WEST ORTON

[Steve M]

It's been a bit too chilly to spend any time in the shed recently and the new 'mask mandate' has made life a little busier at work, consequently being tired is not conducive to modelling.
But I have been planning lighting and detailing of the two signal boxes. I have ordered a couple of etched brass interior kits from Severn Models and have had some shorter LED filaments delivered that should fit nicely in the roof space of both boxes.
May make another visit to Hornby on Saturday as they are advertising a Christmas Market with a 'small ex-display sale' - might be worth having a sniff around.

[bulleidboy]

Was the etched brass kit a better option than the Modelu resin signal box interior fittings?

[Steve M]

I hadn’t realised they did those detail parts and they didn’t show on a google search. But having looked just now they are just too expensive for what they are. It would be £30+ for each box and I’d still have to get the lever frames.

Talking about frames, I did cut out and start bending the parts from one kit this morning. Note the home made bending ‘break’ for longer sections. The only drawback so far is that the small parts really accentuate shaky hands.

2021-12-02_12-38-51 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[Steve M]

I finished assembly of the first kit - painting should be fun!

Coincidentally, this month’s Hornby magazine has an article about detailing a signalbox using a mix of the Ratio kit and Modelu parts (did that give you the idea Barry?). They also installed a sound module for signalbox noises - yes, I now have one on order.

2021-12-03_11-51-38 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[bulleidboy]

All looks very neat and tidy. Did you "glue" the brass parts together? Look a bit fiddly for soldering. You will be aware that Modelu have a good range of signalmen in various poses. The signal box interior is one of those items on the layout that you can hardly see when completed. I look forward to seeing the completed interior.

[Steve M]

I was very tempted to solder using a low melt solder paste but I chickened out and went for cyano. It wasn't as fiddly as I expected - the hardest part was cutting out the parts. I think I will make the other kit and paint them all together. The next time I order any 3D figures, I plan to add a couple of coats hanging on a coat hook - saw them on Hardy's site yesterday.

[bulleidboy]

I'm sure you have looked at lots, but there are some good interior images on Google of Swanage signal box.

[glencairn]

Impressive signal box interior, Steve. Well done.

Glencairn

[Steve M]

The high level signal box is finished.
Under the skin is a Train Tech sound module - bells, levers, point rodding clanks. This is plugged into the DCC bus and the sounds can be operated via the hand controller or just left on a loop. I also added a small two pin plug for the striplight in the box.

20211209_111314 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

I have also replaced the very poor quality etched window frames with slightly modified Ratio mouldings and added the box name from Scale Scenic Supplies.

20211211_094655 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

The interior fittings are all etched brass from Severn Models - remarkably easy to assemble. The signalman and his coat hanging on the wall are 3D prints from Hardy’s Hobbies. The striplight is a 3v LED filament - found some short ones that are ideal for this application.

20211211_094329 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

Now moving on to box number two.

[bulleidboy]

Looks brilliant - first class job - as expected.