East Midlands 009 Society Open Day (and beyond)

We had an enjoyable day yesterday at Portland College near Mansfield, venue for the 009 Society's East Midlands open day.  Flying the flag for 7mm scale at an 009 event is quite an interesting experience (although I did have to explain once that Shifting Sands isn't an 009 layout!), although we weren't the only non-009 exhibit, as a OO gauge 'Thomas' layout was in attendance an examples of O-16.5, On30 and other scales on some of the displays.

On the right you can see my small 'sales corner' where I managed to shift some surplus items in aid of my daughter Chloe's Girlguiding international expedition to Iceland in 2015.  Speaking of which.... She is required to fundraise to pay for the trip and with a little lot of help from her family is currently producing various craft items for sale - you can see many of them on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chloeiceland

Dad's duties include cutting and drilling MDF blanks to form various novelty signs etc, and I realised that I could use one of these to create something rather special for us to sell. It is a 20 cm x 15 cm (8 x 6 ins) 1/43rd scale garage diorama, ideal for displaying your favourite model car!

The price to blog readers for this item is £20.00,plus £4.50 postage (1st Class Recorded Delivery). All proceeds apart from postage cost will go to Chloe's fundraising pot. The Bedford van in the picture isn't included, but it is available for £2.50 if anyone is interested in buying it with the diorama. (Sold!)

And finally.... seeing A1 Models at Mansfield reminded me of what I had been handed at Burton and briefly hinted at in a blog entry at the time.  This is a pre-production etch for an O9 loco based on a Jenbacher-Hunslet in the vein of 'Gwril' (the third) at Fairbourne.  Feedback has been invited by the manufacturer and hopefully this will be the first of several items for O9 from this source.

Colin

Twixt Burton and Mansfield

The 7mm NGA's AGM and Convention at Burton was rather O9-free this year, which can only be expected really as last year we were rather spoilt by O9 layouts for the expected launch of the revised 'Going Minimum Gauge' handbook.  Although this publication has been delayed, I was able to view a proof copy and let me tell you, it will be worth that wait... I was also shown (and handed) something else of O9 interest, but more on that another time.

Returning home I was fired-up enough to add the finishing touches to my sign and detail changes on 'Shifting Sands', most of which can be seen in this shot:

If you can't spot all the changes, compare it to this:

I've also been rest running locos and stock ready for the layout's appearance at the 009 Society members day in Mansfield on 29th June, including the new tram locomotive (which incidentally was admired by it's designer at Burton!):

As I suspected, this loco is a little taller than the other stock, although I do recall that the Cleethorpes example was also quite tall, and what's a 15" gauge railway without some size difference?  I couldn't resist this recreation of a typical Cleethorpes scene of years past....

I've found a few little jobs to keep me busy over the coming fortnight, mostly related to couplings and coach roofs, plus further test running!

Colin

A Quick Paint Job for Toby

My MG Models "Toby" tram has now received a quick (by my standards) paint job into an appropriate colour scheme.  In fact, from primer to varnish only took a week, but that is more down to luck than anything else.

Prior to priming most of the bodywork was prepared with Birchwood Casey gun blue in order to promote adhesion and hide any future accidental chipping.  The parts were then scrubbed clean for a final time and dried off with a hairdryer.  At the point of priming (using Halfords grey primer) the body, underframe, roof and interior were separate units.  The day after priming the body was sprayed with Halfords Ford 'Tuscan Beige' to get the wooden colour.  Whilst this was drying the roof and underframe units were brush painted with acrylics.  Prior to varnishing the body and underframe were Araldited together.  Varnishing used Testors 'Dulcote' - my first experience of this product and a satisfactory flat finish.

Whilst the exterior was being painted, the interior had a different approach to painting.  The grey undercoat was used as a base, over which I ran a wash of black acrylic paint to sit in the recesses and detail. Once this was dry I dry brushed the engine block with a metalic acrylic shade, ans picked out various details such as air tanks with solid colour.  Once everything was varnished the interior was stuck into the body using Evo-stick.  The roof was then located into position (I had added bent lengths of wire in each corner to locate it), then held in place with elastic bands and Araldite carefully applied to the inside corners and points along the sides/ends.

All that remains to do is to add a little weathering.  Actually, a little more weathering, as can be seen in the pictures, a weathering wash was used over the beige part of the model before varnishing in order to pick out the planking and the recesses of the framework.

