Here we have a quite rare wagon from the 80’s. It was made from a converted kit by Graham and painted by myself. The paint used was Railmatch ‘faded’ rail red, that will be incorporated into a fully weathered wagon after varnishing.
This will run on Morlock Heath when we are allowed out again.
I have now painted and weathered Grahams first tests on his new 3D printer. All went well, but we did recognize that an undercoat especially for 3D printing use would have improved the finish. We have now ordered some of this product.
Overall I am very optimistic and look forward to further projects.
We have now got 3D printing capabilities within our group after Graham purchased a printer for his birthday. These are early days but its potential looks great for our future bits and pieces, or more.
I must admit after seeing some early 3D printing some 10-15 years ago I was not that impressed, but this new machine is a different world, it is fantastic!
Graham is doing this development in a steady and careful way and I will paint and weather his prototypes as they are produced.
All the below items are O Gauge and unpainted.
Since starting this project all photos have been taken inside, today I took the layout outside for its final photo shoot before storage. I do have another Fork Truck on order and this will be added, I did purchase a Gaugemaster electronic track cleaner and this will also be added to ensure good running.
Vehicles, People and Fork Trucks have been put into place and the small desert area has been detailed.
While I don’t think there is much chance of Exhibitions this year, I do hope to put together a virtual Show of all the layouts I have made during the Lockdown, five and counting!
This is my second and final Heljan Class 17, and I must say again, this is a great model and one of Heljans best ever. Again the packaging was much better than previous models, especially the ill fated Class 31 second runs.
I have numbered the Loco D8503, one of the first built. I can not trace a photo of this Loco with ploughs, so will not be fitted.
After being delayed because of the bad weather, it has now arrived. The packaging was much better than normal and the Loco arrived in great condition, in fact not a single item was lose or missing – almost a first for me!
After arrival I started to research the Class for a suitable candidate for my livery, Green with Full Warning Panel. My choice was D8608, one of the last into service, it was also a member of the Class that was fitted with Snowploughs, although I have yet to fit them.
It runs very well and the model itself looks excellent and with great heritage from the OO model.
Yes, I have eventually named the BNSF HO Layout, memories of those fantastic Mustangs and Cobras shone through in the end! I have spent the last two nights painting and weathering crates, pallets and drums, I am placing these on the layout to see the effect and how they blend, none are glued down yet. Lots more to find a home yet!
Before gluing the buildings and little items down, my thoughts turn to signage, both on the buildings and on the crates etc.
The wiring is now complete although I may add a Gaugemaster Electronic Track Cleaner. I have also completed the ballasting after the wiring. The baseboard and all back board rears have been painted. The detailing of the main board is now the next task, adding lots of scenic cameos etc. I have already purchased everything I need to complete the layout, so it is nearing completion.
Still no name for the layout yet, I must come up with something soon!
The ballasting and sanding in the yard is now just about finished, the only bit not done is the entry to the sector plate. I have wired two isolating sections on the layout for storage of Loco’s while awaiting a train.
The next task is to complete the wiring to the controller and the yard tracks. The points are manual as they are in the fiddle yard, so the wiring should not take long. After that I will finish the ballasting right up to the sector plate.
I have had lots of pallets, oil drums and crates arrive which will need painting and weathering. I have also obtained six HO figures that I will repaint. I need to get some vehicles both commercial and private cars.
Another busy few days on the BNSF layout. The buildings have now visited the garage for an airbrush and a bit of dry brushing. The main job however was the laying of about 50% of the layout with ballast and sand. After leaving it to dry overnight I then cleaned up all stray bits of ballast and ensured that a wagon ran up and down with no problems. I used a light brown paint to cover the track sides, very little rust here as it does not rain very often and the site is on the edge of an arid desert. The rule is very little rust, but lots of dust and blowing sands. I however will add some spillages and debris later.
