Buckjumper

That's looking great Peter. Very nice job!

 I think most folk probably believe it was always a dirty black or unpainted but, if you're not aware of it, there's some useful information in the 1894 and 1907 Signal Department painting instructions. Copies of these can be found at the bottom of this page. The Victorian/Edwardian GWR was rather colourful

I didn't expect that!

Really impressive Ian. Making those curved smokebox handrails consistent in 7mm is hard enough, so hats off to you for the neat result, and I agree with Dave above, the lamp socket/handrail post is excellent.

Before you begin ballasting, it might be worth considering mounting the ground signals and also routing signal wire which would have crossed under the track just like the point rodding.

What is bothering you here Simon? Agreeing with Adrian is a pleasant activity... dis-agreeing with Adrian is penance, what have you done?

Quite agree Graham! :-)

Don't panic there's no bunfight, just the ususl cordial banter between friends.

Of course, when I say friends...

It looks excellent Dave. For me point rodding is one of those essential areas which moves a project from 'model railways' to 'modelling a railway'.

If the Peco box is adaptable to your needs, and wouldn't be out of place in your setting, then why not?

Thanks Mikkel. Actually the lettering brought out the Saxon invective. It was supposed to go on in sections, but individual letters and numbers instead sailed off to all points of the compass. The Imperial load, tare and capacity was bad enough, but when the little block of metric details in the top left corner misbehaved it was a nightmare.

Hi Scanman - I'm not sure that I've encountered a bowed chassis on a short wheelbase plastic kit of a wagon, though it's happened before on a longer coach, and that was righted once mated to the body.

In this case I think first port of call would be to exercise a little brute strength as the plastic should be fairly forgiving. Alternatively, weight the wagon in such a way that over a period of time it comes back into alignment. I'm not sure if the application of heat - such as a hairdryer -  will have the same effect as it does with bowed resin - might be worth an attempt.

Excellent modelling Job, it makes a lovely scene and looks so very insalubrious. I bet they sell under the counter imports I like the human touch such as the discarded red top newspaper blown into the corner.

Only troughle is you see every fault.

Or indeed the advantage; better to see the faults now so you can correct than rather than after you've applied the top coat.

Thanks chaps.

Go on  Rob, all you need is one wagon and a length of track, just to give it a try. You know you want to...then a little tank engine.... (just avoid the 1366 class! )

Yes Dave, the chains were dipped in a solution of Birchwood Casey Super Blue about 4:1 in favour of water. Once attached they were drybrushed with black H33 and brown H133 about 3:1, and then a little grey H64 added for highlights.

This picture on Flickr is impressive, but I'm not sure I should go this far with the weathering!

Erm, no. Not unless you're now modelling Stratford's scrap line

Beautiful model David. Handsome engines, even with the enclosed cab side sheets.

Excellent entry Mikkel.The Rusty Stumps crate kits look particularly good, and as Dave says, useful that they also cater for 7mm.

The Huntley & Palmer link is fantastic - what a scene! And wouldn't it make a great set piece: cobbles, setts, inlaid track, puddles, horses, warehouses, soup-strainer moustaches...

If you don't, I might!

Despite your current hindrance, the layout is really beginning to take shape, and the contours make a massive difference. Thanks for the plethora of photos, they help to get a feel for what you're doing, and it's looking superb.

All the best with the surgery;  I hope you get it sorted out quickly and with as little additional discomfort as possible.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments!

Captures the look of the class nicely and the chimney looks just right.  Glad to have been of assistance.  Would it be possible to produce these in 4mm scale in light of the non-availability of the Comet white metal versions?

 

Yes Mark, I think so. Next time I see John I'll see if the artwork will sustain a straight drop to 4mm, or if there'll need some strengthening in key areas so they're not too fragile.

PS: MIDAS has a lovely version of one models finished as 46444 believe it or not.  

Yes, I've seen it in the Lapston gallery, and very nice it is too, MiDAS!

There's an interesting comment on over on Western Thunder:

My understanding of the 2MT chimney story was that when BR selected the class to be built for other regions than its native LMS an example (46413) was sent to Swindon for testing where it performed unfavourably against a Dean goods that it was supposed to replace. Experiments with draughting were undertaken and a taller narrower chimney was found to markedly increase the locos performance. Darlington had already commenced building them and the first batch at least 46465-46482 were fitted with the new chimney. It was later decided that it marred the engines' aesthetics so a chimney that more closely resembled the original was made with the same internal dimensions as the narrow one

 

The later replacement chimney may be Laurie Griffin's 'tall' one cat. no. 6-15.

What was the surface of the print like? Have you done much filling or smoothing to get it to this state?

The surface was very good. It's the Shapeways FUD plastic, and the surface is frosted and feels 'etched' if you know what I mean - not glassy smooth, but no ridges, bumps or unsightly stuff. No filling, smoothing required, all I did was give it a wash, a spray with Halfords grey primer and then Halfords satin black on top. I was very pleased with it (understatement!)

A lovely job, but for those without the drawing ability etc Laurie Griffin does 3 chimneys for the Ivatt 2MT

All the best

 

He does indeed. I bought 6-15, the one marked 'tall', but it still didn't match the tall & skinny Darlington one, being too short and much too wide, and really wasn't really that different from the original. I'll see if I can find it and I'll show it against a spare printed one.

Superb - I love the beams of light cast onto the platform from the windows and doors.  I think Mikkel's right - the level looks about right to me too.

