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Brooke Stone - A Modern Image Quarry Railhead

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A forgotten van round the back ?

With some free time this weekend further work on Brooke Stone could take place however I was still a bit undecided what to do next on the main board so with a list of small side projects to get underway I decided a spot of detailing and weathering would fill Saturday afternoon.       I wanted a van to sit on the back road round the side of the servicing building. Something that would provide storage for the depot and engines could be put to use shunting into a position of loading/unloading o

Sandhills

Sandhills

Snowed under at the workbench

Not feeling very inspired with scenics and what to do next on the board so settled down infront of the fire & tv with a mug of tea and got cracking on the next 6 PGA's.   ECC variants this time so that 2 different rakes of stock can pass through the loading hopper on the top level.   Spent alot of time working these exmples in and out of Croft so I knew exactly how I wanted them. A bit haphazard in method but after 5 hours work I have come up with the finish I wanted. Usual coa

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Resistance was futile !

Only went for a bottle of glue & a tin of matt varnish..........honest !   I tried so, so, so hard.   I knew I would have to walk past the Hornby cabinet to get to the counter but still I went like a lamb to the slaughter.   It was like my eyes had a mind of their own. I couldnt stop them from gazing left as I walked past.   ......and there it was, all vac like, dutchy and gorgeous !!   By this time I was on my knees, dribbling down the glass in a trance like state with the voices

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Sandhills

A new year & lots to do.

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone. I don??™t really do New Year. I see it as a bit of an anti climax after Christmas and since becoming a dad I don??™t think I have actually been up at midnight for the last 6 years !!   Never the less, I trust everybody had a great time the other night and I hope this year will see RMweb go from strength to strength with its new format, hopefully a Member??™s Day to rival last year (hint, hint Andy !) and lots of interesting new creations built for the

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Cropped & shopped

Back to work tmow after 4 enjoyable days off and a spot of modelling. Plenty to get on with next time I get some modelling time with the retaining wall and perfecting the ballast heaps first up.   A few more pics below from this mornings trip out. All cropped/clarified and some have been posted in the 'How realistic' thread but I wanted them recording in the blog as well.   I will hopefully update with some more progress over the New Year weekend.............              

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Sandhills

Taking the plunge with a test run !

Put together the last of the 5 structures last night & this morning but then I faced a bit of a dilemma ?   Do I place and fix all the structures then build the scenary around them or do I try and put the scenary around the footprints of the buildings then place them at the end.   After much debating I decided on the first option and spent this morning sticking everything down !   I realise working in tight spots and around the buildings isnt going to be easy but this is a challenge an

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6 down & 33 to go !

Late night session at the workbench last night saw the first 6 Redland PGA's weathered to a grubby state.     Time wise on the board the wagons would have been very close to the overhauls that saw them painted white & rebranded with the LaFarge logo so thats my excuse for the distressed Redland look !!     Not seen any ballast loads for PGA's before so going to have a crack at filling the inside on some examples with packing, then a layer of fresh grey stone on the top.     9

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Sandhills

Seeing Double !

With the festive season in full swing a new addition to the fleet has arrived joining 60006 as the second Brooke Stone Quarry allocated construction 60.   005, 010 & 100 will arrive in due course to complete the allocation of 5.   Another conversion from a Hornby Mainline 077 example, Simon has done a superb job with Hither Green diamonds, cast arrows, re numbering and construction block transfers.   The job is completed with 001's signature grey snowplough which it didnt keep for long

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Setting the scene with a can of beans ?

Family Christmas preperations are in full swing so all things 'Brooke Stone' related have gone on the back burner for a while.   I did managed however a job last night and a few pics this morning before packing everything away in the train room until my long awaited 4 day break between Christmas & the New Year.   The 'big end' building has been painted, weathered & sealed with just the lighting, signage and roof to sort out.   With a can of beans standing in for the 5th un built st

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Got the hump !

