chaz Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Oh that stone work again glorious it is, so real so heavy, solid stuff Chaz. That dry brushing technique you describe above I've noted but not tried but it does look like a delicate wash has been applied it/s so subtle. Regards Thanks for the encouraging comment. Now that I am back on task with the FVRR taking over from North London as my focus I will be getting on with the girder bridge section. Once the "water" is installed the abutments can be fixed in place. So I will be painting them quite soon. Then the bridge itself can be dropped in and rail spiked to the bridge ties. Now that will be a heady moment.... Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 I am about to start hand laying track (the fiddle yard is all code 100 Peco) on the FVRR but I am in a bit of a quandry. I can't decide whether to stick to DCC or to switch to some form of radio control with onboard batteries. There are lots of advantages to RC which have been discussed at length in other topics on the forum but the question is - How close am I to being able to buy the kit that will meet my needs (performance on a par with DCC, including sound, but with no need for track wiring)? There is a lot to do on the FVRR before I can start operating it but I would appreciate some advice on the likelihood of RC coming soon. I am aware that there are some systems promised, some working, some still in development but at least one of these appears to have a somewhat elastic deadline. I can't be the only one "champing at the bit".... Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted December 13, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2014 Continue with DCC. Rc will take a while to arrive and, like DCC in trains, will take a while to get hold, batteries to develop and come down in price. Yes rc has been around for years in planes, boats, tanks and large garden railways etc but, from my own readings, there's not the weight in numbers to make it competitive/a better solution in smaller scale trains yet. It will come at some point but, as you say, the timescales are somewhat elastic. Mind you, I'm never an 'early adopter' as I prefer to buy stuff when the technology and price has bedded down! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJon30 Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Chaz I think the key is battery technology, once that catches up then RC will be the way to go. At the weekend we had a running session at Gifford Street and one of our members had a RC O gauge 2P 4-4-0 which operated nicely with a heavy rake of whitemetal milk tanks. However the tender was crammed full of batteries, which would make it difficult to fit into smaller loco's and still give the same amount of power / running time. I like your new project and will watch with interest (as you can see from my picture I am into Colorado NG) Rgds Andrew Jones Luton MRC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted December 13, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2014 I think if you want to go Radio control the use of the bachman mechs may not help. You really need top quality coreless low current motors in order to keep he battery size down. Why go for a DCC system which offers cordless control. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 (edited) I think if you want to go Radio control the use of the bachman mechs may not help. You really need top quality coreless low current motors in order to keep he battery size down. Why go for a DCC system which offers cordless control. Don Those few replies above suggest that I should stick with DCC for the moment. Better the devil you know.....? I was originally going to use my Lenz DCC system and just "borrow it" occasionally to power Dock Green at shows. I could easily revert to this - the cables with plugs to suit are already in place under the staging. Of course if shifting it for shows becomes too irksome I could spend the money that I would otherwise have spent on RC on a system just for the FVRR. I must admit I do find the arguement that one should avoid being in at the start of any innovation - better to wait until the bugs have been sorted - very persuasive! Exactly what I did with DCC - buying my first system two or three years after Lenz's pioneering work. The immediate implication is that I should continue soldering dropper wires to every piece of rail as I lay it - not too irksome.... Chaz Edited December 13, 2014 by chaz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 (edited) I want to put my own numbering and "Furness Valley" name on the locos and later on all the passenger and freight cars. To remove the original lettering I tried white spirit, lighter fuel and meths but these had no effect. I thought it wise not to try cellulose thiners knowing the effect this has on plastic and enamel paint. I tried a glass-fibre brush and although this did the job it did spoil the surface. I am now using T-Cut. It takes longer than the scratch brush but it does leave surface detail (rivets etc) undamaged. Once the T-Cut has done the job and been polished away the surface looks like this. As you can see the paint is now very glossy (inevitable with a product like T-Cut!). No problem with this - a gloss surface is better for waterslide transfers and an overspray of Dull-Cote will (I hope) put this right. There are also subtle traces of the original lettering - I think this happens because the T-Cut wears away some of the paint but can't attack that bit under the lettering until the latter has been removed. I hope that once the transfers have been applied, matte varnish added and the weathering put on this will be invisible. Chaz Edited December 14, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) Even with most of the stock being RTR there is still a lot do. Here is a Bachmann stock car which I have changed a little during a break from woodwork.... I took off the "Colorado Southern" on the board with T-Cut and put on "FVRR" and a running number. The edges of the transfers are visible but I am hoping that Dullcote will make them less so. I also painted the wheels and trucks with a dirty colour to see if it's worth doing. From a lot of angles the trucks are completely invisible (a friend of mine asserts that the US NG rolling stock doesn't have wheels). It is certainly worth losing the shine on the wheels and the unconvincingly clean black of the trucks Of course it still looks pretty much out-of-the-box but that should change when I weather it. Chaz PS - this is the only stock car I have - if you have one or two lurking in a drawer you would like to sell let me know. PM? Edited December 15, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr2 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 As you can see the paint is now very glossy (inevitable with a product like T-Cut!). No problem with this - a gloss surface is better for waterslide transfers and an overspray of Dull-Cote will (I hope) put this right. There are also subtle traces of the original lettering - I think this happens because the T-Cut wears away some of the paint but can't attack that bit under the lettering until the latter has been removed. I hope that once the transfers have been applied, matte varnish added and the weathering put on this will be invisible. Chaz Chaz, when aircraft & armour modellers are being lazy & only have a small number of transfers to apply, we sometimes just apply patches of gloss varnish, apply decals & then matt coat. However, I find that when I do this I can still tend to see a difference in the final sheen of the 'patched' area. I now give the whole surface a gloss coat before decalling, even if there's only one transfer to go on. You might find it better to give the whole tender side a quick T-cutting to get the same sheen all over. On the other hand, you may notice no difference & it's just me...!! keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) Chaz, when aircraft & armour modellers are being lazy & only have a small number of transfers to apply, we sometimes just apply patches of gloss varnish, apply decals & then matt coat. However, I find that when I do this I can still tend to see a difference in the final sheen of the 'patched' area. I now give the whole surface a gloss coat before decalling, even if there's only one transfer to go on. You might find it better to give the whole tender side a quick T-cutting to get the same sheen all over. On the other hand, you may notice no difference & it's just me...!! keith Thanks for that thought Keith. I have wondered whether a patch might be visible once the job is finished. My hope is that once a layer of filth is added, with the lettering itself less visible, any changes in the surface will disappear. Time will tell. I'm happy to use this tender as a guinea pig - if you are right then I will know what to do! Chaz edit - on second thoughts maybe it would be better to test this on something that doesn't matter too much - I have a secondhand caboose body, much hacked, which i bought in a bundle of other stock for the trucks - I could use this for a test before I apply the transfers to the tender. Edited December 15, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) Back to sawdust production.... I have just finished making the components for the next baseboard frame. This will fit on the end of the girder bridge frame. The top edge of this frame is not critical - if it's not totally flat and level it won't matter - as the roadbed on this section will be supported on risers fixed to the cross pieces. The length is important as it has to fit between two frames already in place. More later. Chaz Edited December 15, 2014 by chaz 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 I assembled the components in the photo' in the previous posting dry - that's with just screws, no glue. I'm not sure if it's worth dismantling it to put glue in as it's so secure. Then I installed it in the gap.... The LH end is hanging on a plywood plate screwed to the side of the corner frame. I am tempted to put a small bridge into the section of track that will cross this frame. It seems a shame to waste the opportunity.....I feel a sketch coming on. Chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) Spent two or three hours up in the roof getting nowhere fast - certainly not enough progress to post a photo' here - but handling a Bachmann ten-wheeler to put it away in a drawer I suddenly had a thought. I was struck by just how heavy the model is and, out of the corner of my eye, how flimsy the girder bridge looks. I thought I ought to do a weight test.... As the rails have not yet reached the bridge I put the loco' on a short bit of Peco OO. The bridge was fine, no discernable deflection or creaking noises so it should be OK with the moving traffic it will have to carry - I don't anticipate locos sitting stationary on it for long. I wasn't about to push my luck by leaving the loco' there overnight however.... Chaz PS - must get on and do the water and finish the abutments - THEN I can spike the rails in place. Edited December 16, 2014 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) Next job is to make a transition piece from Peco streamline code 100 (OO/HO) to handlaid track with code 83 rail. I was hoping I could do something with rail joiners but this doesn't look practicable. WTS for my solution - if it works Edited December 19, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) An experiment.... When I was at my first school, short trousers, snotty nose etc, I made a mask from paper mache. I remember that the several layers when dry were like home-made cardboard and quite strong so... I have decided to try something similar for the scenery on the FVRR. I started with woven strips of cereal packet card glue-gunned to packaging corrugated card formers with a few layers of kitchen towel PVA'd on. Next I mixed up a batch of paper mache - 5gm of wallpaper paste and a quarter of a pint of