kes

After a long gap so I could fine tune the layout, I have started ballasting using medium granite ballast from a guy on Ebay. The particles are around 2mm which is about right for 3-4" lumps of ballast. It is stuck down with the usual pva/water/washing up liquid mix. Only 4 more boards to go then it will be lightly weathered with the airbrush.

Sandy Bay will be making an appearance at TINGS on the 11/12th Sept 2021. We are looking forward so seeing everyone.

I suppose I am going to have to get on with the ballasting next. I also want to scratch build one of these at some point.

Hello again, it seems like forever since I was able to get into the shed, but I am back. Today I spray painted the track using my air brush and some dark brown/black enamels. I will post some photos shortly. I also have just received 4kg of 2mm limestone ballast, from Ebay after Hermes "lost it" for four days. Should keep me busy.

The cab roof is not stuck on yet so I can get the crew inside easily. That is a job for next week.

Well, I finally managed with a fan heater to get the shed warm enough to spray the 56xx. Maggie said I could not do it in the house! A couple of coats of Humbrol enamel green, then when dry Ronseal satin varnish. I don't think there is going to much more progress outdoors this year. The photos were taken at 7 degrees centigrade. The engine needs weathering down as the green is a bit bright at the moment.

I finally got chance to spray a coat of aerosol grey primer on the engine. Next colour is the green using my airbrush.

Hi John, it would be quite easy to fabricate a fire box out of plasticard. Do it as a box, and reinforce the insides of the joints with more plasticard, then when it is set hard you can file and sand the radii. Washout plugs can be drilled through and then thin sheet added on the inside, which can have smaller holes drilled in to insert bits of wire for the plug heads. Kevin.

Finally got away from the distractions and added some more detail to the 56xx. It now has tank fillers, steps, injectors, handrails, sandboxes. Still more to do on the body.

There has been slow progress recently whilst I have been solving an engine management problem on our car. The 56xx now has a recessed bunker made by cutting out a section with a razor saw, and cutting a slice out of a suitable platic tube, which was glued into the hole. The engine looks more balanced with the larger bunker.

Here is an oo model for comparison

Here are some photos of the boiler resting on the loco so you can judge whether the result is acceptable. Cheers. Kevin.

I find in 7in scale I am more concerned with how the loco looks rather than exact scale, so my engines may not be totally right.

I searched on Google for 56xxx drawing, then went to images. A good site is greatwestern.org and follow the links to locomotive drawing layouts. If you click on the loco name it opens a drawing. Kevin.

Hi, with this one as much of the boiler is hidden by the big side tanks I cheated and used two parallel sections of tube. On a Stanier mogul I rolled the boiler from a cone of plasticard.

Looking and moving well.

Thanks Amanda. Standard water pipe is sold as 32mm internal, which is 34.5mm external diameter. 40mm is 43mm external and 50mm is 56 mm ext diameter. The pipe needs aggressive solvent like plasticweld. The 34.5 mm pipe scales out at about 5 foot diameter. I start with a drawing showing the dimensions from a book or off the net. I scan this then enlarge it on the printer until a known measurement scales up to full size for 7mm scale. i.e 8' equals 56mm. I then use the drawing with a pair of digital calipers to transfer the measurement to plastic sheet. You could pritt stick the drawing to the sheet and cut out parts directly. As you like building plastic wagon kits, have a look at the individual bits before you assemble them. You should be able to work out how you can replicate the moulding by gluing flat plastic together, and filing it. I always keep an eye out for plastic rod, tubes, bottles which I can use.Best wishes, Kevin

The rest is made from an old 4f firebox and some plasticard. It is progressing gradually.

I found a length of waste pipe in the shed, and the rest is history!!!

Hi Derek, glad to hear you and Olga are back in action and that you are running some trains again. Please give my kind regards to Olga. See you again when all this is over, Regards Kevin.

Here is the new EFE Clayton rumbling through Four Arches with 12 vehicles on the 9" radius curves.

I have just received my class 17 and here are two short videos of it running slowly around my 9" radius curves pulling 12 wagons with ease. I ran it in for half an hour each way on the same layout, and tuned the engine through 180 degrees so the bogies turned both ways. I can not fault this model - wonderful!

All the cosmetic chairs (600+) have now been cut in half, trimmed, and shortened and glued on the sleepers. They are 4 bolt Slater's ones. Next I will be adding fishplates made out of 10 thou plastic sheet, embossed with a darning needle to represent the bolts. My experiments have been promising, I will post photos when I attach them.

With the bad weather I have been cutting up and gluing on approximately 600 cosmetic chairs to my home made points. This raised an unusual health problem. Because the weather was wet, I had the shed door shut during my 3 hour sessions super gluing the chairs on. I found I started wheezing late at night, and being mildly asthmatic started using my inhaler more and more. Eventually I stumbled on the fact that superglue fumes can affect asthmatics quite badly. I have since made sure the door is wedged open and one of the windows is open. I have made a full recovery and not suffered any further symptoms. I can only think that being close to the sleepers with my face, whilst gluing, resulted in a concentrated dose of fumes.

Hi - have a look at Spital Bridge in the 7mm gauge section. It has an island platform, parcels facilities and a small goods yard, and it could be shortened to fit in your space. Good Luck with the project. Kevin.