Dorset Group Christmas Meeting.

We will be having a Chrismas drink and saying farewell to our home for the last few months at the Avon Causeway Hotel on Saturday 15th December 2012.
No modelling, just a friendly drink. This will give the opportunity to discuss our new 'Home' and the visits and teach in's that we hope to put on during next year.
Any prospective members are more than welcome most locals will know the AvonCauseway but for those a little way away then the postcode is BH23 6AS.
We will be meeting about 3pm so hope to see some of you for a pint and a chat.

Scenery starts in earnest.

The first application of scenery has started on the third board. This isn't to say that the first two are ready- far from it. This small corner is where The Jasmine Inn will be located and it is really a try out of ways that the flock and road surfaces will look before charging headlong into the whole board.
Hopefully it doesn't look too bad to you dear reader- I am quite pleased although there is a lot of flock to be stuck before its finished- I will  have posted some more on Teignford blog in the next day or so.
Tell me what you think.

Kitmaster Mk1 coaches.

Well the paint has dried, transfers applied and all has been sealed with a coat of Matt varnish. Matt really does mask a few imperfections and is my favourite 'cheat'.
The widows are a separate fitment and thinking I was being clever I undercoated the top frames before applying the colour-mistake!
The primer leached from wher I wanted it so that the colour, which didn't simarlarly leach left some of the primer exposed.
A bit of cleaning up with a sharp scalpal blade helped but is not perfect.
The windows were stuck in place with MEK and hopefully are there to stay. Just an interior to fashion and the roof and buffers to stick on . Then couplings need to be made and fitted-then these two are redy to join the fleet for Teignford.

Yeoman Models.

The first effort at painting these. I am concerned how shaky my hand is getting. The castings are excellent and take cheap aerosol primer from Poundland (other similar emporiums are available).
The colours are all acrylic and there may lay the problem.
I am so used to enamels- having used them for more years than I care to remember- I don't seem to get the coverage right or the edges straight. The answer may be to invest in some new decent brushes as mine are beginning to show their age- Bit like me really!

New Home for Dorset Group.

This rather attractive picture is our new home.
Located near Wareham in Dorset it is not far from a local beauty spot- The Blue Pool.
Meetings have been booked for the whole of 2013 and we have tried to make it a similar date each month.
To this end we will meet on the first Saturday of the month. The exception is March when the meeting will be held on the second Saturday.
Full kitchen facilities are available, ample parking and our meetings will be from 1pm until 6pm if we so wish.
Access and payment are sorted- all you need is the address:-

 Furzebrook Village Hall, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5AR.

Bilteeze Building Sheets.

This hopefully shows the method I am using for some buildings for Teignford.
I have cut out the windows and the Bilteeze sheet is then mounted on artists card with a small overlap to mount them later.
Individual walls are then glued to the back of the sheet with a 45degree mitre at each edge. When the building is folded up, hopefully the corners will be at right angles!
Then the windows will be opened out and the rebates painted matt black to give a bit of depth.
The windows will then be glued behind the recess.
Thats the theory anyway- will have to see how it turns out. One thing- I have some black card which will be used on the next building so that will cut out the painting bit. Why didn't I think of that first?

A bridge too far?

Quick update on the progress of scenery on Teignford- I have posted some more on the other blog for a change-see-http://3mmscalestocklist.blogspot.com/
This is continuing apace as the next outing will be at the 3mm Salisbury meeting next April.

Kitmaster Mk 1 Coaches.

This is the result of applying the recently aquired HMRS Pressfix transfers to one of the Mk 1 BSK coaches.
Although to 4mm, they don't look too bad. The upper lining- one yellow and one black band was achived by slicing the yellow-black-yellow lining in half. Not perfect but I do prefer this type of transfer rather than waterslide. Just the numbering to put on before varnishing- then the windows can be inserted and roof fitted.

Dorset Group Meeting November 2012

 Our november meeting was probably the last at our Pullman Carriage home.
However, there are moves afoot to secure a new meeting place- more soon I hope.
Five regulars plus a new attendee, Dave, met and the new location discussed.
On the modelling front, Nigel was working on St Agnes, of which a couple of pictures are shown. I managed to complete the lining on two Mk1 coaches with the HMRS pressfix sheet aquired at West Byfleet. Dave had the chassis for one of his railcars in Narrow Gauge and hopefully a couple of suggestions made will help him to cure running problems. Robert was busy making Parkside wagons, this time in 4mm. So a busy afternoon!

Bilteeze Preprinted Building Sheets.

 A real blast from the past now.
Secondhand Sales had several of these on the stand
 at West Byfleet. I had had a good lok at some of the made examples which populated Mike Corps West Harptree before it was sold.
I am going to use the buildings on Teignford with some of the mods carried out by Mike.
Hopoefully the cottages will make enough low relief buildings and to have a row of them will look pretty good- we shall see.
AFirsly to attach to some sturdier card- I'll let you know how I get on.

Finney and Smith 3mm Scale Lister Stationary Engine.

