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devondynosoar118

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  1. devondynosoar118
    As promised I have finally found time to record recent progress, and inspired by Jon Teal a short video of the branch goods.
    An overview of the two mostly done boards, which now just need scenic fettling and fun stuff.

    The branch goods running into the station throat.

    Close up of the new overbridge on the scenic board and hand made trees.

    Crosssing the underpass seen in my prototype posts. Have a picture to add to fake the tunnel!

    Seen from the opposite side of the underpass, the prairie rumbles round the embankment.

    Close up of the trees on the embankment

    Then I had to actually run a few trains up and down, for testing purposes obviously...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itnQLpfkIpQ
     
    Any thoughts or observations on progress would be appreciated. Still lots to do tho.I am hoping to debut at Exeter exhibition in May. I also now have an almost complete set of plans for the station building, thanks Dad for the cad and Kris for the detail!
  2. devondynosoar118
    Thanks to the dreaded SQL I am typing all this again, so pardon me if I am not totally detailed or spelled right!
     
    Inspired by the Pendon mineral train In MI4 I decided to do some work on a Mathieson Models PO coal wagon. This is how I did it, using easy techniques and no airbrush. I have one but its a pain cleaning it all in the middle of the night and using the brush mean I can work in the living room.
    The pristine model, better scale dimensions and brake gear than the other manufacturers and beautiful print quality.

     
    Almost a shame to take a glass fibre pen to it to fade the lettering, particularly removing the bits on the strapping as these would wear first, plus the door areas.

     
    Next a dry brush in grey, the brush needs to be a flat one, with reasonably fine but not too soft bristles. This highlights all the raised detail. If you get a bit heavy handed and it is too "chalky," you can wash it down in the next step. These photos show the before and after, note the more obvious planking in the second shot.


     
    Apply a black wash over the sides, inside and ends of the model. I do a panel at a time, you can use modelling dyes, thinned black ink or what I used, GW Badab Black wash. Wipe off the excess once almost dry, with a damp swab. This should make the low parts, especially the plank joins, suitably ingrained with dirt and coal dust.

     
    I then added some replacement planks of varying quality and colour, as my layout is a wartime one and repairs tended to be ad hoc. I also did a few black planks to show tarred replacements or a brief spell in the C&W.

     
    I moved on to the road dirt after some drying time, this is applied with a large stippling brush. I mix the paint on a palette, old tiles are good as you can clean off the paint periodically. You want a milk like consistency, which will allow good flow. Dip in the brush then wipe it several times with kitchen towel, you want the brush nearly dry. Too wet and it will paint, not mist the area. smaller details like brake dust and rust can be applied later, either by the same technique but with a smaller brush, an old size 0 with the point chopped flat is good for small bits, or with powders. If you do rust by brush then wipe the area with a damp swab after application, as rust tends to sit in the corners of things more than the raised bits.

     
    Finished item, I could add more but in a train of lots of wagons moving you would need binoculars to see it!

     
    Next time the finished road goods shed and station progress, I hope!
  3. devondynosoar118
    After 6 months of trying and failing to get anyone to make a laser cut kit from my Autocad files I have decided to take matters into my own hands and sort the station once and for all.
    I saw Ratio now produce a William Clarke style station building, which I thought might make a starting point for my kitbash. They also make an etched roof light, so I gathered my raw materials.
     

     
    This approach would surely meet with Mr Clarke’s approval as he was essentially an early proponent of design and build, adapting a set of plans for stations to fit multiple sites and local materials.
    The plans were drawn by my late father from pictures, maps and from photos I obtained when the station was shamefully demolished over a weekend. If people are interested I can put a link to the Autocad files in my next post.
    The plan was to get all the parts from two kits and cut and shut each elevation to fit the plans.
     

     
    I experimented with staggered joins and straight, I will go back and micro fill all the gaps before final assembly. I have used this technique before and with careful finishing it can be very tidy. The poly cement used for joining can also start the filling process. Be sure to put thin reinforcements on the back of joins over lintels etc and leave to set on a flat surface.
     
