[A4 Diorama Competition 2020]

Well done HonestTom, and was chuffed to get a mention for my efforts.  Back to the 'big' project to use what I've learnt now.

 

Cheers

[A4 Diorama Competition 2020]

Tick tock, tick tock ...

 

Out of time with no back scene done.  When I went all 'artistic' with my building chopped at an angle I didn't realise it would make a simple back scene tricky, well you live and learn.  My finished effort (' A very small slice of Smith Wood coking plant') is as follows:

 

 

 

And the tightly cropped, b&w shot that hides all the poor modelling (like the horribly warped base or the 'cobbled together from old sprue' pipework):

 

 

I've had a lot of fun doing this and I think its officially the first 'layout' I've ever completed!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

 

[A4 Diorama Competition 2020]

Running out of time but progress has been steady ...

 

 

I doubt I'll have time to really finish off all the detail I'd like but considering the very slow pace I'm normally working at it's been a lot of fun throwing something together in a few weeks,  Still a bit of work on this unfinished corner and I think I really need some form of backscene/backdrop to get some nice photos.

 

Tick tock, tick tock

 

    

[A4 Diorama Competition 2020]

And I thought I had joined late.  Go for it HonestTom, your idea sounds like a clever way of making a small space seem much bigger!

 

I'm making slow but steady progress with my little project and sure it will be work in progress right up to the 20th:

 

I've not really decided what to put in the currently empty corner so if anybody has suggestions I'm all ears, as long as its something I can create in the short time available and from the scrap box.

 

Cheers and stay healthy

 

Simon

[Frost's Mill]

Alex, those buildings are looking great.  The flour mill is very nicely done and the corrugated iron store (left in the first picture) is really beautifully weathered - captures urban and slightly decrepit perfectly!

 

Cheers

 

Simon 

[A4 Diorama Competition 2020]

It really is fun to put the main project aside and 'throw something together' on a short time-frame.  Feel like I'm still way behind but making some progress with my little industrial grot project:

 

Thought I'd experiment a bit with some lightweight filler (other brands are also available!) I had lying around.  I'm not sure how this will stand up long term but it is very, very easy to work with and make seems to make decent nice approximation of industrial wasteland.

 

 

 

A bit of rail weathering, a couple more washes and some grass/weeds to do and then I can start work on the industrial structures.

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[A4 Diorama Competition 2020]

Late to the party but I'm going to give this a go, though my rate of progress probably means I'll end up being a year late!

 

My inspiration is this:

 

 

which I'm trying to recreate a very small slice of ...

 

 

It's actually going to be quite a bit smaller than A4 in footprint and so far I've only got this far with it :

 

 

so will definitely have to speeds things up.  The plan is to make this entirely with existing left-over bits from the scrap box.

 

Wish me luck!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[40 years later ...]

As per my previous post, have been spending quite a lot of time building an LCUT Creatives warehouse that I picked up at the Doncaster Show back in February (you remember, when we used to be allowed out).

 

As usual, I forgot to take any photos in the early stages: 

 

 

 

... and the build is just about complete now, but it's been a nice kit to make and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:

 

 

 

The current plan is for this to be in the middle background of the layout, with a larger (low relief) stone mill further back, but that could change.  I think I need to play around a bit with its location, take some photos, and canvas views from those who understand visual composition better than I do.

 

Cheers and stay healthy everyone!

 

Simon

 

 

[40 years later ...]

Thanks Adam, kind words indeed!

 

The building was made in foam board with a wills sheet skin so ended up with quite thick walls, but that seemed appropriate to represent an old 19th century stone storehouse.  The lintels were cut to full thickness and the windows applied on the inside, hence the deep sills.  The lintels are actually just balsa strip which looks surprisingly like distressed stone after a bit of dry brushing with dark greys/browns.  It did take me a long time to build it though - pretty much all last summer just for the one building!

 

The windows are from LCUT Creative and very good value  in my opinion (I think they're only about 20p each) and the 'glass' is just PVA applied liberally and left to dry - another tip I picked up here that works well for opaque windows with an odd pane missing/broken.  I've recently picked up one of the LCUT building kits (another small warehouse) and have been very impressed so far, but its not a quick process (for me at least) building and painting it.

 

Btw, just had a quick peek at your current project and very impressed, you clearly have an eye for detail and like scratch building - will try to follow your project more closely for tips!

 

Cheers

 

Simon 

[40 years later ...]

I admit the headshunt is shortish, but the major design flaw I mean is that once scenery is done I have no access to most of the wiring (including point motors) without tearing apart the scenery.  Let's hope my wiring is robust!

