David's Workbench

[Noel]

David, as Jimmy Magee once famously said about Diego Maradona on TV this modelling is "A different class . . . different class"

If you have any video clips of the stock in operation would love to see it.

[PaulC]

Just unbelievable work.  I think the modeller is his own worst critic knowing every little blemish and wrong path taken when striving for perfection.  To everyone else, you have achieved perfection and have to deal with the green eyes of envy.  Presently, I'm very very green!

Paul

[popeye]

It all looks great to me but i think you are a perfectionist.

You know where the bad bits are so you see them but nobody else does. 

[David Holman]

Thanks chaps, but were you able to see closer you would note that:

- there are gaps where will glazing does do not fit properly on both ends of the trailer

- half the panes are stained on the inside by solvent;

- the trailer sides go inwards at the waist, I think this happened when I was filing the roof and squeezed the body;

- there is paint on the inside of the glazing that I can't get to to clean off

 It all stems from my decision to fix the roof on before filing it to shape. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I hadn't noticed all the issues with the glazing. This is sandwiched between inner and outer layers, so with the roof fixed on is impossible to replace without a complete rebuild.

 The trouble is that once you know something is there, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Oh yes, and the paint job may look alright in the pictures, but is nowhere near like you get from an air brush or spray can.

 At least the positive comments make me feel better, so many thanks for that. Am sure it will be fine for a while and with a compensated chassis, plus pick ups on the trailer bogie, should run well, but if I have time before the Uckfield show in October, the trailer will get rebuilt. The audience are very close at this venue and given they pay good money to come in, I always feel I owe folk to do the best I can. Should be able to salvage the bogie, seats and roof, while the tractor unit is (fingers crossed) fine.

 It may even benefit from simply being left alone for a bit while I do something else. This has worked before, but I'm not holding my breath!

 I had (proper) flu in early December and the lyrics of David Crosby from the great hippy anthem 'Almost Cut My Hair' on the Déjà Vu album come to mind:

"Because I had flu at Christmas, I'm not feeling up to par,

It increases my paranoia, like looking in the mirror and seeing a po-lice car."

 Well, I know what I mean. I think!

[jhb171achill]

Or "looking in the mirror and seeing a rail-car"?

[David Holman]

Thought I'd better show you what is bugging me about the railcar...

The glazing at the rear was missed when I put the roof on. As you can see, there is a gap at the top. Measure twice, cut once etc. The rest of the glazing is just poor workmanship I'm afraid. When I eventually rebuild the trailer, I must make it so the roof is removable and the glazing pants can slide in after painting.

 However, from a distance of a couple of feet or more, the model is ok, while if you are looking at the photos on a laptop screen, then the model is at least 4x life size [it is actually just 7" long]. At least it has captured the character of the prototype and hopefully I can keep that when it is eventually rebuilt.

[Irishrailwayman]

43 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Thought I'd better show you what is bugging me about the railcar...

The glazing at the rear was missed when I put the roof on. As you can see, there is a gap at the top. Measure twice, cut once etc. The rest of the glazing is just poor workmanship I'm afraid. When I eventually rebuild the trailer, I must make it so the roof is removable and the glazing pants can slide in after painting.

 However, from a distance of a couple of feet or more, the model is ok, while if you are looking at the photos on a laptop screen, then the model is at least 4x life size [it is actually just 7" long]. At least it has captured the character of the prototype and hopefully I can keep that when it is eventually rebuilt.

You could consider using Deluxe Glue and Glaze to cover the gap for now?

[Andy Cundick]

Been there tried it no it didn't,Andy

[David Holman]

Nice thought, but I have to agree with Andy. It is ok for signal spectacles and similar small, round holes, but not these apertures.

[David Holman]

A new building

 I've probably said this before, but what I love most about our hobby is that it takes you in so many different directions and after the self induced stresses of the railcar, it seemed something different was appropriate. Hence another building for Fintonagh - 'The Tram'.

 Yet another pub/bar, this one slightly different in that it will not be fixed down, as it covers the baseboard & back scene joint. Very much freelance, inspiration came from some of my own pictures, plus one or two in the Alphagraphix catalogue. Construction is around a foam board core, though the rendering is more simply done than before, using good quality drawing paper stuck down with PVA. The paper has a degree of texture and can be cut & folded into window & door apertures, saving quite a bit of time compared to covering with DAS clay. This works even better in smaller scales & when painted [Precision 'weathered rendering'], it seems to enhance the textured surface a little too.

