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JULY 2023 UPDATE
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STEVE CARTER
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KIER HARDY
Alternatively, NIU Models & Milepost 128 Models *********************************************************************************************************************************************
MIKE WHITCHURCH
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GREG BROOKES
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The roof of the modern office block has now been completed. It was intended to only use
a 1.5mm thick aluminium sheet for the inner skin but this proved to be difficult to keep
flat. A frame was constructed using 10mm square timber which was then bonded to the
aluminium using impact adhesive.
The roof was also intended to act as a test piece to consider the suitability of using
double sided adhesive tape to bond scenic elements to an aluminium skin thus reducing
the amount of interior support needed to prevent warping (specifically the proposed
mill building). A bit of online research yielded 3M GPT-020F as a suitable candidate,
a thin (0.202mm thick) all purpose tape having a high shear and temperature resistance
and used in industry for mounting decorative trims and bonding sales displays and billboards.
The exterior of the roof was simply plain 60 thou plasticard bonded to the aluminium and
it has proven to be a viable method for future projects. In order to add a little texture
to the roof, six 13mm mushroom vents (used by model boat builders) have been fitted along
with a small structure used to house part of the ventilation system whilst two rain hoppers
/ down spouts are fitted to the rear face of the building.
Thoughts then turned to displaying a company name in some form and was originally going
to be mounted on the front face of the roof before another option presented itself in the
form of Slaters 7mm Station Nameboard Lettering (Part No. 1107). To this end each
individual letter was first drilled through and then used as a template to drill through
the building panels. This then allowed 1.2mm evergreen styrene rod to be pushed through
the letters and secured into position before being sanded back on their front face and
allows them to stand prod from the building front.
Careful consideration of likely suitable industries for the building eventually found a
dye manufacturing factory being selected and to this end the name 'HIEWCO' has been
created (Hiew being the old English version of our present word Hue meaning colour). More
by luck than judgement the chosen name had six letters so the letters appear above the
six uppermost front windows.
The only internal scenic view available is the reception area and this houses the stairs
leading to the buildings upper level.
Whilst awaiting delivery of the adhesive tape a couple of quick scratch built projects
were undertaken to provide suitable loads for a couple of Lowfit wagons. First off was a
marine anchor and a cast one was duly purchased to fill this role but was found to be so
lacking in the detail department that out came the plastic sheet and strip. This type of
anchor is known as a Hall anchor and would be used on a variety of ocean going vessels.
Seen in position on a Red Panda Dia 1/001 Lowfit, the anchor will have a suitable shipping
cradle constructed more in keeping with allowing it be transported safely.
Next up is an agricultural slurry tanker. The tank barrel is taken from a Kibri farm yard
set (Part No. 10908) and whilst the kit can be built into just such a vehicle, its appearance
is more modern than would be appropriate for my early 60s time frame. Searching through various
online farm auctions gave enough of an idea to allow construction of this freelance vehicle.
The front and rear aspects of the tank; to the front can be seen the motor which would be
driven via the drive shaft of the hauling tractor and could be used to either create pressure
for propelling the slurry or a vacuum for refilling the tank. To the rear is the output nozzle
which utilises a sprung loaded valve opened by compressed air .
Another reason for scratch building is to make sure that it would actually fit on the wagon!
Another requirement for the layout is a suitable fork lift truck. There are a few ready to
plonk types available (Oxford Diecast Shelvoke & Drewery 'Freightlifter' and Base Toys
Lincoln Shackleton, more suited for railway goods yards) along with some kits but once
again scratch building was the preferred (?!) option. Coventry Climax Engines originally
built engines for use in cars and buses before eventually becoming involved with the
manufacture of fork lift trucks (their ET 199 model of 1946 was heralded as the first to
be manufactured in the UK). In 1958 they launched their 'Universal' model which, as the
name suggests, utilised an array of standard components to deliver bespoke trucks.
Not unsurprisingly dimensioned drawings of these vehicles are scant and so a careful study
of sales brochures along with online photos helped to build up an idea of a build schedule.
