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.