The Bridge

[dkightley]

At last! I've run out of parts that need cleaning!! And the fun bit can now start....

I've now started the final assembly and gluing together of the bridge towers and cantilevers..starting with the centre tower. And it looks as if I'll need to go out and buy yet more superglue, as I'm now on my third bottle! But looking on the good side....all my fingers are still separate, and none yet have been glued to anything else!

[dkightley]

As I needed to finalise the size for the truss girder sections, I've today carried out a trial fitting together of the cantilever sections with quickly printed spacers representing the truss sections. With the water surface sheeting now fitted to all of the layout sections, I've been able to get an idea of how the centre sections of the layout will look:

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It's blooming hard work getting things together in the restricted space I have. And it's a hands and knees job getting from one end to the other!!

PS Sorry about the contrast issue with this shot. The winter sun plays havoc with shots like this! It would be better taking a shot like this in the evening!

[martink]

That is looking really spectacular. Only in T.

[SmallCentral]

C'est merveilleux

[Nutter]

Wow, that is really looking great.
Slightly off subject but I feel a need to know, HOW are you going to transport it - other than the obvious answer of carefully

[dkightley]

HOW are you going to transport it - other than the obvious answer of carefully

I've bought a 3ft x 5ft trailer to carry the eight layout sections (which I'll need to build a transport frame for), various boards and the tables, etc. The bridge cantilevers will be transported in a folded corrugated cardboard or plastic custom sized box, and all other bits in boxes will fit in the back of the car.

Having said that.....the trailer needs a bit of TLC, and I may not time to sort it out before the GCR event....so I may need to hire a van for a few days!

[dkightley]

With the assembly of the cross-lattice girderwork into the cantilever sections well under way, and the truss girder sections designed and a couple of the parts test printed, I'm now awaiting more red filament....which is on its way from http://www.faberdashery.co.uk (thanks to some sterling help from their sales staff). EDIT an hour and a half after posting....filament arrived!

In the mean time, my attention has turned to the road layouts for both the north and south sections. Having modified and perfected my method of creating roads ( see http://www.talkingtgauge.net/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=319), I have all the road sections for the south shore & Dalmeny in almost a finished state ready to fit.....and I'm working on the road sections for North Queensferry. Here's some of the part-finished sheets:

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Note that the car park surface for Deep Sea World is how it will appear on the layout....that bit is not a satellite photo!

[dkightley]

Day one of the long phase of populating the layout with scenery.....and the very first bit of the final finish has gone on - a few road sections:

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Hawes pier in the foreground with the new offices and shop, and Hawes Inn across the road.

I need a rest now....its been a stressful day!

[Reith01]

Spectacular!

Enjoy the rest.

[DanMacK]

Doug,

I've been following the discussion with interest. This is exactly what the scale needs, more people willing to "think outside the box"

Looks awesome, can't wait to see more.

Dan

[dkightley]

Moved on a little.....and just checking it looks right:

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And I now have the layout booked for three shows:

The GCR Model Event, 17th - 19th June

The Models Weekend, Crich Tramway Village, 20th - 21st August

Warley MRC, NEC 26th - 27th November

[dkightley]

I've been practising painting houses....there's over 300 to do!!

Here's my first try on a scrap house:

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Ignore the roof line at the gutters, as I should have done them white then edged in the roof colour. And the windows look not that good in a close-up shot......but a lot better from a human perspective!

[NeilM]

Keep at it Doug.... Good to see how the houses look painted (still have not got round to painting the ones I got from you!)

Do not worry how they look in close up. That is more a credit to the quality of your camera, rather than saying anything bad about your painting. As you say, at a normal distance (and assuming normal human eyesight!) they will look fine. I do however think you have made a very good job of detailing the windows and doors, knowing how difficult it is to acheive in this scale, even with ooo and ooooo brushes.

[dkightley]

Here's one of the finished houses.....well almost finished. Just the odd touch-up needed:

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Looks a lot less "hairy" than the test piece!

[dkightley]

Pushing on with the layout board, I've spent today progressing with the scenery on the north side of the Forth.

Previously, I had only placed rough scenery on the first two layout sections, which stopped half way through the quarry in which the Sea World centre has been built. I've now added foam sheets to cover the remainder of the land, including the low plateau under the north bridge tower where the future planned visitors centre is planned. Here's a shot showing how the terraforming is progressing:

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Its messy work; the foam sands very easily, but creates an enormous amount of light and static dust. To keep the mess down, I've been vacuuming up every ten minutes or so....and I now need to empty the cleaner!!

[dkightley]

Despite the general lack of activity on the forum, I've been beavering away on the layout. Unfortunately, I've not that much to show in the way of photos...but I may try and post some in the next couple of days.

I've now got around 30 buildings (mainly houses) painted to the point ready to finish off with flashing to the windows, and another 20 or so either ready to paint or with some paint on. I've moved the North Queensferry scenery (see the photo above) on somewhat and its now ready for the road surfaces, which I need to do a fair amount of development on, to be fitted. Working on the buildings is tiring work, working continuously with a head magnifier on. I'm finding I have to take frequent breaks....hence the next para.

Away from the scenery, I've been working on the fabric of the display sections. I've purchased a whole pile of ply sheet and timber to make up the enclosures for the "behind the scenes" loops at each end of the layout and have one partly made. I've ordered various fixtures and fittings to allow the sections to be easily assembled and dismantled. I've ordered fire resistant fabric (to satisfy the H&S requirements of show sites!!) and Velcro for the surround curtain and backdrop, and power connectors and cables for the LED overhead lighting. Its amazing how much non-scenery work is actually needed!!!

I think I have eight separate packages being sent to me; one was left on my back doorstep this morning, Royal Mail tried to deliver three while I was out today, and the rest are in transit! Its a good job I got a tax refund a few weeks ago.

[dkightley]

A good couple of days progress.....

The layout end enclosures are finished as far as I can go without the fix-down bolts. Here's the public side of the right hand end:

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And here's the inside awaiting the platform for the run-around loop....and the built-in mat for the mandatory cup of coffee:

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I have all the timber and aluminium brackets/plates cut ready for installing the fixing bolts on the wood supports for lighting and the cloth backdrop....and am making slow but steady progress on painting houses...

As the section track makes it easier to rail rolling stock due to the built-in ballast form, I've ordered track to form both the run-around loops, which are of different shape to each other! Once I have the track, and have the enclosures fixed down, I can build the platforms for the loops and get the electrics made up for the controllers.

Should be some interesting photos in the next week or so......

[dkightley]

And here's the first......a line up of buildings, mainly houses, and all bar one needing window detail adding:

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[Sng60007]

This looks very impressive i will have to make a trip to see it at an exhibition when done as it looks incredible and shows how good T can be.

[dkightley]

Another batch of buildings in the paint shop:

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All of the houses & garages with unpainted roofs in the left tray need the roofs painted slate....and all in the right tray need painting dark red. The loose houses at the top need painting a light slate colour.

A tip to help with handling of bits with wet paint......notice that each house is standing on its own small piece of art board. The pieces of board have been sprayed with repositionable adhesive...so the houses stick!