Helston Revisited

[Graham T]

1 hour ago, Andy Keane said:

Here is @Graham T's painting all framed up and hanging in my study (aka the railway pondering place). I am of course, chuffed.

 

A nice, simple frame Andy.  That's what I would have chosen too.  Looks good!

 

[Andy Keane]

6 minutes ago, Graham T said:

 

A nice, simple frame Andy.  That's what I would have chosen too.  Looks good!

 

Its charcoal grey - black looked too severe. Really very pleased with the end result.

[BWsTrains]

@Andy Keane said "Thanks for the link - I think your photos show the benefit of actually having three dimensional letters rather than a flat printed strip of paper.

I will post back my efforts when I have them - yours though are a hard act to follow - mine will probably be less good."

 

Agreed, even at lower resolution the benefit of 3D can be seen.

 

I've had some useful discussions about 3D printing with my 12 yr old grandson who has done some 3D printing design and laser cutting in 1st year high school here. He's hopefully going to be a great help as his knowledge of using 3D CAD software knocked me off my feet! 

 

The roof vents took a tiny step forward to possibility.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by BWsTrains
add quote

[Harlequin]

Yes, you absolutely need raised lettering for the running-in boards because the relief is much more visible than on the signal box nameplates.

 

Here's my attempt:

 

And the first 4mm scale print looks promising, although I need to do a bit of work on a few things.

 

Phil

[Andy Keane]

7 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

@Andy Keane said "Thanks for the link - I think your photos show the benefit of actually having three dimensional letters rather than a flat printed strip of paper.

I will post back my efforts when I have them - yours though are a hard act to follow - mine will probably be less good."

 

Agreed, even at lower resolution the benefit of 3D can be seen.

 

I've had some useful discussions about 3D printing with my 12 yr old grandson who has done some 3D printing design and laser cutting in 1st year high school here. He's hopefully going to be a great help as his knowledge of using 3D CAD software knocked me off my feet! 

 

The roof vents took a tiny step forward to possibility.

 

 

Which roof vent are you working on? I have a 3D print model of the roof vent for the stable blocks and that was a great success.

[Andy Keane]

9 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

Yes, you absolutely need raised lettering for the running-in boards because the relief is much more visible than on the signal box nameplates.

 

Here's my attempt:

 

And the first 4mm scale print looks promising, although I need to do a bit of work on a few things.

 

Phil

Phil

That is excellent work. I think the key to an even cleaner result is to use a liquid resin based printing system. Certainly its what I in the end needed for my stable block roof vent and I called in favour at work where they have a new high res resin print system. They are not wildly expensive just messy to own and operate.

Andy

ps - The cast items have extra spigots at the leg bases for planting them to the correct depth and holding them there.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Andy Keane

[Harlequin]

15 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

Phil

That is excellent work. I think the key to an even cleaner result is to use a liquid resin based printing system. Certainly its what I in the end needed for my stable block roof vent and I called in favour at work where they have a new high res resin print system. They are not wildly expensive just messy to own and operate.

Andy

ps - The cast items have extra spigots at the leg bases for planting them to the correct depth and holding them there.

 

That is a resin print from my 2 year old domestic printer - so probably superseded twice over by now!

 

Resin printing isn't too messy but getting clean, reliable and repeatable prints from them is something of an art form at the moment.

 

(There are spigots on the bottom of the posts in my print. You can't see them because they are buried in the holes drilled in the ply.)

 

Phil

Edited April 13, 2023 by Harlequin

[Andy Keane]

3 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

 

That is a resin print from my 2 year old domestic printer - so probably superseded twice over by now!

 

Resin printing isn't too messy but getting clean, reliable and repeatable prints from them is something of an art form at the moment.

 

(There are spigots on the bottom of the posts in my print. You can't see them because they are buried in the holes drilled in the ply.)

 

Phil

Ah yes I see now you have it planted. Yes I guess it is just the march of technology - the one at work is brand new and cost a bit (I think about £1400).

