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Tony Simms

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  1. Tony Simms

    Woody End

    By Tony Simms,

    Time to address the left-hand end of the layout. In real life, the line just plodded on over several miles of open farmland before reaching Pilmoor Junction. This would look a bit odd, running the line through an undisguised hole in the backscene. Time to invoke my modellers licence!
     
    There are several copses and small woods dotted around the line and indeed at Pilmoor itself there were substantial woodlands. So I've simply moved a small wood so that the line runs through it.
     
    A base of dark green acrylic paint was applied to the plaster and some Woodland Scenics undergrowth was dotted along the board-backscene join. A few dabs of watercolour are intended to carry the illusion of woodland into the backscene:
     

     
    Now, you may be one of these very organised modellers; everything in it's right place. Not me I'm afraid. Once I start, things get messy and stuff gets picked up and put down without much thought. I'd like to think it's my artistic side coming out; my wife says I'm just messy. Anyway, before I get going, things do seem quite ordered:
     

     
     

     
     
    Here I'm using trees from Woodland Scenics and SiSt Trees, flocks from the same along with Mininatur grass fibres, Brillo pads cleaned and sprayed, Greenscene flock cement, spray photo-mount and several bags of "grot" (accumulations of flocks and scenic materials reclaimed and blended) and tea-leaves.
     
    The trees had been initially placed to work out a naturalistic scheme and then removed to enable permanent fixing. Starting from the back, trees are glued in and undergrowth from the above sources is fixed into place, checking regularly to ensure I'm getting the desired effect:
     

     
     
    Some of the undergrowth is made using clumps of static grass sprayed with photo-mount and sprinkled with flocks etc. Others are formed from teased out Brillo pad flocked in a similar manner.
     
    I will need to add some more, tinier clumps of weed and overgrowth at the edge of the woodland, but this will be done when I add the fencing. The right hand piece of woodland is otherwise complete; the left hand is yet to be done:
     

     
     
    Subsequent to the final photo, I painted in a bit more foliage adjacent to the hole in the backscene and added a little bush near the base of the hole.
     
    Anybody else having fun with scenics?
  2. Tony Simms

    Well Lubricated

    By Tony Simms,

    As promised, I returned to the D49 today. And then remembered why it got put to one side.
     
    Not only did the cab roof need attaching, but there was also the (very) small matter of the Wakefield Lubricators. Even with a good kit (and this is an excellent kit) there will be a point where you have to use some initiative. Despite looking and relooking, I could find no trace of etching or casting for the said item.
     
    The approximations that I have cobbled together, are plastic cubes from microstrip, with etched washers to represent the wheels on the face and surplus washout plugs to give the profile on the lid. Once painted, you probably won't even know they're there, but it's something I just couldn't leave out.
     

     
    For those who might not have followed my previous prose on the NEAG blog, the kit is by Bob Jones and designed especially for 2FS. When kits are this good, it's a pleasure to build them; even a ham-fisted donkey like me can have a reasonable bash. Here are a couple of shots of the loco chassis and the tender:
     

     
     

     
     
    Just the handles on the smokebox door needed now, then it's off to the paintshop. Ready for the 2mm AGM in October? We'll see...
  3. Tony Simms
    New to the roster at Brafferton are two DMUs a Metro Cammell class 101 in green and a Derby Lightweight class 108 in blue (yes I know; blame my lad for the increasing "modernisation"!).
     
    Both require chipping and attention to the wheels to make them suitable for use on Brafferton; 2FS and all that. Previously I have used the wheel turning service for diesels and DMUs and very good it is. However on this occasion I thought I'd give the Association drop in wheelsets a spin. Here is the bit covering the driven wheels. The non-driven are on pinpoints and fairly similar if a little more straightforward.
     
