Workbench

Sunday evening - 25th March 2007

A Bridge Not Far Enough.............

To avoid the appearance of a 'Road leading nowhere,' one of the roads on the layout disappears through yet another section of that retaining wall that seems to be dominating things at the moment. This is what I managed to put together this evening, a nice little bridge that will lead the road away beyond sight.
There`s probably the odd structural engineer amongst you that will say this is incorrect, but it looks as though it would do the job at least!

It is by no means finished. Weathering is not complete, the walling will (eventually) continue inside the bridge, and I suppose I had better get round to actually modelling the road too, amongst other things...........

On my Stereo: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Sunday afternoon - 25th March 2007

Bricking It!

Yes, a change of plan again. Since my last entry, I have decided to paint and 'initially' weather the wall sections prior to fitting on the layout. I thought this would save a lot of time, and to be honest, would be a lot easier.
Here are some sections which have received treatment over the last couple of days. Once in position, any gaps will be filled, and will be 'patch-painted' as required. A little further subtle weathering will then take place.

Above, we can see some sections in the process of being painted. Various washes were used, some bricks individually painted, and dry-brushing techniques were used. Weathering powders will also be used in places, and as much as I despise it, a little graffiti here and there..........

And here are some smaller sections I made. These will form buttresses which will feature along the lengths of retaining wall............ Just a few more to do, and then another part of this project can finally be completed!

On my Stereo: Pink Floyd - The Wall

Friday afternoon - 23rd March 2007

Splitting Bricks!

Rugby Parkway requires a lot of tall retaining walls. I purchased a large number of sections by Merkur a number of years ago, but have yet to put them to use. They are foam-based, and to be honest are quite crude to look at, especially when held up to the light (see above picture!)
I was also unhappy with the uneven gaps which would be evident when sections are placed together. Initially, I was going to combat this by splicing sections together. Individual bricks were going to be cut out at the edges to conceal the join. At least that`s what I had intended!

I have now formulated a different plan. Buttresses will now cover the main gaps, and any smaller gaps will be filled with filler, and 're-pointed' if required. All brickwork will then be re-painted and weathered.

I am confident that the end results will be convincing, but only time will tell! The sooner this is done, the sooner I can start to attatch all those lovely overhead catenary gantries......

On my Stereo: Portishead - Dummy

Tuesday morning - 20th March 2007

'Part-way' to Parkway completion....

With numerous projects on the go at the same time, it`s often difficult to decide what to include on these pages, if I find the time that is! The more time I type away on here, the less projects get completed (or even near completion!)

As the remodelling of the 'real' Rugby station progresses, I thought I`d take this opportunity to reflect on the progress (or lack of) on my layout as a whole.

Construction began back in September 2004. Baseboards and associated supports were constructed in stages, the double-tiered fiddle yard was certainly the most tricky part!
Track-work? Well all the track has been down since January 2006. There are almost 100 motorised points on the layout, although all are currently un-operable as they are being re-wired into a new operating system. Ballasting? Well, I`ve done a bit……

The most incomplete part of the layout is the Motive Power Depot. Trackwork here was initially laid, but this has been lifted as I became unhappy with the original plan, but the new design is set to be implemented in the very near future…..

Much overhead lighting above the layout is also yet to be installed. This would have been done earlier, had I decided what type of lighting to go for. Having acquired various different lights to experiment with, I am still undecided….

Onto the backscenes…… Apart from the fiddleyard, the layout will feature full backscenes throughout. This is an area which hasn`t been looked at for a while, and is only partially complete.

A lot of buildings are to feature on the layout. Most of these have now been constructed, and await to be permanently located on the layout. The station platforms etc still require a lot of work though, but there is at least something there!!

As regards to the scenery, much is yet to be done. Some detailing of the urban areas, such as road surfaces, paving etc has been completed, but the ‘greener’ areas of the layout are still untouched. Other scenic items such as trees will also feature Many trees have been individually made, and have been strored until such a time when they need to be ‘planted!’

I am often asked for current pictures of the layout. However, I thought I`d leave that until the layout is looking more complete, so until then, it`s still 'NO ACCESS BEYOND THIS POINT!'

Another major part of the layout is the mass of overhead catenary. This is largely untouched so far, although temporary set-ups have been in place on certain sections of the layout. Many scratch-built masts and gantries are in safe storage. However, many more need to be constructed. Many, many more…………

On the locomotive and rolling stock front, there is still much work to be done. Many locomotives were modelled many years ago, and now require considerable work to bring them up to my required standard. Then there`s all the half-finished wagon kits, lots of renumbering, detailing and weathering still to do……

Most of the ‘little people’ who will be posing on the layout have been individually painted, and there are many hundreds of them in total. They are all ready for action, but all are currently tucked up in their beds until the finishing touches to the layout are carried out.

