eldavo

... Today's paper has a story about a Hebridean island than spent a lot of money getting rid of rats that is now over-run with bunnies.

At least bunnies are edible!

Morning

Dave

i hope she knows how to do the up and under.

I thought you were going to find that out but now I remember you elected to go for the prop forward!

Cheers

Dave

Looking good Dave, but I'd have a word with that signalman. Could be a big derailment any second now...

I knew someone was going to spot that! Certainly going to be a bit of a mess as the turnout is fitted with clamp lock motors so it won't trail. The signalman denies all responsibility on account of the fact that there are currently no levers or switches installed in the signalbox. In fact I am still pondering how to control this whole shebang. Could well be a few relays involved.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Full set of oktas but not currently leaking. Bit inconvenient, someone has scheduled a meeting with me at the office at 9.30! Might have to take a day off midweek to recover. Have a good one all.

... Fingers crossed for the prostate check Phil. ...

Ooh, I hope not. Uncomfortable enough with the doctors fingers uncrossed!

If things need clearing out Phil I'll drop your air compressor back to you.

Cheers

Dave

Backscene boards sprayed with (a little) blue emulsion to give some sort of graduation from blue(ish) at the top down to white(ish) at the bottom. Also they've now had a squirt of Ronseal matt varnish. Looks like it does what is says on the tin!

While clearing out the ensuing mess in the garage I had a couple of boards outside in daylight so thought I take the odd snap. Amazes me the detail on these tiny models.




Here's a shot of a couple of the holes in the sky taken from another angle. The backboards look very white in this shot but there are hints of blue honest!



Time for some work on a couple of crucial structures and then some terraforming I think.

Cheers
Dave

Todays challenge, fit backscene boards. I figured I can't really do any landscaping without them so they have to be done now. Basically made from 3mm MDF and either bolted, to allow removal from the 3ft boards, or screwed and glued for the 2ft end boards. The ends have been curved round by scoring the reverse of the board, shaping then filling the score marks with "no more nails". Hope it stays put! Here's a shot of all 4 boards assembled.



The tops of the backscene boards are not located positively against one another yet so I have to figure a scheme for that. They have been sprayed with a couple of coats of B&Q matt white emulsion as a base. Blagged PhilH's airbrush and compressor for a week or so to get this job sorted.

A slightly closer view shows the Eastern end where the track has been laid.



I plan to airbrush on a progressive blue shading tomorrow. Hopefully only the backscene will turn blue not the air!

Cheers
Dave

thanks - can I ask some more please?

Of course.

How thick do you paint the glue?

 

What ballast do you use?

 

How much do you do at atime?

 

cheers

 

Matt

1) Plentiful but not excessive

2) Woodland scenics fine grey

3) About a foot per session. Any more and my brain fries!

This technique was documented by Gordon S in his Eastwood Town thread (Eastwood Town post #45) . I don't mask the edges and a lot of my track has card strips along the adge to represent concrete cable ducts which makes life easier.

Some more detail an piccies to show what it looks like. Here's a shot of a bit of track in the raw (almost). The track has been given a squirt of Halfords grey primer and, because this section is meant to represent concrete sleepers, a squirt of Plasticote Suede effect.

I apply the PVA (cheapo stuff in a big bottle from somewhere) with a number 1 paintbrush. I'm not too careful about it but basically slap it on in the big areas then add blobs of glue between sleepers. The PVA will tend to settle into the corners on its own.

This section is about 3 inches which is not too long so the PVA dries too much and also not too long so my brain, eyes and paintbrush fingers start losing it.

I then sprinkle the ballast by pinching a bit between thumb and forefinger. I have done it by sprinkling from a small bottle but I find I have better control using my fingers. I'm basically a fairly messy modeller so I tend to use my fingers for most things!

Then I knock any excess off the ends of the sleepers with my finger and tamp it down into the glue. Worth also running your fingernail along the insides of the rails to dislodge any stray ballast and glue otherwise the ride is a bit rough in N gauge!

Pretty much done though it doesn't look that clever (yet).

I leave it for 24 hours or so to let the PVA do its stuff then brush off any excess, not usually very much, with a bigger paintbrush.

Here's a cruel close-up of a section that was done a few days ago. The rails have had a rough splash of rust colour here as well and the whole thing is waiting for the weathering treatment to tone down the colours.

A bit of weathering a little more detailing and I think it will look OK.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Bright again. Dog walked and coffee drunk all before 8 this morning! Need to short the "short" list out so I can get on with the important things. Need to top up the water levels in our pond, I suspect a leak. Not wading in there though.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Bright again. I have the day off work but unfortunately my time is largely taken up by ferrying youngest son and his mates to and from Thorpe Park. Still there is an interlude of several hours where I have to go and have "lunch" with a mate. Better not be too much "lunch" or I won't be able to find Thorpe Park for the return leg!

