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Pugsley

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  1. Pugsley

    Side two.

    By Pugsley,

    A little more, much the same as before. The tank spillage needs a bit more work, I'm not entirely happy with that bit yet, but everything else is coming on nicely. The underframe has been done in much the same way as before, but this time I tried using raw umber gouache to tint the Tamiya Smoke for the oily bits on the underframe, instead of using the gloss tan.
     

     
    It's worked rather nicely, so that's another combination of materials added to the arsenal!
     
    Next stage is putting a bit of grime and rust in the panel lines, and reworking the fuel spill area - maybe more progress later. The exhauster boxes need a little attention too, both on the top and the sides.
     
    OMS - http://www.last.fm/listen/globaltags/ghetto%20jazz#pane=webRadioPlayer&station=%252Flisten%252Fglobaltags%252Fghetto%2520jazz
  2. Pugsley

    Spot the difference

    By Pugsley,

    I've made a start on the chassis of the first TTA, replacing the springs and making it look a little more like the prototype it's based on.
     
    Whilst looking mostly similar, 45t Monobloc oil tanks are a minefield once you get into the details. Suspension brackets are different shapes, there are different rib quantities and spacings, different handbrake arrangements, etc, etc. There are also different lengths, but more about that later.
     

     
    So far, the detail that isn't required has been removed, with new detail added in place, the SAB load sensing valve has gone and the brake arrangement has been changed. The new handbrake came from another wagon, which will be modified to have a completely different arrangement when its time on the workbench arrives.
     
    The Bachmann model is based upon a Pickering design, the one currently on the bench is being modified to represent a Powell Duffryn built example. Eventually the fleet will consist of examples from Pressed Steel, Pickering, Powell Duffryn, Standard Wagon and Rootes Pressings, hence the variety in the fleet. The first batch of 4 comprises of 2 Powell Duffryn and 2 Pickering examples, the latter requiring very little modification in terms of the chassis.
  3. Pugsley

    Spring bounce

    By Pugsley,

    An appropriate title in a couple of ways, one, that the first of the production primary springs have taken shape this afternoon, and the coming of Spring has given me a chance to get on with this madcap scheme.
     
    So, for starters, a view of the first bogie with one of the equalising beams in place, on the first two springs:

     
    To the front left are some more springs in various stages of completion. The long coil of wire behind the individual springs is how it starts. This is 0.61mm soft copper wire wound, under tension, around a 3.3mm drill bit, making sure the coils are lapped up tight to each other. The next stage involves stretching this out until there's roughly 1.5mm between the coils, which is the stage this particular example is at.
     
    The next step is to cut the large spring down to make the individual springs, which are 7 coils each. Each end is levelled and the spring recompressed, before the end is filed to make it sit level. These then fit onto the studs on the sideframe and the equalising beam. The next photo shows it in close up, with one of the prototype secondary springs loosely plonked in place to give an idea of what it'll look like:
     

     
    And this is what it's supposed to look like:

     
    It's close enough for me!
     
    The next job, after finishing another 14 springs, is to work out how far out the stirrup needs to be packed out from the front of the hornblock, followed by filing down the equalising beams to fit in the stirrups.
     
    It's been a long time coming, but it really does feel that the end is in sight for this project, at last!
  4. Pugsley
    The next, somewhat elastic, deadline for getting this 'ere 37 finished is now Guildex in Telford. I'm hoping that, even if it's not actually painted, it will be mechanically operational, which took a step closer today with the arrival of this, from the etchers:

     
    I'm pleased with the way it's come out - pretty much everything has come out as planned, with the exception of the writing on the axlebox stirrups. I knew I was pushing my luck with it, as it was on the small side, but it isn't legible, as I'd hoped it might have been. On the plus side, you can see that something's there, so all is not lost:

     
    This weekend will now mostly be spent beavering away in the workshop, to try and get everything ready for assembling the bogies. I just hope that there's no major flaws in the design!
     
    There is a real sense of satisfaction when the shiny bit of metal, made from your artwork, comes through the door
     
    In terms of major bodywork, the loco is mostly complete. I've got to trim some of the bufferbeams away to mount the ETH gear, but the other major job was to fill in one cut-out on the side of the loco, and make another.
     

     
    This is one of those reasons that prototype photos are essential if you're trying to accurately recreate a particular loco - especially with 37's as they are a minefield of detail differences.
     
    Whilst studying photos of 415, I noticed that the semi-circular cut-out present on the model isn't there. There is a recess behind the cut-out, to thin the skirt in the visble section, so this was filled with two bits of 0.25 x 3.2mm, cut to fit (2.9mm IIRC), superglued in place. Once dry, I filled the hole with Holts Knifing Putty - which I've discovered is better than most model fillers, and cheaper too!
     
    The new aperture is based on dimensions scaled from a side-on photo of 415, found on the web. I marked the hole out, and started it off by drilling 1.5mm holes towards the corners. These were then joined, carefully, with a sharp scalpel. The hole was finished to size with small files.
     
