Posts by Alan D
41 - 60 of 174 Posts
Sorry for the long wait for the update but life caught up again. Still been doing things though and the ballasting is coming along at an amazing snail's pace. My idea was to pre mix the ballast in a tub with the pva and spread it like plaster. This idea actually works not too bad in the larger areas and is a little speedier. But it isn't very good between the sleepers. I've found that if I drip spots of glue between the sleepers then sprinkle the ballast it tends to soak better. Of course once dry I take a small flat blade screwdriver and chip off any bits that are on the sleepers or stuck to the rails. A bit of an arse for elbow method but it's working and I'm not complaining. Here's the pic:-
![]()
The station walls are coming along nicely too. I have taken some 10thou Plastikard cut & scribed it with reference to my paper template and it is now glued in place. I have continued with the method I used for the platform sides by cutting out the shapes of the blocks to disguise the joins as you will see from the pics it is quite effective.
![]()
The "Cladding" cut & Scribed
![]()
"Cladding" In place!
Still loads of work to do though, The station and upper town will probably be the biggest feature. I want it to be more of a town with a railway going through it rather than a railway with a town plonked on it. If you know what I mean.
Cheers
Alan
The station walls are coming along nicely too. I have taken some 10thou Plastikard cut & scribed it with reference to my paper template and it is now glued in place. I have continued with the method I used for the platform sides by cutting out the shapes of the blocks to disguise the joins as you will see from the pics it is quite effective.
The "Cladding" cut & Scribed
"Cladding" In place!
Still loads of work to do though, The station and upper town will probably be the biggest feature. I want it to be more of a town with a railway going through it rather than a railway with a town plonked on it. If you know what I mean.
Cheers
Alan
How pleased was I with results of my efforts and how good does the "Cladding" Look in the pics. This was done last night and I thought all was rosy. But to my horror I have just went in to the shed to continue with the other side. And guess what? The plastikard has had a reaction to the glue. It looked like a bad wallpaper job full of bubbles and lumps. I have now ripped it all off. The glue was applied very evenly and spread very smoothly with the edge of an ice lolly stick and when the Plastikard was applied it looked great. But as the glue has dried it has congealed into lumps under the plastikard and caused a bumpy appearance - totally unusable. I am totally gutted.
The glue was Zap-adap-a-Goo II has anyone used it? The guy in the model shop said it would do no bother.
Oh Well back to the drawing board
![]()
Cheers
Alan
The glue was Zap-adap-a-Goo II has anyone used it? The guy in the model shop said it would do no bother.
Oh Well back to the drawing board
Cheers
Alan
I cannot believe how much time has passed since I attempted the station. I have been so busy and just glanced in the back of the shed now and again and hardly done anything since April. I've looked in on the forum occasionally to try and keep up but not made any entires. The station really p*****d me off but I honestly didn't think it had been that long! And now the weather has turned nasty almost a month earlier than it did last year, which puts me off going in even more, now that I actually have some time. I'm determined over the holiday period to get back in whatever the weather and try and post some updates and try to catch up with everyone else old and new.
Cheers
Alan
Cheers
Alan
Thanx for the replies guys. I will be going in today although probably just for a clearup, It's funny how you tend to store things in a place you haven't used for a while and before you know it, it looks like a bomb has hit!
I think Mark the photo you're referring to is actually taken in Paisley Gilmour St. I'm not familiar with Dumbarton apart from the "Rock" which can be seen clearly on the road to Greenock, and I have passed by a couple of times on my way to Loch Lomond.
Cheers
Alan
I think Mark the photo you're referring to is actually taken in Paisley Gilmour St. I'm not familiar with Dumbarton apart from the "Rock" which can be seen clearly on the road to Greenock, and I have passed by a couple of times on my way to Loch Lomond.
Cheers
Alan
I've finally got back in the shed, given it a major tidy up and repaint. Most things are running quite well even though it's was last April I did anything significant in there. My Bachmann J72 went up in smoke though, I think the mtor is goosed. Well that's a job for another day.
I hope the sky effect on the walls is t most peoples liking. As it's a layout that will unlikely be moved I thought I would paint the sky directly on the walls. It actually gives the appearance of the room being bigger and should provide an excellent backdrop to the layout.
![]()
I have also done some more ballasting and the high level board has been removed for the moment to give unrestricted access to continue with the platform area.
I am currently scribing mounting card for the station walls, hopefully this will prove better than the disaster I had with the plasticard. It was mounting board I used for the platforms and them came up very well.
Hope you like
I hope the sky effect on the walls is t most peoples liking. As it's a layout that will unlikely be moved I thought I would paint the sky directly on the walls. It actually gives the appearance of the room being bigger and should provide an excellent backdrop to the layout.
I have also done some more ballasting and the high level board has been removed for the moment to give unrestricted access to continue with the platform area.
I am currently scribing mounting card for the station walls, hopefully this will prove better than the disaster I had with the plasticard. It was mounting board I used for the platforms and them came up very well.