    The wheelsets arrive as thus:
     

     
    There is evidence of some glue on the faces and backs and the discs are bare metal. There is no plastic evident as the sets use a cunning anodisation of the axles to effect electrical isolation. First I'll check that this anodisation is effective; very occasionally it has failed to work. In this instance the "1" indicates no electron thingys sneaking across:
     

     
    You'll see the axle has several "shoulders" on it supporting the gear and the wheels. This makes the trueness and gauge pretty much a given. However if you're a mistrusting soul (like me) stick an Association bobbin back-to-back in:
     

     
    The wheels are then cleaned in anticipation of blacking. I've used a fibreglass brush for many years and as long as you don't snort the fibres or stick the itchy bit in your eye, I reckon they're fairly low risk:
     

     
    Similarly Casey's gun blue (which perversely turns most metals a sort of black colour) is okay. As long as you don't drink it:
     

     
    A couple of coats applied with a brush and rubbed off with a soft cloth seems to work. You'll notice the axle end is still shiny; presumably the anodisation at work. Once I think they're black enough, a miniscule dot of oil is rubbed on to give a slight sheen:
     

     
    Clip the dummy sideframes off the Farish model, and like a dead beetle the motor bogie prepares to shed it's hideous N gauge wheels. Once they're out, you can see that the 2FS ones are just so much more attractive:
     

     

     
    Clip the new wheelsets in. I ease the pick-ups out slightly so that contact is maintained on the back of each wheel. Clip the sideframes back and voila! Oops, forgot to extract that Rapido coupling and insert a Dapol dummy buckeye:
     

     
    Right, on with the 101...
  4. Tony Simms

    Big Brother

    By Tony Simms,

    Somewhere, yes somewhere, is a "to do" list following the outing to St Albans. No doubt it will show up or I'll write another one following the Ormesby Hall show.
     
    Anyway, I did know that the point control box needed an upgrade. The original was squeezed into a tiny box I happened to have to hand and the wiring was from two lengths of six-core flex whose strands were just a little too thin. There was never a proper mount on the layout so it often dangled and swung! The result was regular electrical failure; a combination of overthin wire and excess stress.
     

     
    I started with some decent wires of various colours (to match the existing wiring plan). The packets say "7/0 2mm", but I tend to go with what looks right. These were soldered to a new 15 pin plug in the same format as the old one. The housing and cable restraint were affixed and then cable tidy was looped round the twelve strands of wire up to the new box.
     

     

     
    The box is about three times as big as its predecessor and I thought wiring would be easy. However as the switches were identical size to the old ones when combined with the thicker wire, soldering up was a bit of a fiddle. Maybe should have gone for some bigger toggles too!
     
    I drilled and filed two keyhole slots in the back of the casing to allow the unit to be fixed firmly but temporarily to the layout. The track plan was drawn with a paint pen and ruler following testing. Each pair of points is operated by one toggle. The crossovers are obvious pairings. In the goods yard/coal cells, I opted to pair the two outer points and the two inner. This seems to work and two dots remind the relationship between the switching for the outer pair for those unfamiliar operators.
     

     
    This should make operating the layout easier both at shows and at home.
     
    Elsewhere, I've been splodging paint onto pristine Farish coaches and thereby reducing their resale value by 95%. But who cares? I'm never going to sell them!
     

     
    Minor titivations are happening to scenery too including the addition of some timbering at each end of the yard crossing:
     

     
    Brafferton will be at Ormesby Hall on 23rd and 24th March. One of my regular operators will be sunning himself in the relative tropical climes of Ally Pally and on the Sunday I'll be flying solo as the lad is off to a swimming gala. If you'd like to come and play trains on the Sunday, even if only for a couple of hours, PM me and I'll arrange for you to be an official operator for the day. Otherwise I hope I'll see some of you there as punters.
  5. Tony Simms

    Wagon Refurbishment?

    By Tony Simms,

    Yesterday was the North East Area Group meeting of The 2mm Scale Association. We had a short overview/history from Mick Simpson on the various wagon chassis available over the years.
     
    Then a good number of us sat down to progress various chassis building projects.
     
    See http://neag.2mm.org.uk/ for more detail and a few pics.
     
    Within my own fleet of stock, I have a number of wagons that run on the Mike Bryant etched chassis. These date from the early eighties, use wheels on 13mm axles and to be fair, are a bit problematic. Wheels will often drop out, and being brass they are prone to damage more than the newer nickel silver etches. This is the underside of a Midland 3 plank featuring such a chassis:
     

     
    I have toyed with replacing these chassis for some time now and the workshop produced a chassis suitable for the said replacement. Removal of the old chassis was fairly straightforward with a scalpel blade, but it did dislodge one of the body ends which to be reaffixed. I also had to remove some of the new chassis to fit it between the wagon headstocks. Here is a comparison of one wagon in original state and the conversion requiring painting:
     

     
    To be honest, I'm not sure that the work involved is worth it. I'll paint this one up, but leave the other wagons on their old chassis and live with their foibles. I need to spend more time working on new stock rather than trying to resuscitate these older efforts.
  6. Tony Simms

    Shine a Light!