    I made a list of all the things that needed doing the other day - I won't be putting it here, as it's too long! Suffice to say that there is plenty to keep me occupied for a while
     
    I've got a weekend to myself, so I'm hoping to achieve a lot this weekend - updates as and when
  5. Pugsley

    Still loving it!

    By Pugsley,

    It's sad, but I've been like a child with a new toy over the last few days seeing what else I can do with these oil paints. I've known about them for a long time, Rich Divizio of mtw (http://modeltrainsweathered.com/forum/) has been using them for years, but I'm still getting excited by playing around with them and discovering things for myself. I think I need to get out more....
     
    Side two of PR58265 has been completed, and I've now worked out how to use them for the spillage staining effectively:

    Which involves applying the paint sparingly, then dragging down with a dry brush.
     
    On this side, I've also used the oils on the underframe to good effect, using raw umber mixed with black and white in varying quantities to add highlights and shadows. This leaves things a bit glossy though, so it needed to be overcoated with some matt varnish on this one, as I didn't want any shine.
     
    Pix - I've used the JSV on this one, it brushes beautifully and dries nicely matt. It is definitely spirit based, and cleans up OK with the odourless thinners I normally use. I'll run some through the airbrush soon and let you know how it goes.
     
    Quick top shot:

     
    One more TTA to do now before finishing off both of the TEAs
  6. Pugsley

    Tampering

    By Pugsley,

    I've put the bogie work on the 37 to one side for a minute as I wanted to do some actual modelling instead of sitting at a computer drawing things. After a gentle prod by another member, I've remembered that there has been a little progress on my tamper since the last update on RMweb 3, here:
    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=653897#p653897
     
    It's made a visit to the paintshop:

     

     
    I've replaced the etched handrails in the kit with some formed from 0.33mm wire - they look more convincing than the square etched ones. There is plenty more to do on this, but I wanted to get the main body colour on first, as some of the parts that need to be added are very fine, particularly the pipes up the sides, and I thought it best to get the main coat on first. Buffers (Hornby Class 50 buffers) are just poked into their holes temporarily at the moment.
     

    It's pleasing to view it from the side, as it shows the real difference between my model and the standard kit. The biggest difference being in this area:

     
    Structurally, it's complete, most of the parts to be added now is all the plumbing and there is a lot of it to do! I won't be making terribly rapid progress with this, more picking it up from time to time and doing bits when I get fed up with drawing.
  7. Pugsley

    Tanked Up (and Boxing)

    By Pugsley,

    Whilst waiting for the final bogie parts, I've decided to start on all the little detail jobs that need doing on the 37 - 8 sandboxes for the sanding gear to fit on and the pipework between the fuel tanks. You will remember my attempt at sanding gear on an earlier entry - I've subsequently discovered that MMP do a class 37 sanding gear set, so I bought one of those instead. The thought of making another 4 assemblies filled me with dread!
     
    The main parts of the sandboxes were cut from 0.33mm brass, cut into a strip 3mm wide, by 11mm long. The edges of the cut strips were coloured with permanent marker to help see the marks for forming. The parts at the top of the picture are the strips bent to shape.
     

     
    Lines were scribed at 4mm and 7mm, working from one edge. These were used as guides for pressure to be applied using a Stanley knife blade, which marked where the bend should be and scored to make folding easier.
     

     
    Once folded up, sides cut from 0.127mm brass, to the approximate shape, were soldered onto the formed strips. These were then trimmed to shape as closely as possible using sharp scissors, then filed to the exact shape. In this pic, the three stages of the process can be seen, working right to left.
     

     
    These now need to be drilled in the centre, for the sandpipe assemblies to be soldered in, before mounting them on the chassis of the loco. I'll wait until the bogies are in before mounting them.
     
    I've also knocked up a representation of the pipework between the fuel tanks, out of 1.2mm brass and 0.7mm nickel silver wire, with the larger pipe being 1.8mm dia microbore tube. The pipe fittings, such as flanges and unions, are made from styrene sections.
     

     

     
    I've been assured that I should receive the new design of bogie parts tomorrow, so the next update should be the first completed bogie, with any luck!
  8. Pugsley

    Tanking along

    By Pugsley,

    Oh, the irony!
     
    The tanks are coming together slowly, and I was getting bored of stabbing myself removing the springs from the 45 tonners, so started yet another new project in the form of a Bachmann TEA.
     
    I bought 3 of the tanks when Kernow MR Centre were selling them off cheap, thinking that I'd have to repaint them all, as the livery wasn't really suitable for the Total oil terminal, or the time period. However, a visit to Paul Bartlett's Fotopic site changed all that:
    http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/p61948874.html
     
    This is a fairly straightforward weathering project, more than a detailing exercise, there are subtle differences between the prototype picture and the model, but I'm not going to do anything about them. I don't feel it's worth really detailing something that is fundamentally wrong to start with (barrel diameter) and most people won't notice anyway!
     

     
    So far, the moulded ladders have been removed and the gaps at the end filled (please Mr Bachmann, can we have tanks that fit together properly?), this was the best of the 3 in terms of the ends fitting the barrel, the next two are going to require a lot more work. I've also gone over the whole wagon with 1000 grit wet and dry paper, used wet, to matt down the finish, both to distress the paint and also to provide a key for the later weathering.
     

