Katzhagen - Archive - October 2012
Review of the summer 2012
Preliminary in short: Trains ran and elongated, buildings refurbished, models improved.
A clear proof of having run trains - a RhB train in the livery of the 1970s. "Attention, shut the doors ! The train departs !"
A left-click onto the picture will open a larger version.
All sorts of work around the house preserving its functions and value, an employer driven by the market economy's mechanisms indeed expecting some work for his money and last but not least the weather which often was more like playing Deluge caused a quite limited number of days for running trains or working on the layout.
Refurbishment
of some buildings became necessary since ravages of time were perceivable. Also the prototypes require renovations of the roofs and the fronts after almost ten years in wind and weather. More on this topic is shown with the example of the church down below.
Hidden values
But also the buildings' interior suffers from the ravages of time.
The half-value periods of the Pola paper curtains are well known, to
much of the garden railroader's chagrin... Depending upon a building's
location the curtains turn into frazzles behind the windows in less than
two years. One just commits the error of replacing this mistake of material
once...
A remedy against the foreseeable disaggregation is the usage of plastic film curtains. These can be made quite easily and quickly by putting an original Pola paper-curtain sheet onto a scanner and printing this picture using a colour laser printer onto transparent, self-adhesive film (f.i. A4 sheets by Avery, item no. L7567). The further procedure is the same as with the paper curtains - cut them out and stick them to the windows. Due to the film's transparency, the printed curtains remain almost invisible. A simple trick gives them a bright appearance:
A remedy against the foreseeable disaggregation is the usage of plastic film curtains. These can be made quite easily and quickly by putting an original Pola paper-curtain sheet onto a scanner and printing this picture using a colour laser printer onto transparent, self-adhesive film (f.i. A4 sheets by Avery, item no. L7567). The further procedure is the same as with the paper curtains - cut them out and stick them to the windows. Due to the film's transparency, the printed curtains remain almost invisible. A simple trick gives them a bright appearance:
A thin layer of white paint from either a spray can or an airbrush gun on the building's interior after applying the new curtains. As a positive and energy saving side-effect, the number of illuminations inside a building can be reduced now due to the white coloured interior.
Improved
The RhB Ge4/4 II 611 was mangled a bit to give its face a more prototypical appearance. A left-click onto the next pictures will open a larger version.
Before....
... and after the face lift.
Brake system hoses, handrails, connectors, wipers ... the model had to be
disassembled in order to varnish all these small parts.
In order to remove some of the small parts for varnishing, the chassis had to be separated from the housing which required removing eight screws from the loco's bottom side. The wipers become accessible after removing eight further screws which are located under the roof's walkway surfaces.
The driver cab's interior bit the dust, too - see picture on the left.
A detailed description of the whole procedure can be found at pimp my Thusis, where the required steps are documented on the basis of its red, modern sibling.
In order to remove some of the small parts for varnishing, the chassis had to be separated from the housing which required removing eight screws from the loco's bottom side. The wipers become accessible after removing eight further screws which are located under the roof's walkway surfaces.
The driver cab's interior bit the dust, too - see picture on the left.
A detailed description of the whole procedure can be found at pimp my Thusis, where the required steps are documented on the basis of its red, modern sibling.
Refurbishment a second time
The church needed a complete overhaul as well...
Pimped driver cab - instruments and coloured controls
This once was a copper roof - and the roofing shingles ... oh well ...
The shingles were renewed - up next is new copper.
As good as new - the roof's new paint has a striking effect. A left-click onto the picture will play a sound of the bells.
A wedding's protagonists.
Environmental influences like permanent changes of temperature, humidity
and UV radiation affect the surfaces which requires a renovation of the
buildings after some time. The roofs suffer most from the weather and so
they are the first parts crying for new paint.
Before starting the renovation itself, the buildings need to be cleaned thoroughly - starting with the waterhose in the garden - and disassembled as far as possible or required (f.i. removal of the roof) in order to simplify varnishing and minimizing ado with masking etc.
As soon as the colour's refreshment is done and the paint - for best results applied with an airbrush gun - has dried out well, it is recommended to to spray a finishing layer consisting of 50% clear matte and 50% clear glossy varnish.
Before starting the renovation itself, the buildings need to be cleaned thoroughly - starting with the waterhose in the garden - and disassembled as far as possible or required (f.i. removal of the roof) in order to simplify varnishing and minimizing ado with masking etc.
As soon as the colour's refreshment is done and the paint - for best results applied with an airbrush gun - has dried out well, it is recommended to to spray a finishing layer consisting of 50% clear matte and 50% clear glossy varnish.
Elongated
A coincidence and a bit of good luck led to purchasing two additional coaches for the LCE which provides for a stately appearance now.
Operations reloaded
Probably one of the last garden railway pictures from 2012 with sunshine and more than 20°C - running trains the next time will require a foliage blower's usage first...
More on this as soon as I'll get around it.
July 2012 | Archive "Current Affairs" | November 2012