 Windows & doors are plasticard sheet & strip, the former built on clear glazing to give the correct rebate you see on sashes. The roof is mounting board, covered with strips of drawing paper snipped with scissors to give 18" x 12" slates. Guttering is my usual 80thou  plastic, with the outer edge sanded round and 80thou plastic rod for the down pipes. Two layers of masking tape, cut into thin strips represent the mounting plates. Other details included some etched door furniture [Scale Link], a cast white metal chimney pot, tissue paper for net curtains and coloured paper for the main curtains. The pub sign is a colour picture reduced from the one in the Ragstone kit of the Sharp Stewart 0-4-2T, while the name board was done on the computer.

 Painting is mostly Tamiya acrylics [apart from the rendering] , plus Precision 'slate' for the roof. Needless to say, a fair amount of care was taken with the glazing!

 A bit more weathering is still required - I imagine this will a local more on the seedy side of life. The fact that the curtains are drawn on the bar, even in daytime, suggests something nefarious is going on inside, perhaps. Eventually, while groundwork will be built up around the base of the building, much of it will be hidden by a 6 foot stone wall that will separate the railway track from the road, while an extra tree should hide the right hand side where it meets the back scene..

[jhb171achill]

Is the premises of N Johnston there possibly that of a well known railway book publisher?

See you in the Tram - it's just sixpence a pint. Up the road in Omagh it's seven pence - ridiculous. How are you supposed to live on £3 a week with that sort of thing? Hornby coaches are now nine shillings* each!

(* 45p / €0.50c)

[David Holman]

Correct, JB and next door is Patterson's chemist. Not sure what 'Edward M' was a doctor of, but I like to include these pioneering authors where I can. When I went to college, beer was 14p a pint, though with a friend behind the bar you could get 7/8 of a pint of McEwan's Export with a [pint] bottle of Newcastle Brown for 22p. Guinness was available for a while, but the suppliers insisted on a minimum of one nine gallon barrel a week, which proved a bit much with only 4 of us drinking it on a regular basis.

[jhb171achill]

Ah! That's 72 pints. Here, they were 88 pints!

First round of drink I ever bought, about 1976, was three pints and you had change from a £1 note. 32p a pint.

A night out with £5 was quite feasible. 50p to get into a night club, 32p a pint, and a burger PLUS chips on the way home 36 or 38p....

[GNRi1959]

11 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Is the premises of N Johnston there possibly that of a well known railway book publisher?

See you in the Tram - it's just sixpence a pint. Up the road in Omagh it's seven pence - ridiculous. How are you supposed to live on £3 a week with that sort of thing? Hornby coaches are now nine shillings* each!

(* 45p / €0.50c)

Next time I'm talking to Normans son Wesley I'll tell him that his dads memory lives on. I first met the man in 1975 - a real gentleman.

[David Holman]

Not surprised to hear that about Norman Johnson, while modellers and historians are forever in his debt. The likes of Des Coakham, E M Patterson, JC Boyd etc to name but a few as well. In mainland Britain, there were a great number of people recording the railway scene. Indeed, probably a book or two on pretty much any subject you could wish for. Researching the Irish scene nowhere near as easy, so we must also be thankful for the IRRS, Neil Sprinks, Tom Ferris and JHB of this parish of course.

Thank you all!

[DLTaylor]

Lovely modelling Dave, as I've said elsewhere.

Cheers, Dave.T

[David Holman]

The Temperance Hotel

 With a couple of boozers on the layout, I thought it might be an idea to do something for the Temperance movement. Purely historical interest of course - as someone with a 50 bottle wine rack, happy to refill it with a 'booze run' a couple of times a year, I'm not about to sign the pledge any time soon! A small advantage to living in SE England is its proximity to France and a day trip to a supermarche makes a nice outing, especially as it will include lunch too. Indeed, it is arguably quicker for me to drive to Switzerland, than it is to Scotland.

 Be that as it may, having got the bit between my teeth with the Tram Inn, the next building along, being very low relief, promised a fairly quick build - and so it has proved. Perhaps the hardest bit was deciding what the building would be, but a leaf through one of my favourite books soon provided the answer. John Ahern's 'Model Building Construction' was first produced in 1950, when 'cow gum' and 'Seccotine' were the acme in terms of adhesives, while PVA probably hadn't even been thought of. However, what the book does is take you through all the techniques you might need in terms of building structures, while [because of its age], the models described are ideal for the period of 1930s to 1950s. John Ahern of course was the man who built the Madder Valley Railway - one of the first ever truly scenic layouts - which can still be seen at Pendon Museum. The Temperance Hotel can be seen in Madderport & this gave me the spark of an idea.

