4mm Llanfair
- Thread starter LarryG
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- 4mm/00 cambrian/lnwr dcc layouts
LarryG
Western Thunderer
Thanks for the comments.
Regarding ballasting, I always use a mix of fine grey and fine dark brown ballast (for 00) to give a clean-ish mottled grey. Then I add the rust with a spraygun. Its quite realistic this way as the rust run-off can be varied from quite newly ballasted track where the rust is mainly just below the rails to rust right across the ballast. This picture of real ballast can be easily emulated with a spraygun. Incidentally, this was one of my early Fuji Finepix digital photos from 2001...
Regarding ballasting, I always use a mix of fine grey and fine dark brown ballast (for 00) to give a clean-ish mottled grey. Then I add the rust with a spraygun. Its quite realistic this way as the rust run-off can be varied from quite newly ballasted track where the rust is mainly just below the rails to rust right across the ballast. This picture of real ballast can be easily emulated with a spraygun. Incidentally, this was one of my early Fuji Finepix digital photos from 2001...
Pannier Tank
Western Thunderer
Larry
As a dyed in the wool GWR man and a fan of branch line modelling your layout is one of the best I have seen over the years. The addition of the backing brings the whole scene together an emulates the real railway feel.
Excellent job, keep up the good work
Mike
As a dyed in the wool GWR man and a fan of branch line modelling your layout is one of the best I have seen over the years. The addition of the backing brings the whole scene together an emulates the real railway feel.
Excellent job, keep up the good work
Mike
LarryG
Western Thunderer
I leave the local roads to the tourists Bank holidays, so in between sunbathing, I sprayed and weathered the circular tank water crane...
Regarding the main colours, I followed information in 'GWR Structure Colours' by R. North. Detail weathering came from photos taken in the steam-era. Heritage railways appear to have followed their own ideas and mainly used GWR Nos 2 and 3. The base of the column up to around 5 feet was usually painted No. 4, but evidence suggests that black was the norm in the 1930's. The painter at Llanfair carried on using No.4.....
Regarding the main colours, I followed information in 'GWR Structure Colours' by R. North. Detail weathering came from photos taken in the steam-era. Heritage railways appear to have followed their own ideas and mainly used GWR Nos 2 and 3. The base of the column up to around 5 feet was usually painted No. 4, but evidence suggests that black was the norm in the 1930's. The painter at Llanfair carried on using No.4.....
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LarryG
Western Thunderer
No prizes for guessing where I am definitely not! The shed was already 85 degrees when I opened the door at 8am. Some of us spend all winter dreaming of hot sunny days, then when it arrives, it's the wrong kind haha....
I was looking back at my early layout beginnings and was surprised to see that by 2009 I had already established a few basic norms. Like I D Backscenes, gluing & ballasting track in one go although there was a false start using Peco Code 100...
The big mistake was building a busy multi-track Diggle Junction. The bullhead track with a mineral wagon on it had been ballasted using the eye-dropper method and was a complete pudding. The three Code 100 tracks on the right were glued and ballasted in one go...
In short, the layout was too complex and too wide. It never got beyond the shed wall, which was a good job seeing as there was no room on the window wall for a fiddle yard. The baseboards were built with a curving slope as at the real Diggle Junction, but free-rolling wagons would not stay in the sidings...
Amongst my locos was a Fowler 7F 0-8-0, so typical of the Standedge line before the Austerity 2-8-0's took over in 1957. After this, I went in the opposite direction and built Moorgate Halt, a simple wooden platform affair about a mile west of Diggle and ended up building Delph. After that, it was a case of small layouts rule.....
I was looking back at my early layout beginnings and was surprised to see that by 2009 I had already established a few basic norms. Like I D Backscenes, gluing & ballasting track in one go although there was a false start using Peco Code 100...
The big mistake was building a busy multi-track Diggle Junction. The bullhead track with a mineral wagon on it had been ballasted using the eye-dropper method and was a complete pudding. The three Code 100 tracks on the right were glued and ballasted in one go...
In short, the layout was too complex and too wide. It never got beyond the shed wall, which was a good job seeing as there was no room on the window wall for a fiddle yard. The baseboards were built with a curving slope as at the real Diggle Junction, but free-rolling wagons would not stay in the sidings...
Amongst my locos was a Fowler 7F 0-8-0, so typical of the Standedge line before the Austerity 2-8-0's took over in 1957. After this, I went in the opposite direction and built Moorgate Halt, a simple wooden platform affair about a mile west of Diggle and ended up building Delph. After that, it was a case of small layouts rule.....
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Bravo !!!
That image brings back that era / location to perfection!
When the Austin 7s went, we were treated to the 'clank-clank' of WDs as they passed over Greenfield viaduct.
Days long gone!
John Isherwood.
LarryG
Western Thunderer
Local councils hereabouts always seem to find reasons to close major rat runs once the tourist seasons starts and so after struggling to get back home, I glued some 2mm static-grass in place with the aid of a vacuum cleaner hose before the day got too hot. Did a bit more tonight. The circular water tanks and bits were fixed permanently in place too...
paulc
Western Thunderer
I've got to ask Larry , how does a vacuum hose aid in glueing down static grass ?
LarryG
Western Thunderer
Neat PVA is spread onto the ground area and static grass sprinkled onto it from the palm of my hand. Then the vacuum hose is immediately used to suck off the surplus. I keep going over the grass with the sucker hose, as it sucks the grass upright. I have never used a static gun.
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LarryG
Western Thunderer
All the vinyl grass sheeting was covered with static grass today and it has made a difference. An embankment made from blocks of 3" x 3" wood and roofing felt is now visible through the overbridge. It received a coat of SR Malachite but it needs painting apple green or something...
More static grass will be added as & when...
More static grass will be added as & when...
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LarryG
Western Thunderer
Erecting fencing for a few hours today. I glued several Ratio lengths together with Mekpak. When set, they were loosely attached to a length of 2" x 1" timber and primed with Halfords plastic primer. Then sprayed with Railmatch aerosol Sleeper Grime.
A run of neat PVA was run along the embankment after first tracing an an almost level course halfway down the embankment and the fencing bedded into it. While wet, static grass was sprinkled on and vacuumed off. Various heavy tools were leaned on the fence to keep it vertical while the PVA dried...
A run of neat PVA was run along the embankment after first tracing an an almost level course halfway down the embankment and the fencing bedded into it. While wet, static grass was sprinkled on and vacuumed off. Various heavy tools were leaned on the fence to keep it vertical while the PVA dried...
LarryG
Western Thunderer
Thanks. It is from the I D Backscene range from New Modellers Shop. Best to pay a little more for the ones printed on Vinyl.
Phil O
Western Thunderer
ID did me a custom job for Pottery Quay, I took a series of overlapping photos and emailed them and ID stitched them together.
See my thread. Pottery Quay. EM test track / shunting plank. scroll down the page.
See my thread. Pottery Quay. EM test track / shunting plank. scroll down the page.