Thursday, March 28, 2024

A quick and dirty wagon

 

Coal Wagon
A tight deadline, and a need for a wagon to load with coal. I could use a clean one, straight from the box, but it would look so much better if it was suitably dirty. How fast can I muck up a model? 

Little more than 20 minutes it turns out. If I dry each stage with a hair dryer anyway.

Step 1 - Lightly abraide the sides with a fat fibreglass pencil to add some wear. 

Step 2 - Matt varnish the model. 

Step 3 - Dry brush the black bits with Humbrol 69. 

Step 4 - Dry brush the metalwork with Humbrol 70.

Step 5 - Add some Revell 9 streaked lightly down the sides. Again, mostly dry brushing. 

Step 6 - Give the model a wash with black Citadel wash, dragging it vertically down the sides again. Use the same stuff inside the wagon. 

And there we go. Not the most sophisticated weathering job in the world, but not bad. Some powder would really finish things off, but I wanted to keep my fingers clean to use the camera, so it can wait.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Warehouse Wednesday: Finnieston Crane

 

Finnieston Crane

Final set of photos from Glasgow - and I've saved my favourite to last. The amazing Finnieston Crane.

I'm not going to pretend to know very much about this, instead check the Wikipedia page.  Instead, enjoy a selection of photos I took over the weekend. 

Finnieston Crane

Finnieston Crane

Finnieston Crane

Finnieston Crane

Finnieston Crane

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Making a diorama base

 

For work, I make a lot of small dioramas. These usually have a 4mm thick MDF base, because it's cheap and I just hack a bit off the big sheet in the garage. MDF is pretty inert, and for my purposes, isn't affected by anything I use on top of it. 

Handy, because most of the time, what goes on top first, is some ready-mix DIY wall filler, smoothed with a wet pallete knife. Plywood would go all wobbly.

Much of the time, I'm building a slice of scenery, which needs a raised edge along the back, and this time it occured to me that it I made a gaffer tape wall around the edge, it would be less faff than piling the filler up, and then sanding it back. 

And it worked!

The trick seems to be to split the tape so it's only sticking to the side of the MDF. I used a full bit at the back, tucked under the board to fill the gaps between the split stuff, and it leaked a little. Also, harder to remove. The trick for this is just like masking tape, almost fold it back on itself when you peel it away, and it doesn't bring the plaster with it. 

I'll be useing this technique again...


Monday, March 25, 2024

Baguley-Drewry comparisons

 

Baguley-Drewry models

A rare opportunity presented itself recently. The new Bachmann 009 Baguley-Drewry sent to BRM for review, found its way to me. Which gives me the chance to compare it to the kit-built version I made years ago. 

The first thing to mention, is that they are slightly different machines. Bachmann's is the 70hp loco, while the Narrow Planet kit represents the 99hp variant. Basicaly, the bonnet is longer. 

Baguley-Drewry

Apart from that, you can see the family resemblance. 

The RTR model is very nice. A diecast body gives it plenty of weight, and on test at All Pally in my cake cover layout, it ran very, very sweetly. 

Having said that, the kit, a mix of 3D printed and etched parts, stands up perfectly well to it. The main difference is paint, perhaps I'm not as good as the Chinese factory, but it's not far off. Running is as good as the RTR model, thanks to the TomyTec chassis underneath. 

Baguley-Drewry models

Cost? The kit (when available) is £40 plus chassis. RRP on the RTR version is £119.95, but this will be discounted. So, even allowing for the chassis, this kit would be a bit cheaper, but of course, you still have to assemble it. Not a difficult job by any means, but if you are scared of modelling, then that will be a hurdle. 

Mind you, if you have a suitable layout, you'll need one of each, so go for it!

A full review of Bachmann's loco appears in the April issue of BRM.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Ally Pally 2024

The London Festival of Railway Modelling took place last weekend, and as usual, I spent the weekend on my feet, talking to anyone and everyone. I've heard suggestions of 6000 visitors on Saturday, and they all seemed to want to ask questions!

So, my exploration was pretty limited, but there were some cracking layouts to be seen. 

The first one I spotted, partly because it it's displayed higher than most, and nicely, brightly lit, was Tramlink. This is a very modern scene and there's no hint of the steam era.

The Royal Albert Bridge is apparently part of a Great Model Railway Challenge layout - and it's a fantastic model. Once that quayside is complete, I'll defintely be chansing it to photograph for a magazine feature. 

The Yard is O16.5, industrial, and full of operating features. I'd love to have the skill to produce something like this, but the engineering is beyond me. It's very much worth a look if you get the chance to see it at a show. 

And finally, the best pair of Lego layouts I've ever seen. Better still, they could be driven, using what I think are Scalextric controllers, by the public. I should say "the kids" but I had a go, and so did my boss!

These are just four of my favourites, but there were plenty more. Tradewise, the show is a bit box-shifter heavy, but that's the consequence of a London venue pushing the prices up. There was plenty of variety though, and the prices on second-hand items were considered by many to be more reasonable than normal. I picked up a Tri-ang wagon to match the giraffe cars for £6, which is definitely a good deal. 

One complaint - that floor is HARD - I certainly knew about it by mid afternoon! But it's well worth it for all the chat. If you came along, thanks very much, I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did.