froobyone

Hi all. There was a small window of dryness and I managed to cut some of my framing wood. Managed to get 3 boards worth before the weather came back, but it's a start. Did my first glue up and screw-up. The non pilot hole needing screws would in fact have benefitted from a pilot hole... Using whatever weight I could find to get a good bond. Don't read anything into the fact that it is mostly alcohol. :P In other news. I started the gargantuan (for me) task of wiring and fitting the HM7000 decoder. By tea-time yesterday I had the chip hardwired in and was in the process of wiring in the lights when a wire must have touched something it shouldn't have and it blew up. So that's 65 quid down the drain. I've ordered a replacement at a good price, so I'll hopefully have better luck next time. Whilst I waited for the new chip to arrive, I cracked on with the other work that needed completing before I can fit everything in the shell. I gently and very carefully took a diamond bit in the rotary tool to the area that needed removing/thinning. The scary part was, well, all of it. I had to remove the main posts at the front where the screws fix the shell in place. Too much off in that area and it might be too weak. I also had to remove material form the inside roof and mid way down the opposite side, so the chip can sit above the motor. So far so good. Tomorrow I'll try again to hardwire the loco, lights etc and I also plan to machine a flywheel out of some brass stock. Until next time Daniel

Hi all. I was all set to start cutting the frames this week, but some weather has happened and that's prevented me from working outside. As soon as the weather stops I'll get right on it. I manged to get hold of a TXS 8-pin decoder for my 08. I knew ahead of time that it wouldn't fit without some remodelling and I'd planned to whip my rotary tool out and fettle away. However, I couldn't find the box of accessories. During the search for aforementioned accessories, I did find my white Humbrol weathering powder, put it down somewhere safe and now for the life of me, I can't find it. So two of my jobs, the fettling and fading/weathering were scuppered. To add insult to injury, when I went to use the power supply from the TT:120 Scotsman set, it was as dead as that famous parrot. It has not been a good day. However, my old layout was DCC so I've got a spare Roco 15v supply and was able to use that to power some track. I needed it powered because I wanted to test the decoder and pair it to my phone. I was then hit with the "reset decoder" issue. Not realising that would trigger an auto reset code email from Hornby, I did the turn-off-phone trick and that reset it. Once the firmware and other updates had applied I downloaded the 08 profile and waited very patiently for thirteen minutes. I've never had a sound chip before, but I've wanted one from the first time I heard one many years ago. It was worth the wait, even if I had to label every wire because I'm colour-blind. Next will be sorting out lights and I may even try to machine a flywheel on the lathe. Not in this weather though! Until next time Daniel

An Imperial Star Destroyer?

Hi all. Literally a back-breaking day today, rearranging my office/music room to allow the building of the layout. Still work to do and a new home to find for the TV and cabinet. Almost everything in the room is in a temporary position and I hate it! It'll get there though. If there's any confusion in the room photo, the entire back wall is a mirror, for no readily apparent reason. In other news. The Gronk and van arrived today. It marked the first time I'd seen rolling stock in this scale. Definitely smaller than I imagined, but once I'd put it under my scientific microscope, I could really see the detail. Quiet remarkable detail to be honest. I'm super happy with them. I also took the opportunity to fit my Dapol easy shunt couplers. Again marking the first time I've used something other than tension hook couplers since I was 5 years old. I can't believe how tiny they are and they look mint. Waiting for my magnets to arrive so I can test the uncouple/shunt features. I also need to source the 8-pin decoder and have a fretful few hours fitting it. I happened upon some spare super tiny LEDS that I bought to put in a 1/32 F14 Tomcat. So I'll think I'll try to light the 08 too. And finally. Having now seen some stock on the track I can report that the ratio between track and body width is the aesthetic I've been looking for. I hope this frequent updates aren't becoming annoying, but I'm really trying to document all the things that are happening. Once the building in earnest starts I'm pretty sure they'll start to drop in frequency. Thank you for your patience. Daniel

