Variant of the Carl Arendt SAP Line

[lesmond]

Hi Simon,

Here you are:

https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/sho ... holes-124/

Les

[lesmond]

After a few late nights at work last week, and the local club show at the weekend (it was excellent, there were a couple of 009 layouts and one in 0-16.5, I'm all inspired again ).

Tonight's job was to make a template for the control panel on squared paper, tape it to the aluminium plate, and centre punch through the paper to allow me to drill out the holes for the section switches and other controls. So that is just what I did .

2016-04-25 21.03.14 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

I'll drill it tomorrow night, then take it to the signwriters later in the week to get a vinyl overlay printed for it.

I've Saturday booked for woodwork (the mrs needs new display stands for craft fairs) so I'm going to get the first coat of varnish on the back of the mdf sections and also on the exposed bits of the baseboard. If all goes according to plan I'll get the undercoat on the pink foam too. I'm thinking of a grey / brown mix to start.

[Nevadablue]

Looks good Les. I'll need a control panel for turnouts and things like the incline mine and windmill one of these days. hmmm...

Woodwork? My lady wants me to do this woodwork...

[lesmond]

Hi Ken - I'd love something like that, but I'd need a garden first, not the tiny bit between me and the street.

Display stand made (wonderful what you can do with a pallet ) so on to more interesting things.

I've finally finished the mdf panels. They now connect together and join to the baseboard, making for a fairly stable structure. As more bits are added to them this will improve again.

2016-02-02 20.06.07 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

2016-04-30 14.54.35 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

The woodscrews need tobe slightly better countersunk, but thats an easy thing.

I then took it all apart again for varnishing. This first coat more or less disappeared, so I'll give it a few more over the next few days and hopefully get a half decent finish on it.

2016-04-30 15.27.06 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

Les

[Nevadablue]

It is amazing how much finish some surfaces can suck in.

Looking good Les, I'm enjoying the ride.

[lesmond]

Cheers, Ken - I'll give it another couple of coats tomorrow when I'm down at work feeding the cats.

Les

[lesmond]

Another step forward today. Down to work briefly to feed the cats / children this morning, so I gave the mdf panels a light rub with very fine sand paper. Time was against me so I didn't get any more varnish on. Another couple of coats should do the job, so I'll do that in the morning. No work tomorrow due to the bank holiday, so no-one to bother me .

Yesterday I cut three blocks to finish the mount for the turntable. These are 20mm square, and lift the turntable to within 1mm or so of where it needs to be just above "ground" level. Today I drilled a central hole in each block to hold a small bolt. The bolt head is held captive in a countersunk hole just too small for it. I drew the bolt heads in by tightening the nut against a washer. They will not move, but also won't be subjected to huge pressure either.

** Picture lost due to the PhotoBucket debacle **

The three blocks then were positioned on the bottom of the turntable assembly in a triangle

** Picture lost due to the PhotoBucket debacle **

and once I was happy with the positioning, glued in place.

** Picture lost due to the PhotoBucket debacle **

The plan now is to extend the turntable track temporarily using two Hornby R600 short straight track pieces, then use the increased length and a square to make sure that the track is at right angles to the square edge of the baseboard at the left hand side. I'll have a dab of paint on each of the bolt ends, which will make a mark on the ply baseboard and show me where to drill the mounting holes for the turntable assembly. I'll make these slightly (1 or maybe 1.5mm) oversize to allow for very precise adjustment. I'll use washers between the blocks and the baseboard to raise the whole thing for perfect alignment.

Once the turntable is in place the rest of the track can be aligned to it, and then once I've carved some more humps and hollows into the pink foam, I can paint it, lay the track and finally play with the trains.

I expect there will be a considerable break (and possibly some temporary cardboard buildings) while I drive trains on my own layout for the first time in a great number of years, giggle, and more importantly make sure that everything works 100% properly before moving on to the great unknown (and steep learning curve) of making buildings and scenery that look like something I'd be happy to show to other people.

Les

[lesmond]

Quite the day today - a locomotive ran on the layout for the first time .

Unfortunately I wasn't able to record the momentous occasion, which was probably for the best as it was an On30 0-4-2 Porter and so a bit heretical. I'm over the moon though, I'd quite forgotten what a joy it is to just get something to move, even if it was only for 4" or so.

Anyway, lots done today. I added a third coat of varnish to the mdf panels after a very light sand. They now are starting to look like something after the first two coats mainly soaking into the mdf board. I'll add another coat tomorrow and see how that looks when it dries.

Today was also turntable mounting day. I've been nervous about this job even though I've given it a lot of thought.

