Richard320 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 On my recent holiday to England, I picked up a few goods wagons to pull behind my N-gauge Thomas trains. I also picked up some N-scale drystone wall sections and some sheep. It's to the point where I can't stall much longer - I'll have to get going on my Thomas nTrak module. I decided to go simple, after making a scale model of a scale model and realizing it just won't work the way I envisioned it. So.. a couple of tracks, some rolling hills with stone walls and hedges and a few sheep grazing. Maybe a castle ruin, although the kits I have seen are awful pricey for a ruin, if you ask me. But to really make it look like storybook England, I'm thinking thatch-roofed cottage. I couldn't find any kits online. I tried searching here, and have read the precious little that turned up. Question: Is anyone aware of any N scale building kits with thatch roofs? Has anyone successfully done it from scratch, with some pictures? Does anyone know of any websites that might detail how to do it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Don't know of any websites but the best I can suggest is the Pendon method as also used by the late Ron Rising on Corfe, a layout I'm involved with. The base is a flat card roof. Onto this are glued 1/4" bundles of plumbers' hemp which have been tied up with thread and cut to approximate length (about 3'/12mm if you're in 4mm). These are laid on the roof and stuck down, just as a thatcher would, then trimmed to shape and length with scissors and blades - again, just as a thatcher would. There are much better pictures in Model Rail, April 2006 and more recent issues of Hornby Magazine but this is the general effect: Parts of the layout are 50 years old so I have no idea how long this has been built but you get the impression. Plumbers hemp is still available although I really can't recall where I got mine from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbedford Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I could be wrong, but I don't think you will find dry stone walls and thatched cottages in the same place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 You will in the Cotswolds at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted June 1, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 1, 2011 Probably on Sodor (see OP). The geography and geology seems to have a bit of everything! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Can I point out that on Corfe you'll find an (apparently) authentic thatched wall? No photos to hand but it makes quite a talking point. Edit - not unlike this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted June 1, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 1, 2011 That's unusual, being stone (and I've never noticed it despite frequent visits to Avebury). Cob walls were commonly thatched although sometimes topped with slate or tile. Cob has to be completely protected against rain, with "hat coat and boots", i.e. top cover, limewash and a tarred base. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Interesting thatched wall, there is a wall locally that has a tiled roof similar to that thatch one, it surround the old rectory in Little Bowden, Market Harborough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penlan Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 We still have a few thatched houses and dry stone walls in west Cornwall too. There's still a thatched house on the Alverton Road in Penzance, and there's this from the village I live in: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Thatched cottage rooves... there is the Roye England approach in this ebullient Pathé Newsreel of times gone by... http://www.britishpa...cord.php?id=210 You will need for this approach, one blonde daughter (sequence is about halfway thru the video)... dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLT 0109 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Richard, You may be interested to see my own attempt at making a 4mm terrace of thatched cottages. I followed the advice of Paul Bason in his book "Scratch-Built Buildings - Book 4". The method is very similar to that set out above by JWealleans except that my bunches of hemp were cut to about 15mm long, not tied but the ends dipped in a shallow pool of PVA (solvent-free Evostik impact adhesive may be better) and stuck to the roof base in a more-or-less horizontal fashion. It took ages and looked a bit of a mess at first but improved as the trimming with scissors proceeded. I am not sure I got the non-chimney end of the roof correct but I think the overall effect is quite pleasing and the stucko finsih to the walls meant I didn't have to work on stone finishes or pay too much attention to the window frames. I have done a little more trimming around the dormer windows since the photo was taken. Harold. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted June 2, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 2, 2011 Plumbers hemp is still available although I really can't recall where I got mine from. This is where I get my plumbers hemp from and have done since 2008. Very good service and a quick turn around. Hope this is of some use. Regards, Nick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard320 Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Okay, at least I can see that it's possible. Don't know yet whether it's possible for me.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Merely posing a question - would hanging basket liner work for thatched rooves ? Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted June 3, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 3, 2011 Merely posing a question - would hanging basket liner work for thatched rooves ? Dennis I would have thought that hanging basket liner is a bit corse for the job Dennis. Kind regards, Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I used plumbers hemp for the cottage below. It's a bit time consuming though and I am not 100% happy with the results. I got the hemp from B&Q. Alan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I used plumbers hemp for the cottage below. It's a bit time consuming though and I am not 100% happy with the results. I got the hemp from B&Q. Alan. Lovely cottage Alan! I went into B&Q yesterday and after a fruitless search for plumbers hemp, I asked one of the staff and he looked at me as if I had two heads. I guess I'll have to order some from Nick (Brinkly)'s supplier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Lovely cottage Alan! I went into B&Q yesterday and after a fruitless search for plumbers hemp, I asked one of the staff and he looked at me as if I had two heads. I guess I'll have to order some from Nick (Brinkly)'s supplier. Hi Mike, It's probably a couple of years ago since I bought mine, they may have stopped stocking it I suppose. Regards, Alan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Hi Mike, It's probably a couple of years ago since I bought mine, they may have stopped stocking it I suppose. Regards, Alan. Thanks Alan, looks like it! I've ordered it from BES, Brinkly's supplier, today, so will report back on delivery times! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Next day delivery of the plumber's hemp - excellent service. Mind you the hemp doesn't so much smell of plant, as of wet sheep... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoker Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I used to work at B&Q and I can confirm they do sell plumbers hemp, which is where I got mine. The "looking at you like you've got two heads" thing sounds familiar. A lot of people who work there have no knowledge or interest in DIY, so a lot of them have no product knowledge unless they've personally put the stuff on the shelf! It isn't the easiest technique and does require a degree of skill and practice to get right, but so long as you start out with a simple roof you'll be fine. My first attempt was without instruction, and I didn't tie the bunches together. I eventually found that using thin stiff wire and a pair of clippers to make small bunches, and laying them in alternating rows like slates, makes the effect a lot easier to achieve. A word on dry stone walling in Cornwall; what seem to be "dry stone walls" were in fact usually originally built with earth or cob as a sort of mortar, and after a long period of time this often washes away. True dry stone walling is usually built to a very specific pattern designed to hold the whole thing together. If you model the two together, Cumbria would be your best prototype, or Wales. I believe parts of Ireland and Scotland might have dry stone walling and thatched cottages together too. Best, Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted July 26, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2011 I could be wrong, but I don't think you will find dry stone walls and thatched cottages in the same place. North Yorkshire Moors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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