JSModels

Thank you. Yes, that was the other point about the Wills slates, they're very small really. I think I've resigned myself to doing the mill slates in thick paper, cutting & applying them individually. I think I've seen that table before, but didn't have it saved anywhere so thanks for that. I think I'm going to go with the Duchesses, at 8x4mm. Although a quick calculation has revealed that I'm going to need to cut and appy approximately 1,900 individual tiles!!! That's 95 per row, and 20 rows, BTW....* *based on a vertical pitch of 3.5mm, which is probably about right for slates of this size and the roof pitch, and gives a headlap of 1mm, which equates to around 75mm/3" at full size. There's some quite useful info on how to slate a (full size) roof here, here, and here, for those who are interested in such things. JRB

I haven't been able to get down to the club since Monday, but yesterday this turned up: This morning, armed with just a scalpel and some extra-thin cement, I got these made up: The kit includes only what's pictured here (excluding the steel rule, obviously!); there are no figures, or even the stack of timber that is prominently featured on the box. But that's no big deal really. The machines themselves are very well done, and with more than enough detail (further detail could be added, but to be honest it would be too small to be seen, especially through the mill glazing). I'm looking forward to getting them installed in the mill now! JRB

If you're painting onto the back of the glass slide, it's immaterial whether it's gloss or matt paint.

Those Highlanders are made of hardy stuff, they didn't need such luxuries!

Thanks, I did of course mean DCC Concepts, not DCC Supplies. Anyway as Crosland pointed out the Cobalt IP is not needed as I'm now going down the road of using a function decoder, and will connect that via a relay to the point motors suggested by WIMorrison.

I now have a lamp over the office door: JRB

I agree, thanks for your input on this. They look perfect! Never seen them before. I'll get a couple of those ordered (they're OOS at the moment). JRB

I think I've got this sorted in my head now! I've discovered that the function keys on the LokMaus are latching, i.e. press once and it switches ON, press a second time to switch OFF. I can use a Zimo MX617 chip, and wire it as follows: This should do the trick, I think? Only 1 shown, but can be duplicated on other output(s) for up to 4 points. Each output is rated 0.8A continuous, so shouldn't have any issue driving a sub-micro relay (one like THIS only draws around 12mA) A couple more questions, if I may? What voltage relay should I use? I really have no idea what the voltage will be on the positive pin of the chip, will it be 12V? Or will it be the DCC rail voltage at around 15-16V? Also, what type of diode should I use for snubbing the back EMF? Would 1N4005 be ok? Is there any disadvantage to using an MX617 or similar chip & not connecting anything across the motor output? Would I be better using an MX681 function-only chip? PS - I looked into the Zimo function chips that can be used to control servos - it looks far more complicated than I'm capable of dealing with!!! I think I'm going to look at other point motor options rather than the Cobalts; other than the price, they're also quite large, and may be too big to fit within the depth of the baseboard. If I can find some other, lower-profile slow-action point motors then that would be great. JRB

I've now had clarification from DCC Concepts that this will NOT work. They've said that the IP Digital point motors will only respond to accessory addresses, and will not respond to loco addresses. So now I think the plan is to use a 2nd loco decoder (essentially duplicating the one in the loco) and use each of the 2 function outputs to control a small relay. I can then use the output switch of the relay in place of the push buttons shown here: If the function buttons are set up as momentary, then it can be wired as a single normally open relay, wired between pins 7 & 9 (as per the centre one in the above image). If the buttons are latching, then I can wire the contacts as a changeover switch using pins 7, 8 & 9 as per the bottom one. Nowhere seems to have stock of the digital IP point motors at the moment (including DCC Supplies themselves) but in the meantime I need to work out the details of how to correctly wire some micro relays to a decoder without blowing it up! JRB

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I was thinking of a loco decoder, rather than an accessory decoder, so at least I was on the right lines! I've done some further research, and I now *think* that the Cobalt IP Digital point motors can be programmed to use function buttons. I've e-mailed DCC Concepts to confirm a) if that's correct, and b) if 2 point motors can use the same address, but different function buttons. If that's the case, then that would seem to be the simplest solution. If not, I'll have to go down the route of a decoder and relays as per john ks's post, and take it from there. JRB

