Noel

Hi JB, Good question. I was only recently wondering the same myself. It's something I'm going to have to tackle over the coming months. Every inch of line boundary is going to need some sort if realistic border be it hedge rows, overgrown fencing, walls, embankments with foliage, trees, etc. I will probably study some of the fantastic 'photographic website updates' albums from our resident photographers to get ideas. Noel

Absolutely fabulous photos of the Ballast wagons. Well done team IRM, a superb achievement to get this over the line so spectacularly well.

Video Clip: CIE 121 class no B121 operational trials on layout today leading consist with B181. B121 is a Shapeways 3D print on an Athearn chassis. Detailing to be completed in due course. I just could not resist a little 'play' session with this new loco earlier today. Now I'm going to have to weather B181 Video Lightly weathered in consist with B181. It will take another few weeks to finish detailing. Holes drilled in front and sides ready for hand rails and guard rails Replacement bogies sides are in paint shop and will be replaced in a week or so. May I take this opportunity to thank those on here who gave me advice, tips and encouragement over the past few months, and in particular one of the forums most talented 'master model engineers' Richie (Glenderg) for the time he generously gave me two years ago on air brush painting, advice on recommended equipment and paints, and general modelling tips.

Hi Mogul, thanks yes that was the original plan, but the MM 141 chassis is just too long for the 121 and won't fit in the body shell without a savage cut'n'shut through the middle, in addition to laterally cutting the metal chassis block to narrow it where the 121 body narrows at the cab joint. By contrast the Athearn SW1500 was a perfect fit by length and width once I cut away the two metal lugs at each end of the chassis. When I get around to adding the correct 121 bogie sides it should look better with wider bogies (i.e. less HO looking). For the C class ironically the MM 141 chassis was a near perfect 'drop in' by length and width once I cut away 4mm metal from each end. I plan to change the bogie sides now that I've figured out how to retain the Bachmann bogie frames which act as gear box seals and host the NEM pockets. Replacement bogie sides in preparation for both the C class and the 121. Fuel tanks also in 'plasticard' shop. Cheers Jonathan, the 121 is progressing slowly with chassis trails today. She's now ready for detailing and glazing, but I will probably 'play' trains for a bit before fitting the all the metal grab rails, etc. I'll pop a video on the layout thread later. The very early B&T 121s didn't have full length walkway rails like the original delivery models, rather just each side of the steps at the bonnet end. I'm debating weather to paint them original weathered tan, or black as per later B&T variants.

Agree GBP£148 seems expensive for a mediocre running chassis with no lights (not to mention a 'shovel') Myself included, and has indeed admirably filled a gap in the RTR market but can be detailed and improved by folks with both the experience and time . . . . . . while waiting for the Inevitable RTR Model that may one day substantially raise the bar for quality and precision

Agree. IMHO that baby GM B&T loco livery was the sharpest and most eye catching livery until the GM 201 mk4 green/grey era. The super train era livery was dull as ditch water from a marketing perspective as well as classic 1970s colour blind dowdy. Reminiscent of soviet era dullness. At least tippex lifted ST livery substantially until green'n'grey. . I like the freight grey 071s if not a little plain.

Oh Yes - pic below posted in the original 'retro livery' thread by NIRCLASS80. Superb photoshop. A73 - Black'n'Tan in wonderland livery Now you've tempting me to try this fictitious livery on an 071 model

Thanks for the encouragement guys. C class ready for finishing in next few days. Due matt varnish today and perhaps some more weathering before adding details and finally chassis runs. Waiting for a sound chip.

Yummie - that looks so real. Clever idea.

CIE 121 progress. White stripes cut, light weathering prior to gloss varnish in preparation for decals. Holes drilled for guard rails and grab handles Tea for two! CIE 121 Class no B121 and CIE C class no B233 both nearing the end of their visits to printshop before detailing and fitting of chassis. The 121 class has an Athearn SW-1500 donor chassis and the C class has a donor chassis from a Murphy Model 141 loco. Had lightly weathered both before varnishing with Humbrol acrylic gloss aerosol can prior to application of decals. Now will seal with Humbrol acrylic matt aerosol varnish to get the shine back off both of them and hopefully make the weathering as visible as it used to be before the gloss. Detailing, glazing and hand rails will be added after they have been sealed. These are my first loco kits so taking it easy and not being to adventurous with specs. Need to learn to walk before I run. Both have centre drive DCC chassis and both will have sound. PS: Yes the B233 decal is too large on the cab ends! As are the roundels too, and the wrong colour!!! Decals are not something I get on with.

Apologies Fran, no prob. That's why I made short post here with the other 121 related posts, but a link to the long post on the workbench thread. Noel Btw, any news on likely ship date for the Murphy Model 121?

