Wenlock's Blog

Dave,

Looks very nice, the whole building looks very convincing to me, I particularly like the down pipes.  Whose paints have you used for the light and dark stone?  It may be the lighting but it doesn't look at all the same shade that I have a tin of.

 

Ian

Top stuff, as ever. Are you thinking of illuminating the interior at some point, Dave? It's a great way to show off the interior detailing.

Hi Ian, glad you like it! I used Railmatch dark and light stone for the wood work, then weathered it all with a dilute wash of dark grey. The first 3 photo's are taken on my work bench under incandescent lighting, the ones on the layout are under flouresent tubes. The light and dark stone look really different under the two lighting conditions. I think the warmer incandescent light brings out the red in the colours and the flouresent enhances the grey/greens. I think I'll probably light the finished layout with a combination of both types.

Top stuff, as ever. Are you thinking of illuminating the interior at some point, Dave? It's a great way to show off the interior detailing.

Thanks Al:-) Ilumination is something I'm really undecided on! The idea of seeing the layout at night with pools of light coming from windows and lamps really appeals to me, the pictures of your layout at night look great. However it's such a lot of work to do properly! To do it justice would mean lighting all the buildings, the platform/yard lamps, signal lamps, coaches etc and Its taken me 3 years to get this far with the layout. I think it's one of those things I may revisit once the layout is more or less complete and I fancy a challenge:-)

You're right, Dave, it's really an all-or-nothing thing, illumination. Probably easier in 4mm as there are a number of off-the-shelf lighting options, compared to 7mm.

 

I think what swayed it for me was the night-time sequence on Pendon's Dartmoor scene, seeing that train sweeping in from the distance, the faint glow of the gaslit buildings, carriage windows etc.

Don't wish to be rude, but I think that despite your best endeavours, this kit-bash is not as good as your scratchbuilt efforts.

 

Two issues stand out for me: the slates, and the bricks. Both of these relate to the quality of the mouldings, not your workmanship, and could be described as a lack of restraint when it comes to the level of relief.

 

Firstly, the slates. The gaps between them seem too big. Most mornings, whilst waiting to turn right at a junction, I get a good chance to study some slate roofing, both a few decades old and decrepit, and also relativ new. Other than a couple of slipped slates next to each other, the old decrepit roof whilst full of humps and bumps is still watertight, with the slates in good close order even if the supporting woodwork is questionable. Oh, go on someone, tell me that GWR signal boxes had a gap between slates.

 

Secondly, the bricks. There is too much relief, and the bricks appear rounded (this is a problem with many moulded brick sheets in many scles). Real walls have flat bricks, and the mortar depth is very shallow - probably wouldn't show if modelled to scale, but the "eye" expects to see something, so a degree of relief is a good idea, but not to the extent of making the wall look like it is made of cobbles.

 

Addressing the second problem is relatively easy: a large, flat, smooth file can dress the surface down to something flatter and more realistic. For the slates, I suspect you might need to replace it with something from scratch.

 

Apologies to anyone who misreads this as negative. It isn't: it's a critique. I don't do fawning praise. I would hate to see sub-standard materials in use when Dave is capable of much better himself.

The horseshoe is there! And turning the right way too (in my view). Very nice Dave.

 

Like Ian, I'm also interested in the shade of the livery. I like the subtleness of it. 

Looks pretty good Dave.  Slates are very difficult to model as they are quite thin. Simon is probably right and you could do a better job yourself but would you enjoy it?.

Regarding the colours it is difficult not being familiar with the original. They do not quite match with some I have seen on preserved railways but have they got it quite right. Who knows. To me it looks quite acceptable in the layout views. I do like how this is turning out.

Regarding the lights I plan to set my layout in June light to around 10pm  perhaps I can avoid putting lights in. Do you think I can get away with it.

Don

You're right, Dave, it's really an all-or-nothing thing, illumination. Probably easier in 4mm as there are a number of off-the-shelf lighting options, compared to 7mm.

 

I think what swayed it for me was the night-time sequence on Pendon's Dartmoor scene, seeing that train sweeping in from the distance, the faint glow of the gaslit buildings, carriage windows etc.

Yes that scene at Pendon is really inspiring, probably overdue for another visit:-)

Don't wish to be rude, but I think that despite your best endeavours, this kit-bash is not as good as your scratchbuilt efforts.

Two issues stand out for me: the slates, and the bricks. Both of these relate to the quality of the mouldings, not your workmanship, and could be described as a lack of restraint when it comes to the level of relief.

Firstly, the slates. The gaps between them seem too big. Most mornings, whilst waiting to turn right at a junction, I get a good chance to study some slate roofing, both a few decades old and decrepit, and also relativ new. Other than a couple of slipped slates next to each other, the old decrepit roof whilst full of humps and bumps is still watertight, with the slates in good close order even if the supporting woodwork is questionable. Oh, go on someone, tell me that GWR signal boxes had a gap between slates.

Secondly, the bricks. There is too much relief, and the bricks appear rounded (this is a problem with many moulded brick sheets in many scles). Real walls have flat bricks, and the mortar depth is very shallow - probably wouldn't show if modelled to scale, but the "eye" expects to see something, so a degree of relief is a good idea, but not to the extent of making the wall look like it is made of cobbles.

