1981 Workbench

was looking through some stock boxes in the garage (building new stock boxes so I can junk the old ones) the other day and came across this. As teanager I recall building the body from scratch using card in about 1981 from some plans in one of the mags. I presume it's a Midland Railway van. I'm tempted to give it a refurb and to put it into departmental use. The rust on the wheels is real BTW!

Beaconsfield MRS Show, 4 Oct 2008

Catcott Burtle performed remarkably well, with only one actual prod needed with about 20 mins to go. The little Johnson 1P 0-4-4 rebuilt by guru Philip Hall was at total dream to run - it not missing a beat all day, and so smoothly too! In the evening the layout took a round trip via north Bucks to the outlaws, with the result that we have only just returned home.

Much to my surprise the layout is all in one piece behind me all lit up and dandy, this will mean I can get on taking it to the next level (further detailing and tweeks etc) rather than having to fix things that broke. One thing I will need to do is to put some locating pins or velcrow between the base of the layout and the trestles to stop it drifting about in top of them which it did a couple of times! This was on my list to do prior to the show but alas I ran out of time.

I hope to be able to use the same trestles and drape for Cement Quay which is next out on Sat 19 Jan 09 at the Astolat Guildford show (one day show). This will raise Cement Quay's height from its present 3'6" to 4'2" which should imrove the viewing of the diorama type of approach to this layout.

11th Hour at Catcott Burtle

With Catcott Burtle about to hit the road for the very first time this coming weekend (Sat 4 October) at the Beaconsfield show, a little time was spent sorting out the allotment opposite the crossing keeper's cottage.

Here goes: Sweet peas/beans supports were bits of wire soldered up and painted. Onions (or leeks) are dyed hemp stuck into holes (as used for the reeds on the nearby drain). Strawberries (or such) simply Heiki foliage. Woodland Scenics would be just as good. Dab of paint here and there. Same used for the beans/peas. Slug eaten cabbages are little squares of printer paper (1x1cm) soaked in greeny brown acrylic (cheap set from Tesco) squeezed and rolled into balls whilst wet. Mucky job. Loose earth is Treemendous 'real earth' courtesy of some geezer called Marriott.

Reflection

The top shot of Catcott Burtle shows the original concept from July 2007, this illustration being from a Photoshopped pencil sketch knocked up during an idle moment.

The lower shot shows how the project has actaully come to fruition, for once actually not too far off track for a change. I suppose this project is none too complicated from a design point of view.

No computer jiggery in the lower shots of the actual layout. This is something I wanted to achieve after adding fake skies to the dozens of layouts photographed over the last year or two. Catcott, I hope will be successful in giving the exhibition goer the same experience as the one normally reserved for the printed page............

Looking ahead, as this tiny layout gets to stage of completion, where should I go next? My model making currently covers 3 areas; 009 narrow gauge, modern image and this transition era scenario. I suppose would probably be an idea to use one of the three so as not to have to build more stock ....

Rust, rust and more rust .....

Here are a couple of Bachmann 16 tonners picked up the other day. 'Before' and after about 90 mins work with 'sleeper grime' applied with a small paint brush - a dollop here, a dollop there, until it's everywhere. It was then washed over with various shades of matt emulsion paint in colours you'd never buy for interior decorating - unless you are goth or manic depressive.

Inspiration here http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/

The old car

My other interest is old cars; here's my rebuilt 1978 MGBGT posed near the railway bridge at Totter's Lane in Hampshire, whilst on one of my jaunts out to photograph the real thing.
I've had this car for 10 years now. In that time it's had a full mechanical rebuild and respray in Carmine Red, the car's orginal colour. This smart car has also had several other modifications to make it more suitable for today's faster roads.

Sunny South Special?

Sporting a rather jolly 'Cathedrals Express' headboard on what is in fact 'The Sunny South Special', No. 6233 The Duchess of Sutherland is captured powering past Coxes Mill near Addlestone on a not so sunny Wednesday 13 August 2008.

Let's Fiddle

Catcott Update

OK, about 2 hours work today got the whirlygig fiddleyard baseboards together. Here they are in all their glory in approximate position without 360 deg sector plates - seen here held together with masking tape and various bits from around the house whilst the glue sets. The sides will be finished off with 3mm ply as with the layout baseboard. I might surface the boards with something soft like felt. The layout is minus lighting pelmet and crossing keepers cottage here. The boards will take a 4-6-0 loco and 2 Mk1's length wise - quite long enough for a small layout like this (5 foot). They're basically A1 in length - the size of the foamboard!

Crossing Keeper's Cottage

Catcott Update
A shot of Catcott crossing keeper's cottage showing the revised sash windows and fence. The foreground will be home to an allotment (bamboo runner bean supports have been soldered up and are awaiting some paint and bean plants). And yes, that guttering does need some adjustment again........

Asparagus!

