justin1985

I haven't had much chance to do much modelling at all in the last few months, but the Christmas holidays have given me a chance to get back to the 2mm modelling. I eased myself into it by building a wagon chassis. Wagons are always my favourite part of modelling and I'd picked up a PECO "Colmans Musrard Traffic" van - prototypical livery - but completely the wrong body, being an SR refrigerated van. Still, there's no way I'd be able to replicate the livery, so I built an Association replacement chassis. Along with a bit of weathering I think it really improves the look of the thing. Also in the picture is an Association etched J94 chassis. The chassis I previously built for the old style Jinty eventually got to a state of running reasonably well, but with a bit of hesitation when going backward only. I'm pretty sure the problem is the motor mount and bodged sleeves for the 1mm motor shaft (as fiddling makes it better, intermittently). Anyway, with the new Jinty and conversion kit looking much better, I've lost the drive to get it fettled and finished off. But, learning the lessons, I'm building the J94 for another spare old Farish body I had laying around. This time the motor came with a nice long 1.5mm sleeve, so I'll use that with a stub axle in the two "gearbox" bearings, and leave the motor restrained by much thinner more flexible wires and blu tak (used very stout wire on the Jinty, which I think is much of the problem). Another diversion was an attempt to produce a scale (ish) working street/platform oil lamp. Every commercial working N gauge lamp I've seen has been hideously over scale. I didn't fancy trying to rig something up with surface mount LEDs in the lamp itself, but it struck me the Ratio lamp moulding, which is mainly solid translucent plastic, could be used with fibre optics. I replaced the post with an equivalent length of 1.5mm OD, 1mm ID brass tube, and wrapped around, tweaked and soldered some 0.4mm wire to represent the wrungs at the top. I then ran a 1mm fibre optic up the middle, roughed up the end that sat nicely inside the moulded lamp, and connected it to a flat topped warm white LED with heat shrink. The result isn't terribly bright, but then the real thing wouldn't have been either, I don't imagine? The closest resistor I had to hand was 1K (working from 9v battery) so imagine I could make it a tad brighter by swapping this for a lower resistance one. I did consider trying to find even thinner tube and optics, but I imagine the result would be even dimmer? Here's the works Happy New Year! Justin

I registered interest for 4 units when this project was announced - I'd probably be prepared to increase this to 6 or maybe even 8 if it comes to it! Has the project been promoted via line societies at all? I very rarely use the Great Eastern Society Yahoo! email group myself, but it is quite active. This and other relevant line societies might be a way of drumming up a few more collector orders? J

Didn't see any sign of them at Warley - the only new steam model showing any progress was the painted sample of the Schools. I wouldn't hold your breath for them any time soon - Dapol seem to have more or less given up on N gauge this year.

I noticed that the engineering sample of the Pacer that Dapol had in their case at Warley still looked like the windows were on the short side. I had forgotten the details of the conversation on here when I was looking at it, so can't comment on whether the problem was the gap between the windows and the rivet line (discussed above) or whether everything was too high - either way it certainly looked "wrong" The painted sample 33 did look very good though!

Just got back from holiday and first saw this in Rail Express which had dropped through the door - very exciting! I've registered interest in 2 x NSE sets and 2 x first Great Eastern sets, and might even be tempted into one or two more to help ensure production goes ahead, if it comes to it! I take it the 1000 is across all liveries? Is there anything we can do to help promote the project? Frankly I'm not bothered about running numbers or whether the 321/3 or /4 is depicted - the prospect of a high quality RTR model with a factory paint job in liveries like NSE leaves any other route to a model of the GEML in the dust. I'd much rather have a high quality model with an incorrect window detail than no model, the effort of building one from scratch, or something bodged together with vinyl. I'm also slightly surprised at all the requests for a OO version - what is wrong with the Bratchell version? They look very good to me, seem to be effectively ready to run, and are not outlandishly expensive (compared to Bachmann unit trains of similar length etc). Justin

Well, I'm not sure if its the talc, having poked around at the thinnest corners of the mould with a scalpel and tweezers to open out the thinnest bits, or removing the mould from its lego frame before trying to flex out the cast parts to get more flex and hopefully put less pressure on the mould. Either way, I've done another two batches, and all have turned out essentially perfectly! Well, apart from extra flash around the corners where I was poking with a scalpel and evidently created little slits into the mould - better too much than too little though. I can't see the EMU roof mould lasting very long after this abuse, but it will have served its purpose if I can get four "perfect" matching driving car roofs to produce 2 N gauge class 309 EMUs. Next up will be a 2mm pre-grouping covered sand wagon and outside framed van, once I get around to finishing the masters ...

