My Workbench

To keep interest going for my blog, I am going to post pictures and sketches of my old model railroad and some plans for future projects. I know that fans comment on how much they like the tests and sets I have made on my YouTube channel, so I hope you come and see my ideas and tips on a daily/weekly basis, and enjoy the pages you see and read!

Here is a picture I took of my work space in my room, for creating art for college and my scale modeling! You can see Sir Handel, a Knapford goods shed, some freshly painted freight cars, and other projects I have done for the past few years.

Pictured are also the common tools I use:

• a cutting mat
• pencils
• craft knife and Atlas track knife
• scissors
• rulers and templates
• Scotch tape, white glue and Crazy glue
• acrylic paint
• technical pencil and pencil lead
• gel pens
• pencil sharpener

 You can see the posts I have in order of my projects in the Workbench pages I have at the top of the blog panel, check them out to see the engines buildings and other cool stuff made!

More posts coming soon.

Modeling Sir Handel: Part 1

Recently I began construction on Sir Handel, and as I have been planning on trying out an original look for the Skarloey engines, Here is the third engine to join the team!

Here he is gleaming in his Railway Series color scheme! As you have seen with Rheneas and Skarloey,  I am modeling these characters based on how they looked  in the Railway Series, and the large scale models used from season 5 onwards in Thomas' TV series, loosely based on their prototypes.

Here is a drawing of Sir Hayden done in blue pencil in his former glory days. I mentioned in earlier posts I love to draw, and today I like drawing the engine first, in a three-quarter view, and each side measured out, which can be transferred as templates on paper to cut the pieces.out for the model.

This engine is made of card-stock, Bazzil Basics textured card, glued together using white glue and crazy glue. For parts such as the cab and chassis I brace the pieces together using balsa wood.

Sir Handel still needs his wheels, coupling rods and valve gear, but I'd say after making him a few times, I think this is the most representational and original look Sir Handel deserves. I liked how Sir Hayden looked engineered in his original shape.

I use Scotch tape to assemble parts like the tanks, wrapping the outer shell together to the shape of the tanks either end, so it is seamless, and it is easier to put together, too. The funnel, smoke box, water cap and domes are made by wrapping the paper in a cylinder shape and gluing it together, then cut to match the curve of the parts.

On one side of the cab, similar to how Sir Hayden looked when he was first bought by the Talyllyn Railway, I have the door closed in a "metal" sheet, which was added on to protect the crew from knocking their heads on the very low bridges and clearances on the line at the time.

 

Here is the cab interior, with reverser, gears, brakes, pipes, and even the gauges! All made once again from scratch using wood and card-stock. It does take a while, especially painting the interior, but it looks so much more realistic and worth the time and effort to make, and it feels good to try something new!

Until next time!