    By Tony Simms,

    I'd been pondering station lamps for a while. A stock of Ratio ones are stashed in a drawer and I thought that these might serve. Having built on and placed it on the platform, I had to rethink. The whole thing seemed just too clunky and the uprights are square not round as per the originals.
     
    Out with the brass tube and sheet and lets see what we can make.
     
    The posts are fabricated from two telescopic pieces of tube. The smaller diameter on was cut to approximate length and the ends cleaned up using the minidrill and a file (I don't possess a lathe, so all the "turning" I do is in this fashion). Shorter lengths of the outer tube were cut, cleaned in the same manner and then a small profile was turned near the top. These were solder together such that 10mm of the inner protruded:
     

     
    A .5mm hole was drilled near the top of each post for the crosspiece represented by a piece of wire. After that, I wound some fine wire wound and soldered round the very top represents the upper profile:
     

     
    The actual lamp took a little figuring out. Eventually I hit on this idea; the four uprights are actually two loops of wire each with a gap at the opposite end (one top, one bottom). These are soldered onto a base of 10thou thick brass strip. The top is formed by making a Maltese Cross out of a square of brass, using a piercing saw, and then bending each lug down slightly. Once soldered to the rest, it is all fairly stable and I still have the base strip as a "handle". The lamp is soldered to the post and the " handle" is then parted from the lamp base:
     

     
    Planted in the layout, I'm quite please. They still need a vent on top of the lamp, but once this is turned, I'll glue it on rather than risk any more solder. My eyesight and sanity is partly saved as I only modelled the posts on the "disused" platform assuming the lamps themselves had been salvaged and reused elsewhere:
     

     
    More pics when they're painted...
  7. Tony Simms

    Out to Grass

    By Tony Simms,

    Ongoing work to make the new platform "disused"!
     
    From the last post, you will have seen the groundwork around the platform painted but ungrassed. This was the first job. I used a slightly longer grass this time using 2.5mm and 4.5mm fibres of "fall", "winter" and "hay" mixed together. Some trimming will be required and then I shall dust with the airbrush using a light straw shade. Similarly, the bushes which are bits of Woodland Scenics in (supposedly) "Dark Green", will require shading to fit into the late summer/early autumn period. Previously I have airbrushed this in, but I have been messing with brushed acrylics on test pieces and may go down that route. In any event they will require some more work:
     

     
    The platform surface has been dotted with various bits of the aforementioned Woodland Scenics as well as some 2.5mm Mininatur fibres in "winter" shade. The van body was glued into position once the grassing was done:
     

     
    The shape of the layout does mean that photos along the line tend to have a non-model background. I've tried some photoshopping before and here is another go:
     

     
    Next up, I need to finish off the wooden platform extension across on the other side of the tracks.
  8. Tony Simms

    Platforms and Huts

    By Tony Simms,

    Further work on the station area to make me (and hopefully you!) happier with it's appearance.
     
    The "disused" platform which was hastily cobbled together for Shipley has been replaced by a more refined one, constructed of plasticard off-site and detailed before placement on layout. This features a grounded van body as mentioned in the Patrick Howat book. It's doubtful that this would be a ply-bodied Southern van as appears here, however this was one of the first kits assembled by my son James (aged 10) and he quite likes seeing it on the front of our train set. The paling fencing has been continued around the station area in the same style. Finally, the first of a couple of lineside huts has been fabricated and craftily hides part of the baseboard join; the chimnet pot is still needed. Next to this, I need to construct and install a small lever frame to manage the loop:
     

     
    At the other end of the plaform, the ramp down to track level has been constructed and installed as has the other hut. Ballast has been replaced as needed and now awaits further weathering:
     

  9. Tony Simms

    Clear!