Looking forward to painting the big building I was rather fed up this morning on discovering it was going to be cold, wet or both for at least the next week, so with the indoor spraying ban imposed by SWMBO any fun with the Halfords primer will have to wait !   Snatched an hour this afternoon between jobs and managed to get a couple more things started, funnily enough, both involving humps !   Laid grass to one of the sections between the cripple road & shed road and it didnt look right

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...not letting the grass grow under my feet !

10 days since the last entry & not had a lot of time to do much to the board, until today !   Awaiting detail bits & lighting for the 3 structures that have been started so rounded up every last bit of plastic & balsa and set about the 4th & biggest structure for the board.   Turned into a bit of a monster and by the end of construction I was cleared out of all material so building number 5 will require a few purchases & a re stocking of the storage box !   Anyway, resu

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Sandhills

Making tracks over the weekend......

Looked at some finescale track and was impressed. However...........   Then looked at contents of my wallet and what I had leftover from previous projects and a compromise was required.   Seeing as I made the trackwork on 'Two Way Traffic' look quite realistic I have decided to go with Peco 75 and the ballasted underlay rather than the more expensive route of breaking new ground with C&L stuff.......another time maybe !       Anyway, soldered droppers onto 5 lengths, incased them

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Fasten your seatbelts, i'm on a roll !

Still waiting for the boiler suited man with spanners so in the meantime challenge work continues at a pace !   For 75p, a strip of balsa split in half gets you a chunky conveyor belt housing in 5 mins..................     Stuck together and cut to a length leaving a few mm either way ready for fitting a quick rummage through the off cuts from the building panels gets you enough to cover 3 sides.....................       Finished in 5 mins with the aid of super quick setting Red

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Give us a (scenic) break, i'm having a day off !

Talk about being stuck between a rock & a hard place. Usually work my booked days off for extra pocket money but with the plumber booked to come and sort our heating problems and SWMBO being full time Mon-Fri its down to me to be 'stay at home dad' for the day and await the potentially expensive visit from the boiler man ! Ironic really when I should be working to earn the pennies to pay for the repairs !!   Anyway, the plus side is with not having to get up at stupid o clock I had a late

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A sign for the times...........

Just a quick update today with one addition to the project.........................   The era the board is run & photographed in will vary according to the stock I have at hand but the main time period I am going for is 1990-1995. My favourite railway period and also a time of some of my favourite liveries. Dutch, civil engineers & above all the two tone grey with sector markings.   The colour scheme and vinyl lettering is as close as I could get to 'Construction' and with a blue dra

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Feeling blue & plastered on a Sunday afternoon !

How do central heating systems know when theres a cold snap on ?   Just about to go out and purchase some bits for the board including the track, Lenz system & the first bag full of assorted scenics and the boiler packs in !   So, as well as being cold this weekend the wallet is bracing itself for the plumbers bill next week and not a visit to the model shop. This challenge really is turning into a challenge and then some !   Good job we have plenty of time so a bit of saving wont do a

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The magic number........of 2010 !

I suspect, unlike the 2012 Olympics, Brooke Stone at this early stage, appears to be, on time, on budget and most importantly on size !!   After another woodwork session this afternoon the detachable fiddle/loco hide was constructed and with the use of alignment dowels (4) and side catches (3) added to the main board.   On the fiddle yard board 2 high sides have been installed using 6mm ply with the back left open for access to the 5 running lines. Another scratch built structure will span t

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Sandhills

Woodwork & the next level !

The bad weather has arrived this afternoon as forecast so its back inside for some laptop work, blog & thread updates & some research into some decent track !   Did manage a couple of hours woodwork earlier this afternoon and managed to complete the higher level base and frame 3 sides of the main board with 6mm ply. All sanded, glued, screwed & nailed with a good level surface, no big gaps (my usual wood working outcome !) and no sign anything will move or warp.     Sourced so

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No point (s) getting complicated !

Hi all,   Here goes then, dont get too excited as this may not suit many but seeing as I was about to start a new project I might as well join in the fun and enter it as my 2010 challenge layout or should I say overgrown photo diorama !   Its not going to win many marks for operational content or ingenuity but for me this is about some top draw realistic photos, cracking scenary including using some stuff I have not tried before and showcasing some weathered stock both new & old.   Let

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