Back from a break

Excuse my absence from blogging for a couple of weeks, I have been otherwise occupied.

A distraction, My 1926 Ford Model T

With the purchase finalised, and the garage tidied up so that the car will have a place to live when it is delivered. I can set to and get back to work on the layout. There is after all, an exhibition to go to in less than a month.
Where have I got to on it then?

Trees

I have been working on some trees in autumnal hues using Woodland scenics armatures and fall tones  fine leaf foliage. If the trees were to stand alone I wouldn't be happy with them but as they will be grouped together I think they will create the correct feel once dulled down with a spray like Testors "Instant weathering". I'm not after the vivid colours of a bright sunny autumn day, but the subtle tones of a cloudy day. like the picture below. Admittedly, taken whilst it was raining but you get the idea.

My preferred autumnal hues.

Encouraged by the success of my brake van project. I decided to attempt scratch building some goods wagons. Starting with a pair of bulkhead flat cars, which is a style of wagon I like.
The donor wagons for this project were the peat wagons that came with the original set that I ordered.

Busch HOf Peat wagons, the start of the project

I carefully removed the body and quite simply added a new deck and ends from Evergreen embossed styrene sheet. With a bit of strategic strapping and bracing from angle and strip. They look the part most certainly.

A couple of Bulkhead flats, a simple project.

So now I have a British outline goods train, albeit a very short one yet. I'll pair them with the Heywood Tops and see how they run.
With all this stock, I will need a stockbox to take the trains to a show well protected. To that end I decided to take the plunge and see how my theory that a fishing tackle box as a stock box would work out.
There are multitudinous designs and styles out there and in the end I plumped for this one, the Plano "Lockjaw". A very tasteful name I'm sure you'll agree.

An unfortunate name for a useful box.

The top layer of the box could hold up to 24 pieces of stock. More than enough for me for the moment. Whilst the deeper tray underneath will take myriad of tools, and even the Busch battery controller.

Things do fit rather nicely.

To cushion the delicate items of stock, I cut the protective foam cradles that the rolling stock was packed in to fit the adjustable pockets of the top layer. As you can see they fit admirably well. With plenty of room for the scratch built projects and a couple of other items I'll come to in another couple of posts. I'm most definitely very pleased with the way this project turned out.
I would expect that such a box would accommodate 009 stock and N gauge. Maybe even 09 too. These boxes are ridiculously cheap. I paid $10 (Seven quid if you're in the UK) from Menards, (A DIY chain here in the US) and this was the expensive one. You could get a basic simple one for under $4. A sound investment.

Saturday, a busy day. (1)

My wife has left me to my own devices at home today, so I'm busying myself on the layout.
After a week of working on locomotives and rolling stock it was time to get back to the scenery. The first task there was to cover the ground with a base of Woodland scenics turf ground cover. it doesn't take much just painting on some dilute white glue (Woodland Scenics scenic glue) and sprinkle on the ground cover and let it dry.

Starting the earth cover. Notice I covered the track over to keep it clean

Ten minutes later the job was done.

Then while that was drying I decided to work on the roads. For this I was planning on using Liquitex texture paint.

It looks like this small jar will last a while.

 This product is taking a long time to dry. So I then turned my attention to my station platform.

Platform base. 

If you remember, the platform was constructed as a tray, here's why.

The tray was filled with white glue

This was then filled with Woodland scenics fine light grey ballast..

...covered with a weight and left to dry.

Finished item.

Looking at the final picture in this sequence I think you'll agree the final effect is quite acceptable. There's a bit more cleaning up to do, but I'm very happy with this.

The textured paint is still not dry yet, (I did slap it on fairly thick). So I need to look for another task.

A Scratch built Brake Van (part 2)

Construction of the brake van holds no secrets. It's just a plasticard box placed on a Busch chassis. There are two types of chassis available to choose from, and I chose the longer one. Even so it's still too short to attempt an accurate scratch build without chopping the chassis up. I decided that just yet, I'm not up to that. Maybe when I get more experience working on other projects, perhaps I'll feel more confident. A cut up chassis would have to be perfectly square.

It did take a couple of false starts working on the mounting of the body to the chassis before I got the chassis width right and a system of tabs to hold the body in the right location.

Tabs on the underside of the body will locate the body in the
correct location on the chassis.

Once that was sorted the construction was simplicity itself. The size is nice. Being minimum gauge  the item is small, but being 4mm scale the detail is manageable. 