Hope you like
QUOTE (reddo @ 5 Feb 2011, 08:22) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>You'll have to put a big sun face over your clock though ;-)
I was thinking about it and then thought "naaa"!
I was thinking about it and then thought "naaa"!
Thanx Everyone for the kind words. I had lost my momentum for a while there but now seem to have my enthusiasm back. I'm glad that you like it and I will keep an eye out for your threads to see your progress too. After all that's what this forum is all about - mutual appreciation and encouragement.
Just a wee update on the station. I have begun cutting & scribing the mounting card and glue some in place this time with good ol' PVA. As you can see by the pictures I'm starting the relief features of the wall and trying out ideas for the paint effects.
![]()
The cladding in place!
![]()
A closer view! Showing the beginning of the relief detail!
![]()
Practising my paint effects on a scrap piece!
The cladding in place!
A closer view! Showing the beginning of the relief detail!
Practising my paint effects on a scrap piece!
I'm happy to report some progress, I'm managing at least an hour per day at the moment and things are rolling along at a Pug's pace. Here are some more photos showing different views and progress.
![]()
I thought I would show a view from the other side!
![]()
A straight on view! Notice the leaning wall which I will fix later!
![]()
Notice the curved capping on the wall beside the track!
![]()
This was taken through the window from the front workshop showing a work in progress!
I thought I would show a view from the other side!
A straight on view! Notice the leaning wall which I will fix later!
Notice the curved capping on the wall beside the track!
This was taken through the window from the front workshop showing a work in progress!
No I've not been idle again, just wanted to wait until I had something substantial to show.
The problem with a model railway is that there are so many jobs need doing and prioritising is extremely difficult. However that being said, my grandchildren have been visiting the shed a lot and causing merry mayhem, partly because they are a little energetic and partly because there are things which are not completely nailed down. Namely the Control & point switches, and the main controllers. They have landed on the floor more than a few times no matter how careful I have been.
So with that in mind I decided to house everything within one unit and it will be clamped to the layout. Having lots of scrap wood in the shed from previous projects I decided that it would cost nothing to build a Control Panel from the bits I had lying around. The size of the pieces of scrap wood also dictated the dimensions of the Control Panel. I must admit I'm rather pleased with the results, it looks a bit retro and even though it's almost a metre in length it's not too imposing in the railway room.
Anyway here are the pics for your perusal. As you can see there are still parts to be completed but the modular style in which it is built will allow it to evolve or change completely in line with the layout.
![]()
The Basic Shell
![]()
Getting some Skin
![]()
Starting to Look The Part
![]()
Some Trim To Make It Look A Little More Attractive
![]()
An Alternate View !
I'm not planning DCC in the near future as I have too much stock to convert and I actually quite like this method of operation.
Hope you Like!
The problem with a model railway is that there are so many jobs need doing and prioritising is extremely difficult. However that being said, my grandchildren have been visiting the shed a lot and causing merry mayhem, partly because they are a little energetic and partly because there are things which are not completely nailed down. Namely the Control & point switches, and the main controllers. They have landed on the floor more than a few times no matter how careful I have been.
So with that in mind I decided to house everything within one unit and it will be clamped to the layout. Having lots of scrap wood in the shed from previous projects I decided that it would cost nothing to build a Control Panel from the bits I had lying around. The size of the pieces of scrap wood also dictated the dimensions of the Control Panel. I must admit I'm rather pleased with the results, it looks a bit retro and even though it's almost a metre in length it's not too imposing in the railway room.
Anyway here are the pics for your perusal. As you can see there are still parts to be completed but the modular style in which it is built will allow it to evolve or change completely in line with the layout.
The Basic Shell
Getting some Skin
Starting to Look The Part
Some Trim To Make It Look A Little More Attractive
An Alternate View !
I'm not planning DCC in the near future as I have too much stock to convert and I actually quite like this method of operation.
Hope you Like!
QUOTE (bro sewell @ 23 Feb 2011, 22:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>looking good.....i she ur another duette user....great controllers
so whats going in the other holes?
Thanks for the comments Guys, as to what's going in the other spaces, the small one will be getting another gaugemaster controller maybe one with inertia control and the big space is for the points and control of the station area as the other side is the points and switches for the hidden sidings in the Lower section.
so whats going in the other holes?
Thanks for the comments Guys, as to what's going in the other spaces, the small one will be getting another gaugemaster controller maybe one with inertia control and the big space is for the points and control of the station area as the other side is the points and switches for the hidden sidings in the Lower section.
Hey Reddo, how're you doing? Thanks for that!
Getting into the box is fairly simple from the front as the panels will all lift off. I don't know if you saw my previous Control panel made out of an old computer keyboard for the case, well the switch panel on the left of the new one is directly lifted from that and had 2 "D" connectors fitted so basically it was a form of Plug and Play to refit this into the new panel. I still have some connections left in one of the "D" connectors but before I fit it into the layout I will install at least another one or maybe two connectors. Therefore the wiring will be already in place and I just need to connect the right wire with the right switch and no pulling out of the Control Panel should be necessary.
