Diorama Developments - Humberston

I have managed to get a picture of the 'Humberston' diorama with both the figures and the train in place.

The figures and bench add the finishing touches to the scene and help set the scale, always useful when displayed in the same cabinet as some of my O9 scenes!

As is always the way with these things, the extra work on 'Humberston' prompted some work on one of those O9 scenes, more next time...

Colin

Wagon-mongering

I've said it before an I'll say it again, when I start tinkering with wagons something is either amiss or afoot...

Seeking a suitable wagon for an extended diorama I'm working on (more on that another time), my initial thoughts were to use my Black Dog Mining mine tub, at that point sat on a KB Scale skip frame. In context that looked a bit wrong so I switched it back onto it's original chassis, however it still didn't look quite right - being too much of a view block. 

Recalling a picture I had seen recently of a skip frame flat wagon where the planks were longitudinal to the frame I opted to make a flat wagon on the KB Scale skip frame. I initially scribed some 60 thou styrene to make a planked top but I found this looked far too neat and instead added basswood planks over the Black Dog adaptor. The planks were finished in a weathered wood effect and representations of nail marks made using a pin.

I had loaded the tub with a couple of Black Dog leaning sacks and a pallet, rather random but it worked in the context of the diorama. The flat has a Black Dog laying sack, all of these parts being from the painted selection I had to hand having been used in other places in the past.

I do rather like the mine tub with the block couplers and it is causing a few thoughts about how to treat wagons if I ever get that un-stalled layout project back into motion...

Colin

From the bench at Humberston

When I built my 'Humberston' diorama I always intended to go back and a little more, including a bench on the platform and a couple of suitable posed figures to bring a little more life into the scene. Looking at photos of the real LCLR revealed that the benches were most likely ex-LNER ones with a mixture of two and three support variations, seen to advantage in this picture of South Sea Lane and in the background of this North Sea Lane picture.

Looking at available 4mm scale benches I couldn't see anything that quite matched, at least something that wasn't going to either leave a lot of spare benches and be easily obtained. The Cooper Craft GWR bench kit looked like it had potential if de-Westernised, but getting hold of one is a tricky business due to supply issues. Luckily a plea on the NGRM Online forum turned up a pair of spare ends and from these I could build a reasonable representation of an LNER bench.

The seat itself is 30 thou styrene scribed into two planks and rounded on the edges, the back pieces are 30x40 and 30x80 strip. Underneath lengths of 30x40 strip sit under the join in the planking. The Cooper Craft ends have lost their GWR scrollwork to become a passable representation of the LNER supports

The bench was red oxide primed and then several attempts were made to get the colour right, a light maroon but not too, well, maroon... With some dry brushing of a lighter shade on the edges it looks about right. It has been joined by some new figures for 'Humberston'. Ironically none of them want to sit on the bench!

The figures are an assortment of Dapol ones, chosen to be a little "timeless" in style and to have the look of figures riding a seaside railway rather than being 1960s commuters. Modifications are few, the lady with the umbrella has had her hat removed and blended into her hair, and the little boy has lost his long socks and had his cap rounded to look less schoolboy-like. Positioned on the diorama they tell a little tale, the boy seems keen to watch the Simplex depart whilst his mum and sister look on waiting (no doubt in despair). The railwayman waits for departure time...

I will try and get some pictures of the complete diorama in due course. I have also been working on a few changes to another diorama, but that will have to wait for another day!

Colin

 

An Excursion in Chassis Building

I have been tinkering with a project that is outside my usual comfort zone and quite honestly, for a time it threatened to remain so... I've been following the progress of Mark Clark's "Locos'n'stuff" range for some time and keeping an eye out for anything that may be suitable for use in O9. The new 'Larger diesel bogie' offered some hope as 9mm gauge was included in the specification. So I ordered one, with the possibility in mind of making a less chunky chassis for the A1 Models Keef than he Bachmann 'brick'.

First impressions were good, the etch neat and the parts well packaged, but my first read of the instructions was not too hopeful, as there was no explanation of how to fit the layshaft, gears and wheels etc. Thinking I had a missing page I contacted Mark, who gave me the missing details but admitted he often missed areas familiar to him out...  

The build of the etched parts went OK, the frames were shortened to be the same length as the Bachmann chassis and the wheelbase set at 22mm. It has to be said that building to 9mm gauge gives very little clearance to get the soldering iron in! I then moved on to getting the layshaft in place, tricky but achievable with perseverance. Then came the bit I was dreading, the wheels... I had purchased a new desktop vice to assist (well, I say purchased, persuaded a relative to buy it for my birthday!) and having got the gear fixed in centrally I pressed the first set of wheels into place, and it is important to say I was looking from above the frame... To my horror disaster awaited underneath...

With the wheels pressed fully on the axles (as recommended), the frames were bent inwards. I contacted Mark and he advised to remove them, straighten the frames and then file the bearing faces flat to the chassis side. This time the wheels went on OK and after some adjustments I was able to give it a test run, having fitted the motor and drive belt into place. With pickups fitted I was able to run it properly.

Test running started to show up a downside of the wheel profile which is aimed at wider gauges, with a thick, rounded flange. There was a very narrow sweet spot between getting the flanges between the rails and the back-to-back through Peco 009 pointwork. This was further exasperated when trying the chassis on the 6 and 5 inch curves of the 'Getting Something Moving' project, where the flanges were bumping up over the rail head in places. There was not enough flexibility in the setup for curves this sharp.

On a whim I removed the wheelsets again and replaced them with a set of the much finer Greenwich 8mm wheels as the central axle size is the same. With a few tweaks to the pickups these have bedded in well and on test on the sharp curves rides much better.

Whether I'll repeat this excursion into chassis building I'm not sure, I haven't yet decided if the Keef will actually receive this chassis or if it will be put aside for my Narrow Planet/James Hilton Perrygrove 'Jubilee' kit, as I don't really want to put that on a Kato chassis with overlength wheelbase.

The thought did occur to me that in 14mm or 16.5mm gauge form this chassis could be used under the A1 Models Keef to give an O14 or O-16.5 loco... Hmm...

Colin