2015_06_28 Suns out!!

2015_06_2

Just setting up in the shed to do some more wiring, but after 20 hours the plaster is starting to dry. At least the lighter layers are. However the thicker work is still very wet. Lets hope the week is a little warmer than last one.

Ahhh!!  have to rejoin the old modules and solder those rails together. The damn rail was all we could use 30 years ago, old profile n scale rail hand spiked onto wood sleepers to give the correct light rail branch line look. However the new profile n scale track fish plates will not fit, and neither will the code 70, or code 75 ones (The old n profile is more like bull head rail with a small rounded foot rather than the traditional flat foot.)  I think I will have to reshape code 70 plates and solder them in place. Or perhaps cut a trip of brass and just solder it on the outer sides?

Cheers
Rod

2015_06_27

2015_06_27 Another Saturday rolling on...
So what happens Saturday?? Oh that's right Backboards are the current theme...


And here's Graeme :)

We top coated all the filler and now we need to sand it back. The way things are slowly drying around here, we decided to wait till next week, and perhaps we can undercoat it all.

 

Its an illusion it is a tough join but shadow is making it look worse than it is. The variation at the join is about 2mm  using a 3 foot straight edge

Its nice to have a friend who can motivate you, and has the skills to show you how, Thanks mate :)
Cheers
Rod

2015_06_25 Lazy Freezing Days of Winter!

 2015_06_25
Things are rather quiet here at Fernleigh Court.

But the check book is still hemorrhaging :)
Two 4L cans of plastic paint, 1 undercoat and the another Sky Blue.
More filler and a few tools to help get it all on.

Only problem is that the plaster will not dry (over two weeks and balls up when I sand it... It's just too damn cold :( )

I also decided to upgrade my computer to better manage Decoder Pro in the shed, and spending some time getting that up and running.

Got sick of the wiring, so planning a general tidy up whilst I wait for things to warm up a little.

I have a video camera and screen that I want to install so that I can watch stuff on the other side of the Island.  But it will not easily do the job. I found a Chinese company that will sell me 4 wireless cameras that will broadcast a 1080 signal and it offers clear reception in noisy environments as well as obstructed communication over 20 m. Too good to be true, especially as they have daily specials, and today they sold me 4 cameras, with a 10 inch monitor, and a terabyte of hard drive, recording to a 8 track 1080 Digital recorder. Normally $599 but one last superseded model, brand new for $375 (edit). I could have got a 4 camera wired version for $275 and a pack of 4 50 m cables for another $39

I wanted to get the LED light strings secured in place as well as the video cable in the tidy up.
Well now I don't have to worry about video cable, however I will need to supply 1 amp of 5 V Dc to each camera.

So that's about all I have to say Bye for now
Cheers
Rod

2015_06_06 (Back Drops)

2015_06_06 Heater on ,heavy cloud, but sun is shining most of the time.

Been crook most of the week. Kidney giving pain on Tuesday and could hardly walk Wednesday. Not sharp enough for a stone, so probably a chill. Feeling ok today, so Graeme decided to come over and give me another big push on the model railway. Nice mate he is too!!

So whilst Graeme (Schulz) filled up the gaps with plaster, I got to straigtening up the back boards and securing them as they were just loosely fitted.  We spent 4 hours on it and got a lot accomplished. I used a premixed Filler last Monday and it was still damp today. So we used cornice cement, this time and it did dry better, abling Graeme to get three coats on.
If you remember we had strengthened steel brackets set into the plaster to take the wobble out of the top deck and they had to be plastered over. Some pictures.
(Note it took half my time to finish clearing the decks, the remainder to secure the back boards to a new frame which helped straighten them all out)

The frame on top helps to increase the back board to 600 mm standard (Haskell back ground)  I will need to glue strips of Masonite on above original and fill it and sand it back.

Its a bit hard to see, however the painted back boards here rippled and were not flat, but now the top bracing has almost pulled it flat again. The joins are still wet a week after I applied selleys pre mixed stuff and will have to be replaced

Look no more steel support brackets :)

Really pleased with this, Tanks Graeme ;)

The join in front of the clamps has a lump of wood behind forcing it out of shape. Next job is to remove it to allow it to sit correctly.

Graeme says we can sand it back and put another coat over the top, before undercoating it all.

So much to do. The wiring is on the to do list as well :(

Cheers
Rod