luke the train spotter

Here's my video on the van. Hope to do an update on the layout soon with the changes to the road system.

Looks good. You thinking terminus or through station?

Oh lovely exams. I found that it was worth it for the long summer holiday though and the period running up to my gcses was actually my most productive modelling time ever because I only had a very small amount of time to do my modelling so it was very condensed and I produced a few layouts I was happy with in the space of a couple weeks.

4ft by 16 inches is loads of space. You'll easily get a layout in there. You won't get the same level of operating as a larger layout but it's a different type of operation that I often find more engaging and enjoyable. With this track plan you could put the small TMD in bottom left hand tracks. Maybe one siding for fueling locos the other a small maintenance shed? http://www.freetrackplans.com/416-Railcar-Station.php

After a busy shift at work happy to get some more done on Finlarig. After test driving the can around a bit, it confirmed my suspicions that the road surface was too rough for the van so I have sanded it down. I also need road access to the fiddle yard so I can drive the van on and off scene. This was done using some 5mm foambaord, hot glue and some strips of scored card. All this stuff will be blended into the current road way (which will be repainted to match the old colour but maybe a little lighter). I may have to tweak some bits like the gate to suit the turning circle of the van but that's no a big deal. I'm very excited to see where this van can take me and my next layout will definitely have better road access to accommodate it.

A quite exciting development with the layout today. A custom built, oo gauge RC van has arrived! I ordered this to add another depth to operating finlarig as halts weren't renown for busy train services so to have something else moving and railway related on the layout seemed very appealing. The van runs very well (hope to do a YouTube video on it) and was built by a guy called JP models, a seller on Facebook. Can't recommend this guy enough! Great prices, excellent customer service and product updates and a quick build time. In other news I have got hold of an official leaflet for the exhibition where you can see finlarig halt and the RC van at. With the turn of the new year it doesn't seem that far away now!

Thanks Johna. The original grass was Polak stuff but the grass I used to re-do the layout is woodland scenics 7mm medium green, 7mm light green and 4mm dark green mixed together to get a variety of lengths and colours. Id really recommend the woodland scenics grass though, it is a little more pricey compared to javis and peco but the colours are so much more realistic.

They are ready made washes and look like these: (picture pinched from Google). I've had the flowing problem with acrylic washes I've made up myself in the past especially over plastic but these ones don't seem to have that problem. Something also important to note is how they don't really smell of white spirit or any harsh thinner which is important in my house since my family like to moan when I stink the place out with fumes.

So I had actually tried to weather them previously with a wash I mixed up with a black humbrol enamel and some white spirit which I applied over the models then rubbed off with a cotton bud. I made the stupid mistake of using a gloss finish black paint so once it had dried (24 hours later) I basically had a glossy black finish over the models which was a little frustrating and far from the effect I wanted. With the valleyo washes they were faff free and easy to get the exact right amount out of the bottle. I really liked the faster drying times (15 to 20 minutes) as I got all the wagons re-washed then powders applied in an hour. For the method of application I simply applied the wash over all the wagon then left it for 10 minutes whilst I did the other wagons then came back with a cotton bud and using vertical strokes and a bit of pressure removed most of the wash. I leave it for 10 minutes or so to allow the wash to harden up so when I come to rub most if it off I get a nice streaking effect. The washes I used were the black for the wagon bodies which I was very happy with then the brown wash for the underframes though that needs a little more experimenting with.

With a bit of spare time over the Christmas break I've weathered some new stock. I used valleyo washes and valleyo powders and they're a joy to use. This comes after a shift to favouring acrylic paints over enamels and I can't recommend the valleyo stuff enough. the photo is a little over exposed but that's just so the camera would bring out the weathering on the wagons more. I should probably stop buying and building stock and get on with that fiddle yard extension so I can store it all somewhere.

I've managed to get a Kato 11-103 chassis round 2 inch radius curves before and a minitrains loco around 2 1/2 inch radius curve. Couplings had to be hand built bits of wire though as the radius was too tight for the typical nem loop couplings.