Catcott Update

As an alternative to plummer's hemp after a visit to my sister's allotment, I came across some asparagus plant tops. Reeds -bingo! OK, a bit of colour correction needed, no problem. They dried easily and are pretty flexible, though a splash of PVA in the yet to be airbrushed on colour adjustment won't do any harm. The rhyne bed will be repainted and recoated in PVA in due course though the paint splashes do look a little like stuff you seen in stagment canals etc.

Cherry Blossom Control Panel

Catcott Update

OK, this one might appeal to the cheapskates like me, who needs to go to Tandy or one of those electonicfile stores for some bespoke control panel box, when most of us no doubt have a cupboard with old dried up polish? Splash of paint (Halfords), few holes and some white lable (sealed under a layer of clear lacquer).....

The base can be screwed to the layout, the top removeable to allow maintenence etc - simple!

So few buttons? Only two points and switches to isolate the siding or mainline should I be feeling creative. There's almost zero chance that there'll be more than one thing in steam anyway. The 360 deg sector plate fiddle yards on either end will have their own isolating switches in the form of a bathroom latch type of thing for each siding.....

Beer & Steam - The 2008 Woodcote Rally!

Pictures from the 2008 Woodcote Rally http://stuffedtiger.fotopic.net/c1546276.html. Many digitaly captured pictures to add, including scanned medium format imagery.
Be sure to visit the local Woodcote Village website.

Bemo Feldbahn Loco

I'm so taken with Humbrol Matt 109 as used in the mechanical 'orse, the previously out of the box Bemo HOe locotractor, is also being painted in 'Eclipse Peat Co of Catcott' corporate blue.

This is the result with glazing removed with just one coat (will need 2 or 3). The underframe will need to be 'less fairground' in colour before the whole lot is rusted and dirtied up. A few of these former German wartime narrow gauge units made it to the UK for industrial use after the war.
It's very good mechanism with lots of heavy metal and brass. From the cab forward it's all die cast metal too with very crisp castings. The glazing, removed here is flush too. Running wise, it's a little twitchy with a Gaugemaster handheld feedback unit despite the good weight, mighty fine with something without feedback pulses though.

I like the utiliatarian look of this loco, it getting use on all my narrow gauge exploits. For anyone unfamilar with these Bemo units, this loco is about 2 inches long. Must reduce the length of those couplings - snip.

More old tosh

D2298 performed many of the Highbridge to Glastonbury goods workings serving the Clarks shoe factory at nearby Street after the end of steam. Here we see D2298, now preserved at Quainton Road clanking through Catcott with one of these trains in the late summer of 1968.

Invisible Thread

Messed about today with the telegraph wires using 'Slik Worm Invisible Elastic Thread' as recommended by Graham Muz! Highly elastic, hopefully enough to survive 'spawn of chav' and elderley women who have to finger everything when on the road. Will it survive me when I get a shunting pole hooked up? We shall see, it's vvvvveeeeerrrrryyyy elastic - boiinngg!

Water Drop

Back in the summer of '62, well known Bath based photographer Ivan Locksmith captured this unusual view of Templecombe's ex GWR 0-6-0 No. 3206, paused at Catcott Crossing picking up an empty milk churn. Few crossing keepers' cottages on 'the branch' had running water, so the churns were used to carry vital water supplies, these being delivered by the crews of passing trains.

Tribute to Trevor

The 9F, a standard issue tender driven Hornby 'Evening Star', was inherited in 2001 after the death of a good friend.

As a sort of tribute to him (he used to rebuild old cars to concourse condition, so would have appoved of the upgrade), I decided to turn the engine into a proper workhorse rather than be the rear powered bluffer the Margate factory decied it should be!

Rather than use the mint Evening Star body, at a local show I picked up a tatty 9F body and tender for a few pennies. On this one, I stripped the body and tender right back, replacing all the moulded gubbins with wire and new brass bits like handrails and brackets etc. The missing front steps were formed up from the brass sheet. The outcome looked great, but of course, being tender drive worked like a dog and jammed going thouh my bullhead pointwork on Combwich due to the Tupperware wheels on the tender drive. At the time (2002), which is before Bachmann bought out their gem, there is/was a business which performed loco drive conversions called 'Model...sumitorother' (cannot recall name) to new locos. I contacted them to see if they'd do me a conversion to an existing loco instead.

A week or two later, a fully functioning chassis came through the post. That's about it! Of course, with this progressive upgrade, in the end, none of the original loco was touched!

That Parallel Universe

What could have happened? In real life, the GWR Radstock to Bristol route closed due to a landslide in the late 1960's. Imagine though, if the landslide had happened a few years earlier which resulted in the S&DJR from Radstock to Highbridge (with a reversal at Evercreech Junction) remaining open for coal, cement and stone traffic? We can dream!

The picture. Riddles 9F 2-10-0 No. 92224 clanks through the crossing at Catcott Burtle with Cement train from Westbury to Portishead (via Frome & Radstock) on 5 September 1964. That's the fiction, in reality, the 9F started life as a Hornby 'Evening Star' which has been converted to loco drive and extensively detailed. The 'Presflo' wagons are from ancient Airfix kits.