    Cuts were made with a sharp hobby knife, steel rule and patience, cleaned up with a needle file. After a short while the front elevation was nearly finished. We have most of the right door and window apertures, just not necessarily in all the right places...
     

     
    The rear elevation presented a challenge, since one half of the building is mostly windows. I did cheat a bit, the three WC windows are now one long oblong window. This side will be away from the main view angle and I think it looks OK. I considered scratch building the window section, then realised the doors were all in the right pace. I filled in the bottom with off cuts and will re scribe the bricks later.
     

     
    That means the whole of the original building, which is wider than the extension, is now done, I have the gable ends to make up, which will be done in plasticard with DAS clay overlay, to scribe the stonework in. At the opposite end the “extension” part which is narrower was the perfect width for the Ratio kit, I just have to buy one more kit to make the platform elevation.
     
    Work done I took the dog to the beach for a paddle. Which may or may not be upside down, depending on your hemisphere or personal orientation...
     

     
    Next time- “I love it when a station comes together...”
  4. devondynosoar118
    Continuing with rolling stock, I won 3 Cavendish coach kits on the usual auction site, £25 for a 70ft compo, 57 FB and a Siphon H. There were one or two bits misplaced, but nothing serious. These kits are still available in improved format, from Ultima.
    I thought I would start with the full brake. Here it is still in the box, carefully glued back together by the seller.

     
    I laid out all the components, these use printed sides, which saved me doing the lining out and the lack of relief is less of a problem as you only notice in extreme close up. Ultima produce a range of bogie options if you want more detail.

     
    I started by looking at the instructions, which were not too bad, a pleasant surprise. I stuck the main bits together, omitting the corridor partition as again this is invisible (to me anyway!) I will put one in the 70ft as it has more windows. I may even put an interior in that, we'll see. The roof has a white overlay with some surface detail printed on. This is best held by masking tape whilst glueing.

     
    There were a few gaps around the white metal ends, but not too bad for the age of it.

     
    Supplied under frame detail included the battery boxes and truss rods, fitted to the cleaned aluminium with super glue.

     
    I then assembled the bogies, which was tricky as the axlebox covers were missing. At about 2mm square it was no surprise that they had fallen out the box at some point. Fortunately there were some in the siphon H, which I pirated as this needs a new end making so will be done later with Ultima replacements. A hold and fold would have been handy as the top fold is a little bit rounded. This were the first etched bogies I have attempted, so the learning curve was a bit steep at times. I painted them and did a basic highlight and weathering job on them, then varnished them prior to fitting up.

     
    I was then ready to paint the body, including the roof as all mine are grey for wartime. I did the under frame dirtying again and weathered the ends. There is a bit of detail to add to the buffers and maybe some transfers later. The corridor moulding is basic, I will not be adding vacuum pipes as they get in the way of the DG couplings. All this got varnished yesterday.


     
    This morning I cut out and fitted the printed sides. The colour of the top is a little yellow in pictures and I couldn't get the bottom to bend down much as the plastic had curled in a bit with age. I suspect this will be more of an issue on the 70ft. Any suggestions for contouring the plastic a bit would help. I also fitted the wheels, which was interesting as it was hard not to catch the truss rods with ends of the pinpoint axles. I did break 1 bit, how do you fit these, especially metal ones. Supplied were plastic thankfully. Do you do it when assembling the bogies?

     
    A shot end on, not quite enough depth of field but you get the general idea.

     
    Any comments or improvements that can be made would be welcome. I haven't worked out how to get any weathering onto the sides and make it stick yet, and the roof could do with a little soot streaking, but not sure what else needs sorting as coaching stock is not something I am very knowledgeable about.
  5. devondynosoar118
    I have set myself the aim of exhibiting Kingsbridge this year. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Here's the job list I think it needs to be OK (not finished!)

    Complete station board, including the major buildings and structures. I might ignore a few secondary buildings if I run short of time Get the second loco converted to DCC with a digihat Complete the third scenic board Complete wiring of boards. build a control panel- stud and probe for now get backscenes printed build a cassette fiddle yard do at least some of the fencing ensure there is enouch stock to run a timetable and write it Fit DG couplings to both engines and some of the stock, probably just the B-sets and split the wagons into cuts of 3-4 for basic shunting. Fit and wire the electro magnets in the yard. build some bloody legs! Build lighting rig finish second flight case test run at least 2 full opperating sessions Do you think this is possible by June/July? Is there anything on the above list that I could ditch and what would be top priority, after finishing station and wiring.
    This is the "ready" bit, minus photographic backscene.