It's all fun and games until someone actually buys some wood. I managed a successful sortie to B&Q, bought up the last stick timber, had my boards cut to size and got told off for blocking a fire exit. Once home, I grabbed a pic for the album and then laid everything flat. It was only then that I could grasp the task ahead of me. I had worked out that I would need to do 80 saws. My torn rotator cuff took one look at the task ahead of me, said stuff that, took control of my arm and bought a chop saw on Ebay. Probably for the best. I'll spend the next couple of days marking up and wait for the angry spinning disc of finger removal to arrive. After that progress will be very much weather dependant. Whilst I do have access to a Workshop (it's a shed), said shed is filled with laser cutters and a metal lathe, so it's a bit tight in there. Should we have a wet spell my plans will be scuppered. There is a well known rule about buying astronomy equipment, another of my hobbies, in that any new purchase will inevitably lead to solid cloud for three weeks. This I know to be true. I don't know if similar laws apply to chop saws. We will see. In other news, Hornby have dispatched my little 08 and vent van, so that should arrive next week. If a sale of some audio gear goes to plan, I'll be able to buy the 8-pin HM7000 sound decoder and butche- I mean skilfully and deftly fit a massive chip into a small loco body. And finally. I'm scared. I admit it. I have never embarked on a build of this scale before. I know there are obstacles to overcome that I haven't even thought of yet. However, at least have a plan. Something I have never started a build with in the past. I have usually made it up as I went along, preferring the Bob Ross happy accidents approach. Damn. that's made me think about trees and that's another obstacle to overcome. It'll be fun soon right? Best Daniel

Hi all Spent a few fretful hours today working out the the number of deciduous forest that will have to be felled to create the baseboards. All of them. Every forest. That doesn't bode well for the grandkids, but they'll at least get to learn about light shunting before the sea levels rise over the top of the baseboards and short the electrics out. Joking aside, as much as I love the environment and wish to safeguard it for future generations, I couldn't give two light shunts about the wood and care more about the cost. -_- I realise wood is expensive. After all, it doesn't grow on tress, but that B&Q trip tomorrow is going to be a hard pill to swallow. It's my fault for not costimating(sic) earlier. I costed the plywood top and didn't factor in the frames and probably more importantly, the legs. It's partly due to the fact that I couldn't work out what I exactly needed when buying wood stock in 2.4m lengths and mostly because I couldn't work out I exactly needed when buying wood stock in 2.4m lengths. I'm not good at math. So I ended up having to draw everything out in 2d, and then draw the wood stock and fit them together. It's a long process but if you're as rubbish at this stuff as me, it really helps. Using this fool proof method I've worked out that I need 7658m of wood at a cost of £17,856 no, I'm kidding. It runs to 2X 2.4mx1.2m 9mm ply 20x 2.4mx75mmx22mm timber 100 screws Bolt and nuts x 30 Washers The Saxon point motor hoard. I don't even know why I'm gently weeping at the cost, I've literally paid more than that for virtual spaceships in Star Citizen and that isn't even real (or likely to ever be finished...) All being well they'll have everything I need when I visit tomorrow and I'll be able to make a start. I am slightly wishing I made better life choices in my past that meant I had an arsenal of power tools at my disposal, but alas, I paid real money for internet spaceships (sigh). I have one of those ancient things that I read about in double history on a Wednesday afternoon in the 80s. Greeks had them I think. Called a saw or something like that. It's like a long piece of bendy metal with an angry bit at the bottom. I think they were originally designed for people who thought they had way too many fingers. Really not looking forward to that part. My one hope is my easily force-controlled mate has a table saw that I can whip round and use. Obviously I'm going to try and mind control him into buying me a table saw in B&Q first. I'm not an idiot. In other news, I ttified(sic) another of my OO kits today. Prototype phase first. I actually didn't think I was going to be able to do this one due to the stairs being 3d printed. All the tests I did in TT scale failed. The hand rails are just too thin. So I thought about it over a beer and decided I could do the stairs as the solid concrete type. It slightly bugs me because they aren't like on the real one, but it's either that or it's going to be anarchy on the metals. and finally. I've been putting some thought into point control. I will be forced to have remote control over them as some of them are miles away. I haven't decided yet what that will be. Well, I know what it won't be. Cobolts and Tortoise are out of the question, wonderful as they are. So that leaves either Peco/Seep track bangers or servo operated with an Arduino. I'm even toying with the idea of mechanically operated with point rodding. I did the point rodding thing with Hullbridge and it was a delight. Ordinarily I would say these are future-me problems, but I kinda need to know early on as that will dictate drilling holes etc. Added some pics of the ttified signal box prototype so you can see the stairs. Do you think they will work? I also added the wood plan/costimate as I'm sure I was told you should always show your working out. Until next time Adieu Daniel

