Sunday 25 September 2016

The Bright City Lights (1/35)

Well, some may argue that I'm taking this post's head line a bit to far! Nystrup isn't a city and the lights are merely some dim lamps in a few industrial buildings. No matter what I like the atmosphere they create. I hope to develop the modules further in that direction to underline the difference between the dark woods around the gravel pits and the lights of Nystrup town.
It's after dark now and the lights are out on the first floor of Banke's Bakelite. Still plenty of other lights in the small industrial district in Nystrup.

While there is probably a way more advanced for controlling lights in buildings, I'm still attracted to the simple mechanical method of using toggle switches. I've wired the lights in the factory building through some small plugs. That enables me to still 'pull out' the interior of the building despite the considerable number of wires for the lighting.
Cut out in the module's front for the recessed panel holding the switches for light in the factory building and the grounded goods van. Looks a mess in this photograph!

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Back to the Work Bench (1/35)

After a week long break I'm now going back to modelling. I have been quite busy with paper work for the heritage railway you probably know I'm involved with. To be allowed to operate, any heritage railway in Denmark will have to meet certain standards and document their safety procedures. It's a lot of paper work even for a small narrow gauge railway. With most of the work done I should now be able to do a little modelling again.
Not paper work for a narrow gauge heritage railway's traffic permit, but an image of busy civil servants from the time when Nystrup Gravel had a hard working industrial railway - with hardly any government concern over the possible dangers involved in skips and gravel transport.
 Conveniently enough I received the decals for my Opel bus the other day. I'm now in the process of varnishing to prepare the model for the markings - which are spartan and modest. 
Here is the small decal sheet for my blue and orange 1:35 Opel bus. Produced by 'Skilteskoven' in Odense for a modest sum of money. Can't wait to fit them to my model!

Thursday 1 September 2016

Optimizing Loco Running (1/35)

As I have my modules set up for operation it is only natural to work on some of my locos' running qualities. While my two Billards with BullAnt drive units are perfect, slow runners I still have some trouble with loco 78 also fitted with a BullAnt. I'm cleaning wheels, adjusting pick ups, checking for clearances to the loco body and adding a little more weight. Until 78 runs as smooth as the Billards and is fit to star in a run past film clip, here are two photos from one of the test runs.
It's early morning at the loco shed. Billard 23 is having an oil filter changed while 78 is waiting for its gas generator to heat up and produce enough gas to start the engine. The workers are probably having their morning coffee inside.

After a somewhat slow start and some refuelings of the generator no. 78 has managed to pick up a train of empty skips and is now pulling them east to the gravel pits where they will be filled with freshly dug gravel.