Had a couple of GWR ground signals turn up from an outstanding order a few months back so I thought I'd do a bit more work on Cheslyn. Also started installing some Spratt and Winkle couplings on some more coach stock.
One day I was playing with a Vi Trains class 37 whilst working on the couplings at the same time - never a good idea. After the session I picked up the 37 and found a dirty great superglue blemish and a bit of finger tip hanging off the bodywork. This was quite a shock and I di
Battle of Britain Class pulls in to the station. Winston knew it was an InterCity (INCIT in Newspeak) and was reserved for upper party officials only. Passes to travel to other cities for outer party members were rare indeed. Only the upper party and proles could freely use these trains.
I've included another shot of the Prole area showing an armoured car this time. This is an Airfix model and I made the very same kit 35 years ago would you believe. They say that there's no co
The arch infills and girder bridge are now completed.
There are no station names in 1984, only Newspeak abbreviations. The station is known only as INTSEC 3/19 (Intersection of Main Line 3 and tube station 19) - you can make your own mind up as to which North London Station it represents!
Winston stands alone on the platform and watches a B set pull in amid the smoke and steam - I must get around to giving him a pair of eyes!
I figured that seeing how Orwell wrote this i
Winston Smith arrived this morning courtesy of Gaugemaster. I've trawled the net looking for a suitable figure, but could only find one from the Preiser Mechanics set. Although you can tell that H0 figures are slightly underscale for 4mm, Preiser still have the best range of rendered figures. They are so well painted and detailed that I personally can't resist them.
Winston looks lost under the claustrophobic concrete roof. I've also bought some East German guards (which have yet
I was reading 1984 a few weeks ago when I came across a blog entry by Scots Region called Victory Road - http://www.rmweb.co...._fromsearch__1. A fictitious layout of a station from the novel. This really got the modeling juices flowing and I began the usual postulating when we get an idea into our heads. I had a half completed station throat model that I'd never been happy with and started to put two and two together. I PM'd Scots Region who kindly allowed me to proceed with his original
Had a recent birthday and with the money bought some goodies. However, the credit card bill revealed a bit of an overspend and collars were duly felt. But after much wailing, gnashing of teeth and a few recriminations the new stock was quickly whipped out of the box for a few update shots.
The Bachmann Warship is a beautiful model and whilst the grills are only moulded they really give the impression of something beyond. However, the cab crew are a bit on the naff side so they'll hav
The fascia and lighting units and have now been installed - nearly there! I use a glue gun to speed things along and have found it an invaluable tool when it comes to baseboard construction. If you're going to use one though, spend a few quid on a good one as I learnt the hard way with a cheap Aldi type first. I bought a Stanley gun and it really heats the glue up - the hotter the better - you have to watch your fingers mind!
I picked up a couple of display tube lights in a sale, but
Been off line for a while as the veg patch and garden have had to come first. Mind you, given the awful wet weather here it has been a bit of a waste of time.
I've returned to the model for a bit of light relief and decided to hack off a couple of inches from the back scene as I was disappointed with the look of it when it was first attached. I only ever wanted gentle rolling hills in the distance and not the mountains of the previous version. This is part of the build process I suppose
The back scene has now been finished (nearly). This was made from a simple frame covered in 3mm MDF. I've found in the past that if you don't prime the MDF with a coat of oil based undercoat first then the emulsion/acrylic used after will only crack and peel.
Ordinary white emulsion was used for the sky. Some tester pots were obtained from Homebase (cheap) - sky blue and slate grey - these were dabbed on in several places and the white worked in. It creates a good effect without
Time for an update. The station building has now been completed (few minor details to do). This is the Scalescenes Small Station Building kit which has been extended - the Scalescenes Gent's Kit has also been added to the gable end. I'm a bit of a Scalescenes nut and very much enjoy making and modifying the kits. I'm crap at painting plastic building kits so really love the crisp detail of the textures - there is a wide range of kits and papers allowing you to scratchbuild and modify to your
A few update photos. The bridge (scenic break), platform, walls and fences are now in.
The walls are made from DAS clay and match the small Skaledale section at the rear - these were quick to make. I used the ends of paint brushes with the hairs removed and just kept stabbing at the clay to get the stone effect. They were then primed with grey and given a couple of black washes to complete. I wanted to achieve that broken down and badly repaired dry stone wall effect you often see i
I've decided on Cheslyn as a name for my fictitious GWR branch terminus. Here are some latest pics of progress to date.
