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About this blog

UPDATE 20TH JULY 2020:  Calshot (MkII) is no more! Sadly, I decided to abandon the project due to being stored in a dusty garage for 10 years. However it is more than likely to live on in another guise... watch this space!

 

The Ramblings of a Junior 4mm Modeller

Entries in this blog

How to wreck a seaplane

I seem to be on a roll with my modelling this week! Here's today's work turning that Catalina into an abandoned wreck. Still much more to do but it is getting there. These photos have been taken on a piece of mount-board with a backscene propped up behind. I hope you enjoy looking at this set and I would appreciate any comments, good or bad (as long as they're constructive negative comments!). The paint peeling off has been created using a sandpaper attachment on a Dremel. Weathering is with wat

Debate: What makes exhibition layouts interesting

I was thinking during my struggles to come up with a plan for Calshot MkII what I would want from it when I exhibit it locally - and perhaps what other people might like to see.   Here are some of my thoughts;   1) Mainline 'roundy-roundy' - That enjoyment of watching prototypically long trains go round. 2) Something unique/unusual - That 'oh, that's a bit different' thought. With Calshot, I would like to think it falls under this category. 3) Based on a well-known prototype - Again, I wou

A layout plan I'm happy with!

Click on image to enlarge Well, here it is! ( I can almost hear the sighs of 'At last, I thought he'd never shut up' ) It's been a long time coming but I think I've finally worked out a design. I must have bored you rigid with the amount of plans I've been doing and my plethora of postings about planning indecision! Hopefully this design will work. On the left hand end we have a 2ft fiddle yard including a 3 road sector plate for the SG line (thick grey lines) and 3

"Three bowls of Spaghetti" and "The Blue Whale"

'What on earth?' I hear you ask! Just a couple quotes which arose today which made me laugh that seemed relevant. Allow me to explain...   JohnDMJ kindly volunteered to help do the wiring for the layout. (He's good at this kind of thing you see). Now, let's be honest here - before today I had very little knowledge about wiring so having someone else do it and teach me how to do it was fantastic!   Watching out for 'Two-ton-tin-openers' (i.e. cattle) around the New Forest roads, John prompt
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One week left (and I'm pushing my luck!)

Click for larger image. Click for larger image. Click for larger image. And here's my first bit of maths in the holidays   Which made the bottom level of the castle. Most of the quay walls have been fitted into place with decorators caulk used for the seabed and any gaps. Paving has been added from scribed DAS clay. The first waves have been roughly started. The castle will have a layer of DAS modelling clay wrapped around it and scribed(!). Can you see the recurring the
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The construction of Calshot - Part Six - Quay basics done

Are you getting bored yet?   Another few hours worth of work sees the quay starting to take shape. All this is removable including the sea bed in readiness for wiring the layout. I will need to cut some access holes underneath the baseboard as the pins on the point motors are just that little bit too short to fit underneath the ply base. Hopefully all goes well and there is enough access to put the point motors in and the wiring. I have also made a culvert (hard to see in these phot

Things what I 'ave bought!

I finally got round to making some purchases! I've been umming and aahing about what I should buy for quite a long time now. After finally having made up my mind I decided to plump for the following:     Acquisition no. 1 Steiermischen Landesbahn diesel shunter VL6 is seen here after having arrived from Germany after a certain lack of motive power on the RAF NG Railway at Calshot. It is surprising to note that it is a brand new engine although it looks like some modifications may have to be
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Brockenhurst NFMRS Open Day - Calshot's visit

Firstly, thanks to all the event organisers, catering staff and of course the general public! I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I did not expect is the size of the hall - much bigger than I anticipated and a pleasant surprise.   The morning didn't start particularly well as we battled to unlock the van doors and manoeuvred several cars to enable it to be put in the drive for loading. Once the van was loaded it was a quick rush to get to the venue in time due to the earlier fiasco. Anywa
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The construction of Calshot - Part Seven - Sub-frame assembly

Unfortunately carpenter Dad has been unwell recently so I've had to go it alone on the woodwork front. However, all is not lost as I'm not too bad at it myself (although not a patch on Dad!). Yesterday and this morning I started building the sub-frame. I have left it quite late but in actual fact this has been for the better. It is made from softwood reclaimed from an old layout.   To start with I marked out the longitudinal battens and worked out where I wanted the notches. The notches were t
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15 days left and it's a race against time!

Blimey, where does the time go? I've got two weeks to finish Calshot. Scary eh! Luckily yesterday and today I was able to get a lot of work done on the layout so I'll take you for a little tour...                         Next on the list? Well, I've got to make two holders for the controllers, finish the rest of the 'DAS-ing', Affix the SG infill, affix the stone walls, scribe the rest of the gatehouse, build the castle, build the fascia/lighting pelmet... the list goe
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A new fiddle yard for Calshot

Well, I have been threatening to plan this for a while... I'm currently drawing up plans for a replacement fiddle yard for Calshot. This time it will be much shorter but wider. Oh, and i'm going to make it properly this time! Plan:     Comments are welcome!
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Anglicizing a German! - Part 1

Now, as you may have noted on my previous blog entry, I've bought a little NG shunter from Liliput. Today I decided on some surgery to make it look a little more British. I did away with the glazing and chopped off the window frame and gave it an initial coat of green. The paint is still drying in the photos, and it will need at least one more coat.   I have to say this is the finest locomotive I think I have ever boug
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I've been given the go ahead!

