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Nice! I may have missed it but I'd be interested in where your people are sourced, for the line of enthusiasts by the fence. The characters on the left have maybe been on a diet, but whatever the reason they seem to blend in to the scene better than the folks in the middle.

 

PS. Must catch up with the real thing soon.

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Nice! I may have missed it but I'd be interested in where your people are sourced, for the line of enthusiasts by the fence. The characters on the left have maybe been on a diet, but whatever the reason they seem to blend in to the scene better than the folks in the middle.

 

PS. Must catch up with the real thing soon.

 

 

Thanks Will. 

 

I think all those figures are Preiser so not sure why some are noticeably finer than others. There is a distinct lack of modern image 'spotting' pose N Gauge figures on the market though! 

 

The most important coach on the line is now finished:

 

post-1467-0-77334700-1522583033_thumb.jpg

 

and the 1st rake is nearly complete, just a BCK to go and then onto the next. 

 

post-1467-0-17544900-1522584351_thumb.jpg

 

Tom. 

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If I never see another First Class window sign again, it will be too soon.......or a yellow stripe (it needs a bit of tidying up!)........or curtains.

 

post-1467-0-35550800-1523052287_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-37356900-1523052484_thumb.jpg

 

The MHR have a couple of MK.1 SOs painted up as FOs like this, usually to be found in the dining trains or RAT rakes. The curtains are printed onto paper and then glued in place. The yellow stripe was a pain, and really I should have sprayed the yellow first rather than try and apply it over the green. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom.  

Edited by TomE
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  • 2 weeks later...
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Hi all.

 

I'm in an experimentation phase on Ropley in a couple of areas which have been causing me some thought. The first of these is the tree/hedgerow along the rear of the layout. 

 

When I first started Ropley this would largely have been hidden buy the tree line along the top of the embankment, however since that was drastically cut back it has now become more visible. Having studied the photos of the real location, this isn't so much a tree line, as a few trees connected by some tall bushes. I'd been thinking about how best to reproduce the hedge, and the latest attempt is getting close to the look I want, but still needs a little refinement I think. 

 

Using the same fibrous teddy stuffing I've used on the trees, a line line of superglue was applied to some 30 thou plastic, and then small bunches of the stuffing glued in place. This was then teased out & trimmed into a rough hedgrow before being sprayed brown and scatter applied. 

 

post-1467-0-22392600-1523903841_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-42563500-1523904067_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-12742100-1523904214_thumb.jpg

 

Some of this test section is a little tall, and it could perhaps benefit from some thicker branches being used to give a less 'vague' appearance around the base.

 

The next area has been the rest of the embankment undergrowth toward the platform. Using the same teddy fabric as the rest wasn't going to work, as trimming it down to the low height required was exposing the thread backing to the fur. A few weeks ago I found some scenic Mats by Martin Welberg, and it seems to fit the bill. They aren't really intended for N gauge, but by trimming down some of the longer fibres I think it will be passable. The colour also fits just about perfectly with the dyed teddy fabric. 

 

post-1467-0-47993900-1523904587_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-62497900-1523904657_thumb.jpg

 

(Excuse the wonky signal, it's not fixed in place yet!)

 

Now just to nail down the cut grass for the top of the embankment and things can move on in that area!

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom. 

Edited by TomE
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Using the same fibrous teddy stuffing I've used on the trees, a line line of superglue was applied to some 30 thou plastic, and then small bunches of the stuffing glued in place. This was then teased out & trimmed into a rough hedgrow before being sprayed brown and scatter applied. 

 

attachicon.gifCU0J9779.jpg

 

 

I can see where you're going with that Tom and I think it's very good.

 

There's still a few orphan bits at the upper reaches which always look odd in pics. Maybe thicken it up a little more as it goes down? Maybe darken the browns a little more for the woody growth (although it may be darker than it appears in the pic). Maybe bring a bit more green scrubby growth in as another layer right at the bottom below the band of brown?

 

Easier to do on a pic than in 2mm though!

 

Tom_Hedge.jpg

 

Martin's ground cover sheet has excellent density as usual.

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I can see where you're going with that Tom and I think it's very good.

 

There's still a few orphan bits at the upper reaches which always look odd in pics. Maybe thicken it up a little more as it goes down? Maybe darken the browns a little more for the woody growth (although it may be darker than it appears in the pic). Maybe bring a bit more green scrubby growth in as another layer right at the bottom below the band of brown?

 

Easier to do on a pic than in 2mm though!

 

Martin's ground cover sheet has excellent density as usual.

 

Haha, yes, I wish it was as 'easy' to do on the layout as in photoshop! That's the sort of overall finish i'm aiming for though, and once the grass behind is in place it should hopefully blend in better than it does with just the brown painted surface.The stuffing is a bit of a pain to trim down. Just when you think you've got all of the stray or orphan parts, a few more suddenly pop up. I think it will need a good dousing with some hair spray to hold it all in place. 

 

I'm extremely impressed with the Welberg mat, the backing being nice and thin and completely non intrusive even though I've appropriated it for the wrong scale. I can thoroughly recommend them (if you can find them!)

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom.  

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Taking on Andy's suggestions above, I gave the lower portion of the hedgerow a light spray with some matt black, before adding another layer of scatter over it. Some of the wilder strands were removed, and a few areas trimmed to try and give a more random look. A wider shot probably gives a better idea of how it looks in context with the rest of the layout:

 

post-1467-0-53048600-1523998341_thumb.jpg

 

I think this is probably the way I'm now going to go in this area, with the odd larger tree to match those in the real location. 

 

Excuse the wires in the Cab of the Ivatt. I've just added a CT chip to it and they need to be properly hidden. It is amazing the different in performance DCC has made to the now fairly old Dapol model, although it's still nowhere near as smooth as the new coreless Farish engines. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom. 

 

 

 

 

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Looking good.... I'm looking forward to meeting up for an exhibition with my incredibly geeky collection of reasonably priced* N gauge cars for the car park...!

 

*In the Top Gear sense... they are too useful to sell....

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Looking good.... I'm looking forward to meeting up for an exhibition with my incredibly geeky collection of reasonably priced* N gauge cars for the car park...!

 

*In the Top Gear sense... they are too useful to sell....

 

The car park is pretty barren at the moment, although a red mini cooper did appear the other day... I've still got the box of vehicles you very kindly sent over Will, I'll have to get some of those sorted out too. 

 

Sad to see that there has been a theft of parts for S15 828 from Ropley this week: http://preservation.watercressline.co.uk/news/entry/theft-at-ropley-works 

 

Tom.  

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Tom 

 

You continue to impress with your modelling skills and attention to detail, both on rolling stock and scenery that belies the fact that this is 2mm modelling, I have to keep reminding myself of the fact. 

 

Great stuff and a thread I always follow with interest.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Not Ropley related, however currently away with the family in a holiday let the 4 year old nephew chose. I think he did alright.....

 

 

(This is the view from my bedroom window)

 

Tom.

Edited by TomE
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Unbelievable Tom!

 

I can't do anything without being spotted as that was me on SKP's Footplate last night!

 

Hope you enjoy your time down at Swanage.

 

Josh.

Had a lovely day on the SR on Monday, some lovely scenery, especially around Corfe Castle. Great views from the Observation Car!

 

Managed to get the drone out for the first time this year too.

 

post-1467-0-67177300-1526419686_thumb.jpg

 

Tom.

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Hi all.

 

The decent summer hasn't really been conducive to modelling, not with the flat reaching 30 degrees frequently anyway! However, a couple of unexpected days off recently has given me the chance to dust off the tools and do some modelling. 

 

At TINGS I picked up a sheet of Redutex brick, which is quite close to the colour of the wheel drop building next to the main shed. I'd been curious about Redutex and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out. The shell of the building is plastic and the brick texture seems to adhere to it well, although I did roughen the shiny surface slightly with a light sand. I decided not to bend it around edges, instead cutting it with as much of an angle as I could get to try and make the corners appear nice and sharp. Some touching up is needed in places, but overall i'm quite happy with it! 

 

I've made the building a bit taller than necessary as the ash pit & wheel drop will be built around it and then dropped into place on the layout. 

 

post-1467-0-12524700-1537374800_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-93309100-1537374805_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-72042700-1537374811_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-75525300-1537374817_thumb.jpg

 

The close ups are a bit cruel, but i'd really recommend the Redutex textures. The relief is fine enough not to appear overscale whilst adding detail missing when using paper. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom. 

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Nice to see you posting about Ropley again Tom and lovely work on the wheel drop building.

 

That brings back some happy memories from last year when I visited on a day that happened to have shed tours. I got on the last tour and spent a little while longer discussing various bits and pieces with some of the volunteers. It was all very interesting but I don't think my girlfriend would agree!  :no:  :no:

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Looking good Tom.

Rather than use matt black on the hedge row, try some burnt umber. It’s quite dark but won’t look as harsh as the black as it’ll make it look more natural. I’m not in anyway criticising what you’ve done by the way - it’s just a tip that was passed in to me by a very well known modeller that’s written a few books... :good: 

Cheers
Mike

Edited by scoobyra
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Thanks all.

 

Looking good Tom.

Rather than use matt black on the hedge row, try some burnt umber. It’s quite dark but won’t look as harsh as the black as it’ll make it look more natural. I’m not in anyway criticising what you’ve done by the way - it’s just a tip that was passed in to me by a very well known modeller that’s written a few books... :good:

Cheers

Mike

Thanks for the tip Mike, I’ll give the burnt umber a try when the tree factory reopens for business!

 

A little more work on the wheel drop building over the weekend. Orginally I was just going to have the door closed, but there will be a basic representation of the wheel drop built now, just to add a bit of interest.

 

post-1467-0-33344600-1537782945_thumb.jpeg

 

Tom.

Edited by TomE
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Hi all. 

 

More work on the wheel drop, with the pit and visible section of the drop itself now more or less finished bar a few little details. It's tricky to get photos of it when assembled, so I may add lighting to the shed so it can been seen when in place on the layout.

 

I found some 2mm scale etched tread plate which has been used around the lift to try and replicate the same in the real thing, again not overly obvious when the building is assembled but I'm quite pleased with the effect. The rest of the 

 

post-1467-0-71151600-1538147009_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-61681600-1538147015_thumb.jpg

 

post-1467-0-02889700-1538147024_thumb.jpg

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom. 

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