On the lucky occasions I was invited into one of the 'boxes on the local branch during the evenings I was always surprised at just how low the level of lighting was, even in the 80s, which added to the olde worlde atmosphere they always seemed to exude.

Thanks Dave. Yes, it's gloss varnish, a few drops of paint and plenty of thinners. Because it's so wet I tend to blow dry with a hairbrush as the tint lands, just until the thinners flash off.  I prefer a glossy finish as for me it accentuates the richness of the paint which a straight satin, eggshell or matt finish can't replicate, and then later I knock the finish back to a scale level (can of worms open!) with the weathering process.

Jim Harris designs...aids to scratchbuilding and hair loss. I had one of his kits to build several years ago; kept the smokebox door, swept the rest in the bin and got the piercing saw out.

Kudos for perseverance - I think I'd have several pannier-shaped marks on the wall by now

Thanks Mikkel.

The plate reads Haughley and Laxfield Branch, and was a typical feature of (ex) GE branch line sets.

One thing I've not mentioned is the presence of three link couplings, where of course screw couplings should be, but the owner uses Lincs (see original pic) and I assume the tommy bar might interfere with the auto couplings (?).

Sure. First of all I sprayed on some very thin gloss mist coats with a chestnut tint mixed up using enamels on the palette, tweaking the tint until I was happy.

A lot of people use black and leather (Humbrol 33 and 62) for the base weathering mix, adding gunmetal 53, satin brown 133 and a range of other colours as described in Martyn Welch's weathering bible. That's great, and it's perhaps my most dog-eared modelling book, but as you say, I find that mix is just too light - too beige (even for dusty underframes) so for a long time now I've used a simplified palette of black 33 and satin brown 133 for the majority of my base weathering mixes, keeping it on the dark side, and adding drops of leather or gunmetal etc in restrained quantities. Following conversations I've had with Martyn it turns out that he's done pretty much the same. This can be airbrushed or washed onto the coach sides and left to dry for 15-20 minutes before removing with cotton buds moistened with thinners.

This is all very well, and is the point where most people stop the weathering process but you're only halfway there as the effect is too flat and lifeless, so I spend a lot of time creating highlights and shadows by drybrushing a lighter and darker mix of the base colour over all the raised detail.

Very nice indeed.  Is that the plain "carriage brown" livery? This tends to be a bit under-represented in model form. Everyone thinks LNER = teak. I've done some 2mm coaches in plain brown but they need toning down & weathering.

 

Mark

Thanks Mark. From 1924, Stratford turned out all ex-GE carriages which had been painted crimson from 1919 onwards in shades of brown ranging from chestnut to an almost ochre colour (the official LNER plain brown was on the spectrum somewhere) - the crimson having stained the wood irretrievably. Carriages which avoided the crimson were stripped and varnished.

The colour Danny originally painted the carriage was, as you can see, almost chocolate - but I've been able to knock it into a sort of rich chestnut shade with some transparent layers over the top, a bit of a buff-up and some false highlights and shadows.

I think it's changed from being fairly mundane to quite an attractive colour.

They look very good. The glass does really make a difference.

 

Pleased that the house and workshop are being sorted out for you.

Thanks Peter.Yes, the glass makes a great deal of difference, both in clarity and in removing the prismatic effect. I use canopy glue to fix it in place as is dries clear and after about 15-20 minutes any blobs are removed with a sharp cocktail stick.

Not long now and I'll be wielding the hot spanner and magic wand again

Glad to hear of more progress on the house. I hope you are not sloshing that MEK around in the dark! :-)

 

That compo is very attractive indeed. The photos illustrate just how much weathering can do, especially with your expertise. Ok so there's more light in the second photo, but it's still the weathering that makes it really stand out and gives it character.

 

It must be hard to have to part with all these lovely models when they go back to the owners!

No, no nocturnal modelling going on - once I get the juice hooked up though...

Yes I agree; the original photo I posted had too much green in it so I've removed it and compensated in Photoshop by lightening it up, reducing the green and blue and adding some red and a warm filter to try and give a closer comparison between the two.

The original was taken under an overcast winter sky and the finished thing under an autumn sun, so there's quite a big difference in light temperature, but I think there quite an interesting gulf between the fairly plain brown it came in and the rich chestnut on the finished model, so I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

To be honest it's not too hard letting them go, and get quite a rush from the reaction of the new owner when they see it for the first time. There's quite a psychological divide between models I build for others and those of my own - parting with those, even if they no longer fit in with my current plans, is much harder!

Wow, what a fascinating engine! I guess there weren't any baffles in the side tanks of the 4-2-4T at that sort of date which wouldn't have helped with stability, and as you say, that's an awful lot of water sloshing around in there - almost tidal surges

Perhaps not one of Dean's most elegant designs either...

It's a very nicely composed scene. I like how the arches in the background tie it all in to The Bay, and that shot up into the blue sky...wow! But remember - where there are birds there's muck

Your ears were probably burning over the weekend as gwrrob and I chatted quite a bit about Farthing.

That works really well, and I agree with Ian, the red wagons look lovely.

Now, how can we convince you to exhibit the Farthing layouts in the UK? Is it time to petition David 'Cheeseplant' Lane to whisk you over here for Railex?

As with all your architectural stuff, this is impressive modelling Dave, and it's amazing how a little colour starts brings it all to life, even at this stage. 

Gratuitous pictures of your Dean Goods are always welcome!