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Chris Nevard's Blog

A blog by Chris Nevard in RMweb Blogs

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About this blog

Welcome to my RM web BLOG, it's used like most to highlight recently modelling projects and photographs. The postings here tend to mirror my independent BLOG at http://nevardmedia.blogspot.co.uk/

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Brewery Project: Back of an Envelope Sketch

Just now I grabbed a couple of snaps to illustrate the Brewery Project's likely track plan all in an area of 4ft x 2ft 3inches, kicking off with an early rough sketch which will be used as a bases for a proper layout plan. Note the sector plate to allow access to hidden sidings behind the backscene. The headshunt seen on the above sketch will allow a small loco with just 2 SWB wagons - a shunting puzzle should be fun! The track plan has started to be marked out roughly fu

December 13, 2010

9

Old Sox

111216_rydes-hill_DSC_0157_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. This post isn't strictly about model railways, but an interest and understanding of the real world I think helps to make us better model makers. Lights like this are a doddle to make of course. As a model maker of mostly historical scenarios, I'm always on the look out for bits of 'olde England' to record for posterity to aid model making. Currently in Surrey, older street lighting is being updated with new low energy syst

December 17, 2011

9

Damage!

nevard_090820_elford_4z05_66546_DSC_5501_web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Damaged cross members on the 4Z05 empty Drax - Daw Mill coal train captured at Elford Loop on Thursday 20 August 2009. Right, now I have your attention; that cat hasn't had a rampage by the way, however here's something I've never seen modelled, probably because it would be quite tricky trying to get the effect with moulded plastic - more of that in a minute. I'm no expert on coal hoppers and loading, but thi

November 4, 2011

9

Time for a Pint!

The Astolat Model Railway Circle Annual Exhibition on Saturday 15 Jan went very well indeed after a quick set up of only 17 mins from getting out of the car to running a loco. Much to my surprise the layout performed admirably as it did at its last outing at Railex in May 09, with the only 2 derailments of the whole day being caused by not placing stock properly onto the fiddle yard tracks in the first place - duh! The newly installed working level crossing gates went down

January 15, 2011

9

Planet

nevard_110516_planet_IMG_9904_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. Currently on the work bench, a Planet 0-4-0 Diesel from Roxey Mouldings. And here is the white metal kit after basic assembly. A little filling and cleaning up will be required before painting as well as some extra details. The body is just sitting on the chassis, and will be screwed properly into place once painted. It sits on a Tenshodo WB 24.5 'Spud' which makes it ideal entry to white metal loco construction because o

May 17, 2011

9

The 6.05 pm Service from Evercreech

nevard_110206_catcott_DSC_1324_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. BR Std Class 3 MT No. 82005 slows for Catcott Burtle with an early evening service from Evercreech Junction during the late summer of 1964.The layout lights were turned off and the natural north facing window light was allowed to stray in. Clunk. The only addition is the fake engine-clag and some git leaning out of the engine. The Morris traveller has been sprayed with a little matt varnish to kill the toy like shine.

February 8, 2011

9

A Cheeky Minky

nevard_110510_minkD_DSC_2168_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. A Parkside Dundas kit of a GWR 'Mink D' Goods Van after assembly and a coat of BR Carmine courtesy of Halfords Ford Venetian Red. Obviously this wagon is not yet finished should anyone ask, the roof needs painting grey, the underframe black, then numbering, couplings and the all important weathering. Parkside Dundas kits are mostly a joy to assemble, with little flash and carving required to get them to fit toge

May 10, 2011

8

Combwich, 30 years ago!

8104_stogursey_003_01, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Combwich is a lot older than most people think, the baseboards and track dating back to 1980. It was originally called Churchstanton, then Stogursey and finally the present Combwich when I rebuilt it in 2001-present. The layout is still very active, in fact it's better now than it's ever been: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157630183211760/with/7397034112/ Most of the stock seen here is still in regular use t

June 18, 2012

8

Oooh Beattie, You're a Right Beauty!

Earlier today a much awaited Beattie Well Tank commissioned by Kernow Model Rail from Dapol was handed to me by the postman. This is the main reason for my current 'micro' taking the name of Polbrock, it being built to justify this delightful purchase which rarely ventured outside Cornwall. This isn't a review, that's been well and truly covered in the popular press and on various railway forums, so this more of a punter's appraisal, and the first thing to make an impression was just how gre

November 12, 2011

8

Demolition!

nevard_110101_catcott_IMG_1739_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Catcott Crossing, September 1966. It's just 6 months after closure and the demolition contractors have already started to dismantle the railway. Most of the railway buildings on 'The Branch' survived the demolition men, with many of then ending up in private hands, unlike the Bath to Bournemouth line which ended up losing well over half its stations to the swinging iron ball. It's interesting now as to whether the same

November 3, 2011

8

Sweet Bridge

111008_cornish_int_IMG_1410_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. A very kind Mr Sweet mailed me this rather nice bridge casting for the Cornish project last week. I'm sure you'll agree that it is a wonderful piece of work, with nice deep rendering which would be quite tricky to achieve by scratchbuilding. When it arrived, I expected it to be resin or plaster, but much to my surprise it is fibreglass! The stone being moulded into the gel coat. The joy being that it is very tough and ver

October 9, 2011

8

Track Laying on Brewhouse Quay

nevard_110204_brewhouseQ_IMG_9104_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. Track laying has now started in earnest on my brewery project. Because the layout will be presented diorama style with a high curved backscene on 3 sides as mentioned on previous posts, I'm laying the track 'off set' using a 5mm foamboard sub-base which will be firmly bonded to the proper plywood base once most of the fiddly stuff has been done. It's much easier to work this way because I can spin the base aroun

February 4, 2011

8

Neoprene Rubber

nevard_110416_brewhouseQ_IMG_9735_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. Brewhouse Quay: to the right, the latest scratchbuilt warehouse in the BQ saga (think of it as satellite telly, you can tune to another channel if you're as bored as I am). I had to photograph a rather nice china clay works earlier today for the popular press and needed to dig out a small diesel loco in the form of this Bachmann 03 (or is it an 04?). With hindsight, it actually looks rather good here on the

April 15, 2011

7

Look, I Shrunk the Wife!

