When I started building the yard I got a problem. I couldn’t find a fitting texture from Scalescenes for the yard ground.
After some try outs I decided to build the yard with a part of the shop from the corner shop kit.
As you can see I had to use just a part of my Odeon movie board.
I just my preferred methods to build the building and the yard.
Now the scene is finished it is time to show the final step from black & white to color.
Next step was to put the fig
For the interior of the warehouse I wanted some (whiskey) barrels and crates.
Basic information I found on the very useful http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app1/common.htm
After reading this basic information my research on the internet began.
Then I discoverd that whiskey also was shippen in whiskey boxes. Mostly with the name of the distelery on top of it.
With the pictures I found there were also sizes metioned.
17 x 14¾ x8½ inch is in 4mm : 5,6 x 4,9 x 2,8 mm.
22½ x 15
As I wrote before, for my new diorama Station Road I need some “top quality” painted figures. By top quality I mean the best I can achieve at this moment.
This is my second attempt painting a figure at my best at this moment.
I used artist acrylic paints, different branches. I uses opaque colours for the basecoats and half-transparent and transparent colours for highlighting. For shadowing a mixture of my base colour with Payne’s grey or black.
The base colours are diluted 1:1 with ma
After I had designed the basic plan for 'Station Road – Shops under arches' and painted my figures, it is time to find the right place for the figures.
On the map I marked the position of the girl and the boy.
So to give the situation some what more personal I made some notes by the figures to create more “living” persons from them.
This was an interesting journey. Reading the backgrounds of teenagers in the 1950's and the Teddy Boy culture in London and the UK.
So let me introduc
In a reply of last entry of station road I said that a milk-bar was a place where teenager could meet each other.
1950's milk bar date!
I mentioned the above “sorbet”, and it had a nice description.
The Knickerbocker Glories is a big glass of ice cream with strawberries, bananas, grapes and thick, whipped cream on top.
Today I made a nice Italian pasta meal with courgette. So I thought it would be nice to make the Knickerbocker Glories for dessert.
So this time some of m
Littleworth is the village at the end of the branch line from Northall.
I have finished the main building of first model for Littleworth: a detached cottage. On the left side I have planned a garage.
A low relief kit of Petite Properties and a picture from internet are used as a base.
The Flemish bond brick texture is from Wordsworth Models. Free to download. All the other used textures are from Scalescenes, except for the curtains.
I used for the roof some usef
Try out …
It is too hot for modelling and I also suffer again with hay fever eyes.
So I did some research and thinking about my story telling idea.
I found a wonderful description of a 1950’s week in the UK. So much similar the way I grew up in Utrecht in the 1950’s. This would give me the opportunity to create a serial of diorama’s that could give a good picture of daily live in Northall in the late 1950’s.
To try this idea out I used one of my old diorama’s and made a story to it. So
The girl as posted in my last entry.
I have learned again. After reading the replies I tried to make the figure look “better”. After working on it I decided to give it a light coat of matt varnish using a spray. When the varnish was dry I screamed : HELP. It became very glossy.
Then I tried something totally different to see if I could correct it. I used pastel pencils, a pastel pencil eraser and paper eraser.
I liked to work with pastel pencils on the figure for detailing. The on
I have trouble with my hay fever eyes. Modelling is a real challenge with cloudy sight every 5 minutes. Fortunately for my I don’t suffer from other hay fever problems any more due my medication.
After trying for some while I stopped. I have to wait till sight is not cloudy anymore.
Did some paperwork modelling instead. Trying to get my Northall story fitting to the design of my modules. Searching for background information to create stories for Northall based firms, companies and shops.
So
Here is update on my latest project. I have finished the pub, but there are some small things to do. Pictures are some great judges!
The pub is, as said in my latest blog entry, a Petite Properties kit. I have used textures from the internet (the lower brick part), Scalescenes and Clever Models for the pub.
It took a lot of time to put all the small paper parts into the frames. For the stucco I made my own PDF file with the right size for the stucco parts. Also, the chimney’s ne
At the end of the year it’s good to have a good look at what you have done and how to go on in the new modelling year. When I started with my Bridge Street project 7 years ago, I just wanted to try out card building. And because it was my first project I also wanted to see if it was possible for me to create a believable English scene. Just to fresh up your mind a picture of my first build card building: John Grantham’s grocery shop.
In this stage I also created a station called Northall. M
The starting point.
Last time I had finished the frame for my row of cottages
It all started reasonable well. I made a new template and printed the texture sheets on my textured photo paper of 190 gr/m. In the beginning everything went well.
At the and I thought It would be handy to use small parts to fill in the openings that where left at the upper part of the windows. And here things went not the way I want it. I knew that with thinner paper it wasn’t a problem to work thi
A pictorial journey:
To test the choice of the textures I started to build the toilet group.
Next step is building the main building of the school.
