D869

Looks like a good day, Andy. Your backscene looks excellent.

'Water Lane' is all packed up in its two Really Useful Boxes and is ready to roll!

 

David

 Cheers David. Hope you had a good day too.

Great set of pics Andy - Thanks for sharing with us.

 

The back-scene looks good in place too

Thanks Pete. I don't think I'll be putting any serious artists out of work but I'm quite pleased with it. I still want to improve on it but will probably practice on some smaller bits and then maybe have another go from scratch rather than risk mucking up the existing one.

Yeovil Town! So that's what the M7  was for.

I guess so. I think it's a great choice for a prototype.

I take it from the name sign the location is ex Southern Region?

Yes indeed. The premise is that the LSWR wanted their own access to Devonport Dockyard and so built a branch off the Stonehouse Pool line to punch a hold through the dockyard wall and into the southern portion of the yard (known rather unsurprisingly as South Yard) passing around the end of the rope walks to join up with the internal system.

I don't think it's any more far fetched than the real thing - a restricted clearance tunnel between North and South Yards, punching through buildings at strange angles. Still, it's a shame that I don't have an excuse to model the dockyard internal passenger train which if memory serves had about six different classes.

Like it. I agree with bcnPete that 4 & 5 are the best.

I see that pictures 3 & 4 were taken recently, as the yard hut has lost it's roof in the storms.

Yes, something like 4 or 5 is what I'm after perspective-wise. In terms of viewpoint I want to be a bit further upstream which is A) more correct and B) gives a better view of the harbour mouth. We'll see if I can manage to blend the two together.

A quick experiment with water colours has proved (after a few attempts) not too disastrous but it's also proved to me that I want to use acrylics and have the option of covering over any mistakes. I've now completed a shopping expedition to acquire the acrylic colours as recommended by Mr Goodall... although he didn't have any sea on his backscene, so that's a bit of an unknown.

Nice Bubble-car...

 

Why not make it more 3D then, using the Russell card build up method? Would a less harsh change between the embankment and backscene also be an improvement? as I think the one that is riding high blends in better.

 

Also is there a link to the mysterious location so that we can all see?

 

Chris.

No plans for any layering - everything interesting in the scene will be on the other side of the water so a flat backscene seems like the best choice, apart from which a layered one won't fit in the slot at the back of the layout.

I was puzzling how to bookmark in streetview but eventually found the little 'link' button. For some reason it goes to the satellite view first and then after a few seconds it jumps into streetview...

From the quay near to the dockyard

From Mount Wise

Nice touch Andy

 

Pic 4 or 5 for me personally.

 

Did you consider getting the photo mounted as I redid recently as opposed to getting your brushes out?

 

Can you sneak in a few curves at the ends as well...Since being 'pulled up for them' myself I am now a fan of them...

It's still possible that I might end up using a photo if the painting doesn't work out but none of the photos that I have just now are what I want in terms of viewpoint or lighting - the streetview ones have full cloud cover which doesn't fit with my sunny day lighting plans and the ones on geograph don't have a wide enough view.

Besides, I am looking at this as an opportunity to have a try at backscene painting which seems like an interesting thing to do. Editing images on a computer screen to stitch them together and rub out modern boats, lamp posts and so on seems like more of a chore.

Curving would be nice, but then it won't fit with the back of the layout. What I'd really like to do is have something that wraps all of the way around the right hand end as a backdrop for the dockyard wall, but I think that the die is cast already by the existing baseboard, apart from the fact that handling the dockyard buildings in perspective would be very difficult indeed and would almost certainly not work from other camera angles.

Regards, Andy

How come backscenes seem to cause us so many problems???

Answers on a postcard please

My own answer is that we're (mostly) modellers used to working in 3 dimensions rather than artists dealing with perspective on a flat canvas. Of course our life is further complicated by the fact that we have a 3d model joined up to the front of our 2d backscene. There are so many things to get wrong - perspective, scale (things on the backscene bigger than the models in front of them), colour, shadows being cast... the list goes on.

I'm sure there are people out there who could provide some. I have two toads like this.

I'm not sure that you'd want me painting your stuff - my efforts in the paint shop are rather hit and miss

My layout generally looks like this too, I'm glad I'm not the only one

I like the weathering on your 22 Andy.

Thanks Jez. It's based on a photo of D6309 in 1969 by which time it was looking very... secondhand.