Click on the pics to enlarge to 1024 pixels... Ok, now I've got your attention with my wife superimposed in unseasonal clothing onto the little bridge that crosses the remains of the Glastonbury Canal next to Catcott Crossing, the reason for this post is to highlight a little basic weathering on the rather splendid new Hornby ex-GWR Hawksworth Brake Compo. These rather stylish coaches were regularly used during the final couple of years of the former SDJR Highbridge Branch. And yes th

February 6, 2011

7

Green Planet

nevard_110522_planet_DSC_2188_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. The Roxey Mouldings Planet 0-4-0 Diesel has now been painted and is ready for weathering and glazing. There is plenty of scope really to go to town with rust spots and patched up paintwork. The nameplate from Narrow Planet is possibly a little large, but there again it's a very small loco. My excuse is that it is second hand! Named 'Fleur', here it is parked on the canal edge at Brewhouse Quay. Click here for a

May 21, 2011

7

New view and a little digression....

nevard_110831_BQ_IMG_1073_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Here's a view of Brewhouse Quay which has only been possible for a day or two since the exit to the extra fiddle yard was created. A short telephoto effect makes an interesting slightly compressed view showing off the lightweight track and various ground textures between the rails and around the yard. As soon as one views 90 degrees to the light source, all sorts of interesting things start to happen texture-wise - the lighting

September 1, 2011

7

Books

110928_cornish_int_IMG_1342_02_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Cornish Interlude (working title) update. Railways enthusiasts generally love books, and I am no exception, needing little excuse to buy another for the collection. They are never idle purchases, they get looked at over and over again to inspire my model making. I think this is why I have far too many ideas, the purchase of a new book inevitably resulting in the back of an envelope sketch for some kind of mini or not

September 29, 2011

7

Brewhouse Quay: Wiring fun

K_point_wiring_01, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. Brewhouse Quay update.....The materials have arrived, so I'm looking at the most complex bit of track well in advance to plan the wiring and where isolating breaks will need to be cut into the rails and how power will be fed to various sections. Slitting the sections will probably be easier after laying due to the fine nature of code 55. Point operation will be via manual miniature yard levers as in Nigel Burkin's feature in th

December 18, 2010

7

50's in the 80's

8405_barford_50020_p, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. 50020 powers through Barford St Martin a few miles west of Salisbury with a Waterloo bound service during a rather splendid April day in 1984. It's incredible just how the railways have changed over just a couple of decades, for back in the 1980's the majority of long distance trains were loco-hauled. As a photography student in Salisbury during the mid-1980's, this meant that I was perfectly positioned to capture English Electric C

January 6, 2012

7

Looking back at the weekend show

nevard_120123_45xx_DSC_1208, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. As mentioned in previous blog posts, the Astolat Model Railway Circle 2012 Expo in Guildford was to be Combwich's last outing for a while pending a total re-wire to take some of the lottery as to whether the layout will perform or not. Luckily, and much to my surprise the old girl, which has now turned 30, presented very few problems other than a dickie frog polarity switch under one of the run around crossover points. On the odd oc

January 24, 2012

7

Not a Train in Sight

nevard_101128_catcott_IMG_8455_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. I must admit to when photographing model railways, apart from the odd cut-away sort of shot to show a cameo or fine detail when shooting a layout for publication, I tend to always have a train in shot somewhere. This is probably something to do with the fact that inevitably that's what I end up doing when photographing full sized railway scenes where the train is very much the star. In an attempt to break the h

November 30, 2010

7

Wycrail 2010 - an exhibitor's perspective...

Above, the doors opened 30 or so minutes ago.... Combwich's first outing in 6 years finally took place at Wycrail in High Wycombe on Saturday 6th November at what is rapidly becoming 'the' quality one day show in the SE. Above, my first through train from Combwich to arrive at the terminus of CK's lovely Bleakhouse Road! On Friday night Combwich was crammed into a hired Ford Transit for it's 35 mile journey first thing the following day. After an easy 45 minute ride pretending t

November 10, 2010

6

Natural Window Light

nevard_110123_combwich-53809_DSC_211127b_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. At Combwich, a nicely buffed up 82005 prepares to take on coal next to the foreman's Morris Traveller. For most layout photographic commissions we have to use portable studio lighting to get the best out of layouts because most model railways are nowhere near a good source of natural light or are lit by domestic spotlights. This type of artificial lighting, whilst popular is totally unsuitable for photography

January 27, 2011

6

Hemp!

nevard_110103_catcott-reeds_IMG_8878_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. When somebody mentions hemp, especially if they look a tad thin, speak rather slowly in a warbling manner, have their hair platted, wear colourful home knits as well as knitting their own wall paper, we tend to associated it with something smoked that will generate a mind altering experience. Yeah-man! For most people who are not so much into â€˜vegetable rights and peaceâ€™ as coined by Neil off the early 198

January 3, 2011

6

Brewhouse Quay: Track Laying

Just before the Xmas holiday I started to lay the track on Brewhouse Quay. The delay in getting the snaps here being due to that increasingly shocking excercise of actually interacting with people face to face (cue the H&S Executive for another new directive no doubt) rather than keyboard, eating all the wrong foods, drinking too much beer in foreign climes and probably in due course getting a dose of lurgy due to all public places being heated to suit the staff rather than the heavilly dres

December 30, 2010

6

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