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New Street retaining walls
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:54 pm
by jim s-w
First up peeps, thanks for all the kind comments at Scaleforum and thanks to all who took the time to have a chat.
Spurred on work starts on the retaining walls for board one. The outer sides will be ply but the inners are the new dense foamboard you can get. This stuff seems to have no reaction to superglue or spray paint which is interesting.
The first wall - A relatively simple affair until I realised there is a walkway and a lighting point near one end.
Close up of said walkway. Still got the ladder and its safety cage to add yet but pretty pleased with it so far. And yes, before anyone asks, this will be the operating side not the public facing side.
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 6:25 am
by John Bateson
What is this new dense foamboard you mention? Any sources/prices/techniques
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:15 am
by jim s-w
Hi John
The foamboard is by Bienfang and is called MightyCore
It comes in 1/4 and 1/2 inch thicknesses in white and in 1/4 inch white with black core. I think I paid about £16 for a 8ish by 4ish (feet) sheet from Lions art supplies Birmingham
HTH
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:13 pm
by Andy C
Jim
I presume that the SE Finecast brick styrene sheet - what did you use to glue it to the foamboard (as one who has had difficulty with this in the past!!) I presume as well the dense foamboard is a bit more resistant to bending than its lighter counterpart?
cheers
andy
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:39 pm
by jim s-w
Hi Andy
The sheets (SE finecast yes) are stuck to the foamboard with double sided tape. The foam board is very resistant to bending. A sheet seeming far less flexible than 2mm hardboard but still cut-able with a scalpel.
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 12:10 am
by jim s-w
Hi All
A few more in progress pics showing, I hope, a little of my methods
The wall marked out and cut out of foamboard. I draw everything in illustrator first, print it out and stick it to the material I am working with. I then cut though the template and material at the same time. Keeps everything nice and square and saves marking out again.
Using a scrap piece to hold the wall to the angle I need. To ensure a good fit of the angle I cut the edge with a 45 degree mount cutter (pictured)
Building up the wall using card and embossed plasticard. The wall slopes gently at the bottom so I used 2mm card spacers to give the effect I wanted. Everything is stuck together with double sided tape.
By using the mount cutter you can get very neat corners with minimum faff. The mount cutter itself takes a bit of effort to learn to use but the amount of wonky cuts I am making is getting slowly smaller.
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:49 am
by John Bateson
Jim,
Just received the two samples you sent to me. Impressed I am, very strong and just as light as the traditional foamboard.
Definitely on my Christmas last.
John
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:35 pm
by Jonathan Wells
jim s-w wrote:The foamboard is by Bienfang and is called MightyCore
It comes in 1/4 and 1/2 inch thicknesses in white and in 1/4 inch white with black core. I think I paid about £16 for a 8ish by 4ish (feet) sheet from Lions art supplies Birmingham
I found this datasheet for MightyCore:
http://www.forframersonly.com/sellsheets/-4163-Mighty%20CoreTech%20guide.pdf
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:15 pm
by John Bateson
I don't think there is another UK supplier ...
On their web they say sheets of this size are just under a tenner, but you have to buy 25 sheets to order over the web.
1016 x 812mm / 40" x 32", 5mm thick
The Logan 1500 Foam Board Cutter looks a good bet for working on this.
John
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:12 am
by jim s-w
Hi John (and Others)
Next time I need some I can fetch additional sheets if you dont mind me chopping it down to more postable sizes.
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:18 am
by John Bateson
Hmmm! I wonder if we could persuade Jeremy to buy a box and try to sell it at Scalefour North next year from the 'Stores'...The size mentioned below is easily transported for visitors with a car.
Shall have a think.
John
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:51 pm
by jim s-w
Hi All
Been outside in the sun working on the layout a little. I needed to check the fit of the retaining walls so the attached shows a temporary mock up.
EMU for scale
A little more here
http://jsmithwright.demonweb.co.uk/layout/scenic/walls-westend.htmlCheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 8:33 am
by jim s-w
Hi All
Yep you have guessed it! More walls! Anyone bored yet? LOL
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 2:33 pm
by Andy C
jim s-w wrote:Hi All
Yep you have guessed it! More walls! Anyone bored yet? LOL
Cheers
Jim
or driven up it Jim
I know it isnt painted yet but that drooping cabling looks spot on - keep on posting!
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:49 pm
by John Bateson
Jim,
How do you paint the cabling so that it looks like multiple cables and not an enamel or cellose blotch?