I have looked at various videos and there seem to be making tanks and then cleaning tanks and the need to keep it all away from sunlight. Is that your experience?

Since I can drive CAD it is tempting to have a system but I doubt I would use it enough. Maybe I can persuade the club to own one but them we would need somebody to take charge which as ever is a thankless task. Or maybe an internet based service will do them at a reasonable price.

[Harlequin]

1 hour ago, Andy Keane said:

Ah yes I see now you have it planted. Yes I guess it is just the march of technology - the one at work is brand new and cost a bit (I think about £1400).

I have looked at various videos and there seem to be making tanks and then cleaning tanks and the need to keep it all away from sunlight. Is that your experience?

Since I can drive CAD it is tempting to have a system but I doubt I would use it enough. Maybe I can persuade the club to own one but them we would need somebody to take charge which as ever is a thankless task. Or maybe an internet based service will do them at a reasonable price.

 

Prints always need some tweaking in my experience and with your own printer you can turn around versions much quicker than using a printing service. You also get to know the printer's abilities and exactly how small you can push the details.

 

Making tank: The tedious bit is removing and fitting the membranes. If you're careful they last quite a long time but they need replacing every now and then when they get damaged or marked.

Cleaning tank: I use an old ice cream tub with some Meths in it. Drop the parts in, put the lid on and swish. (Maybe go in with a paint brush on some of the fine details.)

Sunlight: Direct sunlight would be bad but it's easy to avoid. I wash prints and decant resin in my utility room (small window facing east) with no problems. The printer is in my "downstairs loo" with no windows and the door kept shut. I can leave resin in the printer for days (possibly indefinitely) without it solidifying. The only problem with doing that is that the colour separates out and needs remixing, which is not easy or advisable in the tank.

Messy: A roll of kitchen paper on hand to wipe excess resin off the print plate and anywhere else it gets to.

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Harlequin

[Andy Keane]

I enquired a bit further and it was not their semi-professional £1400 printer (Prusa SL1S SPEED 3D) they used on my roof vent but a Stratsys Objet 30 Pro which cost about £25k! No wonder the results were so good.

Andy

Edited April 13, 2023 by Andy Keane

[Graham T]

Watching this one with interest chaps, as I'm looking for a running-in board for Chuffnell Regis.  As you can see, it would be rather long!

 

[Andy Keane]

57 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Watching this one with interest chaps, as I'm looking for a running-in board for Chuffnell Regis.  As you can see, it would be rather long!

 

How about "Chuffnell Regis for Chuffnell Magna"

 

[BWsTrains]

4 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Which roof vent are you working on? I have a 3D print model of the roof vent for the stable blocks and that was a great success.

 

The one which you kindly sent me a while ago! All I need is the printer now :)

Edited April 13, 2023 by BWsTrains

[Andy Keane]

24 minutes ago, BWsTrains said:

 

The one which you kindly sent me a while ago! All I need is the printer now :)

OK - I thought you perhaps creating another one when you mentioned CAD skills.

[BWsTrains]

1 hour ago, Andy Keane said:

OK - I thought you perhaps creating another one when you mentioned CAD skills.

 

It's my grandson with the skill right now, something I'm hoping to tap into. He's already given me some very useful leads. When I've something more substantial I'll report it on my topic. 

[Andy Keane]

I have been painting gas / oil lamps for the platform and yard today. I am assuming the darker of the two commonly used stone colours. But should they be matt or silk or even gloss? Maybe @The Stationmaster or @Miss Prism will know. I use a matt version on woodwork but cast metal lamp stands might perhaps have been different?

[Gilbert]

3 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

I have been painting gas / oil lamps for the platform and yard today. I am assuming the darker of the two commonly used stone colours. But should they be matt or silk or even gloss? Maybe @The Stationmaster or @Miss Prism will know. I use a matt version on woodwork but cast metal lamp stands might perhaps have been different?

I suspect at a distance they would look matt....

ChrisH

[Andy Keane]

Thanks, currently they are now matt, but I wondered about wafting some silk varnish about with the trusty airbrush. They came in gloss LMS maroon.