Then the base had to be made and the school must be glued on the base.
Base made with the help of a frame maker.
The scene would be a photographer taking a picture of Victorian school class for a special occasion.
I hope you have
I have learned to do the hardest things first. For me that is painting figures. After the excellent blog entries in Wenlock’s Blog (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1131/entry-20957-coal-part-2/ ) and Mikkel’s The Farthing’s layout (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/75/entry-21161-gwr-large-flat-dray/) about horses and carts I decided to do some horse painting. In the past I found an excellent tutorial about painting horses using pastels. So let’s give it a try.
Real modelling is still going slowly. This has several reasons. I hope I can show some progress in a short time.
I spend some time on reading inspector Wexford novels and made some thoughts about how to use them into my diorama’s.
I realized I was making two type of diorama’s:
More or less railway based:
Northall Dock – track out of use
Bridge Street – siding with track; station, arches with track
Nice Street – arches
Station Road - arches
and British Railways van delivery serv
I wanted to start with the arches, but then I noticed that this was not the right starting point. I had to start first with the road and the surface. The reason of this is mentioned somewhere below in this blog.
The asphalt road from Scalescenes is printed on Hahnemühle watercolour paper 150 g/m2 rough. I like the deep colour of the asphalt that I got this way. I always put the printer output on best quality and select the right type of paper. This will depend of what type of printer you are
I couple of weeks ago I was surfing on the internet searching for another possible lighting solution for my diorama’s. I left the website I was looking at in front of my computer, while I went to go for a shower.
When I came back there was I new massage in my Outlook. This was an order confirmation for the light I was looking at. My wife had just ordered them for my.
I dismanteled the lighting above Northall Dock to see the possibilities of this set.
First I made a new lighting frame
Sometimes I have the feeling that I have to quit a project. I have my doubts how to get the result I like to achieve.
This happens to me from time to time — I feel like I miss the possibilities that can be used in the modelling world, and I start to worry. I’ve learned to deal with it, so that while it still comes up, I now have trust that I’ll be fine.
So what do I do when have my doubts and get back my motivation ?
I do this: I look at the things I have made. I look at Nice Street and
Although I like painting, I find painting metal figures still a difficult job.
I still have to find my way. In the pictures below the way I tried it this time.
Step 1: priming the metal figures with an undercoat.
Step 2: first cover with black paint
Step 3: second coat with black paint
Step 4: adding some basic colors
Step 5: adding some more basic colors
Step 6: dry brushing with paint.
Finished figures after adding some pigment weathering and a coat o
In one of my entries the next question was asked:
“Job, a serious question - do you plan these dioramas over time or just see a scene in your mind's eye in an instant?”
To be honest there was no planning when I started with the building of Bridge Street. I just wanted to build a layout on which I could shuffle around with a shunting loco and some wagons. A single line from a “fiddle stage” to an industry using wagon cards and wagon bills. Because me lack of knowledge about the shunting p
I decided to finish the cottage in the front of the diorama first.
Added the street name sign on the building and a drain pipe.
For the roof I had a look at several slate and red clay tile options. In the front of the diorama I try to use whenever possible light colours. The grey slate tiles I found didn’t look right to me so I choose the red clay tiles from Wordsworth Models (free download).
I also first searched for some background information and read it.
I wanted to give the roof a
Before I can finish the building of Fanshawe Ltd. I must decide what wall based street furniture I want to use.
I spend a lot of time behind my PC searching for street names for Northall Dock.
For Greater London there are several options. See the picture below.
On Flickr there is a London Street Name Pool with a lot of pictures. I could skip all those modern type street name signs.
I also tried to find names that refer to the scene of Northall Dock.
For Northall Dock I will
I’m fond of ghost signs. The an add just some more character to a building or a scene.
For Nice Street I made my first self-made ghost sign. I wanted to try that again on one of the buildings on Northall Dock.
During my research for the warehouses of Northall Dock I came along this one:
This sign I want to made on the premises of Farnshawe Ltd.
First I made the sign in Word and cut out the individual letters.
Then I used the cut out letter to create the letter for the
Design
As you could see on the drawing I designed three warehouses.
The story
The warehouse of Roope & Voss Ltd will be the main scene. The story behind the Roope & Voss Ltd – Wine and spirit merchants can be read in the article of the Northall Gazette.
The Warehouse - from the Dutch architect Peter Potter (1854 -1918)
The building is just quick build to see of:
· the scene is convincing
· the building has the right appearance
· the colours are right
Detail
After Nice Street my wife asked my to design something with water again.
I had done that before on my first attempt with the Scalescene factory and an Inglenook shunting puzzle.
So I decided to build Northall Dock.
Quit a challange in an APA box. I want to build something more than just a quay and a ware house.
My starting point for the design were two pictures.
One from John Atkinson from 1890 and one from Edward Hopper (not published here)
The information on Northall Dock I fo
