Simpas
Western Thunderer
Yes, I'll see you there and really looking forward to seeing Hollywell Town. I have the Wild Swan back issue that contains the article over which I have many times pored....
Mick
Yes, I'll see you there and really looking forward to seeing Hollywell Town. I have the Wild Swan back issue that contains the article over which I have many times pored....
Mick
Simpas
Western Thunderer
A thoosand aplogeez te yiz aal, coss a hevn't posted fa ages lyk.....
(I'm very very sorry to everyone because I have not been able to do any updates until now.)
Do you want chapter and verse? - well probably not... but a brief resume perhaps. Chelford was followed by a change of role for me, completely off topic I know but I was for few weeks a carer for Yvonne who had a knee replacement in June and I had to keep her from being silly so off we went on holiday in the little caravan. Thorntonloch, Devon, Innerleithen, Colchester, back to Innerleithen, this time on grandparenting duties because she (that's the good lady) was walking and making pretty good progress - and then we did indeed manage the Isle of Man holiday we should have had last year but had postponed because of a lack of mobility. So there you are, poor excuse eh..? Mrs S. is now well on the way to a good recovery thanks in no small part to her determination and discipline and this is probably going to be the only time I can say something that sounds as though there has been little or no improvement where in fact the reverse is the case. Here it is then "Yvonne's knee better..."
Right, back to business as they say. Last time out I promised to expound on the struggle to get ballasting done the way I wanted it and for the 'main line' it was dead easy using my tried and tested silica sand and the usual method of fixing was always to 'mist' some water + washing up liquid as a wetting agent then drip 50/50 mix pva and it's never let me down. But you know how you fancy trying something different just because..... I watched a ballasting demo at a show where the operator was using Deluxe Materials Ballast Bond and it seemed to work fine on 'OO' with not a hint of messy water and sludge anywhere. When I tried it at home disaster struck - the solution grabbed the ballast, not everywhere, but in enough places to make me fear I might have to stop and have a serious think about how to avoid further carnage. In the end I added some washing up liquid to the Ballast Bond and just went ever so steady with it. I think I got away with it but you can let me know what you think when you see a few pictures. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Deluxe Materials product, I just asked a bit much of it - silica sand is quite fine. However, if you are going to use it for very fine ballast add a bit of the soapy stuff.
The last fortnight or so has seen a bit more activity, in addition to playing trains at RailexNE last weekend on Montagu Fields, a 'OO' railway owned and built by Steve Driver a friend of mine from north o' the border. It was a good day out with the '57 Study Group', not to mention the curry on the Saturday night....!
Last time I was offered a little advice re the sea moss trees which I wasn't particularly happy when Paul MP said spray with browns and greys. Well I took the advice and did a bit of spraying. Below you see the 'before and after' - not the same trees mind. Before the painting I applied a bit of out of the tube polyfilla. A definite improvement - thanks Paul.
I'm also in the process of rebuilding the bus depot as here. First shot is where I am up to now and the second shows what a mess these things can be underneath... this is my usual material for buildings, card and brickpaper
This next picture will tell you whether or not I've 'got away' with the ballasting. The picture was taken primarily to illustrate the lever frame and point rodding which was written up by Laurie Adams in a recent MRJ, quite effective. The lever frame was given to me by Alan Whitehouse when he knew I was going to include the rodding, which is a bit fiddly but well worth the effort.
Here's a view from the fiddle looking toward the station, on the right and the explosives siding on the left. These shots are always a little difficult and I probably wouldn't publish an image like this anywhere else but it does show where I am with things. Need to press on because I'm off to a 2mm extravaganza at Railwells this coming weekend - the whole of John Greenwood's Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway - well worth the trip alone. Lots of other good stuff too, Railwells is one of the best shows around.
Finally, tonight - I have made a start on weathering the sound fitted class 40. Not finished by any stretch of the imagination but I'm happy with the way it's coming along. The Maskol hadn't been removed from the windows at this stage.
I realise my absence from most things has meant I've not kept up to date with what everyone else is doing but I am hoping to put that right soon.
Do call and chat at Wells if you're going along this weekend.
Mick S.
(I'm very very sorry to everyone because I have not been able to do any updates until now.)
Do you want chapter and verse? - well probably not... but a brief resume perhaps. Chelford was followed by a change of role for me, completely off topic I know but I was for few weeks a carer for Yvonne who had a knee replacement in June and I had to keep her from being silly so off we went on holiday in the little caravan. Thorntonloch, Devon, Innerleithen, Colchester, back to Innerleithen, this time on grandparenting duties because she (that's the good lady) was walking and making pretty good progress - and then we did indeed manage the Isle of Man holiday we should have had last year but had postponed because of a lack of mobility. So there you are, poor excuse eh..? Mrs S. is now well on the way to a good recovery thanks in no small part to her determination and discipline and this is probably going to be the only time I can say something that sounds as though there has been little or no improvement where in fact the reverse is the case. Here it is then "Yvonne's knee better..."
Right, back to business as they say. Last time out I promised to expound on the struggle to get ballasting done the way I wanted it and for the 'main line' it was dead easy using my tried and tested silica sand and the usual method of fixing was always to 'mist' some water + washing up liquid as a wetting agent then drip 50/50 mix pva and it's never let me down. But you know how you fancy trying something different just because..... I watched a ballasting demo at a show where the operator was using Deluxe Materials Ballast Bond and it seemed to work fine on 'OO' with not a hint of messy water and sludge anywhere. When I tried it at home disaster struck - the solution grabbed the ballast, not everywhere, but in enough places to make me fear I might have to stop and have a serious think about how to avoid further carnage. In the end I added some washing up liquid to the Ballast Bond and just went ever so steady with it. I think I got away with it but you can let me know what you think when you see a few pictures. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Deluxe Materials product, I just asked a bit much of it - silica sand is quite fine. However, if you are going to use it for very fine ballast add a bit of the soapy stuff.
The last fortnight or so has seen a bit more activity, in addition to playing trains at RailexNE last weekend on Montagu Fields, a 'OO' railway owned and built by Steve Driver a friend of mine from north o' the border. It was a good day out with the '57 Study Group', not to mention the curry on the Saturday night....!