It is exactly what it says on the label!
F&S have introduced a new range of mouldings of which the Lister is one.
Cleanly cast in clearish plastic it is- as one who has interest in this type of machinery-an excellent representation of the prototype.
It is attached to a thin walled cage to aid handling whilst painting which I think is a really good idea.
Various others are available, tractor, 3 wheel Morgan etc.
Hopefully Dave will have them on his website before long.
http://finneyandsmith.co.uk/finneyandsmith/

Yeoman Models.

Yeoman Models appeared a short time ago offering items to 1/100 scale on e-bay.
When first sold they could be purchased ready painted although I now believe this has been discontinued (but I stand to be corrected).
The K6 telephone box, pillar box, AA and RAC boxes are the ones that I was presented with.
The casting is superb, nice and crisp- even the plate on the post box is there.
I understand that a Nissan Hut is also available and there have been some whisperings about a GWR Pagoda Hut- Recommended www.yeomanmodels.com/

The Jasmine Inn.

 It will come as no surprise to some that this is the chosen name.
Due to my eldest appearing on Hennock, the rest of the brood wanted themselves to be mentioned.
However the first in line is my Granddaughter, although Nurses Ales are metioned again- see the Degree Inn - Hennock.
The close ups make the building look awful I think so no more cruel macro shots!
I already have the names of my Grandson on a street name, need to dream up a couple of other ideas for the rest of the offspring.

Chimneys.

The pubs chineys are very noticeable and a little more detailing would seem necessary.
I found a tube of Humbrol Filler the other day- lurking (or hiding)- at the back of a drawer.
After being dragged screaming from its hiding place it was found to be still useable.
Just the thing for the cement on top of the chimney stacks methought.
So a bit of squeezing and rolling produced just the effect needed- just got to dry and a lick of paint and on go the pots.

A bridge too far?

 I tend to start another part of the layout before the one being worked on is finished.
Whilst waiting for glue or paint to dry thoughts have turned to the exit to the fiddle yard. Another bridge but this time a departure from my norm. A plate girder this time. The abutments are from our old friend-mounting card. The plate girder part is from a 2mm scale footbridge on one side and a home made facsimile on the other. Built on the sque, this also uses the Metcalf stone faced card as the Goods and Engine sheds.
One thing with Metcalf building sheets, they are thicker than brick paper and the edges are a devil to mitre being thin. The answer is to run a soft pencil down the exposed edges which seems to disguise them enough. Maybe a bit more after seeing the photo!

Dorset Modelling Society.

The probable last meeting of the group wuill take place this coming Saturday 17th November 2012.
I say probable as, unless we have an influx of interested parties, then continuance at our present home is  not sustainable.
Meetings will continue at members homes but the previous booking of visiting teach-ins will possibly have to be curtailed.
Wether locals are not interested in modelling per-se is open to question. Several have- due to ads in Railway Modeller and info given at local shows- contacted me but with one exception haven't shown up on the date.
 It will be a shame to give up our Pullman Coach but time moves on and who know's what the future will bring. Just don't contact me after the date!

St Leven at Poole MRE.

Its a pleasure sometimes to be able to play with someone else's trainset.
Poole Model Railway society invited Nigel Cullimore to show his layout St Levan.I think this is a lovely little layout- it is only five feet long-which has operating Spratt & Winkle uncoupling. This does focus the mind and shunting can be a bit perplexing at times. However this adds to the pleasure in operating someone elses model.

Based in West Cornwall this layout is firmly in the GWR era.

Use has been made of cut down 4mm kits, PECO 12mm Hom track and a lot of wire twisted around wooden posts. An excellent day out with a teriffic layout.

3MM Society West Byfleet 2012

 Mostly pictures today.
There was an increase of the number of members that attended this year- I took most of these pictures at lunchtime when most were enjoying the great catering.
A full set of Society Shops were present together with Worsley Works, Finney & Smith and 3SMR our loyal traders.
There just seem's to be more and more available in the scale and modern technology seems to be creeping in.
Andy Shillito's Wantage Tramway and Hennock were put through their paces with a fair few visiting locos and pieces of rolling stock.
All stalls seemed happy with their day so a successful meeting - who can identify themselves? I'll kick off- I know the camel on Hennock

The pub with no name.

The builders have been working overtime!
The pub is nearly complete and is shown placed in its base to see if all the calculations were correct- luckily they were. I haven't bothered with individual slates- just an impression which I think works.
Just remains for the guttering, chimney pots,down pipes and name to be added.
The name will come as no surprise to some- all will be revealed in a few days.
Meanwhile, filler to manipulate and chimney pots to fit- never ending this!

Coaling Stage.

Heres a quickie for just an evenings work.
A small coal facility for the engine shed.
Just made from a few bits of card and cut down coffee stirrer.
The base is a box with some brick paper, the planking is scribed on randomly.
A few pieces of wood for support and the planks painted matt black.
A few pieces of crushed coal and a left over set of steps and it's finished. Bed in with crushed coal and some weeds and plonk on-simples.
Just the thing for a few spare minutes

Windows.

