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| Overall view of the layout at the Derby 7mm NGA event. |
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| 'Jay' ready to depart from the station. |
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| 'Pandora', 'Thunderbolt' and two 4w coaches outside the sheds. |
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| 'Thunderbolt' and Photoshop. |
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
The day we went to Derby
Back in January 2009 we took 'Shifting Sands' to the 7mm NGA members day in Derby. This friendly 1-day event gave me the opportunity to take some photos of the layout at a show, not something that I usually manage to do. Looking through various pictures of the layout to illustrate a forthcoming article for an Association publication, I almost used a couple of shots from the day. Sadly they didn't make the final cut as they didn't fit the theme of the piece they were to accompany. A shame really, especially as I had spent a little time in Photoshop on one of them....
Colin
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Bits and Pieces
A mixture of recent workbench happenings...
The various bits to fill the Sherwood Forest-style open wagon have now been added to the wagon. The tool box is a Black Dog/Sidelines resin casting (depending on which scale you use it in!), as are the re-railing ramps. The spanner carelessly left on top of the box, and the hammer are Duncan Models castings. The jerry can is a Cararama moulding from the garage set used as an interior to a building on the never-completed Misterton Fen Tramway. The wagon load is now, well, loaded, I've used 'tacky wax' to fix things in place:
Turning to the out-of-use bogies, I spent some time treating and painting the Parkside wheels to make them look less model-like. Rather than paint them all over I opted to blacken the axles using gun blue, then spent some time flicking rust colour paints at them using a toothbrush (as per a recent article in 'British Railway Modelling'). Whilst this didn't perhaps give the build up of colour I had hoped for, the effect is actually there, just very subtle. A spray over with the Citadel 'Purity Spray' killed any shine and I actually think they do look like used, but not abandoned too long, bogies:
Just to prove that you do see this sort of thing lying around, I took this picture of a Severn-Lamb bogie frame in the engineering yard at Lightwater Valley last week (with permission):
Finally, a quick update on 'Kestrel' as the painting process draws to a close and the glazier is on stand-by....
I've added a little dry-brushing in places to overcome the slightly less than satisfactory after-effects of the varnish spray. I think I'll get away with it....
The various bits to fill the Sherwood Forest-style open wagon have now been added to the wagon. The tool box is a Black Dog/Sidelines resin casting (depending on which scale you use it in!), as are the re-railing ramps. The spanner carelessly left on top of the box, and the hammer are Duncan Models castings. The jerry can is a Cararama moulding from the garage set used as an interior to a building on the never-completed Misterton Fen Tramway. The wagon load is now, well, loaded, I've used 'tacky wax' to fix things in place:
Turning to the out-of-use bogies, I spent some time treating and painting the Parkside wheels to make them look less model-like. Rather than paint them all over I opted to blacken the axles using gun blue, then spent some time flicking rust colour paints at them using a toothbrush (as per a recent article in 'British Railway Modelling'). Whilst this didn't perhaps give the build up of colour I had hoped for, the effect is actually there, just very subtle. A spray over with the Citadel 'Purity Spray' killed any shine and I actually think they do look like used, but not abandoned too long, bogies:
Just to prove that you do see this sort of thing lying around, I took this picture of a Severn-Lamb bogie frame in the engineering yard at Lightwater Valley last week (with permission):
Finally, a quick update on 'Kestrel' as the painting process draws to a close and the glazier is on stand-by....
I've added a little dry-brushing in places to overcome the slightly less than satisfactory after-effects of the varnish spray. I think I'll get away with it....
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Bogies!
A few weeks ago I was passed a quantity of Avalon Line coach bogies from a member of the NGRM Online forum and wondering what to do with them, I decided to have a play and see if I could produce 'spare' bogies that could sit in/outside a workshop or in a miniature railway yard. Ironically these bogies are actually to my design, although I had only intended them as a demonstration piece they were deemed good enough to cast. They aren't perfect by any means, but they do the job...
