Hunslet Works in 7mm

[Andy Ross]

After last weekends success at blasting and priming, it was time to start adding the colours. This will all be done with the airbrush and Army Painters paint. The roof section which will be done with rattle cans again from Army Painter.

The first colour to be applied was the orange for the crane tracks.




Once this was allowed to dry overnight, the crane tracks were masked up.



I had thought that at this stage I could go straight onto the blue, but doing a final check of the photos I noticed the steal work around the door on the outside was green. So I did this next.



Once this dried, the outside area was masked up.



Then came the biggest job of all, spraying the blue on all the uprights. The removable section of roof helped but access under the North light section was tricky, and working out which face to do first and from ware was a challenge. This took well over four hours of continues spraying, by the time I was done I was more than ready for a break.



For masking up for the roof section I created a skirt with masking tape that has a polythene edging. This was attached on along the crane tracks on one side and close to the rafters on the other side.



The roof structure was painted with one of the Army Painters colour matched primers - they do have some strange names, this one is Skeleton Bone. It did take two tins due to mainly painting fresh air between the beams etc.



This morning, with a bit of trepidation, I de-masked everything except the thin strip still covering the crane tracks. I was obviousley hoping that none of the paint would come off with the masking tape. I must of got something right as all the masking tape came off with no issues.





I cannot express how pleased I am on how this has come out. The next job is to start toning it down with the airbrush which I hope to get done over the weekend.

Once all the structure is tones down I will paint the baseboard top black for now until the floors are done. I will then start fitting some of the wall sections etc for Guildex in September.



Andy

 

[Purple-haze]

Excellent work Andy. Having seen the photos of the real thing, IMHO, I don't think anyone could have done better!

regards Rog

 

[Andy Ross]

Thank you.

 

[Greengiant]

This brought back memories of when I painted the gantry crane on The Yard. The tricky masking, getting access with the airbrush and air line, being careful not to snag any of the model. Having suitable lighting so you can see what you are doing! Remembering which direction you had done and the amount that gets sprayed into the air.
Then with the weathering, initially done with an airbrush, but the bulk then being done with MiG Oilbrushers. Lost count the number of times the paintbrush handle got caught up in the model. For some parts I cut short a paintbrush handle to give better access.
I did enjoy how the weathering brought it to life.
Keep up the good work Andy.

Martin

 

[Andy Ross]

This brought back memories of when I painted the gantry crane on The Yard. The tricky masking, getting access with the airbrush and air line, being careful not to snag any of the model. Having suitable lighting so you can see what you are doing! Remembering which direction you had done and the amount that gets sprayed into the air.
Then with the weathering, initially done with an airbrush, but the bulk then being done with MiG Oilbrushers. Lost count the number of times the paintbrush handle got caught up in the model. For some parts I cut short a paintbrush handle to give better access.
I did enjoy how the weathering brought it to life.
Keep up the good work Andy.

Martin

Martin

Thanks for the comments - This is the first real job with the airbrush, other than a few small bits on the bench, this was a first.

The toning down at the week end will be fun and the trick will be keeping it at the same level from one end to the other.

Andy

 

[Lancastrian]

Brilliant! I look forward to seeing it at Guildex.

 

[Andy Ross]

Friday after work I started toning the paintwork down. As with the test piece ai did a few weeks ago this was done with an Army Painter wash called soft tone. These are for detailing figures but they work really well through the air brush.



This was all going really well and took a fraction of the time I thought it would. Unfortunately, as I was doing the wheel shop crane columns I caught one of the far side columns with the airbrush hose, leaving a black mark. I tried to flatten this back and it made a right mess. So the only option was to repaint it blue again.



With all the masking removed I cut a masking plate from some ply withe the laser and taped it on.



This worked well with no overspray on the crane track beam.Once this was dried this was toned down to match the rest.

Saturday was spent with a brush, using a darker wash create dirt on top of the beams.

On Sunday I removed the masking tape from all the track and painted the baseboard top to cover up all the overspray.



The photo from the 80's shows how close I have got the colour and level of dirt.



Now all the painting is done I will start putting the wiring back in place for the cranes and the lights using the tubes I fitted to the back of the columns.

As well as the painting, I have been cutting the parts for the new control panel.



These have gone together well with just a couple of adjustments required.



The master unit and one of the controllers was dropped in and all fit.

I will decide tomorrow if I am going to paint this, and if I do, what colour.



