Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

G`day Folks,
The hotel build continues.

The windows that have the standard curtain treatment that came with the kit have had additional card glued to the back of them and then they have been over painted black. You can place a light source behind these windows now and there is no light penetration. In other words, it looks like the lights are off in those rooms, as was my intention.




Exterior paving added.








The front steps,door and porch surround added





Now I thought I would mention this minor error here. In fact it`s the second I have come across in these instructions, which adds just a bit more difficulty to the build.
We`re doing the side extension wall and it clearly says "Knock out the 5 waste window panels".




So I look at the drawing next to the instructions and I count 7 windows and a door panel..????




And here is the part in question. I still count 7 and a door.




This is no big deal.....I mean the drawing is there....the part matches the drawing.....yet this is the second mistake in the instructions. The first one referred to a bracket on Sheet 1 and yet the bracket was actually on Sheet 2.
My concern is twofold. Firstly, do the people who produce this kit actually build the kit from the instructions.????.....probably not....otherwise they would notice the errors.....and secondly, this is no great problem for someone like me who has done a bit of modelling in my life.....but what about the young lad who is just starting off into model railways, who is building his first kit and following the instructions to the letter so that he can get through the build and have something to be proud of at the end of it, yet due to incorrect instructions, he may stuff it up or give up in frustration and put it in the too hard basket.
Yes these may seem like minor criticisms to the more experienced among us, but they could be a big deal to a youngster who has just spent his pocket money on the blessed thing.
Anyway...I`ve had my whinge ........again...
Moving on
It`s looks flippin` `orrible...doesn`t it..????......but it will be fine....I want a good thick coating of paint on these parts which will never be seen again.





From the other side.






More as it happens.

Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
The hotel project continues to move forward.
I have spent quite a bit of effort creating and adding extra card to prevent light bleed from the building.
I need to now only deal with the right hand extension where it`s walls butt up to the main building and of course then there is the lighting.
I think I will create some internal card beams to hold the LED`s suspended roughly at half the height of the building.
Anyway some progress pics.
The roof sections are not fixed on yet...that will have to wait until the lights are fitted.





The right hand extension is also not fitted yet.





And the hotel has been named in honor of Murray......Gary`s friend who sadly is no longer with us, and what was once his railway, now forms Little Bardfield and Bamford on my railway.....so it`s seems appropriate that Murray be remembered in this small way for his contribution to my railway.



More as it happens
Gormo

 

Thanks Gloria,
Yes it`s getting there and hopefully won`t be too long.
Of course, to bring these buildings to life....I need to install a bus under the removable town scene....which will then allow me to fix the buildings permanently in place.
I have a design in mind which should protect the wiring and generally be a set and forget system....more on that as it develops.
Gormo

 

Nearly there folks,
Just chimneys and ridge capping required now.

The internal lighting has been mounted on a piece of card which effectively creates an internal dividing wall through the length of the building. The LED`s were inserted and wired and glued in place and then I`ve added some kitchen foil as a reflective surface.




I have wired the LED`s in series ( daisy chain ) which drops the light intensity slightly, however it`s easier than wiring in parallel.
A view of the gubbins on the back





A piece of card was fitted in up under the tops of the walls to act as a guide and a gluing point for the LED wall.




Then the wall was fitted inside the building permanently.





The LED for the side extension.





And now it`s all glued together and just waiting for chimneys, porch roof and ridge capping and any other decorative signage that I can fit on the building.














Next...??????

Gormo

 

G`day Echidna,
Thanks for your comments and yes, I would agree that normally SuperQuick kits are well documented and easy to follow.
My criticisms should be regarded as minor, however they are still valid and I would urge all manufacturers to proof read their instructions and / or documentation before shipping their goods.
That said......the model is finished, however guttering and down pipes would not go astray, so I may do a batch as I have the market square to do as well.

The buildings in this scene below are not fixed down yet, so placement may be adjusted to suit my eye.....one has to consider this very carefully. Not only does it have to look good, but it has to look right and make sense.





Anyway....Murray`s pub is finished and I`m ready for another kit build to get this little bit of town padded out.
Today saw me add, ridge capping, chimneys, porch and some signage.









The front of the hotel illuminated




So that`s it folks........onwards and upwards.

Gormo

 

Thanks Gloria.........good luck with your search.
Just a quick visual test to see if things look OK.........produce a pic in Black & White......a tip from Paul quite a few years ago.