121 class. (Next project while waiting for C class bits). This will be an 'iterative' job and take time to bring it up to a standard I am happy to run. Starting with fitting a chassis, painting, glazing, then adding hand rails, grip rails, bits'n'pieces, possible bogie sides, couplings, etc. The MM model is hopefully just around the corner for release, but I was just mildly obsessed with having a 121 class to run in the mean time. Video - Chassis trials before painting Athearn SW-1500 chassis bought on eBay seems to perform well with centre drive, all wheel drive and all wheel pickup. The fuel tank will have to be replaced and investigating replacement or covering of bogies sides. 3D body shell from Shapeways. 8pin DCC socket. It only has head lamps (i.e. no running lights), but these can be easily transferred as there are no daft optic plastics to engineer. Had to cut away metal lugs at each end of the chassis which were used for body screws and the kadee couplings. Not a bad impression of a 121 for a 3D print with some bits added. 1st prime using Halfords which is great for filling the 3D effect. The 3D surface texture will need to be rubbed down Made up some pads to rub 3D surface texture down a bit to get rid of that 3D effect Cut out shapes for chassis mounts and cab flooring Chassis mounting plates installed after height checks for buffer alignment and Kadee gauge test Running trials to check chassis clearance, coupling height, ride height, etc. Note the scale width gap between the buffers (i.e. for 5'3" gauge), ideally I should replace these buffers with sprung oval buffers and move them inboard slightly to match the buffer gaps on rolling stock designed for 4'8.5" gauge. Compromise will be required for compatibility with other stock. Masking - I made the same major boo-boo as on the C Class making the white stripe 1mm wider than needed and had to redo it again later! Mask template on grease proof paper for front end This had to be adjusted to centre the masking After correcting the width of the white stripe - I decided to paint the white strip as a single continuous line and the later paint black over the correct broken sections (i.e. for grill and numbers), because it was easier to mask once in a straight line. Step 1 complete - Next break the white stripe, weathering, decals, rails, grab rails, lights, few bits'n'pices, etc. Pre-finishing track trails - I couldn't help but play trains A pair of black'n'tans at work Now working on varnish, decals, wire fittings, glazing, brake pipes, fixing paint snags, etc. More to follow in due course.

Oh I'm getting just a shade impatient waiting to operate a 121 model. Had been wondering if pairing one of these . . . . . with one of these might carry me over until MM (Murphy Magic) release a 121? It would be a far cry from the detail and correct precision of an injection moulded MM, but may pass the 'duck test' running around the layout in a B&T livery paired with a 141 Ah well, in for a penny, in for a pound: 121 class model to play with in the mean time

Hi Paddy, you may find some of the pics in the thread link below interesting. Noel http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/6024-Track-bed-ballast-experiments

Hi Richie. Interesting idea and I'll look into it. I will see if I can fabricate rigid enough replacement bogie frames in plasticard that Eoin's or even SF's sides could be glued onto (i.e. Eoin's may be a different length to suit the tenshodo spud drive he uses). Cutting the GM sides off the existing bogie frame destroys its integrity which is part of the sealing mechanism for the bogie gears, and the NEM pocket. I know, I know, but sure it'll have to do for now, but almost certain not for too much longer Well Richie I'm really looking forward to seeing the CAD drawings of the IRM A class RTR model when it is announced, and even more looking forward to buying a few IRM A classes when released in 201?. Then 'shovels' will be banished forever from Irish model railway layouts, except for PW track side crews and fire plate crews on Woolich N class. No doubt the IRM model will have working lights, fans, windscreen wipers, opening doors, sound, transparent grill mesh, cab drivers with blinking eyes, and glazing quality yet to be seen on a model loco. We will then be able to nickname SF metrovicks 'Shovel Face', but in the mean time I like them and they continue to pass the 'duck test'. I have absolutely no doubt you can save us all from shovel faces, and looking forward to it. Hi Paul, ah - that's an RTR SF A class I bought two years ago. Its a hideous runner on a Hornby 'rail road' spec chassis. The one on this thread is a resin kit SF C class. I'm hoping it will be a better low speed runner and have scale acceleration/deceleration characteristics without juddering. C classes did a lot of shunting in goods yards. Noel

A light dusting of weathering before a few final touch ups and decals

That's a marvellous series of layouts and photos. Love it. You must have had so much fun with those layouts and the children growing up with model trains.

Hi Paul, Thanks. By 'body' I presume you meant the 141 chassis. Yes, I bought a 'used' MM 141 model on eBay for €90 a few years ago as a donor. Originally the chassis was intended for another loco project I was planning, but I then discovered it was an almost perfect 'drop in' fit for the SF C class. Just had to cut about 4mm off each end of the metal chassis, otherwise its a snug fit and the bogies just clear the forward side panels once the forward brake cylinders are removed. I used a carborundum cutting disc on a mini drill rather than a hack saw. Hopefully it will run really well. Hoping to gloss varnish on Wed, then decals, matt varnish and finally glazing. With some luck it may be finished at the weekend. I'm going to save the spare 'body' parts off the 141 chassis for weathering practice using washes. Thanks Jason, your very kind, but I think not! It's hard enough to find time for the hobby myself. There are plenty of excellent folk on here offering top class respray services. I was just curious to try a few loco projects myself. I have another loco project in the pipe line when this C class is finished, and more goods wagons to convert to Irish and weather.

