Flattop T class detailing project

Here is my recently finished detailed Aust NRail RTR Series 1 T class. My goals with this loco was to see what I could achieve with only minor additions to the RTR body. The body was a little out of shape out of the box with it having a slight bow along the length. I have heard of people using hot water to soften the body making it easier to mould into shape so I thought it was worth a try. Firstly I heated up body in hot water from the tap, however it seemed this wasnt enough so I soaked it in hot water from the kettle. Slowly it was easier to shape without any damage. This method worked surprisingly well but did require some fresh hot water on about 4-5 occasions. I then let it cool by itself on the bench. Using the detailing parts available from Aust N Rail (http://aust-n-rail.com.au/category15_1.htm) I began by adding hoses and wipers prior to a decent helping of weathering chalk. Following this I added glosscote lacquer to the windows to give it a bit of extra shine. I am quite happy with the result (plus I had great fun tinkering!!) and it still leaves me open to adding more details at a later date such as end handrails and liftrings.

I hope you enjoy and if you have any question send me an email. zomer_1@hotmail.com

Happy modelling!!

Adrian

Long Overdue Update!!

Gday All!!

Wow it has been a while since posting here and I do believe its time to get this site up and going again. I have been quite busy during these past 9 months. My house and property in Callignee was destroyed during the Black Saturday bushfires (along with some of my model rail gear and a lot of VR antiques :-( ). We werent in the home at the time and were able to get a small amount of items out.

Directly after the fires, myself and my wife, my 2 children and my parents (who also lost their house) lived in temporary accomodation for 4 months. From there we moved to my parents new purchased home where we lived for 2 months before purchasing a new home of our own. We arent sure whether we will return to Callignee but for the moment we are comfortable and enjoy living in our own space.

Now enough blah blah about sad stuff. MORE ABOUT TRAINS!!!!

I did manage to save all of my N scale models with the exception of a Bachmann Doodlebug (that I was preparing to kit-bash into a VR DERM (Diesel Electric RailMotor)), some decals and the brass etching for my VR K class steam locomotive. I also saved a lot of my VR memoribilia with the exception of the larger (rarer and expensive!!) items such as the original Leongatha ticket cabinet (complete with tickets and all 81 tubes), VR stretcher (rare red one) crossing signals and of course a moderate variety of signs. I have moved on and have started to collect memeroibilia again.

Along with starting collecting again I have also found time and space to start modelling again. :-) I now have a room in the house dedicated to working on the models and a 12x6metre shed for the larger stuff!!

Now onto the topic of my layout plans. I unfortunantly need the shed for other things so it cannot be soley dedicated to a layout and the CEO wont let me build a dedicated layout shed. I would like to keep the general design of the Great Southern Railway layout so have decided to build it in modular form. This opens the capability of taking it to exhibitions (in whole or part) and ability to pack it away should I need the shed for other reasons. I will be editing the former plans incorporating the new adjustments and ill certainly post it here.

On the locomotive and rolling stock side of things I have started ploughing through my box of kits to try and build up my fleet. My main project at the moment has been detailing an Aust-N-Rail ZF guards van. I will outline further details of this in another post.

So for now I will keep this site up to date with all the projects that myself and Paul are working on at the moment and will write about things we have completed.

I will leave you with a picture of the rolling stock I completed detailing yesterday and painted last night (with a big help from Paul).

If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact me

zomer_1@hotmail.com

Happy modelling

Adrian

Updated Shed Layout

After posting my plans for my layout on the Railpage Australia forums (http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11346949.htm). I recieved many great ideas from the users online. One idea I had never thought of was putting a staging yard on the layout. I have altered the design to include a staging yard on the 'flap' module. This module will be hinged and can lift up to enable access for those who are unable to 'duck under' the module. I have moved KooWeeRup to the left slightly to give some distance from the staging yard to the station. The staging yard can also simulate Cranbourne or Yarram if you want to run one way however you can also just run trains around and around the entire layout.

My cousin should be out soon to look at the shed so hopefully it will be sealed soon. Plaster once this is done then benchwork. Good fun!!!

Happy Australia Day an Happy Modelling!!

