I went to the Wrexham Hobbies and Model Railway Show today. I took some video, so the layouts are now on on Youtube, but as usual, it was a buying session. These days I don't tend to buy much at shows, I have enough rolling stock, so it is usually more the modelling side I pick up. This year I found a few bargains. Some coaches that are for a (secret) scratch build project, at £3 a pop and 120 metal wheels loose in a box for 30p each! Result!!! That means I think I now have enough wheels to electrically light my whole coach stock!
I was watching a video of a really great layout, when it twigged it was a live broadcast. Being Saturday, it then twigged that it was open on Sunday too! So I went! Even better in person, so here is my video, but YOU are too late to go! Alsager Model Railway Exhibition
So, now all the exhibitions are over, the Xmas competition is over and a couple of weeks off are looming up, what's next? I still need to catch up in this thread, with some elements of the layout I have not posted about yet and I need to resurrect a whole host of projects that I have on the go, that are all unfinished. One of the hold ups being I need to get my head into Arduino mode again, to complete a few projects that are only short of assembling the electronics and programming. It would seam from the poll that I should document as I go, so I will break my (one thread) rule and start some other threads specific to each project, else if they all get mixed up in this one, you will just lose the plot! I will prefix each one with 'Lumsdonia' and reference to them from here. Shall I wet your appetite? Animated cement mixer 16 channel lighting for twin tower flats Garage diorama Working Level crossing Lumsdonia experimental Loco Working playground diorama
Hi Timbersurf I am just working on the mechanics for a gate level crossing to be driven by an Arduino Be seeing you Bob
This might help then I have written the program for barrier type, can't imagine the gates variant would be much different
I might have given a bit of a bum steer, I completely forgot I started this Workbench thread, so I won't do an individual thread for each project, I will just keep updating in my workbench and make a bold heading above each project passage so you can keep track. Experimental Loco start now added.
Milestone done tonight, I have a Hornby pancake motor drive that has just been bought, so did my first ever (none X3) loco service! Heart failure three times, thinking the springs or brushes had poinged and hit the floor! (note to self, buy some spares for future!). Just need to buy some proper lube to finish the job.
Thanks guys. It's been an interesting and fruitful few months (since July!) Entering the comp muddied the water of progress, but has advanced loads of skills, hopefully 2019 will sprout some new adventures and finish off a huge backlog of ongoing projects. I just hope my odd scribbles and photography has been enjoyed. I certainly enjoy the banter on this forum.
Timber hope you and your family have a really wonderful Xmas for sure , now it goes without saying I have enjoyed following all your build threads, videos and constructions of Lumsdonia which to me has become a household brand name in its own right. I look forward to seeing what stuff you have planned for 2019.
Many thanks Paul . It's really nice to get some feedback. So things do progress, not entirely sure in which order over xmas, but I need to clear the decks and use the time off to finish off some workbench items. The carriage people painting exercise continues, {slowly} manage hundreds of faces last light and did all the hands this morning. I need to finish them so we get the dining room table back for xmas dinner! As always, I have to plan 2 months in advance, as most materials come from China, so research, purchase, wait, build! A few bits turned up in timely fashion for investigation over the holiday. ( spoiler-new style of lighting!) A new pair of HST's have arrived for butchering and my first ever decoder purchase!
Thanks Iain and the same to you Xmas day and what to do. No decorations up (we gave up 3 years ago), no dinning room table, so xmas dinner on our knee's. I best do another hour of painting the little people! I reckon 90% is done, just need to go back and touch up with colours used before that I have missed parts. I should get my November purchases out and test them (2x class 40 with TTS sound self pressie), but just don't have the railway/modelling mojo at the moment. On a good note, just checked my stats on the website, broke 22,000 hits yesterday and 300% hits above normal daily views so far today , seems others have nowt to do on xmas day (must be desperate if they are resorting to my website!)
So xmas dinner was on our knee's as the little people were still squatting on the dining room table. Finally painted the last ones today. I don't blame you, if you disbelieve that there are really 500 people (been painted) in this pic, I have just counted them myself to disprove my own disbelief.
Things (projects) progress very slowly, the past year has had some great successes and adventures into the learning zone, it seems this year my run of good luck is not so good! My experimentation is not going well, it's not dire, but there seems to be set backs with everything I try! But that's all part of having a go and jumping in at the deep end. The Jetstar project has gone well, with a new front end fully made, but getting the silicon to not to stick to the 3D shape is defeating me. Details here on TimberSurf's Workbench A new project has been started, the next section of my layout, it probably won't count toward the competition as I doubt very much will be achieved by march, as it is extremely complicated (4 levels to the scenery and several very large, complex bridges). So far I have laid out simple dimensions in 3D CAD, so that I can work out the spans of the first bridge, a stone arch design over canal, road and river. I had an idea to cover it with clay and am developing ideas of how to 'imprint' the stone onto the surface, it will take lots of samples and lots of go's at creating a tool, to make it work and current status is showing me that it may not! I will persevere some more trials.
I know you are especially rooting for a clay surface solution Toto, I had the idea to make a sample wall in clay, then cast resin over the top, after then removing the clay, you are left with a hard mould that can be used as a "John Bull" stamp, allowing repeated staggered imprints of bricks in soft clay surface. My clay seems too wet and the stamp just sticks to it, but after allowing the flat sheet to dry for several hours, it takes the imprint better and the stamp does not stick. I have two stamps, one made from Linka tiles and a second made from a scratch built wall. Getting alignment between the individual stamps is difficult and a lot of time is spent hand scoring the interfaces between them, overall not a great result, the samples are still drying but I don't think this is the "answer"! I think the embossed rollers that Green Stuff make, are probably the right route, but they don't make many in OO scale, (their range may suit O gauge better), I wonder if Paul could print one? Else I might have to bight the bullet and buy one of these 1:43 small-dutch-bricks or 1:72 dutch-bricks
The results are in, the Linka stamp barely works, losses from the moulding process leave an impression that is not deep enough. The hand made wall stamp does work, but simply transfers my cack handed workmanship to the final product! A quick paint and black mortar wash reveals the poor quality of brick sizes and squareness. (the pic looks better than the real world). I am casting some Linka stone tiles and some of my rough stone sheets (as used on the windmill diorama) for further experimentation. Piccy of the resin cast 'stamp' being made