4mm Life in a Northern Town - back to back(scene)
- Thread starter Neil
- Start date
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
Apropos nothing at all - well, nothing to do with model building - the British Transport Film Unit made some spiffing films, technically of a very high order. A lot of their cinematographers and directors went on to much greater things after cutting their teeth there. It's one of our training grounds for the British Film Industry now lost forever and technical prowess (sweeping generalisation!) has gone down the tubes as a result.
That's a really good find, Neil.
Brian
That's a really good find, Neil.
Brian
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
The narrator sounded rather like Harold Wilson.
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
That may be so, Dave, but he wouldn't have been on the BTF staff. Well, I say that but it's a probably. It was usual to hire in out of work actors for the voice overs (not sure I'm allowed to say that in these PC times!) They came very cheap - I mean inexpensively.
Brian
Brian
Neil
Western Thunderer
Little progress on the layout of late but I am slowly working my way through a pile of kits that I've had stashed away for a while. First off the workbench this Beetle prize cattle wagon from the Parkside kit.
It's pretty much a bog standard build as the instructions instruct apart from using Parkside's own after-market coupler mounting blocks for the Bachmann couplers and a pair of plasticard partitions to separate the stockman from the beasts.
It's pretty much a bog standard build as the instructions instruct apart from using Parkside's own after-market coupler mounting blocks for the Bachmann couplers and a pair of plasticard partitions to separate the stockman from the beasts.
Neil
Western Thunderer
Today I've had a spot of constructive destruction. Remember where the light railway engine shed was in the mocked up form of the layout, well it's not going to be there any longer. I finally worked out what I didn't like about that bit of the layout and it's that both rear (main line) and front (light railway) tracks were at the same level. So the engine shed will be relocated and the slope down to the lower level will start where I've trimmed back the trackbed to. Also I like stretches of plain track and this will give another visually satisfying bit and it should help space out the light railway controls from those of the main line and yard.
Neil
Western Thunderer
My current excuse for lack of progress is a leaking shower. The last couple of weeks have been occupied in dismantling the shower, the shower screen, prising off the waterproof (ha!) panels, drying everything out, preparing the walls, tiling and grouting. I'm now at the stage where everything can start to go back but as the instructions on the grout tell me that it will be OK to get wet in seven days there isn't any great rush. I sense that photos of tiles, however lovely they may be, are not what's wanted here. Instead I offer coal on the move, taken while I was playing trains this morning.
While my craft knife and paint brush may have been inactive my credit card hasn't. Seeing something suitable on the Facebook page of Monk Bar Models, my local shop when I lived in York, I put in an order at about half three last Thursday and this arrived at eleven the following morning.
It's far too clean and shiny and the dome will require replacing, but it's a lovely runner straight out of the box.
While my craft knife and paint brush may have been inactive my credit card hasn't. Seeing something suitable on the Facebook page of Monk Bar Models, my local shop when I lived in York, I put in an order at about half three last Thursday and this arrived at eleven the following morning.
It's far too clean and shiny and the dome will require replacing, but it's a lovely runner straight out of the box.
Simon
Flying Squad
What a funky looking loco, amazing that such a thing can be had off the shelf. It will look better after you have taken round the block a few times though!
Love the way the whole scene has developed, a very worthy follow up to your last masterpiece in the chapel.
Down here I moved the lathe into the shed today, which is a bit of a landmark step towards more trains.....
Simon
Love the way the whole scene has developed, a very worthy follow up to your last masterpiece in the chapel.
Down here I moved the lathe into the shed today, which is a bit of a landmark step towards more trains.....
Simon
Neil
Western Thunderer
Thank you Simon. Though the actual nuts and bolts of construction has been a lot quicker than Morfa, I reckon that the bit where I work out what I'm going to put where has taken just as long. Even discounting the blind alley that was the first version it's taken a lot of moving around of the elements to get something to gel. It's made me realise that I'm not one of those who can meticulously plan then build exactly to that plan.
Here are a few more snaps of the layout ....
... and one I found on the internet of the real York.
Here are a few more snaps of the layout ....
... and one I found on the internet of the real York.
NHY 581
Western Thunderer
I am exactly the same Neil. I tend to "plonk" and "re-plonk" buildings etc until it looks right.
And that image is fab......
Rob.
Neil
Western Thunderer
This week I 'av mostly been shopping.
For a while a friend has lobbied me to get an A4 for the express goods. Now I don't particularly like A4s, in fact I've yet to find a streamlined steam engine that I like, so it's been easy to dodge this request. It did get me thinking though that something green might look well amongst all the black. So I went shopping for a pacific and ended up with this, advertised as spares or repair.
