21A Desperado

Thank you Nick! Trev

Tonight I had a break from 'Project Mullet', and thought I would make a go on weathering another RTR wagon, this time one of my new Dapol TTA's. Nothing special, I did the usual, and took the wheels off and did them separately. Oh and Ive ordered another Brian (class 31!) - Brian the snail from the magic roundabout! - I know that was the nickname my friend (ex SY driver) gave them... Hopefully that will be here Friday. I need to get a Dutch one too,

A bit of a stressful one tonight, trying not to bu**er the whole Mullet project up with a view to gluing it all together and fitting the bogies... A few other bits ticked off the to do list included: Fitting instanters Painting and fitting of air pipes fitting of bogies to chassis Also I found out to my sheer joy that I have mislaid four of my spring clamps, leaving me woefully short. It went OK, on a scale of one to ten, Id give myself five for effort..!

Hi John, Wow thats an impressive layout, very nice indeed! Thanks for the kind comments about the wagons, Ive had a four or five year sabbatical and got into fishing again, now Im back getting glue and paint all over myself, hopefully getting better each time I build a new kit. Time to get the sharp pencil out, Im a traditional engineer, pencil and paper, no CAD for me! Thanks Trev

Hi Alan, Thank you for dropping by. I will take a good look at your thread, and by the looks of it I need to stop and take a bit of a re think as I may have been a tad naive about size (Im sure my wife would confirm that or any of my fishing companions haha!) Best regards Trev

Hi Ray Thank you for response - certainly food for thought there, and I think that I am going to have to downscale my initial thoughts on layout design! It does sound like an L or a U will be more sensible. I like that as I like shunting and to-ing and fro-ing, which is appealing. Thanks Trev

My new lunatic, Hollie. She is a rescue mog and totally and utterly raving.

I was trying to work to a picture from Flickr that was taken from the New Bank at Toton of DC967544, and I realised that the photo was one of mine! 🤪 Interesting to see the wealth of detail including faded 'Civil Link' branding, Carlisle Currock fox sticker, and a plethora of rust and wear.

A little bit more painting of the Mullet tonight, concentrating on the decks and stanchions. Not sure if I am happy with the deck colour, maybe more work to do... I think tomorrow ill try and do the bogies, fit the instanters, air pipes and try and secure the final bits together once dry.

Its OK, I didn't think you were being critical, just realistic. Its pointless me thinking I can get A scale version of Clapham Jn if in reality I can get one straight!! I am a tad concerned that my ideas are too grand! I really need to get planning! Trev

Hi Phil, I did think of an L shape originally. Thats a really good idea, thank you. Trev

Well, thats the space I have available, so we will see what I can do. You never know, I may well do something worthwhile............

Feet. I wish it was metres!!😀

I managed to sneak another hour or so tonight armed with half a dozen paint brushes and about twenty different tinlets! Ive made a start on painting the bolsters and stanchions. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, my phone was having a meltdown.

Im too scared to sell it! Ive got about 20 years worth of collecting and half a garage full! half of me says yes sell it all the other half says hang on! Eek! Dont worry, I think Ive got the space issue sussed, Im sure the room Im being given by the wife is approx 9 x 6 so (fingers crossed) I can avoid the old space trap and come up with something half decent!

Hi Nick, and thank you! Ive only got a handful of locos at present, a pair of 37's, a 31 and as you've spotted, a Jocko. Im planning on sound fitting them and then weathering when funds permit, and thought I would try and get a few wagons built first so Ive got something to run when the layout is built! A bit chicken and egg really, but my mental health isnt great, and the wagons give me something to get stuck into, which really help get through the tough times. I have been inspired by your work and would like to get a BR Blue jocko and give the it the fading treatment. Trev

Im about half way along with my Mullet build, and have spent a few hours finishing the bogie construction and getting some paint on a few bits. I've made a start on the decking, and have painted the deck edging yellow and the topside of the deck a basic browny grey. I really have to investigate the colour of the deck as I understand that it would be a weather bleached wooden structure. Ive run a coat of matt black and several shades of brown over the bogie frames and the undersides of the decking sections, then once they were dry, I couldnt resist the temptation to dry fit them all together, which was pleasing and also showed the actual size of this model which was pretty impressive! A long way to go yet.... Thank you for looking!

Excellent! Thanks for the advice!

They were a worthwhile investment! Ive not heard of split axles like that! 😄

I have a query that has been on my mind for a while, and its regarding bearings, axles and DCC. When I was dabbling in OO, when re-wheeling my rolling stock, I had to ensure that I used insulated axles to prevent a short. I assume that it is the same with O? (I am currently using Peartree models 3' 10" wheels and brass top hat bearings......) Do I need to find insulated axles?! Thanks in advance

Hi Nick, I'm a late arrival to your excellent thread, and am watching with interest. Cheers Trev

I spent a few hours at the workbench this afternoon, working on my YLA 'Mullet'. I must admit that I'm really enjoying working with 3D printed kits, it is definitely leap forward I think. So in a brief couple of hours Ive assembled the bogies and frames, primed the chassis, assembled the bolsters and their associated stanchions, fitted them to the bed plates, then gave the chassis a coat or two of matt black/brown mix. Oh, and I also glued my fingers together (twice) and tipped a thimbleful of matt black paint over myself. So flipping clumsy! Can anyone tell me what diameter wheels I need please? I am assuming 3' 10" 3 disc? Many thanks!

You know the old saying "If I fits, I sits!" 😄

I havent, but I certainly will! Thank you!

Is there anyone out there that could draw up a track design into Templot please? Im finalising a design and really want to see if it will fit in the space I have. Thanks in advance.