Garden Railway Forum

Steve:118734 wrote:David

I use about 98% yes some are a bit bent and so is only usable as short parts.
Maybe some makes are better other?

My stirrers have arrived from the same supplier, but they aren't uniform like lolly sticks, and very few are suitable for vehicle planks. However I'm not whinging: I'd run out of them and was intending to buy some more anyway, and at 1/2p each I certainly haven't lost anything. They are perfectly adequate for stirring coffee (or paint), and for making attractive walls like Steve's. For vehicle planking I shall be selective, and make some jigs for straightening up and evening out.

David

great building

Hi Piotr,
Welcome to the forum.
 I like that mine building you've constructed there, a lot of detail and thought has gone into that by the look of it. Waiting for more pictures of your line.
Grant.

That building looks very effective and well made, currently I am concentrating on structures as winter sets in but would never consider using stirrers or any other wooden material as the weather in West Wales is either wet or very wet! Wood is not an option.
My favoured material is Plastikard and so far seems to hold up to the conditions. I will put them under cover throughout the winter though.

Coffee Stirrers have been used in a few projects of mine... just love how versatile they are...

Awchit Station Building was clad in coffee stirrers and used rather extensively all over...





And then my most recent project has seen them employed as bridges, fences, shed doors and even coal stores...

Laurence, no doubt you are making the most of your coffee stirrers and producing some nice work, I can see most of your structures are not intended to be left outdoors so wood is suitable for this purpose. My concern for my own buildings is that they need to be left out in all weathers (except winter) as there are too many to set out and put away each time.
As they say, each to his/her own!

Hi Piotr, plasticard is probably styrene sheet in Canada. I like the way your small scale bogies are undies to you. Undies are something we buy the wife for Xmas only for her to return them for a refund in january.
Love the buildings by the way and thanks for listing what you use and where, always useful reference.

Piotr Bein:120927 wrote:Undy, undies.... from undercarriage.
I don't know of the Xmas meaning of it

Piotr,
"undies" is short for "underwear".
In the christmas context that Bazzer referred to, it is the saucy type that men like their wives to wear but most wives won't be seen dead in and so they return them to the shops as soon as christmas is over!

I did make two shed doors on metal bird houses to make them into platelayers huts, using coffee stirrers and they did live outside and indeed one still does. The doors have weathered really nicely but it has warped a little bit on the one that still is in the great outdoors...

You are correct I only have the one building that rarely goes outside when I'm steaming something so most of the time its indoors. I wouldn't be able to leave it outside as I'm sure my dog would accidentally destroy it.

Steve:118742 wrote:Anyone else have building from Stirrers to show?

Here's my latest stirrer items - its the goods yard platform that sits at the end of the line at the CHLR where freight goods are transferred from NG to the main network - through a gap in the fence to Churn Sidings

Installed this weekend - its all a bit new and needs weathering - although its seems as though the PW team like it - somewhere to brew up near the station - just need management to provide a mess hut and they'll be sorted!

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Hi Piotr

It's Mark - the markoteal bit came about hone email addresses first came out - my full name had already been taken and I was thinking of a different naming approach so joined my first name with the first word in my address - (Teal Court) - the 'o' was just something to join them together!

Thanks for your kind words - the PW gang are from Modeltown http://www.modeltown.co.uk/shopping/mal ... kmen-63247

They come unpainted so you can add character to them as you go - one is Stan the Shovel and the other is Pick Pete (although his Pick is currently in the workshop being repaired) - he loves his woodbine cigarettes and he's never seen without one on the go

They are made for 16mm so fit in nicely - I have quite a few now including a couple of the drivers, guard, station master, policemen and solider - as well as a selection of sat down characters for the open carriage and station seats - great job painting them on a winter evening

The barrels are from the same supplier - http://www.modeltown.co.uk/shopping/mal ... 4?pageNo=1

And yes, i now need to weather and rough up the goods platform - another great jobs for the on rushing dark nights!