    I will get pics of the reallt unfinished bits this week.
  6. devondynosoar118
    I have finally got round to sorting out some more little jobs. The first one was re-numbering and dirtying my Dapol 45xx. I got some Modelmaster brass plates that were great, and some fox buffer beam numbers finished it off. All that is left to do is sort out the disgusting rapido coupling and do the front and back dirty to match the sides. Any comments appreciated as I haven’t varnished it yet. The real 4561 continues to be on static display in one of the museums (Swindon?) but I am hoping for a return to the SW for it soon.
     
     
    Apologies for the lack of super sharpness all over but composite pictures are still a way ahead!
     

     

     

     

     
     
     
     
    The obligatory black and white shot.
     
     
    I have also now got all the trackwork on order to finish the station itself (hooray!) and only need the control panel and point motor wiring that goes with it to finish the nuts and bolts stuff. I have also begun construction of the flight cases for the boards to travel in which have been a monster job in themselves. Will put in a post on them some time as well.
  7. devondynosoar118
    I am amazingly a little bit ahead of schedule. I am sure this won't last!
    A few hectic hours work and another dent in my credit card completed the trackwork in the yard. I also did a temporary goods shed from the metcalfe one. Here's the track, which has all its droppers soldered on and is ready to paint and wire.

    It always looks so blocky and clumsy before painting but having seen the work involved I am glad i didn't have to build all those sets of points!
    The goods shed is a compromise, I am not going to have time to measure the original and do a proper scale model this year if I want to do the station building properly, so I ordered the Metcalfe one which is too narrow really and clad it in plasticard to get the stonework right. A few chops to the (too short again!) office and its getting there. There is still detail work to do such as guttering, barge boards etc.

    There is also the small lean to hut to put on this end that is visible in some of the immediately post war shots which I will assume was there in 1943-44 unless someone out there knows otherwise.

    Here is a view from the station throat. Overall I am moderately happy with the results, there are a few gentle dips in places on the board joints but I have run plenty of wagons through these without de-railment so hopefully they should be ok.

     
    I have also got a proper Dapol 55xx to be 5525, which will get a re-paint in wartime black, having discovered my bloody farish Prairie was of the large variety. This should solve the loco shortage. Next I am going to scrub and paint the track and the base colour for the yard, then fix it temporarily and test the wiring.
  8. devondynosoar118
    Have done a few pictures today!
    Only the goods trains are started as Dapol aren't producing their "B" set coaches at the moment and I can't find any for sensible money. as my setting is the 1940's much of my stock is weathered to give it a more dirty and battered appearance as befits a railway which is busy with the war effort and where resources for maintainance and cleaning are limited.
    Dapol 45xx pulling a mixed train of Farish and Dapol wagons

    Dapol 20t Loco coal and 45xx

    GWR 7 plank, PO 7 plank and GWR mineral wagons.

    Branch "toad" awaiting final signwriting.

  9. devondynosoar118
    Having had a successful test at Taunton with one Prairie shunting well all day I have started getting all the track works and building placement in the yard area sorted so I can fix all the track. I intended to do this today but the warming of the weather has dried out my contact adhesive!
    To start with a series of photos of the buildings, in place on the boards. All of these are designed to be fixed in with the yard covering filling the gaps.
     

    An overall view from the king point
     

    The Road Goods Shed and covered cattle pens. Excuse the grainy shot, had my ISO too high.
     

    The Carriage shed, with an old MK1 (the lines test coach!) for positioning tests. This building has come out really well, apart from the fact it is straight where the prototype curves I am pretty pleased with the look of it in place.
     

    The Engine Shed, on its hard standing. This building is also looking about right compared to pictures, much to my relief as it was a tricky one to construct.
     

    Finally the temporary goods shed, needs its canopy and chimney stack, plus as it was the first building I did the roof lights need more detail to match the engine shed.
     