    By Tony Simms,

    As promised, I am posting several pictures of the yard crossing following clearance of the flangeways. Once the filler had set, I initially used a Stanley knife to score close up to the inner of each rail, down as far as the tops of the chairs. This was cleared out using a 1/2" paintbrush. The knife was reversed and the score widened using the flat back of the blade, and brushed clear again. Finally a hacksaw blade was used to give a little extra width to the flangeway; I merely used the rounded end where the hole is, so no teeth came into contact with rail or filler. After all that, the flangeway was brushed clear. Again!
     
    Last but not least, the filler was burnished with the back of my thumbnail to ensure that the rails were proud of the outer filler and that there were no crumbly bits. Tomorrow, I'll test with a loco, but the Standard vans roll through without problems:
     

     
     

     
     

     
  10. Tony Simms

    ABW

    By Tony Simms,

    When I first fabricated the platform extension, I used Association PCB sleepers to make the base and topped it off with some thin ply. Now there is a old adage that "nothing looks more like wood than wood". This may be true in 7mm and even in 4mm scale. However when you get down to 2mm scale, I'd say that nothing looks less like wood than wood. I'd used some ply on Masham many years ago and was less than happy with the result; I was therefore mildly surprised to find that I'd made the same mistake on Brafferton. If you trawl back through some earlier entries, you'll find a picture of said ply-topped platform. So really, it has to be "anything but wood".
     
    First up in the remedial process was to carefully rip out the old platform top:
     

     
    You can also see the disused platform in the foreground which is also experiencing an "upgrade"! As well as the plywood, I also removed the topmost layer of sleepering to allow enough depth for the replacement top.
     
    Now I'm not an avid fan of plasticard either, but for planking etc. I don't think you can go wrong with the Evergreen sheets. Machined rather than moulded, they have a definition lacking in most of their peers. A base of 30thou was overlaid with some plank effect sheet. This had to be done in panels due to the curve on the platform and individual edge pieces were also used:
     

     
    Once dry, the unit was offered up and trimmed slightly to effect a close fit with the base edge and the join with the brick built platform:
     

     

     
    Whilst I tried to avoid it, the retaining wall had to be removed to allow satisfactory fitting. I'll use that as a reason to have a better stab at the wall.
     
    Before gluing down with a smear of evostick, I painted the unit with enamels and weathered with powders. A little more blending will be needed as the other elements of the platform are placed, but so far I feel it is a big improvement over the original:
     

     

  12. Tony Simms

    Shipley 2012

    By Tony Simms,

    A most enjoyable weekend in the wilds of West Yorkshire. Shipley is a lovely little show, a good handful of excellent layouts and a satisfying range of traders. Topped off with a Chilli chez Sissling on Friday and a Curry with Ed, Sue, Mick and Yvonne on Saturday night, we really did have a good time. A few pics (on camera phone; bit duff, sorry), with some video to follow:
     

     

    This was the first weekend that the D49 really worked. Still needs a bit more weight and some extra springing on the pony truck.
     

    Stalwart operator this weekend.
     

    Garlic Naan!!
     

     

    The start of the new (disused) platform is evident.
     

  13. Tony Simms

    Joined Up Thinking

    By Tony Simms,

    Interspersed with summer holidays, I've being trying to make some improvement in anticipation of the Shipley show on 8/9 September.
     
    One of the running issues at Nottingham was the performance of the coaches; mainly due to a hotch-potch of couplings and coupling bodges to try and get coaches closer together. To this end, I decided to make some semi-permanent couplings for the older Bach-Far coaches and utilise the Dapol NEM dummy couplings on the newer ones (as per the DMUs where this works nicely).
     
    The semi-permanent couplings are made with a strip of brass, drilled at each end. At one end I soldered a 12BA nut and at the other a 12BA washer. 12BA screws are then fitted to the end of each coach floor and the link is screwed to one screw nearly flush with the buffer beam, but loose and able to swing:
     

     
    The second coach then just sits over the link with its screw dropping straight through the holes in the link and washer. The whole is chemically blackened and seems fairly unobtrusive:
     

     
    The ends of each rake feature a B&B coupling (similar to DG) to allow auto-uncoupling of each rake:
     

  14. Tony Simms
    A very nice gentleman rang the other day to invite me to the show held at Ormesby Hall. I took his details to check the date and ring back.
     