Adrian

Outside of my layout shed

Here are some pictures of the layout shed from the outside. It requires some work to seal it up properly and it needs insulation and plaster. I also will be sealing up the two large doors. They will retain the same appearance from the outside though. As soon as thats done I will start on the benchwork.

The open area to the right I hope to convert to a lounge where modellers can sit and chat in between modelling sessions. The car under the cover is my 1954 MG Magnette. That restoration is in my to do later basket!! TRAINS first!!!

Enjoy

Take care and Happy Modelling

Adrian

PS. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me on

zomer@internode.on.net

Great Southern Railway

Here are the designs for my layout. I am basing it on the South Gippsland Railway formally known as the Great Southern Railway. I wanted to incorporate as many iconic features as possible however am limited by my 6x6metre shed. I would like to model to railway when it was at its peak, during the 40s to 60s. I brainstormed what I would like to include on the layout and my list included:
- Nyora station and yard
- Korumburra station and yard
- Foster station and yard
- Koala (Australian Glass Manufacturers - AGM) siding and the national forrest nearby
- Wonthaggi branchline incorporating as much of the State Mine coal sidings as possible
- Swamp plains around Koo Wee Rup and a station if possible
- Rolling hills around Bena - Bena Bank
- Kilcunda, KooWeeRup, Agnes and Tarwin Trestle bridges
- Barry Beach branchline and marine treminal facility.
- Disused branch line of some sort. Either Strezleki line from KooWeeRup or Outrim from Korumburra

Below is the original sketch I did incorporating all of the above. Happy with the bench work and rough idea of the layout I then proceeded to transfer the design to digital format.

Here is the benchwork how I wanted it. I have placed timber on the floor in my shed to the dimensions below and am very happy with it. I then put the trackwork in and did a bit of 'cutting'! Koala siding, Foster Station (right side) and tarwin river trestle got the flick opening the railway up for longer running between stations. KooWeeRup trestle got swapped for Lang Lang trestle.
Below I have added pictures outlining the various ares of the layout, for those who are not familiar with the area.
I now need to get the room sealed, insulated and plastered. I will keep you updated on the progress.

Take care and Happy Modelling

Adrian

Gday All!!
Just a quick post to upload some pictures of Pauls completed Y class with the final touches made to the underneath tanks.

Here are some pictures of Pauls current projects. This one being a Series 1 "Flat-Top" T Class. Number TBA.

This one being a K Class. Number also TBA.

I will fire up the scanner and post up the diagram for the Great Southern Railway. Ill do that in a separate post. I have also started a revised edition in Adobe Photoshop CS2 showing accurate bench measurements and updated details.

Cheers and Happy Modelling!.

Adrian

First post for 2009!

Howdy All!!!
Tis a new year and I already have MANYprojects 'on the go'.
The pinstriping decalling on the B class had come off (unsure as to why) and Paul has kindly taken in on board to fix this. He says he uses a product called "DecalSet" (unsure of spelling) to 'melt' the decal and to assist it to set. I also attempted to paint the VR 'Gold' onto the nose of the B class however didnt realise I was using the wrong type of paint!! This resulted in a thick, 'gluggy' application that looked horrible!!! I then tried removing this paint, unfortunantly removed the airbrushed blue and undercoat leaving the raw mould exposed. Paul has also offered to repair this with the proper paint. I dont look at this as a mistake, however use this opportunity to learn about a method that works a lot better.
I will be purchasing some of this "DecalSet" as soon as possible and will post up pictures to help those who take a similar modelling path as me.

Paul has been making a lot of progress with his Y Class etch purchased from Aust N Rail (http://www.aust-n-rail.com.au/). Posted below are pictures of Pre and Post paint and now with added weathering. Paul has modelled his Y Class on those that were used mostly during shunting and branchline uses and were rarely on the recieving end of a cleaning brush! The end result is as seen below:

Cleaning the brass model immediately prior to hitting it with paint from the airbrush.

**Click on images to enlarge**

Nice and clean compared to the Series 3 T class in the background.

Now thats dirty! The tanks are the only thing remaining thats needs 'dirtying up'!

I have made progress with the plans for the "Great Southern Railway" layout for my 6x6metre shed. I will scan the plans and upload them tomorrow. Until then.....happy modelling

Adrian