It's Hornby's take on Tornado and cost me thirty three quid plus another fifteen for a set of wheels (the drive gear on the centre axle was knackered) and a tender underframe (one side was missing on the model, why?) I've had to fabricate where part of the front buffer beam has snapped off, likewise the rear half of the reversing rod. Still to do are a set of front footsteps which presumably became broken at the same time as the buffer beam. The major job in backdating the model will involve the tender body as the coal space and rear deck are wrong for a twentieth century A1.
In time I hope to turn the bits on the bench into a reasonable facsimile of Silurian, one of three A1s shedded at York for their entire working lives.
Compromises will have to be made, for example the tender will be missing it's rivets, but the layout is one glorious compromise anyway. As a layout loco I can quite happily live with this in the same way that I'm happy that my NMBS class 81 is flawed but looks like an 81.
But why take this route when I could go out and buy a Bachmann A1? Well I've saved a few quid, but more importantly I like the notion of repairing broken stuff and the more of me in a project then the more I like/value it.
For a while a friend has lobbied me to get an A4 for the express goods. Now I don't particularly like A4s, in fact I've yet to find a streamlined steam engine that I like, so it's been easy to dodge this request. It did get me thinking though that something green might look well amongst all the black. So I went shopping for a pacific and ended up with this, advertised as spares or repair.
It's Hornby's take on Tornado and cost me thirty three quid plus another fifteen for a set of wheels (the drive gear on the centre axle was knackered) and a tender underframe (one side was missing on the model, why?) I've had to fabricate where part of the front buffer beam has snapped off, likewise the rear half of the reversing rod. Still to do are a set of front footsteps which presumably became broken at the same time as the buffer beam. The major job in backdating the model will involve the tender body as the coal space and rear deck are wrong for a twentieth century A1.
In time I hope to turn the bits on the bench into a reasonable facsimile of Silurian, one of three A1s shedded at York for their entire working lives.
Compromises will have to be made, for example the tender will be missing it's rivets, but the layout is one glorious compromise anyway. As a layout loco I can quite happily live with this in the same way that I'm happy that my NMBS class 81 is flawed but looks like an 81.
But why take this route when I could go out and buy a Bachmann A1? Well I've saved a few quid, but more importantly I like the notion of repairing broken stuff and the more of me in a project then the more I like/value it.
michael mott
Western Thunderer
Looks pretty new or well looked after. Mine looked like that 50 years ago!
Neil
Western Thunderer
The fun has begun. First the preparations for identity theft; Astonish (a cocktail of the paste and liquid forms) applied with cotton bud and coffee stirrer was used to take off the numbering and the early crest.
Then onto fiddling with the tender parts of the loco. I cut and filed away all the rear deck of the tender right up to the bulkhead at the back of the coal space.
I then cut an over height piece of plasticard to fit between the tender sides. I offered this up to Hornby's bulkhead and scribed an arc on the plasticard to match the tender's original. I can now mount this at the correct distance closer to the back of the tender body.
After the photos were taken I trimmed away the tenders original bulkhead down to the level of the coal load. My next tasks will be to arrange a new fixing point for the rear of the tender and then start building back the rear deck, water filler and coal load.
Then onto fiddling with the tender parts of the loco. I cut and filed away all the rear deck of the tender right up to the bulkhead at the back of the coal space.
I then cut an over height piece of plasticard to fit between the tender sides. I offered this up to Hornby's bulkhead and scribed an arc on the plasticard to match the tender's original. I can now mount this at the correct distance closer to the back of the tender body.
After the photos were taken I trimmed away the tenders original bulkhead down to the level of the coal load. My next tasks will be to arrange a new fixing point for the rear of the tender and then start building back the rear deck, water filler and coal load.
Neil
Western Thunderer
A wet and drab day has me hiding inside at the workbench. Some of the tasks on the A1 rebuild have been ticked off the list and it's getting worryingly close to paintbrush time.
I've now constructed a replacement buffer from sections of white tube and you should also apparent that a new set of front steps have been added. All I've done is to copy the good side. I really need to brush off the crumbs of plastic left over from sanding and fettling.
The tender now has the water filler added and the top of the tube leading from the water scoop apparatus to the top of the tank.
