Kirley

Started work on completing the backdrop for the Central area, nice to be doing some woodwork again, it is so forgiving. The brown sheet is hardboard and flexible to attach in a curve to avoid a right angle. I see my new lorry only arrived from the distributors and has a broken headlight, must be the poor roads. I filled the joints and applied a first coat of paint. The final view is the mess I usually work in. Wiring up the last points, thank goodness.

Hunslet thanks for your advice, I was tempted to add more but on reflection I'll follow your advice - after all less is more!

Thanks Stephen for the feedback. I had a look at the Polyfilla range and could not find one that fitted your description, can you give the exact name please?

It looks the business to me.

Thanks Tom for the pictures, it seems PECO Rail buffers are the nearest to the last one

Riversuir, PM sent. Broithe, I remembered the thread you referred to, searched under 'buffers', could not find it but did remember BosKonay raised the thread. So I got lost in his layout pages for an hour without success. Thanks for retrieving it if for nothing else to prove to myself I did not imagine it! Glenderg - I would probably need the old and the more modern ones. More than pictures I would like recommendations on buffers that are available to buy and look 'Irish' though I am tempted to have a go at the concrete ones in Broithe's link..

Sorry to hear the loss of your model maker, his wagons were quite unique. In todays economic climate I'm sure it will be difficult to get a replacement to work for the same costs. Does this mean your proposed RTR Steam Engine is not going to happen?

I have searched my railway books for pictures of buffers in Goods Yards, Loco Depots but close up and detailed pictures are like "hens teeth"! The ones I have found appeared to have been constructed from old rail and the nearest pro-typical ones I can find in the model world is the PECO ones. I would welcome suggestions if there are better ones than the PECO available.

Great news, talk Friday.

While I await the arrival of the main station building for Clonmel I made a start on the last area of the layout which after many different ideas will become a Yard and Loco Depot. I had forgotten just what a pain it is to cut out a recess for a point, attach a point motor, a point accessory switch and solder the necessary wires and run command cables to the control board. The time it took to do just one was a good hour and there is eight points on this section. That's not counting the drilling, cutting, soldering and connections all the droppers. The Loco Shed has moved from the old attic layout to this new location. I'm thinking a re-fuelling point and a container loading area but it's all to be confirmed yet. Waiting on new supplies before completing the basic track layout. I was wondering if anyone has used Woodland Scenics Smooth-IT for concreted areas, my main concern would be cracks forming after it had dried?

It must be your loft lights diffused through the canopy roof lights that give that realistic effect- very effective.

That chassis looks a great job, well done.

Have a look at an excellent Class 70 done by gnri using the Worsley Works Kit on the old Site: http://irishrailwaymodeller.yuku.com/reply/7873/70-Class#reply-7873 Allan at Worsley Works describes his kits as an aide to Kit building, he only supplies certain parts and for that reason I would suggest some experience in kit building would be helpful before starting one of his kits.

That should look fantastic

Stephen, I went to a local printer in Bangor but the majority of High St Colour Printers will be able to do the same thing, but shop around as some are expensive. You are paying for the paper roll so you should cram as much as you need into a small as possible space.

Backdrop Clonmel Station. When I visited Clonmel back in August I took some photographs of the landscape behind the Station with the intention of using them for the backdrop. I came across a Microsoft program that stitches photographs together and negotiated with a local printer to do a roll over 200cm long. (See Tips & Tricks Section for details). I painted the backdrop white with a little hints of blue and the bottom a dark colour. The main part of the backdrop was of the Slievenamon Mountains, at least I think that's what they are called. I also took photographs of the row of shops opposite the Station entrance and stitched them together and had a print of those also. I pasted the shop collage on a piece of card but am not happy with the results. I have decided on cutting out the shop fronts on card and painting them but getting the scale right is causing me problems. At least the mountain backdrop looks quite good, to my eyes anyway.

The difficulty of getting a backdrop that suits your particular layout especially if you are modelling an actual location is a common problem. I have found a way of getting such a backdrop. 1.You need to take overlapping photographs of the area you want to copy. 2. Download Microsoft ICE, a free program, which will stitch your photographs together giving a panoramic picture. 3. After you stitch your photographs, crop the image to reduce the height to that of your backboard, keeping it within scale. 4. Load your stitched picture onto a memory stick and go round your local High St colour printers and negotiate a deal suitable to you. 5. If you can, keep a large amount of sky in your picture. This allows you to reduce the size without losing any detail or if it is not big enough paint the top part of the backboard white/blue to simulate sky. 6. If you are competent with programs like photoshop etc. you can edit out unnecessary detail in your picture. There are a sample of some of the photographs I took, cropped to edit out detail I did not want. This is the result of the stitching program. See Kirley Junction, in the Layout Section, to see how it has worked out for me so far.

Setting the standard as usual Noel.

Really like the underframe detailing, the end result will be something to see.

So this is the future!!

Andy your patience has paid off, well done with the roof. Pictures 2 & 3 capture the feel of the old place for me.

Good to see you back after your break in the sun. The primer coat shows what a good job you have done with more to come.

Nice to see the sampler but the video with sound is worth the wait.

Great to see Hazelwood back on the Site and having Maedhbh as you lead photograph was a great introduction to your latest additions. Seeing you are now resting from your strenuous Moderator duties time to get on with that layout. I want to see a video of Maedhbh going round Hazelwood -soon!

Yes Stephen, sprayed grey, I've still a bit of work to do on it including lowering it as suggested by George.