Next up - something with a choo-choo...

[modelman182]

Thanks Badder.

 

It has been suggested that I get a Typhoon for the 'overflying' pose. 🙂 But I decided to keep things a bit simpler. I liked the idea of partially building and then de-constructing the 109 for transport.

 

Things are still going slowly as I appear to have developed some form of allergy to something in my modelling which is manifesting as severe and chronic rhinitis and some fearful headaches. 😞  Not sure what's causing it, yet, but am starting to eliminate 'new' things from the past few months in the hope of identifying (and eliminating) the culprit.

 

Kev

[Badder]

2 hours ago, modelman182 said:

Things are still going slowly as I appear to have developed some form of allergy to something in my modelling which is manifesting as severe and chronic rhinitis and some fearful headaches. 😞  Not sure what's causing it, yet, but am starting to eliminate 'new' things from the past few months in the hope of identifying (and eliminating) the culprit.

 

Kev

Sorry to hear that Kev.

Hopefully it IS an allergy to some new product you're using and NOT something more sinister. Allergies can be awful, I know, but at least you can remove the irritant from your life and get better quickly.

I used to suffer with bad IBS. After a few years of failed treatments and diet changes, and drinking lots of water (on docs advice) I got chatting to a fellow sufferer who was 'cured' after visiting an allergy therapist and I asked her advice. She said she was allergic to gluten, exhaust fumes, tap water and a few other things and by avoiding them she felt a lot better. Well, that made me think. I'd noticed that my IBS was far worse the day after a beer session, and after eating a sunday roast. But after both, I'd  ALSO drink lots of water. So, I cut tap water out. And within 24hrs I was 99 percent better!

After a few weeks I had half a glass of tap water and my IBS flared up again. So, again, I cut it out. Again my IBS eased. After a year or so, I felt totally cured, so had a drink of tap water.... no reaction.  i can now drink as much beer as I like and drink water the morning after to help with the hangover. Result.

 

Anyway, I hope you get well soon and I look forward to seeing your next progress report.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

[modelman182]

Hi All

 

Just beginning to get back into a modelling 'routine' and have an awful lot of catching up to do, but the train dio is ever present on my bench and I couldn't resist getting some more work done on it.

 

Badder - just in case you hadn't seen my post in the Chat forum - I found the culprit(s) of my allergy. Turns out my system doesn't like Butyl Acetate - which is the prime ingredient of both Revell Contacta and Tamiya Thin Cement. I removed these from my workshop and returned to my long-trusted Mek-Poly and all is now well.

 

Started work on the Locomotive this week. Only doing little bits at a time but making pleasant progress. I found a spare shelf under my desk (absolutely no idea where it came from or how long it's been there!) and discovered that it's a perfect width for the dio. Laid out the major components (or parts of them, anyway) and took a quick snap:

 

 

Haven't decided whether to cut down the depth (front to back) of the shelf to match the original plan or to keep the depth and change the orientation of the tracks [as previously suggested] and then add some more details at trackside. I'll give it some thought and let you all know once I've decided.

 

Cheers for now

 

Kev

[Pete in Lincs]

Two lines, with the vehicles in between them. The line at the front is only 2/3 of the width of the shelf and is a siding.

That can then have a couple more flatcars on it & viewers will then have to look around or over them to see the rest.

 

Well, that's what I'd do.

[modelman182]

23 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Two lines, with the vehicles in between them. The line at the front is only 2/3 of the width of the shelf and is a siding.

That can then have a couple more flatcars on it & viewers will then have to look around or over them to see the rest.

 

Well, that's what I'd do.

That's a neat bit of composition, Pete. I like it! I shall add that to my considerations.

 

Cheers

 

Kev

[Badder]

On 9/20/2018 at 7:15 PM, modelman182 said:

Badder - just in case you hadn't seen my post in the Chat forum - I found the culprit(s) of my allergy. Turns out my system doesn't like Butyl Acetate - which is the prime ingredient of both Revell Contacta and Tamiya Thin Cement. I removed these from my workshop and returned to my long-trusted Mek-Poly and all is now well.

 

Great news Kev. I bet that's a huge relief.

Did you suss it out yourself, or did you have blood tests?

 

Good to see you're back at it. Shelves - a great source for diorama bases. I used one for my Carry on Regardless dio. It had a Formica veneer covering so I feared my plaster groundwork would fall off. First I took a scalpel to the top surface and cut and slashed at the veneer so as to improve the 'key' for the Polyfila. But then I had an even better idea which not only solved that problem, but also aided in the application of static grass, and that was to screw a sheet of wire mesh on top. I found the mesh on a builders' fly-tip and think it's actually designed to reinforce plaster in the building trade.

 

BTW, I'd go for a 'split level' option, higher along the back, and maybe follow Pete's suggestion and have two lines.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[modelman182]

On 9/23/2018 at 10:23 AM, Badder said:

Great news Kev. I bet that's a huge relief.

Did you suss it out yourself, or did you have blood tests?

