Sweet Tim , looks like we’re no longer computer dinos .
Thanks mate, no worries with the image transfers & good to see you flying the flag, Mike’s found his but Glenn & Jerry…not so much? Hey Glenn that’s right, so now we’ve evolved into computer small-furry-rodent-like-creatures – use your l’il front paw to get the stars’n’stripes flying!
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Brace for one of the more mind-numbingly boring updates. I’m working to get the base into a final condition where I don’t have to think about it again, so I can focus on railings, overhead lines, figures, at least one truck, etc. Filling the gaps between rails & cobbles was first on the list. You know how it goes: “Hmm that doesn’t look quite right…does it matter?..will it be visible?..nah…well maybe…nah move on…………………bet it’ll stick out like dogs’ balls in every photo…OK OK already I’ll just fix the worst bits”…
A 30 minute job took 5 or 6 hours during the week. From a scale height of say 30 feet only a few gaps were even visible & only in raking light, but from a 6 feet elevation and every angle photos will be taken from, the problem I’d become blind to became blindingly obvious. And the moment one section was filled, the adjoining ones looked 10x worse.
There was one section between the tracks of the single line curving off to north-east corner which had moved or settled, but only by less than 2mm & restorable with filler. Otherwise the gaps were as originally laid i.e. shoddy work, the punishment being to re-cobble the filled strips manually. I’m not even sure it’s finished yet, paint-matching/blending will be tricky and that might expose some sections I currently don’t think need attention.
Was it even necessary? Half of me still thinks the gaps wouldn’t have been noticeable in the final photos, with hopefully far more interesting things in the frame to lure the eye. And yet, and yet…and now I’m looking at some of the uneven-width rail channels…
Another supposedly finished area’s also coming back to bite me…
…they seem to have gone from early summer to early autumn/fall in the past two months…how smart was I to incorporate 1:35 scale seasons using organic material? Somehow I don’t think they’ll come green again by Christmas even though that’s mid-summer around here. I’d hoped the freeze-dried chives would hold their colour but no chance, I don’t think they’ll stop fading until they’re pale grey. So after some re-foliating I’ll have to spray every tree. Fun times ahead 
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Yeah , nah , snot boring , filler looks good Tim . The real bear looks like recoloring the salad .
I think all the time spent on the fix was worth it for sure !
J
Wow, this is going to be fantastic!
See, we all pretty much agree, you got it! Repairs look great, Ruck On Bby!
Thanks guys, still working on the cobbles & stuff so I’ll post a couple of photos when it’s done. Meanwhile…
Much to my surprise I was called to collect the missing DIY photo-etch chems today, several weeks earlier than predicted by the supplier. So altogether this is what around US$ 140 got me: 5 litres of Ferric Chloride, 1 can of photo-sensitive lacquer, Sodium Hydroxide crystals (makes 1 litre), 1 U/V lightbox, 3 brass sheets (0.127mm) & some isopropyl alcohol. Not shown – plastic trays & bottles, clear adhesive tape, small glass plate, super-fine sandpaper, goggles, rubber gloves, and the park railings design transferred onto transparency film.
A reasonably significant investment then, but one which should cover production of other custom p/e items long after the railings. I didn’t go crazy with the brass in case it turns out I should have gone for a different thickness. The FeCl3 already burned a hole in my pocket so it better not dissolve anything else in my lair other than the brass - I haven’t attempted this before so it’ll either be a triumph or disaster, nothing in between. Full report in a week or so
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Whoa! I’d like to be as bored as you making this masterpiece. Absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t have fix it if it were mine. But you’re an artist!
Cheers!
Wow… Are you planning to have your own chemical lab? 
I am really curious how the home brew PE will turn out!!!
Use plenty of ventilation Tim and a good breathing mask. The Corrosive label on the box and some serious products that will need a good open air work platform 
Look forward to the next stage.
Michael 
I etched a circuit board one time with Ferric Chloride. Nasty stuff. Stinks to high heaven use in a well ventilated area like outside in front of a fan. Good luck
Hi Tim,
I’m really looking forward to seeing how your DIY PE pans out…and if it doesn’t work you can always recoup your money by setting up a nail bar, 
.
Cheers, 
,
G
Hah thanks Nacho appreciate that coming from a fellow artist! Maybe boredom & perfectionism are related somehow. I try to keep the perfectionist in me in a cage because if he gets out I’ll always be disappointed with the result…but when I have something boring to do, that’s when he often stages a jail-break.
Erwin/Michael yeah I’m moving the lab to the garage, plenty of air & Tom I hear you too, although maybe you used the much more ferocious etcher - hydrogen peroxide/hydrogen chloride mix? That stinks for sure & only takes a few minutes, whereas FeCl3 is weaker & takes a couple of hours for the same item with little odour…or so I’m told.
G – indeed Susie’s eyes lit up when she realised the UV light-box’s normal purpose, she’s even threatening to paint a skull & crossbones on all my 20 nails, could become a thing around here.
Materials corrections – I forgot to mention the anti-fume respirator I’d already got, and when I said “super-fine sandpaper” what I actually meant was Autopaper, I couldn’t find P1000 but hopefully P800 will be fine enough. If/when I have results I’ll also post the link to the short tutorial I’ll be using, it’s excellent & saves me doing tedious in-progress photos
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Hi Tim,
Looking forward to seeing your decorated nails, 
…but did you miscount, only 20? .
Cheers, ,
G
Okydoky, this is going to be interesting, standing by! Let er rip Tim, steady ar she goes.