Last time I was offered a little advice re the sea moss trees which I wasn't particularly happy when Paul MP said spray with browns and greys. Well I took the advice and did a bit of spraying. Below you see the 'before and after' - not the same trees mind. Before the painting I applied a bit of out of the tube polyfilla. A definite improvement - thanks Paul.
I'm also in the process of rebuilding the bus depot as here. First shot is where I am up to now and the second shows what a mess these things can be underneath... this is my usual material for buildings, card and brickpaper
This next picture will tell you whether or not I've 'got away' with the ballasting. The picture was taken primarily to illustrate the lever frame and point rodding which was written up by Laurie Adams in a recent MRJ, quite effective. The lever frame was given to me by Alan Whitehouse when he knew I was going to include the rodding, which is a bit fiddly but well worth the effort.
Here's a view from the fiddle looking toward the station, on the right and the explosives siding on the left. These shots are always a little difficult and I probably wouldn't publish an image like this anywhere else but it does show where I am with things. Need to press on because I'm off to a 2mm extravaganza at Railwells this coming weekend - the whole of John Greenwood's Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway - well worth the trip alone. Lots of other good stuff too, Railwells is one of the best shows around.
Finally, tonight - I have made a start on weathering the sound fitted class 40. Not finished by any stretch of the imagination but I'm happy with the way it's coming along. The Maskol hadn't been removed from the windows at this stage.
I realise my absence from most things has meant I've not kept up to date with what everyone else is doing but I am hoping to put that right soon.
Do call and chat at Wells if you're going along this weekend.
Mick S.
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Simpas
Western Thunderer
Pete, thanks very much for your post and the pictures - wasn't Railwells a cracking show (as usual) I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'll reply to your other mails as soon as possible and would have responded to this sooner but couldn't, 'cos wor lass hadiz oot aal mornin spending ackers on a new fridge...! (Yvonne wanted to visit Currys this morning to purchase a new refridgerator).
You're welcome to come and play trains anytime and I'm over the moon you have revisited your 'meeth micro'.
Mick
I'll reply to your other mails as soon as possible and would have responded to this sooner but couldn't, 'cos wor lass hadiz oot aal mornin spending ackers on a new fridge...! (Yvonne wanted to visit Currys this morning to purchase a new refridgerator).
You're welcome to come and play trains anytime and I'm over the moon you have revisited your 'meeth micro'.
Mick
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Another period of absence - where's ee been...? Az retired n still got nee idea where the time gaans (how time flies, even in retirement...!) I have been to a couple of shows though in addition to grandparenting and although it has been two months, HOO LANG...? (How long?) I have done one or two things by way of starting to add detail to this miniscule scene and also seen how well everyone else is doing with the pleasurable bits that take the time. Some cracking modelling going on here generally.
Although not posting I have managed to take a few pictures to enable 'before and after' views. The first one shows a close up of the bus depot boundary wall as first built. It is quite simply 1.5mm card with Howard Scenics brick paper stuck on. The curved brick top course is 'Evergreen' half round plastic cut into individual pieces and needs (in my humble opinion) to be stuck on before the brick paper. I choose two part epoxy resin glue for this job because plastic sometimes has a bit of a job sticking to card and in the past when I've applied brick paper first there's always the chance that the messy process of epoxying can ruin the brick paper finish. Crap parking by the geezer in the Land Rover - unecessary obstruction I would have said...!
The wall, while attempting to be a 6' 6" tall affair, is remarkably short on support so I made myself some brick supports as seen below using the same thickness card and wrapped in brick paper. The second shot shows the simplicity with which the support buttresses were made. I do use the Swan Morton for just about everything but there are times when advantage can be had by using a single sided blade which is a bit thinner. Such is the case here where the overlapping brick paper can be ever so gently cut off without disturbing the edge of the card using something of a sawing movement. The tops were chamfered and the paper just followed the angle of the chamfer, which was as you might expect guesswork..!
Here is the almost completed wall with supports and, for good measure, a second wall at right angles to the main structure ostensibly to provide a bit more stability, but as a bonus I will be able to add other scenic features in. Needs a bit more in the way of weathering admittedly but then the painted surface of the depot yard needs a bit of attention too.......
I think I'm OK with the white lines that need to go on the centre of the road but has anyone any ideas about how I achieve double yellow lines because I can see the bloke in the land rover's 'ganna be trouble....!'
Mick S
Although not posting I have managed to take a few pictures to enable 'before and after' views. The first one shows a close up of the bus depot boundary wall as first built. It is quite simply 1.5mm card with Howard Scenics brick paper stuck on. The curved brick top course is 'Evergreen' half round plastic cut into individual pieces and needs (in my humble opinion) to be stuck on before the brick paper. I choose two part epoxy resin glue for this job because plastic sometimes has a bit of a job sticking to card and in the past when I've applied brick paper first there's always the chance that the messy process of epoxying can ruin the brick paper finish. Crap parking by the geezer in the Land Rover - unecessary obstruction I would have said...!
The wall, while attempting to be a 6' 6" tall affair, is remarkably short on support so I made myself some brick supports as seen below using the same thickness card and wrapped in brick paper. The second shot shows the simplicity with which the support buttresses were made. I do use the Swan Morton for just about everything but there are times when advantage can be had by using a single sided blade which is a bit thinner. Such is the case here where the overlapping brick paper can be ever so gently cut off without disturbing the edge of the card using something of a sawing movement. The tops were chamfered and the paper just followed the angle of the chamfer, which was as you might expect guesswork..!
Here is the almost completed wall with supports and, for good measure, a second wall at right angles to the main structure ostensibly to provide a bit more stability, but as a bonus I will be able to add other scenic features in. Needs a bit more in the way of weathering admittedly but then the painted surface of the depot yard needs a bit of attention too.......
I think I'm OK with the white lines that need to go on the centre of the road but has anyone any ideas about how I achieve double yellow lines because I can see the bloke in the land rover's 'ganna be trouble....!'
