Beginners OO 1950's Banff

[aardvark]

The final west wall takes shape, with the various bits assembled here in a dry run prior to decorating. This is on the back of a baking tray with a few magnets to help keep things in place



I'm looking for suggestions as to how best to write BANFF on that 7x3mm piece of plasticard in the middle of the windowed section on the left. The prototype is written in white.

My shaky hands are most certainly not up to it.

 

[David Waite]

Hi aardvark
That west wall is looking fabulous.
David

 

[40057]

The final west wall takes shape, with the various bits assembled here in a dry run prior to decorating. This is on the back of a baking tray with a few magnets to help keep things in place

View attachment 188176

I'm looking for suggestions as to how best to write BANFF on that 7x3mm piece of plasticard in the middle of the windowed section on the left. The prototype is written in white.

My shaky hands are most certainly not up to it.

Letters from wagon transfers? They are generally white and small. ‘BANANA’ gives you the first three. ‘F’ from REFRIGERATOR?

 

[Heather Kay]

I'm looking for suggestions as to how best to write BANFF

It’s usually possible to create white type on a colour background on your computer. A word processor or photo edit software will do it. Print it out, trim to size and glue on the panel.

 

[Daddyman]

I'm looking for suggestions as to how best to write BANFF on that 7x3mm piece of plasticard in the middle of the windowed section on the left. The prototype is written in white.

Contact Railtec for a bespoke transfer? His rates are very reasonable.

 

[aardvark]

The west wall is not yet complete although progressing.

I managed to distract myself by considering construction of the trusses over the platform. Next thing I knew, I was cutting them out and sticking them together. Not that that's a problem - it all has to come together to get a complete station building.



Each truss is made from three 20-thou plasticard trapeziums, 105 x 25mm. I initially intended to use two trapeziums, but needed the third to give the assembly some stiffness. The smaller strips are added to the diagonals to mimic the construction of the prototype.



Here's one being assembled on a block of steel with magnets to align the laminations. The station requires 9, but I have made 10 so that I can discard the worst.

The steel blocks were an idea I got from reading David Neat's model-making blog (see https://davidneat.wordpress.com/methods/making-realistic-models/main-construction/). I had mine made by a local engineering company - all surfaces are flat, all corners square, they're heavy enough to stay put, and magnets stick to them. They're probably the most used tool in my modelling tool box.

While I should finish the west wall, I'm now thinking about the skylights - there's probably a better name for them. I think I should make these before cutting the card for the roofs so that it will fit what I make, rather than what I intended to make,



There's one on each side of the roof, each a scale 343 x 25mm comprising 57 panes - larger that a single sheet of plasticard.

My initial thought was to cut each frame in two sections from 10-thou plasticard using my Silhouette cutter, then glue these onto a clear plastic carrier. However, on reflection, I think that I lack the dexterity to apply glue to the frame and apply it to the clear plastic without the glue drying, the frame going on crooked, or getting glue everywhere, so I'm looking for something more workable.

Options I can see but can't decide between are:

1. cut the frame into shorter sections of a few panes each;
2. cut the frame as single pane sections
3. assemble the frame onto the carrier using conventional plastistrip.

Suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[aardvark]

The internal platform is in place, the western wall completed and attached, and the roof/ves have been fitted to the Banff station building, just in time to catch a rare dusting of snow





I use 2 layers of 1mm card for roof/ves: the under layer is hidden within the walls, providing stiffening for the upper layer, which will shortly start receiving strips of slate tile paper.

The astute reader will note that I'm still procrastinating over the sky/rooflights. These will have to be the next task, so that they can be fitted to the roof/ves before slating can commence.

 

[Joe's Garage]

This looks a very nice model
Julian

 

[aardvark]

Success! In fact, so there was so little cussing today that I'll make another one.



Five shorter sections (66-79mm) were cut and painted. The David Neat blocks again came into use: the acetate was pushed back against the larger block, while the small one was put on top to stop the acetate skittering off. Each frame section was lightly sprayed on the back in turn, then placed down onto the acetate using the Neat block and the previously laid section as guides.

Here is a close-up of the worst of the four joins.



I think that the bottom leg might have been missed by the spray adhesive altogether - I'll try nudging it into position with a Neat block tomorrow, then a touch of regular adhesive, or perhaps just a spot of paint would be enough? But you'd be hard pressed to spot this join in the overall photo, and from Normal Viewing Distance ...

I'd give myself 9.3/10.

Here's a photo of my spray booth. A little bit exposed, but well ventilated!



If anyone's interested in some 5.25x23.5mm bits of 10-thou plasticard, do let me know. Ready cut, easy to handle, Aardvark's Individual Emperor Plasticardettes*! A million household uses! As used in hospitals!

* with apologies to Monty Python.

 

[Ian N]

Hi Aardvark

Which spray adhesive have you used to attach the frames to the acetate pls? The result is very impressive.

cheers
Ian

 

[aardvark]

Hello Ian:

Thank you for your kind words.

I used "Micador Spray Adhesive", although I suspect others would work equally well. The selection criteria was nothing more than it being available from a local stationery chain, For my windows, I have used UHU solvent free for the same purpose, but the spray might be easier to work with.

 

[aardvark]

The baseboards came out this morning - first time this year - so I could trace the outline of the outside platform using the conventional pencil-on-the-side-of-a-carriage method. It was good to see the station building in situ.

 

[aardvark]

Yesterday's photo has me thinking that I should be thinking about backscenes. The idea is to write something here, hopefully get some ideas and suggestions, with a view to doing something in a couple of months. I've already bought ID Backscenes premium Overcast Sky P503A and B, so have 4 sections of 1.5m each in self-adhesive polypropylene, but the question is how to mount them to the layout.

The layout is 4 baseboards of 1.2m. These spend most of their lives on shelves in the garage, so the backscene needs to be portable, disassemble-able and store-able.

One option is to mount the prints on ply, card or mount board. This would stiffen the prints up dramatically, and might mean that'd have to be done in 1.2m sections to match the baseboards, or 1.5m sections to match the prints themselves. This is probably the safe option.

The other option would be to not mount the prints, and to have some sort of frame to hold them to the back of the baseboards. I suspect getting unobtrusive joints between the prints might be difficult.

 

[Ian N]

In the case of Banff, I personally would leave the considering the backscene until after the basic scenery shape is completed. The background in your photo includes the rear and end of the layout. While overcast skies over the sea will be good, would the wrong kind of backscene (rigid or hard to move) exclude the possibility of the view from the harbour along the railway - something which could be equally good or potentially more satisfying?

cheers
Ian

 

[aardvark]

Thanks Ian, that's an interesting perspective that I hadn't considered.

You are correct in that I am looking at a backscene for the back and both ends, although it will have to be removable to match the baseboards.

More thought is required.

 

[aardvark]

Well, that's that then.

There are plenty of errors, some corrected, but after nearly a year, and with so many other things that are needed on this layout for it to be viewworthy, I think that it's high time to move on. At some stage, the station building might get downpipes and vent pipes, and a few chimney pots are waiting in the wings for me to find an appropriate dirty terracotta colour.

 

[John57sharp]

That’s a great looking building.

 

[Dog Star]

Your model looks an authentic representation of an up't north station. Please offer us enlarged photos of some of the building details.

regards, Graham

 

[aardvark]

Your model looks an authentic representation of an up't north station. Please offer us enlarged photos of some of the building details.

regards, Graham

Um, ok, although the closer you look the more likely you are to find faults than features.

 

[simond]

Very nice!