I created two bogies with wheels and two without, where I cut out each axlebox out with a razor saw and files, which was, er, fun.... Despite the apparent expense, I've used Parkside wheels as the metal axles look a lot more like the real thing than ones with 'PECO N' written on them. No actual cost as they were in the spares box. Two of the bogies were given a representation of a brake cylinder. Each bogie has a locating pin on top made from Knightwing or Dapol oddments.
Work on 'Kestrel' was hit by a slight painting setback yesterday, when my comments I made elsewhere about using Citadel aerosol varnish came back to haunt me (basically I sprayed in too humid an atmosphere and got little white marks on parts of the paintwork). Whilst that is well on the way to being resolved, coupled with a down-heartening soldering session yesterday became a bit of a grim day.
So this morning I decided on a 'quick win' to boost morale. The bogie frames and some parts destined as a load for the SFR Hudson framed wagon were primed a few days ago so I decided to have a quick session with the acrylics and add some colour to them:
The eagle eyed may notice that I have moved the brake cylinders, this was based on a little personal observation at the Sherwood Forest Railway. These have been given a coat of Citadel varnish with no ill effect, it was much warmer in the workshop which seems to have done the trick.... They need some light weathering before use but are well on the way. Of course what I haven't remembered to do is prepare and paint the wheelsets!
Colin
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Gilding the Kestrel
A quick progress report on the new 4w diesel as I have finally got around to adding the various metal detailing parts to the model. These are a mixture of commercial parts and fabricated items.
The grilles are A1 Models etchings, the radiator grille is cut from a BR class 37 frost grille, whilst the side grilles from one of their assorted packs, I've no idea what they were originally intended for! The headlights are A1 Models turnings, sealed beam headlights intended for BR diesels in 4mm scale. The exhaust is fabricated from two sections of brass tube whilst the cab door handles are bent up from wire.
The air horns are further A1 parts, these are turned with a recess to take a split pin to attach them to the model with. I solder everything up to produce parts that can be painted away from the model. Most of the brass parts have been treated with Birchwood Casey 'Gun Blue' to aid paint adhesion and avoid any future paint chips going through to bare brass.
There are few tidying up jobs to do before painting but we are almost there...
The grilles are A1 Models etchings, the radiator grille is cut from a BR class 37 frost grille, whilst the side grilles from one of their assorted packs, I've no idea what they were originally intended for! The headlights are A1 Models turnings, sealed beam headlights intended for BR diesels in 4mm scale. The exhaust is fabricated from two sections of brass tube whilst the cab door handles are bent up from wire.
The air horns are further A1 parts, these are turned with a recess to take a split pin to attach them to the model with. I solder everything up to produce parts that can be painted away from the model. Most of the brass parts have been treated with Birchwood Casey 'Gun Blue' to aid paint adhesion and avoid any future paint chips going through to bare brass.
There are few tidying up jobs to do before painting but we are almost there...
Saturday, 21 July 2012
The Kestrel Has Landed
I'm not always sure where the inspiration for new models comes from. If I'm building a model of something that closely resembles a prototype, of course the inspiration comes from photographs, drawings and my own observation. However, for freelance builds the inspiration is more likely to come from a kit left-over, or in this case, several kit left-overs!
I had been toying with the idea of another 4w diesel loco for some time, and searching through the bits boxes revealed half an Airfix Drewery bonnet top and some Black Dog Mining axleboxes that looked promising. However, they were eclipsed by some Dapol (Airfix) Railbus underframe parts and Knightwing shunter bonnet top sections. Add in Dapol Drewery cab sides with added styrene sliding doors, lots of styrene sheet and section and a good headwind (OK, a Sunday afternoon), the result was this:
It is what I like to call a 'Super-Jay', as it is the size of the Kirklees Light Railway's 'Jay', but with a larger cab. A set of A1 Models nameplates are to hand for 'Kestrel' so a bird name seems appropriate.