Mick S
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Simpas
Western Thunderer
Afternoon all,
Now for a little bit more; to the left of the roadway (on which I still haven't managed to find something to do the yellow lines) I decided to do a bit of work on the allotment gardens to the left hand side. I chose my favourite material of file divider card as the material to reproduce a representation of wooden fencing, such as we have around our allotments here in the 'Land of the Prince Bishops', or indeed any allotment site. Typically in the real world the perimiter fences are the responsibility of the local Parish Council that own and let out the plots so these at least are uniform up to a point. Dividing fences are the resposibility of the tenant so can be (and usually are) a bit rough. File divider card is easy to work but at 0.4mm thick the palings are just a bit overscale. There has to be a limit to how thin the vetical boards can be, commensurate with the strength necessary to perform the function of a model fence but I'm minded to stay with this because it seems to look the part. Fence posts are a different matter and I have used 0.5 mm plywood from a local model shop that has a host of those things that you would never think would be any use to railway modellers. I double up the thickness sticking them together with PVA and then as near as possible cut 1mm square strips which in 2mm scale = 6" and very slightly over scale for, say a 4" square post, but it does possess the rigidity I'm looking for and looks OK to my eye. Card and ply both start life the same so there's nothing like wood to represent wood.
The first shot below shows me making an effort to look as though I know what I'm doing. The card is painted both sides with a brown colour, in this case Humbrol Acrylic Matt 29, then allowed to properly dry. I'm cutting strips between the two pencil lines so the various 'boards' are roughly 1mm wide but because I'm only cutting between the lines it retains its integrity. It's surprising how uniform a cut can be made with a little practice but as you will see in subsequent shots a bit of variety of thickness gives a pleasing randomness to what would normally be a very uniform fence.
In the shot below, taken to illustrate the card is still in one piece, so to speak, it can be seen what exists at this juncture is much like the lanterns we all used to make during our formative years at this time of year, to hang around in school as festive decorations. There is another reason for doing this of which more anon...
The next operation is to cut the vertical boards to length and the way I do this is to use a chopping action with my trusty old single sided blade as seen below, a sharp tap using my Grandfather's old tack hammer. A bit of care needed here (not only for the obvious reason of finishing up not being able to play guitar for a while...!) but also if the cut is made on the wrong side, all your hard work goes scuttling off in all directions, including the floor. It's picking the little things up again that ruins them and means a wasted modelling session.
Below you can see some of the 0.5mm ply that wasn't laminated has been cut into long strips and stuck to the white card temporarily using PVA and this keeps them a uniform distance apart, well, within reason that is. The palings are being stuck on, one by one gently picking up and placing them using the sharp point of the blade. Good fun eh...? It's not a bad job to do really - very theraputic.
And here's what the fence panels look like before being cut to size and installing on the layout. The lower panel has a recess at the right hand end for the allotment water supply.
The first garden begins to take shape but as you can see the bloke in the Land Rover, who already has pre cons for poor parking, cannot reverse for monkey nuts either, has bumped the standpipe while backing out recently and created a steady stream of water away from it.
I used the microscope slide method described by Gordon Gravett to represent the water and "a think it's champion" (I am quite pleased with the effect). The garden gate is made using the slatted system referred to earlier with horizontal rails and the diagonal being stuck on the give strength and keep the other boards together before being removed from the sheet of 'cut boards' trimmed to shape and stuck in place. The hut is my first use of one of Severn Models etches - it's temporarily in place for this picture and needs some rear guttering and a downpipe into a water butt, yet to be fashioned.
Asute observers will see some fence posts above the retaining wall in the background. There's a little bit to tell about those which I'll try and get done before Christmas or maybe between Christmas and New Year but...
"coss wa deein lowdsa runnin aboot gannin here n there ower Christmas tae see wa bairns, it cud be efta that - burral dee me best"
(because we will be visiting our family during the festive period it may be into the new year before I manage although I will try).
"Az ganna finish by wishin yiz aal a very merry crissmiss an aal the best fa nex yor"
Compliments of the season to you all and a very happy healthy and productive modelling new year.
Mick S.
Now for a little bit more; to the left of the roadway (on which I still haven't managed to find something to do the yellow lines) I decided to do a bit of work on the allotment gardens to the left hand side. I chose my favourite material of file divider card as the material to reproduce a representation of wooden fencing, such as we have around our allotments here in the 'Land of the Prince Bishops', or indeed any allotment site. Typically in the real world the perimiter fences are the responsibility of the local Parish Council that own and let out the plots so these at least are uniform up to a point. Dividing fences are the resposibility of the tenant so can be (and usually are) a bit rough. File divider card is easy to work but at 0.4mm thick the palings are just a bit overscale. There has to be a limit to how thin the vetical boards can be, commensurate with the strength necessary to perform the function of a model fence but I'm minded to stay with this because it seems to look the part. Fence posts are a different matter and I have used 0.5 mm plywood from a local model shop that has a host of those things that you would never think would be any use to railway modellers. I double up the thickness sticking them together with PVA and then as near as possible cut 1mm square strips which in 2mm scale = 6" and very slightly over scale for, say a 4" square post, but it does possess the rigidity I'm looking for and looks OK to my eye. Card and ply both start life the same so there's nothing like wood to represent wood.
The first shot below shows me making an effort to look as though I know what I'm doing. The card is painted both sides with a brown colour, in this case Humbrol Acrylic Matt 29, then allowed to properly dry. I'm cutting strips between the two pencil lines so the various 'boards' are roughly 1mm wide but because I'm only cutting between the lines it retains its integrity. It's surprising how uniform a cut can be made with a little practice but as you will see in subsequent shots a bit of variety of thickness gives a pleasing randomness to what would normally be a very uniform fence.
In the shot below, taken to illustrate the card is still in one piece, so to speak, it can be seen what exists at this juncture is much like the lanterns we all used to make during our formative years at this time of year, to hang around in school as festive decorations. There is another reason for doing this of which more anon...
The next operation is to cut the vertical boards to length and the way I do this is to use a chopping action with my trusty old single sided blade as seen below, a sharp tap using my Grandfather's old tack hammer. A bit of care needed here (not only for the obvious reason of finishing up not being able to play guitar for a while...!) but also if the cut is made on the wrong side, all your hard work goes scuttling off in all directions, including the floor. It's picking the little things up again that ruins them and means a wasted modelling session.
