Graham T

Thank you for all the likes and positive comments. I just need someone to get the ball rolling now. Bueller? Anyone?

Thanks very much gents. Now waiting for a commission to flood in 😀

Thanks Jay!

Right, stage one of the new business empire (!) is up and running. I've just finished ploughing through all 320 pages of this thread trying to find decent-ish photos of my buildings, and they are now in a new thread in the Small suppliers section of the forum: Handmade buildings available from Graham T Looking at all I've managed to put together since I've been on RMweb - and have now dismantled (for the time being) - has made me want to run some trains again! So I need to find a new home and make a start on Chuffnell Regis Mk II...

Fogman’s hut. From a Rail Model kit, with felt roof added.

Coal offices. One from an Intentio kit with added guttering, chimney, and minor details. The second is scratch built.

Coal stage. Ratio with brick paper rather than a stone finish, and added coal, kindling, and fire buckets.

Permanent way hut. From a Rail Model kit, with roof covering of tissue paper to simulate felt.

Pagoda shelter. A modified Wills kit.

Provender store. Scratch built.

Pair of cottages. Scratch built, based on the cottage where my grandparents used to live in Herefordshire.

Water tower. Scratch built.

Goods shed. A heavily modified version of the Arch Laser kit of Fairford shed, with added interior loading platform, roof panels replaced with Wills corrugated sheets, cross bracing and hinges added to inside faces of doors, corbelling on the chimney, Ratio guttering, Modelu chimney pot and standpipe, and lean to coal store.

Signal box. From an Intentio kit, with Ratio and Modelu interior, chimney from plastic rod, Modelu guttering, and white metal finials. And of course a bespoke nameplate from @Harlequin!

Engine shed. Heavily kit-bashed from the Scalescenes small engine shed, with Ratio guttering.

Derelict barn. Scratch built.

Many of us like to have unique buildings on our layout to help set the time and place of our choosing. If you’re among that number, but don’t have the time or the skills needed to make them yourself, then I can help. One of the aspects that I have enjoyed the most when building my layout “Chuffnell Regis” was the scenic work, and particularly making the various buildings. They are a mixture of kits, some straight from the box, but most of them modified to a greater or lesser degree, and scratch built. Here are some examples. Station building. Scratch built using windows, doors, and quoins from LCut Creative, brick sheet, roof slates, and valances from Intentio, 3D printed ridge tiles from Smart Models, Modelu guttering, postbox from Peco, fire bucket rack from Dart Castings, and signs from Sankey Scenics. Other buildings from my layout can be seen in the posts below. I can provide you with a building of any size, anything from a small permanent way hut up to a full station building, an engine shed, a row of cottages – you choose. Your unique building can either be made from scratch, or from an adaptation of an existing kit. The price will of course depend on the size and complexity of the build, and will cover my time spent on the building, and the materials used. Clearly the more reference material that you can provide me the better, such as drawings, photographs and so on. That will lead to a more accurate model and also reduce the costs as I will have to spend less time on research. So if you would like something unique for your layout project, please either message me through the forum or send me an email here. Thanks!

Thanks for those. I've done some browsing and found quite a few others now, but of course some of them already have pics of completed models on their sites, so probably less likely to be interested in the idea.

I may have been speaking just slightly tongue in cheek, you know...

There's always the Hornby Railroad option...

It does sound good to me. Any thoughts on people to approach? So far I've come up with JS Models, LCut Creative, Intention, Scale Model Scenery, and Scalescenes. But a lot of those already seem to have photos of completed kits on their sites... Offering to build small dioramas was another thought.

Thanks very much for the suggestions BL, interesting stuff. I'm not sure about weathering other people's cherished models though - I'm not that good at it and I've seen quite a few good weathering services already being offered. Modifying other kits does sound like a good thing to offer. Actually, my engine shed at Chuffnell R began life as a Scalescenes download, and then got quite heavily changed! Building kits for free in exchange for some publicity sounds worthwhile too - I could then sell the finished item I suppose as well. So, I'll start putting together a list of building kit manufacturers - any suggestions would be very welcome please! And I'll also see about getting permission from the moderators to start a separate thread about this exciting new venture 🙃 Also - thanks for the kind words about the late CR Mk I.

I wouldn't call it cheating at all - you have to do all the CAD work I assume?

That's quite impressive Andy!

That's a very nice looking print. Will be interested to see how this one develops!