I have a query which at first seems simple, but not knowing much about these things the more I think about it the more complicated it gets... The Problem: I have a small shunting layout, with only 2 points. This layout will only ever have one loco on it at a time. My DCC controller is a Roco 'Power Mouse 2' (LokMaus 2) and at the moment, the points are controlled by slide switches with rigid links to the tiebars. Both can be seen here: The loco is very basic, with none of the DCC functions in use. I have a loco which is very reliable, as is the automatic uncoupling, so the layout is very 'hands-off', but reaching to the front edge of the layout to change the points seems incongruous and, for me at least, ruins the illusion. So my question is this: Is it possible to control two point motors using two of the function buttons on the controller, without having to change the controller address? If so that would make the layout completely hands-off, with everything controlled very simply via the handset. I'd be very happy with that, but I have no idea how to actually achieve it! Being a shunting layout, it would be far too much hassle to have to change addresses every time you wanted to change a point, then change it back to move the loco, then change to the other point address, etc.... My first thought would be to use DCC Concepts Cobalt IP Digital point motors, with both set to the same DCC address, but I don't know if it's possible to program them to respond to different function buttons? I don't even know how these would normally be operated, the instructions on their website just says "Use your DCC system's instructions for changing a turnout"! I have the instruction manual for the controller, but point control isn't mentioned. Alternatively, I guess I could use an additional chip, with the same address as the loco, to duplicate the function switching, but I've no idea how to then use that signal to operate a point motor. I don't even know if the function buttons on this very basic controller are momentary or toggle on/off. Other than my idea to use the Cobalt point motors, I have no preference at the moment as to what type of point motor to use. I'd be open to using any type that would allow me to control them via the function switches! I don't want the solution to be overly complicated, or costly - the cost of 2x cobalt point motors (£50) is definitely the upper limit of what I can spend on this! Any obvious solutions out there? Thanks in advance, any guidance/ideas would be gratefully received! JRB

Thanks for the kind words. A light over the door would look great, that's a definite possibility! JRB

I already have, see earlier post Still needs finishing, and some more of them though! JRB

Today was spent working on the first stages of the interior, namely, the lighting. For this, I've used some cheap but brilliant (no pun intended) Christmas lights. They're similar to the coloured ones I used for my Christmas layout, but this time just warm white. They consist of tiny surface-mount LEDs soldered between two laquered copper wires, with each sealed in a blob of resin. These came as a set of 30 LEDs with a small battery box attached. I identified the polarity, and then cut the lights into 4x strings of 7 LEDs, leaving just 2 spare. The strings were hot-glued onto the underside of each floor/ceiling: And here, wired temporarily to the battery box again: At the right-hand end, I made some cuts with a razor saw & pushed into these 2x 0.5mm brass wire (left over from doing the handrail on the steps) which act as a busbar: I figured this would be quicker, easier, and neater than using wire between the floors, and wouldn't look as obvious if seen through the windows! Rather than use the battery box, I'll wire these in to the built-in 12v supply of the layout. These need ~3V, so I'm using an adjustable DC-DC converter. These have an advantage over just using a resistor, in that the output voltage can be adjusted to vary the brightness required. Here it is wired temporarily; you can see the DC-DC converter in the bottom left corner: As you can see, this was at 2.8V, and they're still probably too bright so the ability to alter it later is very welcome (these pictures were taken with the layout lighting turned off, so do appear slightly brighter in the pictures than IRL). Then I decided it was time for some glazing, so I cut some strips of acetate sheet (OHP sheets) and glued then into the building with glue'n'glaze. A few of the windows at the RH end were frosted with matt clear varnish as these are where the toilets will be (soil pipes will be added to the outside at some point...) I forgot to take pictures with the glazing in place, so you'll need to wait for the next update to see that. Hopefully there'll be some progress on the interior fittings next time too. Here's the plan for the interiors: JRB

HERE, in the announcements thread.

Pleased to see 3 new liveries of this announced this morning - DVLR 'Jim', Grant Rail, and the Express Diaries livery. Not available until September though. Not pleased to say they're £10 more expensive than the last lot... that's a 12.5% increase on the RRP!!!