    The piece of paper (the back of a letter from my son's school) subsequently went into the recycling unactioned. Sorry!!
     
    If the nice chap, or anyone who knows him, reads this, I am interested and can make the dates in March. Could you please contact me again.
  15. Tony Simms

    Brushstrokes

    By Tony Simms,

    Having gone as far as I might with the trackwork from a running aspect, I turn further attention to scenery. Actually I'll be getting some third party input on the trackwork from somebody substantially more qualified than me; more of that when it's happened.
     
    Now then; I have been slapping paint around to try and build up those layers of believability that might just lie beneath the surface. What? Well one of the things that impressed me about Framsden (apart from the overall scenic quality) was that a bit of white fencing had a dash of crimson red paint on it. Not realistic from a photorealism perspective perhaps, but very painterly and somewhat audacious. Anyway, it worked for me. Indeed the approach is reminiscent of Cuneo (tie-in to last post) where apparently incongruous colours are used, yet work in the context of the overall piece.
     
    [Puts thesaurus away.]
     
    I've been getting very much into using tube acrylics for scenic work of late, applied in a very broadbrush manner using a proper acrylic chisel brush. The fencing which is being planted around the layout is benefiting from much of this slapdashery. I've also repainted the post and wire fencing to make it more subtle (I hope!)
     
    To top it off, I've been fiddling around with the camera to try and get some better pictures. Here is one which shows some of the aforementioned fencing and telegraph poles which have been daubed.
     
    Full picture:
     

     
    The fencing to the far left is unpainted.
     
    Cropped:
     

     
    Click on the photos, they're a good deal bigger than the thumbnails.
  16. Tony Simms

    Pots and Stones

    By Tony Simms,

    In anticipation of the North East Area Group of The 2mm Scale Association 30th Anniversary Event (hereinafter referred to as "the do"), I've been doing some scenic work to Brafferton.
     
    Last time, I mentioned that the surface of the goods dock had been removed to relay it in the same manner as the platform. Nothing has yet progressed on this, as I am now in the process of adding an extra platform, so I'll surface them en-bloc. Reading the Middleton Press book on the line, I picked up on a previously unnoticed comment about the disused second platform; this dates from the building of the line when it was to be double track right through. The second line was never laid except in passing places and the said platform would have been redundant from inception! Anyway, I've dug up a stretch of embankment at the front of the layout and will insert the platform there.
     
    The station buildings have also been neglected of late and there are still numerous jobs to do to finish them. I was particularly ashamed that they sported no chimney pots at Nottingham. So this was put right. I have also struggled to come to terms with the colouring of the stonework. You may recall that this was printed and coloured on a CAD package. It has always been a bit too yellow for me. A touch of thinned stone enamel seems to have given them a more realistic finish and the tops of the sills were coloured to match. Meanwhile the roof has gained capping stones and the glazing has finally made all watertight. Tomorrow I may be flashing on the roof:
     

     
    You can just see the commencement of the butchering of the scenery in the foreground. Elements seem to be coming together now to make a reasonably realistic scene:
     

     
    Finally, here is a shot of the layout in its permanent home. It also makes a rather attractive bedside light:
     

  17. Tony Simms
    Bit of an anticlimactic weekend following a week away in Wales. Saturday was spent sorting out the usual chaos that greets you following a period of absence and then, yesterday, there was a pile of paperwork to shuffle into some semblance of order as well as catching up with various relatives.
     
    After all that, I really didn't feel like braving the Easter throng in York so a quiet Monday has been spent beavering away on the central board. More trackwork has been tweaked and large chunks of what can only be called "overballast" have been removed from rail sides, chairs and between check rails and crossings. Slow tedious work, but oddly therapeutic...
     
    On a lighter note, some fencing has been painted a base brown and planted for future weathering and bedding in. Finally, in the spirit of progress, the plasticard platform top in the loading dock has been removed in readiness for individual edge stones and a filler infill (as per all other hardsurfaces). Oh, I laid and painted that final bit of track missing from the loading dock siding too.
     

     
    You can see the shiny bits of rail that have been fiddled with. It's worth viewing the picture full size if you can load it without too long a wait.
     
