Marty's O Scale Narrow Gauge

So here are two roofs. The upper is in Tamiya "Rubber Black" in spray can lacquer. The lower is Tamiya "Flat Black" acrylic from an airbrush. I didn't thin it down quite enough and had problems with spatter.

I have since discovered that with the Tamiya 10ml paint pots, they come apparently half-empty for a good reason. The supplied consistency is for brush painting, and you basically fill it up with thinner for airbrushing. I did another round of painting where I thinned it down so that it was basically 50-50 mix of paint and thinners and suddenly it sprayed beautifully!

 

First attempting at painting a whole wagon. I first tried using XF10 "Flat Brown" but when it dried it became far too dark. I then went over the model with a mixed paint using 2 parts XF52 Neutral Grey, 1 part XF10 Flat Brown and 3 parts Tamiya Acrylic thinners. This was the result. Still a bit too dark. I didn't bother too much about the underframe since it would be appropriate to keep it a little dark, but I did do a quick "dusting over" with the mixed paint colour to highlight the parts that would be most visible from a side-on view. I made the mistake of painting the whole thing the one colour. From what I understand in colour photos, the inside faces of the timber were a different colour - possibly unpainted. I think XF78 Wooden Deck Tan will be the next colour I purchase to do the interior.

 

Tamiya XF26 "Deep Green"

The colour reproduction here is off. It looks more like an Olive Green in real life. I think the light balance on my phone camera tends to lighten images too much.

The method I used for spraying was to use loops of blue painter's tape to hold it upside-down on a sheet of brown corrugated cardboard. Of course, then I had to turn it over and do the second coat the right way up because the end door bottom sills, window frames and ledges did not get paint the first time around.

Some of the carriages from the job lot have various dings and types of damage. My plan is to use them mostly to practice painting skills. When I put them on the layout, I just pick the better of the two sides and make that the show side.

 

To say that the Bachmann inside-frame 4-4-0 is a dinky locomotive is an understatement.



It is also now clear to me that I need to make some sort of photographic backdrop/diorama suitable and stop using my bookcase for model photos.

 

My newly-arrived 4-4-0 with some project carriages.

 

Tried using filler on the gaps of the Mogul domes. Pretty sure I mucked it up. But you can see the red and green test carriages. I plan to do a set of both.

 

Had another good score on eBay. I took a punt on an auction that had no bids. Postage to Australia was double what I paid for this lot, but I am pretty happy to get another Mogul, 2x Passenger Cars and 6x Combines (yes, six!)

The question is now what the heck do I do now that I own nine combines all together.

My only thought at this stage are that these carriages appear to have their end railings, brake wheels and underframe truss rods in tact. I will probably do some part swapping and make up a couple of complete sets and use the left over broken bits for kit-bashing fodder.

 

Okay, maybe five moguls are enough. Another case where the postage made up about 60% of the total purchase price, but still better than most deals I can find locally. I missed out on an On30 Shay, but wouldn't mind getting one of the Climax models. Suddenly I feel like some chocolates...

 

Okay, so I started out not being able to find a Bachmann Porter and now I own three of them! I was the sole bidder on this eBay listing, and I suspect that the British-style tension lock coupler modification made it less attractive to buyers.

Five Mogules, three Porters and one Eight-Wheeler is enough for now... although I do like the look of a Forney for a 2-4-0 Tender loco conversion!

 

Blimey, I've got enough carriages now that I could allocate one combine and one passenger car to each of my tender locomotives and still have spares.

I put the 4-4-0 through some load trials. Frankly, it hauls much better than it has any business doing. I put 11x bogie goods vehicles behind it and the caboose and it walked away with the load - zero wheel slip on 18" radius curves. I even added two Porters as loads in the low-sided gondolas.

To say that the 4-4-0 doesn't go fast is an understatement. Even at full throttle it has a nicely sedate top speed which gives a very prototypical performance.

 

Finally got sick of rummaging through miscellaneous boxes and trays for my model-making tools. Splurged on this tool chest for the modelling tools. How long until it is overflowing?

 

My first attempts at using the black and white base technique as used by military modellers. I have also lightly dusted some matt black over the final wagon body colour to give the impression of dirt - or perhaps coal dust.

Body colour is Martin's Mystery Weathered Wagon Grey. It is my own random mix of white, black, with a touch of brown and other random odd leftovers of colours which ensures thay no two wagons are ever the same shade of wagon grey. Also a great way to use up random leftover paints.

The effects look far more subtle in real life. I need to learn how to adjust camera settings.

 

Trix tipper wagon prototype conversion in grey primer. I removed the "buffers" such as they were and sanded the headstocks flat. I added a length of 4x1mm styrene to cover the whole headstock, also covering the slot for the original couplings.

The next serious question is what colour should I paint them? (I have five more about to receive this same treatment!)

 

I now have a rake of five with all mods completed and in grey primer.

