wiggoforgold

A pannier shunts outside the entrance to Whitehill Tunnel. The trees are a mixture of Seafoam and my own using wire armatures and acrylic fibre sprinkled with orange scatter. The brambles are teased out acrylic fibre, sprayed brown and laid in place before being given a coat of hair spray to hold it in place, followed by a sprinkling of scatter. The whole is given a spray of scenic cement to hold everything in place.

I’ve decided to go with the hut by the cottage. I’ve set it Ito the bank and I’m currnently brining the vegetation down towards it. The trees are a mixture. Some are seafoam with the main “trunks” painted a brown/grey colour and a coating of autumn orange scatter, others are wire armatures with the smaller branches from teased out acrylic fibre. There will be a paling fence behind the shed with a gateway between the shed and the cottage.

You do recall correctly. That's where I got the idea :)

Thanks for the replies. Some food for thought there. Funnily enough building the fence was on my “to do” list, so I’ll get that done and see what it looks like with that in place.

Thoughts please. I am considering whether to add a small shed or domestic garage between the cottage and the track. Having tried it, I think it blocks the view of the cottage and detracts from the scene so I am minded to leave it out. What do you think?

Hi Graham. The glazing is stuck in with small strips of masking tape, stuck to the back of the glazing and to the inside of the building. No risk of any drips or adhesive on the glass with this method. I prefer the glass as I think it looks better than plastic. It is also dead flat. The glazing bars are done by cutting the main frame from 10thou plastic card. The glazing bars are 0.4mm plastic rod, glued behind the main frame with solvent. Pending used to do a similar thing with thin card and cotton I think. Alex

I’ve nearly finished the crossing keepers cottage. It still needs some flashing round the chimney and porch. The roof is made from card. I stick some graph paper to it, and use this a a guideline for applying laser cut slates from scale model scenery. Glazing is glass using microscope slide cover slips ( You can buy a box of these very useful items online. I use them for glazing and puddles) The porch is built up from plastic card. I used a bit of planked plastic card for the base of the roof to give me the lines for laying the slates.

This is Whitehill tunnel mouth and cutting. The tunnel mouth is scribed Das on a card base. Rocks are cast from Hydrocal and painted with washes. Brambles are teased out acrylic fibre, sprayed brown and stuck in place with hairspray, with a sprinkling of Treemendus fine autumn orange scatter.

Thanks Martyn. One of the issues is that while Yelverton packs in the car, once all the ancillary bits like legs and lights are in its full and we don't want to be thundering up the A38 with the car so full you can't see out of the back window. Lydbrook Dean addresses the problem as it is significantly smaller. Alex

Some disappointing news today. Sadly the Plymouth show has been cancelled. I had planned to make it Yelverton’s last public outing, but with the cancellation the last outing was at SWAG in April. What now for Yelverton,? It is currently crated up while it awaits a decision on it’s future. I’ve enjoyed the build, made some new friends and learned a lot, which is helping me with the construction of Lydbrook Dean. Here are some pictures of Yelverton at the Saltash show back in April.

Hi Martyn Short answer is yes, but to qualify. The Dennis tipper (behind the bushes in the pictures is pretty much done I think. It still needs glazing and a load, after which I’ll put a bit mud on it. I’ve addd a pic so you can see where I’m up to. What do you think? The Austin is still a WIP and needs weathering. I’m planning to make it pretty battered, but first I need to sort out the lettering In other news Lydbrook Dean has just been confirmed for the Edington show next year.

It is indeed Keith. It only came out of the box about 5 minutes before I took the photo. It will be toned down/blended in.

Muddy puddles in the yard at Lydbrook Dean. I’ve used glass microscope slide cover slips painted a muddy brown on one side and epoxied, painted side down into holes cut in the yard surface. They are then blended in with Das. The yard surface has been painted with various blends of Mig acrylics, mainly earth and dunkelgrau, before being dusted with treemendus earth powder and weathering powders. 2mm autumn static grass from WW Scenics has been applied. Damp and muddy areas are from acrylic mud and Woodland Scenics realistic water.

Those aren’t pasties. Not liking them just means you are normal. You could still enjoy a proper pasty.

Redruth has an atmosphere all of its own 😊

Whitehill Quarry: A Landrover draws up so it’s occupants can make an inspection of the quarry face while a tipper lorry can be seen behind the bushes coming down the track to the railhead.

I don't like going through it, even with the lights. I find I get disorientated very quickly. It's better than Grenofen though. That one is shorter and straight, but the lights aren't so bright, and you need an umbrella most of the time.

Progress on landscaping in the goods yard. The preprinted track has been ballasted. Where the rails are sunk into the yard at the ends of the sidings I have used Das, and round the points I have used chinchilla dust, applied dry and fixed in place with Woodland Scenics scenic cement. When dry it will be weathered. On the yard surface there are some puddles made from glass microscope slide cover slips, painted on the reverse and epoxied in to holes cut in the yard surface. They are blended into the yard surface with Das. Some more broken areas of the surface are made by cutting holes in the surface which are then filled with chinchilla dust and blended in with Das

Plym valley rather than the Forest of Dean and late May rather than October, but I thought it might be a useful reference for the vegetation round Whitehill tunnel at Lydbrook Dean ( It is actually the North end of Shaugh tunnel on the Plymouth-Tavistock line)

Its the Wiils kit, Tim, with the slates replaced with laser cut ones from Scale Model Scenery .

Stages in track painting. The track at front left and right has been sprayed with Halfords camouflage brown. At centre front the sleepers have been picked out with Railmatch “sleeper grime”. At the rear the rails and chairs have been painted with Mig rust colours applied, followed by weathering powders, mainly earth and smoke.

The disused passenger station at Lydbrook Dean. Preparing the track for ballasting and starting to build up the ground cover in the yard.

I’ve started work on the scenery in the staton area. The buildings are in their final positing, so they will fit into gaps in the quarry when the boards are folded.

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm afraid it isn't the age of the layout that is the issue here, but that of the operator. I need something that is easier to transport and set up. Lydbrook Dean has been designed with that in mind and incorporates much of what I have learned with Yelverton, so it will be a successor which I am looking forward to taking out and about. Alex