[neil_s_wood]

Those harbour walls are very nice Nikki.

I also like those little wagons. Very good.

 

[Madkitten]

the little wagons are from KB Scale - he does some brilliant kits and is a great and helpful guy.......

http://www.kbscale.com/

It was probably due to finding his website ages ago that prompted me to do 0-14 rather than 0-16.5!
Have nearly finished making the display case now it got held up for a few days as i needed more ply.

Will post pics of it very soon.

Thankyou for all your kind comments

Nikki

 

[Madkitten]

Hiya all,

Ive now finished the case for the layout! Its an integral travelling case and layout in one - basically built just for taking to exhibitions. So i thought i would post pictures of it. Its made from 6mm ply and was glued and screwed.....................

I built a control panel into the back that opens to allow for easy access if switches fail etc or fuses blow.

Will post more as i progress .... !!!

Nikki

 

[Chinahand]

Very neat Nikki. Nice bit of joinery work.

I presume the 6mm ply is fixed to a softwood frame.

 

[Madkitten]

Hiya Expat,

I did have a little hlep with the construction cause its a bit heavy for me to do on my own. My husband helped me to fit it together using a method we have used in the past, We use plastic corner blocks and a lot of Evostick PVA ( with resin in it ). It makes an extremly strong case that is also extremly light.......

Last night sat up and drew all the plans onto the layout. Then i marked all the light and track power points.......

Gonna wire up today......

Nikki,

 

[madon37s]

That's looking great Nikki looking forward to seeing the progress.

Kind regards

Paul

 

[Brian Considine]

Excellent work Nikki - thanks for showing it to us.

 

[neil_s_wood]

That layout case is very good. Well thought out and well made.

 

[Madkitten]

Hiya,

Thought i would post the latest update on my work!!

Firstly i spent a highly boring two evenings wiring the entire layout up to my drawings........ Subsequently i have a maze of multi coloured cables under the board and in the control panel.

I also noticed at this point i had used the wrong switches for the points - push to make would not work the way i wanted the to so i replaced them with two way ( on-off-on ) switches.

I have also been making a start on the first building - this one is to be cast in resin as well - some of the layout is only going to be made from strengthened plaster. This one is to be resin cast as it is my hope to sell some as model kits in the near future.

Anyway, This is how i make one if anyone is interested..... and would like to use the same technique themselves ......

First i make an outline drawing of the section i want to carve, In this case the top and bottom and the sides of the half relief building. These i glue to a board,

Next i cut some sections of balsa wood not to thick about 4-6 mm is fine. I cut each section to be 1.5 cm ( this is the best i have found to stop the plaster just cracking up when removed).

These i glue around the paper shapes following the lines exactly. For windows and doors i cut the shape from balsa and glue it in the hole. The glue i use is a couple of spots of superglue. Then i brush a light coating of vasaline around the interior of the mould.

I then fill these with Javis Fine casting plaster and leave to dry for about one hour.

After an hour the plaster has set but not completly hardened, this is the best time to start carving. If its to wet then it wont carve and if its to dry it will crack and flake. By carving the plaster when it is only semi dry allows me to smooth the cuts etc and easily clean off.

For this step ( carving ) you will need - Mini chisels, a scapel, an old metal file ( large ), an old dry paintbrush and preferably a set of dental picks and a metal edge. You will have to find yourself a thin tool to carve the brick / stone work out with. i tend to make mine from old scapel blades etc ..........

When you have finished a small section brush it off and it should look fine. I tend to find the more i experiment with this method the more impressive the sections look. Its extremly messy though........ An hour or so later and you should end up with something like this......

This then is left to dry for a good few days and you will have the part you have made ready for use. To paint the plaster i spray with halfords grey primer - leave an hour and do it again. leave an hour and its ready to paint.

For doors and windows - its a little more complex!

