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Scratch-built card and styrene structures (based on real buildings around London Bridge)


grahame
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Good grief another one. I'd not heard but somehow it doesn't surprise me. There's not many buildings from my intended layout left now. It's becoming historic.

 

https://www.propertyweek.com/news/cit-completes-colechurch-house-acquisition/5104711.article

 

Colechurch House was considered a fine example of brutalist architecture and it'll be a shame to see it go. Let's hope the 'major redevelopment' is not just another uninspiring lacklustre glass box like so many of the others recently.

 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, branchie said:

That looks fantastic Grahame. Really captures the feel of the location. 

 

Very tidy road markings as well. 

 

Thanks. 

 

The road marking were done with a Posca paint pen - some against a ruler and others freehand. I can't do the yellow ones (Boro High Street [A3] is now a red route but I'm sure it wasn't for the period I'm trying to replicate) until I've installed the kerb stones. And I need to get some more appropriately sized styrene strip.

 

There's just so much to do and progress is slow.

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This evening has seen some checking and measuring. I had become a little worried that the footbridge from Colechurch House was too high for the track bed and viaduct, and that the railway bridge between the approaches to London Bridge station and Findlaters Corner (https://knowyourlondon.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/findlaters-corner/) would be on a slope. The huge bridge spanning the gap (over Railway Approach road) is quite a feat of engineering. Here's a couple of views of it:

 

post-25312-0-80367600-1543598859_thumb.jpg.2a6d80b6ef902f0e57b1eb319c099a03.jpg

 

7223815538_e4c5a371be_z.jpg.1c1cced9407a53d55b35198af66f55ab.jpg

 

But fortunately some rough temporary assembly of the relevant structures, using rectangles of card, have proved I got my calculations correct and it should all work. The roof of the footbridge neatly fits under what will be the track bed and the viaduct wall along Duke Street Hill will follow the appropriate course with the bridge at a correct skew angle. It's surprising just how much of the area is on various slopes and hills which complicate the modelling. Here's my proving rig:

 

DSC_8801.JPG.9a3202bb7763e4e912a3cfafb53d3992.JPG

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've started to tackle the small odd shaped cobbled and fenced courtyard in front of the terrace of handsome Georgian buildings in St Thomas Street that I made some while back but never finished. The entire row including the former church looks like this ATM:

 

DSC_8858.JPG.efdbdde1b744ce4e664418ae17ba7d5e.JPG

 

I've decided to tackle the bit in front of the church separately as there is a wall between both frontages which will act as a nice module break and prevent the entire assembly being too large. All the buildings were, I believe, part of the hospital but later became railway offices (as marked on an old map). Now they seem to be general offices for rent.

 

With sub-basements in front of some buildings it makes the modelling a little more awkward due to the front walls extending lower than the forecourt and pavement (and a trench will have to be cut in the baseboard for it to sit appropriately). However I've cut the effective forecourt from mountboard to accommodate the basements (as below). There is steps up to the higher door (2nd from left) that need to be made as well as the dwarf walls to add. My plan is to use Redutex cobbled self adhesive surface although I need to order some and cutting accurately to fit the shape may be a little tricky. But if you don't try . . . . .

 

DSC_8861.JPG.b957a38d0f267e3d83b9a0e75494b713.JPG

 

 

 

 

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Does anyone know if there is a decent (etched) K2 telephone box in N gauge 1:148 scale as the one out the front of the terrace is a K2 (and apparently listed for protection) as here:

 

P1090687a.jpg.d5c7f7ff5741124ca195c73552d570fa.jpg

 

The K2 is quite a bit bigger than the more common K6:

 

1084311775_K2andK6.jpg.71bc747fd80bd8ff8dc1bd445fb6508b.jpg

 

I've got plenty of nice etched K6 boxes (pictured below under construction with K8s and KX100s) so one of those might have to do:

 

1402744016_Telephoneboxesx.jpg.8d3086fa41f8ff7a9039fd0fd1c7a93a.jpg

 

 

 

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I've added the dwarf walls around the basements and the larger boundary one at the front on top of which (both types) railings are fitted. The pavement ramps each side of the vehicle accesses have been cut and filed. The steps up to the higher door are just resting in place. They need sides added and a little more fettling.

 

DSC_8864.JPG.750724d97883ffb60b83f5b218af3324.JPG

 

 

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Just a little more fiddling and fettling to get a nice neat tight fit, some paint and the steps should be ready . . . . then is the tricky proposition to add suitable railings. The flight of steps are actually very small at less than the size of a 5p piece.

 

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Edited by grahame
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I've painted the courtyard and dirtied it up a little. I'm now a bit unsure about using Redutex on it for two reasons - one is that it fairly thick and will upset the various levels (and will need the ramps to the road to be remodelled and reduce the basement dwarf wall height significantly) and secondly is that it will be very difficult to cut it as one piece so that it butts up tight to all the building edges and dwarf walls without gaps at the edges. Plus I haven't actually got any and even if I order it will probably be a long time (after Christmas) before it arrives.

 

Maybe I'll get away with the paint effect especially after details like parked cars/vans and dumpster bins are added. And there is a large centrally located tree on the pavement and a bus stop shelter that will help obstruct the view. The pavement will have printed paper paviour/flags effect that I've used in the past stuck on.

