[harkins77]

Hi there guys seeing as I am planning to do a new layout on only 1 board I have just laid out the track on the carpet for the first time to give you guys an Idea of what the layout is gonna look like.

from left to right the 3 lines that crisscross over between themselves is going to be the fiddle/storage area behind the scenes area and all that is to the right of the sidings areas is going to be at the front of the layout.

As you can see I have 3 depot lines coming off the outside line and there is a single line which will lead to a wagon repair line.

And as you can see there is plenty of room for me to stand in so I can centrally control the layout giving me full access to all lines and areas of the layout.

I have still to buy the board and make it's framework up but this gives you an idea of the trackplan I have for it.

click on the link below to see the plan and I apologise for the brightness of the pic.

http://bitsandbobs.fotopic.net/p51670574.html

 

[harkins77]

Ok so the origional picture taken was a little dark. So I have messed around with the HVR2 program and done albeit not to the right scale layout using what track there was on the program.

The board it's going on is 6x4 which leaves enough room for messing in the fiddle area and enough room at the front for enough scenic stuff to make it interesting.

Let me know what you think.

 

[Chinahand]

Looking good Harkins. Keep us up to date with progress.

Is that Kato track ??

Expat

 

[harkins77]

Yeah the track in the first pic is kato track.

the back part on the 2nd pic is going to be the fiddle yard and I have measured the boards and have worked out I will be able to stand in the middle of the board comfortably and hiding the fiddle yard area will be a back scene board so that it hides the fiddle area and there will be tunnels at both sides of the track for the locos and stock to disappear behind.

 

[harkins77]

Ok so I managed to get some good luck today. The missus took pity on me and gave me a tenner so that I can make a start on my layout by allowing me to go and get some mdf for the base of my layout.

I then proceeded to my local Wickes stores seeing a b&q didn't have the thickness I needed and staggered out with an 8x4 sheet of 9mm board for just under 11.00 pounds.

When I eventually got it back home was talking to my neighbour who just happened to have a circular saw and he cut it down from 8x4 to 6x4. He also has provided me with some wood for the batons that will be fixed to the wall so that the layout with be fixed on 3 sides to the walls eleviating the need for legs. Which is brilliant so I can still store stuff underneath the board so that it still remains a shed. He has also said he can get me some 2x1 for the frame as well.

Eager to see what the board will look like with the track on I took a picture of it see below. And I also marked out enough of a space that I can cut out and stand in once cut out. At this time the shed looks like a bomb has dropped but it will change once the framework and batons are fixed in place and the layout is basically floating above the floor, with all the clutter stored underneath.

 

[harkins77]

And here is my first attempt at re-liverying a loco of my own.

I have plumped for 47829 in it's Police livery guise.

So far the white main part of the body is done and I have just put down my first coat of yellow for the ends.

 

[harkins77]

Ok so now the coats of yellow paint have dried I have taken the tape off that is masking the area I was wroking on and to be honest for a first time I think it's pretty good and there is very little work of tidying up is needed. Judge for yourself any comments welcome but remember this is my first time at reapainting.

 

[5696Arethusa]

QUOTE (harkins77 @ 12 Jul 2008, 16:43) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Ok so now the coats of yellow paint have dried I have taken the tape off that is masking the area I was wroking on and to be honest for a first time I think it's pretty good and there is very little work of tidying up is needed. Judge for yourself any comments welcome but remember this is my first time at reapainting.

Welcome to the wonderful world of reliverying locos, be warned it can be addictive

One tip for next time, I've found that if you remove the masking before the paint has had a chance to fully dry it doesn't flake at the edges. I found out the hard way. I re-sprayed a set of Stanier coaches BR Cream, masked up and sprayed the Crimson. I let this dry then removed the masking tape and low and behold lots of flaking on some of the coaches. Most frustrating.

Andii

 

[harkins77]

yeah I realised that once I took the tape off but since that pic was taken I have gone round the edges to give a straight edge to the paint so there is no flaking there now. the top part of the yellow though doesnt need to be perfect though seeing as the roof is going to be black/very dark grey anyway
I just need to get some roof exhausts in brass as the person who had the body before me had cut the origional roof grilles off to replace them with brass ones I guess. So I am going to have to source some from somewhere. It did come with some brass roof grilles but they were all messy so I want to replace em with new ones. And once they are in place and I am happy with them then the painting of the roof will begin.

 

[harkins77]

Ok so the nervous bit is now to come to paint the roof.

I decided to paint it black so that I can weather it down with powders once the transfers were done and settled.

I put 2 coats of black down and I am pretty happy with the results.

The pics I have taken were taken literally as I took the tape off so it looks a little rough and there are some bits I need to go over again that I have missed and didn't realise when doing the first coats.

All in all though hartley relieved that nothing bad really happened.

 

[Basil]

Nice one with the experimenting on the paint job. Bravery and informed working help. That's how we develop our modelling skills.