     
    At this stage I've built up the area under the tank slightly to vaguely resemble the prototype, and fitted an etched ladder. It's not the best, I'll admit, but it is an improvement on the original moulding.
     

     
    The first of the custom decals from the laser printer have been used, and I'm really happy with the results. In the pic above, the number, the 'no naked light' and 'not to be loose shunted' are ones I've designed and printed myself. I was worried that the yellow lettering on the shunting notice wouldn't work too well on the grey tank, but it's worked out fine.
     
    Next job for this one is to decal up the other side, then start on the weathering. I'm going to enjoy that
     
    Meanwhile, work also continues on the 45 tonners, with the next stage being the work on the barrels.
     

     
    The first 4 have got the 'Esso' style of walkway, with the ladder on one end of the barrel, instead of having a ladder down to each side, from a central platform, on one end. The S Kits parts consist of an etch fret and fairly comprehensive instructions. It looks like it should be fairly straightforward to fit.
     
    More as it happens!
  9. Pugsley

    Tanks a bunch

    By Pugsley,

    The first of the 45 tonners is now almost complete, with just tidying up and painting left to do. i also need to fit the catwalk that fits above the buffer beam, on the solebar, but will fit that once the barrel has been painted.
     

     
    The kit instructions are quite straightforward, but I did struggle with one bit, folding the legs on the catwalk. I got my head around it eventually, and took the following photo to illustrate the correct way of folding:
     

     
    The legs need to be folded over to the outside, despite the half etch fold line being on the inside. In the picture above, the first two legs have been folded over, the rest haven't.
     
    The first of the 102T tanks is also now complete and ready for weathering.
     

     
    Let the fun commence!
  10. Pugsley
    Actually not that kind of resurfacing, more a stalled project bubbling back to the surface for a little more attention. this happens from time to time, and frequently they sink back again, still incomplete, but I'm hoping to actually have this one finished by the end of the year.
     
    Yes, the 37 has made a comeback, now that the distraction of the IZA Ferrywagons is over for the time being. Actually, a fair amount has been achieved since the last update, with most of the wiring in place, the chip installed (although it can be removed for painting) and the speaker enclosure built. This is how things stand at the moment:

     
    I never thought I'd be pushed for space in a 7mm loco, so how crowded it's starting to look in there has come as a bit of a surprise! There is a mini DIN plug to go at the number 2 end, which will transfer the power to the body for the radiator fan motor, cab lights and speaker. Unfortunately it is only a 6 way plug and socket I have, so there will be an extra connection for the cab light common feed, but that's not the end of the world, just slightly less tidy that I would have liked. The miniature connectors on each end of the chassis are for the tail/marker/head lights at each end, so again the body can still be removed completely from the chassis.
     
    One of the reasons for the stall was that I hadn't quite worked out how I was going to secure the bogies, as well as saving up for the sound chip. The real thing uses steel rope to stop the bogies detaching, so I thought that I could possibly use the same sort of process. The first experiment was with stainless steel microbraid from Eileens, which really just is miniature steel rope. It soldered beautifully to the little tubes i bought to represent the crimped joint, but was too inflexible and would have required some form of springing mechanism inside, which wouldn't be easily hidden and seemed like bloody hard work. So came the revelation:

     
    Elastic thread! It's a little thick in original form, but I found that one of the cotton layers came off quite easily, leaving one layer of cotton and the rubber core remaining. I figured that the remaining sheathing would be rough enough to glue nicely to the chassis, and the rubber bit remained springy. So, the final solution is as shown above, which seems to work quite well and engages the etched hooks quite nicely. When the bogies are complete, there is another metal part to be glued to the bogie, under the hook, which will stop the retainer dropping out, which it will at the moment if everything is compressed enough.
     
    Whilst they don't retain the bogies quite in position, they stop it falling all the way out and keep it nice and level when it does drop, if the loco is lifted other than by its bogies. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than nothing! It also doesn't look too overscale, although I think it is slightly.
     

     
    A close-up of the miniature connectors for the lights. The connection to the decoder will be soldered to the Veroboard and run under the chassis and into the main body thorough the gaps where the motors should be, if the kit was built conventionally.
     
    The plan is to have it running round the S7 test track this coming Saturday, so I need to pull my finger out, although I only really have the speaker to mount and wire in before connecting everything up to get it running. The lights etc won't be installed until the body is painted, so I have a fighting chance at least
  11. Pugsley

    The Current State of Play

    By Pugsley,

    This is how things are at the moment:

    I hate electrical fault finding, but with much reluctance I have broken out the multimeter to try and find out why my 37 disgraced itself a few weekends ago, where it made all the right noises, but didn't actually do anything. I've put the first bogie on its 'custom stand' for easier access
     
    Fault number one was found quite quickly - one of the connections to the centre motor on the No 1 bogie is a bit dodgy, so that will have to be remade. Soldering in that confined space is certainly going to be interesting! I can't drop the motor out, as a bit of poor design has led to the motors being captive once the torque reaction arms are in place. If I ever do this again, that is going to have to be addressed.
     
