#modelrailway — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #modelrailway, aggregated by home.social.
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Slowly realising that when making tiny parts, that it's way, way easier to assemble and glue larger pieces and cut them down to size than the other way around.
Once cut up, the longer piece in the photo that was just glued together using the brass tube as a jig will form the main body for several Kato NW2 coupler shims, the prototype for which can be seen next to it.
The prototype was made by cutting up then gluing together all four pieces. Would not recommend tring to glue 2mm pieces of styrene together. 🤯
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Slowly realising that when making tiny parts, that it's way, way easier to assemble and glue larger pieces and cut them down to size than the other way around.
Once cut up, the longer piece in the photo that was just glued together using the brass tube as a jig will form the main body for several Kato NW2 coupler shims, the prototype for which can be seen next to it.
The prototype was made by cutting up then gluing together all four pieces. Would not recommend tring to glue 2mm pieces of styrene together. 🤯
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Foof. Tried to do some gentle railway modelling in the cabin. All blinds drawn all day. Glowing like a horse after 5 minutes. Maybe tomorrow morning then.
Good news, I successfully stripped and tinned one set of point motor wires and then attached them robustly to the control electronics. Two to go!
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Foof. Tried to do some gentle railway modelling in the cabin. All blinds drawn all day. Glowing like a horse after 5 minutes. Maybe tomorrow morning then.
Good news, I successfully stripped and tinned one set of point motor wires and then attached them robustly to the control electronics. Two to go!
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Instead I’m using the last of the morning cool to … cut, strip and tin the last 20 control wires. I will be glad when this job is done! #ModelRailway
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Instead I’m using the last of the morning cool to … cut, strip and tin the last 20 control wires. I will be glad when this job is done! #ModelRailway
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Grr the point motor wires aren’t stripped back and tinned very far. Getting them into the point controller electronics is fiddly as anything. Stripping the wires back further makes it worse. Not helped by a dodgy screwdriver. Trip to Screwfix beckons. #ModelRailway
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Grr the point motor wires aren’t stripped back and tinned very far. Getting them into the point controller electronics is fiddly as anything. Stripping the wires back further makes it worse. Not helped by a dodgy screwdriver. Trip to Screwfix beckons. #ModelRailway
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Gluing up some prototype SBX coupler shims.
The square section brass tube being used as jig is 3×3mm.
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Gluing up some prototype SBX coupler shims.
The square section brass tube being used as jig is 3×3mm.
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Why she ended up with a Chinese whistle, I don't know. Some S160s did end up in China, but not this one. She was shipped straight to France, ended up working for SNCF before moving to the Hungarian state railways before eventually being accidentally sent for scrap, rescued and brought over here.
When I'm working on her, there are parts I find still stamped with her Hungarian number on (411.144) #ModelRailway
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Why she ended up with a Chinese whistle, I don't know. Some S160s did end up in China, but not this one. She was shipped straight to France, ended up working for SNCF before moving to the Hungarian state railways before eventually being accidentally sent for scrap, rescued and brought over here.
When I'm working on her, there are parts I find still stamped with her Hungarian number on (411.144) #ModelRailway
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That whistle too is brilliant. Apparently (and I learnt this from the model’s manual), it’s a Chinese 5 chime whistle. #ModelRailway
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That whistle too is brilliant. Apparently (and I learnt this from the model’s manual), it’s a Chinese 5 chime whistle. #ModelRailway
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Bloody amazing. He’s even got her loose rods clanking, which is one thing I felt was missing from the official sound! #ModelRailway
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Bloody amazing. He’s even got her loose rods clanking, which is one thing I felt was missing from the official sound! #ModelRailway
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Beading cut, placed into the right places (I hope) and the sides given a spray of primer for plastic parts. The teak varnish has turned up so the next thing is to test my abilities with that on some scrap wood to see whether I've got the right stuff/whether I'm capable.
The last railway kit I built was an Airfix loco 50 years ago...
I've done lots of research on gresley teak coaches and their interiors. You can go mad on detailing.
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Beading cut, placed into the right places (I hope) and the sides given a spray of primer for plastic parts. The teak varnish has turned up so the next thing is to test my abilities with that on some scrap wood to see whether I've got the right stuff/whether I'm capable.
The last railway kit I built was an Airfix loco 50 years ago...
I've done lots of research on gresley teak coaches and their interiors. You can go mad on detailing.
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He has arrived!
Perfect timing. Thanks to photogra-fix.com for a super job.
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He has arrived!
Perfect timing. Thanks to photogra-fix.com for a super job.
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Spent ages making a jig to glue the base and ends to the sides and now I don't think I need it.