A little further work added a cab roof, coupler pockets and some extra features under the chassisframe tro hide the ends of the Kato chassis (the loco is a good centimetre longer than the chassis):
I've also added some extra details to the bonnet, still to come are etched grilles (also A1 Models) and a host of other metal features - lights, exhaust, door handles etc.
Rumour has it that the Somerthorpe Miniature Railway workshop crew are considering an orange paint scheme inspired by the Bure Valley Railway's no. 4:
We shall see what the management think!
Colin
I had been toying with the idea of another 4w diesel loco for some time, and searching through the bits boxes revealed half an Airfix Drewery bonnet top and some Black Dog Mining axleboxes that looked promising. However, they were eclipsed by some Dapol (Airfix) Railbus underframe parts and Knightwing shunter bonnet top sections. Add in Dapol Drewery cab sides with added styrene sliding doors, lots of styrene sheet and section and a good headwind (OK, a Sunday afternoon), the result was this:
It is what I like to call a 'Super-Jay', as it is the size of the Kirklees Light Railway's 'Jay', but with a larger cab. A set of A1 Models nameplates are to hand for 'Kestrel' so a bird name seems appropriate.
A little further work added a cab roof, coupler pockets and some extra features under the chassisframe tro hide the ends of the Kato chassis (the loco is a good centimetre longer than the chassis):
I've also added some extra details to the bonnet, still to come are etched grilles (also A1 Models) and a host of other metal features - lights, exhaust, door handles etc.
Rumour has it that the Somerthorpe Miniature Railway workshop crew are considering an orange paint scheme inspired by the Bure Valley Railway's no. 4:
We shall see what the management think!
Colin
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Hudson Hacking - Part 2
The workbench has been a relatively quiet place of late, however, a few projects are starting to come to fruition and some progress made. The Hudson wagon chassis destined to become a model based on the Sherwood Forest Railway's open wagon has been completed, since it last appeared as a chassis only, it has progressed through this:
to this:
and completed with weathering:
On it's right is a wagon assembled from various Black Dog Mining parts, a 5ft chassis formerly under one of my scratchbuilt bodies, the cut-down chequerplate top previously on the Hudson frame and a coupler unit from the spares box. The coupler has been modified to fit in the slot for my usual MicroTrains coupler, this wagon is perhaps intended for static display, however a swift coupler change can be facilitated if required!
The eagle eyes may notice something in the background... more on that another time.
Colin
to this:
and completed with weathering:
On it's right is a wagon assembled from various Black Dog Mining parts, a 5ft chassis formerly under one of my scratchbuilt bodies, the cut-down chequerplate top previously on the Hudson frame and a coupler unit from the spares box. The coupler has been modified to fit in the slot for my usual MicroTrains coupler, this wagon is perhaps intended for static display, however a swift coupler change can be facilitated if required!
The eagle eyes may notice something in the background... more on that another time.
Colin
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Building an Avalon Line Enclosed Coach Kit - 3 (Acrylic Afternoons)
It's been a while since I reported on my Avalon Line coach build, to be perfectly honest it was primed using a Halfords grey primer then sat for some time awaiting a flash of inspiration. That came from the Sherwood Forest Railway's new enclosed stock painted in dark blue. Although I considered using a Halfords aerosol to paint the main body colour, I decided to try something I wouldn't usually do - paint a complete coach body using brushed-on acrylics.
I chose the colour 'Regal Blue' from the Games Workshop Citadel range of paints. Four coats of this applied with a flat brush built up sufficient colour depth, with little sign of brush marks. The solebar and roof were painted using Vallejo black (suitable toned down) and Humbrol grey respectively.
Following a coat or two of Johnsons 'Kleer' over the areas in question, lining came from Fox transfers (Royal Mail TPO lining!) and the crests an old set by SMS, I think they are Caledonian Railway examples. Inside the interior walls are the original grey primer and the seats and floor suitable shades from the Citadel 'Foundation' range.
Following a spray with Citadel 'Purity Seal' varnish, windows were individually cut from 20thou clear styrene to fit within each window opening to give a flush glazed effect. Each pane was touched in around the cut edges using a permanent marker pen to reduce refraction within the glazing material.