    Closer inspection of the other soldered joints has uncovered another couple of areas of, shall we say, comedy soldering, which is probably also not helping the cause. Once these have also been redone, things should work a lot better.
     
    On the plus side, the pick-ups are all OK, well, except for the one that has dropped off, but we'll gloss over that.
  12. Pugsley

    The End.

    By Pugsley,

    In the immortal words of Jim Morrison:
    This is the end, beautiful friend
    This is the end, my only friend, the end
    Of our elaborate plans, the end.
     
    I'm never going to complete this layout - I've lost enthusiasm for modelling in general and 4mm scale in particular. If anyone is interested in buying an EM layout that is virtually complete track-wise, needing a little bit of wiring, along with various bits and pieces to complete, such as buffer stops, electrical bits plus some other bits, drop me a PM.
     
    Pretty much all of my 4mm stock will be cleared out at some point in the not too distant future - keep an eye on my workbench blog for more details of that. I'd like to give RMwebbers first dibs before the rest ends up on ebay. The 7mm stuff is staying for the time being and we'll see what happens.
     
    it's been a blast!
  13. Pugsley

    The finished article

    By Pugsley,

    As the title suggests, I'm at a stage now where I think that this loco is complete.

    I've not done too much since the last update - I've added a few subtle streaks here and there using gouache, and done a little more to the coupling rods - I wasn't entirely happy with the way they looked. I've also given the body a coat of matt varnish, as some of the finishes I've used are a little fragile. If this wasn't a project destined for ebay, I'd have probably left it as I could easily touch it up as it wore off.

    The rust on the cab end has been reduced slightly - it looked a bit OTT, but that's about all that I've done to that end.

    The effect on the tops of the equipment boxes is hairspray and powders, that I've attacked with a sharpened cocktail stick in an attempt to simulate boot marks from people walking over them. I'm not entirely sure it's worked - it's a technique that needs a little refinement, I think.

     
    I wanted to see how it would look in a slightly more realistic setting than the plain white backgrounds that I've been using, so had a bit of a play in Photoshop. It's a bit crude, but gives the general idea, I think. For the background I've used a photo of Wenfordbridge clay dries that I took a couple of years ago when I promised TFMP a day out in Cornwall. It didn't go quite as she was expecting, but that's a whole different story!

    Now that this one is done, I think I'd better get on with track building. The white box of joy keeps calling me, but I'd better get on with the 4mm stuff first, or it may never happen!
     
    OMS - http://www.discovertrance.com/TuneIn/DiscoverTrance-high.asx
  14. Pugsley

    The Initial Griming

    By Pugsley,

    This really is the most I've done in ages - whilst on a roll I thought I'd make a start on the weathering. I used the water mixable oils for this, just to see if they were any good for loco, as well as wagon, weathering. They are! Well, subject to some limitations, anyway.
     
    This is how things now stand:

     
    I've used a combination of Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Black and White oils for the body grime. This has mostly been acheived by almost drybrushing the colour on, before running over it with a small flat brush, moistened with a screenwash solution. After this stage, when still damp, a dry number 12 flat brush was flicked over the surface in a top to bottom, vertical, motion to remove more paint and give the rain streaked appearance.
     
    The oils have also been used on the nose grilles and to recreate the grime deposits that gather in the cab door recesses. I'm going for subtle on this one, working from a pic that I can't post, unfortunately.
     
    The underframe has just had it's first coat, a mix of Vallejo Flat Earth and Black acrylics, applied by brush. No airbrush has been ued on this so far (except for the repaint). It's a bit glossy still, but later processes will tone this down to dead flat where required. I did try to use the oils straight on the underframe, but it didn't really work, they need to be used on top of something else for full effect.
     
    That's it for the time being, as everything will now need to be left for at least 24 hours to dry - the biggest disadvantage of using the oils. More as it happens
  15. Pugsley

    The novelty...

    By Pugsley,

    Still hasn't worn off. Sorry if this is now getting a bit boring, but I'm enjoying myself, which is the main thing! Tonights experimenting has revealed that the oils can be matted down nicely by stippling in talc.
     

     
    as demonstrated on the W irons.
     
    I've also been experimenting further with the addition of highlights and shadows, doing it a little more on this one than the others. Again, it seems to work, but I think it has to be carefully controlled, or the model could end up looking like a caricature of a tank wagon.
     
    I've played around with the barrel as well, putting larger patches of crimson, blue, white and yellow on before manipulating them first with a dry, and then with a moist, brush, using dabbing and scrubbing motions, as well as running the brush down from top to bottom. It seems to have added a slightly blotchier effect to the barrel, which I kinda like.
     
    Time to carry on playing!
  16. Pugsley

    The Past

    By Pugsley,

    I guess it seems strange starting a blog about a layout with a post about an entirely different layout, but it highlights some of the thinking behind the new layout, and I feel it sometimes helps to have a little of the past to understand the present and the future. The old thread containing more info about the construction of the layout can be found here:
    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=608
     

     
    Chittle was my entry in the 2007 layout challenge, which was for layouts with a total area of less than 6 square feet. This introduced a couple of compromises, particularly in terms of shape and, of course, overall size. The biggest compromise, for me, was the inability to capture the feel of railway running through the landscape as much as I wanted. I didn't want the layout to feel crowded, so the final track plan was as simple as possible, but this did limit operation somewhat. After operating sessions on Bleakhouse Road, I decided that whatever I did next needed to have more operating potential, and more shunting to keep me occupied.
     