Andy

 

[Andy Ross]

Time for an update.

There has been progress in several areas since the last post.

One of the scenes I will be creating is the despatch of Jubilee Bahamas.



I had bought a David Andrews Kit and it was becoming more obvious that it would be a long time before I would have time to build it.

One of our club members, Alan Smith volunteered to build it for me and a couple of weeks ago he brought it to the club.



Peter Kirmond has offered to paint it too.

The doors have been weathered last weekend.


This weekend I put one of the packing case sides on so I could tip the layout on it side to refit them.


Once it was back the right way up I could test them properly. Part of the top track was bunged up with paint but one cleared they all work as they should.


I had been concerned that I would scratch them getting them back in, but I must have got the perfect order this time as they went straight in.

The original plan before started the painting was to get all the steelwork done and then just put all the walls etc back on as they are unpainted for Guildex and Swindon.

As things have gone so well with the painting process I looked at what else could be done. I did some test on the internal roof structure with Army Painter dark wood wash. This worked so well I did the boilershop roof panels. these have been glued to the removable section and look just the part. I also painted the roof end panel and streaked with a lighter wash.





I also cut some test panels to come up with how to paint the brickwork.

The internal wall is painted with white primer and then washed down.

I tried several options for the walls, and this is still a work in progress as the walls are of varying ages and type. But for the long wall on the far side of the shop I have finalised with a base of red primer, the long job of picking out bricks in different shades of grey and a dark flesh colour. Jill said I was mad as this looked like a building in Disney Land and to be fair she was not wrong. To do the 1 1/2 metre of wall took well over eight hours.



But when you add a large amount of dark wash it then goes the other way and looks far too dark. I think I got carried away and it is a little bit darker than it should be, but it is at the back of the layout on the outside and I am sure it will be ok.



This is then rubbed over with filler to bring out the mortar.



The wall was painted on both sides and the inside was white washed with a build up of dirt.

The next priority is to test the cranes, the feeds need putting back and I need to make sure they still run up and down the shop.

I will then add the North Light roof sections back on. These will not be painted as I need to modify and recut some of the parts for these.

The wheel shop walls also need recutting and painting.



Andy

 

[Andy Ross]

This weekend I got round to testing the cranes now all the structure is painted.

I had masked up the crane rails but I had to weather down each side on top of the beam and some had got on the rail.

So I gave them a good clean and then put some fresh graphite on the rail head. I also cleaned the crane running wheels.

The good news is that it works.

I have also been recutting some walls and painting panels. Photos to come next time.

I have also been doing some experiments on how to do the sets in the yard that are on the siding. A lot of the yard is concrete but there are sets right down the siding.



I had thought about all the traditional methods such as scribing plaster, making a press tool for clay. It then came to me that I might be able to 3D print some panels.



I am still tweaking the drawings but I have put some trial sections together on the layout and it looks quite convincing.



With the cranes now working and still several weekends before Guildex everything seems to be coming together ok.

Next major job is to sort new control panel and get the majority of the wiring sorted so it's not just lashed together.

Andy

 

[Andy Ross]

It's been a busy three weeks since the last post as we get closer to Guildex and Swindon the week later.

Some erecting shop walls have been painted.



The walls to the Wheel shop have been recut and painted.


After putting it off for weeks I rewired most of the layout with proper plugs. I removed all the temporary wiring for the cranes and doors, etc.



I have also fitted out the new control panel or should I call is a drivers desk.






Once the wiring was complete I fitted the Digitrax power supplies and controllers. These are all held in place with Velcro.


The covers on the bottom of the panel are held in place with magnets.



I also made up all the jumper leads for connecting it all up.

Today I have plugged it all in and everything I have tested works - just the cranes to try.



I have also replaced the roof panels on the wheel shop., I have, for now put the temporary front section of the wheel shop back on and cut new infill panels.



The wood floor has been fitted permanently and the concrete sections made to slide out so that I can change the scene.



I have had a go at 3d printing so Bench frames but this has been a disaster, so I am back to soldering the etches up.

Once everything was connected it was time to run a loco - Bachman Margret - first up yard.



https://youtu.be/GgrDUq_z0qY


The only other thing I am doing before I crate it up next weekend is to fit some of the cobble panels.

I set myself several targets for Guildex, from painting the structure to building a control panel and I have completed them all with time to spare. I think after Swindon I will have a rest.