Back to the loco, the missing bit of reversing rod has been patched in with a section of 20 thou. I do need to represent the rear support before painting. Speaking of painting it's my intention to leave the bulk of the body as is and just patch paint the repairs and additions. I also need to experiment with a rattle can of Halfords satin lacquer on one of my test pieces to see if I can get a bit more of a sheen to the loco before I start the weathering bit.
In contrast to today, yesterday was nice and sunny so I made some progress cutting out the trackbed of the light railway. Here I've blocked it up temporarily and plonked the track down loose on top just to see how it looked.
It's made it obvious that I'll have to modify the front fascia and cut it quite a bit lower than it is.
I've now constructed a replacement buffer from sections of white tube and you should also apparent that a new set of front steps have been added. All I've done is to copy the good side. I really need to brush off the crumbs of plastic left over from sanding and fettling.
The tender now has the water filler added and the top of the tube leading from the water scoop apparatus to the top of the tank.
Back to the loco, the missing bit of reversing rod has been patched in with a section of 20 thou. I do need to represent the rear support before painting. Speaking of painting it's my intention to leave the bulk of the body as is and just patch paint the repairs and additions. I also need to experiment with a rattle can of Halfords satin lacquer on one of my test pieces to see if I can get a bit more of a sheen to the loco before I start the weathering bit.
In contrast to today, yesterday was nice and sunny so I made some progress cutting out the trackbed of the light railway. Here I've blocked it up temporarily and plonked the track down loose on top just to see how it looked.
It's made it obvious that I'll have to modify the front fascia and cut it quite a bit lower than it is.
Neil
Western Thunderer
Yesterday I got the transfers out, stuck on the loco's ears and topped it all of with a coat of Halfords satin lacquer. Today I took the loco out to the garage for a test/play and to take a few photos.
I'm pleased at how the satin lacquer has slightly deepened the green Hornby plastic giving it a richer tone. Nameplates (on order), real coal and a spot of weathering when I feel brave on it's job done.
I'm pleased at how the satin lacquer has slightly deepened the green Hornby plastic giving it a richer tone. Nameplates (on order), real coal and a spot of weathering when I feel brave on it's job done.
Neil
Western Thunderer
For the last week or so my efforts have been concentrated on the layout itself. The MDF trackbed is now fixed in place on top of it's pine spacers. On top of the that there's the layer of 4mm thick yoga mat stuck down with Evostick contact adhesive. The pong/fumes kept me out of the garage for a couple of days but now that air quality has returned to near normal I've made a start on track laying.
So far I've laid in the light/industrial railway run round loop as the positioning of this is the critical bit. I'm now extending the line up the bank to the rest of the layout and you might have noticed in the last image that I've also trimmed the height of the front fascia.
Neil
Western Thunderer
The garage has been a bit cold this last week and I'm a bit of a wuss so all work has taken place at my indoor workbench upstairs where it's nice and toasty. Finished but not weathered is this Ian Kirk Gresley full brake. It put up a bit of a fight as while some parts were a good fit, others were not. I bottled with the bogies and substituted a Bachmann pair I picked up cheap.
From a large vehicle to a small one. I've stripped down, stripped and repainted an A35 bodyshell. Next up I need to make some transfers for it as it's to become the Wallace and Grommet, Anti-Pesto van.
It's on its custom paint stand, corrugated card stuck to a timber block so it could be primed with a rattle can and not go skittering about in the blast of paint and propellant. The top coat is some old Humbrol gloss that I've had for thirty years or so, brushed on.
I've also been shopping at Hattons. On offer was this West Yorkshire Lodekka. Now the York buses of my youth were branded York - West Yorkshire but the livery is spot on (I think West Yorkshire were the parent company) so I plan to overlook the missing 'York' but I'll attend to the inappropriate destination at the same time as I do the Anti-Pesto transfers.
From a large vehicle to a small one. I've stripped down, stripped and repainted an A35 bodyshell. Next up I need to make some transfers for it as it's to become the Wallace and Grommet, Anti-Pesto van.
It's on its custom paint stand, corrugated card stuck to a timber block so it could be primed with a rattle can and not go skittering about in the blast of paint and propellant. The top coat is some old Humbrol gloss that I've had for thirty years or so, brushed on.
I've also been shopping at Hattons. On offer was this West Yorkshire Lodekka. Now the York buses of my youth were branded York - West Yorkshire but the livery is spot on (I think West Yorkshire were the parent company) so I plan to overlook the missing 'York' but I'll attend to the inappropriate destination at the same time as I do the Anti-Pesto transfers.
Mike Garwood
Western Thunderer
Nice work on the Gresley, spot on.
Mike
Mike