     
    Starting from scratch, and never having built a layout before, I wasn't really sure what I was doing, so there was a large element of making things up as I went along. Initially I wasn't going to use point motors, but eventually decided I wanted to. Unfortunately, I hadn't designed the layout with them in mind, so ended having to chop holes out of the polystyrene, and glue plywood into the apertures, making much more work for myself than I ever needed to do. The extruded styrene did make for a strong and lightweight base though, and I will probably use it for a layout again in the future.
     

     
    Having more locos than anything else (that always seems to happen!) meant that it would have to be a small depot of some description, but I wanted it to be different - not another depot layout with a Pikestuff shed, and Knightwing fuelling point. I did end up with the Knightwing fuelling point (but used the less common roof option to try and disguise that...
     

     
    Various avenues of research led to Peterborough stabling point (the EWS one) as a basis for the shed and fuelling point. Again, I hadn't built a structure from scratch, so didn't really know what I was doing. I figured, in the end, that as it was to be an open building, so the interior would be visible, it would be a good idea to build it like the real thing. Wills sheets were used for the base of the building, glued back-to-back to give the necessary thickness, and brick patterns on both sides. The top of the structure as then built up with Evergreen styrene girders, styrene battening, and embossed plasticard cladding on that.
     

     
    During construction I put lights on one building as an experiment after fiding some LEDs that looked like industrial lighting in both white and yellow. It worked, so all of the building on the layout were equipped with working lights, with the hope that it would work for taking night photos on the layout. In the end it was something that worked quite well, and it was worth the extra effort.


     
    Scenery was a mix of static grass, and Woodland Scenics foliage, along with some brambles made from rubberised horse hair. Scenic methods mostly came from the Captain Kernow Scenery Clinic Service, which was most enlightning, although I used spraymount for speed, rather than the more usual PVA. The deadline was rapidly approaching by this stage!
     
    I didn't think it would be finished in time, but to my amazement it was, although circumstances at the time helped. Even more of an amazement was it winning I still can't get over it to this day. Following this, it appeared at both the main and SWAG hosted members days, and one exhibition. It's recently gone to a new home to clear space for the incoming project.
     
    There are many lessons I've learned during the construction and operation of the layout, probably too many to mention here - although the major ones are the operational interest, and not using points of too tight a radius - A5s are probably OK for small steam locos and shorter wagons, but cause problems with a lot of modern stock. Other lessons learned will crop up in the next update about the current project. See, I said there was a point to all this
     

  17. Pugsley

    The real slim Shady

    By Pugsley,

    Whilst not exactly a thrilling example, I thought I'd post a little about how I've made the cab sunshades, as it has useful applications beyond this simple example. In fact, I used the same technique when I made the operator cab for the 07-275 tamper that I've yet to finish.
     
    I found a suitable picture of the sunshades on line, that would do for what I wanted with the minimum of manipulation. It is possible to correct perspective and rotate images within photoshop, or GIMP is a useful, free, alternative.
     
    I cropped the part of the image I wanted out of the picture and pasted it into CorelDraw. Here, I can resize it and lock it as the background. There is a trace program included with the version of CorelDraw that I have, but it isn't much use TBH. Instead, I used the standard drawing tools to trace around the edge myself. This is the result:

     
    The curved part had come out a little flat, so I adjusted that, by eye, to match the curvature of the roof. Measuring the width of the window gave me the width of the shade, so the drawing was adjusted to that dimension. A test piece was printed, cut out, and placed against the window aperture to check the dimensions. This highlighted that the item was too deep, so this was adjusted whilst keeping the width constant. Once happy, the part was duplicated 4 times, and the final template printed.
     
    Here are the tools required for this job (excluding the scissors ):

     
    The pritt-stick secures the template to the glazing curing the cutting process, but peels off quite readily. Even if some should stick, all traces can be removed with water. Once cut out, this is the result:

     
    I had originally planned on using Tamiya Smoke to tint these and have them slightly see-through, like the real thing. However, it just isn't dark enough, so ended up painting them with black acrylic. They will be secured into the cab roof, anyhow, so the fact that they're not see through shouldn't detract from the final effect.
     

     
    I'm going to secure them with the canopy glue shown in the picture - it seems to be a kind of PVA adhesive, originally designed for securing aircraft canopies - it dries perfectly clear. It's a lot more controllable that superglue, and isn't very visible if a little too much is used. I've also used it to secure the glazing into the cab assemblies - it's proved to be a very useful product so far. It's not exactly cheap, but the bottle should last for a very long time!
  18. Pugsley

    The Spaghetti Incident

    By Pugsley,

    Progress continues slowly with the 7mm 37, and I'm currently in the middle of adding all the wiring for lights etc. This is how things looked the other day:

     
    It's all a bit tidier now, but I am running out of places to put all of the wires - and the ones for the cab lights, speaker and cooling fan aren't even visible in this picture!
     
