7mmin7foot

Nice  photo.

Superb flow of track work into / out of the station area... excellent !

Steve

Can't say I enjoy watching paint dry, but it's a necessary part of the hobby !😃

The storage tanks bund has now got got some inevitable rain water contained, won't see much of it with the tanks in situ, but it's better than the white foam board floor!

Also made a start on the the fuel delivery area, messy tikes they are... still a lot to do yet, and not yet affixed to the board.. but it's starting to look purposeful now methinks.

Be a while before the wagon gets some attention tho... Still... it's all progress..

Steve

Looking good Chris, nice and grubby , liking the mucky ballast too 👍

On my to do list too.

Steve

Literally, while waiting for paint to dry 😃  Thoughts come and go...

As a child, I can remember watching trains at the local depot / station through railings.... so this brings back memories ...

Unsure whether to keep these in place, but have to say, I do like looking through the fence...

Steve

Super layout Phil, very atmospheric, great video too.

Steve

A little more progress here n there.

Mock up of hard standing started, but awaiting more materials to have a proper go at it...

Clearly won't be clean concrete though. 

Still far too clean and clinical ...bring on the muck soon....

Yes, my man has yet again walked in some Smurf poop... it gets everywhere !

Also added a little more tarmac to the rear of the layout, still needs toning down and detailing, but all the main elements are now in.

After 6 months work, it's now starting to come together nicely now, and will continue to improve now the bases are in place.

Now... where my to do list...........

Steve

Glad that's behind me  ;o)

Board 2 base ballast sorted, need to build on that with much oil, fuel spills and general muck and stuff..

Will be a while before I get to that though..as much other stuff to be done....

Also made a start on the prep work for the hard standing area...

Coming together nicely now methinks. 

Steve

17 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I think that's looking great - very neat work! As you say, it needs a good dose of grime to tie it in. Well worth the effort to get the texture right.

Cheers Mol !

Well that's the first boards base layer dried and cleaned up.

Far an away too clean and clinical, but it has to start somewhere..at least the base is done.. 

A little more ground base layers to add around the buildings and tanks yet.

Yes the slabs need much work too.. but its a start..and I look forward to the detailing parts.

This mucky pup scenery will be my first, having always modelled Swiss chocolate boxes... ;o)

So looking at lots of web and pictures you guys have posted, thanks !

Two out of three points (cobalts)  were stuck..and needed freeing off, thanks to the  ballast glue..

Point 3 will require some intensive care , but I shall need to separate the boards... I shouldn't have put faith in those self adhesive pads as supplied..

The recent warm weather has allowed #3 to pop off under the board leaving the pad in situ.

My first time ever using cobalts, so lesson learned...They will ALL be screwed and fixed in situ, belt n braces methinks...

Nothing too dramatic.. just hope no trains want to switch  tracks... 

Have to say, despite my dislike of ballasting, it is bringing it together nicely, and when mucked and oiled up with a bit of  greenery, and clutter will look the part..

Onward we go.. board 2...

Steve

Made a start on board ballasting (seems  it  is a marmite thing... love it or hate it).

Still a long way to go.. its far too light in colour for a start... but that will change in due course with plenty of muckiness and oil deposits, fuel leaks  etc. ....

Considering how it's a chore that I dislike, its starting to look ok and starting to bring the model scene together.

Onward we go.... 👍

Steve

Thanks, your airbrush technique is quite refined compared to a spray bottle..

I have had some  movement of the ballast grains..but luckily used a very fine spray bottle... not as fine as an airbrush tho!

Funny, how its a marmite sort of thing.. ballasting...  ;o)

Steve

2 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I've done some ballasting, which I actually quite enjoy. Unfortunately I ran out of ballast after doing about 2 metres, so I've had to order some more.

Looking fab Mol,

Ballasting - My pet hate , out of all the tasks on a model railway layout, its the one thing I'd rather 'outsource' ! Never liked or enjoyed it... but appreciate the end result... not the journey.

Just started this 'chore' on mine.. 4 hours laying the stuff on about 8 foot of track...and still no where near completed.

I do agree though, it instantly changes the appearance of the track and the scenery, just a pain in the  *** doing it !

On the upside... O is a little easier than HO ever was, and warmer weather will dry it nicely...   ;-)

Steve

1 hour ago, ChrisS said:

 

Thanks Steve - agreed, definately escapism from this mad world!