Below you can see some of the 0.5mm ply that wasn't laminated has been cut into long strips and stuck to the white card temporarily using PVA and this keeps them a uniform distance apart, well, within reason that is. The palings are being stuck on, one by one gently picking up and placing them using the sharp point of the blade. Good fun eh...? It's not a bad job to do really - very theraputic.
And here's what the fence panels look like before being cut to size and installing on the layout. The lower panel has a recess at the right hand end for the allotment water supply.
The first garden begins to take shape but as you can see the bloke in the Land Rover, who already has pre cons for poor parking, cannot reverse for monkey nuts either, has bumped the standpipe while backing out recently and created a steady stream of water away from it.
I used the microscope slide method described by Gordon Gravett to represent the water and "a think it's champion" (I am quite pleased with the effect). The garden gate is made using the slatted system referred to earlier with horizontal rails and the diagonal being stuck on the give strength and keep the other boards together before being removed from the sheet of 'cut boards' trimmed to shape and stuck in place. The hut is my first use of one of Severn Models etches - it's temporarily in place for this picture and needs some rear guttering and a downpipe into a water butt, yet to be fashioned.
Asute observers will see some fence posts above the retaining wall in the background. There's a little bit to tell about those which I'll try and get done before Christmas or maybe between Christmas and New Year but...
"coss wa deein lowdsa runnin aboot gannin here n there ower Christmas tae see wa bairns, it cud be efta that - burral dee me best"
(because we will be visiting our family during the festive period it may be into the new year before I manage although I will try).
"Az ganna finish by wishin yiz aal a very merry crissmiss an aal the best fa nex yor"
Compliments of the season to you all and a very happy healthy and productive modelling new year.
Mick S.
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Simpas
Western Thunderer
Just while the lunch is being prepared, guess what it is.....?
The previously mentioned fence posts are made from two pieces of 0.5mm plywood glued together and drilled 0.5mm for the wire to pass through. Prototype fencing of this type has the wire 'stapled' to the posts with muckle (big) staples but I couldn't easily replicate that in 2mm so chose to use this method. The wire is 5amp fuse wire and has to be threaded through - fiddly..! In order to get the holes drilled in a uniform manner I decided to make a little jig that would hold the posts while being drilled. Below is the ultra simple jig which comprises two bits of 1mm x 1mm square brass section soldered to a piece of 10 thou nickel silver sheet. The brass section holds the fence posts while the drilling operation is performed. A 'fence post' can just be seen protruding past the end of the jig prior to being drilled.
The next 'staged' shot illustrates the drilling operation, dead easy.
The other side of the jig immediately 'post' the drilling operation.
Below, the posts have all been planted individually and await the 'wire' being threaded. I did do some work on vegetation along the line of the fence before introducing the wire, some of which is currently in, but I haven't taken any pictures yet so this is a very early shot. I have some ideas for a public footpath with a stile and now in the process of considering where that might go for best effect, there's quite a bit to do vegetation wise and I find there's much benefit from doing a little then just looking at it over a period to see if any changes might be beneficial.
That's it so far....
Az off doonstairs noo coss shiz tellin iz me dinnaz riddy an av got the jobba dishin oot the plonk...!
Must go, my good lady is about to serve lunch and has asked me to pour us a glass of wine
cheers....!
Mick S.
The previously mentioned fence posts are made from two pieces of 0.5mm plywood glued together and drilled 0.5mm for the wire to pass through. Prototype fencing of this type has the wire 'stapled' to the posts with muckle (big) staples but I couldn't easily replicate that in 2mm so chose to use this method. The wire is 5amp fuse wire and has to be threaded through - fiddly..! In order to get the holes drilled in a uniform manner I decided to make a little jig that would hold the posts while being drilled. Below is the ultra simple jig which comprises two bits of 1mm x 1mm square brass section soldered to a piece of 10 thou nickel silver sheet. The brass section holds the fence posts while the drilling operation is performed. A 'fence post' can just be seen protruding past the end of the jig prior to being drilled.
The next 'staged' shot illustrates the drilling operation, dead easy.
The other side of the jig immediately 'post' the drilling operation.
Below, the posts have all been planted individually and await the 'wire' being threaded. I did do some work on vegetation along the line of the fence before introducing the wire, some of which is currently in, but I haven't taken any pictures yet so this is a very early shot. I have some ideas for a public footpath with a stile and now in the process of considering where that might go for best effect, there's quite a bit to do vegetation wise and I find there's much benefit from doing a little then just looking at it over a period to see if any changes might be beneficial.
That's it so far....
Az off doonstairs noo coss shiz tellin iz me dinnaz riddy an av got the jobba dishin oot the plonk...!
Must go, my good lady is about to serve lunch and has asked me to pour us a glass of wine
cheers....!
Mick S.
Last edited:
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Simon,
Thanks for your interest.
I used to have (indeed still do somewhere in the loft) a Minicraft Impala but went over to the Proxxon Micromot 50/E which is what you see in the picture. It revs at a max 20,000rpm and is controlled by a 'pot' in the body of the drill. It's not so 'torky' compared to the Minicraft but in conjunction with the footswitch, available as an accessory, it's an almost indispensable tool for me and in constant use.
Mine came from Proxxon 50/E Micromot 12v Variable Speed Drill / Grinder with Collet Chuck 475317 / 28510 - AC Sissling
I'm sure they're easily obtainable almost anywhere.
As bought in 2013 mine had the keyless chuck but looking through what is available the version with a keyless chuck is now the Micromot Proxxon 50/EF. As said, I have the footswitch (it might not be appreciated how convenient these are until purchased; I would not be without mine now) but also at the time of purchase I also bought the mains power supply too. I didn't need a variable speed transformer but there was only £3 or so sifference in price between this and the single speed version I thought, hang it go for gold...!
Proxxon NG2/E Micromot Variable Speed Mains Adaptor 475738 / 28707 - AC Sissling
Good quality tools and thoroughly recommended.
All the best
Mick S.
Thanks for your interest.
I used to have (indeed still do somewhere in the loft) a Minicraft Impala but went over to the Proxxon Micromot 50/E which is what you see in the picture. It revs at a max 20,000rpm and is controlled by a 'pot' in the body of the drill. It's not so 'torky' compared to the Minicraft but in conjunction with the footswitch, available as an accessory, it's an almost indispensable tool for me and in constant use.