John
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:06 am
by davebooth
[quote="jim s-w"]Hi All
Yep you have guessed it! More walls! Anyone bored yet? LOL
Jim,
That is top-class modelling, - well done.
The cabling particularly took my eye and brought back memories of long ago spotting days alongside the Woodhead route, sitting on such cabling hung from ground-based timbers. Seemed comfy enough then but my backside is now shuddering at the thought!
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:07 pm
by jim s-w
Thanks Gents
John - on the plank I just painted the cabled with enamels. No reason to think that wont work just fine this time too. A wash of dark brown tends to bring out the detail a bit.
(see pic)
Dave - sparking memories like yours is what its all about!
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:08 am
by jim s-w
Ok
If you thought the signal box interior and first retaining wall were pointless exercises I think I have gone one better!
Not only does this wall also face away from the public but its under the tunnel! Seriously though, yes the public will never see it but if I did plain, flat walls I would be wiping out any possibilities to take pictures of the layout from the back. Plus most importantly I am really enjoying this so thats all the reason I need!
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:48 pm
by jim s-w
Hi All
Spent this afternoon working on yet another wall! This is the one that faces platform 5 (hence away from the public) so I can take a few short cuts with the construction. As this one is structural to the layout and will help support and take the tension of the OLE it has 6mm ply as the base (i'll trim it to shape later!)
This is the real thing
The 26 arches were punched from the base card using this 14mm punch - Very Handy and took about 5 - 10 minutes to do all of them
I need to etch the actual arch for the brickwork but as I need over a hundred of them for the whole layout its worth doing them this way.
Also I have been playing with signaling troughs. With the help of a fellow WFRM member we have produced 2 types of etches for the c1/8 type
the first type can be used on layouts but are intended as wagon loads. They consist of 6 'boxes' and 6 lids.
the second type is for layout use and is 2 runs of 10 sections as a single piece fold up etch. These can be curved (gently).
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:06 am
by modelmaker87
Jim,
Don't forget that I will need any/all details you have managed to collect for the turnout motor master you would like me to make. If you can get them to me before I leave for the US I will be able to discuss with MWT here at Wirrall Finescale. How many do you want me to cast once I/you are satisfied with the beta unit...?
Tony
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:46 pm
by jim s-w
Hi Tone
How long Have I got before you head back? I will need probably 3 dozen.
Been getting busy with paint. I am happy with progress so far but still some more to do. On the plank I experimented with using Markers (letraset ones) to pick out variations in the bricks. You need to leave this stage to the very end though as weathering washes the marker away. Thus the wall is fairly flat and yet suitably grimy.
Hope you like
overview - not started on the main girders yet.
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:40 pm
by modelmaker87
[quote="jim s-w"]Hi Tone
How long Have I got before you head back? I will need probably 3 dozen.
Last day for any hand over info is Sunday December 14 at Wigan expo. Flight the following day back to NC. Thereafter snail mail or e-mail. 3 doz no sweat.
Cheers, Tone
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:34 pm
by jim s-w
Hi All
Walls are finished! For the moment anyway (no cheering at this point!) But you dont get away without a parting shot (or 2!)
Theres a surprising amount of greenery sprouting from the walls and even a tuft of grass growing out of the platform! And there I was thinking I wouldn't have to do the green stuff!
A trick i first tried on the plank was to use a loose mask and spray a heavy shadow under the bridges. Seemed to work fine there so I have repeated it here. The verigirder still needs a bit more paintwork yet.
Thing is, by posting the pics here is the only way the public will see it as you (probably) cant see these when the layout is finished.
Cheers
Jim
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 4:45 pm
by Captain Kernow
jim s-w wrote:Using a scrap piece to hold the wall to the angle I need. To ensure a good fit of the angle I cut the edge with a 45 degree mount cutter (pictured)
[By using the mount cutter you can get very neat corners with minimum faff. The mount cutter itself takes a bit of effort to learn to use but the amount of wonky cuts I am making is getting slowly smaller.
Hi Jim,
Stunning work, as usual - top notch matey!
One question - I've not come across a mount cutter before and wouldn't know where to get hold of one - where would you suggest please? Thanks.
Tim M
Re: New Street retaining walls
Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:12 pm
by jim s-w
Hi Tim
They are used for cutting the bevel onto mounts used in picture framing. A supplier who deals in this sort of thing will have one (such as Lions in Birmingham but they also crop up on Ebay.
HTH
Jim