Cripes! Five months between posts and then two come along at once! It's why my friends call me 55C. Not that two 55Cs ever came along at once. You'd be lucky if one came along at once. Anyway, preamble over. Good news! The Dacia Sander- no wait, wrong program. Things have started to arrive. Those things being eleven turnouts in both male and female versions, I know I should be more inclusive and have a double switch too, but they are costly. As mentioned, I have not until now, ever seen TT:120 in the flesh. So I wasn't sure what to expect. I've had OO for 95% of my railway modelling life. I did have a brief flirtation with N twenty years ago, but didn't gel with it. My biggest issue, and this goes for accessible OO and N is how the rails look in relation to the rolling stock. I don't have the skills for P4, but I want the P4 aesthetic. I was hoping, as I gingerly released the first turnout from its card prison, that I would finally get to see that aesthetic. Then I realised I wasn't going to until I put some stock on it. Alas, at time of writing, the roster is bare. I mention this next bit, purely in the spirit of painting a fuller picture. The roster may be bare, but in this house as a write this, there are Pullman coaches and a 4-6-2 in a box in the next room. Now obviously only a devious and despicable cad would be tempted to wait until she-who-will-murder-you-in-your-sleep-if-you-touch-that-box goes to bed, skilfully decant one of the aforementioned Pullmans and see what it looks like on track. I wouldn't even think about something like that. It took me an hour to write that last bit. That's how honest and upstanding I am. I had to get into "character" and try to think like one of those reprehensible people that the Daily Mail probably have a column on, sorry, I mean who writes a column for them. What was we talking about? I've clean forgot. Honest me. I wouldn't have even eyed the flap release to see if it was taped (it isn't). No. I can be patient until the 08 and vent van arrives, sometime after the sun has started to fuse iron. But in other news, I spoke to my mate about b&q and he suggested that it might be easier to do the wood run in his car and he's available Sunday afternoon. Amazing. Did not realise the force could be used over WhatsApp. I'm going to up the ante next time and see if I can get some point motors. I need eleven of the , plus faceplates, plus accessory switches, plus a small but reliable cold fusion generator. CDUs are so last year... And finally. I've had to shave 600mm off the length of the build because it really didn't leave me any wiggle room, so whilst I have lost a few scale metres of trackwork, it's taken the number of 2.4m x 1.2m boards from three down to two and with savings like that, I'll be able to afford a wire for point motor, on the off chance I find the famous Saxon hoard of point motors with my metal detector. But most evidence suggests that'll be found down in the West Country and I live in East Yorkshire. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to support it. I had planned on encouraging comments and compliments, but I've since discovered, they are useless against gravity. Also decisions on height. It can't be too low because my back will leave and move to Spain if I have to lean over too much during construction, but I also want my grandkids to be able to enjoy it. Obvs there will be a sign up reminding all that one looks with one's eyes, not with ones chocolate covered fingers. I'm joking. There won't be a sign. Just a mildly energized electric fence... I think the answer to most of my yet-to-decides will be decided when I started laying track on (insert preferred underlay). Until then, I'm going to try not to worry about it and instead and for no reason at all, check how quietly a person can open cardboard boxes. Added pics, because show, don't te- ah . Also the first TT:120 scale houses prototype. Until next time. Daniel

