Another busy weekend...
Following a chat with Warren Herbert from Gwydir Valley Models it has been decided that the collection of completed & planned Laser Rail Bits kits will be going on a road trip.
There is a convention planned in the Northern Tablelands next weekend & Warren has kindly offered the opportunity for the "collection" to be on show. While i don't profess to know much about this get together, it is time that i swallow my apprehensions & put the kits under the microscope of the modelling establishment & hopefully there will be some feedback which will help decide the future of some offerings & the fate of others.
I was offered the chance of a showing of our wares by Garry Laker at the Loftus Convention earlier in the year but a last minute incident involving my daughter put paid to that weekend...
So the weekend so far has been a flurry of activity trying to finalise some items & get everything packed & ready to leave here on Monday.... Don't let me down Aussie Post!!!
As part of the preparation process i decided to include the platform signal box for the trip & have spent some time attempting to refine the components. I must admit that i am far from happy with this little number & here i was thinking that a simple skillion roof structure would be a walk in the park. I have now finished two signal boxes complete & while the undecorated one will be sent north... I decided to have a play around with the second one.
So what am i not happy with...
Well for starters i decided to finish the corners off with some angle trim & while this certainly hides the component joints it is well over scale & i will revert to a diamond joint where there is a square trim piece on the internal of the wall joints & a scale timber trim on the exterior joint. Also the roof structure is not quite right & will require a redesign that provides closer to scale size components while still allowing a strong assembly. I will also have to find a two / six panel window assembly for the front face as even though i was unfazed originally...the eight panel variety is bugging me know. There is still the question of guttering & while i have used plastruct channel to replicate the quad guttering & it does look convincing...it would be nice if this item was available locally. I should have a quantity of 500gallon water tanks arriving soon & these on a timber frame being fed with downpipes should complete the scene.
I know some would also be puzzled by the colours i have selected for the painted sample. This colour was in use for the station building & cream shed located at Narellan back in the 50s/60s ... I have some photos that certainly show this colour ( or a very close hue ) used & while it is not entirely my cup of tea...I was intrigued enough to try the scheme out. I don't think this scheme will be adopted on anything else I build.
While i has fiddling around i decided to utilise this sample to also try out some weathering ideas i have had which entail the use of water based acrylic, thinned with IPA ( Isocol ) applied in 4 or 5 light coats & left to dry between each. When dry i have sanded back the colour in some areas & when bare timber has been revealed i then dry brushed some Raven Oil mixed with IPA onto these areas. Not sure if the result is what i was looking but like all things weathering... I will try anything. It would certainly be interesting to have several coats of differing colour & when rubbing back it would reveal feathered edges of the ages of colours.
Lastly a humorous footnote... I managed to spill a complete paint pot ( white for those interested ) all over the timber paling fence samples being prepared for transit... So at present they look as though they have been in some kind of neighbourhood dispute & will of course not be making the trip north....
Anyway i have added some shots...
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| On the left is the sample going north & on the right is the guinea pig... |
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| Roof Installed |
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| Weathering has commenced... |
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| A Little More....Maybe overdone... |
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