Colin

Beachball II

As a follow-up to the last entry, I have now added a couple of rubber rings to the mixed basket and the all-important 'Sale' sign.  The rings are rubber O-rings given a coat of Halfords primer and painted with acrylic paints.

I have also worked on the sign advertising the deckchair and windbreak hire services, adding a frame and giving it a coat of matt varnish.

Colin

Beachball

"Tonight's alive/The beachball's set to fly" (REM)

In addition to the establishment of a deckchair and windbreak hire service, the Shifting Sands kiosk is pleased to announce that they have started selling assorted beach goods...

These details have been created using A1 Models 4mm scale depot equipment pallets as baskets, with a mixture of items within them.  The hats are Preiser, the bucket and spade assorted castings from the spares box, and the beachballs...?

Some map tacks from my childhood pin-board!  Several of these had coloured stripes added by hand and were then matt varnished and the pins cut off to fit into the basket.

I have also been working on the new signage for the kiosk, and have decided on three new signs that won't overdo the effect.  More on these another time.

Colin

Hiding Toby's Secrets

When we last saw my MG Models 'Toby' tram build it was a basic shell with the option chosen for two grille openings in one side, and I made comment about fitting styrene panels across the doorways to hide the Kato drive.  Just forget you read that bit...

After a period in the doldrums the project has now moved forward.  Having considered converting the body into a rather neat brake van/coach (a suggestion actually made to me by Andy Greenslade when I bought the kit), I went back to basics on the interior and decided that rather than hide what was in there, I would model what could be in there.

Using a combination of parts from the scrap box I have created the impression of a 15" gauge tram-outline internal combustion locomotive which is almost plausible as the sort of thing an enthusiastic engineer could produce!

The basis of the interior is in fact a Parkside Dundas wagon floor, cut out to fit around the Kato mechanism. Onto this I balanced the centrepiece, the engine moulding from an HO scale generator set made by LifeLike.  This is another of Andy Greenslade's ideas, he produced a model based on one of MG Models modern diesel kits which had one of these under the bonnet.  The driver's seat is from a dismantled Cararama Land Rover, sat on supports made from Dapol Drewery shunter footsteps.  The Drewery spares box also provided the parts for the control panel, whilst Dapol Railbus spares provided air tanks, a box (of who-knows-what) and some electrical looking boxes under the driver's seat.

There are a few more tweaks to make but hopefully the project is now heading in the right direction.

Colin

Relax... Hire a deckchair!

It's been a warm sunny day, the sort of day for sitting on a beach and relaxing in a deckchair.  In fact, this chap has been doing so on Shifting Sands for many years:

A few weeks ago fellow O9 modeller Andrew Blackwell asked me where to get deckchairs suitable for 7mm scale, and apart from the Prieser example above from their Luftwaffe ground crew set, I drew a blank, but a week or so later Andrew emailed me:

"Incidentally I received these 1:48 deckchair kits yesterday from Jane Harrop Miniatures half way down the page here:  http://www.janeharrop.co.uk/48th-beach-hut.html

They are a very fine fabric, & looks like laser cut wood. I've built 1 up in folded position to try & they are very sharp looking. A few might look OK on shifting sands. The beachhuts look nice too"

And so the kiosk on Shifting Sands will be going into the deckchair (and windbreak) hire business:

I bought two pairs of deckchairs and one windbreak, but by cunning use of the spare deckchair frames and an offcut of fabric from the windbreak (there's a reason it's rolled up!) the impression of more chairs is possible.  A little dry brushing is required on the wooden frames of the deckchairs to tone them down a little before they are added to the area in front of the kiosk.

I'll also be taking the opportunity to have a play with the signage on the kiosk, especially as I now need to add deckchair hire to the services on offer.  I have developed a habit of photographing suitable seaside signage, usually of the older variety, with modelling use in mind, and I hope to use this example from Skegness in the revised scene:

Finally, advance notice that Shifting Sands is due to attend the 009 Society, East Midlands Area Group open day in Mansfield on Sunday 29th June, where the above changes can be viewed.  Details here: http://www.009society.com/diary.php

Colin

Finally - really - in case you are wondering where 'Toby' is, he is currently undergoing (several) rethinks, he's not a happy tram engine at the moment....