WEST ORTON

[Steve M]

I walked away from the shed this afternoon but after a nap and an old film on TV, I started thinking again.

I know, that’s bl##dy dangerous at my age.

The result is a curved backscene behind that embryonic hill but in front of the rearmost branch line - much tidier and it gives me a frame to shape the hill to.

As is usual with my builds, both the hill and the backscene will be removable for maintenance and derailment recovery. The corner boards also have their rear corners removed so they are diamond shaped which gives just enough room to reach up from under the board with one hand.

[Steve M]

When it came to the overbridge, it was a different matter - I had made a complete dog’s breakfast of the job with the heights of the supports resembling something from a theme park.

It's really coming along nicely and at least you only made one dog's breakfast! I make so many I could open my own kennel's

I’ve only told you about one.
Plenty of time for others.

[Steve M]

The original plan for platform construction, was to create templates that would be used as ‘masters’ for the final cutting from 18mm ply.
This morning I created a new cutting line allowing for the stone facings and a strip of thin MDF. Having cut the templates on the bandsaw, I realised they were good enough to use as the actual platform tops but would need some 9mm spacers underneath to bring them up to height.
I’ve screwed them to the baseboards and added the MDF strip. The platform ramps will be made separately once the rest is completed.

2021-04-28_01-31-16 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[Steve M]

I posted something similar to this on the old forum, sadly lost forever in the ether.
My curved platforms require curved edging, based once again on the Ratio stone platforms. When I made the ones for Low Ghyll I had trouble bending and securing the sides to the core of the platform so this time I am casting the sides in resin which can be gently curved when it’s warmed in hot water.

I started off by building a box from Lego placed on a sheet of plastic (salvaged from the supermarket) and sealed with a bead of hot glue. The master copies of the sides were then stuck face up on the plastic with double sided tape and the whole lot sprayed with a release spray.

20210430_095041 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

I then mixed the RTV silicone and poured it in to the mould. I started with 200g then added a second pour of another 200g to fill the mould and give enough depth over the masters.

20210430_100551 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

I can’t remember if I ordered the fast (6 hours) or slow (24 hours) catalyst - either way demoulding will be tomorrow.

In between F1 on TV, I’ll be whittling away at the insulation board core for the hills and tunnels by the bridge.

[IanS]

I can’t remember if I ordered the fast (6 hours) or slow (24 hours) catalyst - either way demoulding will be tomorrow.

I sometimes have that problem - I order something, it arrives and a few weeks (or months) later I get around to using it (or attempting to). I find that the invoice (almost always still in my email box) is useful. As many items are from either Rails, Hattons, TMC or Amazon their history can usually find the item too.

[Steve M]

I can’t remember if I ordered the fast (6 hours) or slow (24 hours) catalyst - either way demoulding will be tomorrow.

I sometimes have that problem - I order something, it arrives and a few weeks (or months) later I get around to using it (or attempting to). I find that the invoice (almost always still in my email box) is useful. As many items are from either Rails, Hattons, TMC or Amazon their history can usually find the item too.

Only ordered on Monday. So definitely operator error.

It’s the slow one by the way.

[bulleidboy]

I can't wait to see the finished result - all looks very technical. Nice to see that you kept your childhood Lego

[Bandit Mick]

I would never have thought of using Lego as a mould. Clever.

[Steve M]

It’s not really suitable for deep moulds as the joints aren’t completely sealed, although an application of Vaseline with a small paintbrush can take care of that.
We have a local Lego store where they have a pick n mix selection - a tub of blocks for about a tenner I think.

Update on the mould - definitely the ‘slow’ catalyst as it’s not set yet. Cold temperatures aren’t helping. One of the ramp sides has floated off the base but that’s not the end of the world as I have plenty of spares.

[Steve M]

Even slower than I thought - the silicone is a little more gloopy today but still a long way from setting. At what point do I give up and wait for warmer weather?

As part of the platform construction, I intend edging the platforms with laser cut paving slabs from Scale Model Scenery. They are cut square for straight platforms so I will have to angle the sides to accommodate my curved platforms.

All 350 of them.