O Gauge CCT in Olive Green Livery

Over the last few weeks I have also managed to complete the weathering of an Heljan CCT, which was finished in the olive green engineers livery. This is a lovely model but the factory finish was quite shiny and toy like, so I set about toning this down with some weathering. The dismantling of the CCT was quick and easy, only requiring the removal of four screws and gently pushing out the glazing. The weathering process involved an initial body wash of neutral grey, before using the airbrush to apply a bit of tonal variation in the olive green livery, using some faded olive green colours. Over the top of this I used the airbrush to apply various coats of weathered black, frame dirt and sleeper grime, with some of the detail hand brushed with AK interactive streaking grime. The chassis was weathered separately, using the airbrush to apply various coats of weathered black, frame dirt and sleeper grime. The roof was  weathered using a combination of various shades of roof dirt and weathered black.  When I was happy enough, the weathering was sealed in with a couple of coats of Railmatch matt varnish. 

Finished CCT on the Kimington Quay layout.

Finished CCT coupled up a class 33.

A close up showing some of the underframe detail.

This CCT will run with the olive green BSK, the 12t van and the BY wagon, which form a small rake in the engineers department. The BY wagon is currently (very slowly) being built from the Slaters kit, although it will be a few months until I can get it finished. In the meantime I am concentrating on getting some of the buildings finished for the back of the layout and currently have five shallow relief buildings in various stages of construction on my workbench. There are also various items currently working their way through the paintboxes, such as class 122 DMU, which is making its way to the varnishing stage, alongside various details to add into the layout, such as mileposts, speed signs, station signs, etc. So plenty of modelling tasks on the go at the moment and more to come, not least with the acquisition of some new O gauge diesel locomotives, which have added to the growing pile of modelling projects that I need to start!

O Gauge layout Kimington Quay - adding in some layout lights and running some trains

With the layout set up in the lounge last weekend, I continued with adding in some of the details. This involved gluing in some of the buildings to the dairy platform and wiring in the the lights, alongside adding some lights to the area at the end of the platform and at the quay masters cottage. The wiring for these lights is really simple, just using a 9v battery attached to the side of the layout, with each circuit have a simple Gaugemaster on/off switch mounted on a little control panel. In total I added in four separate circuits, one for the dairy warehouse, one for the dairy office, one for the lights at the end of the platform and one for the Quaymasters office and lamp post. I also wired in the lights for the pub, but as this was on a different board at the other end of the layout, I installed a separate 9v battery holder with integral switch under the layout board. All of of this was simple enough to do, albeit with some awkward soldering, but the end result really provides some atmosphere to the layout. In a few places there is some light bleed to sort out, which only became apparent when I turned the lights on in the dark. 

Lighting control panel at the front of the layout.

Light at the end of the platform, as a class 25 heads down the line.

A class 25 shunting in the diary platform in the evening.

The lights are on in the local.....

The Quamasters cottage, with the lamp on the quay front.

The dairy platform with the lights on.

Alongside installing and wiring in the lights, I also had a good time running some trains over the layout. Some of the photographs I am really pleased with and I feel the layout is really starting to come together. It was also just so relaxing and fun to run some trains and get a feel for how the layout works. There are definitely some knacks to the operation of the layout - but this is all good and I can have a lot of fun operating the layout as it is, despite the simple track plan.

A class 25 running some wagons down the line.

Some open wagons in the diary siding.

A class 33 heading back towards Barnstaple with an engineers train.

A trip down the line!!!

A class 25 running into the diary siding in the dark.

So the next steps of the layout. I am currently constructing a number of shallow relief buildings to add to the backscene behind the platform. I also have a lot of detailing parts currently being painted in the paint boxes, including bottle crates and barrels for the pub, some speed signs, mile posts and gradient markers for the line side, some more fence posts and fencing for the line edge and the station signs. The next really big job will be adding in these details and these buildings when I next set up the layout. I also need to make some custom signs for the diary and the quay front, although I am not yet sure how to tackle this. Anyhow, plenty of projects to keep going at the moment and some really good momentum to try to finish the layout off this year!

O Gauge Layout Running Session Kimington Quay

This week I have had a little time off work in order to push on with the layout detailing. There are a few little niggles with the layout I am trying to tidy up, such as a few areas of the backscene and removing some vegetation in one area by the pub where the it fouls the rolling stock. Of course with the layout set up, it has been necessary to run some trains and get a bit more familiar with the layout, whilst waiting for various glues to dry, etc. Despite the layout being quite big, relative to our house, in O gauge this does not constitute a lot of track. The boards are 18inches deep and in O gauge this makes the curves quite tight. Part of playing trains has been to get familiar with the nuances of the layout and how I will operate it. Anyhow, I have had a lot of fun playing trains the last few days. so a few shots of the layout in action. The layout is really coming together and there are two really big pieces of modelling left to finish. The first is getting right the water colour in the quay, it is still not quite there and irks a little. Secondly, I have to build a run of low relief buildings for the back of the layout behind the second board, joining up with the dairy. These will be really shallow buildings and my plan is to finish these off over the summer and complete the layout by Xmas. There is a batch of scenic works I am currently doing today - so some more updates to follow later this weekend.

A class 33 on a short engineers train.

Class 03 leaving Kimington Quay and heading back to Barnstaple.

Class 03 heading into the dairy with a branchline freight.

Conflat wagon being used in the engineers department.

The dairy platform, which is currently having a bit of detailing work applied to it.

A solitary milk tanker at the dairy.