Dave John

Its a real building ? Honestly, I always thought it was a model by Allan Downes......

Thanks. I think the tiles are a bit too red, difference between the on screen image and the print. I will get some matte photo paper and see if its better. They are actually a photo from a close up the street built early 1890s, so the pattern and patina should be about right.

Interesting Corbs. I keep looking at maps from the Edwardian era, the thing that hits you is the sheer quantity of railway lines. The area around Empress docks is so typical, I see the same quantity of lines in all the old Glasgow maps.

So I have been making some bay windows. A few false starts but I think the ones I have ended up with have come out all right. Looking at the way the platform building was constructed; it is essentially a set of regularly spaced lateral girders holding up the roof supported by brick pillars. Th bits in between can be thought of as curtain walls , and the most symmetrical bits are the bay windows, hence the reason for starting with them is that defines the areas in between. Anyway , first thing some fancy windows. As ever the silhouette helps, effectively scribing all the astricals. I then ran some dilute ink into them and some paint round the edges. The inner and outer frames are added on the flat. helps to pre -paint them. So there we are just cut them out and stick them together. The dado is made up from 1mm quarter round with a strip of 1.3 mm 10 thou stuck on top. The walls were brick, but the L&D tiled them. In the case of Partick central brown below the dado, white above. They were laid in the same pattern as plain bond brick, but were smaller. The bit shown is experimental, not happy with it yet. Oh, and I made some chimneys based on photos of the originals. Really, simple plain ones? Heh , I wish…… Slow but useful progress.

If you are visiting the museum walk out from the city centre and along the edge of the exhibition centre. The big stone wall supporting the railway is worth a look for its sheer scale. To the north of the museum the railway crosses the Kelvin. Nice girder bridge. The Kelvin was effectively culverted by the construction of Partick Central for the L&D in the 1890s. As a very early mass concrete structure it is worthy of examination. As to the museum itself. Hmm. If I start commenting I will say something which would be thought of as distinctly politically incorrect. Really, probably one of the best model ship collections in the world and most of it is in storage? I must shut up before I say something like " its naff and laid out by folk who have never worked on a railway locomotive or a ship and would phone the AA to change a wheel on a car" No honestly I didn't say that .........

A couple of pannier tanks even ended up in Scotland. I notice that you have "Revell contacta " on the bench. So thats two of us that use it a lot. Odd stuff, but smells of lemons and tastes sweet. Which leads me to think its a limonene compound in a gel. I really like it as a plastic glue, it is slow and gives enough time to adjust stuff. Unlike the liquid solvents it stays put, MEK like things just flow all over and set too fast. Anyway, enough of glue tasting, good to see you chopping stuff up Corbs.

Nice. I like the mortar in the brickwork too( 3rd pic) , some of the best I have seen modelled.

Well, stuff on the traverser stays there, but I am very careful about shutting out direct sunlight. I have had bleaching problems with all sorts in the past. As a wise man once said " If it wasn't for Venetian blinds it would be curtains for all of us ............. " Sorry.

My worry is scrap etch. Over the years I have made all sorts of things from the bits left over from etched brass kits. But what if I run out ? Really somebody out there should start selling etches of usefully sized scrap etch....

Heh, I bet there are bits of the tramway still buried under the tarmac on South Street Ian. Certainly feels like it when you drive down it though officially the rails have been lifted. The CR lines along the embankment are now a walkway / cycle path, come the good weather the Caledonian pup and I will walk it with a camera and do a blog. There is a good burger van just along from where the photo was taken. Satisfied customer etc .......

I keep popping in, my blog shows what I am doing with the silhouette. Really I wouldn't be without it now. I have done stuff which I could not possibly do by hand, so thanks all for the research.

Reading with interest. I have tried focus stacking and so far I have failed. So keep discussing it, I might find out what I'm doing wrong ....

First place to have a look would be over here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/63-electrics-non-dcc/ To give any advice people would need to see a trackplan and know what sort of pointwork you have.

