1/87 Diorama Progressing

In March I started a small diorama in 1/87 scale planned as an expanded 'photo plank' to show off my growing collection of Soviet narrow-gauge models. Measuring 85x35 cm it has now had the main terrain features added. After an almost total modellingless April I'm now getting back into productive modelling! 

The diorama's main terrain feature - a low railway embankment - built from foam material and covered in disposable kitchen rags. 

On top of the plywood base I added a low embankment from foam material at the rear. This will carry a broad gauge track elevated above the narrow gauge tracks in front of it. The track will be glued to a 4 mm thick foamboard strip profiled to provide a representation of the subballast formation. I plan to fit the embankment with concrete sleepered track to represent a single track unelectrified broad gauge main line.

Lovely Spring weather has seen me working outside. Here I'm gluing foamboard as foundation for H0f and H0e track. The bricks with the mark of The Royal Danish Post and Telegraph Service were saved years ago from a demolished post office. They now serve to keep everything in position as the glue dries.

I have also begun covering the lower narrow gauge track area in 5 mm foambord. This will enable me to add drainage ditches between tracks where relevant. I've not quite decided the final track layout and placement of building elements, so I will be covering the majority of the area with foamboard.

A typical Soviet style prefabricated concrete fence of PO-2 type separates the embankment from the narrow gauge area and I cut foundations from scrap parts of plasticard for the placing of the fence. The fence is 'one-sided' and is made to be viewed from the narrow gauge area only, and consequently its rear side will be covered with a varied growth of shrubbery. The fence is glued in place and to strengthen the connection small foamboard columns support the fence from its backside, helping to make a strong bond.

The position of main broad gauge line and the main track of the 750 mm narrow gauge line is more or less decided. Between the fence and 750 mm track I plan to fit a 600 mm track with dilapidated rolling stock. In the front area I hope to fit in another 750 mm track with a few turnouts to a siding and a work shop building.

I'm now playing with track segments, turnouts and cardboard mock-ups to find out how best to place them on the diorama. 

1/87 Scale Diorama

The headline may promise more that this post deliver. But this week saw me finally getting the foundation for my 1/87 scale diorama started. The base plate from plywood had been cut in January and it is now reinforced by a wooden frame to keep it straight and level. 

My Soviet diorama looks flat and uninteresting in comparison with the huge model of Østerport Station in H0 in the background. The model is on temporary storage during the relocation of the Aarsleff Rail Copenhagen office where it usually resides. We don't quite trust movers...

The diorama is an ambitious project as it will be my first attempt at showing three gauges in such a small setting - and the first ever, to be honest. There will be a broad-gauge track running on an embankment in the background and 600 and 750 mm track on the main level in the foreground. 

The diorama is planned to be an expanded 'photo plank' to show off my growing collection of Soviet narrow-gauge models. It measures 85x35 cm. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in an industrial building or two, a concrete plated road area and the characteristic concrete fence and overhead steam pipes so well-known from the Soviet Union. 

Track Panels in H0f

With the continued arrival of Soviet narrow gauge models, the practice of photographing them on the work table or in the garden has become annoying to me. The models will look much better in a more life-like setting and I have now decided to make a small diorama for photo purposes. I have a good supply of 9 mm gauge track and turnouts and have just taken delivery of some nice 6,5 mm track.

Auhagen H0f track with over head loading machine and mine tub.  

I have equipment in H0 scale in prototype gauges of 750 and 600 mm and the little diorama has to have both and I thus need both H0e (9 mm gauge) and H0f (6,5 mm gauge) track. For the 6,5 mm gauge track I decided to use the Auhagen set 41701 'Feldbahngleis - Attrappen' which is injection moulded plastic track panels on steel sleepers. As the track is all plastic it is non-operational in contrast to the Busch track in the same gauge. As I'm not planning any operation on the H0f track the all-plastic Auhagen track suits me fine.

The set includes much more track than I need and I suspect a lot of the contents will end up as a load for a 750 mm gauge platform wagon or a lorry model. The contents are as follows:

• 18 curved track panels 
• 18 long straight track panels 
• 12 short straight tracks 
• 1 left and 1 right turnout 
• 1 Y-turnout 
• 1 left and 1 right crossing for standard gauge
• 1 turntable 

The Auhagen track geometry explained on part of the instructions.

The track is moulded in a dark red-brown colour to look like rusty steel track panels and the parts are moulded with extra height to give strength and to facilitate easier ballasting when laying the track. The track panels are quite tiny and there are limits as to what detail can be fitted to track in this scale. Nevertheless the track looks good and I'm looking forward to lay track this small.

One long straight section of track and one curved panel. It's obvious how the rails have been moulded solidly and with an extra 'web' between the steel sleepers. Probably to obtain strength for handling and to ease the moulding proces.