    Thew next phase is to stick the track down, then sort out a few running issues before getting the control system sorted. I am still sorely tempted to just use one of those TV remote point controllers for the sake of speed, we shall see.
    I also separated the scenic board seen in the first picture from the yard to enable me to keep it clean and tidy until the station is done. I dusted off the 4th scenic board, which is only a frame at present, only to find the track bed had warped/sagged which showed me the folly of using sundela, this will be replaced with marine ply over the weekend, which I will use for all further board tops.
     
    Sorry there is no dramatic progress, but I am saving up to get the station building cut by York Model making as I tried it and it wasn't right.
  10. devondynosoar118

    Backscene

    By devondynosoar118,

    Just a brief update, further to discussions about the backscene, this is a picture of the test one on the scenic board.
    This was an offcut of hardboard I found at work. Its 15" high but I may have to cut this down a bit to fit the crate or make it removable.
    Has anyone done a removable backscene? This board is flat so should be ok as there are no curves in the backscene.

  11. devondynosoar118
    Well, it has been a while since I did an update for Kingsbridge. I have not been entirely idle on this model, but progress has been limited to tweaking the track layout, adding length to the sidings, and trying to get the trackside structures done in case the sidings need moving before ballasting.
    With this in mind I bought the Ratio carriage shed kit, thinking of bashing it to resemble the corrugated structure on the branch. As soon as I looked at it I knew this plan was not going to work, the shed was too short for the B set and even with careful narrowing was not going to look right. Luckily I had a 3rd piece of corrugated roof and had bought some corrugated sheet before xmas. Thus as usual I was going to have to scratch build, despite trying to be lazy!
    The shell was made from Ratio sheets, cut to height then joined with carefully filed fillets to maintain strength and surface detail. As you can't really see the inside I haven't filled the small gaps left inside. I made the sides to length, thn left them to go off whilst I made the end piece, using the curve from the ends of the kit to get the shape where it meets the roof. The Ratio roof bits were narrowed then joined. Then I put the shell together and left it for a day to tile the kitchen.
    The legs of the shed are square microstrip, spaced from pictures by eye. All I have to do now is paint it, the siding it sits on is just long enough now I added about 100mm to it.
     

    Viewed side
     

    Inside- No roof joists this time!
     

    Side 3/4 view which compares well with the buffer stops pictures in books.
  12. devondynosoar118
    I have finally got the back scenes on, but not glued permanently. Aside from one or two spots where I need to put some strengtheners i.e. on the joints and ends of curves, I think it has worked out quite well.
    Here are the 2 station boards.

     
    Its made a big difference to how the layout flows, now its on to track weathering and fixing, plus wiring the bus and point motors!
    I might even get to start the engine shed thanks to help from you all with the measurements.
  13. devondynosoar118
    Having joined the 21st Century a bit more this month, with the heady speeds of fibre broadband arriving at home and a wireless printer scanner to go with it, I decided it was time to scan my only set of pictures.
    Some context- The station building was demolished some years ago over a weekend in slightly dubious circumstances, the site is still just empty (very annoying.)
    A friend happened to be passing and took these shots from inside the fence with permission. They show a lot of detail useful to modellers. 
    There is a degree of colour loss in these, they are scans of 10 year old digital prints! I have also included one of my dad’s beautiful sketch drawings, he made extensive notes on the back to aid me in building from his plans. The annotated part helps locate the canopy brackets and down pipes.






     

     
     
     

  14. devondynosoar118
    Fresh from holidays I didn't feel like wiring so I did some scenery on the single line board instead. I have used a mix of fine scatters for the grazing land as even 2mm static grass is a bit long. So far only 1/2 the planned texturing has been completed as trees, hedges and fencing etc is still to go on. I have more clump bits and static fibres to apply to the embankments too.
    whole board
    Branch passenger train in the entrance to the cutting. Little line of bushes is the start of the hedge.
    Close up of the nearly finished bit of the embankment.
    View from just left of the bridge. Contrast this with the shot of the real location underneath.

