chaz

Excellent photo. I would almost be tempted (if it were mine) to Photoshop some greenery into the missing corner on the right - that might make it impossible to detect that it is a model. Chaz

The season is definitely drawing to a close but a very warm day yesterday prompted me to make another trip to Old Winchester Hill. I spent an hour and a half spent walking around the site of the iron-age fort and I saw only a red admiral and two very distant small butterflies fluttering together on the steep bank. I was on the point of leaving when I came across two small coppers close to the path (possibly the two small insects that I had seen earlier). Low, early evening sun making for a very photogenic light. Damage to the left upper wing shows this to be a different insect. I couldn't resist this view across the reserve as the balloon appeared. And having taken a few more butterfly snaps I noticed a second balloon had joined the first (launched from not far away?). Chaz

No, but that one looks the most likely Jeff. I have emailed Wiseman to ask if they will supply to me in the UK. Their catalogue includes some very nice detail stuff which I might well add to any order I send them.

I have to say that all the pictures I have seen of water tanks on US railroads do show a tapered spout with a downturned end. So even if there were examples with parallel ones they would certainly not be typical. Although Rule One can always be invoked and I can decide just how the FVRR did things I have decided to fit a tapered spout. The tank is so typical of US practice it would be a pity to spoil the look for such a small detail. Chaz

OK - had an email from a friend who says "Yes, always tapered. Railroads got the spouts from engineering companies to a standard design."

Good to see that your model of Woolwinder doesn't have those soppy mini smoke deflectors. Fitted after your period, thank goodness. Very convincing finish on the loco and tender - oily wheels and motion, gleaming paint and sooty front end. Just the job! Chaz

Can someone knowledgable comment please? Was the spout on a water tank invariably of the tapered pattern? Did they ever have a plain parallel-sided pipe as a spout, with just a downturned end? Chaz

Turning the tank support the right way up I did a quick check that the glue in the joints of the timbers added this morning had dried. Yes, it had - so it’s time to remove the cereal box card. I didn’t think trying to get it off all at once was a good idea - the tape might pull a joint or two apart. Slicing through the card on the centre line of a spacer timber with a scalpel… …allows a strip of card and some of the double-sided sellotape to be carefully peeled away. The spacer timber can be lifted out. Slicing through the card on the centre lines of all the spacer timbers seemed a good idea - easier to do this whilst the majority of the card is intact. As each strip of card is peeled away the spacer timber can be eased out. Success - with little or no adhesive from the tape left behind to clean away. I tried the tank on the top. Still a lot of work to do but I am very pleased with the way it’s coming together. ————————————————————- Three photographs of the tank in position on the layout (I just had to do this - even though it's far from finished - wouldn't you?). Because the layout of Dixon is rather cramped it has to be positioned there and in any case it looks good. Engines will stop on the turntable lead to fill their tenders. I find it much more satisfying scratch-building a model like this than I would assembling a kit. That is not to dismiss kits - they are a valuable resource and certainly save time. I think I will have a go at making a spout and the various parts to go with it and finding a way to animate it. Doesn’t this tank epitomise an American railroad in steam days? Chaz

This morning I glued in the last four timbers. These brace the smaller, outer support frames (bents?). They certainly make this maze of timber look the part, well up to the job of supporting several thousand gallons of water. A pause is needed to let the PVA in these joints dry and while it does I will consider how I am going to animate the spout. Chaz

I think the next bit of the water tank, assembling the timber support work, is easier if it’s done upside down. There should be a parallel row of cross timbers on top of the supporting structure on which the tank itself sits. I cut these timbers and laid them out first. Here's how... I marked up a square of thin card (cereal box) with a circle of the same diameter as the tank. I drew a second circle with a radius 1.5mm bigger around this as the cross timbers should project slightly beyond the bottom of the tank. I also drew an arc for two timbers which need to be longer to support some timber work for the spout etc. I put five strips of double-sided tape onto the card to hold down the timbers. In the snap above those two longer timbers are laid either side of a temporary spacer. Using the larger of the two circles as a guide the cross timbers are firmed down onto the sticky tape, with spacers between each one. You can see that I cut the spacers so that they were not as deep as the timbers. You can also see the spots of PVA ready for the centre two support frames to be added. You will remember that these two frames have been glued either side of the frost box and are thus a single sub-assembly. Here the sub-assembly has been positioned on the cross timbers. A scrap piece of thick ply’ spreads the weight, keeping up a good contact while the glue dries. The spacers, being thinner, should not fixed by the glue and can be removed later. The last job today, once the centre frames were secure was to add the two outer frames. These were also glued to the cross timbers and weights were added to keep the glue joints compressed while they set. Lifting the weights slightly off the outer frames allowed me to adjust them until they were parallel to the inner frames and vertical. Chaz