For tis is draw the door / window out onto a sheet of thin plasti kard. Then i make the door up in sections of plastikard . Using different thicknesses to build up the door. Then i cut out the windows panes from the plastikard and file it round until it is straight. This is another experiment area and at the moment i have managed to develop them to the point to be resin cast. These i hope will be available in the near future for anyone to buy as well....

Ready to take the silicon mix to make the moulds..................

 

[Madkitten]

As well as this I have also been starting to work on the layout board. So far i have built the road level at the back of the layout and started to add the walling around the tunnel area.

I have also started to lay the odd bits of straight track here and there so i can start to create the tramway areas.... these are to be made from plaster ( ICI interior filler ) and then hand carved as they are all going to be square cobble and some flagged areas.................... not looking forward to the amount of carving to be done ........................

I have also recently purchased a Langley brass kit of a phone box which i made up and fitted with a led light - The + power cable runs up the inside edge f the box and is not visible and as the box was brass i connected the - power cable to the kit thus makin the entire model negativly charged and completing the circuit. The phone box will be run on 3volts.......

The phone box will sit just abve the tunnel mouth - just here ...............

Hope you all enjoyed reading this - if anything is interesting and you want more information please email me and i will help you out ....................................

Nikki

 

[madon37s]

Nikki that looks great so far you have a lot of patience to be creating those builings. Very well done.

Kind regards

Paul

 

[steam-driven boy]

Hi Nikki,

Looking great, from the drawings and photo's so far this is shaping up to be a 'classic' layout full of character

I'll certainly be eagerly awaiting updates.

Regards.

 

[Madkitten]

Hiya,

Thanks for all the wonderful comments!!

I havent done much today......... Wasnt feeling well this morning so slugged in douvay on the sofa this morning with my cat, choccy and tea........ felt better this evening so i sat and made up therest of the tunnel. Once again i created a template, filled it with plaster then carved the detail in. Im really starting to enjoy carving plaster even if it does take a long time. The overall effect it seems to have i feel is very effective.

Anyway...................... Some piccys for you all !!!!

and a wagon on a bit of track just to give you some idea of how tight the tunnel is - i did that on purpose, the locomotive clearance is approx 8mm roof to top of tunnel...........

Nikki,

 

[pilotfriend]

Hi Nikki

This is fantastic work of first quality. The composition of the buildings is very good indeed. Your mouldings are first rate.

Couple of points

1. The seaweed on the harbour walls is not quite correct. Green seaweed (Ulva) would only be seen as a narrow band at the top and red and brown seaweed follows after: (Chondrus crispus and Fucus vesiculosus). This is more efficient in light absorption below seawater. (I am assuming we have seawater here)

this was taken at Whitby.

I am sure that the harbour wall timbers would not have been better built of balsa as it would have been much easier to get the deep errosion one finds. This is done using an enzyme called 'lignase' which eats away at the wood and distresses it perfectly.

I am splitting hairs but with this high quality of work I think it deserves it.

Again, I am really, really impressed!

regards
John

 

[frame69]

That looks superb Nikki,Im struggling with my walls as I should have detailed them before fixing in place, very inspiring matey, spooky!!as I was writing this 'the anchor song',Bjork came on my mp4. Happy railwaying,Frame,Padstow

PS where did you acquire your skills from?

 

[Madkitten]

Hiya, thankyou pilotfreind, a compliment coming from you is a wonderful thing !! ( having been highly impressed at your work for a long time now!! )

The only reason the wooden uprights are resin is because i originally thought that it would be easier because i have to plaster the entire dockside as i go and hand carve it and i was worried they would brake. Saying that as i havent yet glued in the entire harbour front, i am going to really have a look at using balsa for the upright wooden sections.

Where would i get the enzyme lignase from?, i would love to get an even more impressive finish to this layout if posible so all help and constructive critisim is really appreciated!!!!