  15. devondynosoar118
    Despite my slowness with the wiring the track work is slowly coming together, all the sections laid so far have their droppers soldered and the points have now all been converted for DCC. The scenic board had its track sprayed and track bed painted ready for ballasting. I even managed to run a few trains on DC to test the joints and it all worked, which was a nice surprise. The big stumbling block is now cash for the remaining points and then fitting all the point motors. I am still looking for a control system and a good Dapol Syphon C or G which are ridiculous money at the moment. So far I have bid close to RRP on 5 and not got a single one.
     
    The classic view from the hill above the station again.
     

     
    The bridge scene, with kit bashed peco bridge, wing wall ready for some DAS clay stonework.
     

     
    Station throat and PW siding
     

     
    Looking up the scenic board towards the exit
     

     
    Backscene isn't attatched yet as the underbaseboard wiring isn't complete.
  16. devondynosoar118

    Backscenes 2

    By devondynosoar118,

    As the weather has been sunny this week I have finally got the backscenes done for the first few boards. They will be sent to a printing co. for finishing to the right size, 18" high, 2 curved fixed and 1 straight removable piece of hardboard to form the structure.



  17. devondynosoar118
    I had time for some photography, but ended up with a mixed bag of subjects, so I split this into two posts, one from the layout and another from the real railway.
     
    The “Noch off†static grass applicator. Total cost less than £10. Made from an electric fly swat, an icing sugar shaker, with removable screen. Also shown is the fine nozzle made from a cut down plastic kitchen funnel and some mesh.

     
    Some of the effects produced using a mix of 2mm and 4mm fibres.


  19. devondynosoar118
    I realised this week it has been over 10 years since I started this layout, which was a bit terrifying. Life has a way of making things take longer than expected and the model of the station building at Kingsbridge is no exception. Thanks to those of you who have been with me since the beginning and all the commenters along the way, you have all helped keep me moving forwards, even if the pace has been a bit non existent!
    Last time we left the building at the elevations stage, I matched the plans to my kit bash as best I could and tried to keep everything proper. I got through 3 station kits in total I think. With that done it was assembly time. 
    I needed to get all the dividing walls in the right place, Dad had done his best guess at the floor plan from site pictures and book research, so I copied that.
    I used the internal dividers from the kit and made the wider ones for the original  building using styrene sheet. I forgot to take any pictures until I got the roof on, I got a bit carried away.

    This is the front elevation, original building on the left, extension on the right. Windows and doors were from Churchward, Ratio and Peedie Models etches. Some came from the Ratio kit. I am not sure all of them are absolutely correct but I had no way of checking.


    Yard elevation. 
    Chimneys are modified from the kit ones. I wrapped them in Slaters stone sheets to match the real ones.
    The big holes in the roof are for the very tricky roof lights, which are a big part of the building. I used Peedie Models industrial windows etches for these, plus some scrap from the station kits. I thought about the side louvres and decided only a maniac with binoculars will see them from viewing distance. Here are the etched parts soldered up.


    Next I made a surround and added some plastic at the ends, which hid some shoddy fit and made them a bit more rigid. They are a shade “heavy” vs the prototype but it was a compromise.


    I couldn’t resist dragging the platform out of storage to test fit everything.  I think this is looking about 80% like the real location, it is a bit further back from the platform edge than I would have liked but if I bring it too far forward the bay platform will be too far behind the table end, which will not look right. This is a result of me not thinking about the station area as a whole model when laying out track, it was the first (so far only!) station I have ever modelled and the mistakes are legion. It was also the second baseboard I ever made.


    So there it is, somewhere for passengers to alight at last.
    Next will be painting, I have already finished that IRL since I stayed up til 2am the other night working on it!

    So what are my future plans? I really need help with the back scene now, I need a 600mm high one about 12 ft long in total and have photos to use. The new Peco modular one is quite good for Devon hills as an alternative. Any thoughts on who could print me a photographic one?
    I also intend to put the whole layout together to make all the board connections and get the second station board working, which needs a very large space for several weeks.
     



  20. devondynosoar118
    Wow, its been a long time since I did a blog entry!
     