Good luck with the show Andy - unfortunately I won't be able to get to this one.

 

How long has Chris gone to Canada for?...does that give you a 2 week or 6 month window to get the toad painted

 

Always good to see South Yard on here...

Thanks Pete. I guess that Nottingham is a bit too far into the wilds North of Watford

In theory Chris has been transferred to Canada until at least late this year. In practice things are never quite that straightforward so we really don't know. There are lots of things that might happen to make it longer or shorter. The Toad missed the previous session with etch primer in the airbrush so it will need to wait until there is some other N/S stuff being painted.

...what the others said really...

I especially like the Minks. I hadn't previously given these any consideration myself. The photo on the Association catalog doesn't really do them justice so I might have to put one or two on my shopping list.

Looking good Pete.

After trying the Ikea lights I found the self-adhesive '5050' strips that can be had on eBay chuck out a lot more light for the money so it might be worth you taking a look at those. The downside for you is that they are not rigid so you need some sort of rigid backing to fix them to. You will also need to do some soldering but I'm guessing that your current scheme will need multiple Ikea power supplies, so having a single beefier supply might be worth a bit of soldering.

Regards, Andy

Blimey... Pete... Pete... yes, I remember someone called Pete.

Welcome back!

Regards, Andy

I was going to keep the North Somerset stuff analogue but have decided that, in time, that will be going DCC as well mainly due to the operating possibilities opened up by the Tucking Mill extension.

Blimey. Sounds a bit hi tech for the NSLR. Maybe a shift to some of those modern light rail trams would be in order - a sort of Sheffield-esque rapid transit system for the Bath suburbs?

Was great to see St Ruth and the team at St Albans - Pauline's cakes were as good as ever and the new backscene is looking great. Just a shame we didn't have time to get away from the 2mm stand for long enough to have a play and run the threatened Midland (c.1922) excursion!!

I forgot to mention - you missed out on the pasties on Friday evening. Chris had been in Totnes and travelled up to St Albans carrying some fuel for the setup team. Richard TrickyCRS managed to come along at the right moment - I guess it must be a skill that they learn at the Camborne School of Mines.

We're happy to host guest locos and whole trains and borrowed Missy's oil tanks to clog the goods yard up even more on Sunday but we have none of that deeseesee juice if your loco runs on that.

Regards, Andy

I had a very pleasant time watching an entire sequence at St Ruth during which everything worked perfectly. I found the screens describing the moves really helped turn it into a piece of theatre and made for a very convincing experience.

I'm really interested in how you get on with the Dapol Western Jerry, so please keep us all posted. In the meantime I'd love to know how you guys made the Farish Westerns look so nice. Is it covered elsewhere? Best regards to all of you.

I wrote some words about the Farish Westerns on my blog a while back...

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/722/entry-9001-a-tale-of-two-westerns/

As for the western, its added to my 'to do' pile for now. As Jerry said, removing the wheels shouldnt be that difficult but I think I will wait untill he has tried it first! I think the model has the potential to have a go at some laser cut glazing too...

I don't have a good track record with pressing wheels on and off axles so I'll definitely be adopting a 'wait and see' approach!

I was thinking along the lines of some etched nickel silver window frames like the ones I did for the Farish Warship because I think that the Dapol windows are... err... 'an opportunity for improvement'. The tricky part with these is getting the curved edges to match the moulding, but at least the Western ones have fewer curved edges than the Warship.

Regards, Andy

Hi Julia,

It was good to see you at the show. We had a great time too. I'll post some stuff on the St Ruth blog later.

Regards, Andy

Very nice Julia.

Would I be right in thinking that the road tanker is for milk rather than the less edible contents of your previous tanks?

Regards, Andy

That's starting to look like a substantial construction Jez. I'm sure it will look the business when painted in sooty concrete livery.

Regards, Andy

Some very fine work there Andy.

 

Thanks for the mention re the lighting too. Perhaps the height was a factor in the output (?) as I put 3 strips on both the viaduct diorama and SR layout but the latter especially was set quite low to the layout...about 200mm from memory.

 

Will you enclose the ends or leave them open?

 

Hope to see South Yard some time at a 2mm event.