Today I am very happy! As the title suggests, I have had permission to build Calshot Mk II. This decision was reached probably due to sudden brainwave this morning - when not in use, I could store Calshot Mk II in a movable unit with castors on the bottom. The unit would be 1m long by about 0.75m tall and 0.5m wide. There would be three spaces - the top space for the fiddle yard board(s) (because in theory it will be the lightest) followed by two spaces for the scenic boards.   This means I c
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Operation Mirror Image - Day 1!

Today saw the official start of Operation Mirror Image - from now on, I will add a tally of the time spent and how it was spent (as seen below) for the following posts. So at last, the extension is firmly on its way. The ply will be braced with softwood battens underneath and I will need to make sure I match the board heights correctly. I'm expecting that I will need a new backscene too, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it! Thanks for all your support, it really is highly appreciated
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Information Panels

If there's something I have learnt from exhibiting it's that people love information boards. If you are able to captivate their attention by creating some information panels then you are likely to have people hanging around for that bit longer. Not only that, but I have found that people are more willing to talk to you about the layout!   Thanks to a suggestion made by someone on NGRM, I have created my own:       The next job will probably be to create a layout guide for exhibition mana
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8 hours left and the Landford Exhibition

8 hours left and the Landford Exhibition Well as the title suggests I've got 8 hours* to finish the layout ready for the Landford Exhibition tomorrow. Loads more to do but I'm sure we'll get there. I've had the whole family helping me for the final push - something I did not expect!   So here are some preview photos to show where I'm up to. Once the rest of the castle is scribed I'll be even more confident than I am now. All images clickable for larger size. I apprec
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The construction of Calshot - Part Four

Just a small update. The layout has been moved to MkI's legs with a drape around it to win Brownie points! That way I can have it tucked in the corner and can work on it where it is out of the way. Having it like this makes me wonder if I actually need a backscene. Then again, it is not going to be very photogenic without one. A sluice and little footbridge have been built from left over scraps in the scrap box (funnily enough!). Still needs the mechanism and a spot of weathering. If i
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The construction of Calshot - Part Three - Basic relief

Construction is ongoing on Calshot MkII. Progress is a little slow due to lack of materials but I did manage to scrounge enough polystyrene to do the majority of the first layer of the basic relief. The polystyrene isn't quite thick enough to be up to the trackbed height so another layer will be needed.   In the photo below the Walrus seaplane is standing on the slipway (yet to be carved) and the inset image is one little cameo I hope to include which will be a sunken pillbox with exposed and
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Calshot - It's all coming together

Firstly, thank you to all those people who took part in the poll, it's much appreciated and I am working out what best to do.   Now, today after much deliberation saw the chisel striking the extension and a large chunk of filler being reduced to nothing in order to make way for the beach. I am pleased with how it has turned out, it has created some interesting photographic shots. I need to make the wooden groynes for the beach and it is hard trying to work out what I can use...   There is st
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Landford Show report & future plans...

Thanks to John (Davies) for a great show at Landford, nr Salisbury on 4th September. With a 16 minute drive Dad and I arrived at the venue as the last ones there half an hour (or less!) to opening time. Layout took about 15 minutes to set up (which also meant we were first away!). This is exactly why big isn't always necessarily better (although I would love a roundy-roundy).   The show seemed very friendly and the exhibits were arranged so that there was plenty of space between them so peopl
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A WWII theme

After having taken delivery of some stuff for the layout I opened the parcel which, amongst other things, contained two WWII narrow gauge bogie rolling stock opens. These were promptly constructed and now await painting. Inside the box were 2 more packs of corrugated iron (the shop had run out of corrugated asbestos so I decided to go for the wriggly tin instead as it is a close match). This allowed me to spend this afternoon building the hangar. This hangar has caused me a lot of grief so far -
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Calshot - Sand, sea and Silflor

Just a quick update for tonight, but as always I've added some photos to make it a bit more interesting.   Today I had the chance to work on the layout and I managed to get some quite visible results. Firstly I have been adding more Silflor grass tufts all around the layout. I really am fond of this product and against the hanging basket liner it looks like a much more realistic product.   I have also been adding sand to the layout in quite large quantities. This was all brought about by lo
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Putting your foot in it! - Poll included - All help welcome!

Now we've got a basic outline, where do you progress from here? Well you draw many sketches of variations of different plans!   Here's eight I've knocked up. But I'm not sure which, if any, to go for! (Sound familiar? ). Other thoughts include adding some beach huts which are fairly common at Calshot.   Sketch 1     Sketch 2 Sketch 3 Sketch 4 Sketch 5 Sketch 6 And these two which you have seen before: Sketch 7 Sketch 8 - This plan would involve changing the layout sh

Calshot Article

I have done a write up for Calshot in case I decide to publish it in the model railway press. Let me know if there is anything you think could be improved, i'm sure there is! ___________________________________________________   Calshot A slice of the South Coast in the late 1950s       JAMIE WARNE wanted to create a layout with little space, less skill, and even less money, but still try and create a convincing scene of the South Coast.       Calshot was always a place I had a
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