    I've given up casting the brake shoes from the kit - I'm now in the process of drawing up my own and will get those from Shapeways, or possibly give iMaterilise a try, as I've not had anything from them yet. I'm also going to look at adding additional pickups to the bogies as I'm not totally convinced that the original solution is going to work that well - there is more movement in the axles than they can cope with at present.
     
    I've also started creating a length of track, so I can set the chassis up on the rolling road, to get that running sweetly by tweaking a few cv's. It looks like this project will have taken the best part of 3 years to complete, and it's not even there yet - yikes!
  19. Pugsley
    There are probably more time consuming bits to come but doing the detailing bits is going to be the most time consuming part of the whole project, it certainly has been in the case of the DTS I've been focusing on today, even more time consuming than removing all the raised detail!
     

     
    The first pic is here to highlight just how much of a difference the windows make. Admittedly it is additional expense on top of a rather expensive kit, but the difference is amazing - they really transform the model.
     

     
    Fitting the windows is quite straightforward - the instructions included are very helpful. Each window is cut from the fret, trimmed and filed to remove any remnants of the tags. Once lined up on the bodyside, I've put a small piece of masking tape to act as a hinge whilst keeping the window in position. I've then used Roket Hot thin Cyano applied with a scalpel blade to secure the window frame. This is ultra thin, so it penetrates into the gap around the window, which just needs pressing down gently. I've also added the new full length rainstrips, from 0.25x0.5mm styrene strip (Evergreen 100.
     

     
    It gets ever more time consuming (hence the project creep bit) when I keep noticing more and more detail differences between the 455's and other units using the same bodyshell. The biggest of these that I've noticed is the front handrails - seemingly unique to the 455/7's and /9's. As can be seen in the pic above, there is a section cut out of the valance that normally projects past the cab front where there is a handrail. I've also discovered that the /9's have a different bolster design on the DTS and TS to the other subclasses, so I can't use the parts that I had etched for this one. As a lucky accident, however, I do have some spares of another part which I think will do the job although not designed for it - a stroke of luck!
     
    I've yet to decide exactly what I'm going to do for the bogies on this unit - the DTS is temporarily standing on the ones included in the kit, but I don't think I'm going to use those.
     
    Next job is to tackle the MS
  20. Pugsley

    The whys and wherefores

    By Pugsley,

    This new blog format has deluded me into thinking that people may be interested in the reasons behind what I do, the inspirations and how it all started, really. They probably aren't, but I'm going to do it anyway
     
    It really started with the introduction of the Hornby Class 50, back in 2003. I'd had a model railway before, but sold up in 1993/1994 to start modelling US prototypes due to the superior models available. That too soon fell by the wayside once girls, cars and beer were discovered.
     
    The 50's were a firm favourite of mine from the days when I lived near the GWML and saw them regularly, and then from bashing the Exeter-Waterloo line in their final days. The release of the Hornby 50, to a higher standard than the US models I had, was an eye-opener, so the first releases were duly purchased. I was originally approaching from a collectors point of view, but soon realised I wanted more.
     
    During the time of my interest in US modelling, I bought Model Railroader every month, which was full of inspiring articles - it seemed light years ahead of Railway Modeller at the time, every month they'd have the 'Trackside Photos' section, where there would be some ultra realistic photos, similar to this:
    http://www.modelrailroadphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=3764
     
    There was also the annual photo contest, which took these photos to another level, with superb modelling and photography.
    http://www.trains.com/mrr/image.ashx?img=mrr-tp0108_01.jpg&w=600
     
    I wanted to achieve that kind of result, but railways soon got left behind. Once I rediscovered them, eventually I rediscovered this quest for realism as well, which happened around 2005 and is what lead me to both EM gauge, and weathering. I started searching around the Internet, and happened upon a couple of very interesting sites. The first was Mellow Mike:
    http://www.mellowmike.com/
     
    Amazing models, and very realistic. He's comes across as a bit up himself though (the old site wasn't as bad as the new one for that!) - no details about techniques, but plenty of inspiration. He is very good indeed:
    http://www.mellowmike.com/FR8_Cars/MRL50036_P1.html
    http://www.mellowmike.com/FR8_Cars/MRL54035_P2.html
    http://www.mellowmike.com/FR8_Cars/SOO_4Posed.html
     
    Inspired by what I found, I then discovered the Model Trains Weathered site, and forum. Now subscription only, I learnt a lot in terms of new materials and techniques, and the members there were very good at constructively criticising what I'd done.
    http://modeltrainsweathered.com/
     
    It was there that I learnt of the work of a guy called John Pitts. His structures were amazing, but what really captured my imagination, and inspired me to have a go, was this SD45T-2, in proper Southern Pacific condition:

    More pictures here:
    http://www.pbase.com/lumixfz30/abandonedreabuilding
     
    I then subsequently discovered some military modelling sites, and the models of Mig Jimenez, amongst others, which really leads me to where I am now. I think I'll leave it there - I should imagine anyone who started reading this has given up by now
     
    I leave you with this - my first attempt - it wasn't bad, considering, but I realise that both the techniques, and definitely the photography have improved an awful lot.
     