 According to Google, the temperance movement in Ireland, dedicated to lowering alcohol consumption, involved both Protestant & Catholic leaders. The Teetotal Abstinence Society was founded in 1838, with thousands signing the pledge. However, in 1898 one James Cullen founded the Pioneer Total Abstinance Association, apparently because enthusiasm for the original group was fading. Hence, it seemed appropriate to give him a mention on my hotel & tea rooms.

 All in all then, a lengthy pre-amble to a bit of low relief modelling. The building is made in the same way as the Tram Inn. I did add a bit of interior detail, which can just be seen above the net curtains & through the doors. Extra colour is provided by the window box, which is just a piece of balsa, covered in Woodlands 'medium scatter' and sprinkled with a red flower mix. The tricky bit has been trying to blend the model into the back scene. The roof line needs adjusting slightly & of course the paving slabs are yet to be added, but overall, it was an enjoyable little exercise.

[jhb171achill]

Temperance? Temperance? No, I don't go for these new craft beers. Gimme a pint of stout any day.

I like the cracked road surface. How did you make that?

[David Holman]

One of the redoubtable Mr Gravett's ideas, JB. The sub structure of the road is mounting board, set with a piece running longitudinally down the centre, to give the camber. The card is then covered with gloss enamel paint [dark grey] and then liberally coated with talc while still wet. Spread evenly and allow to dry before vacuuming up the residue. The crack you mention is actually a joint between two pieces of card, filled with DAS clay and sanded smooth. Tippex works well to simulate road repairs too. More paint/talc on top of course. Another way of doing road surfaces is to use wet & dry sandpaper. Precision paints do a nice matt tarmac is you go this way.

 Given the layout is 7mm scale, a smooth road surface still works well, so smaller scales certainly don't need anything coarse.

[David Holman]

Model T Ford Tipper Truck

 This was my Christmas present to me - in other words, the missus gave me some spending money for the Reading Trade Show back in early December. It is a Duncan Models white metal kit. I started it on Boxing Day and have been faffing around with it ever since, mainly because I'd forgotten what a pain white metal kits are to put together.

 The castings are ok, though the very nature of them makes things rather chunky, with overthink edges. The main problem I find with white metal is that nothing much wants to stick to it, apart from 5 minute epoxy. Yes, I could have used low melt solder, but I don't have a temperature controlled iron, while superglue really doesn't like it at all - something to do with the release agent on the castings. So, clean up a piece, mix & apply the epoxy, find a way of holding the two pieces together for 5 minutes & repeat an nauseam...

 Life would have been a little easier had some of the parts fitted better, the front mud guards being especially awkward. The instructions were a bit basic too and although there was an exploded diagram, it wasn't completely helpful in telling me where to put things. So, constant referral to Google was needed to get a better idea. However, Model T Fords came in a huge number of varieties and were subsequently altered by their owners to suit their needs, so in the end, I rather made it up as I went along.

 For example, the kit comes with a rather open cab [no side windows] & I'm guessing it would not have taken too many soft days to add a more enclosed version. A bit of work with plastic sheet sorted that out. The front end gave me all sorts of angst - at one point, I was going to make up my own springs and steering arms from brass, but in the end, just added a few bits from wire. As for the hand cracked mechanism to make the tipper work, I really have no idea how the castings provided would work. Suffice to say, the vertical column with a screw thread was replaced with a 10BA bolt after the casting broke - another issue with white metal - and the other bits stuck in place as per instructions.

 As for painting, though it seems a lot were indeed 'any colour you like, as long as it is black',  though many got 'improved' by their owners. Given that this one will be at least 15-20 years old [Fintonagh is set in the late '30s], more than a bit of rust and dirt has accumulated. The tipper section and roof are Ford Laurel Green, while the rest is the usual spray can matt black.

 Thankfully, it doesn't have to run [!] being just a static model that will probably end up at the front edge of the goods yard, collecting builders sand/gravel from one of the open wagons.

[minister_for_hardship]

A real-life Ford T with added weatherproofing.

[murrayec]

Hi

A know a guy, his Da many moons ago stored a 1:1 Model T in parts, in his attic! Later the house was sub-divided and access to get it out was lost- bar opening up the roof or a ceiling. Don't know if it is still there.......

Eoin

 

[Broithe]

20 minutes ago, murrayec said:

Hi

A know a guy, his Da many moons ago stored a 1:1 Model T in parts, in his attic! Later the house was sub-divided and access to get it out was lost- bar opening up the roof or a ceiling. Don't know if it is still there.......

Eoin

 

I built a kit-car in the 80s. I started doing "just the odd bit" in the back room during the winter - until it escalated to the point where I actually had the entire bodywork assembled, for trial-run purposes. There just a single doorway to the outside world.