 

I revisited one of my earlier projects this weekend. I used my lining pen and a steady hand

Why is there always one, if not two, where the rules do not apply!

 

When I was growing up my scout leader had a black Rover SD1 V8 and it was a beast of a car- it was so comfortable and seemed very quick! Meanwhile my dad opted for a beige Austin Maestro with a chocolate brown interior, with no sun roof or electric windows for his BT company car.

 

It ended up being my first car some 9 years later. I have fond memories of turning up at Santa Pod and the car being Max Powered with stickers from said magazine!

 

Till next time.

 

Looking  cool Chris,  I can remember similar signs..

Sigh..Back in the day...

How I remember my Ford Cortina mk3 days, spoiler, bonnet scoop, polished and ported head ,alloys....  uprated suspension and brakes,  big exhaust.... insurers didn't bother  back then with the so called 'mods' ..  stickers covered up the wing rust spots ;o)

Now you need to be a computer tech to work on  todays cars.... but I guess they are safer , quieter, more economical...

hmm... less fun tho..

Steve

Ah well, the necessary evil project beginneth....

Everything removed that can be, area's masked off as required... start yer rattle cans... , add mask and get ready to evacuate the building..

The first / base coat of paint to the track work.....

Have to say, it kinda starts to bring it all together...

Rail heads all cleaned and locos and points tested.. all good.

More detailing of chairs etc to follow as well as getting ever closer to the worst part of the project... ballasting.... (yak).

Has to be done ;o)

Steve

4 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

So would I if I'd just stood in the biggest seagull dollop you ever saw, like he has.... 😂😂

Re the fuel track grilles, I do hope the planned weathering includes a touch of dry brushing with something like gun metal paint, just to highlight that lasered mesh. 👍👌

Indeed...Or is it Smurf Poop ;o)

He's really gonna feel pain when he gets a pin in his feet 😀

Nothing is yet finished, weathered or detailed...so yes they will get 'treatment', they are simply in situ as I need to establish where ballasting will start and end on each track.

The grilles can only be fitted to unballasted track.. 

Just getting the basic infrastructure in situ, prior to track painting and  ballasting, but doing a few mini projects before that ( aside from which, ballasting has always been my least favourite thing! ). With each step taken, the 'to do list' gets ever longer...  ;o)

Another hour on a mini project...

Amazing how these little mini projects added together start to bring the whole scene into focus.

Getting a forklift ( yet to be purchased) across from the tarmac to the service hard standing between the tracks has been mocked up.

Have to get those drums and palletised bulk containers/ consumables to the loco's somehow.

Again, only loosely placed, and as yet incomplete.... as I need to identify where the future ballasting will start and end.. still a long way to go yet...

A few pics of loco's too ;o)

Steve

Great busy depot scenes Chris ! 

Much of the shed visits to my layout are not often productive, I find sitting alongside mine , thoughts come and go... 

Then the odd light bulb moment illuminates the next move...

It's all therapy, and escapism, away from the mad world we live in...  enjoy it ;o)

Keep the updates coming, they are fab !

Steve

As its a tad warmer.... the rattle can mini projects continue ;o)

This time the fuel grids at the fuel points...Needed to prep and paint these prior to track painting and eventual ballasting.

They won't fit in situ when track is ballasted so I needed to work out exactly where these will go, start and end points etc.

I also need to order another set....and some other 'stuff' from railway laser lines.

Have to say these are really quite filigree models, again expensive for that they are..( laser cut card), but with the amount of detail they add (even in the raw) is quite impressive. There are literally hundreds of tiny little holes lasered into them..

Assembly was  straightforward, placement, not so much... entirely down to me, not the product..

I should have used a sleeper spacer tool when laying  the flexi track! 

Inevitably ( entirely due to my track laying) they needed a little trimming here and there to fit over some of the sleepers... ah well.. am sure they will look ok when completed and oiled up.

Fortunately these will be adjacent to hard standing area's so the bodges won't be visible ;o)

Just primered, and a quick spray of black base colour and they come out a treat... used an entire rattle tin of black too !

A few pics  of before and after ... clearly a lot more work to be done ( and on the entire layout)...... but had to make a start..

The track will be sprayed under the grids so the gaps in track won't be seen through the holes.

Steve

The garish red oxide brickwork of the pump house has been toned down and mortar joints filled, looking loads better methinks.