Thanks for the encouraging comments Chris. I do like card, wood and thin ply' for my scratch-built buildings - as they say "nothing looks more like wood than....". I avoid Plasticard - in fact the only structure on the line that is plastic is the girder bridge - a modified Kibri kit. At the moment all of my locomotives with one exception are RTR (mostly Bachmann) On30, straight out of the box. Any pictures I posted would just duplicate the catalogue shots. I do plan to post pictures of the locos but not until I have weathered and in some cases modified or detailed them. Chaz

The four support frames for the water tank ready for the next step. In the middle of the structure there was often a frost-box/pump room. I made up a card box strengthened at the corners by square section wood. I painted the box to match the strips of 0.6mm ply’ which I had cut and painted. This will stop the planking being spoilt by the white of the card showing through the gaps. I cut the pre-painted strips and glued them to the frost box with PVA. I used an engineer’s square to make sure that the strips stayed parallel. The finished frost box, nearly ready to glue into the structure. A few boards will need trimming. The vertical planking is on the hatch which would give access to the pump and stove. A single coat of Tamiya red/brown has left the paint patchy - which I rather like. it allows the wood grain to show a little. Next I glued the two larger frames to the frost box. Notice the cunning way in which the frames members marked bottom are at the top. X bracing is being added to the ends of the frames - don’t forget that when the water tank is full it would be a considerable weight which has to be strongly supported. Chaz

OK Mark, we all have our own ways of working. As I said above if you have a good key - and matte varnish provides that, then weathering powder clings to it fairly stubbornly, to the extent that if you use too much it can be quite difficult to dislodge! This will, however, depend to some degree on how fine the powder is - the finer it is the better it will cling. There will be a small pause in my weathering posts as I am working on the water tank for the FVRR today (follow the link below?). Chaz

Thanks chaps for all the comments and accounts of experiences with paint. Having a local supplier of Tamiya, Humbrol and Vallejo acrylics will almost certainly swing it for me. The vast range of colours in the Vallejo range is likely to furnish any need I might have. As a postscript - although I have used Railmatch enamels I did find they have a very poor shelf life, the paint in the pots drying out to a solid lump long before I could make use of it. Chaz

Apropos the last posting. If you are in doubt about any model, and not just the weathering, take some photos. Looking at the results will show up any defects and will certainly help you to answer the frequent question "Is that OK?". Chaz

An unkind close-up of the the left-hand panel - brushwork around the transfer to disguise the transfer (decal) edges doesn’t quite match the quality of the wear effects. Even using my finest paint brush I can’t do it. However when the powders are added this will help. I am using these three weathering powders on this car. A limited palette is a good idea - especially when carried through a number of cars it will ensure that they will look OK when coupled together. Making a start on the left hand end. I am very careful with weathering powders, adding small amounts and building up the effect slowly. It’s potent stuff and too much is not good. Note the yellow of the “dry rust” which too my eye is too obvious but… I mix the powders on the model adding small traces in the corners and using a soft brush to spread traces across the panels. The key provided by the worn effect and the matte varnish does hold the powders well so care is needed! Too much powder is not so easy to dislodge. The rich rust works well, the dry rust is very yellow and needs to be used with care. The black is very useful in toning down and adding smokey dirt. It has certainly helped to deal with the bright white numbers. I do not spray any sort of varnish over the powders - testing them by vigorous brushing shows them to be bound very well to the surface. Varnish will change the look and can make the result very disappointing. #94, #95 & #80 coupled together with newly fitted Kadees. I am reluctant to weather the couplings as any paint might well interfere with their operation. Any thoughts? I suppose the very obvious curved tail can be dealt with without any problems resulting. A helicopter shot of the three cars. The inside of #95, in the middle, has yet to be painted. #94, on the left has been painted only on the top as it will be modelled loaded. #80, on the right, will be run empty and so I have painted the entire inside. My next posting will look at painting the hopper’s insides. Chaz

Again, I have to agree with you BUT it's not always so easy to arrange. A traverser that has four tracks that can each be aligned with one outlet track would require a wall seven tracks wide to protect it - would it not? Possible certainly but maybe clumsy and inconvenient. Chaz

