Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Thanks Guys,

You are very kind.

Today I thought I would rip into my bridge and make some more headway, however Mrs. Gormo seconded me to her Dolls House project. All of the walls have been papered or painted and generally she has come to the stage where assembly and electrical is required. So after a "Please can you help me put the dolls house together and wire it up" request, I was lost for the day. Anyway.???? how can you say no after all.???

Well folks, a fairly simple and straight forward job took about 11 hours to complete and I`ll be blessed if I can see why, but that`s how long it took, partly due to electrical issues and having to take the thing apart a few times. Anyway we won in the end and Mrs. Gormo is a happy camper tonight decorating her 1/12th scale world with some of the things she has acquired lately.

This was essentially all bits of flat pack earlier today



Mrs. G is trying to replicate her childhood home in London, or as close as she can get to it with what is available. It`s basically set around the 50`s and 60`s.



She has scratch built the fire place and chimney breast and the timber floor which is actually made from card.



Still loads of work to do. I cut the trenches in the floors for her. They carry the wiring for the ceiling lights of the floor below. This floor will now be covered with a timber finish of her own doing.



Here`s the start of the retro kitchen.



And here is a step towards how the lounge room will finish up.



Skirting boards and cornices still have to be fitted. The lounge suite above has to be covered and a number of other details have to be added. This stage we have here though, has been a long time coming and in itself is an exercise in delayed gratification.

So there you have it my friends.....Gormo`s one day excursion into the world of 1/12th scale.

http://www.clickGormo...........off to bed now.......I`m stuffed !!!

 

Thanks Brett,
The lighting is the worst part. The retailer who sold Mrs.G the dolls house convinced her that copper tape would be the way to go as bus wires for the circuit. Well it`s easy enough to put onto the back of the doll house, however it`s very fragile when you`re trying to remove some of the insulation for soldering. I actually broke the circuit and had to repair it.
The lights all have tiny globes the size of a grain of rice with two tiny wires that have to fit into sockets in the lights. One globe was faulty and had to be replaced, which involves removing the lower floor to get at it. The sockets are so small I had to wear my magnifying visor to do the job.
I think I would rather work on N gauge trains.....it would be easier, based on my new experience. I would not use copper tape again. I`d go for a wire bus as used on model railways.
http://www.clickGormo

 

Wise move Brett..........Mums the word...

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G`day Folks,

I put in a good session today on my girder bridge. It`s not quite finished but it`s very, very close.

So this is where I started with card strips cut to cover the top of the remaining girder and the foil rivet detail cut as well to sit on top of the card. Some of the card strip was added to other areas to add detail and relief.





Once the card was applied the foil was glued to the card



You can see where the coloured card was added



Now it`s off to the paint shop



So far so good



The bridge is a bit too clean so weathering was applied using acrylics dry brushed on and pastel scraped off as powder and worked in with a brush.



The other side



Paving was then added......it matches the paving in the town.



Then it was time to add the tarmac which is Wet & dry paper



Then the tarmac was dirtied up and scuffed a little and blended with the end of the roadway in the town and then some centre lines were added with white water colour pencil.

I still have to add some small brick walls at each end of the bridge but by the time I had added the first little wall I was starting to make mistakes and so thought the better of it and packed it in for the day.

So this is where it is at the moment albeit with a doctored photo. The sky is the only fake part...the rest is genuine. Where the little brick walls meet the pavement in the town, there will be small steel fence sections blocking the end of the town pavement so nobody can fall down onto the railway lines....



More as it happens

http://www.clickGormo

 

G`day Brett,

The rivets are home made. The foil is from Aluminium foil baking trays. The tool to make the rivets is a small gear wheel from an old clock. The gear wheel is fitted to a handle via an axle, same system as a pizza cutter. I run the gear wheel along a steel straight edge to give a line of rivets. All this is done on a standard cutting mat.

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Thanks Toto,

This bloomin` bridge almost became a bridge too far at one stage. It was started yonks ago and then left whilst I built other things and now it`s almost finished ....finally.!!

Better late than never.

http://www.clickGormo

 

G`day Again,

Thanks Steve......the rivet system works on brass equally as well.......I`ve tried that but the Aluminiun foil trays are much cheaper. $1.20 each and that makes a lot of rivets and also corrugated roofing. There is plenty of potential for their use I would think.....a Water Tank for example or possibly corners of an open wagon...etc.etc.??

Yes Brett.......pointy points are to be avoided. The points on my wheel are ever so slightly rounded and will make an impression without breaking through. You must also use a cutting mat so as to allow enough give under the foil to make the impression. If you can get hold of an old mechanical / wind up alarm clock or similar, you may find what you need inside there. Just make sure it`s completely unwound before you take it apart.!!

At the end of the day it`s all trial and error but worth persisting with.

http://www.clickGormo.....Goodnight all......ZZZZzzzzzzzzzz

 

Thanks Ian & Chris,

I don`t know where I go from here with the foil Chris.???.....I suppose the next thing will be Nissan huts but that`s a way off yet I think. I`ve already tested the foil to see if I can roll it when corrugated and it works. I got it down to 40mm approx diameter so a larger diameter will be a piece of cake.!!!

I`m also looking at reviving my Superquick ( old ) goods shed and I think I`ll give it a corrugated roof for a start. That should lift it`s appearance considerably.??

http://www.clickGormo