When marking out the pub I did think about what windows and doors I was going to use.
I could, as on a lot of the other buildings I have made, use microstrip to form the glazing bars and frame.
The other option was to look at what ready made frames I had. I wanted long thin windows for an aged building so the redundant window frames from an old 4mm signal box were ideal and would save a lot of time. It also meant that this building would be different- something to remember.
So, a quick coat of primer and the top coat could be applied- black in this case. Painted in two halves as it is difficult to hold the whole whilst wet. They will sit to the rear of the window hole and the clear glazing will be used to stick to the walls. The doors will have to be shortened although they are the correct width.

Research.

This must rank as one of the most important 'Must Have's ' for those modelling the GWR or Western Region of British Railways.
Adrian Vaughan is also a very helpful chap- see the Cattle Dock on Teignfords Blog.
The infrastructure is described in tremendous detail together with detailed plans on just about everything to be found on the system.
I have several pages bookmarked for inclusion on Teignford.
So out with the card, break off a new blade and see what comes next.

West Byfleet tomorrow- car needs loading!

Things to Do!

With the annual West Byfleet 3MM Society meeting fast approaching it is time to decide what to spend those precious pennies on this year.
Looking at the to make shelf it seems that not a lot will be needed in the way of kits this year. However, they all need to be checked that I have all the bits I need to complete them.
I find it easier to give each kit its own box so that instructions and all the bits can be kept in one place ready for the build, or so that no pieces are lost if  i'm taking a break from it. The drawer units were from Poundland whilst the boxes to the right stored fish gill tags at one time and the black based one's airbrushes.
So a good scan of the parts list before the day which also will see Hennock being taken to West Byfleet this year.

Glue.

 Elmers Glue has been used by me for a long time. Two types are shown here-School Glue and Glue-All, but both appear to be the same thing in the way they can be used.
I think the first bottle came from The Works. It is basically a PVA type of adhesive but I have found it to be ideal for card construction.
It also seems to go a long way and never congeals inside the flexible bottle as some glues do.
Soon must look for some more and the bonus is that there is a distributor in the UK.

Signals for Teignford.

The Dapol upper quadrant GWR signals have been mentioned before.
Finding a discounted example at the recent Railex at Taunton made me decide to purchase one to see how it suited the position.
I am a little hesitant because of the mentioned failure of a number of these and don't want to drill a 14mm hole and bed in to find an early demise.
That's not to say that this will happen to this one- just an err on the side of caution.

Buildings for Teignford.

 The first building to be made for the third board is , of course, a pub.
Yet to be named, it will depict a typical hostelry in Devon.  Finished with a whitewashed exterior, it has the characteristic black painted window recesses.
The chimneys are in cut stone and are seen in position- there probably needs to be another which will be made and installed before the windows and roofs are attached. When sticking into position I use cheap plastic clamps to keep them in place and square.

Billings 1/100 HMS Warrior.

Now for something completely different.
Just released is this 1/100 scale model of the iron hulled warship HMS Warrior. The spec says that this model scales at nearly 54 inches in length. But from the publicity picture shown it does make a rather appealing model waiting to be attached to a wharf somewhere on your 3mm layout.
And the cost ? About £450.

Fiddle Yard Tested.

And this is the result of all the work.
I had hoped that the fiddleyard would take four coach trains with a tender loco but, with wishing to make it easier to operate the selectors it was not possible. 
I always stick to the size of baseboard decided upon- a moments hotheadedness can lead to years of regret- so I follow the original plan on size.
I am pleased that all the locos with pony trucks and the coach bogies all pass over the rail breaks without problem- running them at full controller speed usually shows up any unevenness- not recommended too often though!
 Wagons seem to cross OK- both being pushed as well as pulled- the former won't happen often but it is worth checking.
The L section screwed to the edges seems to keep the whole lot square so was worthwhile doing.
By the way 30,000 hits was passed the other night- thanks to all those taking the trouble to view- let me know if there is anything in particular that I could help with.

Take a Piece of Card!

With the fiddle yard sorted out it is time to decide upon the scenery that will be portrayed.
Using my tested method-I see no reason to change after all these years! The storage box with the card from the local artshop is retrieved and a new blade in the snap-off knife fitted. It is also of benefit to use a cutting mat, this will prolong the life of the blade- cardboard causes a blunt edge fairly quickly so don't use scalpals- too expensive.
The formers are cut and put in place with bracing where necessary. Thin card is then cut into strips and glued as shown in the lower picture- the reasons for this will become clearer at a later date.
I will try something different this time however. I have cut the bases for buildings and left cutouts for them to fit. This means that the whole building can be made away from the train room. If it's good enough for Bob Brown then who am I to suggest otherwise?

Teignford's Revamped Fiddle Yard.

 When showing Teignford at Westfest, the fiddle yard showed some problems were present.
So, bearing in mind that the layout will have to last for a good few years, I decided it might as well have a belt and braces approach. I also decided to cut the number of tracks down to three from four.
Using aluminium T section this time- make sure it's not the coated type- holes were drilled on either side and screwed to the boards with shakeproof washers.
The rails were also attached to some wider copperclad paxolin which should make the ends more resiliant to damage. Anyway, the wiring was reattached and an ammeter used to check that continuity was where it was needed and finally locos, coaches and wagons passed over all sections to make sure that it worked. After a few tweaks- it does!