Scalefour Forum

IMG_8167.JPG The full-third of the 1897 stock, now with decorated body. I found a way to paint teak that works for me, and is a bit less "meh" than the finish on the brake-third. Also, some transfers for the class numbers on the doors that are reasonably close to reality. Since I don't ne...

When I switched, a few years ago, from normal craft-knife to a chisel-bladed knife, I found that I was cutting much more neatly and with less distortion. Building on Will's technique-not-tools point, there's something subtle about the vertically-applied knife that helps. The blades don't last long b...

At this level would the quality be sufficient to print something like a 4mm wagon buffer for example? Yes. The buffers on my recent SECR stock were printed on a Mars Pro. The surface finish is slightly better than I can get at Shapeways --- less residual texture --- but the holes for the buffer ram...

If you're curious about the level of detail, look at the lettering on the front of the axleboxes in this post on RMWeb. It's 7mm but still... : https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/142773-anycubic-photon-and-mono-x-3d-dlp-printers/page/20/&tab=comments#comment-4311502 Lettering li...

At this level would the quality be sufficient to print something like a 4mm wagon buffer for example? Yes. The buffers on my recent SECR stock were printed on a Mars Pro. The surface finish is slightly better than I can get at Shapeways --- less residual texture --- but the holes for the buffer ram...

27ft-handbrake.png The handbrake wheel was high on the end wall of the coach, driving a vertical shaft through bevel gears. The bottom of that shaft drove a crank under the headstock and that crank pulled a rod connected to the centre crank (or at least to some other crank on the same shaft as the ...

The brake arrangements have been sorted out. The brake coaches have this:


All the other coaches have this:


I have products for both arrangements on Shapeways and will modify my model when the test-print for the new one comes back.

An example of soldering larger objects, outside the scope of model making. I thought it might bear on the soldering of boilers.

The overly thick side frames have been a problem for ages. I wish there were 3D printed ones that would glue to Bills excellent frames. What would the spec be here? Would people want a complete, printed side, or just the fittings to attach to a brass side? In my experience, a print can incorporate ...

Thanks Guy. I've spent the afternoon butchering the Ratio ones. First thing to do was reduce the height of them and then slim them down. If you say the Slater ones are fatter in the back cushion's they might not be any good. I'll slog away with the Ratio ones for this coach and get a pack of Slater...

Slaters do some described as "MR/GWR Coach Seats for non-corridor stock". I have a Slaters' pack stored away from way back and that is possibly this product. The seat backs are much flatter than the ratio mouldings and might actually fit into 3rd-class compartments. But the profile is so b...

OK, thanks chaps. Yes, Tim's lining is very nice and I'd be happy with that. The line thickness is about what I can get with the funnel pen, so I may go back and try that first with enamel paint before trying the bow pen. Not sure if we have lighter fluid here at home, and I'm not going near shops a...

This project is now stalled by my inability to line coaches well and easily. SECR livery, with goldish lining on the edges of the mouldings, is not easy to do well. So far I have tried the following methods. Bow pen with dilute paint. It failed to draw a neat and thin line. Probably the pen I have, ...

Will, you said "You start by fitting a flat plasticard sheet "ceiling" sitting on the top flanges and a good fit between the end. This need to be slightly less than the full carriage width by twice the thickness of the roof." Is that for a half-elliptical roof by any chance? If s...

In the past, I've had problems with plastic arc roofs on coaches and vans, specifically those provided pre-shaped in kits. The given curvature is rarely exactly right, and the spring in the plastic makes it hard to fix to the etched body. Bad attachment at the cantrails gives a wavy edge to the roof...

As for the remaining challenges, I suspect it is correctly working door catches. (Working brakes and opening doors have been done.)[/quote]
Indeed. I would very much like to make a working cameo of a shipping coal-hoist, but there's not much point unless the wagon doors open at the right moment.

The SECR Society has lists of products for several scales, all linked from a common page of modelling resources.

PHOTO-2021-02-04-21-09-10.jpg It's finished. It took another two prints of the springs and axleboxes, one to unbung the real springs by increasing the camber of the cosmetic ones by 0.5mm, and one print run because I broke two prints while trimming them. Remember when I moved the brake-shaft hanger...

Impressive but not complete. Absolutely no mention of the chassis kits for the F4/5/6, J15 and S23 and Z14 tenders that are available from Rumney Models. Sometimes I wonder if I actually exist... Justin Possibly complete up to a date about three years ago? It includes two of my carriage-fittings se...

There is the pit of a wagon turntable, with some of the peripheral mechanisms, in the historic docks at Exeter.

BTW, one of the distinguishing features of scenery in a large and traditional theatre is it's all flown in. The backcloths drop in from flying space above the stage, as do the flats for the middle-ground scenery. Very little is actually standing on the stage. This approach makes scene changes extrem...

Cycloramas in theatre are a potent source of headaches. One was used very occasionally in the theatre where my late father used to manage the technical aspects, usually for sky effects, but at least once, IIRC, for a kind of moving comic as illustration of a monologue; a little like a moving Bayeux ...

IMG_8138.JPG Spring and axlebox prints achieved, I think, after a couple of tries. The boxes are nearly scale width; I measured 5.75 inches wide from the drawing and mine are expanded to 6 inches in order to clear the bearing tip and have some thickness of wall left. The previous version fitted bea...

If one were to do this successfully, two problems must be overcome. First, the movement in the background should not call attention to the fact that the foreground is frozen apart from the moving trains. One might enhance an empty, static scene --- perhaps the fells around the S&C or Dungeness m...

In general, all engine were in fully-lined livery during the early Wainwright period, including goods engines, dock shunters and those on the duplicate list. The two well-known alterations of livery were "painting over the domes of goods engines, with very plain lining-out", announced by M...