I've recently commissioned Andy Pearce of Www.railmodel.co.uk to produce one of his kits in laser cut wood in 4mm, which is modified from his “Holloway” Midland Region signal box. I’ll hopefully post progress here, but on opening the box I’m quite impressed. Now, what I will say is, I’m building the prototype (see, not just Yorkie gets that privilege!) so may take a while, but on opening the box, I’m pleasantly surprised. Good written instructions, a CD Rom with photos of how to build it (no don’t referenced in the instructions) a coaster! , a smashing set of laser cut wood parts that have an odour of... bonfires! And acetate for glazing and an A4 sheet of grey card pre laser cut as roofing tiles. More in a few weeks due to holidays.
Sorry for the delay. Been working on other projects and it’s fallen by the wayside. Long nights coming. Maybe now is the time to start.
That's certainly a very well organised kit pack Andy, all in separate sections for each part of the build. Some of the other kit makers could learn from that! Keith.
Finally made a start and a cock up on the first bit.. failed to read the instructions re upper and lower, so I’m having to go a slight variation on the instructions. Also had to do a slight mod, as this kit was designed especially for me but looks like Andrew may have made a small error in the front window spacing, trimmed out with the craft knife. Floor beams next!
Little more progress this morning. Had a few hiccups, must use the photos provided!!! Yes, there really is the timbers to support the floor in a 4mm model! waiting for some other parts to dry(floor in loose to keep it square) and then as you can see it needs a trim back.
Oh, my last post seems to have gone awol! I’ll try again. Trimmed the floor back... trimmed it too short. So I managed to slice the thickness missing off the off cut and glue it back in place. Actually, you can hardly see it. (Sorry no photo, try and get one at a later stage) on with the build. all four sides on and started fitting the delicate outside timber overlays. Not sure if I’ve made an error as I have gaps. Not sure if to shape and craft this with wood filler or milliput. Any suggestions? Side on. This is where the stair case will be. the back showing again the timbers. Floor out.. can you spot the join? And a selection of the windows and doors. Sadly, some of the big windows for the front didn’t survive packaging and posting so Andy is sorting me some replacements. The other end.. this is pre clean up with sand paper. Damaged windows. And to bring us up to date... Building the roof timbers. I’ve made it so that it should lift off - the side panels glue over and there is a number of pre cut paper tiles to overlay later. That could be interesting! As I’m awaiting new windows and don’t have any primer, I’ll probably move on to the stair case next. I’ll write a full review when complete, but it’s a nice sturdy model.
Impressive work Andy and nicely done too, I cannot see the floor joint and fairly certain nobody will ever notice anyway. Shame about the window glazing bars, they look incredibly delicate to touch. You could always model an unrestored signal cabin on a preservation site or just paint it Rail Blue as a closed signal box.
I reckon the floor joint is the lighter edge to the right Andy? First time I've actually seen floor joists modelled, roof trusses and double hipped roof too, that's certainly going the detailing distance for a 4mm laser cut model! Keith.
And the roof timbers are done. now for the panels and facia boards. This was fiddly and with hind sight I could have made a little bit better job. One seems too short, yet matches with the other one at 90 degrees. Won’t see it when the roof is on though.