I used white acrylic paint on the bottom of the mounting bolts to show where the holes in the ply base needed to go. I didn't get this just right first go, so the fainter paint marks are the correct ones. This was the third attempt.

** Picture to follow once found **

I then marked the sites for the holes with pencil marks, cleaned the paint off, and drilled the three holes. I made them oversize to allow for adjustment. The turntable was a right b*****r to place, as it needed washers on the bolts between the baseboard and the spacers to shim the top up enough for the thing to actually turn. I ended up with the layout on its side in order for things to stay in place while trying to align the three holes.

The final position is just off centre in the hole in the pink foam. This is accidental but ok as it is a hair (2mm or so) further back from the front edge and disaster if a train moves off in the wrong direction. I'll likely add a model low wall around this to prevent bad temper and very harsh language in the future. The "ground" falls away quite steeply in front of the turntable, so this won't look out of place.

Once the turntable was in place but not bolted down I tried it, and to my delight and great relief, it worked almost perfectly. There is a slight catch on the pink foam at one position, but this will not matter in operation as it is well outside the 90 degree range needed.



I then very carefully tipped the layout on to its side again, and added washers and the securing bolts to the underside.



I then tested it again, and it still worked as before. I had a wee sit down and some extra blood pressure tablets at this point

Next I temporarily added the acrylic "wings" to make sure that they cleared everything too (they do). These will eventually be covered in chequer plate plasticard, with a further strip over the sleepers of the track to disguise the OO origin.



I made a very short video of it in operation, with an epic fail at the end:

https://youtu.be/PzDYreQn8hw

I then got all paranoid about the alignment between the turntable track and the two tracks coming off it, and was worried that locomotives and wagons wouldn't successfully bridge the gap (its just under 1mm). I bodged together track feeds using crocodile clip test leads, and used a H&M Clipper controller which I've had for nearly 40 years for speed and ease. The Bachmann On30 Porter mentioned above ran back and forward on and off the turntable several times, again to my great relief.

Plenty done today, plenty more still to do. Next is to take the turntable out again, wire it, and then finally glue the track on to it.

Sorry for a long post.

Les

[Nevadablue]

I'm not sorry for the long post... It was very enjoyable. This is looking serious now. I like the digital rotation control on the turntable too.

Nothing wrong with On30 Porters in Gn15, IMO. Take the cab off and the driver sits nicely. I have two of these that I got from Verne Niner. Neither are RC yet, but they will be.

[lesmond]

Thanks for the kind words, Ken, it really is starting to take shape.

Your Porter has inspired me for some time, one may well yet appear, although it was the fill of the turntable!

Les

[Nevadablue]

Yeah, the guys in the loco shop cobbled the miniature Porter together at the request of the guys in town. They looked at a full size one and just started hacking metal. They still need to extend the stack a bit and put on some proper controls and maybe even a cab. Who knows...

[Nipissing]

Nothing wrong with On30 Porters in Gn15...

You're absolutely right!

Capture.JPG (33.36 KiB) Viewed 4948 times

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo

[lesmond]

Five coats of varnish later, and we're getting somewhere:

2016-04-30 15.27.06 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

Two more ought to do it.

Slow but steady progress.

Les

[lesmond]

There's been a lot of family and work stuff to deal with (as well as a good dose of can't be a*sed, lets watch the telly) recently, but I've been prodded back into life by the progress on Geoff's tar pits micro.

Further updates (mainly experiments on how to make a realistic puddle) to follow...

Les

[Steve Welch]

Hi Les,

Micro is looking good, just read through the whole thread as I'm catching up on all things Gn15 after being busy with other things for a while.

Quick question - what varnish did you use on the MDF? I recently tried some that just sat on the surface and eventually cracked off so I'd be interested in what you used.

All the best
Steve

[lesmond]

Hi Steve, and thanks for the kind words.

I used "Tommy Walsh DIY Time Clear Gloss Varnish" from Poundland / Poundworld (not 100% sure which one sells it) straight from the tin as its quite thin. The first two coats soaked straight in and had a light sand when dry, then the subsequent coats started to look like something.

Les

[Steve Welch]

Thanks Les - I'll hunt some down....

Steve

[lesmond]

Right then.. a month and a bit from my last post. Lots of work stuff going on, as well as this wee man arriving:

2016-08-01 14.12.30 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

have kept things busy.

The Erne MRC show was on yesterday, and a good friend and I paid it a visit. This is always a great show, and a chance to catch up with folk I've not seen for a while. For reasons lost to the mists of time members of the Model Railway Society of Ireland (from Dublin) work the door at this show, even though its 115 miles one way for them. Always good to see them and catch up.