Mine came from Proxxon 50/E Micromot 12v Variable Speed Drill / Grinder with Collet Chuck 475317 / 28510 - AC Sissling
I'm sure they're easily obtainable almost anywhere.
As bought in 2013 mine had the keyless chuck but looking through what is available the version with a keyless chuck is now the Micromot Proxxon 50/EF. As said, I have the footswitch (it might not be appreciated how convenient these are until purchased; I would not be without mine now) but also at the time of purchase I also bought the mains power supply too. I didn't need a variable speed transformer but there was only £3 or so sifference in price between this and the single speed version I thought, hang it go for gold...!
Proxxon NG2/E Micromot Variable Speed Mains Adaptor 475738 / 28707 - AC Sissling
Good quality tools and thoroughly recommended.
All the best
Mick S.
Last edited:
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Thanks Dave, I'm going to try and get across to the art shop in Newcastle sometime soon and see what they have - I've not ruled out scribing a line and filling it with colour by some means, bit of experimentation called for I think.
Mick S
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Here we go again....
For my road surface lining I wanted something of the order of a 0.5mm yellow and white lines. The real things measure 4" in width (10 centimetres to the young 'uns) so 0.5mm is just a gnats whisker under scale for 2 mil. I did some experiments with scribing the lines and filling the gap with paint, then pencil; the scribing was a definite non starter because the lines were too thin, so I tried paint pens which were a bit faint and could hardly be seen on the grey road surface. I tried a using masking tape, that too was a no no because my road surface was slightly rougher then I would have liked for the masking tape to bed right down and give me a definite line without paint creeping under so in the end I resorted to my trusty old bow pen, not used since I lined out my old G5 0-4-4T. The picture below shows the kit used; bow pen, paint and two home made templates to use as rulers.
The next shot shows some of my experiments once I'd decided to use the bow pen - yes you're right, the shots were taken in different lighting with the one below being done in daylight. At the very bottom of the card in the grey you may be able to see a couple of lines that were the paint pen experiment - or you might not....!
Finally for this post anyway this is the result of quite a bit of 'faffing about'. It's alright 'ish..... the lines need a bit of weathering, the white ones more so than the yellow, which will all be achieved with some weathering powders and will have the dual effect of maybe blending the starkness of the white lines into the road. The white lines themselves are exactly the same dimensions as the ones painted outside our humble abode and are probably not in accordance with the 1982 regulations for a location such as this but at least the old adage, "the more the paint the greater the danger...", has been maintained. The 0.5mm drill bit has been placed on the road surface to compare the line widths.
"Divn't lookit me reet hand side korb ower close, cos itz oota line n wonky which a foond oot when aa drew the yella line..."
Don't look too closely at the right hand side kerb line which, somehow during construction, has gone slightly off the straight, drawing the yellow line made this more apparent...
There you go - I'm not sure if I'm going for double yellow lines yet or not...! 8am - 6pm restriction should be adequate don't you think?
A thousand or so years ago when I was on the buses one of my colleagues was a Irish lad called (you guessed it) Paddy (it's true..) he used to say single yellows mean no parking at all...! "Howay then Paddy what do double yellows mean then?" - "No parking at all, at all....!"
The same lad, when playing darts in the Balloon pub, local to Slatyford Depot wouldn't allow the throwing of the marking chalk around for fear it fell into and soaked up his beer..... Happy days.
The other thing I've been doing is a bit of allotment tending and there are people in there too courtesy of Modelu - more next time.
Mick S.
For my road surface lining I wanted something of the order of a 0.5mm yellow and white lines. The real things measure 4" in width (10 centimetres to the young 'uns) so 0.5mm is just a gnats whisker under scale for 2 mil. I did some experiments with scribing the lines and filling the gap with paint, then pencil; the scribing was a definite non starter because the lines were too thin, so I tried paint pens which were a bit faint and could hardly be seen on the grey road surface. I tried a using masking tape, that too was a no no because my road surface was slightly rougher then I would have liked for the masking tape to bed right down and give me a definite line without paint creeping under so in the end I resorted to my trusty old bow pen, not used since I lined out my old G5 0-4-4T. The picture below shows the kit used; bow pen, paint and two home made templates to use as rulers.
The next shot shows some of my experiments once I'd decided to use the bow pen - yes you're right, the shots were taken in different lighting with the one below being done in daylight. At the very bottom of the card in the grey you may be able to see a couple of lines that were the paint pen experiment - or you might not....!
Finally for this post anyway this is the result of quite a bit of 'faffing about'. It's alright 'ish..... the lines need a bit of weathering, the white ones more so than the yellow, which will all be achieved with some weathering powders and will have the dual effect of maybe blending the starkness of the white lines into the road. The white lines themselves are exactly the same dimensions as the ones painted outside our humble abode and are probably not in accordance with the 1982 regulations for a location such as this but at least the old adage, "the more the paint the greater the danger...", has been maintained. The 0.5mm drill bit has been placed on the road surface to compare the line widths.
"Divn't lookit me reet hand side korb ower close, cos itz oota line n wonky which a foond oot when aa drew the yella line..."
Don't look too closely at the right hand side kerb line which, somehow during construction, has gone slightly off the straight, drawing the yellow line made this more apparent...
There you go - I'm not sure if I'm going for double yellow lines yet or not...! 8am - 6pm restriction should be adequate don't you think?
A thousand or so years ago when I was on the buses one of my colleagues was a Irish lad called (you guessed it) Paddy (it's true..) he used to say single yellows mean no parking at all...! "Howay then Paddy what do double yellows mean then?" - "No parking at all, at all....!"
The same lad, when playing darts in the Balloon pub, local to Slatyford Depot wouldn't allow the throwing of the marking chalk around for fear it fell into and soaked up his beer..... Happy days.
The other thing I've been doing is a bit of allotment tending and there are people in there too courtesy of Modelu - more next time.
Mick S.
Simpas
Western Thunderer
"been doon the garden the day....."