The model sits comfortably in the palm of my hand

Compared with the Gn15 version, proportions differ slightly

As construction progresses I find myself referring to the Gn15 model quite often, as well as the drawings in the Stand Hutton Light Railway book. The Gn15 version is tall and thin compared to the 00 6.5 version, that is because I didn't alter the width of the original Sidelines van kit. However, when I started the scratch build I stuck to the generous SHLR loading gauge of approximately three times the track gauge.

Small items of rolling stock can be trained to perch on your finger.

So far, so good then. Details to add to the model yet include some hand rails and a brake wheel. It's also very light so a little weight would be nice. but it does go through the one point on the layout without any problems. I really should have left the roof off to put some weight inside, but how much?  Would a neodymium magnet stuck to the underside of the van acting on the steel strip in the track serve the same purpose?
Keep an eye out for part three of the project.

A Scratch built Brake Van (part 1)

Over the past week or two, it seems like Busch HOn2 things have been on sale at US online retailers. Places like Walthers and Trainz.com for example. Some things as much as half price. So I had to take advantage didn't I?
One item I bought was the "Fahrwerke" or chassis as we English would call them. Two sets of underframes and wheels. I fancy having a go scratch building some items of rolling stock and this would be a perfect start point.

Some on sale goodies

I really want to build a Sand Hutton Light Railway Brake Van, as built by Robert Hudson Ltd. It's a great vehicle full of character. However a quick measure of the chassis proved that this wouldn't be possible without chopping up the chassis. I'm not ready to do that yet so that was a snag.
But not for long.
I remembered back to my Gn15 days when Sidelines bought out a box van. I snapped up a couple of them and converted one to be a brake van, inspired by the Sand Hutton vehicle.

Gn15 Brake Van.

I remember building this quite clearly. The whole process was a new thing to me. Cutting up parts, adding new bits. Everything worked together well and I came up with quite an interesting vehicle.
If I could do that in Gn15, then I'm sure I can do it in 00 6.5. Just take some measurements off the original model and scale them down. It's really only a box.
It can't be that difficult can it.

The times they are a changin'

So sang Bob Dylan, more years ago than I care to remember. I don't even like the song, but it sprang to mind as I was considering some model making for this project. I have designs on scratchbuilding several things. A Heywood "Katie" for example, is a must. Several items of Heywood coaching stock would be nice too, as well as the Sand Hutton Light Railway 18" gauge coach and brake van.
It was then I started thinking about developments in the model making world. The last time I was making truly small railway models. (I think I have the dubious distinction of making the first scratchbuilt T gauge U.S. outline freight cars) They were made from embossed styrene sheet and other plastic bits mounted on T scale bogies. There was a lot of thinking involved to find the right embossed sheet and thicknesses of strip to get the effects I was after. It was one heck of an achievement to build and at the end of the day, I was pretty proud of myself.

Was this the worlds first scratch built T scale gondola?

The thoughts of what I achieved in T scale is spurring me on in OO6.5. The thought of making rather tiny trains has really got my model making enthusiasm going again. But in those intervening years how things have changed.
When I started working in T scale, 3D printing was in its infancy, if it even existed. Now it's the next big thing in modelling. Anyone with a computer can access 3D modelling software like Sketchup and produce their own parts for projects, and if they so desire, sell them to other modellers through companies like Shapeways. Some people even producing parts for a whole locomotive or rolling stock.
Indeed, this is what has driven OO6.5 development. Take a look at this magnificent Ruston Proctor from James Hilton at 6.5 minimum gauge. Admittedly, this kit goes a step further with the addition of etched nickel silver overlays on the body for extra detail. But the principle is the same. If you find a prototype you like that isn't available anywhere,  you can sit at your computer and make one yourself.

The Ruston Proctor from 6.5 minimum gauge. What a beauty. (photo courtesy 6.5 minimum gauge)

The Narrow planet kits look great, I have some of their Heywood TOPS wagons and I am looking forward to assembling them and trying some of the other of the models in their ever expanding range too. That Ruston Proctor in particular.
The fact a person can sit at a computer and produce models to such a high standard amazes me.
As for me. Do I want to sit at a computer messing with squares, curves, vectors and nodes or whatever to make a model? I don't think so. I have tried it. I started work on some T scale structures once.

Sketchup of a T scale gas station

Perhaps it was the learning curve or the struggle with the online instructions, but I just didn't get the same pleasure out of it as if I was measuring and cutting styrene and piecing it together. When I look at what I achieved in T scale I still glow with pride a little bit.

T scale lighthouse. A N scale flashing LED was used as a beacon

This T scale petrol station included some impossibly tiny petrol pumps.

Like I said, times are changing. I can see reasons to try my hand at Sketchup model making, my eyesight isn't what it used to be for example. But right now, for me nothing beats cutting and gluing small bits of styrene.