Bagshot station build

[Steph Dale]

Peter,

That's looking very well and, like you, I rate Humbrol for structure painting.

I'm also pleased you went for the whole nine yards of photos and description; it's lovely to see such craft.

Steph

 

[Peter Insole]

thank you Steph for your kind words.

Here is a thought: I have been mixing Humbrol for years, and yet getting even a remote match to some livery colours proved utterly impossible to achieve. Recently however, I have been surprised that many of those previously illusive shades have become easy! I know that the paint consistency and opacity has changed, often with justifiable complaint, but suspect that a new formula might for some applications be a blessing in disguise?

Or is it just me imagining things?

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

After all the serious structural work I felt I needed a bit of relief, so started this:

Over to you WTers for any more or as many puns as you like...!



I daren't add any comments for fear of falling into the inevitable traps!



No, I will tell a story:

Remember those good old days when we had real, live bank managers? Back then I had a serious broken sewer problem. Having dug a trench to locate the trouble I realised that my overdraught was unlikely to cover the cost of repairs. I went to see the nice man for a small loan, but he said:

"No sorry Mr. Insole, I'm afraid you might get out of your depth"

"But" I exclaimed; "I'm in it up to my knees already!"

Oh, how we laughed.

 

[Heather Kay]

I can smell that loo in the last image. It reminds me of my Nan's old indoor privy in a 1900s council house. It was freezing, but kept spotless. Seeing that image I can smell the Vim, Domestos and the Izal paper!

 

[Thirtysecond]

Yes Pete, you mustn't forget the Izal dispenser. How did we ever use that stuff - it was like a sheet of grease-proof?

 

[adrian]

I daren't add any comments for fear of falling into the inevitable traps!

Very droll.

 

[Peter Insole]

I'm sorry, but here's one more visit to the "Gent's", for a while at least anyway!



I know there are rather obvious joints at left and right, but I ended up having to make the urinal slide up and away in order to be able to lift out the WC walls. Fortunately, the one on the right will be hidden behind a rain water down pipe and once the obscure glass roof is on, the left corner will only be viewable from one end and it should then be barely noticeable.

Mind you, this arrangement is going to be a nightmare when it comes to the plumbing!

Originally the LSWR built the urinal section open to the sky, then later roofed it with a flat, leaded affair that must have required continuous illumination for the sake of propriety! Finally, the Southern Railway replaced that with a splendid glass conservatory style design, with open ends and wooden slat louvers on two sides in order to permit the escape of nasty niffs!

My problem was ensuring that all the angled slats appear to be nice and parallel, so opted to cut each row as a single length, and add the uprights as fillets. Any unevenness could be covered up with a thin layer of strips to the outside face.



Fearing that the assembly was a still bit fragile, I drilled and pinned a couple of the uprights with brass rod.

Now the standees are being catered for, the sitters modesty requires a door!

 

[john lewsey]

Flushed with success

 

[unklian]

Marvellous stuff Pete. I have only just been able to sit down and read through your thread more thoroughly. And if you don't mind a couple of questions, and forgive me if I missed the answer in the thread already. What wood do you use for the framing of the walls and rafters in the roof ? I realise the model is 1/32 scale but roughly how big is it overall ?
Your model is very inspirational for sure, I would like to do something similar in 1/22 scale, and I feel you are more than justified in your approach and clever techniques. I think the same thing laser cut and scribed would have been far too clinical and not captured the rustic textures you have been able to invoke.
Looking forward to more, Ian

 

[Peter Insole]

Thanks Ian, I'm really pleased that you feel like having a go and am very happy to provide any details that might help.

I have a fair stock of strip wood, but mostly odds and ends from previous jobs. When I started this enormous project I realised that I would need a reliable source of material that, if nothing else, would be consistently available throughout the build. After searching around I found that my local Hobbycraft store had what they call "Basswood strip" Though they assured me that it would continue to be stocked for the foreseeable futue, I practically emptied their shelves!
I have found it to be ideal. It is fine grained, cuts clean and easily with a scalpel as well as a saw, and above all appears (so far) to be very stable. Not excessively priced either!

The building measures out at just over two feet long by eight and a quarter inches wide in 1/32nd (less canopy awnings) - and it is only a tiddler by comparison with an average country station!

All the wall studding and roof rafters were cut from 3/32'' x 1/4'' strip with 3/16'' SQ for the joists. The ridges were 1/2'' x 1/8'' from stock, though I cannot now remember the source of that similar timber.

Wall and roof sheets are 1/16'' (1.5mm) ply.

The point about laser cutting is that for the smaller scales (up to 7mm) it is peerless, but is indeed perhaps a bit too clean and regular at gauge one and above. For a commercial job however, it could be worthwhile compromising on the finish in order to allow more time for essential detailing without ending up going completely bankrupt!

All the best, Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

As one door closes, another one opens!

Getting model doors to hinge correctly has been a long held goal. I have looked at the work of others and considered my own ideas for several years! This project, being a nice decent scale provided the opportunity to have a go.