Poles, Posts & Gauges

Catcott, the little 5 ft x 15 inch trainset has taken a backseat over the last week or two while the 59 took precedence. Back to the sort of modelling I'm far happier with.

A look through the garage and a pack of Ratio telegraph poles were located to accompany a Wills/Ratio SR style concrete loading gauge kit put together in front of the TV last night. Looking at old pics of real railways, it's amazing just how many telegraph, electricity and telephone poles there were/are all over the place. In real life engineers spend enormous amounts of time placing these things to ensure they'll mess up that master shot, I have a little more control in my world! Oh yes, the little grotty sheds next to the water tank are 'Wills Grotty Sheds', also made up in front of the TV last night.

Post op....................

OK, here we are on the other side of the operation after the front end surgery, repaint, new grills (A1 Models) and weathering . Scale couplings, cast plates (on order) and warning flashes (for front end, not sure who does those) still to be added.

Still a bit to do yet..........

Here's the shopping list so far - all from http://www.mgsharp.com  who are very quick!

A1 Models A5900 bodyside and roof grills, etched brass.
DW 117 Details West Pyle Twin Sealed Beam (white metal, for vertical markers, 2 pairs required)
DW 290 Details West Headlight Mars Twin (for the one in the middle, the base is a tad wedge shaped, a file will sort this).

Why 59005?
I have several pictures of it (it's my favourite too), redoing those tiny stars to denote another loco would have been a pain in the whatsit. Lastly, because I didn't want to repaint the sides, hopefully the Shawplan number and name plates will hide the printed ones! Representing another loco with shorter name may not cover what's there! I'm a bodger and fan of any short cuts that can be done.

For the front end repaint after the nip and tuck and grills:
Humbrol Silver 27002
Humbrol Matt 109 (blue, 95% correct, weathering masks the very slight difference). Why this colour? I just so happened to have it at home for dry brushing onto BR 'banger' Blue for that faded effect!
Humbrol Matt 120 (pale green for cab interior), why this colour? Again, it was at home! It was bought to represent faded SR green (for buildings), near enough for this job.

Weathering;
A mix in varying amounts, of black and chocolate brown matt interior household emulsion (no bespoke 'Mongolian 1956 tank grey' or such for me), simply painted on then wiped off to leave pigment in groves (add some ashing up liquid). Then, matt varnish and Precision paints 'sleeper grime' mix applied by airbrush. Top coat, my last can of Testors Dullcote matt varnish. No longer in production, it being deemed too dangerous :what

The Nip & Tuck Begins

Left: 59004 powers past Worting Junction with the 7V01 Woking to Westbury empties , 13 January 2005.

A bit of a change from my current historic Catcott project; on the modelling bench, a Hornby (ex Lima) Class 59, 59005 'Kenneth J Painter'. Hornby have used the body shell for the later 59/1 & 59/2 locomotives. The main difference being the incorrect lighting clusters.

Below; on a temporary workbench (tea break at work), the 59/1 lighting clusters have been removed and replaced with some new 59/0 style bases made up from some plastic card. A little more tidying then the white metal light units will be grafted. The 59/0 used lighting parts from the USA, MG Sharp have been able to supply me with some accessories from the US, they'll need a lit of fettling, nothing too dramatic hopefully............

Dinky Ground Frame

The little hut in this picture is based on the little ground frame at Ashcott & Mere between Glastonbury and Shapwick on the former Burnham on Sea branch of the former Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. The model is made up from some plastic card and some thin strips of self adhesive labelling to replicate window frames. A splash of paint, a bit of weathering, and we have a box ready for Catcott Burtle, my current 'could have been' project in 4mm scale.

A bit of nip and tuck

On the modelling bench, a Hornby (ex Lima) Class 59, 59005 'Kenneth J Painter'. Hornby have sadly made a hash choosing the prototype to represent, so irritatingly, I'll need to modify the lighting clusters on the front along with other general detailing. http://nevardmedia.fotopic.net/search.php?txt=59005&t=p . Luckely I won't have to disturb the blue paintwork, getting a match for that might be tricky, silver is no problem matching in though. The baffle/plough thingy in the front will need to be fixed to the body rather than bogie too - simple enough. It's either that or going for the Hanson livery, which would be correct for the Hornby body. In the end I fear that cutting up a little plastic will be easier than trying to create Hanson paint job and sort out a Hanson transfers - so 59005 it is!

Fame (?) at last?

"Most of us would secretly quite like a model railway layout, especially when you see these attractive little scenes created by the railway photographer Chris Nevard."

The above from the Daily Telegraph Online took me a little by surprise, actually I'm quite chuffed, even though this temporary moment of glory is all about us Brits and our nutty hobbies. This of course means that I am officially a nutter. Still, I've known that for years, but now it's official!

Cheese Rolling is in the same feature too, and because that's something that no doubt makes all the wet health and safety limp wristed luny lefties twitch, this in my book is really quite cool - I'm honoured to be along side them!

The cat picture (Smudgie our human/feline clone) is purely here because I couldn't think of a picture to post.