We've been in the allotment today, well, the model one that is and here's the result so far. There is a bit of tidying up to do and the raised beds need the stakes that stop them from falling over. The hut is from Severn Models and looks alright for a first go with etchings - my trouble is I like the look and feel of card in addition to which it's very easy to work and paint. I have some more Severn etches in the box; for instance the chap on the right should have a spade in his hand. If the figures look remotely familiar to anyone who knows us they are in fact minitures of "me n wor lass...." my good lady wife Yvonne and I. I think there could be a discussion ongoing regarding "weez gaffa..." Who's the boss? I'm not normally so apparently vain but I thought it would be a nice touch and, bearing in mind the chosen scale is 2mm, these Alan Buttler 3D prints of us are challenging to paint but if you're wanting figures I think these are pretty good. I have some more to place around this vast piece of English countryside, mostly workmen.
The rain water barrels and 50 gallon drum were machined from 4mm copper tube. I was going to use the Ratio ones but - well you know how it is. Doing it this way means they can be seen to be hollow and the butts do have water in them (well not real water of course) but from this angle that can't be seen. Modelling allotments can be very enjoyable and like most things to do with this hobby very theraputic. This is just the first garden of course and there's still a bit to do, one way and another.
That's not all that's been going on today either; I've had the 'lid' off this afternoon and introduced a public footpath complete with stile; just one of those things I wanted to do. Also I thought I'd best make some real progress with the scenics because April's looming and I'm the best one in the world for saying 'plenty time yet...' The double deckers are missing in the below picture, otherwise you might not have seen the path or the fences. Threading the fuse wire through the holes in the posts was, interesting......
Apart from sorting the aforementioned remaining gardens, some more workmen and a bit of street furniture I think I'm about there. Oh, I haven't made the access gate into the explosives siding work yet. It'll be manual operation I fancy and I can probably do that after the scenic work is done - if I have time.
Mick S
We've been in the allotment today, well, the model one that is and here's the result so far. There is a bit of tidying up to do and the raised beds need the stakes that stop them from falling over. The hut is from Severn Models and looks alright for a first go with etchings - my trouble is I like the look and feel of card in addition to which it's very easy to work and paint. I have some more Severn etches in the box; for instance the chap on the right should have a spade in his hand. If the figures look remotely familiar to anyone who knows us they are in fact minitures of "me n wor lass...." my good lady wife Yvonne and I. I think there could be a discussion ongoing regarding "weez gaffa..." Who's the boss? I'm not normally so apparently vain but I thought it would be a nice touch and, bearing in mind the chosen scale is 2mm, these Alan Buttler 3D prints of us are challenging to paint but if you're wanting figures I think these are pretty good. I have some more to place around this vast piece of English countryside, mostly workmen.
The rain water barrels and 50 gallon drum were machined from 4mm copper tube. I was going to use the Ratio ones but - well you know how it is. Doing it this way means they can be seen to be hollow and the butts do have water in them (well not real water of course) but from this angle that can't be seen. Modelling allotments can be very enjoyable and like most things to do with this hobby very theraputic. This is just the first garden of course and there's still a bit to do, one way and another.
That's not all that's been going on today either; I've had the 'lid' off this afternoon and introduced a public footpath complete with stile; just one of those things I wanted to do. Also I thought I'd best make some real progress with the scenics because April's looming and I'm the best one in the world for saying 'plenty time yet...' The double deckers are missing in the below picture, otherwise you might not have seen the path or the fences. Threading the fuse wire through the holes in the posts was, interesting......
Apart from sorting the aforementioned remaining gardens, some more workmen and a bit of street furniture I think I'm about there. Oh, I haven't made the access gate into the explosives siding work yet. It'll be manual operation I fancy and I can probably do that after the scenic work is done - if I have time.
Mick S
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Dave,
Thanks for your interest and the suggestions, as you guessed some are in the pipeline and a couple already done (solitary street lamp already made together with no waiting plates on poles and yet to paint) but I will bear in mind the drain grates colouring and depot security lights though. Single yellows it has to be because it's not a busy thoroughfare just an access and only then during the day.
Road grime and grit may come as I ponder the level of crud that needs to be spread about the place. The bus depot yard will take a little while - I like to do a bit and study it before going further using the 'less is more' principal. At the moment I'm wondering whether or not the bus drivers will get any space to park their own private cars....... also looking at sound effects from within the depot itself.
Mick S.
Thanks for your interest and the suggestions, as you guessed some are in the pipeline and a couple already done (solitary street lamp already made together with no waiting plates on poles and yet to paint) but I will bear in mind the drain grates colouring and depot security lights though. Single yellows it has to be because it's not a busy thoroughfare just an access and only then during the day.
Road grime and grit may come as I ponder the level of crud that needs to be spread about the place. The bus depot yard will take a little while - I like to do a bit and study it before going further using the 'less is more' principal. At the moment I'm wondering whether or not the bus drivers will get any space to park their own private cars....... also looking at sound effects from within the depot itself.
Mick S.
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Tony,
Thank you. I am tickled to be there but under no illusions - I'll have to up my game because I'm in with the 'big lads' now...!
I do have thoughts for those who have suffered disappointment and urge them all to finish what they started. I'd like to see all the Cameo layouts under one roof - now that would be a show....!
Mick S.
Thank you. I am tickled to be there but under no illusions - I'll have to up my game because I'm in with the 'big lads' now...!
I do have thoughts for those who have suffered disappointment and urge them all to finish what they started. I'd like to see all the Cameo layouts under one roof - now that would be a show....!
Mick S.
Simpas
Western Thunderer
Off to the SECC tomorrow with a layout making its final appearance but in advance of that I thought a couple of pictures to let you see where the scenics are - well the bit I'm showing is finished apart from maybe a delicate (but hopefully easily replaced) fruit tree of some description which I am thinking about placing in front of the figures in the garden in a bid to prevent the sometimes finger poking public. 'Wor lass', she's the one on the left in usual pose of "Now you listen to me..." is stuck to the paving slabs using two tiny drops of cyanoacrylate (no, I know what you're thinking. I don't even go there either..!). If inadvertently knocked she will easily be dislodged if some form of protective barrier isn't present, so the tree idea might just work.
