Friday Update: Fifteen Eleven Nineteen...

A varied week of commission work mixed with some personal modelling this week that has brought a biting cold with it being so damp, along with some prolonged and heavy rain in the Dee Valley. Winter feels like it is on it's way...

In the workshop a very large box arrived from the Netherlands, another Shapeways order - lots of cleaning up and checking of parts for Narrow Planet kits (and some new releases under wraps) ahead of Warley in a few weeks. Mixed in were these axleboxes for a Campagne Locotracteur in 7/8ths.

The coin hopefully illustrates how large the scale is, and once they were tidied up I set about scratch building the frames and frame details around an Essel Engineering chassis. This is a well Engineered heavy chassis that will allow my customer the chance to run on 32 or 45mm track, and fits within the frames of the model in 7/8ths scale. I was surprise by how long the prototype is, here you can see the chassis posed underneath one final Hudson Hunslet (that will be getting painted in the coming weeks before Christmas). Now the basic assembly is there I can round the corners of the chassis before adding the angle strip around the edge, and beginning rivet and bolt head detail.

Another 7/8ths commission in the works is a Ruston 20DL, the more modern 'slope sided' bonnet style. The chassis is a similar concept to the Hudson Hunslet, but in this guise the side frames are a lot closer as the prototype frames are narrower than the HH. This will mean some careful work around the motor feeds, but it's a proven design that allowed me to shortcut a bit of design work and keep the model affordable to my customer. Again, 3D printed axle boxes and brakes are from Shapeways to my own custom design.

As well as working in large scale projects I've also been working on some smaller models. A pair of Talyllyn preservation era open carriages are based on the Tyneside Model's print in 009 (1:76). These are well thought out and were 3D printed (again by Shapeways) in Frosted Ultra Detail, when I say 'clean up' that is because the printer uses a support wax in the manufacture of these parts and this can leave a residue on the surface, which when washed in white spirit often goes white and powdery. The clean up then involves gently scraping this clean, and priming, smoothing, priming, repeating until you're happy with the finish. 3D printing is not a holy grail, and in my book, is still model making. You wouldn't expect to scratch build a model in brass or plastic and not have to do some clean up and smoothing at the painting stage and this is no different.

I've also been working on a model of the Ffestiniog Railway's 'Conway Castle' in 0-14, another 3D print, this time from Mountaineer Models. This is a well designed and detailed print that due to it's clear thought out shape and print orientation doesn't require a lot of work to clean up, despite it's complex shape. After a bath of white spirit cleaning up was mo more difficult then the pair of 009 carriages. I repeated the prime and smooth cycle and once happy then added the brass details. The handrails are 0.6mm brass rod, and the footsteps formed from some brass rectangular section I had in stock form an aborted project from ten years or so ago, soldered up for strength. The brake pipes are pieces of 1mm wire and should prove to be more durable then a brass or white metal detailing part.

Finally this week I've begun work on my 7/8ths scale live steam engine again. I visited my friend Steve last night and we spent a happy few hours fettling and working out how to mount a sand dome on the boiler to cover the hole where the 16mm one from the 'Billy' (the donor model) should sit. However this wasn't all straight forward, in the end Steve turned up a central pillar that plugs into the hole in the boiler wrapper, and then made a threaded top to replicate the cast brass one supplied, that could screw into the pillar and secure if from the top. 

This sits beautifully on the boiler now so I will add the sand pipes and use these to stop the part 'falling off' in use. I'll be planning to paint it mid-bronze green like the rest of the model - and then next up some glazing for the cab windows, before looking at ideas for the cab rear, to detail up the opening and possibly do a canvas or timber back sheet. 

Finally, if you are interested in a customised Christmas illustration, then please get in touch soon as the cut-off date for preparing these is fast approaching, the end of the month. Have a good weekend, I hope you've enjoyed reading. More soon...