I had a chap knock the door trying to sell double-glazing. As I evaded buying anything off him, he tried "Do you need any patio doors?" I pointed out that the usual sliding doors and French windows just wouldn't be suitable. "What do you want then?" - "A one-piece, six-foot square, up-and-over." - I showed him the room with the full-size car in it and the small door out into the garden. "I will get you a quote!", he declared, but I never heard anything...

I often wonder what happened when he got back to the office with his 'lead'...?

[Warbonnet]

9 minutes ago, Broithe said:

I built a kit-car in the 80s. I started doing "just the odd bit" in the back room during the winter - until it escalated to the point where I actually had the entire bodywork assembled, for trial-run purposes. There just a single doorway to the outside world.

I had a chap knock the door trying to sell double-glazing. As I evaded buying anything off him, he tried "Do you need any patio doors?" I pointed out that the usual sliding doors and French windows just wouldn't be suitable. "What do you want then?" - "A one-piece, six-foot square, up-and-over." - I showed him the room with the full-size car in it and the small door out into the garden. "I will get you a quote!", he declared, but I never heard anything...

I often wonder what happened when he got back to the office with his 'lead'...?

How did you get the car out? Or do you have your dinner sitting in it every day?

[Broithe]

Just now, Warbonnet said:

How did you get the car out? Or do you have your dinner sitting in it every day?

It was a soft-top thing and I removed the windscreen, rollover bar and steering wheel, turned it on its side and two of us carried it out into the garden, largely in one piece - I did have to cut just a small notch out of the door frame, to allow the 'peak' of the dashboard to go through, and glue it back in after..

This sort of thing.

[WRENNEIRE]

A little off topic but I had to stick it in

With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it's only a matter of time before we get a country song where a guy's truck leaves him too.

[David Holman]

Didn't Kenny Rogers once do ' You picked a fine time to leave me, Loose Wheel'?

[Weshty]

On 1/14/2018 at 10:05 PM, jhb171achill said:

A night out with £5 was quite feasible. 50p to get into a night club, 32p a pint, and a burger PLUS chips on the way home 36 or 38p....

I should hope so!  1976 £1   =  2017 €13.50    Plenty drinking in that.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Weshty

[PaulC]

Perhaps it's a little stereotypical, but I wouldn't expect to find that story regarding the kit car to be on anything but an Irish based forum! 

Pulling it back on topic, that Model T is just superb. I really hate white metal kit building with a Springside models offering still sitting on the workbench a year later. The epoxy gluing doesn't bother me so much, it's applying things such as windows that has halted me.  

Paul

[jhb171achill]

That tatty, scruffy oul heap of a Model T is just perfect!

it occurred to me too, that the cab part could be useful in making a model of one of the Blessington line's pair of 4-wheeled Ford Railcars....

[Andy Cundick]

Couple of points for the Blessington cars as well as Donegal 2 & 3 only the bonnet is usable.For whitemetal kits i find the the gel/thick type cynos do a good job and as for glazing on vehicles Microscale Crystal Clear works really well.Andy

[David Holman]

Two more buildings

 The half relief back scene is creeping towards the left hand end of the layout with two more structures. The first is just a plain, rendered house, deliberately scruffy looking, while the second is a shop selling old books and paintings, with an art studio on the floors above.

 The first few photos show how the 'rendered' walls are simply watercolour paper stuck on to the foam board walls, over the window and door apertures, which are then cut through with a scalpel and folded back on the inside. There is also a picture showing how I make guttering, by filing a rounded edge on a strip of plasticard. From most angles [apart from below], the ruse is not noticeable. Another picture shows the roof slates, made from overlapping strips of the same watercolour paper.

 Both the art shop and the house are inspired by pictures of buildings in MRJ's 'Inkerman Street' layout by the incomparable late Bob Barlow. For me, they perfectly captured the scene in the 1940s. The window displays are just printouts available from the CG textures website, which also gave me the curtains and venetian blinds in the windows. The latter are made up from micro strip on perspex sheet - tedious to fabricate, but it gives a decent impression of the depth with sash windows. In several places, I have tried to blend the low relief into the painted back scene, while eventually a largish tree will hopefully hide some of the issues with perspective. More 'snake oil' than 'trompe l'oeil' though!

 Just one more building to go on the back scene now & then I can start working outwards towards the front.

[PaulC]

Stunning work once again.  I must look at this watercolour paper for rendering walls as you have done. It looks very effective and a much more straight forward approach than pasting with filler or such like. 

Paul

[murrayec]

Hi David

Amazing street, great workmanship, it has a nice ould feel to it.....

Eoin

[PJR]

Super looking buildings, well done.