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HonestTom

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Posts posted by HonestTom

  1. On 19/10/2016 at 12:28, EddieB said:

    To add to what Colin says, these locos were part of the "strategic reserve" of steam locos set aside in Finland during the Cold War (Sweden and the USSR also had similar allocations, although they differed in how and where locos were kept).  After the fall of the Iron Curtain, tensions eased (perhaps prematurely) and the locomotives were offered for sale.  A number of the common VR classes Hr1 (4-6-2), Tk3 (2-8-0), Tr1 (2-8-2) at Vr1 (0-6-0T) found their way to the UK, ostensibly for the theme park that never happened, and were subsequently distributed around the country.  To the best of my knowledge all have remained in this country (there are plenty of examples preserved in Finland).  Their present locations are known and documented, but other than those already remarked upon in this thread I'd rather not list them on a "public" website.

     

    The loco at Blumson's Timber Yard in Barking is Vr1 794, which spent some time at Ongar prior to moving there.  It is visible from the road outside (per Google Streetview), but I had no problems when asking permission to photograph it from inside the gate (2011).  As Keith notes, Tr1 1077 remains on site near Sudbury/Long Melford in Suffolk.

     

    Tk3 1151 was the locomotive that was steamed at Southend (and at Ongar).  It is now at a private site in a neighbouring county.

    Vr1 794 is no longer there.

    IMG_7232.jpeg.43776068d0f46328bf490ed6b1b88459.jpeg

    • Like 1
  2. 22 hours ago, JSpencer said:

    Bachmann USA have announced a couple more Thomas locos.

    1/ Duncan 

    2/ Stanley

     

    The CGI Duncan sadly looks nothing like the original Duncan based on Douglas from the Talyllyn. There is some rumor that its Talyllyn railway equivalent Douglas was in pieces when they visited Talyllyn to measure up the locos. But I can find no proof of that. And I hope the model is closer to Douglas than the Thomas TV CGI.... (especially if they eventually want to sell Talyllyn Douglas models).

     

    Stanley is not an original book character (how can the TV series keep adding so many characters is beyond me) BUT - if based on real world measurements - we could end up with a cheap (?) industrial tank on our hands. As Stanley is based on Stewart & Lloyds 16" 0-6-0STs (themselves probably based on Manning Wardle T class).

     

    Other items can be seen in the PDF here: https://resources.bachmanntrains.com/NMRA2023/NMRA2023.pdf

     

    (edit: BTW no news on Sir Handel at this time).

     

    BachmannUSA_Duncan.png

    BachmannUSA_Stanley.png

    The gunpowder wagons are interesting, particularly given that they’re based on Ffestiniog prototypes.

    • Like 1
  3. It’s finished! Here’s the painting process.

    IMG_5542.jpeg.fd5d53638cd2c6e2470afe08323d470e.jpegIMG_5543.jpeg.e4bc20e27894eff66862ebadc8541b45.jpegIMG_5544.jpeg.6d85304e2d2270725174e65145c9f232.jpeg

    I’m not sure exactly what colour a building like this would have been painted. It’s intended to be in the 19th century, in a poor part of town. I know that pure white paint wasn’t a thing for the Victorians, so I went for an off-white upper storey and a green lower storey. On the whole, I’m happy with how it turned out.

    • Like 4
  4. Progress has been slow these last two days (thank you, migraine), but I’ve added chimney pots, given the whole thing a coat of Mod Podge and per the advice of the Rolling Stones, painted it black.IMG_5513.jpeg.de6398c01d327c660014bc0c06214df8.jpeg

    Debating whether to add guttering and down pipes. In the final diorama I could probably get away without them.

     

    The chimney pots are beads from the Trimits range. They make lots of odd little bits that are intended for jewellers, but very handy for modellers.

    • Like 4
  5. IMG_5506.jpeg.e234771f6b18143bec37aa9bede414f0.jpeg

    Further additions. The door and the planking were cut from food packaging card (in this house, they believe in recycling).


    As you can probably tell, that projection at the top is more foam and mesh. This feature is not only typical of these houses, but it helps to break up the outline and disguise the origin of the structure.

     

    So begins the process of planking, which is unbelievably tedious. While embossed styrene does exist, it’s just not rough enough for my purpose.

     

    IMG_5508.jpeg.78693396769de0f399ad6c5ebfa2785a.jpeg

     

    This is where I am so far after an evening’s work. Roof shingles were also card and also tedious. The chimney is low relief, being made of a scrap of foamcore I had lying around, with bricks inscribed with a pencil. There are details to be added, but otherwise, on to the painting!

