Addleford Green general progress
Entry posted by JRamsden
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So for the sake of posterity we are currently in the midst of a global pandemic. the COVID-19 lockdown means I have been working from home for some weeks, until this week when I have been furloughed for at least the next 3 weeks. Less travelling and less opportunity to leave the house has increased opportunity to model. However I'm pretty bad at keeping a regular record of anything I do, hence the recent inactivity! So here are a few things I have achieved recently, lumped together for ease and so I can catch up. The next big blog will likely be the final stages of my completed station building, version 3!
I finalised the shaping of the farm and station areas using layers of card and Das Clay. Not exactly the cheapest way of doing things, but I like the ease with which Das Clay can be shaped and sanded, along with how quickly it dries. The road has been coloured using acrylic paints and the surrounding land painted in a variety of coffee coloured match pots from B&Q. The photo makes them look almost white, in reality they are a pale brown.
I was finally able to complete the surface of the station platform and secure it in place. This caused me some trouble as I wasn't happy with the original result. What a surprise! It's made from a single piece of mountboard cut to size. Originally I textured the surface with fine sand painted grey, but I wasn't happy with the texture. Then I decided to abandon the texture and concentrate on colour instead.
Not having an airbrush I opted to use a mixture of acrylic paints and Halford spray cans. Several things may have contributed to what happened next... it was a hot day so I left the piece outside to dry quickly in the sun. The paint cans were nearing the end of their life and didn't spray evenly. I didn't wait very long between coats. What this resulted in was the paint bubbling and curdling! Oddly enough, when it dried it actually gave a really nice texture. It was probably still too over scale, but I really liked it all the same and didn't want to start again!
Gluing the whole thing down was another adventure! Just be sure to put weights on EVERY part, not just the bits you think won't stick - that's my advice. The next day half the card was stuck, half had lifted right off the board resulting in a wavy concertina effect. Luckily it was easy enough to apply more glue and stick down the parts that hadn't held. Thankfully no signs remain of this mistake!
The curb stones are individually cut lengths of styrene strip painted grey and glued in place with a tiny gap between each for effect.
I remade the bufferstop to be more in line with the one found at Hawkhurst, including a coffee stirrer for the sleeper and the white and red paint finish. Plus I correctly assembled the kit this time. It only comes in three parts and I still got it wrong!
I love this little Wills lamp hut kit. It has been knocking around my kit draw for some time and exactly matches the one at Hawkhurst station. It had to go in! Although I opted for a pristine look to all other railway structures, I couldn't resist giving this one more of a neglected look.
I always leave guttering until the last possible minute. Often buildings are complete but for their guttering for months at a time. I simply hate doing this fiddly job! But after discovering that florist's wire can actually be bent very easily and makes convincing scale drain pipes, I just had to go back and fix some of the clunky and chunky plastic pieces I had glued to the stationmaster's house.
The lack of fixings may bother some, but the finer scale looks better to my eye and that's as small as I'm going! Using an all over coat of matt sealant spray also hides those nasty glue marks and really makes the whole model pop. Definitely two new standards I'm taking forward.
The signal box is now complete and permanently attached to the layout. The signalman takes a break as he waits for departure time... and some signals to operate!
A sneak peek of my almost-complete station building. Also in view is the compromise I had to introduce to cover up a terrible building error. A tarp can hide a multitude of sins!
I'll end on a shot of the whole station with all buildings placed. It's really starting to take shape. I just need to finish the canopy supports and it can all be secured for good.
All for now,
Jonathan
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