P87 and 18.37mm Broad Gauge: Utter Madness, Sir!

Hi all,


Well I have had been very busy on the modelling front of late. However, I have been equally as busy on the family and work front. This has left me little time to update the blog - something that I will attend to shortly.

I guess the most significant news is that I have decided to model to P87 standards, using 18.37mm gauge (ie true HO scale VR broad gauge).

By joining the ‘criminally insane’, I have taken on a few challenges, including retro-fitting full compensation to my four wheel fleet, and developing P87 standard VR spoked wheels. However, I am reliably informed that this can be overcome by persistence and weekly therapy sessions...

Speak soon,

Jules

QB Well Wagon: Reprise

Way back in March of last year I posted about my efforts regarding a Steam Era Model’s QB well wagon. After a long hiatus, the model was recently finished. Painting and weathering was accomplished using the same method as those outlined for the QR, in the post below.

This model was completely soldered, apart from some minor details that were attached using ethyl cyanoacetate. Overall, this is a lovely kit to construct, and I would highly recommend it to those with some confidence in their soldering skills.

Update: I have updated the photos, after receiving a new camera.
Jules

QR Wagon

I have just completed a Steam Era Model’s QR kit. The first QR wagons were manufactured in 1890, and were used well into the 1980’s. This model represents the three door version, and features inside detailing and an end-mounted handbrake infrastructure.

According to Mark Bau’s site the QR's were relegated to departmental service after a long life as general service open wagons. In departmental service, they often carried sleepers and dirt. The doors were dropped and the sleepers would be manually thrown out of the wagon. They saw occasional service in revenue traffic when wagon supply was scarce.

Tamiya matte acrylic Red Brown (XF 64) was applied as the undercoat, followed by Humbrol matte enamel Red Brown (#100). The Humbrol paint was lightly applied to enable the darker and browner Tamiya undercoat to ‘ghost through’. This resulted in a deeper and much more interesting finish. Next, a coat of Pascoe Long Life floor polish was applied, which provided an even, glossy surface for decals to adhere to. Weathering was achieved by using a heavily thinned 50:50 mix of Citadel’s ‘Chaos Black’ and ‘Scorched Earth’ acrylics paints. The extremely fine pigment in the Citadel paints has really brought out much of the fine detail.

Update: I have updated the photos, after receiving a new camera.

Jules

AFV Acrylic Techniques by Mig Jimenez

Why is it that military modellers so proudly strive for prototypical appearance, while such goals are derided as ‘rivet counting’ or ‘elitist’ amongst model train enthusiasts? Discuss in 500 words or less...

I recently borrowed a friend’s DVD called ‘AFV Acrylic Techniques’ by Mig Jimenez. Mig is considered to be one of the best painting and weathering practitioners within the military modeller’s fraternity. For those of you not familiar with his work, please visit his blog site migjimenez.blogspot.com. It will take you around 10 seconds to realise that this guy has some serious talent.

The DVD follows the entire process of painting and weathering a WW2 tank, and includes tutorials that cover:

• filters
• washes
• fading
• mud
• rust
• chips
• metal effects
• dust

As the DVD name suggests, Mig uses only acrylic paints. However, I believe that many of the techniques can be used with enamel paints.

If you are striving for a more accurate, prototypical representation when painting and weathering your models, you could do worse than get your hands on a copy of this DVD.

Jules

Train Track

After many distractions, I have been able to make some progress on 'the layout', Sutton Grange. Since the most recent post, I have weathered the sleepers and laid some track. The track (Micro Engineering) is laid to 18.2mm gauge, using Code 55 and Pliobond cement. Fish plates (Model Etch) have been added to the track immediately around the first set of points. However, they will eventually be fitted everywhere. Eventually...

Hostage to a Sleeper Cell

Just a brief update. I have been laying sleepers like a fiend. The benefits of having smaller modules (1.2m x 0.6m) is that they can be easily dragged out and worked on as individual sections. Therefore, I typically drag out a section to the lounge room every ‘other’ evening and lay some sleepers. In this way, I never miss my favourite TV shows (obviously an important aspect of every modeller’s life), nor a minute with my wife (she told me to write this).

The sleepers (Kappler and Micro Engineering sugar pine from the USA) are affixed using PVA glue. After a light sand to get them all the same height, everything is given a white undercoat (heavily thinned), and then a base colour is added of Tamiya FX-1 (Flat Black) and FX-52 (Flat Earth) (thanks Darren http://gunnedahandbeyond.blogspot.com/). This is done in a relatively ‘patchy’ way, so as to replicate the prototype. They will receive another filter of red-brown, followed by some random dry brushing of white to gain the ‘grey effect’, so often observed in aged wood. Until then, I have plenty of more sleepers to lay. One at a time...

Jules  

Ballasting the Way God Intended: Quick, Easy, and Effective

Some of you may have heard many modellers (of all kinds) using ‘Johnsons Klear’ floor polish for various uses, including (but not confined to):

• Preparing surface for decals (used by the model aircraft fraternity).
• Improving clarity in windows (particularly aircraft model canopies).
• Ballasting track.

While I’m yet to use it for windows and decals, my main interest is in ballasting. I contacted Jim Smith Write (of P4 New Street fame) as I knew that he loves it – as do many other modellers. See here for a photo or two featuring ballasting using the ‘Klear method’ on Jim’s layout:

http://jsmithwright.demonweb.co.uk/layout/track.html

The product and its ‘cousins’ have many different names, which vary from one country to the next. And some lines have also been discontinued. In short, I found it all very confusing. I then came across this web page that runs through all the different uses (there are many) and the names and places to source the product, including Australia:

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

With this in mind, I went to Bunnings, and there on the shelf was Pascoe’s Long Life floor polish, as suggested in the link above. I purchased a small bottle and took it home to try. Wow! I can now understand why everyone raves about it as a brilliant ballasting agent.

The big attractions to this product are;
• It has very low viscosity, so the capillary action in the ballasting grains is truly amazing, and therefore requires relatively small amounts of liquid.
• The super low viscosity also means that is won’t ‘float’ fine ballast away (as I can attest to, when using very fine sand in my test last night).
• It’s odourless.
• Dries fast (in about two hours or so)
• It sets very hard.
• It’s cheap.

If one was to spray it on (pump bottle or airbrush) then apparently it may result in a shine (it is, after all, a polish). However, I have read that this is simply overcome by a blast of your favourite matte finish. All this said, I used an eye dropper, which resulted in absolutely no ‘shine’.

And it is so easy to use; pour on and position the ballast, gently release the liquid (neat) beside the track with an eye dropper and let the capillary action do the rest. A few hours later you’re ready to weather the track.

I’d strongly recommend that you have a go. And I haven’t even thought about its other alleged uses...

Jules