Hello all. Long time no post. Reason being, I've made no progress on an OO layout. I had worked out that to give the layout enough room to breath and not be so setrack-looking, I was going to need a baseboard roughly the size of Kent. I knew I had to shelve the plan until I got around to buying Kent. This realisation made me somewhat glum, but recently while discussing what I'd like for Christmas, the thought struck me. Maybe I could realise my dream in TT:120? The dream being full rake original liveried HSTs sweeping majestically though stations and countryside alike. Obviously at time of writing that isn't actually possible, but a sound equipped Scotsman set will be ravenously opened on the 25th. So I drastically revised the original plan, partly because sometimes less is more and mostly because have-you-seen-the-price-of-turnouts... I still want a continuous run, four tracks through a station, some light shunting possibilities and on the other side, sweeping through a country setting with a viaduct in the middle like my first plan and also, annoyingly almost exactly the same as Hornby Magazine's exhibition layout. I posted my plan first. Remember that. :P I still really want to have an angle like the first plan, so the new plan will probably be rotated slightly. I haven't blocked out any of the features as yet as I'm not really used to the scale as of writing. However, in preparation for the 25th, I have, I believe, bought up the last UK stocks of turnouts (sorry) and 30-odd flexi tracks. All Peco Code 55. Additionally I purchased the BR Blue 08, a single bauxite wagon, some Dapol magnetic couplers and a static grass applicator. So if nothing else goes right, at least I can make a hairy gronk. I have to make a trip to B&Q at the weekend to buy some ply and framing, but I have to make my friend come to his own conclusion that his Volvo estate is going to be a better wood carrier than my coupe. It's OK, the force can have a strong influence on the weak minded. Here's the rub. I am no carpenter in the wood sense. I'm barely a Carpenter in the "We've only just begun" sense either... So I approach this with some trepidation. The plan is for nine equally sized baseboards, that will slot together like the parts of a Breitling watc- be hammered together until they fit dammit. It has to be portable. I live in a 18th century farmhouse that sometimes feels like it's been a house long enough and it just wants to rest now. Plus, who knows, maybe I'll fluke enough goodness into the build that I want to take it to a show. I think I might struggle using the force to get my mate to buy a massive van though. Stranger things have happened. I got him to buy a Laverda once. There is a secondary motive. I couldn't justify this amount of spend otherwise. My aim is to make as much as I can for the build using my laser cutters and 3d printers and anything I make, that I think I can turn into a kit, I will do so and sell them on ebay. As things develop I will obviously keep this thread as frequently updated as possible, but in tandem to this, I'm also going to chronicle the build on YouTube. Which is biting off more than I can chew, but trust me, that's exactly my MO, because I'm an idiot. Who else would put three Arduinos in a studio scale Millennium Falcon despite not knowing a pigging thing about machine code. Hi. Nice to meet you. And so, yet again, I give myself the hardest hill to climb. The path of most resistance -but as Nietzsche famously said "That which does not kill you, will come back in your 50s and really give you jip". I'm paraphrasing. Thanks for reading and if you didn't read it, you didn't read this bit either. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries. Best Daniel

Hi all. I've recently been providing my houses/shops kits with a downloadable printable PDF of some curtains and I thought I'd also drop a link to them here as some people might find them useful. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B9dRE3Vvvu1em65A5IIXT09EBsU8lJV1/view?usp=sharing Cheers Daniel CCNC

Hi Dave, Please find attached the two reference photos that were used to create this kit. Not sure if they'll be any help at this stage, but I'll also link to a YouTube video that shows the box after it was decommissioned, including some internal footage. Hope this helps and I can't wait to see it on the layout. Great work. Daniel

When exquisite modelling, photography and compositing skills combine. There's no greater combination. Bravo sir. Bravo.

I had my old layout stacked in spider cupboard. Needed to drag it out for some scale testing and with a mind to recommission it. I was enjoying it for roughly seven minutes when a scuttler ran from behind the portacabin and into the tunnel. So the layout got put back into spiderland sharpish (with motorcycles gloves on) and now I'm having to build a new layout!

Another photo of the now dismantled Hullbridge TMD. Living it large (logo).

Loved the Class 201/202/203. Loved travelling on them and loved listening to them idling in Robertsbridge Station, before hearing the clatter of the starting signal and the thrash of the EEs. Along with Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, they formed the soundtrack of my childhood. Looking forward to seeing these develop.

The latest kit is now available. A pair of small station waiting rooms with accompanying parcels storage. Inspired by the one at Grosmont on the NYMR. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155616125435 Thank you. Daniel

As it happens I travelled from Hull to Selby today to visit the grand kids. Whilst on the M62 the East Yorkshire Motor Services AEC Regent with the Beverley Bar roof passed in the other direction. It brightened my day. On the way back, as I was passing Drax, there was a Colas 60 stood light engine. I yelped and almost crashed the car. Told the missus I was going to pull into a layby, run back and snap it, because there weren't that many around, but she said "There's nowhere to stop". You mean apart form the layby? So I didn't stop. Didn't snap it. To make me feel better she said "That's two rare things you've seen today". Yeah, cheers my love and I didn't photograph either of them! She's now on Ebay. Not looking for photos for me, she's for sale.

