Sunday 28 August 2016

Main Building at Banke's Bakelite Finished (1/35)

After a long construction period the contractor (me) has finally finished work on the main building at the 1:35 scale bakelite factory in Nystrup. Not because it's been difficult or boring, but because I work on several models simultanously.
The main building at Banke's Bakelite is now finished. My next task is to glue it solidly to the module and blend it into the surrounding ground work.
While waiting for decals for my Opel Blitz bus, I took the opportunity to work on the factory. The main parts of the model are laser cut from MDF and card board by a friend of mine. Interior and roof was cut from foam board in 4 and 6 mm. thickness. Some of the work has been the subject of an earlier blog post.

Previously I had fitted light to the ground floor rooms and I did the same to the single first floor room. I then painted the interior walls on the first floor light grey and made a removable floor. That allows me access to the ground floor lights if they should need any attention in the future.
Installing light above the first floor in the factory building.
Testing if everything works. The difference in light levels is caused by the temporary lack of a rear wall on the upper floor. I'm glad to see that there are no 'light leaks' in the building (not counting the missing rear wall, of course).

I built the roof from two sandwiched layers of foam board covered with self adhesive surgical tape. The tape is my preferred method of modelling tar paper. The tape is slightly 'furry' and when painted retains a nicely textured surface.
Foam board roof with wooden edging fitted to the building.

Surgical tape covering the roof. Pencil marks helped me to position the strips of tape with a minimum of regularity.

After having painted the building I cut a rear wall to enable the model to be closed up and hold the removable interior in place. The rear wall is only kept in place by its tight fit and is easily removed to allow the interior to slide out of the building. Wires from the lights are run under the module surface inside the building. The wires are arranged to allow the lights to be switched on and off in all three rooms independently.
A view across Nystrup Gravel's track towards Banke's Bakelite. Now work on getting the building fit into the surrounding ground work can begin
A full view of the factory module. Despite the work involved in the factory building it is only a back ground feature. Although with a module width of only 40 cm. the term 'back ground' is open to debate.
Building the model has taught me that buildings in 1:35 scale are quite large. I have only built a small segment of the prototype building and even then the model has tested my work area's size. Any future building just a little larger will have to built on the work bench in the shed, where I usually work on lawn mower, bikes and other 1:1 scale real world items.

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Old Movie Clip From Nystrup (1/35)

During my vacation I visted a nice, old couple with family ties to Nystrup. They had photos to show and stories to tell. Much to my surprise they also showed me a short length of 35 mm. film with interesting scenes from Nystrup and the country side around the town. Most of the scenes were actually shots of trains on the gravel line.


The film was said to be shot in 1945 and 1946. The above shot must be taken in late September at the earliest as it shows Billard loco no. 23. The loco and its sister engine only arrived a few days before 23 September as described by a period news paper. 

Even if the scenes are short I'm looking forward to show more in the future. Surely the old colour film is a fantastic find!

Friday 5 August 2016

Where do you keep your modules? (1/35)

...is a question sometimes popping up when I talk to other railway modellers. Finding room for a model railway is a challenge for many modellers - me too. There is so much you and your family like to use the available space for. Most of it (let's face it) more important than a model railway. For storage my modules are simply placed on IKEA shelves of the Ivar-type. Being 80 cm. long my modules fits exactly on the shelves (no wonder, as that's why the modues are 80 cm. wide). The modules are placed along one of the the walls of the room where I have my work table. Some of my railway books are stored on the shelves not taken up by the four modules.

The combined modelling room and library also works as a quiet study .

I can't run trains on the modules when they are placed in the book shelves. For running purposes I erect the modules in our living room or more often in a garden shed of ours. While set ups in the living room are naturally very brief, Nystrup Gravel can have its quiet existence in the shed without too many comments from the family. As the shed is uninsulated and unheated it is only during the warmer months I can set up the modules for any considerable length of time. It is not a big issue for me, as I enjoy building models much more than running trains.
A humble shed in the garden houses the gravel line during running set ups.

Modules being erected in the shed. The railway has to compete with a variety of other items for space. You'll probably know all about that.
With marked module legs it took no time getting the modules assembled, wires were quickly connected and trains were running after no more than 15 minutes of work.