Making G scale spectacles

 

OK. I think I have a solution to making glasses for G and 16mm scale figures. What you see is a first test, but it shows enough progress for me to be confident.  

Looking at real specs, the frame around the rim is (for the sort of glasses my Dad and I would wear, neither of us is Sue Pollard) incredibly thin - a little over 1mm from the front. I can't make that from wire. 

And before you ask, I can't find etched specs in this scale. 1:12 for dollhouse figures, yes, but I'm not that impressed with these either. 

Anyway, what you see is the lenses. So, using a leather punch, I made lots of clear disks. The ones in the photo on the G scale figure are 2mm in diameter. Then I cut the very tops off to produce a straight edge. This is superglued to a 0.45mm piece of wire which makes the top and arms of the glasses. 

The result isn't bad. I could move the lenses in a little towards the nose, but that will be easier when the wire is more firmly held in place. I taped it to his head for the purposes of the experiment. I'm thinking some little holes above each ear, and bending the wire to go into these, will be better long term. 

I'm also pondering paint. I could try to colour the edge of the lenses, but have a feeling this would get messy. Still a little more experimenting to do, but I'm on the right track.  

My Dad was not Batman!

 

While painting the 4mm scale Dad figure for the VER car, I thought I might as well do the 7mm version I have at the same time. 

It looks fine, but without glasses, his face looked a bit empty. Hoping to cure this, I loaded the finest tip in my Bob Moore lining pen with paint, and set about drawing on the specs. 

Trying to draw straight lines proved more than tricky, and to be honest, the results were rubbish. It looks more like a mask than glasses! Even refining things with the finest brush to hand didn't help. Truth is, the frames of his glasses are very thin in real life, and would be narrower than a hair in model form.  

So, the glasses were washed off, and I've decided to live with the slightly empty face. If you look at real people from a distance, you don't really notice anyway. 

However, on the G and 16mm scale figures, I can't escape the problem. So, out with some fine wire. 

This is 0.45mm brass wire on the G scale figure. It would be 10mm thick in real life in this scale. 

Now, the results aren't horrible, but they are a long way from acceptable. I tried thinner wires, but 0.33 nickel silver just broke, and I can't find the brass. Some beading wire sort of worked, but it was very difficult to form. 

This might work for the glasses on characture Little Phil, but it's not right here. However, after a bit of thinking, I might have a solution. Stay tuned... 

VER Car 2 - Finished

 

Job done. Not a difficult kit to build. It even drops perfectly onto the chassis, and is retained by a tiny amount of superglue. The only slight drama was the roof, which had distorted slightly. A warm with a hairdryer and some gentle bending fixed this. 

At the front I've used a Mony's Models (I think, he's whitemetal) figure with a traditional dustcoat. OK, traditional for the Manx Electric Railway anyway. We'll assume the VER is having a vintage weekend and eschew their more modern uniforms. 

At the back, my Dad enjoys a ride. 

This is a ModelU figure. He's a bit wedged under the roof, which is solid, not hollow, but just fits. 

I'm pretty certain that this is a model I'd have been building if my Dad had been at Bournville show with me. He loved the VER, and we had considered options for building it in the past. Is this a precursor to a layout? Not at the moment,  but who knows? 

The railway with a speedhump in the middle

 

From just before Christmas, Steve Purves's There and Back Light Railway, set up in Leamington Spa. Complete with speed hump in the middle of the line!

Sadly, Mr P cannot be persuaded to take a proper run-up at it, and to get some big air under the loco... 

Update: Sorry, Blogger appears to have bu**gered this up.  

Saturday Film Club: MAGLEV and Birmingham International Station

I travelled on the Birmingham Airport Maglev a few times. I even saw the test track at Derby, although only from the train. It was the (somewhat slow) future. 

And I would love to rescue the car currently sat in a field. Of course I would. I've nowhere to put it, no way of moving it, and no money for the restoration. Doesn't stop me dreaming though.