So to sumarise, I`m nowhere near the finish line, but slowly and surely, we`re getting there. But of course – IT WILL NEVER BE FINISHED!!!

On my Stereo: The Clash - Super Black Market Clash

Friday afternoon - 9th March 2007

'Lamer' duck

Oh no! The ducks are back, and that can only mean one thing...... Something has annoyed me! It`s now been a few years since the demise of Lima, or 'Lamer' as I often read or hear the company referred to. However, it`s amazing how some people will simply not let sleeping 'dogs' lie!

It`s been almost two years ago since I wrote this article telling people that criticising Lima will achieve absolutely nothing. However, some people must eat Duracel batteries for breakfast, they just go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on................ Aaarrrrggghhhh!!!!

So, lets just recap:
You get no points (another duck) for criticising Lima! They no longer exist, so they just aren`t going to listen!! Other manufacturers, such as Bachmann who are still in business, may just listen to your gripes and may even try to resolve them, even if it does take 3 attempts (we hope!!)

Oh look, another Lima product, and another 'easy' target??? It has to be worth remembering that Lima have served us well in the past, with some good models, and some not so good, but isn`t it still the same today??? Hornby are still offering 'pre-Lima' howlers, and even Bachmann and Heljan have produced some questionable offerings. Are some of us forgetting just how bad the old Hornby, Tri-ang and Jouef models were in their day? But they were, with the exception of Hornby, in the past...... I`ll leave them there.

Time perhaps, to get on Hornby`s backs. Unlike Lima, they are still here to listen.......

On my Stereo: Joy Division - Still

Sunday evening - 25th February 2007

'Flat' Packs...

At one end of the layout, near to the 'run-down' St.Johns station, there are going to be some blocks of flats. Unconventionally, these are going to be right at the front of the layout, thus creating a need to almost look down the 'alleys' at the trains. This is an idea I hope will create extra depth, and will help suggest a built up urban area.

I had planned on scratch-building some high rise flats, but time simply isn`t going to allow this for the time being. So for now at least, these old Kibri kits will be used. However, these will be 'anglicised' as much as possible, and fitting of sky satelite dishes and other small touches will all help to capture the desired 'feel'.

Hmmmmm.... Look at all those lovely little pieces! Together with extra plastic section, and parts from other kits, I should be able to create enough variety so they don`t all look the same. This is going to work - trust me on this!!

On my Stereo: A Flock of Seagulls (Self titled album)

Wednesday afternoon - 14th February 2007

To cut a long 'Fuel-tank' short..........

The biggest problem with modelling 57007 'Freightliner Bond' was how to correct the 'long-range' fuel tanks which the host model is fitted with. There are 4 variations of fuel tanks on the small fleet of 12 freightliner 57`s, but Bachmann have depicted only one arrangement so far, but this is unfortunately incorrect for 007.....

To combat this problem, I have picked up some Spare Heljan 47 sprues, and some of these parts will be 'cut-and-shut' into the Bachmann chasis to help achieve the desired result...

I shall feature a step-by-step guide on these pages shortly....

On my Stereo: Kinski - Be Gentle With The Warm Turtle

Saturday afternoon - 10th February 2007

Freightliner Decider.....

With Freightliner having decided to dispense with its fleet of 12 Class 57 locomotives (Six as early as April this year) I thought I`d make the most of seeing them in action, and getting photographs of them in service as and when I can....

Time also, I thought, to turn my attention to actually modelling one of these 'Green machines' . There were a number of errors with the original Bachmann releases, but I covered these some time last year, so I`m not going to repeat myself here.... However, this did not bother me, as all identities of purchased models were to be changed anyway, so removal of unwanted printed logos, and any alterations to the different fuel tanks etc. would be all part of the fun!

My first choice of Freightliner 57 was initially 57007 Freightliner Bond, simply because I always seemed to see it everywhere! However, it now seems to have vanished, as I haven`t seen it for several months!! Maybe a different machine machine should be modelled, but which one?

Anyway, the pictures in this entry are of various freightliner 57s caught in action during the past 3 weeks. At the top we have 57009 Freightliner Venturer. Below that we have 57003 Freightliner Evolution. Directly above is 57006 Freightliner Reliance, while below we can see 57010 Freightliner Crusader....

Right, I`d better get on with my model of 57007. It would be nice to have it finished while the 'real one' is still working on our rails....