I've returned to the sides - where they are glued together leaves a glue mark and there should be a piece of plastic to cover that. What I'm learning is that the kit doesn't contain all the parts so you have to improvise.
Here's 5 lengths of 0.8mmx1mm printed on the printer ready to cut and glue.
Next is probably the hardest bit for me - painting it teak
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Spent ages making a jig to glue the base and ends to the sides and now I don't think I need it.
I've returned to the sides - where they are glued together leaves a glue mark and there should be a piece of plastic to cover that. What I'm learning is that the kit doesn't contain all the parts so you have to improvise.
Here's 5 lengths of 0.8mmx1mm printed on the printer ready to cut and glue.
Next is probably the hardest bit for me - painting it teak
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Bärstadts bekanntester Bewohner mit seinem blauen Bauwagen auf der Anlage der Modelleisenbahnfreunde Odenwaldkreis. (06/12/2025)
#modellbahnfreunde_odenwald #bärstadt #michelstadt #odenwald #löwenzahn #modelbuilding #peterlustig #bauwagen #ZDF #kindheit #modellbahn #modellbahnh0 #modelleisenbahn #landscapemodel #modelrail #modellbahnanlage #modelrailway #modelrailroad #hOscale #kinderprogramm #h0scale #1zu87 #187scale #h0 #modeltrainlayout #modeltrains #hO #kleingarten #tvsendung #üwagen
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Damn. Was doing some testing of the railway - clearing out the storage sidings to do some work on them - and found I forgot to cut away a piece of plywood from one of the recently fitted upper baseboards. It blocks the outer track on the helix! I can see the marks I made for the cuts. But, um, forgot. And clearly I hadn’t run trains with the boards installed. Or if I had, only with rolling stock that just happened to squeeze past.
Can I remove enough without removing the board? Probably not. Best, I think, to accept now that the board is coming out again. Albeit briefly. What a pain. Also I’d just populated it with rolling stock from the storage sidings. So I need to move all them again too.
I might just have a quick go to see how accessible that spot is, anyway. Just in case.
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Damn. Was doing some testing of the railway - clearing out the storage sidings to do some work on them - and found I forgot to cut away a piece of plywood from one of the recently fitted upper baseboards. It blocks the outer track on the helix! I can see the marks I made for the cuts. But, um, forgot. And clearly I hadn’t run trains with the boards installed. Or if I had, only with rolling stock that just happened to squeeze past.
Can I remove enough without removing the board? Probably not. Best, I think, to accept now that the board is coming out again. Albeit briefly. What a pain. Also I’d just populated it with rolling stock from the storage sidings. So I need to move all them again too.
I might just have a quick go to see how accessible that spot is, anyway. Just in case.
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I tested whether the Kirk kit would stick to the jig accidentally by using an off-cut sprue and it didn't so that's good.
Both sides carefully sanded with wet and dry and glued with Slaters MEK-PAK now - next is to cut the plasticard to length and glue it to the back when the glue has set to give it some rigidity.
Then I guess I need to paint it teak. That'll be a challenge for me....
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I tested whether the Kirk kit would stick to the jig accidentally by using an off-cut sprue and it didn't so that's good.
Both sides carefully sanded with wet and dry and glued with Slaters MEK-PAK now - next is to cut the plasticard to length and glue it to the back when the glue has set to give it some rigidity.
Then I guess I need to paint it teak. That'll be a challenge for me....
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I caved and got my ugly American thing. In the end, I felt continuing my series of models of locos I’ve worked on was worth doing. #ModelRailway
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I caved and got my ugly American thing. In the end, I felt continuing my series of models of locos I’ve worked on was worth doing. #ModelRailway
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This evening I installed the second baseboard across the end of the existing layout. But before I could do that I had some final helix work to do.
First off, the last bit needed ballasting, and then where the ballast stops I painted the track bed black.
The helix emerges from a tunnel mouth into the station. I wanted to install a section of tunnel wall over the top of the last 120° of the top of the helix so that the train really does emerge from proper darkness. There are a lot of LEDs under the boards, some flash, some are just bright. I don’t want any light leakage.
So I 3D printed some formers that clip onto the helix, then cut sections of shaper sheet to fit over the top, the insides painted black. It’s not super neat, but it works…
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This evening I installed the second baseboard across the end of the existing layout. But before I could do that I had some final helix work to do.
First off, the last bit needed ballasting, and then where the ballast stops I painted the track bed black.
The helix emerges from a tunnel mouth into the station. I wanted to install a section of tunnel wall over the top of the last 120° of the top of the helix so that the train really does emerge from proper darkness. There are a lot of LEDs under the boards, some flash, some are just bright. I don’t want any light leakage.