     
    Hopefully this has been of interest to somebody. :icon_mrgreen:
  21. Pugsley
    I've finally managed to get all the bits I need to start this little project together, so I've made a start today - I've only had the kit since June...
     
    Opening the box (well, bag really )
    The parts are sealed in a series of bags, within one big bag. Each of the 4 cars is comprised of 2 ends, one roof, one floor and two sides. The instructions are pretty good - there is a part list for each car and a basic exploded diagram, but no numbers to identify the parts (some of which don;t apply to the 455, but more of that later)
     
    I'm using Jim Smith-Wrights etches for this build, although I'm just using the windows, doors and some other details - as his kit is intended to convert the Bratchell kit to a 455/8, which have a different front end to the later batch of units, the 455/9 end is included within the kit.
     
    Parts for the TS:

     
    I've modified the floor in the same way as tomstaf has with his, just to make the assembled cars easier to get into, as the floor just snaps into the sides. There is an inset part of the floor - run a sharp Stanley knife around the edge of this area repeatedly to cut it out. Once out, stick some 1.5mm strip around the aperture - this should be level with the top of the floor, although there will be a slight lip on the sides still, which will help align the strip.
     
    This photo shows the modification a little more clearly:

     
    As I'm using Jims windows and doors, I've removed all of the raised detail from the window surrounds and doors. There is a small lip around the edge of the doors that needs to be removed as well as the window surrounds and the central join. These were removed with a sharp scalpel, taking care not to damage the surrounding bodysides - the plastic is quite soft and easily damaged.

     
    The window surrounds are best removed by gently paring them down with a sharp scalpel to start and then carefully filing the remainder down - again great care must be taken as the plastic is very soft. Once all the detail is removed, the body can be assembled with Plastic Weld. The ends slot into the roof first, then the sides join onto the ends and roof. Dry fit and adjust until the fit is perfect - I found I had to fettle both ends of both sides for it all to fit together properly.
     

     
    The assembled bodyshell, with the etched doors fitted. These will receive a little more detail in due course - there are some small fittings at the base of the doors, either side of the shut line.
     
    One car down, three to go..
  22. Pugsley

    Unleashing the genie

    By Pugsley,

    Links for later parts of the saga:
    2 - What do you do in the bath?
    3 - Giving the Chopper a good workout
    4 - D, I, Why?
    5 - Interior design
    6 - Interior design - too
    7 - I'll be your number one
    8 - Of weeny LEDs and orange
    9 - The real slim Shady
    10 - His name? Number two...
    11 - Mikkel made me do it ;-)
    12 - Wax on. Wax off.
     
    I have probably just made a mistake, probably quite a big mistake - I've opened the big white box of joy...
     
    For those of you who are not aware of the big white box of joy, it contains a JLTRT 37 that I acquired earlier in the year and was trying to put off starting until I'd got a lot further with the various EM projects that I have on the go. This box has been calling me from the shelf for a few months now and I've managed to resist, until today!
     
    Before construction starts in earnest, I've decided to have a good look at the body parts to figure out what needs to be done to represent my chosen prototype - 37415 in the IC 'Mainline' livery.

    So far I've identified 3 panels that need to be removed, and several areas that need to be filled, as marked on the sides in the picture above. My first impressions on unwrapping the sides was of nicely defined castings with the minimum of flash. There was one bit that I wasn't too happy with though - on each side the window above the rectangular grille was connected to the grille below with a bit of resin. With a bit of care, and a fine pointed scriber, I've managed to remove this block and introduce a small gap between the window and the grille. No before pictures though, sorry.
     
    Other additions that will need to be made are bulkheads behind the drivers seat, which I think were added at refurbishment. I just need to find a decent photo that shows the detail, as there seems to be a couple of different types.
  23. Pugsley

    Virtual reality

    By Pugsley,

    I've been getting into 3D design in a big way of late. I need to get some parts made for the 7mm scale tank wagon projects, which are slowly progressing beyond ideas in my head, so set to learning the drawing package (Alibre) by knocking up a buffer of the type required. It's taken some time to get to this point, but I'm now happy it's as accurate as I can make it.
    Behold the mysterious floating buffer:
     

     
    Unfortunately, as the head has been built as the same part as the shank, it appears chromed in the final render (pimp my buffer ), but that's a lesson learned for next time! The plan is to send the model to Shapeways, or similar, to make a master, which will then be used to make wax copies for lost wax casting.
     
    It's been a nice diversion from the weathering and 37 projects, although I've now discovered that I need to redesign the traction motors slightly, after running into a little problem with tolerances. Still, the new drawing package should be able to help with that as well.
  24. Pugsley

    Wax on. Wax off.

    By Pugsley,

    Well, more like slap on filler and sand off. It's coming on, with a little help from my new friends:

    The sanding sticks have proved to be a worthwhile investment for this project (I got mine from Netmerchants) not exactly cheap, but not ludicrously expensive either, in the grand scheme of things. More of this later though.
     
