moogle

deffo NSFW! I'm sure we will in time get a good, cheap(ish) 3D printer that will be good enough for us modellers. They will no doubt be a common thing one day in every home but I think we're a few years away from that yet. Once we do I reckon the next step will be replicators like in Star Trek. "Earl grey, hot" anyone?

Yes, the plastic is quite thick. I might try gluing some clear plastic behind the holes and then filling them with a clear resin. Can't think of any other way that would give clear, flush windows right now!

Thank you. At least I know that I've now only got to repaint the snail!

Can't quite imagine them wanting the Millennium Falcon in Black and Tan livery though!

Nice to see someone taking non modelling items and using ingenuity turning them into models! Some good model architectural modelling there.

It certainly will look good once the roofs on. Might go for a corrugated metal one, rusty as hell of course! The C class has been a lot of work. I bought the body, two in fact, about 4 or 5 years ago. Shapeways offered less materials back then and it was only available in White, Strong and Flexible. Not the best material in the world for detail! So a lot of sanding has taken place. If I were ordering now I can choose from White Detail, Frosted Detail and Ultra Frosted Detail. I've no idea about the first one but the latter two materials give a pretty good finish. Well, at least for N gauge! Like I said I had got two bodies, found two chassis to fit and then made a few 'errors' on one chassis making it unusable. Still, gives me a source of spares and judging by the work so far, I think one C class will be enough! The body is actually a lot smoother than the photo's make out and of course a few layers of paint will help there too. Picked up some splatter guards from the £1 shop yesterday. A pack of two, good value to a cash starved modeller like me! Whilst the mesh size on them is probably fine for OO, I'll try doubling it up for N to reduce the mesh 'hole' size. Will post pics of course when I get round to it!

So, what's on my workbench? Well a few thing's that I keep doing bits of every now and again as my time is taken up with non-Irish projects. One of the ex GSR cattle wagons I 3D printed. It needs roof and painting. The parts prior to adding the cut down Peco chassis. Took these pics on my mobile so not brilliant. Undercoat wasn't completely dry and its picked up some 'bits' from somewhere, so will need redoing. Needs better couplings than the fixed Kato ones it has! And my C class diesel. Not entirely happy with the railings on this and will redo some of them. Make them straighter for a start! They need more handrail knobs. I could only just see the holes, they are something like 0.1 mm and the carpet monster ate a few. I think next time I'll get a pair of cheap reading glasses to see the holes more clearly! Its the Valvedesign body, Lifelike SD9 chassis and N Brass details. I think I'll replace the material 'mesh' with some metal variety as I can put it in the opening then rather than behind it. It'll look better then!

Hi everyone. Following on from my Kilnevan layout thread I thought I'd post some pics of some loco's and rolling stock I've made. Any that I'm still building will be in the workbench thread. First Up, my J19, No 600: It started off as a Union Mills LMS 3F, got a new cab and had various other details changed. I had and still have, no drawings for the J19 and worked solely from two photo's in books. So may or may not be 'scale' but it looks the part. And yes, the numbers and snail need to be in pale green! Currently has a problem with the motor in the tender and needs some tlc. Next up is my J11, No 207 Started off with an old Graham Farish General Purpose tank. Made a new cab, smokebox door etc from brass, plastic and model filler. Photo's show it on the layout and prior to painting. And some coaches. These were a pair of old Graham Farish 'generic' LNER teak mainline coaches. I filled in some windows on the sides working from a photo in the Irish Broad Gauge Coaches book. Hand painted all the lines, snails etc. Not brilliant but better than repainted MK1's!

Thank you. All the waves were sculpted in air drying clay, then painted in artists acrylics and glazed.

Nice. I agree about the waist band but they look the part otherwise. Just in the wrong scale for me!

Thank you. It took me a long time, a lot of trial and error but I'm pleased with how they turned out. It's actually the GSR one from drawings in Patrick O'Sullivans book of the Farranfore and Valentia Harbour railway, vol 2. It is very similar in design to others built earlier, CB&SCR springs to mind. One day I might get round to drawing up the slightly larger CIE version!

Nice backscenes! I always like to see people paint their own, makes a layout unique. Tip for painting straight lines: use masking tape! Its a good cheat. That's what I use on canvases when I need a long straight line.

Mmmm... I think one of these is going on my to do list! In N gauge of course... Thank you for providing the details.

A good source of cheap metal mesh is from the splatter guards (for frying pans) that you can get in the pound/euro shops. Being unemployed I'm always nosing around those shops looking for modellng stuff! Might pick one up to do the grills on my C class diesel if the mesh is fine enough.