So I 3D printed some formers that clip onto the helix, then cut sections of shaper sheet to fit over the top, the insides painted black. It’s not super neat, but it works…
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OK - been through my Dad's kits and I have the following Ian Kirk 7mm Kits:
7206B LNER 61'6" Buffet Car
3 x 7208 LNER 61'6" Gresley Open Third
7206 LNER 61'6" Buffet Car
LNER Quint Art set which I believe to be complete
Sparmac 61'6" Full BrakeI guess as there's 3 of the Open Thirds, I'll start with them.
I know I need to make a jig to make sure everything's level - off to do some more research.
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OK - been through my Dad's kits and I have the following Ian Kirk 7mm Kits:
7206B LNER 61'6" Buffet Car
3 x 7208 LNER 61'6" Gresley Open Third
7206 LNER 61'6" Buffet Car
LNER Quint Art set which I believe to be complete
Sparmac 61'6" Full BrakeI guess as there's 3 of the Open Thirds, I'll start with them.
I know I need to make a jig to make sure everything's level - off to do some more research.
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The corner board is just about ready now for static grass. Fences fixed in place, trees balanced (for now), some other scenery decisions made and orders placed.
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The corner board is just about ready now for static grass. Fences fixed in place, trees balanced (for now), some other scenery decisions made and orders placed.
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Also been working on a better N-Possible coupler conversion for the Kato NW2 using a SBX model coupler. It requires a bit more cutting and shutting than the drop-in URS replacements, but will look a lot better in the end, will fill the giant hole left by the stock coupler removal, and should actually end up with the knuckle at the correct height above the rail head.
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Also been working on a better N-Possible coupler conversion for the Kato NW2 using a SBX model coupler. It requires a bit more cutting and shutting than the drop-in URS replacements, but will look a lot better in the end, will fill the giant hole left by the stock coupler removal, and should actually end up with the knuckle at the correct height above the rail head.
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More fine N-scale goodness: Bluford hopper, N-Possible couplers, Intermountain wheel sets, and MicroEngineering code 40 rail (code 55 behind that).
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More fine N-scale goodness: Bluford hopper, N-Possible couplers, Intermountain wheel sets, and MicroEngineering code 40 rail (code 55 behind that).
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We’re inching closer to these two baseboards getting permanently installed in the next few days. Exciting times.
Put the last two backscenes on the wall, they’re not perfect but the dodgy parts won’t be visible.
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Yesterday, inspired by the scratch building I’ve seen on YouTube, and Wallsrail in particular, I put this together. It’s the brick wall that will sit behind the small signal box on the branch line. Tonight the paints are out, let’s see if I can make it a bit more engineering brick colour and add some weathering… 😱
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Picked up a Bachmann Old Timer combine to see if I could steal its trucks for the CB&Q waycar. Have some mechanicals to sort out with it still but looks a lot better than the stock Bettendorf freight trucks already.
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Visiting Miniatur-Wunderland
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Started on the ballasting today. I’m using a fine ballast blend from Model Scenics, laid down mainly by hand with a teaspoon, then fixed with a 50/50 PVA and water mix with some washing up liquid in it. In this heat, this lot should be dry enough for me to turn the board round and do the track on the far side tomorrow evening.
Station platform is protected by two layers of Clingfilm so that I can get the ballast right up against it without glueing it in place 🤞
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It's pretty wild how much of a difference the N-Possible couplers make.
This was a low-lift conversion using N-Possible URS in a MT box (a 2004, perhaps?) since Kato's OG coupler is massive and a SBX I put in there just twisted around with all that space.
Still need to do something about the length of the shank somehow - probably by doing it properly and drilling a new hole to mount a SBX.
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I blogged about another one of my #modeltrains - a German express train with a steam locomotive.
https://makingtracks.ah-web.org/train-portraits-express-train-with-steam/
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This nifty open source hardware device is a small DCC command station which also is capable of updating firmware and sound projects on Zimo decoders.
This weekend I finally put it into the 3D printed case I've had for a while but needed to modify a bit. The LED states are surfaced to the outside of the case via 2mm acrylic rods acting as light conductors.
Details about the device and case can be found at https://openremise.at
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1. Did a very fiddly and intricate #NGauge #ModelRailway task that I don't have the energy to describe properly but rest assured I'm satisfied and happy that one of my coaches is now running and coupling properly.
2. Our guys work fast and we now have 4 #solar streetlights at intervals along our driveway, each on a home made 4.5m pole.
3. Wife is seeing her brother in Davao this weekend, so until Monday afternoon it's just me and the #dogs. And the goats. And the chickens. And one of our workers. And his duck. Quack. Went to mow a meadow...