CJM

Painfully slow progress on the newsagents interior continues. At present the retail magazine stand has received a couple of coats of Humbrol Enamel to provide a rather corporate look. I will be printing off some 'mags' to line the shelves with soon. The front counter is also being fabricated at present, with the 'sweet confectionery display' in situ on the counter. This was made with Slater's red Plastikard, and attached to the shelving is many individually cut pieces of cheap reflective plastic, in order to represent the 'Choccy goodness'....etc.

Too true, it may then turn into another takeaway, with a cash machine on the front of it!!😂

I've spent part of this weekend doing a bit more modelling and decided that the building next door to the takeaway will become a newsagents. I was planning to make this a regional bookmakers, but couldn't seem to find the right graphics for it. Anyway, the magazine retail display unit is currently being fabricated below, with 'Mr Airfix' next to it to ensure scale. The small amounts of Tamiya masking tape on the 'shelves' will be removed when the unit is painted fully. This will allow the 'mags' to be added. Just need to print off a load of miniature 'Take a Chat Break Magazine' or 'Railway Modeller' !!!

Another quick shot of some more 'worn out' Parkside 21ton coal wagons. These are a bit too old for the layout era, and I have decided to line them up and 'dump them' when the next set of sidings are installed, with some more added rot..

I've put some more wagons in the yard after some basic shunting and rewiring of the layout, which isn't completed yet. During the past couple of years I have built a few of the 'Peco/Parkside' wagon 16 tonner jobbies just to practice variations in weathering etc. I thought this one along with the others I made had a bit more realism, as I had attacked the internal sides of the kit/s with a centre punch to produce a bulging effect on the exterior sides, which worked quite well, but hasn't really shown up on the photos unfortunately. I will have to attempt this with some more hopper wagons perhaps, but they always seemed to be in a better condition compared to the 16 tonners.

Getting near to final completion of the interior of the take away, with the commercial area largely assembled and glued in place, with the exception of 'Mrs Noch' and a pot plant. I may add some papers and a couple of posters around the interior, but I appear to be short of them at the minute, so I will decide shortly...

Happy new year to you also! I had noticed that also a couple of years ago, when I bought loads of the Noch seated people for a pub interior, and found that the figures seemed a little too 'upright' and appeared less relaxed when they were fitted. I think I sanded a couple of them (at the rear end) to give a 'more relaxed appearance' and this helped, but yes, I do think they look odd when seated outside sadly.

The last post of 2023 continues with a bit more progress on the shop take-away interior. 'Mrs Noch' has not yet been stuck in yet, as a decision will have to be made whether to fit her with plastic or superglue.. The walls for the back of the shop will need a bit more painting, along with the doorway, and a few finer details (pot plants) will need adding in order to complete the look. Best wishes to you all!

A bit more progress on the interior of the take away. I've stuck most of the furniture down to the floor, and made another chair and table, along with the main counter. I've also made the walls for the interior, and will paint them in a 'generic design' with light gold enamel to exacerbate the aged look of the place.

Thought I'd take a quick shot of a new loco that I got for Christmas, which is the NER E1 (J72) Tank Engine by Bachmann. I liked the look of this, and found a brand new one in a model shop down south a couple of months ago. The new tooling and printing is superb, and this was from 2019 I believe. A superb looking model for the cabinet. I have however had to lubricate it with Electrolube around the points specified by the manufacturer in order to make it run better. Very happy with it!

Thank you for your comment, much appreciated, the benches are just scratchbuilt from 40 thou plasticard, that has been sanded to a very slight angle, and then glued with poly cement. The armrests on them are simply chopped pieces of the same thickness plasticard that has been bent and then glued on, same really for the legs. Once a couple of coats of enamel are applied the items stiffen up around the glued areas and this makes them more tactile to be moved about etc. I'm going to next build the counter for the shop, maybe a drinks machine, a table and a couple of plants with some more chairs to add to the general interior. Thanks for asking anyway!

A quick look at some progress on the interiors of one of the shops, currently being fabricated. The furniture has now been made, and has been painted, with 'Mrs Noch' on one of the benches to check the size is towards 1/76. There will be a few more items fabricated shortly, but the benches will need some light bleaching to remove the flat look, along with the tiles.

The interiors now being created for each premises. The floor for the takeaway is now complete, and some of the furniture is being made.

Newly purchased class 37 by Accurascale on site, with some kitbuilt HTV hopper wagons. I must say, this loco is simply superb, and frankly amazing. Slightly off period for my layout, but I am very pleased to have got one for my collection!!

After some painfully slow progress on the new buildings, a little more fabrication has commenced. The brick plasticard has been applied, and the main shell of the building has been assembled which has held up quite nicely so far.

New building fabrication and construction starts, with the basic component parts cut out from the tech drawing. The chimneys and middle of the building has been given the addition of wood beams in order to maintain rigidity when the sides and front are glued together.

I've spent a bit of the afternoon completing the tech drawing for the new project which I am about to build for the layout. I may add a bit more of a corner feature for the shop on the left of the pic, as this is on a junction on the layout, however I will decide once the basic structure has been fabricated.

The new updated buildings for the 'older' part of the layout being drawn up from photographs taken earlier in the month. The buildings are based on real local structures and will be slightly adapted to suit the layout and their surroundings.

As the Cinema is now nearly finished and basic weathering will finish it, I've decided to replace some of the older buildings on the layout with more realistic regional examples. I've managed to highlight the area (in red) which will have the new scratchbuilt buildings on it. I've also managed to find some ideal structures locally, and these will be fitted with interior lighting, and any other fittings which may enhance them during construction.

A quick view from the other end of the street at 'night' with the Cinema fixed into its area and levelled up. Weathering to begin soon on it.

Ta, yes you're right, it all seems to go a bit off when you try to get a shot of it...I tend to just use an old cameraphone, with the flash off on a long timer to get the 'night shots' but it just needs to ensure that I dont move the camera when the photo is taken, as the slightest movement is unforgiving on the image. Glad you like it anyway! Chris,

It's been a while since the last update, but I've now managed to complete the front signage for the low relief cinema, and the front sign is now glued in place, and as you may be able to see, some Blu Tack is holding the graphic in place whilst it dries. The finer details and weathering will shortly take place to complete the look.

Well, the LED's have been soldered up, and seem to work well with a 2032 battery, and I've tested the LED's for over three hours without a drop in the brightness of the light. The photo does seem a little bright.....but the LED's are attached to a small piece of plywood, in order to ensure they are in the right place when I add the awning and sign. Bit more painting to do, then to weather it....to add the rot...etc.

Quite slow progress at the moment with the layout buildings, however the corporate base coats of blue have been applied to the frontage, and I'm quite pleased with the finish of it. I've also fabricated another sign for the front awning which lights up very well indeed. I however have to set up the internal LEDS for it first. Once the blue has dried I intend to lighten it up considerably as part of the weathering process, along with finishing the window ledges etc. So, not long to completion hopefully.

Painting continues at slow pace on the new cinema, with the masking removed from the top two areas of the building. Masking tape has now been applied to the new areas that require further painting. The blue will need to be 'weathered up' in order to ensure the detailing can be seen etc.