    • Like 4
  6. I’m bored! So I’m turning another of those wooden houses into something more interesting. There’s a book called Lost London which has some fascinating images of ramshackle old houses, and I’ve often thought they’d make a fun scratchbuilding project.

    IMG_5497.jpeg.efc816ee3044367cde2d388aae68fc06.jpeg

    The starting point. I have too many of these things, because they’re so ridiculously cheap and I keep having ideas on what to do with them.

    IMG_5504.jpeg.a92933ede9d2532d66e44212ea468350.jpeg

    I’m using blue insulation foam to add some relief to the structure. Windows are cross-stitch grating.

    IMG_5505.jpeg.2f6b767c735ff515b3bd97750b5b7076.jpeg

    First stage assembly. I was able to make quick progress simply because the prototype is so “rustic,” to put it politely. Measurements were by eye with no real attempt at precision.

    • Like 2
  7. 14 hours ago, The Evil Bus Driver said:

    I was given some buildings for the layout I'm building for my daughter at club last night. Means I need to get the legs built and track laid pretty quickly. I might get one of those foam pizza bases from Sainsburys and try playing with it as it's similar to foamboard but without the card. 

    I think I recall someone successfully using that method many years ago in one of the magazines. 

  8. Next, the walls were assembled. I used some scrap bits of wood as crude internal framing.

    IMG_4797.jpeg.3119017e3fe7cf1322828922c7ba575a.jpeg

    Then, the roof. This was styrene pantiles, topped with a half-round styrene rod.

    IMG_4803.jpeg.7475ee1a31acefc3ad0a913f6768e6ca.jpeg

    Then painting. Same technique - base coat and dry brushing, but this time with some touches of brownish-green to represent moss.

    IMG_4805.jpeg.2ddd1f915feea3cc438d898df51da337.jpeg

    Some final details. Barge boards and notice board made from card - the barge boards aren’t quite symmetrical, but I hope they’ll pass from a distance. Gutters from more styrene rod. Downpipe from wire. Aaaaand… I think we’re done.

    IMG_4806.jpeg.544d548500937dfeef3dd843ab8dedaf.jpeg

    It’s far from perfect and I dare say anyone familiar with the building could point out a million different mistakes, but I’m pleased for a first attempt. Plus the layout it’s going on it pretty big, so hopefully any faults will go unnoticed.

    • Like 7
    • Round of applause 2
  9. Well, this isn’t an industrial building, but it’s my first attempt at something based on a real structure. It’s meant to be the Lea Rowing Club’s boathouse.

    IMG_4676.jpeg.8396ab085784379f14c668742150c44b.jpeg

    I used thin insulation foam for the front and back, and the more solid side walls are made of foamcore (minus paper). These take impressions really well, so I like to use them for brickwork. Thus:

    IMG_4681.jpeg.1b0149f4b5c24e4e9d5c78855a0f469a.jpeg

    The building has windows and also some odd sort of buttress things? I don’t know the technical term.


    I decided to paint the walls before assembly. A sand colour as the base, with various reds and browns drybrushed on. For the windows and doors, I used card.

    IMG_4794.jpeg.433451642b3dcf9cf785081720558ec7.jpeg

    IMG_4796.jpeg.041824a9d0b43e1a4fcb24e572667090.jpeg

    • Like 6
    • Craftsmanship/clever 3
  10. I think… it’s finished.

    5719FBED-6B3E-46EF-9673-284E92DC3868.jpeg.284f6e070b28433622101a36a346d1e8.jpeg8AAB35FB-0147-47AC-8D64-B8523EE9F2B8.jpeg.db0d51a90fc0c07c7c81e56c4f07d5bf.jpeg

    Mostly the final stage was weathering. Somewhat frustratingly, the wash I used to create a mossy effect turned out shiny, so I would have been better off using watercolour or something, but hey ho. On to the next project!

     

    EDIT: Here’s Dolgoch with a pair of slate wagons to kind of demonstrate what the building will look like in context.

    A8DA68BF-E17C-42EA-AD9D-18F166FF60FB.jpeg.d8d577f523cfecb2a1c00e2e66cd1186.jpeg
     

    The idea is that it will sit by the sidings, mostly to make it look like the sidings are there for a reason.

    • Like 9
    • Round of applause 1
  11. Been getting to work on the paint. I started with some of the smaller details like the window frames and chimney pots, but in retrospect this was a mistake. Then I painted the walls and roof grey, picking out the odd stone in different shades and slightly different colours.

