Back at the Salisbury exhibition I came across a trader with some interesting 3D printed detail kits - 12A Models. I picked up a kit for a widely seen feature (in the countryside) that is rarely modelled - a pole-mounted electricity supply transformer. I thought it would look at home on Hexworthy.
The parts on a sprue give the impression they are injection moulded, but they are 3D printed, I think with a filament printer as the parts show lines. The material also proved tricky to glue, the pole halves seemed to go together with plastic solvent but other parts didn't, and even superglue seemed to struggle to grab it but worked eventually.
I thought it odd that there are four insulators, and four connections on the transformer. A google image search confirmed that 3-phase 11kV supply lines have, er, 3 wires... although the transformer outputs appear to have four outputs (3 phase plus neutral I guess).
So I cut back the insulators to three, and on the other side of the transformer added three inlet connections. I drilled a hole, put in a short length of 1mm wire, and glued on a small spring from a Microtrains coupling as an insulator. Not that the coils showed once painted!
The transformer was then connected to the insulators with fine wire, soft steel wire sold for tree making seemed to have the right weight and be flexible but hold its shape. Gluing these in place was fiddly! These connections would lead to the 3-wire transmission pole route where the cables are overground, but this will be at the back of the layout, plus there are pole mounted transformers where input and output cables go underground. I could have added cables running down the pole, let's say they are on the back! I did add paperclip wire into the legs to help secure it.
Back to google images to help with painting. I started with grey automotive acrylic primer, which happened to be perfect for the transformer and the cross bars. The poles were painted mid brown and dry-brushed grey, and a little green. The insulators were picked out in a dark red-brown, and the wires in grey-black.
The transformer was installed at the back of the layout, having punched a couple of holes in the scenery surface so the wire tails I added push into the polystyrene, and secured with a little matt modge podge. It's the sort of background detail that doesn't stand out or even get noticed by most, but helps make the scene feel right.
I also got these builders' bulk bags from 12A Models, another feature of modern scenes. These are finely printed in resin, those corner hoops are very delicate. I simply sprayed them with white automotive acrylic primer, dusted with a little grey and beige weathering powder, and set some granite chippings ballast (the same as used for the track) in the top with a little matt modge podge. A few were then placed in the yard.
I also added some to the permanent way train, including a couple with sand.
Hexworthy will be at the Bexhill model railway exhibition this Saturday, 8th August - do say hello if you are there.