Would the talc on the mould would help the resin flow, or help to ease the casting out and avoid snapping the thin edge? Would normal Johnsons baby talc do the job (have some kicking around at home), or is Tirantis stuff special? Justin

Moulds are single part - don't have time to sort a photo now but will try to later or tomorrow. I am tempted to try and carve a slither of the rubber off the mould to open up the overhanging section of the roof. Would probably result in a wedge shaped fillet, but easier to do it that way and file back the casting, maybe?

Right, I made my mould for a pair of EMU roofs and a hopper wagon roof on Saturday, and had three shots at casting from it today. The first attempt seemed to go quite well, but in each of the casts there was a large bubble in each of the corners - inevitably. On later attempts I used a cocktail stick to poke around, which brought a few bubbles to the surface each time, which improved the result no end. First attempt on the right. Is it even worth trying to fill holes this big that penetrate through both sides, or just bin it? I imagine Miliput would work better than Squadron Green putty or similar on resin? After a bit of hacking to the bottom where the master hadn't quite been in contact with the base of the mould causing a bit of a lump underneath, they fit quite well (noticed after took picture that this one isn't sitting quite properly on the left, probably just needs a bit more filed off the underside). The main thing I wanted to cast turned out slightly less successfully - roofs for a class 309 EMU. I had laboriously filed and sanded an existing Mk1 roof into shape for the domed end with corridor connector that is characteristic of this type, and didn't fancy repeating it. Again first time around I had bubbles in the corner, but in later attempts I never seemed to end up with both the domed end and the (wafer thin) projecting corridor end of the roof both cast cleanly. Clearly the master was just too thin to cast reliably on the corridor end. On the third attempt there were no bubbles, but I managed to snap off a small amount of the corridor end as i wiggled it out of the mould Is it worth trying to "cut and shut" the castings to combine the good end from one with the opposite good end of another? (which glue would work best for this? epoxy?) Or keep trying/alter the mould? Cheers Justin

I asked about viscosity, but the staff in the shop said that for small moulds the difference would be negligible (and if I had trouble bubbles, paint on a first layer before pouring) so I might as well start with the cheapest one! I wasn't 100% convinced by this, but figured it might be better to start with the cheapest, see if there is a problem, and if necessary work up, rather than start with the most expensive (and viscous) and carry on using it if its unnecessary. I'll make a start over the weekend and post progress! Justin

Many thanks for all of the help and tips! I called into Tiranti today and on their advice got some G26 resin and T28 silicone moulding rubber. I'll try and start experimenting later this week by copying some ready made parts before moving on to using my own masters. Justin

Many thanks all, really helpful replies. I feel like I've got a much better idea of how to set about designing the mould, and what to look for choosing a resin. Graeme's thread on the LNER forum is seriously impressive! I've ordered some Lego and I'll try to collect the resin etc later in the week.

I've been meaning to make a start on some resin casting for a while now, mainly to replicate some custom wagon and coach roofs, detail parts etc for 2mm/N gauge - so nothing big - in fact some probably very small parts. I had a great chat with someone doing demonstrations at the St Albans show back in January (was it jonhall on this forum?) and was recommended Tiranti, who conveniently have a shop just around the corner from my current office at Warren Street in London. However, I still haven't got around to it, and I'm soon to move job, so I figure I should just get on with it and make a start while its still convenient! I've picked up quite a few little tit-bits and tips by searching the forums, but can't really find any general tutorials or recommendations on the basics. I can't remember which specific products were recommended at St Albans. Tiranti have a bewildering selection listed on their website, and while I'm sure they'll be helpful when I go in, it would be nice to have an idea of what to get in advance! I figure I need an RTV rubber for making the moulds, but which one? (can't seem to see one that matches the usual pink colour I see on threads on here?) And which resin? I think I've seen polyurethane F31 recommended? Do I need their mould release spray? And if I build mould boxes from Lego (looks surprisingly expensive these days!), is it normal to work on a Lego base plate, and then mount the master on a smooth base (plasticard, plasticine?) sealed in with plasticine, or just stick the "walls" to a plasticard base somehow? Is there anything else I should look out for? It looks like it is important to measure the resin by weight, rather than volume, so are disposable plastic cups on a cheap digital kitchen scale ok? Is careful pouring and/or jiggling with a sandpaper-less orbital sander sufficient for getting rid of bubbles on the kind of scale I have in mind? Thanks for any advice! Justin

Hi Chris, I have been half working on a chassis and detailing kit for the PECO grain wagon. I designed it for longer N gauge axles so the solebars would still line up with the strapping and end framework. I also designed a "comb" as a jig for replacing the existing body side strapping with the later style flat section, using thin microstrip. However, as you say there is a real lack of detail about underframe, which caused me to grind to a halt and leave the project to one side. This would be part of my first attempt at etching, so I'm sure you could do a better job anyway if you tackled it! Justin

Love the farmalls Gareth! Where did you get hold of the transfers for them? Seems GHQ try to keep away from branding so I'm guessing they don't come with the kit - John Deere described as "green tractor" etc!

