richard i
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Posts posted by richard i
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thanks for the kind comments on the trolley. i was basing the colour on the ones at roathley today. I agree road transport was brown and cream. I also agree they were unlikely to be put in mock teak, i am open to further opinions, even the practice on other lines.....even the GWR!
Richard
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I think that would have been Jack Dugdale's Ortogo. It had rabbits appearing and disappearing and at least one signalman moving levers in his box.
Edited to change most of the post.
David
having made rabbits i am terrified at how s,all he would have had to make the mechanism. Though movement might catch the eye, mine blend in.
Richard
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Up close
It seemed too far out to see it as any more than a green wheeled thing
Richard
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Little progress of late as had to work the weekend.
Just finished the platform barrow from a little white metal kit. It has just been placed down to get a feel of if it looks right resting between duties behind the gents loo.
If it should go back somewhere specific could someone in the know shed light on that? If the GCR never had them let me know too and I will move it to the street scene on the yet to be built corner board.
Richard
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That would be nice but I think I would need to pay like every other punter.They do a digital issue if there is something you're really interested in. Not on commission, but if Andy wants to show his gratitude financially...
Richard
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On a point of architecture, gargoyles are decorative, if I understand it correctly and grotesque spout water. It is like people say they slide down the banister but in actual fact it is the balustrade as the banister is only the vertical up rights. Sad knowledge but might be useful in a pub quiz some day.Scale that down to 4mm!
I shall expect to see your church gargoyles fully operational!
Richard
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Afraid not, living in the states means the closest place that sells BRM is an hour away and it arrives one to two months late.I am sure you will have seen in this month's BRM the article 'Animate your layout wildlife'. Typical! As soon as you model something, something comes along to put it in the shade; in this case Busch and their rotating swans and moles popping out of holes!
Richard
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Keep us posted, I have six to build. Just need the bogies.At least part of the Perseverance range is available again, though I don't believe the carriages are as yet part of that. There were dimensional problems with them which Steve Banks covered in a Model Rail article, now also available on his website.The GCRS Parker stock is awaiting castings, which they have confirmed to me in the past will be sold separately so as to be used with the Worsley Works components.A book on GC carriage stock is long overdue and I wish the gent the best in his endeavour.
Richard
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Great central remembered by d.l.franks has loads of GCR photos all with the carrage formation explained . Great reference material.
Richard
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Animals in situ.
Not all pictures came out as some are so small and the camera did not know what to focus on.
However these came out.
First the badger, in his set, realistically he could not be out on the layout as it represents day time. So he got a set made underground and a hole dug so he can get out once it gets dark.
And the four rabbits eating are on file which is too big. Must have eaten too much. So no picture
Richard
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During World War One the Royal Welch were asked if they would like to become a guards regiment to raise spirits in Wales. They refused because they were told they would have to change the spelling of Welch. So a new regiment was started from scratch, the Welsh guards. On such little things does life turn.Spelling is a minefield. In the 19th century 'Scotch' seems to have been common useage and not particularly pejorative. Thee is a parallel with Wales - one regiment remained the Royal WELCH Fusiliers even though others used 'Welsh'.
Away from nationalities, there are other railway-related spelling changes: for example, in the days of 'City of Truro', the valve gear would have included 'excentrics', not 'eccentrics' as we have them now. Why? Who knows.
Richard
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Smoke boxes black as they thought other colours not cope with the soot and heat? Which is partly why gresley A4 in green were full smoke boxes in black at first.Thanks to Bill (66C) for the wet rubbing down advice, painting the 179 is proceeding despite being in Qatar in excess heat.
A question. Do all railways paint the smokeboxes of locos black despite the boiler being whatever pretty colour. If so, why?
Home tomorrow to the autumn on Tyneside by the sea.
Graham
Richard
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Railway modelling boring, wash your mouth out with soap and water.