To this end the wheel sizes helped immensely (the front set are from a Coopercraft Monarch
lorry kit and the rear from the same Kibri kit that the slurry tank emanated from). By
using the size of these as a guide then it was possible to determine relative dimensions
of other components and thus help to achieve a well proportioned vehicle. The spares box
gave up a few helpful pieces (including the 2mm scale lettering for the rear of the engine
compartment) but in the main everything has been built from plain sheet or Evergreen strip materials.
The Broadway pub is now finished and planted into the layout, as is the derelict plot of
land awaiting redevelopment. Chimneys, a television aerial and other small details have
brought another dimension to the scene, although a few smaller fly posters are needed on
the corrugated fencing, and it requires fixing in place with some weeds around the base.
This part of town next to the market is a fairly busy place and a well used throughfare
too, so the area has been populated with Bachmann figures as a quick and easy way to show
this.... the most obvious clones will be first in line for the paintbrush.
The various rules and regulations were observed when drawing up the fire escape / access
steps in Sketchup by Jonny, and they were printed to size to fit this area. Initially I
was sceptical about 3D printing, but the fire escape alone would have taken weeks to build,
instead of the 24 hours it took to draw and print!
The Broadway public house is situated on the corner of Market Street and Denton Place, making
it handy for both the market and the railway station. It's a friendly well kept establishment, so
the nearby residents in Myrtle Villas are disturbed more by the trains than the pub next door.
The initial conversations with Jonny revolved around a bay window arrangement which could
be used on other buildings, but it actually ended up as complete printed house front! A roof
and chimneys have been constructed around the 3D facade, with ink printed path and porch tiles
for the front.
We're fortunate that Jonny is enthused by the drawing and printing aspect of the hobby, with
many of his designs incorporated into our various architectural and rolling stock projects. We
do not sell any 3D printed items which have featured on this website, but the software
is available as a free download at Thingiverse for you to print yourself.
I've cheated with the flashing (paper impregnated with superglue) as it would mostly be
stepped with the brick courses. At the normal viewing distance it's not too obvious, has
saved a lot of time, and has potentially avoided making it looking worse.
With that chunk of land now sorted, it's time to move on to the next part of the layout.
In the meantime it will be a joy to see trains running through a North London landscape.
A southbound sleeper train glides through the station (more likely during daylight hours
than a northbound service) with Class 105 and Class 501 units working suburban services.
DP2 at the head of a southbound sleeper train on the last leg of its journey to Kings Cross.
The running sessions usually find visiting motive power at the end of a camera, so as
usual here are a few starting with 1674 Samson heading for East London whilst 1662
Isambard Kingdom Brunel works a northbound MGR.
Mixed Traffic Hymeks are captured passing each other. Green with a full yellow end
D7020 with a rake of mark 1 coaches and 7098 in blue working a freight.
Scruffy looking D7005 with small yellow panels weathered by Greg to a photograph of
the loco in service.
D7036 in blue with small yellow panels pulls away from the station with a mixed
rake of mark 1 coaches.
D1022 Western Sentinel passes Brush 4 - 1910.
The main focus of attention on Wibdenshaw for the past couple of months has been for the
stock storage yard requirements. As the current configuration of a two sided viewing
concept doesn't allow the use of one side of the layout room as a stock yard (as it was
when Wibdenshaw was on the exhibition circuit), I have had to get somewhat creative to
arrive at a solution.
You wouldn't believe the amount of thought which has gone into what seems like a simple
answer, with many alternatives thought about, considered and dismissed, with all this
taking up time as I attempted to draw up the options, make paper templates and generally
faff about and get nowhere. The solution I settled on took some working out, although
someone with a ounce of computer ability would have drawn it all up and sorted in about
ten minutes, what me?
I needed paper, rulers, pencils, compasses and all the associated dark age tranklements
and about a week of thinking time. The upshot of all this is that there will be a fiddle
yard underneath each scenic section fed via two 180 degree spirelixes (a half spiral helix).
Whilst this is less than ideal as it gives a limited headroom above the stock, it's
realistically the only way to go about it. Only time will tell if it's as good an idea as
I seem to think it might be, but it has been proved with a temporary test set up, so I
shall continue with it and see where it leads me.
On the work bench at the moment is this RTC Auto Trailer QXX RDB975076 conversion using
the 12A kit 