I can now confirm that this layout will be at the EBOR 2020 model railway exhibition in Heworth, York on the 22nd and 23rd February. This is the same exhibition that Distillery Yard (more about its 2020 appearance in a later post) made its debut exhibition at last year and it was a fantastic show! To any modeller young or old, amateur or pro in the hobby I’d recommend it. It was one of the first exhibitions i went to (now 4 years ago!) and I’ve been back every year since with it always proving an inspiration. Here is a link to a website with some more details on; when I get an official leaflet I will post a picture on it here. https://railwaymodels.uk/event-ebor-group-of-railway-modellers-model-railway-show-2020-02-22#.XffuhoGnyhA To get the layout ready for the show I need to build the other fiddle yard, paint the fascia and get a curtain sorted for the layout. In other news, I ordered a very exciting bit of kit today which will take a while to get here since I’m having it custom built and it will need the roadway re-modelling properly, but more on that when it gets here after Christmas!

From my experiences I've used the cheapest I could find and it worked fine. It was card bodied with plastic ends and it worked fine. You could always re-enforce it with some wood though.

The cake box is stunning so I cant wait to see what you do with the new extension!

That back scene looks awesome! What did you use to paint it?

Couple bits of messing around with some trees left over from finlarig Halt. I've replaced some of the tired looking trees by the distillery buildings and also added some more by the end of the layout with the buffers. Simple changes but making a difference.

In between coursework deadlines I had half an hour spare so I painted the backscene. I used the same method as on finlarig halt with the green washes. Here's a picture of it. Now I'm getting somewhere, this is what I envisaged the layout to look like a year and a half ago.

A nice tidy, square build! Looks great on the layout too.

Ah well that's probably cause I've selected camera angles that hide the blemishes. Basically the black lining on the steel parts wasn't as neat as I'd have liked.

Finished the pallet wagon tonight. It's by no means perfect and is a bit meh in spots but it'll do.

I cant think of any reason why not. I have built some wagon kits before but that was a few years back and i found it fairly easy to pick up again and build. I think as long as you build it according to the instructions and dont rush it you’d be fine. Probably the hardest bit is getting the chassis square but this was fairly east to do as the chassis has some plastic tabs to help you glue everything in the right place. The only other thing to note is this wagon doesnt come with couplings but they’re easy enough to fit/lake yourself.

I cant think of any reason why not. I have built some wagon kits before but that was a few years back and i found it fairly easy to pick up again and build. I think as long as you build it according to the instructions and dont rush it you’d be fine. Probably the hardest bit is getting the chassis square but this was fairly east to do as the chassis has some plastic tabs to help you glue everything in the right place. The only other thing to note is this wagon doesnt come with couplings but they’re easy enough to fit/lake yourself.

I'm quite excited to say that distillery yard will be returning to the exhibition circuit next year with an invite for a show in the summer (more on that in a later post) and with that new exhibition opportunity I'd like to make some more improvements to the layout and the stock I run on it. I've recently managed to read a few sections of the fantastic book "iron rails and whisky trails" and realised that I haven't modelled a van train which was very common for every distillery. Since the layout is only small I've started this off with 2 vans. The first (left bottom picture) is a parkside pallet wagon kit. I've never built a parkside kit before and it was an absolute dream. It's currently standing in white primer waiting for the paint shop. The middle wagon is a 12t Bachmann vent van. This just needs a weathering to join the fleet. The third wagon is a 12t Bachmann mineral wagon. Bought second hand and it needs a good weathering and also removing the previous owners weathering attempts but not bad for £8. Once these are finished there are some other jobs that need doing like I need to redesign the fiddle yard so that it has shelves to hold more stock, fresh painted backscene, more trees, probably a new layout name board and more barrels to definitely get the point across that this is a distillery.

Thanks Chris! I've had a lot of practice and I think taking risks and just giving something a go had to really helped me learn new skills.

Marmalade wharf has now gone to a new home. I never operated the layout and it was just taking up loads of space in my very small train room so it's gone now. I might build a new layout to replace it but we'll see.