The main problem is to get the things opening properly with impossibly tiny hinges just on the inside edge of near scale thickness doors. Heaven only knows, it is difficult enough to hang a real one and ensure that it swings without binding or fits neatly into the jamb! Miniature versions are likely to be fiddly beyond endurance and potentially so fragile that it would be scarcely worth the effort. One answer would be to make the frames and doors out of brass, soldering loops and pins would be entirely practical, but would take a disproportionate amount of time to scratchbuild all twelve required for Bagshot.

What I wanted was something quick and simple that could use a conventional wooden construction, be both reliable and strong, yet adjustable if not quite assembled correctly too. I like a challenge!



Firstly, frames were built up using ply for rigidity, layered to form the rebate and further strengthened with a simplified architrave where required by the design.



The doors were made up by layering more thin ply with "Resin W" and left to fully set under heavy weights for some time. They have remained good and rigid, with no sign of warping so to date!

I opted in the end to try simple wire loops for hinges which have subsequently proven to fulfil all the above mentioned requirements! They may look a bit crude, but once everything is painted, are not too obtrusive. I felt the trick for distracting the eye was to carefully place the hinges in prototypical positions.



The coal cupboard door still needs a chain to stop it banging on the brick reveal, but I haven't found one fine enough yet!

More details of the hinges in the next post as I have just realised that I had not copied and reduced the image files earlier this evening!

 

[Dog Star]

Rob (@Rob Pulham) has fitted a padlock, hasp and staple to a locker in a 7mm NCPS van.... are there keys to fit the locks on your doors?

 

[Peter Insole]

Oh dear! Now that's got me thinking...

....Exits, stage left, mumbling unintelligibly!

 

[Peter Insole]

And now for double the trouble. Hinges and bolts as promised:



After bending some brass wire with round nosed pliers into U shapes about 1mm wide and with tails 4mm long, I then marked the centres of each hinge on the inward opening side of the door.

Now the important bit; Cut two slots a half millimetre either side of the marks at 45 degrees, then carefully slice out the edge between to create a little flat chamfer. This will not only be an aid for drilling, but will serve to bring the pivot point in as close to the door edge as possible.

Drill two holes right through the door, again at 45 degrees, then fit and glue the loops, using the exposed tails on the outside for fine adjustment and ensuring a strong bond. When set, these tails were filed flush.

I then formed split pins, this time using thinner wire. With the door held closed in it's frame, drilled through the loops, right through the frame and at 45 degrees (90 degrees to door hinge). Once again, the tails permit the last and most critical fine adjustment. I also applied glue to these ends, allowing it to capillary inwards to avoid gumming up the works!

When everything had been set up, checked and thoroughly tested, glue applied and set, one or two of the ruddy thing refused to work properly. Always happens doesn't it? The finer wire was more easily tweezered, twiddled and twisted into submission!



I made the bolts simplified without fine detail as they have to be strong, yet easy to work using crooked digit and fingernail!



There's rather too much daylight showing under the draughty old doors, but they were only temporarily masking taped in for the photography!



And for my next excuse; I didn't bother about those two naughty little gaps on the left hand door. They will be covered by a nice SR "Please show tickets" enamel sign!



I have since been given the opportunity to try the method scaled down on a 7mm building, and found to my surprise that it was no more fiddly or time consuming, and worked just as well too!

No excuse for boring old, glued solid, pretend doors now! I can't resist it. Even the tiniest doors just have to be slammed!

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Would the external doors, being heavier and in constant use, have a 3rd hinge in the centre....?

However I can see two hinges are easier for reliable operation.

An inspirational thread - it's got me itching to work with wood again as I have a 1:48 US depot to build and detail.

 

[Peter Insole]

Thanks Dave, you are spot on! As I mentioned in the previous post, the doors are made of wood. Although I am happy that they have not warped, the model has remained at home in a reasonably constant atmosphere, but I cannot possibly guarantee that in future it might not suffer more extreme conditions of storage, such as a garage, loft or garden shed!
I feared that under those circumstances, the slightest distortion could not only stop free movement, but even damage the hinges or split the wood if they were fitted three in a line.

Unfortunately, the real error was that when fitting those hinges I hadn't set them back far enough into the door! The result was a wider gap than desired when in the open position. That is what made the lack of a central hinge a bit more obvious! Ho hum, 'tis done now!

Cheers, Pete.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

You could always put a dummy hinge in so it appears

but I cannot possibly guarantee that in future it might not suffer more extreme conditions of storage, such as a garage, loft or garden shed!
I feared that under those circumstances, the slightest distortion could not only stop free movement,

JLTRT again.....

You could always put a dummy hinge in so it appears there are 3.

 

[Peter Insole]

Looks like I'm not going to get away with it?!

It won't be easy as the doors are fixed in place now. You are right though, it doesn't look the part, so I promise to address it prior to installing the main interior walls!

I really must bite the bullet and finally sort out exactly how I'm going to construct the large sash windows. They will all have to be fitted before the aforementioned linings! When I do get to them, I will explain my concerns in more detail.

Cheers, Pete.

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

I really must bite the bullet and finally sort out exactly how I'm going to construct the large sash windows. They will all have to be fitted before the aforementioned linings! When I do get to them, I will explain my concerns in more detail.

Cheers, Pete.

Working Sash Windows? Difficult enough to make in full size!

Ian.

 

[Peter Insole]

Naturally!

Insane? I know, but I've got to try it at least?!

Pete.