The ballast, point rodding and signal box have been completed. I tried the method for ballasting as prescribed by Andy Y's article, but came a right cropper when cutting out the webbing - the flexi track just twisted completely out of shape despite glueing all the tie bars and going carefully. The webbing was left in place thereafter and was disguised by the fine ba
Whilst finishing off Barrow Hill I inevitably started thinking about what next - I guess we're all guilty of that during builds? Then, whilst browsing on RMweb one day, I came across Geoff Forster's blog of his layout 'Penhydd' - this, in my humble opinion, has to be one of the most perfect models I've ever seen. It has everything - a station, three goods sidings, roads, lots of perfect greenery and potential for lots of expansion. It offers loads of operational fun and makes for a great phot
Finished!!
Had a play about with the stock today, but had a few problems. The usual suspects - dirty track and wheels, bad connections etc. This is the frustrating aspect of 4mm scale - especially when you've double checked the circuits and cleaned everything about a 100 times!
A few pics below - more tomorrow if I'm allowed - we're supposed to be going up some hill or other for a walk. Know what I'd rather be doing!!
Managed to capture the streak through the smoke with the inte
The Lights are in - blew one up by not using resistor when testing, but the rest work fine! Here's a smoky shot (cigarette smoke) with the lights on (I've used 8 in total).
The next shot is a smoky one with outside daylight (simulated by a couple of 100watt bulbs). I'm trying to get the sunlight streaming through the smoke effect, but just can't get it to work yet.
I've included this last picture because I quite like the mottled effect from the roof windows on the walls.
The roof panels are now complete. A couple of pics to show different light levels achieved by altering the camera settings.
A first shot showing the Stygian gloom on an ordinary indoor setting (candlelight).
The next shot on a sensitive setting at a longer exposure. Quality is compromised on this type of setting.
I'm not entirely happy with some of the openings - they are not all flat, but this is because of the thinness of the card used. However, what can you expect whe
Stage 1 of the roof covering. Scale scenes corrugated roof texture has been photocopied on to 160 gsm light card and window openings cut out. I thought I might get away with just one layer with the texture on both sides, but it leaks too much light. Another layer will be applied - another lot of windows to cut!! The openings have been covered over with a transparency which has had the same texture copied onto it - this nicely emulates dirt that has collected in the corrugations as on a real
Smoke Hoods are now all in - phew! I actually do think it looks better now, but comments/suggestions always welcome.
Been experimenting with a roof finish also. On the last model I used 160gsm light card that was photocopied with Scale-scene's corrugated texture on both sides and transparencies with the same pattern as the windows, but it never looked right. This time I've used 1.5mm card with cut out window openings - the papers have been pasted on and transparencies with the corrug
Smoke hoods now in. I only intend to cover 12 roads out of the 24. I took on board the advice about lowering them closer to the locos but looking at the pictures of Saltley and old pics of Barrow Hill I noted that they are about this height anyway. I guess that when initially installed in Victorian times they suited the height of the tall stacks on the steam engines of that time. Hoods for newer roundhouses were then brought down much closer to suit later train design.
Below is a pictu
Tried a couple of smoke hoods just to see if they look okay. These are copies of the old types as used at Saltley. I tried another design first and made twenty before deciding that I didn't like them!! The ones in the pics actually look as if they are designed to do the job.
Tried a long exposure shot -
Comments most welcome because I don't want to destroy the look already achieved without the hoods. I notice that at Barrow Hill only under half the roads have hoods for
Progress so far. Walls are up - some Scalescenes papers and a few spare Brassmasters windows later and the roof still fits fine. Smoke Hoods, detailing and roof covering still to complete.
Another pic from a different angle.
It isn't an exact copy of Barrow Hill, rather a mish mash of what a Round House would look like although the roof profile is the same. I've used a pictures from Both Barrow Hill and some old photos of Saltley as a reference.
I've used simple push to make buttons for the individual roads, a DPDT switch for the turntable and another push to make for the turntable motor. I still use analogue, but when there's a few bob spare I'll invest in some decoders etc at some time in the future so all the roads can go live.
The small box used as a control panel is ugly, but I have to be able to get the model through the loft hatch for storage and I only just got about 3 feet to do it in. It works though!
I was going to have a go at making the yard at Barrow Hill to compliment a previous model of the Roundhouse made about a year and a half ago. However, after much thought, I decided that the original model just wouldn't do - so here are some pics of my second attempt.
The turntable is from Walther's Cornerstone which matches the one at Barrow Hill although it's longer. Some say the model isn't up to scratch, but it was easy to put together. I did have some problems with the motor, b
Another mess about with video. This is much inspired by Mikkel's Farthing Layouts although it's nowhere near his modeling standards. I'm also sure that many GWR fans will know that inappropriate stock has been used, but it is my first attempt. I hope you like the concept.
I don't think the attachment has uploaded properly so take a look at this link instead:
