Andrew P Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Excellent work on hiding the exits mate, some really good planning, I must make some notes about pre planning. Hope to see you again soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 36 minutes ago, Andrew P said: Excellent work on hiding the exits mate, some really good planning, I must make some notes about pre planning. Hope to see you again soon. Now come on Andy your one of the best scenic experts around don't tell me you never pre-plan .....I get a lot of my inspiration from your threads .... having said that you must have to pre-plan which layout is going to get worked on each day ... 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 17 minutes ago, gismorail said: Now come on Andy your one of the best scenic experts around don't tell me you never pre-plan .....I get a lot of my inspiration from your threads .... having said that you must have to pre-plan which layout is going to get worked on each day ... Haha, Sometimes I walk into TOPS and look at both Layouts and think, what shall I do now. On another day, I will have worked it all out the night before. Like today for example, = NOTHING. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted February 13, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 13, 2019 19 hours ago, gismorail said: Well I'm back on line thanks to Andy's know how ......and patience .....Thank you Sir 'your a gentleman . As I'm sure like others on this site I have over the last week found out where my modelling time goes ......RMweb of course but with no distractions it's amazing how productivity increases I have been pushing on with the scenery construction and have been following the back of the layout so that I have an unhindered access to this area without damaging any work at the front of the baseboards. The next section up for attention was where the lane that goes past the low relief buildings starts to climb up the hill and I needed to make this lane look as if it has disappeared into the back scene behind the blacksmiths workshop. I have used the hedges to give the impression of the lane disappearing into the distance and give a greater depth of field. These couple of pictures show the scene viewed from the front of the layout and looking back towards the Mill There's still plenty to do but I'm happy with the general impression of the work to date. Definite shades of Mr P in the way that lane disappears. Looking good. 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 1 hour ago, St Enodoc said: Definite shades of Mr P in the way that lane disappears. Looking good. Yeah, but don't blame me if things go wrong, haha 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share Posted February 15, 2019 On 13/02/2019 at 21:59, Andrew P said: Yeah, but don't blame me if things go wrong, haha Andy............what could possibly go WRONG 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeT Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 Hello Martin, What a great job you have done with the scenery on Chumley, very realistic, you must be very pleased, watching with interest... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 On 15/02/2019 at 07:32, georgeT said: Hello Martin, What a great job you have done with the scenery on Chumley, very realistic, you must be very pleased, watching with interest... Many thanks for your kind words George and yes I'm pleased with how things are starting to look. I'm afraid my scenery construction is very much build and design with a lot of thinking between the two .....(does that make any sense ) I have been worrying about tree construction for ages prior to actually starting work on them as I feel that the final look of them is so important to the whole layout. I had actually run out of trees after the last modelling session and have had to quickly re-order further supplies which have arrived yesterday morning so further planting can continue without delay. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNP Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Looking good.... You can never have to many trees!!!!! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 Praise indeed from the 'tree master' and all round scenic 'guru' Thank you Kevin 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 Those good people who have, or still are following my ramblings about this country outpost of the former Cheshire Lines Committee will know from earlier posts that the process of producing anything like realistic trees is something that I have been dreading . I have for the last twelve months been working my way through Gordon Gravett's three excellent publications about modelling trees and grassland scenery as well as following Kevin's amazing ' Little Muddle ' thread on this website. As can be seen from the last couple of weeks postings the process is now well under way and I have approached the task with a certain amount of excitement as the two previously mentioned sources of inspiration have proved that good realistic scenery work can literally bring a layout to life. My attempts to produce the trees by the 'wire bending / coating with plaster way' have to date been a total disaster and I have I'm afraid conceded that my skill level in this way is woefully lacking. I was more hopeful in Kevin's methods using 'sagebrush armatures & seamoss sprigs but found that the costs were beyond my spending power with the current pound / dollar situation plus I know it would push my patience to a critical level. I needed a cheap and quick way to produce convincing trees and started to look at the Woodland Scenic Armatures but again I found the costs involved were prohibitive and it was during an internet search that found some very cheap and cheerful plastic trees produced in China which to be honest have a hideously coloured scenic finish. Not to be put off I managed to find a seller on a UK Ebay site that could supply them fairly quickly and a bag of ten arrived by return of post. When the 'tree specimens ' arrived I was pleasantly surprised , yes the foliage was pretty ' bright' and unreal but once I had stripped off the offending material I was left with a fairly believable armature which I reckoned with a bit of work could produce a fairly convincing tree. I will follow this up with some photographs and an explanation for how I produced the trees that are starting to appear on Chumley End. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNP Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Thanks Martin for your kind comments about my efforts. I look forward to seeing the results of your labours with these armatures, I have nearly run out of the sagebrush supply I had so need to find some more. Bit like you I now find them rather expensive to buy as not only has the actual cost gone up but the quantity you get has decreased as well. Keep up the good work and don't forget to post your results. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Yes, I need pics for inspiration as well mate. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 Well I've been making more trees at super quick speed today and thought I'd share the progress to date and hopefully give people some inspiration ........ I have continued to work on the scenery along the back scene area and have more or less completed the area above the canal tunnel and blacksmiths workshop. The blacksmiths workshop is nicely tucked away in a woodland area with the village road making a discrete exit at the back. I have now added the safety railings along the top of the tunnel and the towpath entrance . The embankment up to the tunnel entrance is still awaiting further scenic work. In the other direction some British Waterways workers have been busy cutting back some of the trees that were starting to encroach into the canal bank . I have started to develop a reed bed along one of the canal edges. It must be remembered that back in the late 1950's there was not the pleasure craft up and down the canal system like there is today. 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bogie Posted February 19, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 19, 2019 Great stuff! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 As promised in last nights post I have taken some photographs of the War Gaming trees that I have purchased from Ebay . The trees come in packs of 10 pieces and the average height is approx 12cm. They cost £8.32 per pack and discounts are offered when larger quantities are purchased. The Ebay sellers name is 'ahandyman' and are listed under War Games / Model Railways. The same type of trees are also available direct from China & Hong Kong sellers and they are slightly cheaper with free postage but they do take a long time to arrive. There seems to be two basic types of tree available The first one seems to be a standard type of tree and the second is in my mind a bit like a cedar type. As you can seen the foliage is a 'bit' bright and is made from and very plastic looking material. The first task is to remove the plastic looking foliage which can be done by simply stripping it off the tree armature with a pair of long nosed plies. I then trim back some of the branches to suit the location where it is going to be ' planted'. In the case of this example I have removed the branch spurs that stick upwards as I teased out some of the Woodland Scenic's Foliage sheets prior to a good application of neat UPVC glue. I then place some Woodland Scenic's Foliage Clusters into a coffee grinder ( for Model Railway use only ) to break down the clusters into smaller pieces. This produces a much finer foliage that makes application onto the tree armature must more effective. Having applied further UPVC glue into the area it is a simple matter of dipping the tree armature into the ground down foliage clusters and gently squeezing the branch between thumb and fore-finger to make a good bond and repeating the process if needed. The above photograph's show two sides of the finished tree having been sprayed with a cheap hair spray . Having drilled the base of the truck with a small hole I then insert a length of brass rod to add the fixing of the tree to the layout with a spot of Gorilla glue. To produce a different type of tree with a more compacted appearance I leave the plastic foliage in place and coat it with plenty of UPVC glue again I trim out any branches to suit the location. As with the first tree I dip the whole piece in ground down Foliage Clusters , this does need several dips to get the effect but the end result is a tree with a different appearance. The cedar type tree looks a bit of a queer shape once the foliage has been removed but the smaller more compacted type of branch layout can be trimmed back prior applying the glue . In this example I have applied the foliage direct onto the armature but like the first example you can tease out some of the poly fibre green ( woodland scenics FP178) which gives a more fuller appearance to each branch. The off-cuts from the branches that you don't use have a further use as you can trim them again to produce the framework for a hawthorn type of hedge. the framework gets a coat of UPVC glue then teased out poly-fibre green is carefully placed over the top of the framework The final photograph shows a completed hedge using this method . Well I hope this post has given people some ideas for future tree / hedge making. I have to date found it a very cheap and quick way to produce trees for the layout. It certainly works well if you are wanting to produce groups of trees that don't look all the same and for a prime tree location painting the main tree trunk would be advisable to give an extra degree of individual appearance. 3 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Like Kevin, excellent pics and instructions Martin, thanks for sharing you knowledge and expertise. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNP Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) As Andy has just said, great instructions and pictures. Did you paint the armatures first? EDIT Well you've done it now....I've tracked the site down and ordered some!!! Edited February 20, 2019 by KNP 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 42 minutes ago, KNP said: As Andy has just said, great instructions and pictures. Did you paint the armatures first? EDIT Well you've done it now....I've tracked the site down and ordered some!!! I didn't directly the paint armatures but tend to touch up the trucks where needed I would paint the whole truck and branches for a prime tree example. Glad you managed to find them on Ebay . Martin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 In my post with regard to the construction of my ' quick trees ' I mentioned about using the off cuts from the branches to make the foundations for the hedges that will be needed around the layout ......and believe me there are a lot of hedges to make before the layout is completed. As I have been making the hedge from the road over bridge to the station approach today I though i would post some pictures for peoples information. With the off cuts in place I cut the Woodlands Scenic's poly fibre into strips approx 1 inch wide and gently tease out over the foundation of the hedge having previously coated them in UPVC glue. Once the top of the hedge has been made secure I gently tuck the ends of the poly-fibre under both sides of the hedge sides. When happy with the general shape of the hedge I carefully dab more UPVC glue over the formation. ( Anyone every thought of getting the makers of this glue as sponsors I use the Screwfix 'NO NONSENSE ' brand ......perhaps SCREWFIX NO NONSENCE MODEL RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION...... I tend to leave the glue for about 15 minutes after application as I find it starts to get a bit more ' tacky' which helps grab the clusters when applied . As mentioned before I have put these clusters through the coffee grinder to brake up them into smaller particulars . Once in place I leave well alone for about 30 mins before carefully vacuuming the over spill clusters into a cloth over the end of the nozzle Well I hope that this has given folks a bit more inspiration Thanks for visiting 8 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 Some good progress has been achieved over the last couple of evening's modelling and I'm pleased to report that the canal scene has now been completed all be it for some extra detailing and tiding up. Firstly a shot of the tunnel entrance A couple of shots looking towards the station end where the canal curves out of site These couple of shots show that there is still a bit of tidying up on the water which I have left till all the flock work had been completed. A peek through the trees looking towards the tunnel, is there light at the end of the tunnel in this shot. Finally a couple of views of the general scene. The railway boundary fence is still to be constructed. I have constructed the first of the 'prime' trees which will appear towards the front of the layout and this one of two Scot Pines in the grounds of the station. 8 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeT Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Good thinking Martin, very realistic l now know where to come should l need some trees etc etc Hahaha... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, georgeT said: Good thinking Martin, very realistic l now know where to come should l need some trees etc etc Hahaha... Thanks George for you kind feedback........funny you should mention that as it's been in my mind whilst I have been making the trees for this layout that it's going to be a whole new ball game for my next layout which is going to be 7mm One thing's for certain they will be all 'Prime Trees ' 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Whilst your at it Martin, Bala Town and SMS may need a few Trees as well mate. Only saying, that's all. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 24, 2019 Author Share Posted February 24, 2019 Orders on a post card then 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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