Frame 69 i know how difficult it can be !! I Aquired my skills from my mum and dad, they both used to work on the massive N Gauge railway we had, mum did buildings and scenery and dad did locos and track laying etc......... Overtime i learnt both then i moved to dolls houses for a long while. This became really difficult after a while due to size so i started to use dolls house ideas smaller and smaller. Apart from that i just stick to my policy of " I can do anything - I just have to learn it first". Plus i model all day most days............. I have also taught myself electronics and how to carve.

About dockside walls - I have been asked by loads of people if i can make a set of castings for dockside walls for OO Gauge - I am currently working on these
and also on steps down etc..... I estimate two to three weeks and the first products will be ready for release.......................... Is anyone interested?

 

[pilotfriend]

Hi Nikki

I am very glad to hear that you are going to release the harbour mouldings. Contact me offline and I shall be happy to help feature your work on my website.

With regards to these enzymes, I can only suggest that a botany department at a University be contacted. Lignase digests lignin, the woody part of a plant and cellulase digests the cellulose.

They come as a powder and one just adds water. Balsa wood is actually the pith of a hardwood. I experimented using a mixture of both enzymes and just soak the balsa in it for about an hour....sometimes longer. I check out how much digestion has taken place by taking out a sample now and then and brushing it with a toothbrush. (always use you partner's toothbrush for this).

The result is that deep errosion is seen on the endgrain, which is so typical of old dock timbers.

I first began to use this technique when modelling a 'wild west' ghost town.

You are using a larger scale, but the best effect I managed to obtain in 4mm when modelling the brown seaweeds was to add the scatter in the normal way. When dry, I painted it with diluted PVA with downward strokes.

The lines under water will represent keel scrapes once the water has been built up. At this point, only one coat of 'water' has been added.

best
John

 

[Madkitten]

Last night i started on the carvings for the first few buildings, these are not going to be kits so they are made from plaster then backed with foam board. this makes it a lot stronger.

I will be posting pictures later this evening once the first building base has been stuck together......................../

Nikki

 

[shedmad66]

Great work there, especially the hand built track work. If i had the paitence, i would do the same. Keepit uo !!!

 

[Madkitten]

Hiya,

The first building has been started now! It is a half relief
section that sits towards the back of the layout next to the tunnel. Again i started by carving the first section from plaster. On this building the only stone sections are the ground floor, the top being made from wood.

Firstly i cut the shapes from paper and then bordered it with balsa.

Then i filled and carved the sections with rough stone to create a carved section as i normally do. After it had dried out i affixed it to a section of 5mm thick foam card. Luckly my local store that sells it now stocks it in black which means i dont have to spray it black anymore !!

the gaps left around doors and windows are there to allow the fixing of window and door frames. I then cut bracing and side sections to allow me to place interior walls.

I then continued to build the base of the building up from foamcard and the carved sections untill i had a very strong base. I also carefully fitted the corner then replastered and carved any corner gaps.

I then added the floor for the top section. this was 5mm shallower than drawn to allow for the width of the foamcard.

I then cut and built the top of the building from foam card also building a complete interior layout for rooms etc. This makes sure light wont escape into other sections of the building and isnt strictly neccesary - Its just me being picky............

I then visited my local Costa coffe shop where the staff kindly let me have a load of there wooden stirring sticks..... I had about 150..........

I then fixed then to the foamcard frame with evostick contact adesive, setting the edges and corners with superglue. I then trimmed them all with a razor saw and sanded them untill they were completly straight.

I then set to with a very coarse sandpaper and roughed the wood up in an up and down motion - this creates a look of wood grain and distresses the wood to make it look a lot older. Then i used a scribe and roughly scribed random length boards onto each strip. I then pushed two small holes into the end of each " plank section" to look like nail / screw heads. These should show up when the painting stage starts.

Then I re sanded it very lightly with the coarse paper to remove the burring you can see in the above pictures...... Didnt photograph that section tho...........
And here is the building in its position, so you can see where it will fit in.

Nikki