Thanks Pete. The new lighting rig does rather show up the low backscene and lack of anything to close off the ends. This is niggling me a bit but I haven't yet decided how to deal with it - there is the question of support and also the knotty problem of corners in the sky given that the layout was not designed with this sort of setup in mind.

To be honest when South Yard is in its usual role of test track and parking area for incomplete projects, I prefer it without the lighting rig fitted at all - they get in the way and also reduce the amount of ambient light on the layout.

The LEDBERGs were certainly a step in the right direction and I was quite pleased with myself when I first fitted them but having now tried the '5050' LED strip from eBay, the extra lighting power is definitely preferable (as are some longer cables). The LEDBERGs will still find a use elsewhere though - perhaps plugged together as Ikea intended to add some much needed extra light to the bigger test track in the loft.

I'm not sure when South Yard will get out again - it's more of a demo table talking piece than an exhibition layout so outings so far have been vary opportunist and arranged at short notice.

Regards, Andy

Excellent stuff Julia.

Just in time for the Downton Christmas Special

Call that a backlog on your workbench............:-)

Hmm... clearly I'm not trying hard enough to keep up with the Cliffords

Lovely work as usual Andy! I really like the Brake van, thinking of purchasing one myself.

Thanks Jez. Like I said, there aren't too many surprises with the brake van kit. There are fiddly bits, but these are where you'd expect them to be and everything fits together as it should do. I'll look forward to seeing your build on here.

The obvious next step...

 

I've done that a few times.

Well, it had to be done really. One of those 'now or never' offerings. Fortunately I did manage to rein in my wilder plans to build some excursion stock and a few other oddities but even so it has tipped the balance of my gloat box towards Mr Collett so maybe I need to buy more Hawksworths...

It's definitely coming together.

What will you do to fill your modelling time once this is finished though?

I enjoyed seeing St Ruth at Burton on Sunday morning. It is one of the best N gauge layouts I have seen, and is always beautifully lit. I noticed that the model was not running as well as usual and you have my sympathy. It did not spoil my enjoyment of the layout though.

Thanks Andy. Our track is to 2FS standards though so 'N gauge' is not quite correct. Much of the stock is modified proprietary 'N' scale stuff though. There are some 2mm scale items of stock, but it takes a bit longer to make a 6 coach train from etched kits than it does by rewheeling Farish items.

Sorry to hear about the Gremlins Andy - this hobby certainly likes to keep us on our toes

 

Always happy to see pictures of St Ruth so perhaps there might be some on the Burton thread?...

Yes, plenty of items on the problem list for us to fix before St Albans. I haven't seen any piccies on the forum thread yet but several people were pointing cameras in our direction, so let's hope.

Regards, Andy

Hi Julia,

Excellent modelling as always.

I think that the Foden would definitely benefit from a numberplate or two. Beyond that it depends on the story you are trying to tell - is it a brand shiny new lorry just added to a haulage company fleet or is it a late survivor on its umpteenth owner and almost ready to be abandoned around the back of a run down corrugated iron shed somewhere? I'm guessing you are going for the shiny new option having gone through so much to get this far.

Regards, Andy

Thanks Don. Our control panel is attached via fairly long leads and could in theory be mounted at the front. It's four feet long though and needs to be in the centre of the layout so I think it would be pretty intrusive at a public show (as well as being upside down).

I did suggest that we try it at the 2mm Expo in June but it didn't happen because there's nothing to hold it in place at the front of the layout. Maybe one day.

Regards, Andy

Hi Peter,

The Hymek looks much better lowered, I must pluck up the courage to do mine, particularly as it has a wonky buffer beam. One question though to both of you:  did you replace the wheels on your Hymeks or did you get them turned down? Is it easy to remove/replace them?

The wheels were turned down by Gordon Solloway (i.e. the 2mm Association's wheel turning service).

Removing them is pretty straightforward. First pull the middle tank moulding off the chassis. Then turn the bogies through 90 degrees and they should drop out with no resistance.

The bogie is in two parts - the gear train/pivot and the sideframes/coupling. Unclip them from each other by pushing a screwdriver or fingernail down into the join at the back and then do the same at the front (i.e. between the gear train moulding and the coupling moulding. The wheels will stay with the sideframes but can now easily be sprung out and sent off to Gordon.

I did get asked recently by someone else with a Hymek whether I had a problem with the axles being too long over the pinpoints after turning but I did not have that problem.

Regards, Andy