Garden Railway Forum

Drat...I had the chance of buying 4 in January but when I was told they were Lima/Hornby I thought they were oo.....

FWLR wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:13 am Drat...I had the chance of buying 4 in January but when I was told they were Lima/Hornby I thought they were oo.....

Rod, if 'Hornby' was mentioned they probably were '00'. Also, if the price sounded reasonable they were unlikely to be Lima... they are quite expensive now.

A cracking model Peter - really love unusual stuff like that!

Have you a video of it in operation?

I fear no video has been taken of this locomotive, as when Rik kindly filmed the last video here it was out of favour for not working satisfactorily.
I hope that when Rik visits next time (?) he can include all the new locos and rolling stock, which have increased quite dramatically during lock-down, and soon there will be more!
The unusual ones are definitely my personal favourites too.

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:44 am

FWLR wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:13 am Drat...I had the chance of buying 4 in January but when I was told they were Lima/Hornby I thought they were oo.....

Rod, if 'Hornby' was mentioned they probably were '00'. Also, if the price sounded reasonable they were unlikely to be Lima... they are quite expensive now.

Good job I didn't buy them then Peter. Thanks for the information also mate. See how little I know on modelling....

By the way Peter, like you say, they are really impossible to find now, well eBay don't have any I can't find them on there.

I'm sure you all know by now I have an interest in early railways, nothing technical, just the variety and ingenuity of design and appearance, machines of real beauty, as well as function.
My own narrow gauge hybrid, based on a cross between 'Agenoria' and 'Rocket' has been seen here before, but looking a little forlorn with no duty to perform.
But now she has coaches to pull and passengers to deliver..... These wonderful coach kits were specially made for me by Jerry Irwin, they are produced to his usual extremely high standard, each part perfectly locates to its neighbour, chassis with ball-race bearings (as standard) and additional detail including steps and vents. I am delighted with the result.....
I will add door knobs, roof lamp-tops and handrails for the poor unfortunate employee whose job it is to install them.

When building my Bug Boxes I described Jerry as the 'Kit Master' and have no problem with repeating it.

Another great build Peter and a very "jaunty" livery. It certainly was a time of elegance in design. I heard somebody say once, "they didn't have to make them that way, but they did".
Grant.

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:23 pm .......
I hope that when Rik visits next time (?) he can include all the new locos and rolling stock, .......

Looking forward to it ..... but not venturing very far at the moment. Let's hope things get back to normal before too long ....

Rik

Those Victorian style coaches look amazingly good! Not just the quality of the kits but also the high standard of finish. They must definitely be on the list for the next video.

Rik

Very nice coaches they are Peter. Like the way the windows bow. They certain add character to the body as well.

Thank you all, I do appreciate your feedback. I love these unusual coaches and feel so fortunate to know Jerry, he sympathises with my quirky requests and is willing, and able, to translate them into 3D kits. I know that Jerry is now busy catching up on orders for the Bug Boxes, who know how many 'Rocket' style coaches will now be snapped up too?
Thank you Jerry!

Those are really lovely, so full of character! You and Jerry make quite a team...

Having worked with MDF for the first time recently I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of finish that can be achieved. Are you using MDF sealer before priming and painting?

All the best,

Andrew

PS When I saw these they reminded me of Colonel Stephens's Royal Saloons - when I looked up some pictures I found there's not much of a similarity, but it's still an interesting story... https://colonelstephenssociety.co.uk/ro ... aloon.html

Andrew, thanks for the comment, I do enjoy working with Jerry, he is so professional.
MDF has a bad press in some quarters; I prefer it to ply as there is no grain in the surface, which is always over scale and frequently running in the wrong direction.
For preparation I use a filler/primer (two coats) followed by light sanding, then several light top coats. Clear lacquer (gloss) followed by satin and/or matt lacquer to give a finish to your own preference.
Never, repeat.... never sand the MDF before applying paint or sealer as it only roughs the surface and absorbs paint etc. in patches.
I hope this helps.

Sorry Peter, but can you please expand a little bit on how you prepare your mdf. I am a bit of a :tool: sometimes when it comes to reading things....

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 9:38 pm Andrew, thanks for the comment, I do enjoy working with Jerry, he is so professional.
MDF has a bad press in some quarters; I prefer it to ply as there is no grain in the surface, which is always over scale and frequently running in the wrong direction.
For preparation I use a filler/primer (two coats) followed by light sanding, then several light top coats. Clear lacquer (gloss) followed by satin and/or matt lacquer to give a finish to your own preference.
Never, repeat.... never sand the MDF before applying paint or sealer as it only roughs the surface and absorbs paint etc. in patches.
I hope this helps.

Thanks Peter, very helpful. Can I check, do you sand the charred edges, where the laser has burned the wood, or just prime them?

Andrew.

Andrew, I do sand the charred edges with very fine wet and dry paper (used dry), as they are more porous than the surface material. In some instances I also use a colour matched acrylic paint to help with disguising them.
I am a lousy teacher I know; when I work I do so on auto pilot without much thought about what I'm doing, and find it difficult to describe, or recall, exactly what I have done.

Those coaches are fantastic Peter! Really capture the look of the early rolling stock. Having never built a coach before, do your paint the main body of the coach and the outer 'layer' separately, then glue the outer 'layer' on top?

Think I'm going to have to fire my laser cutter up and make some!

Yes Jim, separate layers painted individually and attached later.
Somewhere in my ramblings I have tried my best (although not perfectly!) to explain my building and painting methods. It can vary according to materials used, although not much. I have a preference for acrylics in both spray and brush paints, also acrylic lacquer in aerosol form. The comparisons I made whilst constructing the Bug Boxes (from page 150 on my thread) give a clearer story in picture form.

I am very pleased with the appearance of my 'Rocket' style coaches, especially with the grasshopper loco. However, the locomotive, like several I have from my early exhibition days, has a Lima motor bogie in the tender which was originally track powered. The loco therefore has no battery pack, or room to fit one, so I have decided to add the necessary control equipment in one of the coaches.
This has another advantage in that my original power wagon, which was not in period with the train, and added extra weight, can now be used elsewhere. Without it the little locomotive manages far better, as well as looking the part..... I have had to strip out one compartment completely in order to get the 10 AA battery pack, Rx and various connectors and wiring inside..... To conceal it all I made a false floor with seating attached which just lifts out.... .....which covers all of the gubbins.... The various connectors and switches are not too conspicuous.....