 

Much of the past 9 months, when I've had time, has been spent on the foreground scenery, which is now getting quite close to completion, as shown here:

 

 

 

 

 

It feels like I need to do some work on weathering and blending things together.  Since I'm aiming for a neglected and semi-derelict look for this part of the scene I'll need more detritus lying around but have not quite worked out what that will be yet.

 

One thing I can't decide is whether to put some larger pieces of debris, maybe even a semi-sunk barge into the canal area.  Here's how it looks at present:

 

 

I've started work in some other buildings for the back scene and yard area but I'll save those for another post.  Of course all the scenery and building work is putting off the job I dread most - ballast/groundwork around the actual track.  I should probably sort out the fascia and back scene too, oh and there's the fiddleyard ... the list never ends! 

 

Any constructive criticism/ideas always welcome!

 

Cheers

 

Simon  

[40 years later ...]

Thanks Steve, it may have been more by chance than design!  And yes my plan is certainly at the top end of 'micro' (the scenic section is 4'x2') so I do have the luxury of space compared to many.

 

Here's some more images of the construction:

 

 

 

I wish now that I had taken more photos as I was building as there are large parts of the work that I didn't capture (and have already forgotten what I did).  Wiring/electrics took me ages, especially the 6 Cobalt points motors as I'm not great with electrics.  So then some time later I started on scenics: 

 

 

The retaining walls and my first building are mostly a combination of foam board and wills sheets and I'm happy enough for a first attempt at scratch building, though my painting/weathering needs work.

 

 

These forums are so valuable to us newbies with lots of ideas for techniques I would never have thought of myself.  One of those is the 'water' in my canal - foam board, painted murky and then with c. 15 coats of gloss varnish, which works remarkably well.

 

Part way through this early scenic work I concluded that my project has one major design flaw (in terms of long-term use) that I'm just going to have to live with as I wasn't willing to start again.  I wonder who will spot it first?  

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[40 years later ...]

So 40 years ... and then another 15 months later, but to be fair I've made some progress, which I'll try to show in a few posts over the next week or two.

 

Starting with basic track mock up

 

 

And then a bit of woodwork of course

 

 

 

 

 

[40 years later ...]

So I had another think and have adopted a more 'conventional' fiddleyard approach that should also add extra operating potential.  One question I wanted to ask, I'm trying to achieve a claustrophobic industrial feel but am I trying to cram too much into a small space?

 

[40 years later ...]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

 

bazzer, I did wonder about the practicalities of the fiddleyard behind scenery - it seems such an obvious and neat space saver, but seems little used in the layouts I see on the forums, suggesting others have found it difficult to work with as well.  I'll have to think about this some more.

 

John, I wasn't trying to match head shunt, fiddleyard, run around  and siding lengths, just trying to design it so that I could shunt 4 or 5 small wagons on any of them, if that makes sense?

 

 

I LIKE the track layout. I am just rebuilding my first attempt after 20 years as I had the same idea to have the fiddle yard behind scenery but found for home use it was a failure. Ideal for an exhibition layout though.
The design does look like an eye pleaser...I love raised track levels.

 

 

I would suggest you need to establish what you want to do with it operationally in due course even though scenery appears to be your prime aim. Some fine suggestions on the CarL Arendt site at http://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/  In particular the Tymesaver and Inglenook options for shunting. See also http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/sw-inglenook.html

 

Your headshunts (Leads in US parlance) look shorter than your sidings as is the fiddle yard unless extended beyond the left hand scenic baseboard edge. That will add constraints you may not have intended. I find shunting for a purpose therapeutic but aimless wagon shunting soon bores. The other consideration is uncoupling options as you may need to determine magnet positioning or consider building heights if leaning over to do manual uncoupling.

[40 years later ...]

40 years ago I lost interest in railway modelling (I blame girls and football), though I have dabbled with model/diorama making on and off in the intervening years.  After a couple of years thinking about it and browsing these forums, I've finally decided to take the plunge and start a layout.

 

I think my interests are most easily summed up as 'industrial northern grot' and, if I'm honest, its the scenic side that interests me more than the actual railway, especially since i know virtually nothing about the prototype.

 

So what I'm hoping is that i can get a bit of advice on a rough plan for my first foray, Current thinking is 6'x2', industrial West Riding in the late 60s/early 70s with a focus on small diesel shunters working old mills and grotty engineering works.  I've had a play around on AnyRail and come up with an idea, and would really like any feedback on how people think it might work as a layout.  Constructive criticism welcomed.

 

Thanks