Richard
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t least you did not say that you were painting beaver - now that could have landed you in bother.
or going at rabbits
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Animal diversions.
I told the wife I was off to paint a badger, she thought it was code for some thing unhealthy.
No it really was a badger.
And rabbits, squirrels and hedgehog. There are seven colours on each not that most will notice or the photo show. In fairness the iPad could not focus in enough. They are only 4mm high for most of them.
Richard
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Great to see a build. Take care when fitting the rods for real, I think the test fit has it on upside down.In the spirit of 'show and tell' picture below of my debut solo loco build. It's a Comet Dean Goods chassis to fit under an old mainline body I have. I have been fortunate enough to have had a lesson with Tony (referenced many pages ago) and am trying to put it into practice. Not perfect, I'm sure, but it's a start.
To my inordinate delight, the chassis will now move under its own power up and down my small test track. Many lessons learnt to date. Notably, I think I've put the spacers too low so the pickup pads are slightly below the chassis frames. I'm trusting (hoping?!?) the brake rods will disguise the wires sticking out below the frames. Having got the chassis to roll, I was reluctant to unsolder it to move them higher. Secondly, fitting pick-ups is somewhat harder than the quick flick of the pliers Tony demonstrates in his video. After several attempts, I'm now getting power to the motor and the rods turn and move the chassis though I need to have another go at making sure each wheel has electrical contact.
I think the rods would benefit from some further cleaning up and still plenty left to do. Not being the fastest modeller, lots of other distractions notably small children and work, it may be a while before I have more photographable progress...
image.jpegDavid
PS - I'm looking forward to seeing Grantham at Warley later this year - looks superb!
Edit: thanks to Barry 10 for pointing out I'd neglected to include what it's going to be. Fortunately it looks enough like what it's supposed to be for hi to identify it!
There is nothing worse (except ebola) than having to take the rods off after soldering on the washers. (Made that mistake)
Richard
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Can i join the whitemetal bogie plea. GCR ones would go down a storm with me.
Richard
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Tony, over the years ( agues it really is years now with nearly 11500 posts) you have mentioned changing out the front Bogie wheels. Would it be too much to post a list of which RTR locos you have changed the wheels on and which wheel sets you have put in. Yes I am being a bit lazy but living in the Great White North, research is a bit harder. Thanks
Why do i feel TWs answer will be all are changed. So the question might be the other way around. Are any r-t-r bogie wheels up to it? If so whose? And why are they wrong/ if r-t-r these days strives to more and more accurate to prototype?
Richard
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I got excited in my first job when I found out I was working with a mike Sharman who liked trains. Alas it was not THE man himself. What is it with the name and trains?
Richard
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Not being an engineer it is when it gets all technical that I get lost. Best is notes with a diagram with the parts labeled on. I too therefore ignore a lot of instructions.....much to my wife's annoyance when it is a non railway item.
Richard
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All done with brushing on powders, black and burnt umber. It is slightly less controllable as to the effect once you pick up some on the brush, I am still working on getting it right.All very nicely done. The subtle weathering is very effective.
Richard
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The wagons are complete
First up the thirty ton bogie coal wagon. Transfers done, no two photos found showed the same layout of wording on the side of the wagon.
Then the pipes being transported. Dragon model dry transfers used which shows up plank detail nicely.
With its roof in the fore ground removed for transport. The wagon for that needs completing. It is labelled up as LDEC as they originally got this type if lomac. Named after a mentor of mine, not sure what his company works on but it certainly needs a steam tractor.
The other is labelled as taken over by the great central.
Lastly the road van. I decided to GCR it as it is in the southern book as such. It adds to the variation. I know the debate will still rage over if it is correct but I feel that we will never get conclusive proof one way or the other. That and brake vans and loco should match and I don't have a war department loco to run with it.
Now to finish the horse box and carriages.