The 5p piece is there purely for effect and shows just how small my wife is in 2mil.....but don't let her diminuitive size fool you - the 12" to the foot version can keep me right "a dairsn't say owt me...!" (I have to mind my Ps and Qs, I do...!)
The last picture was taken at Railwells last year and 2mm Scale Association members may have seen the shot before but for the benefit of those who haven't, I was doing a bit of shunting and looked down to see this little blighter cadging a lift, sat there for what seemed like an age and certainly long enough to have its picture takena few times; it must have been warm...!
Who says you can't fly shunt air braked stock in 2mil....!
Mick S.
The 5p piece is there purely for effect and shows just how small my wife is in 2mil.....but don't let her diminuitive size fool you - the 12" to the foot version can keep me right "a dairsn't say owt me...!" (I have to mind my Ps and Qs, I do...!)
The last picture was taken at Railwells last year and 2mm Scale Association members may have seen the shot before but for the benefit of those who haven't, I was doing a bit of shunting and looked down to see this little blighter cadging a lift, sat there for what seemed like an age and certainly long enough to have its picture takena few times; it must have been warm...!
Who says you can't fly shunt air braked stock in 2mil....!
Mick S.
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Simpas
Western Thunderer
"Wisht laads haad ya gobs al tellyeraal an aaful story......"
(Shhhh....gents, what a tale of woe I have to tell.....)
Well not really............. but it gives me a chance to recite the first line of that wearside poem, 'The Lambton Worm'.
I was really getting on to the finishing stages of the gardens. I've even had a go at a polytunnel, of which more anon, when I took the littlun to a local show at very short notice as a fill in for someone who couldn't make it. During the course of the very relaxed event I became aware that all was not well in the coupling and uncoupling department.
I use Electra Couplings designed in 1979 by John Whitehead and like most couplings, if made and mounted correctly they work extremely well. But, if you try and perform party tricks on curves that's asking for trouble; it doesn't take much of a curve either. What was happening was the couplings, made and mounted on my standard little bit of track, worked fine and mostly worked fine on the layout. However the combination of a curve, a badly placed electro magnet and exhibition operating meant that in order to see the coupling operate its delaying action I had to virtually stand in front of the layout obstructing the view of this enormous exhibit, something of which I was aware, resulting in me standing more to one side to afford a view to anyone minded to look. Because of the limited vision alluded to above the couplings were not doing what they're supposed to 100% of the time.
The result has been to install a second electro magnet but this time on the moving part of the sector plate. Even then, because the sector plate curves very slightly just prior to affording the stock access to the layout scenic section I took no chances and fixed it on a straight section. Result - satisfactory uncoupling and delay.
The bonus here is when people invariably ask about the couplings I can show exactly how they work. Don't know why I didn't think of this before. I always think it funny how we arrive at these solutions, but that's part of the pleasure of being a naff planner...! I said it because I knew you were thinking it.......
The first picture below shows the sector plate as it now appears. The operating switch for the elctro magnet is now alongside the section switch that cuts off power to fiddle at this end. In truth the other magnet is still in place and when I'm happy it'll never be used again I'll pull it out and assign the switch to some other function. The white painted band indicates the magnet location and black and white 'scrunchy' gets used when the sector plate framing is secreted beneath the baseboard for transit.
Here is the underside view showing the elctro magnet which is half of an old H&M point motor (SM3 I think - could be wrong), point motors of any hue aren't things I have ever really got into. The metal rod is drilled and tapped 10BA and is a force fit in the hole in the sector plate with coil being retained by a piece of brass sheet to which a 10BA bolt is soldered. If it ever fails (unlikely) it will be easy to remove, especially since as you can see the business part of the plate is detachable, the red connector is the feed to the track and the white one the feed to the magnet.
A better view of the sector plate track in which the magnet is easily seen where the white band is. Also, you will see to the right I extended the fiddle by about 2" (50mm) because as planned I intended to use the locomotives that ran up to the real Callerton when I had my cab ride viz Classes 31 and 37s and they with the little train fit - then Farish brought out the new tooled Class 40 I couldn't resist it but it meant an extension..! The black plastic sheet is a very handy 'railer' especially useful where the class 40 is concerned. I also had to cut out a piece of the sector plate framing on the far side so the electro magnet coil didn't foul it when the plate was aligned to the hidden rear siding.
There have been a few other things going on which I may get a chance to write up before not too long,
"but divn't be mifft if aa divn't deeit sharpish cos av gorra woman at yeam aaways wantin iz te dee jobs"
(don't be too upset if I take a little while because my good lady at home always seems to have something for me to do...!)
Mick S.
(Shhhh....gents, what a tale of woe I have to tell.....)
Well not really............. but it gives me a chance to recite the first line of that wearside poem, 'The Lambton Worm'.
I was really getting on to the finishing stages of the gardens. I've even had a go at a polytunnel, of which more anon, when I took the littlun to a local show at very short notice as a fill in for someone who couldn't make it. During the course of the very relaxed event I became aware that all was not well in the coupling and uncoupling department.
I use Electra Couplings designed in 1979 by John Whitehead and like most couplings, if made and mounted correctly they work extremely well. But, if you try and perform party tricks on curves that's asking for trouble; it doesn't take much of a curve either. What was happening was the couplings, made and mounted on my standard little bit of track, worked fine and mostly worked fine on the layout. However the combination of a curve, a badly placed electro magnet and exhibition operating meant that in order to see the coupling operate its delaying action I had to virtually stand in front of the layout obstructing the view of this enormous exhibit, something of which I was aware, resulting in me standing more to one side to afford a view to anyone minded to look. Because of the limited vision alluded to above the couplings were not doing what they're supposed to 100% of the time.
The result has been to install a second electro magnet but this time on the moving part of the sector plate. Even then, because the sector plate curves very slightly just prior to affording the stock access to the layout scenic section I took no chances and fixed it on a straight section. Result - satisfactory uncoupling and delay.
The bonus here is when people invariably ask about the couplings I can show exactly how they work. Don't know why I didn't think of this before. I always think it funny how we arrive at these solutions, but that's part of the pleasure of being a naff planner...! I said it because I knew you were thinking it.......