I agree with almost all you say. I wouldn't use door bolts (regardless of any conductivity problems) - they are too sloppy to align accurately. However the locking pins I used, with two telescopic sizes of brass tubes, one as plug and the other as socket, worked very reliably. They did need a very occasional clean, but very much less than the track. Ironically I did add some microswitches to effect some interlocking for the signals. Unexpected movement might well be a disaster with a traverser. I'm looking at a loco and wondering why it's not moving, meanwhile behind me something expensive is creeping quietly towards a fall to the floor. Chaz

Happy to oblige. Should you get to the point where you want to get a field guide I recommend Richard Lewington's "Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland". For each species (we have 59) it has a double page spread with several life-size illustrations (male and female, top and underside), pictures of eggs, caterpillars and chrysalis, a distribution map, a calendar showing how the life cycle goes in a year and some detailed notes. All for around a tenner. Chaz

I would advise against any system that relies on the right switches being thrown by the operator(s). Sooner or later a mistake made might well lead to stock falling off the end the track. There is a potential trap for the unwary lurking in DCC control. An operator tries to drive a locomotive but it doesn't move. he notices that he has the wrong loco "up" on the display. He changes the address and happily drives the right loco. Meanwhile the "wrong" loco is sitting there and can't respond to the the commands sent in error because it is on a dead track on the traverser. Later on that traverser track is switched on. That loco immediately starts to move, responding to the commands sent earlier, and can't be stopped until someone has entered its address and takes over its control. Now that's not a big deal if the track was energised by a locking bolt because the track will be aligned - embarrassing? maybe, but no damage happens. If the track was energised by throwing a switch then maybe the track has not been aligned - WOOPS! I saw this happen on my O gauge layout and a disaster was only averted by a friend of mine grabbing the loco just before it reached the track end. I quickly redesigned the electrical connections so that such an incident was impossible. Chaz

Transects are butterfly counts. A fixed route is walked (usually on a reserve) and numbers of all species seen are recorded. The results can be compared year by year and trends noted. This week is the last week for transects in Hampshire. There isn't much point in carrying on longer as numbers seen will tail off fast. I did two transects yesterday and saw less than a dozen butterflies in about two hours. What happens to butterflies in the winter varies from species to species. Some overwinter as adults - for example the comma disguises itself as a dead leaf and hibernates on top of logs and branches. Many species overwinter as a chrysalis (cocoon). The small copper is an example of a butterfly that overwinters as a caterpillar. The chalkhill blue survives the winter as an egg. Painted ladies can't survive our winters and migrate south to warmer conditions. HTH Chaz

I made my own locking pin system for a sector plate on an O gauge layout. This was based on PCB pieces. These were electrically gapped in such a way that not only the track on the sector plate but also the last few inches of the approach track were dead until the locking pin was slid in. Chaz

A jig for the two larger bents which will go under the water tank. Chaz

The butterfly season draws to a close. This week is the last transect week of the year and yesterday was the warmest, sunniest day so I went up to Magdalen Hill Down to do my duty. very few butterflies were showing but I did find small coppers and one common blue in surprisingly good condition, a few others I saw were very tatty. Below, two shots of the same small copper. Chaz

Once I am satisfied with the wearing/chipping process I wash the model under a gently running tap to remove any traces of the black that has been worn away, keeping the stream of water away from the transfers. I shake the model to get rid of most of the water and then leave it to dry. It’s best to let it dry on its own - the black paint that remains is a bit fragile while it is wet. When the model has dried I spray it with a matte varnish. I have used rattle-can Testor’s Dullcote to good effect on other models but on this one I decided to give Vallejo matt varnish in the airbrush a try. A quick Google came up with the suggestion that this needs thinning 50:50 with acrylic thinners. I count drops into the colour cup. I put the thinners in first - 5 drops - followed by 5 of the varnish - about the right amount for one hopper car. I give the mixture a good stir. I have a second colour cup ready containing water. If the airbrush starts to clog I swap colour cups and give it a quick blast through onto the back of the box (note the dribbles!) before resuming. Once the model has a good coat of matte varnish (don’t forget the underneath) I put it aside again to dry thoroughly - I leave it overnight. The matte finish from the Vallejo varnish looks really good and it should provide a key for the weathering powders that will come next. From some angles the transfers are too obvious but this can be sorted out at the next stage. In any case the panel with the transfers will need some further work to blend in. Chaz