Addressing the second problem is relatively easy: a large, flat, smooth file can dress the surface down to something flatter and more realistic. For the slates, I suspect you might need to replace it with something from scratch.

Apologies to anyone who misreads this as negative. It isn't: it's a critique. I don't do fawning praise. I would hate to see sub-standard materials in use when Dave is capable of much better himself.

Hi Simon, not rude in the slightest and certainly no offence taken:-) Constructive criticism is the only way to improve modelling standards in my opinion!

 

The slates are as you say over scale and probably worth replacing at some point with something finer. The roof on the porch was made using Slaters Plasticard tile embossed strips, which was the same method I used on the station building and goods shed. I'm still not really happy with the finials so there may be a mark 2 roof in the offing!

 

Your thoughts on the brickwork are interesting and have caused me much pondering! All the brickwork on the signal box is scratch built using exactly the same South Eastern Finecast sheet that I have used for the rest of the layouts buildings and the roadbridge. I've also used the same combination of enamels to paint all the buildings in an attempt to get a concistency of colour across the layout.

 

The only conclusion I can come too is that once we spot something we don't like, in this case the over scale slates, we tend to view the whole building with a more critical eye.

 

Certainly all food for thought and as my old school teachers often used to write in my reports "Must try harder!"

Looks pretty good Dave.  Slates are very difficult to model as they are quite thin. Simon is probably right and you could do a better job yourself but would you enjoy it?.

Regarding the colours it is difficult not being familiar with the original. They do not quite match with some I have seen on preserved railways but have they got it quite right. Who knows. To me it looks quite acceptable in the layout views. I do like how this is turning out.

Regarding the lights I plan to set my layout in June light to around 10pm  perhaps I can avoid putting lights in. Do you think I can get away with it.

Don

Hi Don, I'm going to live with the slates for a while, but I'll probably end up replacing them eventually. Once I know something is wrong it will nag away at me until I get it sorted, quite whether I'll enjoy the process remains to be seen!

 

Setting you layout in June at around 10.00pm may mean modelling a sunset, that may pove more of a challenge than equipping the layout with lights!

The horseshoe is there! And turning the right way too (in my view). Very nice Dave.

 

Like Ian, I'm also interested in the shade of the livery. I like the subtleness of it.

 

Hi Mikkel, glad you like the horse shoe! I couldn't resist really:-)

 

The livery has definitely caused some discussion, even though it's just standard Railmatch Dark and Light Stone. I weathered it with washes of dark grey, but I think it's the lighting that has the biggest influence on how it looks:-)

 

I must admit I'm quite happy with the colour so at least that's two of us!:-)

You are right about the sunset. I was just thinking on a small branch the last train could be gone before it got dark. I have seen the effort it took Dave and Shirly Rowe to do a real transistion from day though sunset to night - no thanks. Incidently look at the edges of real slates they are not as smooth as the surface.

 

Don

Hi Simon, not rude in the slightest and certainly no offence taken:-) Constructive criticism is the only way to improve modelling standards...The only conclusion I can come too is that once we spot something we don't like, in this case the over scale slates, we tend to view the whole building with a more critical eye.

That's a good point. As I have learned more and more over the years about real railways, it has become harder to over-look things...

 

Certainly all food for thought and as my old school teachers often used to write in my reports "Must try harder!"

Better than mine.'Could try harder, but won't.'Followed by:'Sets a low standard and fails to achieve it.'Ending up as:'Has deteriorated since last report.'It stopped at that point, but only because I had left school!

You are right about the sunset. I was just thinking on a small branch the last train could be gone before it got dark. I have seen the effort it took Dave and Shirly Rowe to do a real transistion from day though sunset to night - no thanks. Incidently look at the edges of real slates they are not as smooth as the surface.

 

Don

If I remember correctly the Rowe's had a tent construction over their layout to enhance the lighting effects, I reckon your idea of last train of the day at 10.00pm would be much easier!:-)

That's a good point. As I have learned more and more over the years about real railways, it has become harder to over-look things...

 

 

Better than mine.

'Could try harder, but won't.'

Followed by:

'Sets a low standard and fails to achieve it.'

Ending up as:

'Has deteriorated since last report.'

It stopped at that point, but only because I had left school!

I've sadly found the same at exhibitions. When I first started going to shows as a boy every layout was fantastic. 40 or so years of modelling later if I'm impressed by more than two layouts at a show I consider it a good day out! Maybe increased knowledge isn't such a good thing after all.

 

Sounds as if you had a similar educational experience as me!:-)

I think the modern term is "slacker".

A friend was told that he wouldn't amount to anything by one of the teachers. He is a director for a multi-national, has a 6 bedroom house (no mortgage), and a Mercedes S class with an expensive personalised plate. He managed all that within 15 years of leaving school...

 

 

I rarely go to exhibitions nowadays. Mind you, it might be me being tight, as when I was going to close on one a month, it was in support of a layout, so I didn't pay to get in, or get there. I wish I lived nearer to Wells: that is always good.