The first picture below shows the sector plate as it now appears. The operating switch for the elctro magnet is now alongside the section switch that cuts off power to fiddle at this end. In truth the other magnet is still in place and when I'm happy it'll never be used again I'll pull it out and assign the switch to some other function. The white painted band indicates the magnet location and black and white 'scrunchy' gets used when the sector plate framing is secreted beneath the baseboard for transit.
Here is the underside view showing the elctro magnet which is half of an old H&M point motor (SM3 I think - could be wrong), point motors of any hue aren't things I have ever really got into. The metal rod is drilled and tapped 10BA and is a force fit in the hole in the sector plate with coil being retained by a piece of brass sheet to which a 10BA bolt is soldered. If it ever fails (unlikely) it will be easy to remove, especially since as you can see the business part of the plate is detachable, the red connector is the feed to the track and the white one the feed to the magnet.
A better view of the sector plate track in which the magnet is easily seen where the white band is. Also, you will see to the right I extended the fiddle by about 2" (50mm) because as planned I intended to use the locomotives that ran up to the real Callerton when I had my cab ride viz Classes 31 and 37s and they with the little train fit - then Farish brought out the new tooled Class 40 I couldn't resist it but it meant an extension..! The black plastic sheet is a very handy 'railer' especially useful where the class 40 is concerned. I also had to cut out a piece of the sector plate framing on the far side so the electro magnet coil didn't foul it when the plate was aligned to the hidden rear siding.
There have been a few other things going on which I may get a chance to write up before not too long,
"but divn't be mifft if aa divn't deeit sharpish cos av gorra woman at yeam aaways wantin iz te dee jobs"
(don't be too upset if I take a little while because my good lady at home always seems to have something for me to do...!)
Mick S.
Simpas
Western Thunderer
The Electra coupling is still the favourite for me, if I chemically blacken the wire it should be more discrete (IMHO)
Adrian,
If you're going to paint them I have successfully used cellulose satin black (from a local motor factor) and if thinned and sprayed on with an airbrush a really smooth finish is the result. Using chemical blackening can sometimes leave a slightly rough surface. One of the qualities of the Electra is that it is possible to couple up to a vehicle without moving it so try and keep the hooks, painted or not, as smooth as possible. Before you insert the hooks into any tubing 'plant' them into a piece of balsa wood for spraying (right up to where the soldered dropper is fixed) and give them a couple of light coats. Because cellulose is foul stuff I generally do this outside, but it does dry in minutes. The nett result of planting in balsa is the part of the wire hook that needs to rotate freely inside the tube doesn't get painted which would tend to prevent free rotation.
ps. Love the local dialect comments.
Without being over the top, I am fiercely proud of my northern roots and I'm sure people around the country generally are of theirs, like you I applaud and encourage this. For my part it always amuses me somewhat when people refer to me as a Geordie. The mistake is easily made and it makes for some interesting enjoyable conversations with those I meet not only on the exhibition circuit but generally. For the record I was born a 'Mackam' (the area of the river Wear) moved to a colliery village when I was five, (and learned pitmatic, as it's popularly known) married a lass from Walker in the East end of Newcastle and spent 23 years living in the 'toon', Wallsend, Walker and North Shields so my accent is a peculiar mix and occasionally someone says to me "you aren't a geordie", which of course is exactly right. It would be wrong to deride any accent, but I do have favourites that I try to imitate which is in itself a form of flattery.
I think we should all retain our local heritage so please keep posting.
[/QUOTE]
Al dee me best, an divn't forgit tae giz a shout if ye want a bit help wi ya cuplins....az on the phone.
Mick S
Adrian,
If you're going to paint them I have successfully used cellulose satin black (from a local motor factor) and if thinned and sprayed on with an airbrush a really smooth finish is the result. Using chemical blackening can sometimes leave a slightly rough surface. One of the qualities of the Electra is that it is possible to couple up to a vehicle without moving it so try and keep the hooks, painted or not, as smooth as possible. Before you insert the hooks into any tubing 'plant' them into a piece of balsa wood for spraying (right up to where the soldered dropper is fixed) and give them a couple of light coats. Because cellulose is foul stuff I generally do this outside, but it does dry in minutes. The nett result of planting in balsa is the part of the wire hook that needs to rotate freely inside the tube doesn't get painted which would tend to prevent free rotation.
ps. Love the local dialect comments.
Without being over the top, I am fiercely proud of my northern roots and I'm sure people around the country generally are of theirs, like you I applaud and encourage this. For my part it always amuses me somewhat when people refer to me as a Geordie. The mistake is easily made and it makes for some interesting enjoyable conversations with those I meet not only on the exhibition circuit but generally. For the record I was born a 'Mackam' (the area of the river Wear) moved to a colliery village when I was five, (and learned pitmatic, as it's popularly known) married a lass from Walker in the East end of Newcastle and spent 23 years living in the 'toon', Wallsend, Walker and North Shields so my accent is a peculiar mix and occasionally someone says to me "you aren't a geordie", which of course is exactly right. It would be wrong to deride any accent, but I do have favourites that I try to imitate which is in itself a form of flattery.
I think we should all retain our local heritage so please keep posting.
Al dee me best, an divn't forgit tae giz a shout if ye want a bit help wi ya cuplins....az on the phone.
Mick S
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Simpas
Western Thunderer
"Wey it's geet ages since a posted owt on 'ere so as sorry, burraz ye kin see av ben a bit bizzie"
Many apologies for the apparent tardiness in posting, but I have been a little industrious and got the job finished.
There are a few 'along the way' pictures to post too but regrettably we this will now have to wait until we return from Railex. Below is a shot of the completed Cameo Callaton without any of the vehicles because I'd packed them away by this time.
Good luck to all of my fellow competitors - I'm really looking forward to seeing the cameos in the flesh. Do stop by and chat...
Mick S.
Many apologies for the apparent tardiness in posting, but I have been a little industrious and got the job finished.
There are a few 'along the way' pictures to post too but regrettably we this will now have to wait until we return from Railex. Below is a shot of the completed Cameo Callaton without any of the vehicles because I'd packed them away by this time.
Good luck to all of my fellow competitors - I'm really looking forward to seeing the cameos in the flesh. Do stop by and chat...
Mick S.