    Riveting - Part 1
    Through filling the second set of footsteps in the tumblehome of the loco, losing some of the moulded rivet detail around the area was inevitable. However, all is not lost:

    These really are good, I bought them ages ago for another project (actually exactly the same problem as here, but in 4mm scale!) but they've sat in a drawer for ages. They arrived from the US in roughly 4 days after ordering - sterling service. They are effectively blobs of resin on waterslide decal paper and apply exactly like a transfer. The instructions recommend fixing in place with Klear, which I would endorse, they may come off a little too easily if you don't (found that out the hard way).
     

     
    The results are worthwhile - this job would be a real bu**er to do if they didn't exist!
     
    Drilling down
    I've also taken the opportunity to finish off the two cab ends whilst the potential for distraction was reduced. At this stage I've drilled out the tail and marker lights in preparation for fitting the lighting at a later stage in the build. These were easy, selecting the right size of drill to fit the aperture, using the existing shallow holes as a guide, meant that the holes were automatically centred.

    The headlights weren't going to be so easy. In order to show the marking out a bit better, the headlight was coloured in with a pencil. The overall width of the light was measured in terms of both height and width. By calculating half of both dimensions, setting the calipers and using the outside of the light housing as a guide, I was able to accurately mark the centre of the aperture. Once marked, I carefully used a 0.5mm drill to find the centre marking and drill a pilot hole.

    Once the pilot holes were drilled (above) I opened them out with a 1.0mm drill, right through. this was then the guide for a 3.5mm drill that I only drilled part way down, so that the angle of the drilled hole forms the shape of the reflector. More on this in a later chapter.
     
    Riveting - Part 2
    I needed to make a blanking plate for the boiler exhaust aperture, so made one from 5 thou brass sheet that was to had. The blanking plate was measured, and the piece marked out before cutting with sharp scissors. They're not quite so sharp now
     

     
    Whilst at the Reading show back in December, I purchased one of the GW Models rivet presses, which I thought would be ideal for forming the rivets on the plate. It turns out that it was! I used the calipers to mark 2mm in from each corner and used the punch to create the rivet in this location. the plate was rolled with a bit of brass tube on a pad of kitchen towel to make it conform to the roof profile.
     

     
    After gluing it in place, I realised that it was sticking up far too far. I've since removed the boiler port so that the plate is now flush to the roof. The port was removed with a combination of scraping and filing and the plate re-secured with CA adhesive.
     
    Back to the start
    And now 'tis back to the start and the reasons for massive filler consumption and dust generation. Firstly, the cab mouldings required a lot of fettling in order to get them to fit and even then required a far bit of filler to get the profile to match the rest of the body, more than I expected TBH. Got there in the end, although I expect to have to do a little more fettling after the body is primed.
     

     
    This was the biggest use of filler - as the kit is supplied, there is one more bar in the cantrail grilles than there should be, 11 bars instead of 10. I'm not sure if this is a design error, or a design compromise - the joint between body and sides would be less straightforward if it had been stepped. I've filled this with the green stuff, but would use a suitably sized piece of plasticard in each aperture to be filled if I was to do it again.
     
    It's still a little rough round the edges in the cantrail grille area, this is one of the tasks to complete this week, along with assembling the bogies to a certain extent, although not quite for the reason you may think. More elaboration on that mystery in the next (thrilling?) episode....
     
    Thanks for reading - especially if you got all the way down here..
  25. Pugsley
    Lack of updates should not be confused with lack of progress, although the two are usually related - I can't write about doing naff all, well, I could, but people would soon stop reading it!
     
    However, in the time I've not been here posting, I have summoned up the courage to actually make a start on painting the 37 and it hasn't been the disaster that I feared it would. It came close to it on a number of occasions though! Mostly problems with paint adhesion, I don't think I cleaned the body quite enough before assembly, and on a couple of occasions I thinned the Railmatch acrylics a little too much, which didn't help. A bit of remedial work with some fine sandpaper did the job though, and now you'd never know!
     
    This is how it looks now:

     
    After masking all of the stripes around the door areas, I was starting to wish that I'd decided to build it as a triple grey example! Still, I'm fairly pleased with the end result, even though it has required quite a lot of touching in in places - I'm not sure Tamiya masking tape is as good as it used to be.
     
    I've also got the replacement brake shoes from Shapeways - these are the best quality parts that I've had in the FUD material, and they arrived within 7 days.

     
    I've now ordered some more, as I was three quarters of the way through doing the first bogie before realising each sprue contained enough brake shoes for one bogie, and I had only ordered one of them.... Mounting the brakes in position has also confirmed that I have some room to add extra pick-ups, so these will also be put in place, which should help with the problems experienced on the first test run.
     
    In addition to the bogie works, a coat of Klear will go on the body next, in preparation for adding the decals, of which the orange cantrail lining is what I'm looking forward to least. Everything else is straightforward, there's the Kingfishers to go on the engine room doors and the numbers are Replica rub-on ones. I'm toying with the idea of putting the OHL warning flashes onto thin plastic sheet, or photo paper, and sticking them on, to provide a little bit of relief, but haven't quite made my mind up in that respect.
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