col_kilgore

More progress on the loading hopper ; Just different Wills and Slaters sheet a good tip I read somewhere on here is to use Wills corrugated glazing ( which has the same relief as the iron cladding ) for more complex shapes as it was a lot easier to cut the angles for the roof pitch on the sides of the structure hopefully once painted they should look the same ; Fuzzy pic of the mock up , just need to start work on the conveyor next ;

Right , about time I cracked on with the aggregate loading facility; Just Wills iron cladding sheet and some plastic girder strip , as can be seen at this point it's just a box on stilts and will need more girder support and a roof and a proper conveyor adding. Here is a mock up of the sort of thing I'm aiming for and to show were it will sit on the layout ; Here it is against some of the scenery to set it off a bit better ;

Yet more dirty yellow machinery ; This came about after seeing the NCB liveried 04 shunter from Bachmann , fancying something similar I set out to see what I could do. I already had the old split chassis Bachmann 04 so I picked up a Dapol Drewry kit and set about getting it to fit the chassis. Here you can see the wonky wire handrails I fitted , obviously proper scale knobs would have been better but from normal viewing distances I dont think they look too bad ! ( for a first attempt ) Anyway with the addition of three links and a few coats of warning yellow and a good mucking up I'm quite pleased with the results ;

Ive been working on some vehicles to go on the layout , here is an Oxford Diecast Transit that I picked up for 50p ! Repainted it and added some roof rails for ladder storage ; As I'm thinking of the layout being some sort of mineral loading facility I thought I could use a loader , after looking at the Dapol JCB and not really liking it I searched for an alternative and found lots of them in the German HO ranges , I had to search a bit through Ebay to find this Wiking Hanomag ordered from Germany as the ones available from UK sellers were more the modern Volvo types. Anyway repainted from the original orange into yellow and given a good mucking up I think it looks the part ;

Fantastic , I think I'm going to be borrowing this idea ( if you dont mind that is !)

Was quite reasonable , was only a hundred new pence , a real bargain .

I am using one of my own actually It can be quite a challenge trying to look "nonchalant " browsing the ladies section in Poundland.

Well thats a bit of pressure off ! Anyway been doing some more scenic work ; Like on previous layouts I have made I used sand for ballast for an " ashy " yard type look. When using sand I have usually just layed the sand as usual and then painted it , this time round I coloured the sand first with black acrylic paint to get that grey " ashy " look . After drying I brushed some white weathering powder over with a big fluffy blusher brush to bring out some of the detail .I then took the trouble to repaint the sleepers and rail sides , just need to clean off the rail tops. P.S Sorry the pics are a bit blurry , I must get my proper camera out rather than use my phone !

Hopefully so Obviously still a way to go but still plenty of time ( I think )

Just a scratchbuilt shed taken from my previous layout with a Ratio linesman's hut tacked on .

And heres the result ;

Dont worry all evidence of the crime was dealt with , Anyway , lets get some grass growing , so out with the puffer bottle ; Here we have a pic of my exotically garish rockery ; Not really of course , just an idea I came up with for shrubbery , the brown stringy stuff is I think nylon unravelled from one of the snapped drawstrings from my daughters school kitbag. It strarted out bright yellow so just coloured it with some brown paint and left it to dry .PVA was then brushed over it and some flock was liberally sprinkled on. The piece to the side shows the before and after .

I was actually thinking of something along similar lines , will have a muck about and see . Anyway as my Beloved has gone out for the afternoon I can get messy ; I fancied something little different from the usual stone retaining walls so mocked up some iron piling using Wills box profile sheet ; Obviously still needs painting up and setting in but I quite like it . The only slight problem is the Wills sheets are a bit thick and dont have the profile on the reverse.

Right , point rodding. Some thing nice and simple using one of many variations on a theme ; Just uses a connection from inside a choc block on the end of the wooden rod ; Just needs needs cutting down a bit on the front ;

Hi mate I used SCARM , its a free program , really simple and easy to use .

Just a small update After mucking around for a bit , have decided to go with the simple plan ; I know its limited the operation a bit , but , to me it just works better visually . So track laid and wired up , now to make a start on the scenery , ballasting etc etc !

Hi mate , yes the points are just standard Peco set track points with streamline plain track ( the Hornby one is just for planning purposes ). As the layout is being built with an eye to exhibition and like my other layout I exhibited , be set up for use by the "public" I think code 100 and set track points are that little bit more rugged. As for running qualities I have never really found set track points to be a problem even with short wheelbase loco's. Thanks for the alternative plans as well , I will have a mess about and see what works .

Trying to decide between the two ; I like the simplicity of the second one although the first has that little bit more operation

Well , after being caught up with "modellers block" I took the plunge over the weekend and finally started on my next project ; As can be seen the track plan is yet to be finalised so theres little to show at the moment although hopefully that will soon change.

Chop chop then , where's the pics ?

Well it fits ! Here it is after installation ; All in ll I'm quite pleased with how its turned out.

Here is the first project that I am currently working on. I was asked to make a girder bridge for this layout ; Above you can see the gap that needed spanning . Originally the plan was to use Wills vari-girder but after rummaging around in a few boxes none could be found , so I decided to see if I could scratchbuild something suitable ; Here it is after painting mocked up , hopefully no one will notice there's no rivets or bolts holding it together !

I have recently had the good fortune to be invited to contribute to one of the layouts run by Famous Trains in Markeaton Park , Derby , so I thought I would start a blog on any projects I get to work on. Firstly I would recommend anybody with an interest in Model Railways within the East Midlands area to pay them a visit or have a quick peek at their website ; www.famoustrains.org.uk/ As all work is undertaken on a volunteer basis they are always on the lookout for people to give a little time to contribute their skills in the upkeep and evolution of their layouts so if anybody fancies lending a hand then get in touch with them through their website.

Can anybody tell me if the Hornby 25 is regarded to sit too high on its bogies ? . Its just that having recently got a Craftsman detailing kit it recommends lowering the ride height , anyone have any opinion before I get the big hammer and chisel out .

Something I spotted on my travels , luckily I had the old " Instamatic " on me