Hi all, One of the most important parts of my life is YouTube. More as a resource than as a creator, despite making a tons of content over the years. As a repository of everything, it is quite literally a goldmine. Having many diverse and wide-ranging interests, from railways to astrophotography, I've mined it regularly for help, for inspiration and sometimes you just need to see someone make a two man helicopter out of two Dysons and powered by an electric eel called Kevin. I admit, I spend an inordinate amount of time watching VHS footage of 1970-1990s railway footage. The filthier the better. The larger the logo the better. The Executive and not Swallow the better. It's time travel. Admittedly it's a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure the light back then was kinda of washed out and grainy, so the footage perfectly captures it. I don't think we got HD eyes until the 2000s. Now I'm not a bus man, I couldn't tell an MCW from an Atlantean (of course I could. Stop being silly!) but I found myself trawling a photo site of buses from my home city a few years ago and it struck me, what was just as interesting about the photos, was not the Scania Metropolitan front and centre, it was all the stuff behind it, that was now gone forever. You forget how much your city has changed. Seeing the four lane road right through the CBD is something you can't even rationalise. The whole experience got me thinking. The contribution to the historical record that the hobbyist with a camera makes is vastly underappreciated. I doubt any one them was thinking that at the time they snapped a roll of 36 through their Pentax, but man, we owe them a lot. A few months ago I was in the city centre around the "Transport Exchange" (bus station) and there was a young man with a DSLR snapping the buses in and out. I wanted to say "You don't know this, but you are doing a great service to people you will never meet and you will connect them to a world that will no longer exist". But I didn't, because that would be weird and he might have stabbed me. TLDR: People are great without them even knowing it. Best Daniel

That sir, is an astonishingly good idea.

:) I'm a professional CGI artist, or was at least, until the end of last year. I worked for Foundry London, building 3D assets for footwear companies around the world. I agree, virtual is definitely an option, but there's no substitute for walking past your Lego cabinet and admiring your hard work.

Same for me in the 70s. I had a bucket of assorted Lego only. Every house, every spaceship, every space pirate enclave I built, looked like Pride month. Not necessarily a bad thing, except when you want to build a world based on hue consistency. I too was drawn back into Lego as an adult but by the Technics sets. Starting with the pneumatic back hoe digger in 2005, since then I have built the entire range of the the big electronic kits. I traditionally get a set for Christmas and I know of no greater joy, apart from unboxing a train set, than spending the next few days of the festive season staring furiously at some instructions and having to rebuild a gearbox four times because I can't actually read instructions apparently. I've now run out of space to house them sadly, so my Lego days are over I think.

It never ceases to amaze me, the unbelievable skill that members here possess. Absolutely amazing. I once had the thought of doing something similar with vertical barriers and an arduino, but quickly realised I'm an idiot and would have zero chance of making that a success. Bravo sir. Bravo.

So jealous of anyone heading to Japan. I was lucky enough to work there in 2019 and it forever changed me. My best description is, it was like going back in time to the future. Back in time because the society still has respect and thoughtfulness and the future because I don't think there is anything you can't buy from a vending machine! One word of caution. Don't ask the man who bows at all the buses as they leave the airport for help just as a bus leaves, or he'll look at you in a way that makes you feel like you're in a episode of Tenko! I'd go back in a heartbeat. Daniel

Hi all, After seeking the correct permissions I am now in a position to share and promote some of the laser cuts kits I'm designing and producing. I am only able to produce these kits in small numbers, at least until I can fund a CO2 laser, but so far they have proved quite popular in the wider world. My aim before the end of 2023 is to have twenty kits available. So far there are nine, so I'm making good progress towards that goal. I'm mostly doing most of my trading through Ebay, though I do also have an Etsy site. (Etsy charge too much!) I will drop links below to the currently available kits and I'll add some images to the bottom of the post. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. British Railways OO Scale NER Wood Laser-Cut Signal Box kit. Right-hand Stairs. British Railways OO Scale NER Wood Laser-Cut Signal Box kit - Left hand stairs. OO 1:76 Scale Abacus Bus Shelters - Self Assembly Unpainted Kit Laser Cut Kit X2 British Railways OO Scale Pre-Painted Wood Laser-Cut Signal Box kit. OO Gauge 1:76 Scale 8x Laser Cut Bus Stops -Standard OO Gauge 1:76 Scale 8x Laser Cut Bus Stops -London Transport OO Gauge 1:76 Scale Laser Cut Benches OO Scale Model Railway Half Relief Shops. Pre-decorated laser cut kit. Kit-2. OO Scale Model Railway Half Relief Shops. Pre-decorated laser cut kit. Kit 1. Also, here's a link to the CCNC Facebook page if you want to keep up to date on the latest kits and release dates. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092504111598 Thank you for reading. Daniel

Heh, I used to weather all my stock with burning pieces of Duraglit in the 80s. It was very sooty and probably hardly poisonous at all. Considering the air I'd been breathing most of my life was 90% lead...

Hi I thought I might as well post my other laser cut projects. Despite only getting my laser cutter in March I've been having a lot of fun with it as I learn the technique. I've got my eye on a CO2 laser next. I've developed a workflow for applying textures to the work before laser cutting, which opens up a lot of finish opportunities that don't rely on my cack-handed painting skills... Anyway, here's some pics.