    Sort of stuff that I find quite satisfying; nothing earthshattering but real underlying progress!
  18. Tony Simms

    OMG... ...WTF!

    By Tony Simms,

    What's going on here then?
     
    Major surgery in the yard area, that's what!
     
    Post-Nottingham I've been obliged to take the sledgehammer to the walnut. Bits of rail have been removed, replaced and rejigged.
     

     
    As a general guide:
     
    W = widened
    N = new rail
    TD = still to do!
    OLANB = there's the titchy weigh hut from the last post!!
  19. Tony Simms
    With the sun shining this morning, I took the opportunity to take some better (?) photos of the weighbridge/coal office. These are somewhat higher resolution than the previous post and highlight the grottiness of my modelling!
     

     

     
    Here you can see the method used for the roof: tiles on 10thou plasticard and a centre beam of 40thou timber. There are similar beams mounted on the inner gables to support the plasicard sub-roof.
     

     

     
    In an attempt at redemption, here is a "look how big my thumb is" shot:
     

  20. Tony Simms

    No Weigh Back

    By Tony Simms,

    Well! A thoroughly enjoyable time was had at Nottingham. Thanks to the show organisers for all their hard work; I don't envy them at all.
     
    Although Brafferton didn't thoroughly disgrace itself, I have come back with quite a to-do list. There are some fairly substantial tweaks required in the trackwork, especially in the yard area to ensure that running reliability is maintained.
     
    Additionally, I was concious that some of the scenic work didn't progress as much as I would have liked. On the Friday before the show, I even went so far as to steal a coalyard office (Ratio) from my sons N gauge layout just to plug one particular gap!
     
    With the layout still awaiting re-assembly, I thought that I would sort out that weighbridge office this weekend. With no plans or photos of the real Brafferton office, I based the model on a photo of the one at Hexham albeit in mirror image. I also endeavoured to put a bit of an interior detail on the model and made the roof so that it can be removed.
     
    Evergreen clapboard was used for the sides with the profile reduced slightly with wet-and-dry. The tiles are the Noch rubber ones which I have used on the station buildings and the brick chimney is Scalescenes brick around a plasticard base. Bits and bobs of plasticard and paper make up the details before painting and weathering with enamels and some powders.
     

     

     

     
    All in all an enjoyable few hours work!
  21. Tony Simms
    Well we've been settled in the new house for a couple of months now and in the last month I've been beavering away trying to get Brafferton to a state where I won't be embarrassed by it come March and Nottingham. I'm not going to post anymore photos of the layout before Nottingham and hopefully this will make it more enjoyable for those who visit the show. The layout is now permanently erected indoors with the ability to run it and work on it in comfortable surroundings; a much better situation than at the last house.
     
    Now, unlike Julia (Missy), I do not like fiddleyards (or staging for that matter) and unlike Valetin, I do not like soldering (nor am I half as good at it as he appears to be). Before we moved house, Edward Sissling had kindly agreed to fabricate some pointwork for the staging for Brafferton to make the one off-scene track into four loops. This will enable eight to ten trains to be held during exhibitions. "Let me have the dimensions and I'll sort them said Edward". Nice chap, eh? Anyway following the move, I failed to let him have any dimensions of any description; how thick am I?
     
    When my thoughts returned to the staging, I had a change of heart. Yes, use the same system, but why not do it myself? I knew my soldering would be a bit rusty having hardly looked at a soldering iron in months, but how rusty shocked even myself! So I could have farmed the work out, but having found the time to do it myself, I've re-honed some somewhat blunt skills. The results are a bit shabby, but they work and only the operators will ever see them. Job done!
     

     
    Oh no! Now you've all seen them. The shame, the shame!!
  22. Tony Simms

    Downtime and the Past

    By Tony Simms,

    Little progress on Brafferton right now.
     
    Most of the house is now boxed up with an impending move in a week or so's time. I just hope that the layout makes the move unscathed; it is all packed down into it's carrying cradles, but there is the matter of a week in storage between leaving house #1 and arriving at house #2. Fingers crossed.
     
    Meanwhile, seeing Russ' blog (now thread) about his first steps into 2mm reminded me of mine, some 26 years ago. Whilst evacuating the loft I came across the album of my very first 2mm layout. Built mainly between myself and Bill Rankin, the layout was...
     