Good night all.......ZZZZzzzzzzzz
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Well it`s no good putting lights in all these little buildings without having the ability to light them up, when the mood takes us..??..
So I had a good look at the removable section where my latest buildings will be placed, and worked out a way to wire it up to the lighting BUS wires that I already have running through a good length of the layout.
The thing with the section being removable, means that you don`t want cumbersome wires hanging off the piece whilst you`re trying to remove it from the layout. This indeed is hard enough as it is without wiring, and I need to develop an effective method to raise the section up and hold it in place so that I can then reach over the baseboards and remove it safely. Fortunately it does not have to be removed very often, however a system would be ideal and I will give that some more thought whilst I have the section out for the wiring process.
So the process for the self contained BUS on the removable section is quite a simple one.
I had some strips of ply hanging about, which I`ve cut to shape to create a triangular frame which is in the process of being glued under the removable section. The frame is smaller in dimensions than the removable section to avoid catching on supports etc. and also to keep it clear of the walls.




.




Within the frame will be two copper wires ( BUS ) stretched along most of the length, centrally and separated by a good distance to avoid any shorts. I`ve used some bits and pieces I`ve had laying around for this purpose and it all will make more sense once the wires are fitted.



The idea is to add a post of some description, to the connections at the other ends of the wire which will allow two ( positive & negative ) wired alligator clips to be connected to them from the main BUS. In other words .....jumper leads. The idea being that you can disconnect the jumper leads from the removable section and then just simply lift it out. The final piece in the puzzle will be a cover to fit over the new frame ( 3mm MDF or Ply ) so as to protect the wiring when the section is taken out and sat on something out of the way. We don`t want any accidental wiring damage. There will be two holes cut in the cover to easily access the terminal posts for the alligator clips
I`ll carry on with it in more detail tomorrow.
Gormo

 

Thanks Gary,
Glad you like it and yes, it still needs the little details as does the market hall and the little Elizabethan cottage.
It would be nice to have a beer in there...
Gormo

 

A little more to add.

BUS fitted and soldered. I have also added a divider just in case, although the likelihood of the wires touching is rather remote.





The terminal posts where the alligator clips will connect to provide power to the board. A rather simple yet effective solution. It won`t be seen so why worry about what it looks like.?
I`m just using what I`ve got hanging about.





Gormo

 

OK....job done...

The cover is on and allows easy access to the terminal connections.




I`ve bent the terminals forward so that they stay within the confines of the enclosure. Once the scenic section is removed,it will sit flat on a surface without anything protruding out from within. Therefore less chance of damage. This is making it up as you go along design folks.





The BUS for the wiring has been extended onto the board where the scenic section will sit and at the moment, the alligator clips are the end of the line.





How it looks from underneath when the scenic section has been put in place and with the LED BUS connected.








So that`s it folks, the next stage is to place the buildings on top of this section and then, drill some holes to feed the lighting wires through to the underside here for connection.

Gormo

 

Well folks,
Before we add buildings to the scene on the removable section, I need to work out a few things..... like where tarmac road will be placed, as the whole area is cobble stones at the moment.
I added some tarmac this afternoon and the scene is developing on the fly.
One thing I`ve decide on is an area around the Market Hall that will be a pedestrian precinct and therefore, I thought I`ll have to order in some bollards to chain off the area to keep vehicles out of there.
I looked up bollards on that famous auction site and they were quite reasonably priced in the UK, until you add the 53 dollars Australian on for the postage.
A 6 dollar packet of bollards for 59 dollars delivered made me cringe a little and consequently spurred me on to re-think how I would go about getting some bollards.
I have accepted a far less ornate bollard made from a flat head nail trimmed to the correct length and painted black. Once the paint is dry I will add some gold highlights and then fix some chain to them....they will look fine....and will cost considerably less than 59 dollars thank you very much. The nails will stand upside down resting on their flat heads as a base.
That`s the thing with modelling on a limited budget......it forces you to get a bit creative, rather than just going out and buying everything ready made.
I must say though, I have ordered some street lamps on that same auction site from a local supplier, and they work out at 23 dollars for 20 lamps with free postage......why would I bother to try and make them .????

Gormo

 

Good on you Gloria,
Another hands on make it yourself modeller..........Good luck with the opening at the Museum...

Well I`ve knocked up another building over the last couple of days to go onto my removable section.
As I start working on the area , some sort of rough plan starts to fall into place......I think the hard part was just starting....

There`s not much nitty gritty detail on this build but it`s a modification.....a fairly simple one, to achieve a more simple clean lined building, rather than having little extensions stuck on the sides.
This is the basic model.




Now I was not too keen on the extension on the right hand side or the left for that matter, so I`ve eliminated them from my build and used their parts to cover up sections on the walls that would be left exposed without them.

So here is the building complete minus extensions. This building has also been set up to be illuminated so the windows have been given the usual treatment.




Part of the side extension has been used as an overlay on the far right back lower half of the building.





The windows have been decorated with library scenes.....lots of shelves and books.





I must credit SuperQuick for their excellent design on the ridge capping.........if it`s cut out accurately.....the angles match up really well....impressive.....




So I don`t know what`s next in terms of building kits, however I have a location for the Library so that`s a start.

Gormo......Goodnight all......ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz