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Small stuff

I’d actually lost the fence ‘wire’, but found it as I cleared the desk at the weekend so finally ticked off another job. The fiddle yard was landscaped as you can see a large part through the bridge arches. Fence needs a coat of paint and the red oxide doesn’t take well to the girders and the coaling station was recommissioned as well.   Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

A small but significant building

All building work now finished! The office from the goods shed was completed last night and finished this evening. I have some vehicles to weather down, and probably some goods to create and detail along with a few other snags and figures but it’s almost time to clean the track and run something. Crane is almost complete with steps added to the platform, and for anybody making the yard crane, look for the truss rods taped to the back of the instructions! I must have picked up other si

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Glue delivered!

Back in action thanks to the postman yesterday. While I was waiting I rearranged and added some kits and bits I had hanging around. I wasn’t happy with the goods yard area to the right of the brewery, it was too full and didn’t look natural, and after a late night working out what to do, cracked open a Peco yard crane (has anyone made this as the instructions say? The truss rods are too short and I had to shorten the main beam)(also if you haven’t made it operate, put the thread on the drum

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

I owe Steve a drink....

Thanks Steve, great suggestion. Almost there with this now, just the capping and a sliver of roof.   Thanks for looking. Charlie

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Expansion at the warehouse

Turning the corner at the end after some extensions to the warehouse. Now a single chimney stack in the corner to hide it, corner covers on the brickwork, and a small section of roof to join the others and make it look one building. Then I spent some time looking at the short end and used the second warehouse leftovers to make a 2.5D back scene. It’s the same windows as the rest, just a piece of black card behind to make it look the same, stands about 5mm proud of the backscene. It will have cap

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Move along...

Saturday always seems to be a day for the backscene. The last sections of retaining wall are in, issues with fit required a sharp knife. The second set of gates has been added and is now drying before greenery grows up this afternoon. The chimney was been slightly slanted to rest against the wall, but it looked better without the gap. The weathering looks a bit severe here, but that’s for this afternoon. ... This afternoon flew by, need to get the weedkiller out, but the bre

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Very close...

Except for the additions in the previous post, which will be done once this is fixed, this is almost ready to go into place now. The awful seam down the end is covered, not an ideal but it does add a bit of interest to a blank wall, doors and shutters are now in place, the loading platform was build from several layers of card before gluing scrap textures onto it. All the roofing and tiles are done, along with some leading work. Barge boards are on now, some bits of glue and weathering to d

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Big job ticked off.

If I had one big job left that I wasn’t looking forward to it was the gantry, last night I bit the bullet and finished it this afternoon. Maybe a bit heavy weathering on the gantry, and the bases need to be merged in. I cut some cartridge paper into strips and glued them to the dowel at what seemed suitable spacing before painting it white and applying the rust.   Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Dunwich Ales

It’s not quite there yet but it’s close. The sign came out okay, but getting it to look right took a bit. Water tower and canopy were attached today along with the finished roof but there’s still one to do. I repainted the gantry to tone in a bit more. The goods platform will be an L shape going around the left end. I’m aiming for the weekend to finish this, so add another week!   Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Capping stones are a pain...

If it could go wrong today, it did. Straight edges were easy, corners were another matter, 50% of what I cut were wrong, then the replacements were also reversed, so I had to have a third go. The inclines were just as bad. At least the side door went to plan. On to the greebles now... Glad today is over... Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

On time so far

Warehouse coming along, ran out of windows so time for a break. No major calamities today, most parts were reusable though I had to go to the reserve for a couple of parts. One panel is temporarily in the wrong place, it should be at the end and a door panel needs to be put in. New quoins need to be cut, getting straight edges along with a straight fold for such narrow pieces is a morning job.     Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Progress today...

Well, had a bit of a shift around with the warehouse to add a bit of ‘weight’ further to the left, started to take some of the warehouse apart to rearrange and improve it a bit. Makes you realise how bad some glue is, spray mount is great for getting an even join, but after a while really loses its stick. This section was a spare from earlier and used as a test bed. Windows and frames were removed and the frames sprayed with an off white to tone down, I’d made the replacement frames some time ag

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Doors

Thanks for the comments and likes, much appreciated. I found another office in the pile of scraps, I used the weighbridge last year for a bit of fun with my nephew during the holidays. Remembered to touch in the edges, put in new windows.New sills after a touch of powder to indicate shadows. I made a 'kit' of door parts. Will give them a coat of spray and dry brush before fitting.     Better not mess up the cornerstones now...

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Time passes so quickly...

It's been a long time since I posted, the layout has progressed, but is still some way from completion. The track was laid, not without issues and the learning curve has been steep at times. Peco solenoids are controlled from a control panel and NCE powercab. I finally understand how electrofrog points work, the back scene was painted a couple of weeks back and have been placing the hard standings for the buildings. The warehouse has been dropped at the moment and the factory became a practice p

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

False starts

Welcome to my blog. Hopefully by the time I'm finished there will be something to show for my efforts. Due to work and being a carer for an ill relation, my time is often short and for a long time, nothing I have started has been finished. I've had several loco's for some years (a pannier, 08 and now an 03), and a baseboard 6 feet x 18 inches. I've wandered around York show for many years seeing some great work and felt I couldn't match the work shown there. Several false starts have been made,

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Brewery gets a boost

The corner cover pieces worked, far faster and less problematic than I’d managed before. The doors are fitted, just the near end to do now and the new roof was fitted but still to tile. The base for the water tower was textured. I’m going to try and make a sign for the wall above the gantry, and the gantry still needs pipework. I’ve moved the crane from the front of the layout to the area. There’s a join down the centre of the end wall, better think of doing something there, and the loading plat

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Halfway there

The redundant hard standing by the water tower is now overgrown, it was going nowhere and didn’t make any sense, so a careful couple of hours took it back to nature. It also hides the difference in colour of the walls somewhat. One of the other unforeseen developments recently was the opening up of the second arch of the bridge. It was a dead end originally and was just a spur for reversing direction toward the warehouse. Only the near two tracks went off scenic originally, and it annoyed m

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Gates test fit

Thanks for the kind comments, I really appreciate it. A lot of the stuff I’ve tried just didn’t feel right, which is why it’s taken me so long. The same was happening with the retaining walls. I didn’t like the way the buildings just sat in front of it and went nowhere, hence disassembling the earlier bridge and making two arches. At the Doncaster show I saw a nice Metcalfe engine shed with corrugated roof, and talking to the exhibitor he pointed me in the right direction. I’ll be trying it on o

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Back to it

Okay, back to it, the middle section really wasn’t doing it for me, so after bashing a brewery and removing the off-centre bridge, here’s the final run at it. The gantry will run pipes across to the brewery. There’s still (always) stuff to do, but a couple of weeks might see me through. Yesterday I added the entrance arches for the industries taking apart a bridge and adapting it to the same width as the retaining walls, they’ll be weathered in tomorrow. I had a bash at making my own trees, whic

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Back to it

Seems like an eternity, but the Christmas break gave me a push to do something. A strip of LEDs is hanging over it at the moment while I decide on how to mount it permanently. Christmas delivered several workers for the allotment and waste ground, so they received a quick wash along with the pigs and took up residence.. I saw the frame for the warehouse crane while browsing and decided that it was the way forward and I’ve just knocked it up after tea. Away for a few days so the painting will hav

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

No plan ever survives contact....

Well, work got the better of me, but I was determined to get somewhere so 30 minutes on Tuesday to build the crane (what a great kit), sprayed it Wednesday morning before work, finished first swipes at weathering last night. Looks like it could be a derelict, so maybe using some ratio ‘halt’ platforms perhaps as a newer drop off point. Lets me make the ground between crane and bridge waste ground, so maybe some abandoned rails and other rubbish. Letting it settle for a day or two now to see how

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Minor rearrangements.

Thinking about things a couple if days ago to possibly move the crane platform from the right hand end to the left. Finally got around to it today and replaced it with coal staithes, which makes better sense as it had been looking like that area needed a function anyway. The crane platform does the job, now just need to fit a crane. While I was at it, one of the buffer stops was loose, and took the opportunity to move it forward 2”. Adds a bit more of a busy feel somehow. Factory not moved on an

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Almost there now.

I like to make look functional if possible, so I’ve added a door for vehicle access in a suitable place. Some examples show a sliding panel in front of windows, so I’m going for that. Most of the windows are now in place and all but the roof levels are glues in place. End panel tomorrow, sliding door, roof and corners to cover yet followed by down pipes and details. Thanks for looking

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Time to move along

I’m done here, I’ll be finishing the goods crane when I begin work on the overhead at the far end. Seems to make sense so they can be finished at the same time. The veg weren’t the easiest to dress up, but they do the job. I cut a couple of them up so they could be used in different ways. These still look a little card like, from a distance their okay, but I might get a paintbrush out to blend them in a bit. Not today though.   Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

Mostly done in this area

Got to give this time to settle in now. The greenhouse was touch and go for a while, particularly while looking at it in situ and thinking that the back face ‘glass’ was so clear it looked like I’d missed it out...given that it was all planted, I had a few choice words. It’s missing some planting and general detritus, good news though, the pigs got a trough of feed today.   Thanks for looking.

Charlie_k

Charlie_k

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