Richard
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Lack of skill, poor kit, or not built due to lack of time. Both due to busy lives, but also because modellers buy kits at a faster rate than they can realistically build them. I know I have though I am trying my best to get through them.Some little time ago, a loco kit-manufacturer told me that, in his estimation, at least 90% of loco kits in 4mm (not just his) are never finished. That tells me three things; either the kits are so poor as to be un-buildable as supplied or the folk tackling them don't have the requisite skills; or, a combination of both.
I've mentioned this before but the only two kits which entirely defeated me were a pair of Jidenco Claughtons - one large-boilered, one small-boilered. When I say 'defeated', I'd better explain. Both were given to me to build on commission. Both had been started, and the same mistakes perpetuated on both - awful soldering, ghastly metal-shaping; just the start of a mess. I examined them, undid what I could, then noticed that there was no aperture in the footplate to take a motor; not only that, not even the wheels. I explained to my commissioner that by the time I'd undone all the poor work, scratch-built a substantial amount of replacement parts and finally got them to go, the cost (an estimate) would be x. What! And it ended there. Whether the locos were ever built, I have no idea.
I hope commentators remember the case of the infamous Pro-Scale review in BRM, where (for the first time?) a reviewer (me) actually told the truth about how the kit could not be built successfully by just using the parts supplied. Much had to be modified, parts substituted or scratch-built. The result - a range of kits was taken (temporarily) off the market, though I was not sued, despite threats from a couple of directions.
My take on the kit situation, for what it's worth is this. Without them, I could never have built all the locos (and stock) I've needed for my various ECML projects. Forget today's RTR, I'm talking of going back over 40 years. So, I say bless 'em. Despite their various 'drawbacks', how else could I have built examples of every RA9 ECML steam-outline motive power? I even built Millholme A2/2s and A2/3s, but, though they were finished, they looked so awful that they were sold on (to those who didn't know?)
I've put together kits of some questionable quality; the likes of MTK, Magna Models, WSM, Cornard, McGowan, Bristol Models and others, but they were made, and they all ran. Of course, I junked white metal chassis and motion parts, but it was almost an 'I'm not going to be beaten' mentality needed at times. Dare I say, in, perhaps a slightly perverse way, that all these oddities were a perfect 'learning curve' for honing and developing any skills?
Which brings me on to the key factor in my view; that being acquiring the necessary skills.Fortunately, I acquired enough constructional skills to be able to earn part of my living from building loco kits on commission for over 20 years (and I'm back doing it again). In the same way that I'll never be able to play a musical instrument or play cricket for England, some will never be able to acquire the skills. They might try, but fail. I must say it's a bit thick at times when such 'failures' start then blaming the kit. Last year, a bloke regaled me about a certain kit being absolute sh*te. I looked at his work - what a mess; soldering by Mr Blobby, nothing true in its construction and all the steel axles gone rusty because of inadequate cleaning up. No wonder it was awful, and completely unfair.
Current RTR has enabled far more modellers than ever to present excellent model railways, particularly with regard to locos and stock. Good for them, I say. If it means the 'death' of many kits, so be it, but those who actually build kits (and there are some splendid ones out there) will be much the poorer in my view. Yes, it's so much more egalitarian than it ever used to be; that's progress. Fortunately, unless I live longer than Methuselah, I've got more than enough to keep me going. And, they'll be soldered together!
Richard
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He is available to give lessons, his rates are two jammy dodgers a session.Richard,
Could I borrow your six year old to teach me how to solder and paint like that please? I think it looks brilliant. I wish I had had someone to teach me things like that when I was six. Excellent, and well done both of you.
It is just the matter of getting to the USA for each session which might not make it a viable option.
Richard
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The beast: A L & Y 0-8-0 in 2mm finescale
in Kitbuilding & Scratchbuilding
Posted
so 3 inches in real term over 13 plus feet. My eye in real life could not probiblly spot that discrepancy, to have the equiverlant in 2mm is outstandig on scratch builds. I doff my cap to you .
Richard