Hi Paddy, it should be fairly dry within 24hr if you used 50/50% water and PVA mix. If the ballast is actual stone of some kind (rather than synthetic materials) it is known to sometimes darken depending on the stone type, and some granite stone actually almost goes black. There shouldn't be a shine on the ballast after 48hr. PVA mix usually dries and become invisible. Is there any chance you may have pre-wet it with water too much before spreading 50/50 mix on it (i.e. effectively diluting the mix)? It is fairly normal to spray the dry ballast with a mist of water to help capillary action when you subsequently drop 50/50 pva mix on it. Noel

Popeye they are absolutely superb photos. Thanks for posting.

I've used a 141 chassis for the C class. Thank you for the encouragement guys, especially considering the pool of talent and experience from whence it came. Seeing what you guys have achieved inspires beginners like me to try and risk mistakes. Really enjoying the iterative trial and error learning process. I've had to acquire patience and spend time planning before lifting a tool. Currently cutting up a 141 chassis to fit in her, which looks like it should fit perfectly once the redundant brake cylinders are removed from the 141 bogie front ends, or the bogies sides are replaced with the supplied resin ones. I'm loath to do that as the Bachman bogie sides are part of a snap fit unit that seals the gears from dirt. Stripped 141 chassis with part of the metal chassis cut away at both cab ends. Managed to adjust the ride height so she buffers up correctly with rolling stock. Chassis recessed into SF resin body shell using plastic stops. The 141 chassis fits well and the bogies do not foul the front end of the loco when crossing points or on curves because the lead brake cylinders have been removed which gives clearance for bogie to pivot. Fuel tank will need some adjustment too. In the cold light of day some blemishes become apparent, so either my mild tendency for OCD will force me to tidy them up, or I'll try and hide them with weathering. Still trying to decide which way I will get the running lights working as this era of C class did not have head lamps. The MM chassis had tiny LEDs on two small cab PCBs and used clear plastic strips to transfer the light around corners to the outside of the 141 body shell. I may try fibre optic cable and reused the MM PCBs, otherwise 1mm LEDs placed through holes in the body where the moulded light fittings are. Why cut up an MM 141/181? Some might ask why I cut up a lovely MM 141 chassis for a mere Silverfox C class kit, but it was just cost maths, alternatives such as a pair of BlackBeetle 27:1 ratio power bogies cost nearly as much as a 141/181, yet I'd still have to fabricate a chassis, and a Hollywood Foundry centre drive chassis would have cost more than an MM loco. I really wanted a precision centre drive chassis with all wheel pickup and all wheel drive for slow running quality and prototypical behaviour when shunting, etc, and sacrificing an MM 141/181 made sense because it cost less but delivered all the goodies including all the electrics such as 21pin DCC socket, lights, speaker cradle, etc. Like many others I've been able to acquire baby GMs for anything between €80-105. I apologise to anybody who considers I have committed modelling heresy Also a B&T C class hauling loose coupled goods wagons or a pair of coaches for rural branch passenger traffic really appeals to me. If this works well, I will try another in flying snail Green livery. PS: stripping the bachmann/MM chassis was painful and as complicated as doing a jigsaw in reverse - I had serious doubts about the wisdom of such a move, but as they say burn your bridges and there can be no going back.

Hi John. Thanks for info, however I was not able to send you a PM, your PM box is full. Noel

Well done guys. The hours that went into the cad drawings and collecting the raw data must have been vast. Great team effort. You must all be so relived and now pleased to see the wagons in their natural habitat on a layout.

C class progressing. Mask templates for front of cab (i.e. masking tape on grease proof paper for cutting to shape) Almost ready for decals, weathering and varnishing. I decided to go for the narrow stepped tan band. Just the red buffer beam and door flashing to paint, then decals, and a few bits to be added. As per Richie's recommendation I have found the Vallejo paints a joy to use (model air). Like their bottles and caps cause you can measure fairly accurately by counting drops from the narrow bottle neck with minimal waste. The paint covers really nice and smoothly and seems the perfect viscosity for air brush use. Hi Paul, Your very kind but I'm a 'complete novice' myself slowly and cautiously trying to learn this stuff. Few pot holes along the way, but really enjoying the journey. The Tamiya acrylics came from idmodels.ie and marks models, the Vallejo acrylic paints from everythingairbrush.com, and the halfords plastic grey primer from halfords. The veda airbrush and compressor from bartsharp.co.uk on Richie's recommendation, and for weathering the railmatch acrylics paints and acrylic thinners from howesmodels.co.uk. Mixing jars and masking tape (tamiya and model craft) from Marksmodels. Noel

Bizarre anybody would pay £99ea when they will be retailing for £79 as per SF's other coach pricing!!! Dave, as these were pre-production samples do you know if John is likely to make correctional changes before going into production? The photo of the 6 wheel HLV seemed to pass the 'duck test' other than the shade of tan, the loose glazing, painted on grab rail instead of wire, and the hideous 1970s tension lock coupling. Needs a NEM pocket.