On my Stereo: Julian Cope - 20 Mothers

Sunday afternoon - 28th January 2007

Half baked Full Brake? Full stop......

Some time ago towards the end of last year, whilst Christmas shopping in Leamington Spa, I picked up this ScotRail liveried and branded 'BG' which is from the old Replica range. Although the new Bachmann BG`s are now far superior, I thought the unusual livery on this Replica relic could somehow add interest to the layout.

I can vaguely recall a 'brake' such as this in a parcels train consist in the Midlands sometime in the early 1990`s. However, I have no confirmed details of this. Do any viewers recall such a working, or perhaps it occurred more often?

Of interest is that the model displays no TOPS numbers, so presumably Replica offered a selection of transfers for the model? This poses the next problem. What numbers did 'BG's in this livery carry?
The next potential problem is the bogies. The model is fitted with B4 bogies, but perhaps Commonwealth bogies would be correct for a ScotRail liveried model?

So, if anyone out there can help, this model can be detailed accordingly, otherwise it will end up with all the other projects which have had the brake fully applied.......

And finally, just a reminder about our new forum site. Please pop along to to the Rail UK Forum and register. It`s a friendly place to share ideas, and have a variety of railway based discussions.

Have you paid a visit yet? No? Just click here! - What`s the worst that could happen?

Is your mouse button working correctly? Test it by Clicking here! or here!!

Until next time......

On my Stereo: Aveo - Battery

Thursday evening - 18th January 2007

Forum fun?

A few days ago, I decided to join a railway related forum. It`s something I`ve never done before, but I thought I may as well give it a go. Within only a matter of days, the forum closed..... Was it something I said??

I`d been thinking for some time about setting up my own forum, to cover various aspects of the railways, including news, reflections of the past, modelling, photography, and indeed, anything else. So now seemed as good a time as any to get one up and running.

Please make a visit to the new Rail UK Forum and why not sign up and take part. Hopefully given time, and with new people joining in, this will become a useful and friendly resource, a place to share ideas, and sometimes to have a good old moan!!

Go on - it only takes a few clicks.......

On my Stereo: New Wet Kojak - This is the Glamorous

Thursday afternoon - 18th January 2007

Continental cheeses?

Despite all the best intentions, progress on practically everything on Rugby-Parkway has been painfully slow for several weeks. (Regular viewers will no doubt be used to this by now!)
Time, I thought, to go through various project boxes, and to see which ones I could close down. Surely the less projects on the go at once will result in more projects being accomplished!?

Apart from projects for Rugby-Parkway itself, there are numerous other projects which also seem to be getting nowhere. In fact, some of these projects have been scrapped altogether. This battered motley crew of steeple-cab locomotives is just one of them!

I no longer have plans for a vast number of continental locomotives. The collection includes some fine Fleischmann and Marklin locomotives, a couple of the former are seen here. To be honest, it`s probably best to find them new homes. It seems a waste for them all to be living in boxes stored under the layout.

Although many UK modellers are 'SWITCHING' to the US scene, my plans for a small US diorama have long been abolished. Over time, a complete 'mish-mash' of locomotives and stock has been accrued. Some locos are seen here, still waiting for detail parts to be fitted. Time for them also, to move on......

On my Stereo: Archers of Loaf - White Trash Heroes

Tuesday evening - 9th January 2007

A Workbench on my Workbench........

I know it`s a little late, but Happy New Year to all our visitors out there, both regular and the new. If this is your first visit, I recommend coming back in a year`s time. Perhaps by then I may have got round to actually completing something.....
Where is this year going already? It will be Christmas again before we know it!

Anyway, a cancelled appointment this evening meant I could catch up on a few things. Needless to say I am already beyhind schedule only 9 days into the year! So, what to do with a couple of unexpected hours? Well, I thought I`d put together a kit I got as a Christmas present. Unlike certain pantograph kits, this little workbench was very easy to assemble. I suppose now I should hand back that borrowed Black and Decker Workmate.....

Perhaps this page should be renamed 'On my Workbenches' as most modelling indeed is done on a number of surfaces. My main modelling bench is really a big desk on which occupational work also gets done when things have been tidied away! Then there`s the 'spray-station' as I call it, and also another painting 'workbench' which also doubles as a 'football' table when the top surface is removed - it can`t all be playing with trains you know!! Unfortunately, the desk in the spare room has been reclaimed, but maybe I`ll find some more room in one of the sheds. The kitchen work-surfaces? Now, they could come in quite handy.....

On my Stereo: Hell Is For Heroes - Transmit Disrupt

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