Hi Badder - did it myself by a process of elimination. As the problem was only in the modelling sheds and only started a few months ago, I only had to target those things that were 'new' to my workshop and spraybooth - easy peasy! 🙂

 

I've decided to go with my original plan and make the base from readily available 6mm MDF as I'd like to keep the size of the final display to fit on either a shelf or mantlepiece - that limits the depth that I can feasibly make it. Didn't see the point in cutting down the shelf as I'm sure I'll find a use for it in its current format. Appreciate advice and ideas though - I'll 'try' to remember them when I plan another dio. 😉

 

Kev - having a lazy day watching tv and relaxing - okay, so maybe I'm looking at one or two models in the stash as well...

Edited December 8, 2019 by modelman182
updating pic link 2019

[Badder]

It would have been funny if you'd had an allergy to the shed itself!

Nice stash

How many models do you currently have on the go then?

 

Badder

[modelman182]

Don't even JOKE about that! LOL! I retire in a couple of years and have plans to take up semi-permanent residence in those sheds!

 

That's about a tenth of my stash - it's spread around four locations here. and I have a shopping list that will expand it by another dozen or so.

 

As for how many models do I have on the go... tough one to answer. I'm an shoddy and disorganised modeller (I keep my desks tidy but flit around like a butterfly between projects/kits) who likes to delve into projects as the fancy takes him. I guess perhaps 20 or so of my kits have been started, reboxed and shelved. The current 'working' stash is around a dozen -  Revell's 24th scale Shelby Cobra 427, Tamiya's 12th scale Honda NR with Starting Rider, The Train Dio (currently working on the Hobbyboss Br52 loco, the Unimodel Railcar and Panzer, the Zvezda Kubelwagen and the Track set), Academy's 48th scale Hunter, AZ Models 72nd Martin Baker MB5, Warhammer's 28mm Dark Eldar Scourges, Various 28mm Napoleonic Figure and Cavalry sets [building and priming these as a favour for a fellow modeller who loves painting but hates building] and Airfix HO/OO scale Evening Star Loco. The Cobra and Honda are commissions for workmates.

 

Yesterday I built a potholder for my MEK-poly as the bottle is a lot less stable than the Revell and Tamiya glues it's replacing - 

 

Kev

Edited December 8, 2019 by modelman182
updating pic link 2019

[modelman182]

HI folks

 

Not done a lot to this dio recently, but have started on the loco and the 88mm gun and the sleepers are now all individuals and have been primed.

 

Thought I'd give one a hand paint to test my idea for the weathered sleepers - here's the result (sleeper 1 of 67):

 

 

I'm happy with that outcome and will move on to spray paint the wood base colour then handpaint the metal, and add the wood highlighting and rust by hand. The oil and dirt I shall airbrush so that I can weather the ballast at the same time.

 

The train moves on, but slowly (more like BR than Wehrmacht, I suspect 😉 )

 

More pics to come next week as I progress the loco and gun/halftrack.

 

Kev

Edited December 8, 2019 by modelman182
updating pic link 2019

[Badder]

You have more models on the go than I could possibly finish within my expected lifespan!

Fair play to you though.

 

The railway sleeper is looking fantastic. Nicely weathered. And those glue-pot holders are well tidy. I'd have just made them out of an old bit of cardboard and make do.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[Svedberg]

Excellent work on that tie! Hard to believe it was once part of that plastic track piece.

[modelman182]

Thanks Badder. I've calculated that I shall probably have to live until I'm 150 to finish the models I currently have in the stash. As I have plans to buy some more kits I think I need to find a guaranteed life and health Insurance policy that will allow me to live till at least 175. Sun Life and Royal London don't seem to be interested in ACTUALLY guaranteeing that I can live that long - so I'll just have to keep looking 😉

 

Kev

[modelman182]

3 minutes ago, Svedberg said:

Excellent work on that tie! Hard to believe it was once part of that plastic track piece.

Thanks Svedberg. It took a while to get the 72 sleepers out of their moulding, but the JLC Anniversary saw with its double blades made the job much easier.

 

Kev

 

[Badder]

6 hours ago, modelman182 said:

Thanks Svedberg. It took a while to get the 72 sleepers out of their moulding, but the JLC Anniversary saw with its double blades made the job much easier.

 

Kev

 

I must look into getting myself one of those.

[modelman182]

I rate it as a good investment. Replacement blades are easy to find (not only JLC that does them, CMK do them too) and I get mine from my local model shop. Used as a single blade it's great for molding block removal though its depth of cut is limited by the design. On some larger scale resin I will use this as a starter then switch to my Trumpeter Hobby Mini Saw to finish the cut.

 

Not at all expensive as I find that I only go through 2 or 3 blades a year (and that's usually because of my heavy-handedness breaking the blade - never had one wear the teeth out).

 

For dio stuff like you do the ability to set up parallel cuts is incredibly handy. Maximum width is around 4.5mm and that's using about 6 spacers (I'll count 'em tomorrow) which just 'happens' to be the width of my 72nd scale sleepers! 🙂

 

Go buy one - you know you wanna.... 😉

 

Kev