A new valve has been fitted on one of the pipes on the delivery/ receiving side of the pump house.

Next will be the roof and some more pipe / valve operations, and a few other little details.

Really enjoyed this mini kit build, only small but makes such a difference to the scene.

Well pleased with it. 

Steve

The Pump House is almost complete, just the roof and mortar joints and a little weathering to be done.

Also need to make up some signage too..

While waiting for it to dry, a few little tweaks occurred...

The fuel siding was shortened a tad allowing better access to the pump house.

Pipe work / runs positions  have been slightly altered , which I feel look better.

Very pleased with the pump house building, a super little kit  to build too.

Steve

Before, after  tweaking shots, and a photo of the real pump house ..

Ballasting looks good Chris...

A 'chore' on my own 'to do list' that is.......after the track is painted... and.....and....

I look forward to seeing more progress on Swindleton, keep up the good work.

Cheers

Steve

Started another mini project, the  Railway Laser Lines Pump House.

What a cracking little kit this is, really well designed, and some of the best fitting corner brickwork I have experienced.

A tad expensive for what it is, but everything now seems expensive as I get older...😀

Clever method of build too.. all laser cut interlocking parts form an interior skeleton, and the brick facings form an exterior skin.

When painted and assembled with a little sanding, the outer simply slips over the inner parts.. very clever that.

Anyways, with the masking , painting, drying  and assembly just this far has taken me most of today... but time flew past.

Still a long way to go with it yet, but it's a great addition to my scenics... and will look fab with the all the pipework etc..

To be continued.......

Cheers

Steve

May already ?

A few more smallish / mini projects as its been a little warmer..

All the back ground structures removed and the back scenic ply board has been painted, thus adding a little more colour to the scene, rather than the wooden ply shade it replaces.

Again, nothing ( other than track) is glued down, to facilitate this and also when time comes for ballasting...just so much easier to work on the individual structures while the layout is 'in progress'.

Tried using a printed back scene but the so called special back scene glue was rubbish.. hardly any tack and wouldn't stick.. just a soggy creased mess.. so was binned.

Simples paint.. will do.... and so it is .. 'This is the way' ....👍

Wondered what to do with the gap on the back scene, between the first set of buildings and the storage tanks.

Decided security fencing will be added and some sort of 'in progress construction' behind.

Needs some more scenic  work.. but this fills the gap effectively, and will look ok from my viewing / operating position.

The small base in between is the footprint for the pump house... another mini project on the to do list.

At some point soon, I shall be spraying the track in its dark base colour. It will have to be a last job of the day though due to the paint fumes.

Then can start to detail the track and start the wretched ballasting task... ( yak) 

On the upside... it won't be as bad as the HO Swiss stuff I did last year.. Being O and 7mm.. the track is sooo much bigger and less of it... ( yay )😃

Slow.... but steady progress..👍

Steve

9 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Thanks Steve!

 

After agonising for years about how to make the bridge, it turned out to be quite easy in the end. A bit of design and CAD work with advice from friends about tolerances, upload the drawings and within 5 days the parts were delivered. The cost was about £250 including delivery and VAT, so not cheap but not nearly as bad as it might have been. To that I'll need to add the cost of bribing a friend with TIG welding skills to stick it together.

 

The viaduct is a key part of the layout: by far the biggest structure on the Broc branch, it's the first thing you see as you walk through the door, and it's at eye level, so it needs to be good for that 'wow' moment. The real thing has 3 spans and I only have room for one, but even so it's 3'6" long and quite dominant.

 

Cheers,

Mol

Mol,

In O Gauge, that's not overly expensive in my view,, and made of metal ( stainless steel) too !

For something that is so impressive ( wow factor tick) and unique to your layout, based on the real thing.

It will be spectacular matey... 

Steve

Wow, that's some spectacular  model engineering.

It will be a superb structure when completed. Most impressive !

Steve

Sometimes.. life , domestic and garden duties intervene in modelling time... especially when trying to do outside stuff in between the rain!

As such, I enjoy doing a few little jobs for the layout, rather than tackling anything big.

The air-con installs  was such a small project so made a start..

Painting , adding a bit of conduit for the leccy supply... I am well pleased with how they turned out.

These small additional details really add to the scenics methinks ( Still  loads to do..)

Need to get a few more to keep the inhabitants  of the units happy and cool when needed 😃

Steve

Steve