    I recently decided to start work on Kingsbridge again, as it has been living in crates in my workshop long enough. Sorting through the spares box and rolling stock I came across a Python kit from Chivers Finelines. This was the second one I bought, as my dog, then young, had chewed the first one the minute it arrived on the door mat. I have since trained my excellent postman to leave the parcels somewhere else and trained my dog not to eat them!
    Why a Python? Well my layout is set in the autumn of 1943, when the Kingsbridge branch was playing a vital role in preparing the allied forces to land on the coast of France.
    This gave me the opportunity to model a variety of things that would never usually be seen on a quiet branchline in the prettiest county in England. One of those things is General Eisenhower's personal train. He used it to tour training camps across the country. I was keen to model a Python, as it had one marshalled in it, to carry the Generals own massive American car, naturally.
    Easing myself back into tiny N gauge models seemed like a good idea and this one was relatively simple! I started with the walls and floor,

     
    Next I fitted the sole bars and brake shoes.

     
    Reaming the holes out for the buffers needed my second smallest drill bit. There was some casting flash in a few pieces.

     
    The nicely scaled white metal buffers then went in very neatly.

     
    I decided to get the paint on too, starting with a black Citadel primer, then a dark brown base for the chocolate livery. I very much doubt there were any left in crimson lake by this stage, but if there were, then mine has been hand picked by the general's staff for its tidier appearance and more recent paint!
    The black under frame was given a light dry brush of dark grey to start the weathering process and show off the surface detail. Seeing it this close you can spot the moulding flash on the axle boxes which I missed, easily cleaned off with a sharp knife, which I shall do before finishing it.

     
    I then let the planking dry, whilst I had a brew. The next stage was to highlight the planking and lighten the brown at the same time.

     
    I competed the brown with a final highlight, then a coat of matt varnish in preparation for lettering etc later. Once that had dried (I helped it in the warming oven) I was ready to glaze the windows, with some clear sheet, bars added with a fine CD marker, not perfect but I was happy just to see them! Cruel close up...

     
    Now it was time for adding the roof, a grey Halfords primer and a dry brush with light grey, then white. The surface is now all ready for transfers and weathering, which I will do next time as I have to look at the detail for that and find my transfer stash.

     
    That left the General's Buick with a nearly finished vehicle to be transported in and reminded me I could still work with stuff this tiny.
    Thanks for reading. I am building up the courage and parts to tackle (after about 4 years!) the control panel of the beast.
  21. devondynosoar118
    Bloody hell, for the first time ever the whole layout minus fiddle yard is together, supported entirely on the leg units. Only took 11 years.
    As you can see from the thumbnail there was a degree of shock about this.

     
    All the boards. Each modular board is 3’6” long, with the two larger station boards individually sized.
     
    The classic view from above the signal box.

    Vs reality

     
    Side by side, I didn’t get quite the same angle, but close enough.

    Obviously there’s a degree of compression in play as well. I am very pleased with the flow of the landscape though.

    View uphill from the end of the modern  Montague Road, towards the top of Hurrell Road, the reverse of the view I showed last time. Further static grass growth is visible in the foreground.

    View from Hurrel Rd to Motague Rd, as before but with the Lime Grove under pass bridge visible. 

    Another repeat, fence arrived for here today.

     
    View from platform end, my view is more like you are perched on the locomotive water tower.

    “Drone shot” showing track re alignment and station throat.
    Shock

     
    My next challenge is to make it all work.
     
     
     
  22. devondynosoar118
    Managed to steal an hour or two today to get this done, ready to install a station building and the engine shed. The back scene is next but budget is lacking, I could afford the sheet of 9mm MDF for this job. This allows me to keep the whole platform as a separate piece that I can complete at home then drop into the baseboard ready for final tinkering.
    I chose 9mm because it allows for a close to scale height after taking into account my clunky non fine scale track and won't look too low from typical viewing height. Theres textures on top which will add to the height.
    I thought I would do a quick how to on this one as well.
     
    Materials-
    Suitable size 9mm MDF sheet Layout paper- Newspaper would do but I have a pad of dads old sketching paper that gets used for modelling projects! Masking tape Matte black rattle can

    Here's the start, I drew my platform template using flexible rulers, a sharp pencil and some stock to check clearance, just like most methods. Then I stuck my template to the MDF, I split it into two parts as it made the sheet usage better.

