as usual and faded the red quite a bit. The load is a plastic parkside item with peco coal glued on top.

I've also been going back through previous weathering attempts and redoing them to a better standard. Latest ones are a mix of VDA, VAA and VGA vans. I removed and tried the weathering again for all of them. Decided to repaint 4 of the VGAs into railfreight leaving just one with yellow ends to better represent the era I'm modeling.

I've made some more progress on the scrap yard. Its about 75% complete and there is plenty of detail left to add. Enjoyed working on this section, good fun doing all the weathering.

Got back into things over the past month or two. I'm still not great at the old scratch building lark. This is my first attempt at a bridge, quite enjoyed the process. Still a long way to go yet. I've lots of details left to add and some touching up to do but the basics are in. Now for the other side... Video about the project is in the usual place, cheers.

I took a break from the layout over the past month or two. I like to take a break every now and then as it helps avoid getting burnt out. Been busy at work on customers cars and my own restoration project making up for lost time due to the lockdown period. I've been working on the layout again over the past few days and hope to have another video ready in a week or two. Despite taking a break from the layout I didn't forget about the Bachmann 117 release. Gave it some gentle weathering and added about 75 figures. Impressive model, very happy with it.

Very impressed. Adding some passengers is well worth the effort if you have time.

I run it through the silhouette cutter. Takes a few passes but does a nice job of the cutting.

I use 2mm art board which is basically 2mm cardboard but of higher quality. Easy to use and saves having to venture into the world of laser cutting, cheers.

I make the windows using a silhouette cutter. Invested in the machine last year and use it to cut all my windows and walls. Saves a lot of time and gains a level of precision I couldn't hope to reach by hand. I use a cricut branded machine which you can find in hobbycraft. Cheers

Been working hard on the layout over the past few weeks. Focused on lots of different projects and had another crack at scratch building. This commercial garage is based on a real building local to me. Had good fun putting it together. I'm starting to get the hang of this scratch building! I've also worked on redoing the rather bland spot where the car auction scene was. Had planned to redo this area for a while. It lacked interest and didn't blend all too well with the more rural scenery around the corner. Its now a small estate comprising of 4 industrial scenes and I'm much happier with it. Plenty of scope for endless details and building interiors. The smaller garage building will play host to a car sales place. The real estate that I'm using for inspiration has mostly automotive industry which works great for me as I have a big interest in cars. The area by the canal gives me the chance to have a go at a scrapyard. Long way to go but I'm pleased with the results so far.

I use water to wash it off and used it neat for the paint removal process. Theres no danger of melting stuff with it from my experience. Its far less potent than paint stripper or IPA. Just happens to be very good at removing railmatch for some reason. Tried it most recently on a Heljan 58. Removed all the lacquer and weathering I'd applied years ago. Factory paint and transfers where unmarked and returned the model to an as new finish.

From the picture on that link I'd say that’s the correct stuff. It does get rid of lining and decals if you're unlucky so proceed with caution. However it does get rid of railmatch paints very effectively. Cheers

Many thanks for that, will file away for future reference. Cheers

I've been making these videos for 10 years, I know how it works. I wasn't looking to start a conversation on that point. Just mentioned it as I'd just read some while typing the post and was understandably a bit annoyed. I count myself lucky that I only get a small number of comments like that per video. Generally speaking everybody is very friendly and get a conversation going, some good ideas too.

I don't keep a record of the hours on the layout but I'm sure its a lot! Cheers

Thanks for the interest guys. It was a good learning experience doing that bit and I've already started taking those lessons to other parts of the layout. Been shot to pieces by a few on the YouTube side but that's nothing new! I'm no expert and don't claim to be. Good fun though, you can't please everybody. I've since ballasted the last bit of the mainlines and added a pair of points for scenic interest and the opportunity to swap the fast trains around more easily.

Some more pictures...

Scenery is going well. Not finished yet by any means but I had a good relaxing time doing it. Learnt a few tips and tricks along the way and I'm much happier with the track layout now. Very pleased I decided to change it. Videos concerning the project are in the usual place, cheers.

Not been here for a bit as I've been busy on the layout. I decided a long time ago that I wasn't happy with the branch line route. The small yard/sidings that where part of that I wasn't happy with either. The whole thing felt contrived to me so over the past few weeks I set about moving the fiddle yard for the branch and changing the route. I also removed the pointless sidings as they didn't really add anything to the scene. The branch is now on scene for longer and the lack of sidings really lifts the area for me. I can now fill it with the scenery I've been thinking about for the past few months. The new fiddle yard is much easier to use and offers plenty of storage for the units that will work the branch. The APT wont use it but its a handy place to store it.

I'd like to think the layout represents the GW mainline around the Reading area. I'll run anything that was seen on the GW mainline but the scenery certainly takes some inspiration from the Reading area. Timetable would be an interesting read. Certainly when I get more into the layouts electrics some more accurate running would be nice to have. Thanks

Was a pair of 56s and I used Phoenix Precision matt varnish after weathering. Was the ready thinned for airbrushing version. Both models yellowed significantly over the course of 4 years in the loft. Friend of mine had the same problem with his repaints. Every other project before or since has been done using railmatch. I've not had any issues with those. Still rate and use Phoenix for my projects, but I steer clear of the varnishes just in case.

With regards to NSE and shades of blue it really is a minefield just like the size & placement of double arrows on railfreight stuff. I looked at various photos of 55022 and it appears to have carried both shades before receiving the revised livery. In light blue it has red double arrows behind the cab door windows - http://www.hondawanderer.com/55022_Culham_1989.htm In what appears to be darker blue its received what looks like Thames motifs and still has the red arrows - https://www.railcar.co.uk/images/6683 Dapol modelled it without the Thames logo so I chose to match Martin's photo of it in 1989. Even if thats not correct I wanted to run both models together. It looked odd to my eyes having a light blue revised unit and a darker blue original unit. It is a challenge to find info sometimes and I spend far too much time going through pics and old videos. Appreciate the info above and will file that away for future reference.

I'll be revisiting the back scene one day. Now I have a much clearer idea of how the scenery is going to work I should be able to make some more substantial backscene frames with less joins. The existing setup is ok, but I can do better than that, cheers.

Completed another couple of projects. Removed my rubbish weathering from a Bachmann 37 and ended up repainting/renumbering in the process. I've extended the red stripe around the nose as per 37514. Turning towards DMUs I've de-weathered and started repainting the blue & white on my NSE 108. Should look quite a bit better once finished. Just the blue was done when this picture was taken. You can see how yellow the white is. Decided to go for the light blue as I much prefer it to the darker blue. Also weathered my two Dapol 121s. Focused on the roof, under frame and a grey wash on the doors. Repainted the blue on the example with the upswept stripes. It was a darker shade for some reason despite being the original version of the livery. Both units now match and I'll be running them with my 101 once I've finished it. I've also fitted the detailing pack where possible and the speedo cables.