Cheers

Dave

No - just ask your employer to buy a new one B)

Tried the equipment provided by said employer but the results were rather less than spectacular. These 'ere 2mm bricks are rather small!

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Bright one again. Why is it whenever you want to print a sheet of brickpaper the colour cartridge runs out and you don't have a spare. Is this a documented phenomenum or should I apply for a government grant to investigate it?

Cheers

Dave

Looks like some very tidy work. Nice.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Bright but distinctly chillsome hereabouts. The first 747s of the season are on their way to you Gordon. I can see their vapour trails overhead! Actually there must have been a dozen or more trails across the sky when I first looked out this morning so the the transatlantic runs must be coming in to Europe.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Bright one hereabouts. There's a coincidence Gordon, the road outside my house is blocked half a mile towards town and we have been experiencing the same quiet without any vapour trails in the sky. Network rail are raising a number of bridges to allow larger containers to travel on wagons other than "pocket" wagons and it has been causing a certain amount of chaos around the town for months. The bridge our road crosses is due to be closed till July so the only traffic passing the house is local stuff, no commuters. Could get used to it.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Bright in these parts despite it being Monday. Dare I drive to work with the car roof down or will the car fill up with ash? Decisions decisions. Have a good one all.

Cheers

Dave

...what happened to the 'ballasting with Klear' thing?

I had a section of ballasting that I had done with Klear come unstuck. As soon as I touched it it started to break up and come away. This kind of put me off it a bit! Also I noticed that ballasting with Klear with loosely spread ballast gave a much rougher look than tamping the ballast into neat PVA. The acrylic varnish seemd to accentuate the roughness somehow. In 2mm the roughness didn't look right so it was back to older techniques.

You can actually see the difference in the last pic I posted. To the left of the point tiebar is done with Klear (on the lower two lines) and to the right is PVA. Quite noticeable really.

Cheers

Dave

Dave, How do you get such smooth ballasting?

Paint between the sleepers with neat PVA, sprinkle on the ballast then tamp down with the MK I index finger. The painting the glue on bit is very tedious but the results are good and there is almost no reworking or cleaning up to do.

Cheers

Dave

Last weekend I was given gardening task by the authorities so that slowed things down a bit. During the week I've spent the odd hour or two tinkering and I think I'm making progress though nowhere near enough!

As per normal I'm using the best quality materials available. Can you see what it is yet?




This is the start of work on one of the major scenic features of the layout, the road overbridge and attached station building. I started roughing things out in some old gash card from the recycling bin and now I'm undecided whether this will turn into the actual model. I originally intended to build it in plasticard but having looked at the 2mm brick sheets available I'm not convinced. I think it may end up as card with brick paper, probably custom printed in the trusty PC.

Here's the structure, as far as it is, balanced on the end of the East junction board. 2mm buildings are rather on the small side!



This shot also shows that the track has been painted and mostly ballasted. Also some detailing has started. It would all be ballasted except that one section has developed a dead short! I'm going to have to lift it and relay I think as there is nothing obviously wrong. B****r!

Here's a cruel close-up to show more of what's been done. There's obviously still some fettling and then weathering to do but it's getting there.



Cheers
Dave

...and I thought railway modelling was dangerous...

 

http://news.bbc.co.u...one/8624282.stm

Buemi said: "From in the car it was not a problem. I just lost both wheels."

OK, nothing serious then!

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Fair few looming oktas but lovely sunshine in between. Decided it would be quieter in the office than at home today so sat at my desk already. Trying to get any kind of work done from home with 3 teenagers and SWMBO in residence is a bit of a non-starter.

If Phil is a guitar player who drinks red wine does that make him a plonker?

Cheers

Dave

... Still, I turned the laptop on at 8.40 and I've still not managed to get into my email yet...

It's secure then.

Morning All, Oktas clearing but there's a wicked cold wind whistling down from the North East. We must have upset BoD. Important errand to run before embarking on any work this morning. Then there'll be lunch. Might just have some time to look at emails before heading home.

Cheers

Dave

Me too, got the enlarger though it's packed away in the loft these days. I had a Praktica ,rather than the Zenith, that eventually I traded in for an Olympus OM-1. Truly a piece of engineering art.

Cheers

Dave

Morning All, Full set of oktas. I can only imagine their presence is my fault as I was driving around yesterday in glorious sunshine with the car roof down. Almost guaranteed to change the weather. Sounds like a very nice holiday Don. Avoiding meeting others while on holiday tends to be one of my priorities. SWMBO says it's not just while on holiday!

Cheers

Dave

A cardboard box! That'd not be one of those grand jobs from the grocer's mind. A shoebox and in't middle of road an all.

Cheers

Dave

... I struggled to get it on a 6ft board!

6ft board! In my day we dreamed of a 6ft board.

Cheers

Dave