I find IPA is fine. Years ago I looked at rtr track cleaning stuff. Custom pads, special liquids, cost. So I knocked this up from junk box bits. The pads are roll up filter tips dipped in IPA Place the finger on the manual traction and force adjustment device ( ok, the drawing pin on top ) and push it round the track, easy since the wheels guide it . The pads are cheap enough to be disposable.

google "wellington statue glasgow pics" for a veritable archive of examples. Just a thought off the top of my head.........

I have had another go at the valence, new blade and a revised set of cutting curves. The elements still need cleaning up, but overall a bit of an improvement. So that let me push on a bit with the roof. Just some snapshots to give an idea of what it will look like in position. Still a long way to go. Having got to that stage I think its time to have a think about the building itself

Well, a similar 4-4-0. Fixed rear axle, beam from second driver to bogie. Split frame bogie for pickups, 3 point compensated bogie. Ok, I'm not a painter, but it never stalls and handles 8 coaches with ease. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-18429-some-maintenance/

There is something very satisfying about soldering brass etches up to make small things. I made that langley one up years ago. Ok, the benches are a bit odd, but I model Partick. They would nick a GWR bench for the back close on the way home from holidays. Justifiable load for any CR cct ......

I do like the 3d printed stuff you are making. Its on my list of things to be closely looked at ....

Well, I might end up doing that PT. Thing is I will need nearly 5 feet of the stuff so it would be pricey. I have ordered a couple of new blades Mikkel. Spent the afternoon revising the design so it will be a smoother cut rather than lots of small ones. Hopefully that will help a bit.

I have been looking at valences. Why ? Well, I have got on a bit with constructing the platform buildings. The roof would have ended about an inch or so over the ogee cast gutter. Between the gutter and the end of the roof supporting girders would be the valence. So in order to get the roof overhang right I need to know how thick the valences are going to be. Which more or less means I have to know how I’m going to make them. Well thats simple then, get on with making the valences Dave. ( harumpf ….. ) Now there are many which you can buy ready made in card, plastic or etched brass. But of course these varied by company and date. Some were nice and simple, just a point on the end of a plank of wood. Some were however insanely fancy. ( harumpf ….. again) Ok, so did the L&D go in for a nice simple pointy stick type valence? Nope. They went for an insanely fancy one. Which, of course, is nothing like any of the fancy ones available ready cut in card, plastic or brass. Here is a section of a photo which shows the shape rather well. (Some serious harumpfing ….. ) My experiments so far consist of putting that into the silhouette software and using it to create a cutting shape. Scale it to size and then the silhouette cuts it out. Ok, so a picture of a cut piece. I’m not happy with it yet. For starters it creates a very complex file which takes ages to cut. Because it is many cuts it is almost nibbling the shape out rather than cutting, so much scalpel work is still required. I think I am pushing the limits of what the silhouette can do down at that size. Anyway, overcoming obstacles is the fun of modelling so I’ll persevere for a while and see whether I can get it to work. With of course a lot of harumpfing …..

I love the cameo with the gramophone.

Many years ago I was asked to have a look at a Z train set that a friend of a friend had bought while stationed in Germany. The usual, bad running after being boxed up too long. I managed to get it all cleaned and working but it was a bit of a nightmare, tiny bits of cotton bud held in tweezers to clean the mechanisms and much peering though glass to see it all. Maybe modern tech would enable it all to make it all work. I am constantly amazed by what some folk manage in 2FS. Either way, it sounds like a fun thing to have a go at.

All the nylons expand as they absorb water, but the extent depends on which particular nylon is used. There is a lot of data out there on the net, with some suggestions that it can be reversed by heating the components. Might be an idea if the rtr manufacturers looked at other plastics, but that might push up costs.

Many years ago I played with N, when most British outline was Lima or minitrix. Anyway I was digging through some old envelopes of transfers today and found this, 70s vintage I think. If I get really stuck for something to do I might build it..........