I enjoying fixing and repairing old locos and have learned to fix the more delicate parts of motors etc by careful (and some not so careful) tinkering.



You can be sure your 2nd and 3 rd and subsequent attemts will become more professional looking and successful.

The layout looks good and may I suggest you use the middle section a little more. You could lay with the levels a little bit as well to create some interest on a small board. There is always of course the danger of over cluttering the layout but I personally like a number of levels and some criss crossing etc.

It will be interesting to see what can be made on 6X4 feet.

Onwards

 

[harkins77]

Ok so whilst watching the grand prix I have decided to have a little mess with 1 of my dummy locos. I managed to get hold of another drs 47 body and battery box from Upnick. thanks mate and I have butchered one of the yank dummy chassis that we got from the states.

I have extended the main chassis by 2.5 mm by using plasticard and then bracing it with some more thin strips on top of the chassis where I made the cut to give it some strength. I've then trimmed the edges of the framework of the chassis so that it fits inside of the body neatly and then I have fitted the battery/fuel compartment in it's place.

The results are impressive and with a bit of a saving over buying a spares or repair farish chassis I now have a nice dummy loco that I can have in the engine shed area to sit and look pretty.

Judge for yourself and let me know what you think.

I have also been messing a little more with the police livery 47 as I have temporarily placed it on another spare dummy chassis I have available to give the idea of what it will look like. I've also placed an order with electra graphics for the transfers for the 47 as well so it's just a case of waiting a little while for them.

 

[upnick]

Harkins,

Glad you got the chassis sorted out

all without a cam session

off to try my latest conversion ....... wheres the cab control

 

[harkins77]

ok so have changed over the sidings tracks today from Kato track to some peco flexitrack for the 3 depot area lines and I have also added some stock to the layout for the first time.

Yes I know the building I have put on isn't straight but it was just a trial for the building on the layout. It does tell me though I need to work out the backboards for the layout sooner rather than later as the brick effect is starting to wear a little thin.

 

[harkins77]

After looking at another members weathering and detailing bits and pieces I have decided to give it a go myself.

I have used Mig powders mixed with enamel thinners mixed and then dabbed on and once it has dried for a minute or 2 I have then used thin to wide brushes to give the effect of water streaks coming from the roof and down the body through the grime.

 

[harkins77]

Ok so I took reciept of the Electra graphics this morning and decided to affix them onto the body of the police livery 47 body I'm doing myself.

I'm not entirely happy with the results of the transfer applications but with a bit of weathering done to it I hope it will hide some of the little problems I've found with it.

Let me know what you think.

 

[harkins77]

Ok so seeing as this was my last day off for the next 7 days I thought I would do some more work towards the layout today.

On the shed area I have added the peco track to the depot lines and I have also added some plasticard to support it underneath with it being a different height to the kato track that is used for the rest of my layout.

I still need to fix it in place but I won't be doing that until I am totally happy with how it looks. The reason I have used peco track for the depot area is so that I can put down my peco modern sheds if I want without having to modify the trackbase to fit into the peco shed's small openings compared to width of the kato track.

When I had finished I realised that the other day I had removed the legs from some people I had left from my old layout so I took them into the house and started putting them in as drivers into my N gauge locos.

It was a bit fiddly with some and for others where the seats are easily accessible it was a 30 second job.

Here are some pictures for you to look at and feel free to add comments.

 

[harkins77]

I visited the site of the old C&G model railway shop this week after hearing over the last few months that somebody was starting up a new shop in it's place.

The shop which is a friendly shop is North Eastern Models in Darlington and after visiting it once last week without spending a penny in there I decided that I should go back down and purchase another ews class 60 for my collection.

I got it home and then proceeded to remove the nameplate and numbers from the side using the enamel thinners dabbed onto the side of the loco with a cottom bud and leaving it for a few minutes and then rubbing gently on the side with a blunted off cocktail stick to prevent any scratching to the yellow band or body under the name plate.

The results I found were brilliant.





I then left the model overnight to settle before I decided to renumber it and also add the griffin decals under the cab windows at one side.



The results as you can see are pleasing or at least they are to me and it will take it's place along side the other class 60's I have in my collection which now totals 7. I think for the time being that's enough, well at least until farish release the new 60084 that is...

 

[harkins77]

Well after seeking some help from Upnick about washes and drybrushing i have taken the step of using some of the techniques to start doing some of my rolling stock.

I've made a start with some EWS OBA wagons that I have started by doing a first layer of washes on one of the wagons. I have also taken a picture of one direct out of the box and one that has been started to be played with to show you the comparison.

I'm going to over the next few days start destressing the wagon to also give it the effect that some panels have been replaced with newer wood like you find in the real world.

 

[zmil]

Hi Kain

Yes that looks good , brings out the details

I have been having a go myself on a Loco and some wagons , mine are still not quite right yet

Regards Zmil