Anyway, my local club had a layout at the show, and have invited me to exhibit at their forthcoming show next April. Outwardly I was all smiles, inwardly it was more a case of "oh b****x how do I get this done?". I'm both delighted and honoured to be invited, though.

So, with that in mind, work has recommenced. I need to make the ground look like something, and have in mind a section of concrete hard standing leading up to the bagging shed, then rough ground along the lines of this:

Yellow_Gum_carpark by lesmond2009, on Flickr

at the right hand side where the curved track is.

So, using a bit of scrap pink foam I carved out some contours and a puddle using a sharp knife (the type with snap off blades fully extended so its nice and bendy), a razor saw scraped over the top, some bits picked out with pointy pliers, and finally the whole thing smoothed with a very well used foam sanding block.




I then mixed up a darkish grey colour using acrylic paint, and while it was still yet sprinkled and then tapped down with my finger some sieved ash from a wood burner which has the colour and texture I'm looking for.

It ended up looking like this (not quite dry yet):

** Pictures to follow once I find them again **

which is about what I'm looking for. Some sparse grass, clutter (bits of broken pallet, bricks etc) and it should look ok, I think (please feel free to comment, laugh, suggest, criticise ).

The next job is to create the puddle in the middle. I'm going to use some poured varnish after I populate the bottom of it with some tiny stones, some more ash, and hope that the paint seals the foam enough that the varnish doesn't make the whole thing into a smelly puddle. As the varnish is in work and I'm not, this is a job for tomorrow night.

All being well progress will now be rapid

Les

[lesmond]

The paint dried successfully overnight, and is holding the ash in place nicely, although a mist of thinned pva will seal the finished job.

Off to Poundworld this afternoon on the way from work for a small tin of varnish, then home for some more experiments. The first one is that the varnish used doesn't melt pink foam when put directly on it (a good thing), so I added some tiny stones to the bottom of the hole (its a bit bigger than a mere puddle) then poured some varnish in until it looked "right" for depth.

It looks like this:

2016-09-19 19.10.59 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

with really bad lighting, and like this with Pete surveying it:

2016-09-19 19.12.53 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

For a first go experiment I'm happy enough. I'll let it dry for a day or two and see how it looks then.

[Steve Welch]

Looks OK to me Les. I was expecting the varnish to just disappear straight through the foam but it looks likes you have found some varnish that is safe to use. I did something similar on an old layout except that I used the blue foam rather than the pink variety.

With the blue foam I just needed to depress it with something like a smooth screwdriver handle where I needed puddles - it held its shape just fine. I don't know if you can use this method on the pink stuff as I've never used it. Also, instead of varnish I used 'Future' floor polish - took a fair few coats but it looked OK in the end.

Your method looks just as good though.

best rgds
Steve

[lesmond]

Hi Steve,

Its my favourite Poundworld stuff again .

I was expecting it to eat through the foam like the acid blood from Alien, but it didn't hurt it at all. Its been in the workshop now for a week (I haven't) but I'll hopefully get a look at it tomorrow night.

I like the idea of using a screwdriver handle to depress the foam. I'm going to try the same thing on the pink foam with some pebbles to get a slightly more irregular shape. Results as I have them as the texture is slighlty different to the blue type.

Les

[Nevadablue]

Looks good Les. The puddle is a black hole forming...

[lesmond]

As ever, no progress to speak of on this one.

This arrived from Shapeways last week c/o Teebee Models (thanks, Tom ):

** Photo link wrecked by PhotoBucket - watch this space **

which will be the basis for the first and possibly only motive power on the line.

I'm planning a stryene footplate, bonnet and sides of the engine cover from an Airfix Drewry shunter with a bigger radiator on the front, and a basic half cab with controls and the driver seated sideways. This will be another learning curve, as I've not used plastic to model with for a good many years.

[Nevadablue]

Oh, very nice!

[lesmond]

Nearly two years since this one say the light of day, which is a sad state of affairs. However, back on track now, and I'm going to push on and finish it for hopefully inclusion in next years NDMRS show.

This one (all innocence here):

2017-08-13 20.34.02 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

decided that the foam "ground" would make a good scratching post, so there has been some damage to the back left corner:

2017-08-13 19.47.07 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

Thankfully this isn't in a viewable area, but even it it were it would be an easy repair as the foam is very forgiving. I marked out the damaged area, and cut it out with a bread knife while the mrs was upstairs .

It now looks like this:

2017-08-13 19.47.07 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

The plastic tube carries the power feed to the back section of track. I'll cut a new piece of foam and glue it into place in the next few days.

The next job was to fix the foam to the ply base. So, after a liberal application of PVA we have this:

2017-08-13 19.55.10 by lesmond2009, on Flickr

which I'll leave to set overnight.

So far, so good

Les