The only thing I was possibly interested in were more Ruston 48DS's in new liveries. Three announced, 2 of which are too modern, plus the Express Dairies livery (which is nice, but no good for me). Oh, and the price has gone up by £10

If you only need 2D, then I can recommend LibreCAD. Totally free, can import/export DWG/DXF files. I've used it in the past for designing PCBs, and currently using it for laser cutting. JRB

Further to my thoughts a few posts back about what to use for the roof, yesterday I bought a pack of the Wills slate sheets, and set off to the club today intending to get that done. Unfortunately, when I looked closely at the sheets, I discovered 2 issues with them; firstly, the slates are quite small, and too small for the mill. Secondly though, and most importantly, the sheets DO NOT match up at the edges!!! When I squared a couple up and put them together, I discovered that the top 5 or 6 rows lined up, and the same at the bottom, but towards the middle they're a good 1/2 row out of alignment. So back to the drawing board on that one.... I then needed something else to do, and having bought a couple more 'light stone'-ish coloured paints, I decided to apply another colour on the stonework (again, sponging it lightly over the existing). This time, it was way too light, and looked awful. So awful, I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of it (not really, I just forgot). But at least the whole mill was now much lighter. As soon as that was dry enough, I then went over the whole mill again, this time with a much darker colour - the same Railmatch 'Frame Dirt' that I'd used on the bridge, and this tied the whole thing together a bit more: It looks a bit 'patchy', but it's definitely heading towards the look I was initially aiming for. Maybe I might go over it again with the same colour & try to get it a little bit more even, or maybe a few washes might help blend it all in. With that done, I did another little job I've been meaning to do for a while, and that's to solder up a handrail around the steps, using some 0.5mm brass rod: It's the first time I've done anything like this, and I just made it up as I went along. It's a bit 'blobby' (I did file some of the excess solder off after taking these!) but reasonably straight & even. I drilled a couple of blind holes in the wall to take the return pieces, so once primed & painted I glued it and the steps into position: All in all I'm really pleased with how that's turned out. JRB

I won!

Thanks. Yes, I just used plasticard - cut some strips to width, sanded the corners/burrs off, then cut to length and the ends rounded off. Currently, the plan is that the top floor will house a model railway club, with several layouts; the ground floor will be offices to the left, with the loading bay just filled with various bits of sacks, crates, boxes, etc. As for 1st and 2nd floors, one will be a woodworking shop with the machines linked a couple of posts back. Not sure what the other floor will be yet. Will have another look at the SMS stuff, but from memory it's all quite modern? JRB

Stippled on some Humbrol 94 with a bit of sponge this evening: Looks a lot better I think, but still not quite right. It looks great from a distance, but up close it's not so great. Hopefully a few washes will blend it in a bit...? JRB

Having broken off this layout to concentrate on the Christmas Tree Layout, and with that completed a couple of weeks ago, I've made a little more progress with this again. I've got the basic framework for the mill roof done, but not sure what I'm going to cover it with. It's going to be a slate roof; my options at the moment are either Wills plastic sheets, Redutex card sheets, or doing individual paper slates (though that may be a tad time consuming & mind numbing!). I looked at the York Modelmaking self-adhesive tile strips, but they seem quite expensive for the very small area each pack covers. Anyway, today I decided to crack on & get some paint on the mill. My original plan was to cut some 28x16mm pieces of masking tape, cover all the window frames, and then spray it. I cut the first few & tried applying them, but it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped & I realised it would be quicker to just paint it by hand, cutting in around each window to try & avoid getting the stone colour on the green window frames. I decided to paint this in a different way to the bridge, so that it would end up looking slightly different (but not too different). I chose Tamiya XF52 Flat Earth as a base colour & made a start: Around this point, I realised this colour was a bit darker than I wanted, but it was too late to change! So I got the rest done: I plan to go over this with a lighter colour, stippled on with a bit of foam, to alter the overall tone. This will be followed by various washes of browns, greys, and black, and a bit of drybrushing, until I end up with something I like! The more observant might notice I've painted the internal stone floor, the track infil, and the wagon turntable too. I'm not 100% happy with the stone colour on those either, and may end up re-doing that. I've bought some more christmas lights, similar to the coloured ones I used on the house on the Christmas Tree Layout, but in warm white. These will be used to illuminate the interior, and I've also found a set of woodworking machines I can use to populate one of the floors. It's quite an expensive set, but still cheaper than getting some 3D printed so I might just go for it. JRB

I submitted this image a few days ago for the 'Christmas Photo Competition' on the Hornby website (advent calendar day 14): It's been submitted on the page for the train set, so is shown without the 4-wheel coach. JRB

Or there's this one in Halifax which is an eliptical arch - a kind of half-way house between the semi-circular arch (Burnley) and segmented arch (Todmorden): Incidentally, in the above image the large rectangular wall section to the right of the viaduct was the end of a second viaduct that carried the branch line to Halifax North Bridge Station & beyond, and would have crossed the view above just in front of the camera. JRB