A coal stage for Splitters

Hi Everyone,

A little bit of progress on the facilities for Splitters. I've wanted to start this for a while. As I've said many times I enjoy working with timber and this project was a simple one to do on the workbench.

The Data Sheet available from Greg Edwards has two different types of stage and the 1900 one is the perfect one for my layout. There are a few different timber sizes, but basically the structure is the same for each design. 

I began with prestaining all the timber so that I didn't have to worry about trying to stain after gluing it up. I also prefer doing it first so that when it is built there are different colours to the timber that doing it after construction would be difficult to achieve.

I cut up all the decking timber first and had a pile to use. By laying all the decking down first I built this part from the deck down. So the bearers were glued on top of the decking timber and set aside to dry.

 Next up were the sides of the coal stage, one whole side and the other with a gap wide enough for a D wagon. This is one of the main differences between the two designs on the sheet was that the later design had a gap fitting much longer wagons, whereas the early ones were specifically for the shorter four wheeled D wagon.

I then simply glued the sides on and allowed it to dry. Then cut up the timber for the ends and installed them.

To help with holding the sides in place the universal jig, bluetac was put in place.

Once this had all dried out I did some light weathering on top of the deck to show some change in colour of the timber.

This photo shows up the variation in the deck before the addition of coal.

I've pre drilled holes in the timber uprights to hold the bolt detail, and they are being weathered as I write this.

Next up the base of the stage and there is a bit of cutting and sanding involved. So I'll leave it there for this post.

Have a great week!

Oorroo!

Geoff.

Constructing a new scene on Splitters, part 3

Hi Everyone,
I know, I know, three posts in less than three days! Let's just say I've a little ground to catch up on. Facebook and the few modelling groups I'm involved with do make it a bit easier to post quickly, but mostly it is about seeing what others have been doing for inspiration. So now a refocus on Splitters is more than passed time to happen.

Here's a photo of progress on installing the corro' iron on the roof of the shed. I tried to make it look like it had been added onto at a later stage, by laying the sheets differently and with different weathering pattern. The Woodstock is all basswood, I love this stuff! It stains so well. I've found a light sand between coatings enables a different result. It certainly removes any fuzz. There is another benefit in a light sand that being a big reduction in the shine that can be left when the stain dries. I also do it between paint colours to show some variation in patterns on peeling paint.

A shot from the rear before the paint goes on. I've used 'simply glues' wood glue as it dries quickly, even holding the metal iron in place.

I've posted this photo before but I've just realised its the only one I have at this aspect. Hopefully you can see the effect I was trying to achieve with the different weathering of the roof sheets.

I still want to have another go at the level of rust, with a dry brush of the grey of the sheets across the top of the rust, as the least rusted sheets rust in the low parts first. Does that make sense? Ok that's it for this project for a bit. Time to share how the other items are coming along.

Have a great week,

Oorroo!

Geoff.

Constructing a new scene for Splitters, part 2

Hello All,
Continuing on from my last post. The office building is a simple build, however as I'm always up for trying something new I had a go using some different weathering ideas on this one. I started with a basic off white colour then added some washes that I'd purchased along with a quick drying purple mask made by Humbrol, that I wanted to try.

Here you can see the end of the building that has had a layer of the humbrol applied over some base colours. The idea now being to apply some more paint over the top, to then peel off the purple mask to reveal some weathered 'wood' or peeling paint beneath.

The same building with the top layer of paint applied, ready to peel away the purple.

Now here it is with the extra coating. The best part is that the purple coat comes off easily and I'm 

sure will work well over timber which is how I plan to use it next. The roofing I've had a go at, but honestly I think the rusting of the roofing material has gone too far. So down the line it will be replaced. 

This next photo shows the office a little further on with a simple awning over the door and a storage rack on the back of the building also. The area this goes in will be clearer in the next photo, with a couple of other simple structures that go with the office.

If you're wondering about the plastic bag it's acting as a separator between wet sculptamould (the white you can see) and the track behind it. Because I've used a separate ply board to mount this all on I had to be able to work on the scenery behind the buildings. As when it is located there will be no way to reach in there.

This shot shows the progress of the other buildings, and the re roof of the office also. The ground has had its first coat of colour to begin that part of the scenery.

The taller of the three buildings is a mishmash of styles, due to it being added onto and altered over time. I'm using the humbrol mask on the wood as I was really happy with how it worked on the styrene.

Here is the first wall with the extra paint applied. I'm really happy with how it's come together. Now for the other sides.

A bit more progress on this building. The other walls are simple enough, and I'm also putting a loading dock on there as well. The simple shed beside will eventually house some storage for odds and ends and vehicle or two. That's probably enough for this photo update.

Have a great week!

Oorroo!