The finishing touch for the body were door handles from the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association, secured in place from behind using Araldite. Bogies were refitted and the official photographer summoned to record the completion of the build. I am happy that the full-acrylic paint job stands up against sprayed models with little evidence of brush marks in the underlying paint finish.
Of course, there is something missing, passengers! For some time I had in mind using this coach for an experiment in colour and shade. I had read a theory that passengers in coaches could be painted a dark colour and simply be 'shapes' behind the windows. Just look at the next full size bus or train to pass you at a distance and give this theory some thought....
The figures involved are a set I purchased from Aidan Campbell at a show some years ago, they were an experiment by him in resin casting, from the conversation we had I'm not sure if it is one he repeated. All were legless below the knee. I had previously started to paint these but I had fallen out with them as some of them looked rather odd. Using some cheap Chinese Prieser copies I gave two of the figures new heads, and then got carried away and added the lower parts of their legs, using further oddments, and some genuine Prieser parts to complete this process. Milliput covered the joins and hid a few bodges.
The figures were sprayed with grey primer, then given a coat of flesh colour on their faces, arms hands etc. Once this was dry, a wash of black was applied over the entire figure, seeping into the creases and shadows. This darkened the grey areas and avoided a solid mass of colour.
The real test is what they looked like through the coach windows...
I'll leave readers to judge for themselves on the effectiveness of this treatment. I have the coach in my display cabinet for daily inspection, I do wonder if the upper body clothing could do with a dry brush of light colours, but we shall see, at the moment I feel that it works, certainly for fully enclosed stock.
I chose the colour 'Regal Blue' from the Games Workshop Citadel range of paints. Four coats of this applied with a flat brush built up sufficient colour depth, with little sign of brush marks. The solebar and roof were painted using Vallejo black (suitable toned down) and Humbrol grey respectively.
Following a coat or two of Johnsons 'Kleer' over the areas in question, lining came from Fox transfers (Royal Mail TPO lining!) and the crests an old set by SMS, I think they are Caledonian Railway examples. Inside the interior walls are the original grey primer and the seats and floor suitable shades from the Citadel 'Foundation' range.
Following a spray with Citadel 'Purity Seal' varnish, windows were individually cut from 20thou clear styrene to fit within each window opening to give a flush glazed effect. Each pane was touched in around the cut edges using a permanent marker pen to reduce refraction within the glazing material.
The finishing touch for the body were door handles from the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association, secured in place from behind using Araldite. Bogies were refitted and the official photographer summoned to record the completion of the build. I am happy that the full-acrylic paint job stands up against sprayed models with little evidence of brush marks in the underlying paint finish.
Of course, there is something missing, passengers! For some time I had in mind using this coach for an experiment in colour and shade. I had read a theory that passengers in coaches could be painted a dark colour and simply be 'shapes' behind the windows. Just look at the next full size bus or train to pass you at a distance and give this theory some thought....
The figures involved are a set I purchased from Aidan Campbell at a show some years ago, they were an experiment by him in resin casting, from the conversation we had I'm not sure if it is one he repeated. All were legless below the knee. I had previously started to paint these but I had fallen out with them as some of them looked rather odd. Using some cheap Chinese Prieser copies I gave two of the figures new heads, and then got carried away and added the lower parts of their legs, using further oddments, and some genuine Prieser parts to complete this process. Milliput covered the joins and hid a few bodges.
The figures were sprayed with grey primer, then given a coat of flesh colour on their faces, arms hands etc. Once this was dry, a wash of black was applied over the entire figure, seeping into the creases and shadows. This darkened the grey areas and avoided a solid mass of colour.
The real test is what they looked like through the coach windows...
I'll leave readers to judge for themselves on the effectiveness of this treatment. I have the coach in my display cabinet for daily inspection, I do wonder if the upper body clothing could do with a dry brush of light colours, but we shall see, at the moment I feel that it works, certainly for fully enclosed stock.
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