tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823950106219950202024-03-08T17:19:15.644+00:00South West Orbital NetworkDocumenting a small modern British N-gauge model railway coffee table project in Bristol, UK. Following the collecting, construction and operating of the railway, trains, layout and scenics with journals, macro photos and HD videos.Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-782395010621995020.post-8689621185573262532012-09-08T18:36:00.000+01:002012-09-08T18:36:20.849+01:00More N gauge accessories exploring my house<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-782395010621995020.post-55045469011794992042012-06-24T19:51:00.000+01:002012-06-24T19:51:31.572+01:00Peco Train Shed Unit, Graham Farish 'Redland' Wagon, Noch Figures, Tamiya Weathering Master EA few more purchases to add to the stockpile. One of these days I might make enough space to actually start making parts of the railway instead of just buying things.<br />
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Anyway, here's the modern train shed unit by Peco. I saw this on ebay and thought it was pretty much what I needed, so was pleased to find it in Modelzone. The packaging tries to convince you that you should buy about a million of them to connect up and have a massive train warehouse, but as I'm working with limited space I think I'll stick with one for now.<br />
It's 'pre-coloured,' so it says, but the colours are fairly basic and for sure I'll be repainting it myself (perhaps with the exception of the hazard-line doors, which I'll just weather).<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
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Next up is the Graham Farish 'Redland' Wagon. Not much to say about this, the model looks exactly like the previous one that I bought, but I just thought this one looks nice. I can't say I've ever seen a Redland wagon IRL before, but seeing as Redland is a Bristol neighbourhood near us, it seems to help add a little more Bristolianism to the collection<span style="background-color: white;">.</span><br />
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And then we come to the Noch figures. I knew I'd be buying these at some point, but seeing as they're so expensive and not really needed at this point I've been putting it off. Nevertheless, I decided to get a pack.</div>
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Finding again that it would be a cheaper purchase from Modelzone than ebay, I went straight ahead and picked up these guys. They seem to be slightly vintage male commuters. </div>
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Like it seems with all lines of items in this hobby, 00 gauge (the standard, Hornby-size railways) offers much more interesting and varied things - with Noch's 00 figures you can get everything from marching bands and police officers to builders and naked couples doing naughty things on a tiny bed. The choices in N gauge are a little more standard, but in my opinion what they lack in variety they make up for in sheer tininess. </div>
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I did not hesitate to attempt a little bit of that tiny figure photography craze that existed in the art world a few years ago:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I also bought Tamiya Weathering Master set E, ready to add dry dirt to all my lovely industrial things. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">That's all for now. </span></div>Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-782395010621995020.post-11944180546272517732012-06-14T00:00:00.000+01:002012-06-14T00:00:16.876+01:00My first train: Graham Farish 150 DMU, + First Great Western Decals<br />
<b>British Rail Class 150 Diesel Multiple Unit</b><br />
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Model by Graham Farish</div>
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This is the model which was supplied with my starter train set. I have since converted it to a First Great Western local lines model with the help of <a href="http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/">Adam Warr's Railway Graphic Decals.</a></div>
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This will be the flagship train of the local line on my railway layout, travelling between the main town station and a small country station...</div>Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-782395010621995020.post-72477828870097999522012-06-13T23:47:00.000+01:002012-06-24T19:54:20.363+01:00First test: Tamiya Weathering Master (Rust, Gun metal, Silver)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Okay, so I've literally just spent about 30 minutes dabbing this little fella with a makeup stick. My girlfriend thinks I've gone mad. </div>
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<b>Before:</b></div>
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It's very easy to use, and for weathering nuts like me, you can't go wrong. I applied gun metal first, then silver on the highlight surfaces, then rust just about wherever I felt like it. And I think it looks awesome! My layout is sure gonna be gritty when its finished. </div>
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</div>Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-782395010621995020.post-7959370284878746542012-06-10T17:59:00.002+01:002012-06-13T23:30:41.724+01:00An idea of scale - Oxford Land Rover on a pound<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Welcome to British N Gauge. Approximately 1/148 scale. </div>
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This is Oxford's N gauge Land Rover. Most of their N gauge models are generally 60s era, so I'm struggling to find vehicles which would work in my modern environment. A green, vintage Land Rover will always look good down a side road, me thinks. </div>Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-782395010621995020.post-81935047612270425862012-05-18T23:24:00.000+01:002012-05-18T23:24:03.420+01:00Planning permission approved for a circular railway network in the South West of England<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year, work begins on a new railway in Bristol, UK.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, it is a much smaller network than you might imagine. This is a railway which is designed to fit snugly inside a coffee table, somewhere in Bristol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the blog I have established to document the design, construction and running of the <a href="http://wmrc.weebly.com/n-gauge.html">N-gauge</a> layout I am creating. It will be a modern day layout, depicting somewhere around the Bristol area, with all the bells and whistles and whistle-stops that I can possibly cram in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Featuring:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Double track First Great Western mainline </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Single track First Great Western local line</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10157060">Moving bus system</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lights</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Digitalised system with advanced software and controls</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Varied landscape features including tunnel, bridge, x2 stations, Bristolian buildings and farmland</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fitted inside a <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20173066/">glass-topped coffee table</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Digital ambitions</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, I hope to fully exploit the digital potential of the railway system by controlling all features with software. I hope to be able to use a small computer such as a <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/">Raspberry P</a>i, and perhaps even find a way to allow website visitors to log in to a server and control the railway remotely and even view live CCTV cameras on the platforms andand and....gasp...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On this Blog you will be able to see: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Updates and stories of how the work is going</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HD (and macro!) videos and photos of the railway coming together and operating</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A rolling report of how much I am spending on the railway, time and money...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if you are interested to see how this pans out, please follow this blog. Cheers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jack Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14880555819275485275noreply@blogger.com0