Getting into the box is fairly simple from the front as the panels will all lift off. I don't know if you saw my previous Control panel made out of an old computer keyboard for the case, well the switch panel on the left of the new one is directly lifted from that and had 2 "D" connectors fitted so basically it was a form of Plug and Play to refit this into the new panel. I still have some connections left in one of the "D" connectors but before I fit it into the layout I will install at least another one or maybe two connectors. Therefore the wiring will be already in place and I just need to connect the right wire with the right switch and no pulling out of the Control Panel should be necessary.
Hey Paul & Brian,
Long time - no contact thanks for the repiles..
Anyway Paul I thought you were going DCC? and are you building at the mo? And BTW Duettes are maybe not as Bulletproof as you may think, I also have 2 Clippers which make a dreadful hum now. Brian said once that the transformer laminations had come loose, They have performed extremely well over the years but I think it's time to move on,
![]()
hence the Gaugemaster UDF you also see on the panel.
![]()
Long time - no contact thanks for the repiles..
Anyway Paul I thought you were going DCC? and are you building at the mo? And BTW Duettes are maybe not as Bulletproof as you may think, I also have 2 Clippers which make a dreadful hum now. Brian said once that the transformer laminations had come loose, They have performed extremely well over the years but I think it's time to move on,
Hey Pierre, It has been a very long time since I looked at or updated this thread so I didn't see your post until this morning. I hope you are still on the forum yourself and get a chance to see this post.The summer months I don't seem to have a lot of time for my layout and modelling and related things seems to take a back seat so I'm really sorry I missed your question. But I'm back again ready to have a go once more.
To answer your question The platform tops were made from artists mounting board cut to shape and then sprayed with a matt grey primer from a local pound shop. Then when glued in place I made a tiny little tool from a piece of wood a bit like a marking gauge with a small panel pin through it. The pin was set at 6mm(2 feet in scale) so that when i ran my lttle tool along the edge of the platform it gave me a perfect line which ran in parallel with the platform edge. I then scribed the pavings at 9mm (3 feet) intervals to give the impression of 3x2 slabs.
The rest was paintwork. I stipple painted the "slabs" with Humbrol "Pale Stone" Then when dry used a "00" brush to paint matt black for the mortar between the slabs which I rubbed away immediately with tissue. This leaves black in the scribed groove and gives a dirty look to the slabs. For the White lining it was just a matter of patience, a steady hand and a good quality rigger brush.
For the station walls I am also using artists mounting board and will be painting in a similar fashion with artists acrylics as these are cheaper go a very long way and I can blend the colours to try and get a realistic appearance.
To answer your question The platform tops were made from artists mounting board cut to shape and then sprayed with a matt grey primer from a local pound shop. Then when glued in place I made a tiny little tool from a piece of wood a bit like a marking gauge with a small panel pin through it. The pin was set at 6mm(2 feet in scale) so that when i ran my lttle tool along the edge of the platform it gave me a perfect line which ran in parallel with the platform edge. I then scribed the pavings at 9mm (3 feet) intervals to give the impression of 3x2 slabs.
The rest was paintwork. I stipple painted the "slabs" with Humbrol "Pale Stone" Then when dry used a "00" brush to paint matt black for the mortar between the slabs which I rubbed away immediately with tissue. This leaves black in the scribed groove and gives a dirty look to the slabs. For the White lining it was just a matter of patience, a steady hand and a good quality rigger brush.
For the station walls I am also using artists mounting board and will be painting in a similar fashion with artists acrylics as these are cheaper go a very long way and I can blend the colours to try and get a realistic appearance.
Hey Ian
Glad to know I've inspired you, after all this is what this forum is about, sharing ideas, knowledge and giving mutual encouragement. Keep us posted with your own thread on the subject. I'll be very pleased to watch your progress. I take it your using DC like me?
Cheers
Alan
Glad to know I've inspired you, after all this is what this forum is about, sharing ideas, knowledge and giving mutual encouragement. Keep us posted with your own thread on the subject. I'll be very pleased to watch your progress. I take it your using DC like me?
Cheers
Alan
Slight correction here I mentioned above about my 3x2 slabs being 9mm x 6mm. I can only say it was late at night when I posted and I wasn't thinking straight. In 4mm scale the slabs should equate to 12mm x 8mm. Sorry about this, I'm embarrassed now.
![]()
Hey Paul I'm still working on the station, more ballasting done and still doing the station walls. Also currently fitting the switches for the upper section to the control panel. It's good at the moment because I can run trains in both directions on both tracks however when I do this the watch trains go by syndrome kicks in and nothing else gets done.
Hey Paul I'm still working on the station, more ballasting done and still doing the station walls. Also currently fitting the switches for the upper section to the control panel. It's good at the moment because I can run trains in both directions on both tracks however when I do this the watch trains go by syndrome kicks in and nothing else gets done.
41 - 60 of 174 Posts