Andy

 

[Osgood]

That looks very well thought out - lots of planning ahead!
What type of sockets / plugs have you used on the control panel - are they the screw type ‘aviation‘ connectors?

 

[Andy Ross]

That looks very well thought out - lots of planning ahead!
What type of sockets / plugs have you used on the control panel - are they the screw type ‘aviation‘ connectors?

Hi

See link below.

Cliff Electronic FC684218 PLUG,8 PIN STRAIGHT, ON CABLE; 6mm Female

Cliff - FC684218 - Cliff Electronic FC684218 PLUG,8 PIN STRAIGHT, ON CABLE; 6mm Female - <P>This socket is supplied in 8-pole. Primarily it is intended for low

www.rapidonline.com

They only go up to eight way but they do have a screw ring - I was recommended these by Peter Kirmond who used them on his York Layout.

Andy

 

[Osgood]

Thanks Andy - must have wasted hours recently looking for suitable 2, 3 pin plugs/sockets.
I'm using today some mini Mate-N-Loks for inline connectors but was also after decent quality bulkhead to lead units, these are just the ticket

I take it each of the smaller Digitrax units perfoms a crane function? Difficult to se what all the controllers do.
The 4-way proportional control (e.g. Danfoss PVRE) joysticks as used on solenoid-operated hydraulic spool valves would be to use and easy to integrate - wonder how small they go?

 

[SimonT]

Andy,
if you had ever gone under Aberbeeg you would know where Kirmond got the idea from. (He wil now deny this!) All mine came from Maplin but I seem to have a fair few left after dismantling that train set.
Incidently when I had two sockets with the same number of pins along side each other, one socket would be on one side of the bulhead and the other similar socket would be on the opposite bulkhead. Saves getting the wrong plug in the wrong socket.
Simon

 

[Andy Ross]

Thanks Andy - must have wasted hours recently looking for suitable 2, 3 pin plugs/sockets.
I'm using today some mini Mate-N-Loks for inline connectors but was also after decent quality bulkhead to lead units, these are just the ticket

I take it each of the smaller Digitrax units perfoms a crane function? Difficult to se what all the controllers do.
The 4-way proportional control (e.g. Danfoss PVRE) joysticks as used on solenoid-operated hydraulic spool valves would be to use and easy to integrate - wonder how small they go?

Hi - yes you are correct - the hand held controllers are for the cranes. One for the long travel - one for the hoist and one for the cross travel. It soon became apparent that you needed a separate controller for each action. I will be fitting some labels before Guildex.

 

[Andy Ross]

I have tonight fitted a large number of 3d printed sett section. There are a few small holes at the joints, put I have a plan to fill these in.



I also have a plan for painting them, but will not get this done before Guildex.



Andy

 

[Andrew eaves]

This looks brilliant. Really looking forward to see it at Guildex.

 

[Andy Ross]

I have now finished adding to the layout before Guildex next weekend, and Swindon (Steam Museum) the weekend after. I have already taken down the test track board and crated it up with the fiddle yard. I just need to crate up the main board which takes 10 mins.

I have also bought a new case for the cranes, as the old one is too deep to get in the care with the layout. It is currently full of foam which I need to cut out for the cranes - I have cut a plywood template to help with this.

I have had a bit of a panic Friday evening / Saturday morning when I thought I should test the standard gauge with the new panel. Nothing would work and I was getting very confused as the 2'6' gauge worked the previous weekend. This was more by luck than judgment as it turned out that I had got the wiring in one of the plugs on the panel one pin out of position - this just confused the big switch on the panel. This meant I had to move all the pins in one of the plugs around by one position. It all works as it should now.

I have also recently obtained some black Acrylic for the laser. (Note, I cannot cut clear material on the Diode laser as the blue beam just passes through). I had planned to use this on the roof glazing panels but thought I would try it on the windows around the doors.



This also meant drawing up the upper wall above the doors.

This as well shows how it all looks with it all closed in around the doors.



On saying that when the door is open fully you still get a good view into the shops.

The feedback over the next weekends on this will be interesting.

If you do come along to either show, please say hello and if there is anything you want to ask about any of the techniques used, please do not hesitate.

Please also note we will be at the Leeds exhibition 26th, 27th October. We will also be at Preston in March next year.



Andy

 

[Osgood]

Those XXX trusses above the crane track look just wonderful!

 

[Andy Ross]

Those XXX trusses above the crane track look just wonderful!

Thanks, they stand out more now there is a wall behind them.