Close up of the sprue with turnouts and standard gauge crossing.

Regular track panels - straight and curved.

I've already been cutting a basic structure for the diorama that will be a relatively flat area with industrial buildings, concrete plated road area as well as track in 3 gauges.

Loading Machine Finished

As usual I have some small 1/87 projects alongside my main modelling activity in 1/19 scale. Fortunately they are small and with an hour of work they can actually progress pretty far. A year ago some tiny 3D printed models of mining equipment arrived from German Micro_Miners and I have now added a finished overhead loading machine to the collection.

Another tiny model for my collection of mining machinery in 1/87 scale. An overhead loading machine type LWS 160 (it's the yellow thing on the photo).

Overhead loading machines were used underground in mines to load the loose rock or ore at the head of narrow mine galleries with only one track. The machine was powered by compressed air and threw the load over itself and into a mine tub behind it. The 'Wurfschaufellader LWS 160' from Micro_Miners is currently priced at 11,5 € at their website and is a 3D printed kit consisting of 2 parts. Length 3 cm, width 1 cm and with a height of 2 cm it's a tiny model. I added one rolled up compressed air hose from solder wire. My main accomplishment finishing the model was actually not breaking parts off the tiny machine. It's incredibly detailed, but fortunately the material is quite resilient and takes a lot of bending before it breaks.

How the model looked straight out of the box. A maze of support columns from the printing proces.

With surprisingly little effort the model was ready for painting. Here is how the first stage of painting looked. Yellow airbrush on and the first details painted with brush. Photographed with the 1/19 scale Fowler in the background.

With the yellow paint airbrushed on I painted the few details of a differing colour. Then I began applying weathering which consisted primarily of different washes with rust, dark brown and black paint. 

You have to zoom in quite a lot to capture the little machine when it is placed on the Nystrup Gravel layout. I will have to acquire a track panel or a lorry to enable me to photograph my H0-models on the large layout.

A view af the machine's other side. A lot less cluttered than the left side with the operating gear and footplate.

I have more small projects planned next to the finishing of the Fowler: a Soviet locomotive and a rail going drilling vehicle for drilling holes for explosive charges for mine gallery blasting - that's a blasting rarity!

More Models in 1/87 Scale

Among my selected summer projects I have been working on some models for a future 1/87 diorama of a yet to be decided Eastern European location. My summer vacation has seen work done on the K-Model TU4 and I have also been cleaning up some Micro_Miners models and experimenting with Soviet concrete wall segments.

Four mine tubs and an overhead loading machine liberated from their web of printing supports before final clean up. Here seen in front of a 1/100 scale Siemens Avenio tram from Majorette. Each tub is 1,5 mm long and the loading machine barely 2 cm.

As described earlier, the Micro_Miners models arrive in small card board boxes on their printing support webs and plate hot glued to bottom of the box. Once released from the box each model or part has to be separated from the printing supports. With small snippits the job is fast over and the few remnants of the supports can be removed with a small file or sanding stick. The two part overhead loading machine was very fragile and I took great care not to damage anything. Despite that one of the brackets keeping the driver's platform on the machine's left side broke. It was quickly reglued with AC-glue.

Four wagons attatched to the bottom of their small card board box with hot glue.

The overhead loading machine's two parts still attached to their frightening maze of print supports.

Equipment from the underground workings of a mine ready for priming.

The mining equipment is planned to feature on a diorama in a Eastern European setting on the territory of the former Soviet Union. Quite where is still undecided but I'm leaning towards one of the three Baltic countries or Ukraine. The narrow gauge mining equipment with 6,5 mm. gauge isn't the main focus, but will add interest and a very clear indication of what's going on next to the 9 mm. gauge railway passing through the industrial location.

Currently I'm sourcing parts that are typical 'Soviet' in style. Despite the Soviet Empire being long gone at the time I'm modelling, buildings and road vehicles are still showing the Soviet legacy. There'll obviously be both Ladas and Zils as well as above the ground steam heating pipes. What is also an absolute must on any ex. Soviet industrial location is the ПО-2 (PO-2) concrete element fence surrounding military barracks, hospital compounds and industrial locations. Read the history of the PO-2 fence in depth here.

While the PO-2 fence is easily available in the military modelling scales 1/76 and 1/35 I had to search long for elements in 1/87. But the German firm PTL-Bahn have them as item 210051 'Betonmauerelemente'. I bought the two remaining bags of 10 elements each from the German trader Modellbahn-Exclusiv allowing me to build a wall 64 cm. long. 

Grouping of items for a future diorama: 750 mm gauge TU4, 600 mm gauge mine equipment and in the rear the ever present PO-2 fencing.

The stuff seen from above on a small piece of foam board testing viewing angles. The future diorama will be much larger.