    ...Deadwater!
     
    In the days before Easitrac and drop in wheels, we managed to get a small layout up and running. A real learning curve for all of us. Bill went on to build two substantial 2mm layouts which were widely exhibited before he defected to 7mm. Before the arrival of the rugrats, I managed to get my own layout, Masham completed and also into exhibitions.
     
    Anyway, here we are at an exhibition in Doncaster, 1987 I think (!). Don't I look young? Also present are the late Peter Wright who contributed to the layout and occasional operator Trevor Spink:
     

     
    Using the marvels of current technology, I've scanned and knitted a couple of photos together giving an almost complete view of the layout:
     

     
    Things should revert to near normality by mid-December. I then need to push on with Brafferton; deadlines loom!
  23. Tony Simms

    Putting a foot in it

    By Tony Simms,

    Work continues apace (well continues, we'll leave it at that) on the lighting gantry.
     
    I needed some system to fix the five pieces together. When we were constructing the baseboards, Edward came up with some bolts with large knurled plastic knobs on. These screw by hand to a captive nut on the next baseboard and give a solid connection without the need for tools. These would be too big for the gantry, but I thought I'd like to use a similar method.
     
    At the Farnham show, where the 2mm AGM was being hosted, earlier this month, I purchased adjustable feet for the layout legs. Whilst doing so, I thought that they would work just as well in the gantry. So I bought five more! Although the plastic foot will rotate on the metal ball, there is sufficient friction to enable the bolt to be hand tightened:
     

     

     
    Meanwhile, the outer facing has had a coat of paint. It will be glossed to match the baseboards:
     

     

     
    I have also just received the lighting units, two for each of the five boards and commenced their fixing:
     

     
    In addition to agreeing to step in at Nottingham in March (a debut at a public show), I have also now commited to Shipley 2012 (September). An impending house move is squeezing time available, but providing we're in before Christmas, I'd like to think January and February will allow the layout to reach an acceptable stage for Nottingham...
  24. Tony Simms

    Summer's Almost Gone

    By Tony Simms,

    Some of us might say it's been long gone. Meanwhile I notice that I haven't posted here for over three months. Dead? Lunatic asylum? Not just yet...
     
    A few bits and bobs have been progressed over summer. Most recently I've turned my attention to the lighting and initially the gantry:
     

     
    The gantry is in five pieces to mirror the baseboards and is made in a similar manner. Two laths of 9mm ply are cut to the required diameter; the upper piece is around 4" deep, the lower one just 1". These are joined by three pieces of ply 5" deep and tapered to match the laths. Glued and screwed together, they are ready to take a facing of 4mm ply. Lighting units will reside on the underside of the upper lath:
     

     
    Other recent activity includes ongoing landscaping of the bridge end. More grass, some fencing, trees and bushes. The layout will soon be dismantled and brought indoors for winter; I'll then continue detailing the boards one by one:
     

     
    Lining out has also started on the D49. More on that anon...
  25. Tony Simms
    As others have previously posted, last weekend was Expo 2mm; a lower key event than last year's Golden Jubilee Expo, but an excellent day nevertheless. The big advantage of these days is getting to see members from across the country, old friends and new alike and have a good chat about all things 2mm in a relaxed environment.
     
    I especially enjoyed seeing new layouts from Nigel Ashton and David Long. Always a great source of inspiration to see other members layouts taking shape.
     
    Back home, having acquired some etched bargains from Phil Copleston's gloat box, I set to Brafferton. The station building had been well received and it was time to start the second part of the building. This is now being redone to match the latest version of the main building:
     

     
     
    One of the etches that Phil passed on to me was the Shire Scenes cast iron gents toilets. Parts of this were extracted and adapted to make some outside privies in the yard area.
     
    Once the various sills etc. were attached, the two units were placed on the platform and positioning strips of microstrip were glued around them. This allows the platform surface to be formed of filler whilst retaining a neat edge:
     

     
     

     
     
    Once dry, the filler was rubbed back and patching undertaken as required. The roofs of the building still need finishing, then glazing and curtains, chimneys and chimney pots. Oh, and glazing:
     

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