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Andy Keane

[Gilbert]

A test piece is never wasted Andy....

[Andy Keane]

1 minute ago, Gilbert said:

A test piece is never wasted Andy....

Indeed, and I could always go back with matt varnish.

[Gilbert]

Fundamentally - it boils down to what you are happy with Andy...Rule 1 etc....

[BWsTrains]

6 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

I have been painting gas / oil lamps for the platform and yard today. I am assuming the darker of the two commonly used stone colours. But should they be matt or silk or even gloss? Maybe @The Stationmaster or @Miss Prism will know. I use a matt version on woodwork but cast metal lamp stands might perhaps have been different?

 

What's your source of the platform gas lights? I haven't been able to find any.

 

Colin

[Andy Keane]

7 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

 

What's your source of the platform gas lights? I haven't been able to find any.

 

Colin

I am using these:

https://www.layouts4u.net/oo-scale-lighting/oo-scale-lampposts/item-code-l611-oo-scale-lampposts-pack-of-3

they are nicely made, though perhaps not a perfect match for GWR design, also they are a kind of LMS maroon. They can be used at two different lengths as well as the bottom part slides off.

You could also use these

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/gas-lamps-value-pack-brown-2x-wall-lamps-6x-post-lamps/

but they are much more expensive.

Andy

Edited April 14, 2023 by Andy Keane

[The Stationmaster]

On 13/04/2023 at 18:33, Andy Keane said:

I have been painting gas / oil lamps for the platform and yard today. I am assuming the darker of the two commonly used stone colours. But should they be matt or silk or even gloss? Maybe @The Stationmaster or @Miss Prism will know. I use a matt version on woodwork but cast metal lamp stands might perhaps have been different?

Judgng by their appearance in later years, and what happened when BR was painting them in the mid 1950s they may well j have started off painted gloss.  But it weathered down to non-go loss in only a few years.  The gas lamps on the platform at our local station were repainted in 1956 but by the time they were replaced c.1962/3 there's no way that you would think the paint had ever been gloss on any of the surfaces exposed to everyday weather.  And they had been like that from within no more than 2-3 years of being painted.

 

So unless it is fresh paint everywhere on theh station I would go for a matt finish every time for lamp posts.

 

On 14/04/2023 at 07:57, Andy Keane said:

I am using these:

https://www.layouts4u.net/oo-scale-lighting/oo-scale-lampposts/item-code-l611-oo-scale-lampposts-pack-of-3

they are nicely made, though perhaps not a perfect match for GWR design, also they are a kind of LMS maroon. They can be used at two different lengths as well as the bottom part slides off.

You could also use these

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/gas-lamps-value-pack-brown-2x-wall-lamps-6x-post-lamps/

but they are much more expensive.

Andy

The one in the first link isn't very much removed from the detail on some of them at the station here.   But the odd thing about this station was that there was mote than one sort of top, with slight variations in detail and more than one pattern of post as well among the gas lamps out on the platforms.  The pic below shows the most common type in early BR days.   Going by other features visible in the original photo I reckon the painting style  predates the BR 1956 repainting of the station so is most likely from GWR days.  Older photos, pre 1914, show the lamps - with some slight variation in the detail of the top casing visible even back then, painted all over in a very dark colour. 

 

A lamp off the end of the platform - illuminatung (?) an area where shunting took place hada completely different top par from the one below anda much taller post.

 

[Andy Keane]

Mike - thanks for this I will go matt and a bit dirty I think.

 

31 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

A lamp off the end of the platform - illuminating (?) an area where shunting took place had a completely different top par from the one below and a much taller post.

 

I was also planning to use the same lamps but with the height extension for the yard lamps - there was one near the engine shed and a couple more in the yard.

The platform lamps looked like this:

while the only image I have of the yard lamp is like this:

So clearly taller but not totally different and since so few designs are readily available I plan to use the same shape lamps for both, though I could file of some of the extra detail to simplify them a bit for the yard?