 

Currently in the pic below the building is only resting on the forecourt so there are gaps that hopefully wont show when it is glued in place. However, I need to make and add the doors first as they fit from inside. Other external details (like the railings, name plaques, burglar alarm boxes, trunking, etc) can be added later.

 

DSC_8872.JPG.abf8a5af0a2fd8367d6a37fa097edf14.JPG

Edited by grahame
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I don't know what they are used for now, but in the 1990s Mary Sheridan House, which formed part of this terrace, was a Health Authority building. I know. I went for meetings there, on behalf of the local Social Services Department. Impressive work as usual, Grahame.

Enjoy the festivities and I hope 2020 treats you well.

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On 08/12/2019 at 15:08, grahame said:
16 minutes ago, phil_sutters said:

I don't know what they are used for now, but in the 1990s Mary Sheridan House, which formed part of this terrace, was a Health Authority building. I know. I went for meetings there, on behalf of the local Social Services Department. Impressive work as usual, Grahame.

Enjoy the festivities and I hope 2020 treats you well.

 

 

When I last walked past (I can't remember if it was this year, last year or a couple of years ago) the yellow building (left) was being advertised with posters in the windows as office space available for rent, while the corner ones (right) had blue NHS plaques by the doors although there were removal vans in the yard wheeling stuff in or out. I'm not sure whether it was an office moving out or moving in.

 

Tim Watson, top 2mm modeller and dental prof, said as a student they used to go through the terrace from Guys (across the road) to get to the other hospital (possibly the old ward block). So it sounds like the NHS were probably occupying at least part of the building in the late 70s and 1980s.

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There used to be a bus stop outside the terrace in St Thomas Street as in this photo but apparently as the road is now one way, it has gone:

 

BS4.jpg.66d6ef5ba752fc08dba6321d89052092.jpg

 

Obviously I'd like to model and include one although the one pictured above is rather modern and I'd like a more period one like this: 

 

1970s standard LT bus shelter

 

or as can be seen in the bottom left corner of this pic:

 

 BS1.jpg.597d90c86da40c93c82b3cafa63370f2.jpg

 

I will need a few and have had a look around at what is available RTP or from Shapeways (3D printed) but have not found anything suitable. I have, however, ordered the ModelScene pack (6 stops and 2 shelters) to see if they can be bashed in to something more suitable. In the meantime I thought I'd try and make a few myself. No harm in trying and it'll give myself something to do:

 

DSC_8926.JPG.88e1c48ddcc6324047d6fd04095d2acb.JPG

 

 

 

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. . . . . it's coming along.

 

Perhaps a little chunky, but it's all made from plasticard and there's over a dozen separate parts in just one shelter so far . . . . . 

 

DSC_8929.JPG.41a417e0c4a216e101402db437fa905e.JPG

 

Apparently there's three allowable positions for bus stop shelters - backing on to the kerb edge, backing on to the far side of the pavement from the road, and centrally placed (for very wide pavements). Also I've noticed that on these type some have glazed sections - usually when located at the kerb edge. For those ones I'll have to arrange that, so a little more modelling, but the one above is scheduled for the back of the pavement. I also understand, but could be wrong, that these were LT designed but since then local authorities/councils have been made responsible for bus stop provision (and probably the costs) hence the current range/designs.

 

 

 

 

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Now I've got three to that stage although the glazing will probably prove tricky. And managed to slim down the roof thickness:

 

DSC_8930.JPG.e8d849f7ea3c1fced2567bfbf1db73ac.JPG

 

Think I'll give it a rest know as I've almost finished a bottle of wine that I recently opened and to have a little chance to countdown the last few hours of 2019. 

 

Best of wishes and a happy new year to all who read, follow and contribute to this thread.

 

 

 

 

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A bit off in both location and timing - here's wishing you a happy 2020, Grahame. Thanks for sharing your inspiring creations with us. P.S. Take a razor saw to a tictac box, if you want see-through panels. Apply the posts and solid panels over the top and round the edges.

Bollards & bus shelter - Zandra Rhodes.jpg

Edited by phil_sutters
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This morning I've put together the fourth one that I'd cut out the main parts for. And they've all got a splosh of paint on and matt varnished although they do need glazing, weathering, etc.

 

DSC_8933.JPG.2779fd05e91c3cd3d1697cede89a9e64.JPG

 

I could do with a few more but they'll have to wait. I've started to consider the bus stop pole/flags. Ideally I'd like to replicate the older tapered concrete deco style LT ones with integral timetable windows and finials (as I remember them) rather than the current trend for simple aluminium/scaffold poles:

 

7787083614_524b605fa6_b.jpg.b154c6e50150c4bb1fc33f83d3a45c7d.jpg

 

 

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Nice job.......I’ll need to make some too. I made a small gate keepers / reception office for the Motorail terminal at Olympia which had a lot of glass. To get round this it was made entirely from clear plasticard with overlays. This should work for the bus shelters.

9C5F9FB8-8FD1-42C4-858B-C692C4B107AB.jpeg

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C16B7B76-DE81-404A-A3A7-DDA71733E230.jpeg

770EA692-6F85-4DA4-B744-3F77766443BE.jpeg

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