    724B398B-4CED-43BF-BA86-E67F87687D66.jpeg.131b1bd85d67211cc7a38ad0a1491b3d.jpeg43D84FA6-3A3B-40B3-8DA0-65D7EE06B17C.jpeg.3871ad5dcf5d1335548e13ab9c5dbcba.jpeg

    Then, dry brushing in light grey to bring out the texture…

    3892EDA1-C49F-43E2-A928-0F5E7C2FC94E.jpeg.bacb7c4a474158953b48e01bace42688.jpeg2FB703FC-3228-461C-8947-F787EF716935.jpeg.8b2321f86282254b82d5fabf7d4fa3ea.jpeg

    Then a dark wash to tie everything together, weather it down a bit and add depth to the recesses.

    87587793-EFD2-4887-AEA0-69A162175314.jpeg.85c50cd3bfd95a64c925a3203655d6fe.jpeg0C9CEBFC-546E-4B49-BB82-BB3D1F4EE1EE.jpeg.3965fc3269f5dc1322063995e38d9a74.jpeg

    • Like 9
    • Round of applause 1
  12. Next step was to coat the whole thing in Mod Podge for strength.


    The last step before painting was to fill in some of the gaps between stones. Now, I could have used model filler, but as I was trying to go as DIY as possible, I used the old bicarbonate of soda and superglue method. The main disadvantage of this is that it dries rock hard in seconds, so you have to be sure of what you want.

    61D0C826-E952-41A7-B4E3-AB79EF31297D.jpeg.4bb2b23e83b5287d19117a7f15da99e0.jpeg

     

    That being done, I painted the black undercoat. I like this stage, because it ties everything together. Even if my camera can't quite see it.

     

    DAB7DABE-2D57-4A7B-9C19-9343AD17CACE.jpeg.b5ec59a277a44182ac01316956d1e523.jpeg

    • Like 3
  13. A0EBFADA-3AF0-4D44-90FD-EDB150FF9957.jpeg.91d6df0a1f04f10ca49d1e1df7769273.jpegThere was an area on the other side where I wasn’t happy with the way the slates looked. Fortunately, this being a ramshackle building, it was easy to justify covering it up with more corrugated card. I have to say, I quite like the effect, and considered adding it elsewhere, but I think I’ll leave it as is.

    • Like 6
  14. 23 hours ago, Dungrange said:

    @HonestTom

     

    Okay - where in the country are you based?  Someone has posted an advert for some on Gumtree, but it's for collection from Wiltshire - https://www.gumtree.com/p/arts-crafts/crafters-a4-corduroy-card-by-craft-uk-ltd-new-unopened-packs-/1451642921.  If that's not convenient, then I suppose you could e-mail and ask if he/she would post however many packs you want.

    Alas, Wiltshire is a little distant, but thank you for looking.

     

    In other news, the rest of the windows have been added. Doors have been made from card, which I picked up from Poundland back when everything was still a pound.

    8DDDB3D1-BB42-40F9-A58D-E844C3EDAD55.jpeg.3ef47c64141b9d503b54cc933a93aa99.jpeg96A3C6C9-C4DE-429E-92C7-28BC27AC2AAD.jpeg.d288c232f7d2e0e48dcd598098eb9362.jpegF5796AF8-B4E3-44AC-859C-0560542A3D81.jpeg.70a391f587a15dff52b5602b4234802a.jpeg

     

    And the first side is fully clad. Not as tedious a task as I thought.

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    • Like 3
  15. 10 minutes ago, Dungrange said:

     

    Is this the stuff you are looking for.

     

    https://www.cuttingedgecrafts.co.uk/craft-uk-ltd---craft-essentials-a4-corduroy-card-310gsm-5-pack.html

     

    I assume that other suppliers will just call it corrugated card.

    That's the stuff, but it's out of stock everywhere that even lists it. It's different to corrugated card - that has larger corrugations, more suitable for larger scales. I've seen Warhammer modellers use it very successfully, for instance.

  16. On 12/02/2023 at 11:03, Fang said:

    Hi

     

    We have started making some twisted wire trees and have been using the tree trunk filler from Model Scenery Supplies with good results.  However as we are creating a forest, the little pots do not go far.  Does anyone know what the stuff is (it smells familiar but can't work out what it is!) or an alternative product that does the same thing, that I can buy in a bigger container?

     

    Many thanks 

    I've seen people get good results with air dry clay or even grout.

    • Agree 1
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