water to which I added the confetti from our paper shredder. Mixing this I kept adding the paper until I had a good, thick mix, stirring it thoroughly until all the paper was turning grey and soft. Applying the stuff to a bank on the layout I smoothed out each dollop of the mix with a plastic glue spreader. It's better not to make the layer too thick as it will take a long time to dry out. My first application took two weeks. Maybe this job would be better done in the summer..... I don't mind if the surface is uneven, this section will later have trees and undergrowth added. ------------------------------------------------------------ Another job which I got under way today. Those bridge abutments have been sitting around for a while. This afternoon I started painted random individual stones with thin washes. I only used three colours in varying blends. How do you know when you have done enough? Dunno! There's a fair amount of guessing involved in creating these effects, but when you think you've done enough just do a few more.....I am considering whether it might be better to do all the stonework like this before I add several all-over washes, building up the colour of the walls - the random coloured stones will be muted but will show through subtly - giving some variation when it's all finished. Chaz Edited January 6, 2015 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted January 6, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 6, 2015 Chaz, I used the same 'bold paint first then fade to grey' approach on this pub I made for Diesels in the Duchy. Works well IMO. There's better close up photos somewhere of the finished building but I'll be dammed if I can find them. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Chaz, I used the same 'bold paint first then fade to grey' approach on this pub I made for Diesels in the Duchy. Works well IMO. post-6675-126946824416_thumb.jpg post-6675-126946823711_thumb.jpg post-6675-127670931049_thumb.jpg There's better close up photos somewhere of the finished building but I'll be dammed if I can find them. That looks really good, thanks for the encouragement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Finished the random painting on the abutment, will leave for an hour or more before putting one or more washes over the top, which will tone down the rather piebald effect (as on Chris's excellent pub above). A relief to finish another marathon job.... ...hang on a minute. There's another abutment to do yet....AAARRRRRGGGGG I think I know what I am going to be doing this evening. Chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Well, that's done. Or at least the first coat. Looks bl**dy awful IMHO. I'm hoping that the later washes will rescue this particular disaster effort. A job for tomorrow when this paint job from pixie-land has dried off. Have faith - the later washes will subdue all this ghastliness, won't they? PLEASE!!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted January 8, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 8, 2015 It will be fine Chaz. When I did the pub, my wife thought I'd gone mad when the first bold colouring pass was done. The grey tone washes work very well. Carry on, have faith. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 It will be fine Chaz. When I did the pub, my wife thought I'd gone mad when the first bold colouring pass was done. The grey tone washes work very well. Carry on, have faith. Thanks for that. I am tempted to reduce the intensity of the darkest stones with the fibreglass pencil, before I add washes - what do you think? I do prefer my effects subtle. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted January 9, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks for that. I am tempted to reduce the intensity of the darkest stones with the fibreglass pencil, before I add washes - what do you think? I do prefer my effects subtle. Chaz There was significant contrast in the colours used on my pub and the subsequent washes reduced this considerably. I'd leave it to the washes to reduce and blend the colours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 An unexpected hitch to the first wash. The DAS was glued to the foamboard structure behind with PVA but that didn't stop it pulling away in a dramatic curve. I have popped a lot more PVA into the gap and held it flat with bulldog clips. I will post more progress - probably this evening if the PVA is holding when I remove the clips. If it is held flat it might well go back to its original flat shape anyway as it dries out. I remember a similar thing happening to the sample piece I did of cobble stones before I cobbled the yard on Dock Green. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) Progress on the abutments First a section of wall with the rather nasty first paint - a bit lurid. Next the same section after a thorough going over with a fibre-glass pencil. A bit more acceptable. Next photo shows the stonework after the first wash application - a mix of black and raw sienna - thinned out with plenty of water. And finally a photo of both abutments after a second, slightly thicker (less dilute) wash. The paint is still wet in this picture and may well dry somewhat lighter. I will decide tomorrow whether the stonework needs more paint - possibly some dry-brushed highlights.... Chaz Edited January 9, 2015 by chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Four photos of the abutments tried in place with the bridge temporarily plonked in position. Looks good I think, most encouraging. There is still quite a lot to do before the rails are spiked down. Major job next is to sort out the river - much easier to do this if the bridge is removed. I have some ideas on how this will be done and there will be much borrowing of the ideas in Gordon Gravett's book "Modelling Grassland and Landscape Details". Chaz Edited January 10, 2015 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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