Geoff.

Constructing a new scene for Splitters, part 1

Hi Everyone,
I've been beavering away on this project for a while now. There is a corner of the layout that has just had basic scenery on it for far too long. My plan has always been to create a busy corner of the layout with a few opportunities for some buildings.

There will be some facilities for locomotives in the area, a loco shed and coal stage for starters. Along with  some non railway related structures for added interest. It is these structures I plan to construct first.

 This first photo shows the part of the layout that I plan to change. There isn't a lot of room to play with but it will be enough for my plan. The area closest to the front of the layout is where the coal stage and locomotive shed will be located. The area between the siding and where the line disappears into the backdrop will be for non NSWGR buildings, freelance style.

 The first structure is a small office styled building. It is styrene with a corrugated iron roof. A quick build after cutting up a kit of parts, as you can see here. I use the citrolene glue, as I prefer smelling of oranges than superglue, and a t gives a little more time with a similar result.

The main building took just an hour or so, so it works in well to a mid week hour session in the shed. I've had a few one hour sessions, and working with a plan in mind it is surprising just what you can get through. I always try and pre plan a little bit, for example if I'm going to build using wood I try to have a 'kit' of wood already stained up ready to go.

Since I'm loading this on an iPad, that's all I can load for now. Any more photos and I can't scroll down to look at them or add text.

So keep an eye out for part 2!
Have a great week!
Oorroo!
Geoff.

Timber buffer stop

A little project I've been working on, a timber buffer stop. The construction of the timber parts are fairly easy. I used basswood of the correct dimensions according to the plan and glued it together.  The painting of the buffer stop did begin before the glue was applied as I did used a wood stain and brass brush to bring out the grain. I constructed the two sides first as you can see in then photo, then over painted with a weathered white colour. normally I attack the timber again with the brush once the paint has dried, and to finish a sand with fine wet n dry to thin down the paint. A quick wipe over with water on a sponge removes all the loose stuff, and lets you decide whether you need to sand some more.

 I tried using a slightly different technique when constructing the 'metal' strapping and bolt detail. A visit to the local war gaming store had me emerge with some new paint products. In simple terms the paint has some fine powder in it so that when it dries it creates a slightly rough texture. I used it as I thought that it would imitate the effect that rust has on unprotected metal. In the above photo you can see the lower strip of bolt detail that is a light brown colour, and the top row that is much darker. The darker one has a coat of the rust look paint applied. Once that has dried various rust coloured paints can be applied. 

The detail is then glued onto the metal stripping. The stripping is just heavy gauge paper that is undercoated, then painted with the rust surface paint, then a top coat of rust paint. Rusty water runs on the timber were just another lighter rust colour. So then you put all that together and get this...

The project on the 'Geoffrey Scale of Modelling time' has it as a couple of hours, well maybe four all up. I still need to glue on the metal buffers and build the scenery around it, but I think you get the idea.

Enjoy your week,
Oorroo!
Geoff.

Laying some final track work

Hi All,

 and Happy New Year to you everyone. I passed a little milestone yesterday  with the completion of track laying on SSC. It has been an enjoyable Christmas break this year, and one that has us all thanking God for his blessings in this last year. A New Year and a fresh start, especially in the modelling world. 

In the first photo on the left is the siding that has just been layed. This side of the layout has not received too much loving, so now it is the focus of my attention. Well that's not entirely true. I have a short to do list that I'm working my way through. 

Things like, repairs to blown LED's that weren't wired up with a resistor (but run on 9volts and worked for a while), completion of the layout lighting on the short side, a movable light on the inside of the end for Locomotive/Rollingstock repairs, reworking of point blades with a new version of holding them down. The list goes on but you get the idea.

Before moving on too quickly I'd like to thank all those people that made our hobby so enjoyable to be a part of last year. I was lucky enough to be a part of the Toowoomba Show, the Inverell Show, the Branchline Modellers Forum, running sessions at Daz's, Anthony's, and Craig's, modelling nights, and Toosdy Niters, thank you one and all!

We lost a Mate this year with the passing of Mike. He was around when I first came back to the hobby as an adult, and we shared many hair raising car driving experiences, and heated discussions. He was always happy to share his knowledge, especially to those who jumped in and had a go. There was never any bull with Mike, may he rest in peace.

 So what's next? This year as far as the hobby goes, I plan to work through all my projects currently on the workbench, and vow not to start anymore. There you have it in writing! I suffer with the 'joy of starting something new' syndrome, fairly common I think, but this year, no more, it's all about completion, of projects, models, goals. 

A procrastination free modelling year.

 It's nice to be back at the keyboard, and modelling bench for 2016. I promise to be more regular posting this year.
Have a great week!
Oorroo!
Geoff.