     

    Now the easy way to get a clear cut line, spray lightly around the template edges with the matte black spray.

     
    As you can see this gives a great crisp, clear line.

     
    I cut this using my cheap and nasty jigsaw, with a fresh, good quality blade. The two parts got joined with mitre fast accelerator and thick cyano then a dab of squadron filler.

     
    In place, checking the clearances. I allowed a relatively generous gap for stock as the viewing angle is from the front.

     
    End of platform view, showing the gentle curve. I think it's comparing well with the prototype, at some point I will re stage some published shots and see!

     
    At this stage it looks a little "tall" from rail level, but that height will drop when ballasting is done and the addition of bricks and stonework to the platform face will make it less stark.
  23. devondynosoar118
    Well I got time this week to paint up the shed, here are the results with a brief pictorial stroll through the process.
    Having started with a black undercoat I put some rust tones randomly across the roof, looking at the pictures from the 50's.
     

     
    There are 2 brown shades and a dark metallic in there. I wanted some faint rust visible through the grey base.
     

     
    The base grey was put on with a heavy drybrush.
     

     
    After 2 lightening tones on the grey I put more careful rust marks onto the roof, following the bits visible in the pics.
     

     
    To blend them in a further 2 coats of grey were lightly dry brushed over the top.
     

     
    The sides were highlighted in grey, again with dry brush technique.
     

     
    Mud was added to the bottom, as the shed was next to the running lines.
     

     
    A black wash was put on, here still wet, to tone down the chalky look of the grey, deliberately streaked to blend in the muck layer.
     

     
    The finished item ready for varnish and then fixing to the layout, when I get the point controls, ballast and tidying finished.....
  24. devondynosoar118
    I had to take a difficult decision today. Despite great patience from the exhibition manager I have reluctantly decided not to debut the layout over the May bank holiday.
    The reasons for this are:

    The station building and platform is unfinished The control system is not finished- all switching would be via hand of god method. I have 2 chipped locos, but key items of stock are still absent, despite offers of loans from Kris I feel I will not be able to do justice to the traffic in my chased time period. There is no fiddle yard. More alarmingly there are no legs! I will not get the electromagnets or couplings done in time The engine for the van to move the layout is sitting on the workshop floor!
    On the plus side I reviewed my list and I got about half of it done. The yard is now fully functional and I drove trains all over it today. I am sure this way I will have a much better display and a layout that I can operate more prototypically. I have been looking at computer control systems for automation as well. That I suspect is a whole new can of worms.
    I am a bit gutted, having never missed a deadline I have set myself before, however I can take a breath to plan developments. Perhaps Taunton in October or Truro?

     
    Thats all folks!
     
    Til next month...
  25. devondynosoar118
    For all the latest SDR news and superb pictures-Please click Here!I finally managed to get a few hours at Staverton today, hoping to see the Dukedog in action before this weekends Cambrian gala.
    It was almost a shame to work as the sun shone down but I got out the paintbrush again to finish the shed door. I didn't bother to photograph that as there were historic works afoot.
    For the first time in at least 40 years the crossing gates at Staverton are being replaced. The new ones were made last year and very carefully painted over the winter ready to hang.
    The first new gate, lifted out of the second goods shed by hand.

     
    As you can see it takes two workers to each spectator...
     
    The road railer is deployed to lift the very heavy oak gates into position. The PW dept taking great care with the lift.

     
     
    Lifting onto the hinges

     
     
    Now back to the weathering of the title. stock movements gave a good opportunity to collect a few pics of the late plywood vent van, in BR bauxite, many of which lasted well into TOPS. Note the great display of peeling paint.

     
     
    LMS liveried plank wagon- again in a very "model" state for well used stock.

     
    As the gate is off, we are using flag men today, which gave me a chance to capture Collet goods 3205 at the head of the dining car set being given the right away, which then gave me a puff of steam at the right moment!

     
     
    A great quick visit, the only downer being the absence of the Dukedog, which was scheduled to pull the dining car set.
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