Many thanks Chris. The Yahoo VAG emails had been bouncing from the email account I had used (inbox full) and I only just realised, so hadn't seen the notification. I did try searching the message archive for "terrier chassis" but seemed to mainly find things related to Jerry's earlier build! Anyway, I have them now, very useful, thanks! It looks like for the J39 the lubricator would have to be fabricated by hand? (or did J39s ever run without them?) Justin

Hi Jo, I only just discovered this thread - reminded me that I'd bought a Bach\Far old style 31 with the intention of doing a similar detailing job to give a late 80's/early 90's condition refurbished Railfreight grey 31. Which BHE parts did you use? Their list is rather cryptic, and there are several items that might be the right "domino" headcode plate etc. The fire access hatches seem self explanatory, and I'm sure one of their other diesel buffer beams would do while TPM is out of action. I did already get one of their 31 roof fan grilles, but it looks like you decided to keep the original? How did you do the bodyside panel lines? I was thinking along the lines of using masking tape to attach plastic strips to the sides to use as straight edges to run an olfa P-cutter along. Tempted to try the handrail recesses in the way RBE described on the Millers' Dale thread. Did you consider adding working lights? I'm torn between modelling a loco with or without the high intensity headlight - the other lights seem so dim as to hardly be worth bothering, but I wonder if its practical to squeeze an SMD LED behind a little bit of fibre-optic through the headlight? Justin

Hi Chris, I was excited to see in the latest 2mm newsletter that the Terrier and J39 chassis are both now available - I have an orphaned terrier body that's been waiting for a 2mm chassis for some time, and I also have a J39 with turned down wheels that I'm not totally happy with so tempted to get a chassis for that too. However, there aren't listed on the website yet, so no details on the wheel and gear combinations etc they're designed for - any details? Also, does the J39 chassis include a replacement for the over-sized lubricator drive? Cheers Justin

Really nice layout, the atmosphere feels really well captured. I especially like the buildings and the trees/plants, very nicely done. I do wonder if the 43xx weathering is a bit heavy toward the rust though? It strikes me as a little too monotone "rust", perhaps building up some darker shades of rust to add variation, and other weathering effects might help balance the appearance? E.g. Lime/water staining from the washout plugs, and very matte blistered black on the smoke box. I also wonder how much the tender sides would have rusted, especially at the top sections? I like the NZ stock too - would be great to see more of that too!

Thanks Dave, I knew you were an N gauge modeller yourself, but it did seem that you'd been very (suspiciously?) quiet on the N gauge versions, and all announcements had been 'Orribly Oversized! Good to hear the N gauge version will follow in due course

I'm guessing that the N gauge model is no longer being developed directly in parallel - what is the timescale for that? (presuming you are still going ahead with N gauge?)

The Dapol 153 lacks any tumblehome, apparently to accommodate the low profile mechanism (doesn't sound that plausible to me) so I'm not surprised its insufficient on the 142. So, an improvement in this regard. Still a bit of a dogs dinner overall though!

I think you have to be very careful with this. Some DCC chips work quite well on DC, but yesterday Nigel Ashton's Dukedog with Lenz gold chip ran very erratically on Lambourn (using a Pentroller). Also some DCC chips don't support this - e.g. the original Bachmann 36-558 (36-558A does, apparently)

The fact that the glazing is included in that photo, complete with the moulded hopper glazing bar, strongly implies to me that the tooling has been done. 3D printed or handmade glazing in a 3D printed body doesn't look like that. Looks like a very expensive mistake has been made, but most likely one seen by the designer as a desirable compromise as we've already speculated, to hide the chassis that they had already said was problematic to design. I sincerely hope they go back to the drawing board on this, like they did with the 33 (which wasn't as obviously wrong as this, to my eye). But that's a hope, not an expectation ...

Thanks for the advice! Generally I'm aiming to model "circa WW1" - between 1910 and 1925 - ish. So these 1890s vehicles would most likely have been in "Stratford brown" rather than varnished, if not repainted in post-war GER crimson lake, in this period. So, I was going for a moderately weathered teak look. I think was also influenced by the appearance of teak coaches in preservation, which tend to appear really quite dark. The original picture was under halogen light, which I think made it look even darker than they really are. Here is a picture in (evening) daylight, with a Dapol Gresley for reference. I've decided to strip back the cattle wagon, which was a little darker, and re-try the graining with a more diluted mix of burnt umber, but I'll leave the horse box as is. The picture also really emphasises the limitations of the Dapol finish - like the Hornby coaches in MikeTrice's thread I linked to, the graining is really conspicuous in its absence on the door frames and other relief sections. Perhaps worth trying the same trick from that thread of using chrome yellow oils to tone down the solid brown with a hint of grain before a wash or two? Or in our scale would just a wash do the job of tying these contrasting areas together a little more? Cheers Justin