Thank you. A good cure for sea sickness is to visit that big yellow building behind the station. Probably will have beet, I have no corrugated wagons at present which would suit it more for the period I think and cattle wagons will be a feature! This is the cattle wagon I designed, assembled and in primer. Note to self, need grey primer! And unassembled as it comes: It's not the only item on Kilnevan I've 3D printed, did the bilingual station signs too. I just painted them dark green and dry brushed the lettering. Found a few more pictures I'd taken. This one shows the church face on and shows the unfinished roof up! The station building is made up of Hornby Liddle End office building, waiting shelter, some old Graham Farish canopies, chimneys and canopy supports from the junk box and cotton bud middles for the chimney pots. So if thats not a 'bashed' building I don't know what is! A close up of the bus. Mine is not a strict prototype, just a repaint! The prototype, one of six built for Dublin Airport, had a slightly different cab, see pages 57 -58: http://issuu.com/rivierabrian/docs/ftt-bbsept11_fullweb And details under 1949 here: http://www.skylineaviation.co.uk/buses/+CIE-45-50.html When I get round to doing repairs, building more stock, finishing buildings etc I'll post more pictures.

Don't forget Photoworld in Llandudno. At least I think thats what its called!

Not a method I've seen before, thanks for sharing! Love the gateway, very rustic.

I'm glad someone recognised it! The Small Bridge Bar is the only building I based on a prototype. Its made from Kestral kits and parts and was built at least 8 years before the layout! The palm trees (there's 2 of them!) are the nearest type I could find that would grow on a coastline warmed by the gulf stream. I know they're not correct but I don't know of anything better, hence their use. I may have to try to scratchbuild some that look the part! Thank you sir, that is a lovely comment. I must admit though that I do have a pair of repainted MK1's . They were my 1st Irish coaches, when I knew no better! Only use them for track testing purposes now. The six wheelers I have are the cleanest stock I possess. They need some light weathering and better couplings. In fact I've been thinking of using one of the automatic coupling systems, probably MBM's as they use permanent magnets. I do have a C class diesel in the throws of being detailed, so its not all steam. It will be finished in 'filthy aluminium' livery of course! All of the wagons have the classic 'black chassis' mistake so need repainting, though some are so weathered I won't bother... I really should get the fiddleyard rebuilt and the track/wiring fixed though as then I can play with, I mean operate the layout. Then all I need is enough work to run a car and then Kilnevan can get out on the exhibition circuit as intended. Still, one thing at a time!

Thank you everyone for your nice comments. Especially from those of you who live/lived in Ireland as it means I'm getting something right! A few people have told me that its an oddball one to model and that more modern diesels will be easier to do. But I like the area and prefer steam engines, preferably tanks, so I guess I'll keep modelling the oddball and obscure!

Hi everyone, thought I'd post some pictures of my N gauge layout, Kilnevan. Its the end of a branchline set in the late 1950's somewhere in the south west. Currently devoid of a fiddle yard (behind the nameboard above) and needing some small track repairs/wiring. Standard Peco code 55 track is used as I'm good with scenery but rubbish with chassis, hence 9mm gauge not 10.5 (or 10.8 even!). This means I can use all the British N gauge stuff that looks like it can be cannibalised. Buildings are a mixture of adapted r-t-p, kit bashed and scratchbuilt, of which some are still not finished! The scenic portion of Kilnevan is 16" wide and 4' long, plus 2' for the fiddle yard. Loco's and rolling stock is either r-t-r suitably 'Irish-ised', Worsley works etches or Valvedesign. I have also designed a GSR cattle wagon that I've 3D printed on Shapeways. Uses a cut down Peco 9' chassis. I know there's probably too many road vehicles for the period but I felt that they helped to add life to the layout. They are mainly by Oxford Diecast, suitably repainted if needed! Although I haven't worked on it for over a year now due to other projects, I still tinker with bits and pieces for it. One day I plan to extend the layout into a tail-chaser but haven't the room at the moment. I hope you all enjoy my little bit of Ireland. Oh and yes, Courtmacsherry was a big inspiration in case you're wondering!

Perfectly feasible. I model Irish outline in N gauge myself. You just have to be prepared to do some repainting, bashing and kit building as there is no current r-t-r available. If you are looking at doing more modern stuff you will have an easier time than if you wanted the steam era. Not that the steam era is impossible, as that's what I model!