big T

Cheers Dave

A few photos from last nights 10 mins in the garage: Desk which is destined for one of the portacabins: 3D printed signal levers: Bit blurry sorry! - signal box interior showing lever frame and equipment: Crane (Upcycled from Pensbridge): EWS 37669 stabled: Recent transfer from Blyth Cambois to Toton: Pair of 20's await the road with a short rake of mermaids: Thanks for looking - any comments more than welcome Trev

Hi Adrian, Appreciate your reply - I will try Sankey Scenics!!! Thank you Trev

Looking for some advice please - I'm after some station signs, signs for the side of my sheds and general H & S signs/limited clearance that sort of thing. Much appreciated Trev

Trev

I did wonder where you'd gone! (Joke!)

Awesome mate

Oh and the fencing will be fixed too. Currently it looks like a Tornado has passed through. And no not the LNER one..... (saying that Ive got a lovely Mashima powered DJH B16/4 that I need to convert to DCC....) Ill do a steam layout one day... Trev

I had a few good hours last night, finishing off around 00.30. The new truncated track I had laid a couple of days ago had dried sufficiently to allow me to rip one bit up. (this was intentional as I wanted to achieve an effect in the ballast) I then added a buffer stop, a shed load of paint, muck, ballast, weathering powders and flock to represent very old unused track. I will finish it off tonight with more static grassing and paint. Rather than use a new Shark, I had an old Hornby HAA. I filled it up with coal, and removed the couplings. I will address the pants weathering and will re weather, add pipes and instanters tonight. A few pics quickly as I am interviewing for apprentices in 5 minutes!!! Cheers Trev

Hi dude Thank you. its been a right slog! That would be awesome to meet up mate Welcome to come n have a play too! Trev

Hi matey Yea I did notice that the tube stock moves have increased. I went to Portway last week for X08 but it was late. Caught it the next day with a shed on the front and a chibble on the back. Swapped over at Barrow Hill. Do you still sign grids and tugs? more of that to follow with the re-engineering plus the ex colas stuff.... Lots going on! Hopefully not too much so you cant get some modelling in haha! Hopefully see you around soon pal Trev

OK just a quick re-cap based on the pics I posted the other day............. I ordered a few bits (Javis tarmac paper and Noch traffic barriers). These came last week. I unwrapped the Javis road paper and it was curled up like a snake, leaving permanent folds in the surface. (This is one of my pet hates at work when people fold or roll drawings too tightly!) So I borrowed the dining room table and my sons books and using a plank of wood, managed to straighten things out. (This took 2 days). I finished messing around with the plasticard hardstanding areas. As I have mentioned before, trains weren't running as well as I'd hoped through this bit of the layout so I set about filing, trimming, and removing excess material that was causing interference with wheels and flanges. Once I had done this, I masked off, then primed the errant surfaces and airbrushed Phoenix Precision concrete colour over the top. (I definitely recommend having the door open for this stuff! Very potent!) - n.b. I still wear my British Army S10 respirator whilst spraying but that paint is hell! After the paint had 24hrs to go off, I scribed grooves in the surface of the plasticard and added PVA, then green flock to represent weeds growing thro the slab joints (as I did with the P-Way yard further on up). I then weathered the lot, and paid attention to the four foot, and added progressively darker shades of browns/ matt blacks to represent oil and crud. With the surrounding areas having gone off I had an ephiphany - I remebered that I'd bought some spraymount. All I had to do was find it, which was easier said than done. 10 minutes later spraymount in hand, I laid the road paper. (Observing it was a little too coarse and overscale. Damn. Anyhoo, plank overlaid onto setting road paper and weighted down with tins of emulsion it was left to dry. With the road paper dry and the edges nicely stuck with no gaps, I got the trusty old Noch Grassmaster out and added some weeds to several areas, using different fibres, lengths and colours. I also added what will be a redundant track in a gap that was too big for anything really so needed filling (but in a subtle way). I will add a lot of weeds and perhaps a redundant wagon. (I really want to add a Hornby Shark to represent an abandoned vehicle (like the infamous one at Shenfield!), but dont know if I can justify glueing down and vandalising a brand new £20 wagon for effect?! Ive got eight or nine sharks, so will I miss one? Im currently working on the access road itself and the fencing and yet more weeds. Im enjoying it at last! (time is ticking until October 13th when it makes its debut at the Cradley Heath show! eek!) Thanks for looking! Trev

Hi Peter, Thanks very much! Yes I really believe it is the smaller things that do bring substance to a layout - I have this theory of trying to make lots of small dioramas that all come together to create the fabric around the track/trains. Hopefully it works. Thanks for dropping by Trev

Thanks pal, really appreciate your comments Trev

Thank very much! Putting a few hours in recently, and its starting to pay off! Trev

Busy busy recently. A few pics of recent developments: Write up to follow must get back to the grindstone! Cheers Trev

Good to see you back on here chief..hope all is well I know team blue and orange are doing well atm - lots of new flows won from DB..

I'm really starting to enjoy things coming together now even though the to do list seems to be growing as opposed to shrinking! How is that?!! Last night was spent priming and painting office furniture that is destined for the Portacabins and some AWS ramps which will compliment the recently installed signals. I managed to clear a lot of the stock and locos off the layout, which gave me opportunity to clean the track and give it a well needed hoover too. Whilst the layout was empty, I address programmed a couple of locos that escaped the net! Comments are always welcome! Thanks Trev p.s. the giant gap in the backscene will be closed up with a section of angle - the recent warm weather has made the end section warp! Grr! I cant put the angle on until Ive finished the scenery/detailing bits to the hardstanding area!

Absolutely!! The first wife wasn't so happy though haha!!! Trev

Eckon Berko ones definately a good option mate. Trev

That has to be the best depiction of a road surface Ive seen Mike. Great stuff!

Hi Leon Originally I wanted absolute aspects, but I had to pay £600 this month towards the future Mrs H's wedding dress so Eckon Berko it was. TBH I like them and I think with a bit of weathering they will look mint. Trev

Thanks mate really appreciate it

Had an enjoyable day in the garage today, mainly focusing on the hardstanding which will (eventually) house the second Wagon Repair shed. Its a job Ive been meaning to drop onto for ages and have been putting off. I had to trim some of the plasticard due to interference with the wheels, causing poor running. I did this, and weathered the surrounding areas and ballast, taking the opportunity to pep up the concrete colour as it needed another coat (its had 3 already). lots of painting, lots of airbrush action, assembling, painting, dis-assembling, cleaning etc. Cheers Trev