 

After some more painting work, I have decided I need to set up a proper airbrush booth. I have been doing some more painting, but will have to wait until some daylight hours to share pictures. The coverage is so much finer using an airbrush, though it does take a lot longer. I have found that the Tamiya acrylics are not as durable as I had hoped so if I continue doing the whole black base technique, I will switch to lacquer paints for it.

 

Today I went to do some airbrushing. Everything was ready, so I only had to screw the airbrush into the top of the compressor and... the top of the compressor shattered. I'll be taking it back to the store tomorrow morning. I've only had it 5 weeks and it has broken under normal use. Not all is lost though. I think it is time that I purchased a proper compressor, with a tank. I have also found the old Badger 350 airbrush I bought years ago, but never got around to using. The plan is to get a slightly more professional rig. I'll use the old badger for big area spraying such as priming and base coats with a new double-action brush for finer work. I also need to get around to setting up a proper spray booth.

My McDonald's Mogul and 8x carriages (six of which are combines) arrived in the post today just after I got home from work. The carriages are in far better condition that the others I have previously purchased - only two brake wheels missing and all the truss rods are in tact, save for one small break easily fixed with a dab of glue. Time for another big tub of simple green! Unexpected bonus was four pieces of straight Bachmann EZ-track. I have plenty of that now!

I have enough carriages to do a couple of sets. I am definitely going to have a set in Dull Red, another in Green and perhaps a third one in Yellow, like the Durango. Perhaps a set in two-tone like Green and Cream, or NSWGR Tuscan and Russet.

 

More locos have been delivered! The M&Ms mogul and Macca's mogul arrived and have been tested and operate correctly. I forgot that I was also getting another low-sided gondola with the M&Ms mogul so I now have five of those. Had to triple-head my Porters, because triple-headed Porters! I now have a serious storage issue which I have to resolve. The trouble is none of the moguls came with boxes.

Is it a bad sign that I am also eyeing off a Consolidation and a Ten-Wheeler which have cropped up on my radar? I know that in 2023 there is supposed to be a new run of Bachmann Connies, but I shudder to think what their new prices are going to be like! I kind of regret not getting the Shay that crossed my path, but I admit that I mostly after a Climax (but I will probably end up getting a Shay and a Heisler too after that) since a few of those ran in Australia, at least one on 30" gauge too!

 

Sooo... I bought this. A Bachmann On30 Consolidation with a few issues that need sorting. Not the full kit, unfortunately, as I would have liked a road pilot (cowcatcher) but I am happy to get what I can and it was at a more than reasonable price. I have my eyes on a couple more locomotives, and I think the buying spree will have to end soon since I have to go and do some more work to make more money to pay for this habit. My excuse is that I used to spend $XYZ every week on cigarettes and that the budget that used to go on tobacco is now going on the dopamine hits that model trains give me.

Only trouble is that this one supposedly requires 22" minimum radius, so I may have to rethink my layout plans. No layout yet as such. I'm mostly working on locos and rolling stock. Hoping to find a group or club willing to sponsor an O scale layout with narrow gauge.

 

Also just going to leave this link here for notes: https://drupal.tcsdcc.com/installat...35tyNL_V_D-VVtrR7sgf3sRjOzPlt9HiFjxqhXX21OJmM

Instructions on fitting DCC to the old Bachmann Moguls. Most other locos are easy enough as a plug-in upgrade, but this will require me to break out the soldering iron. Might also have to find suitable plugs/wires to add speakers to the tender and allow for the tender pick-ups.

 

Consolidation arrived in the post today. First thing was to investigate the broken plug. Turns out that it is the 2-pin plug that connects the locomotive pick-ups to the tender pick-ups. I just retracted that broken wire into the tender body and will leave it to run with only tender pick-ups for the time being. She does indeed run through 18" set-track curves, but the pilot truck seems to dislike this. Also, the coupler trip pins seem to catch on curves and droop a little low. Might actually have to use the underset shank KD's on this one. performance is the same on both the holes in the tender draw-bar, so I might leave it on the closer one unless the tender deck starts fouling the cab.

Fixed a couple of minor issues - whistle was damaged and front pilot bent. Also scraped off the gold numbers which appear to be vinyl stickers. Didn't get the original road pilot in the box of accompanying bits but did get an O scale truck with a large log load and a few extra bits and bobs as gifts from the seller. It appears that there are parts to fit fluted domes, but I am not sure if these belong to the consolidation (is her name going to be "Connie" ? I do not know). "Consolidation" is five syllables and being Australia, I don't like any sort of name with more than two syllables. Also put the ash pan back on. Looks real nice.

Took the cosmetic spring and outside bearings off the pilot truck because that seemed to be catching on the underneath of the front pilot deck. Still hunting down some more parts.

I have my eyes on some Haskall On30 NA Class Baldwin 2-6-2s and a couple of Bachmann 4-6-0s. I really need to stop buying locomotives. (No, I don't!)