Little Muddle

[KNP]

And after all that excitement I took a picture of the departing train only to realise many months ago I fitted the corridor blanking plate and didn't paint it....

 

[KNP]

Pulling into Encombe Town station...

 

 

How do I know where, well it says it on the sign!

What I hadn't noticed was the first two coaches had a poorly fitting chassis as they hadn't caught the lug fully.

I put some more passengers in these ones as they looked so sparsely spaced it felt like I had started social distancing on the layout......

Edited June 9, 2023 by KNP

[KNP]

It has certainly been the most strange and troubled year for us all, so here is hoping 2021 will bring us back to normality, or as near as we can get.

I promised back in March, when all this kicked off, I would post everyday to keep the morale of the followers of this thread up and that aim, to date, has been achieved.

It was a struggle at times to find or think of what to do next but we got there and I will continue to do so as long as people keep looking and commenting.

 

Thank you for following and of course not forgetting all your comments, thoughts, advice, antidotes, pictures etc which have been very much appreciated.

 

So just for you, and you, and you, and.......

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by KNP

[Ponthir28]

Many thanks it’s helping to keep me sane in this troubling times. So please try to keep posting it is much appreciated.

[Neal Ball]

Thank you for the posts @KNP They have always been inspirational / provided an insight into how life was in the 1930's.

 

Well done, keep it up and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.

[Dragonboy]

I echo the thanks above, and thank you for taking the time and trouble to post for our pleasure and I hope you are equally getting pleasure out of your posting, photography and modelling. 

 

I think the comments and banter on this thread are also as much a part of Little Muddle as everything else.

 

Best wishes to you and yours for Christmas and let’s hope for 1. A better new year. 2. We see the engine shed door rehung and 3. We learn the mystery of the contents of the crate. 

[KNP]

3 minutes ago, Dragonboy said:

I echo the thanks above, and thank you for taking the time and trouble to post for our pleasure and I hope you are equally getting pleasure out of your posting, photography and modelling. 

 

I think the comments and banter on this thread are also as much a part of Little Muddle as everything else.

 

Best wishes to you and yours for Christmas and let’s hope for 1. A better new year. 2. We see the engine shed door rehung and 3. We learn the mystery of the contents of the crate. 

Thanks.

1. Agree with.

2 & 3. Doubtful 

[Limpley Stoker]

Little Muddle- the daily antidote to Covid- 19 !   Best enjoyed with a fresh coffee and a  warm croissant from the village Coop in the oldies hour. Thank you for making the effort to keep us entertained with your skills, and take a renewed interest in slow motion!

[LostinUSA]

Kevin, I found the Little Muddle discussion thread only recently and I've enjoyed it immensely. The layout has a life of its own!  But I'm puzzled by your mention in some of the early pages of coating brickpapers with varnish. I have downloaded and printed brickpapers - I've even made some of my own in MS Excel - but I've found that the colours run and blur at the slightest touch of water.  Do they not do so under other solvents? Like whatever the solvent/vehicle is in varnish?  Or do you think that the problem might be my cheap inkjet (HP ENVY 4520)  printer and/or its inks?  May I also ask how you apply the varnish?  Do you brush or spray?

[KNP]

On 16/12/2020 at 16:38, LostinUSA said:

Kevin, I found the Little Muddle discussion thread only recently and I've enjoyed it immensely. The layout has a life of its own!  But I'm puzzled by your mention in some of the early pages of coating brickpapers with varnish. I have downloaded and printed brickpapers - I've even made some of my own in MS Excel - but I've found that the colours run and blur at the slightest touch of water.  Do they not do so under other solvents? Like whatever the solvent/vehicle is in varnish?  Or do you think that the problem might be my cheap inkjet (HP ENVY 4520)  printer and/or its inks?  May I also ask how you apply the varnish?  Do you brush or spray?

 

Thank you for enjoying this thread, as you said it seems to have a life of its own going off in directions I never imagined....

Whatever brickpapers I use I always coat them with a varnish, normally 24hrs after the model is finished and everything has dried thoroughly.

It is a specialist uv varnish originally designed for artists and sealing their paintings but it works great on brickpapers, figures, models, scenery etc.

One main reason for using this was I was suffering with colour fade on older 5yr + models but 2 or 3 coats of this seems to have stopped this degradation.

Everything is brush applied and sometimes not to smoothly either!!!

Another great use for this is weathering, i add a small amount to the varnish say of roof dirt and then paint with a small brush vertical lines on the side of a coach for example gives a nice streaky effect.

 

There are other types out there but this is the one I settled on and use all the time.

 

 

I always use manufacturers ink as I have found some of the compatible ones do run and also fade quicker.

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by KNP

[KNP]

Looking out the back window of the shops next to the station...

 

[KNP]

I have a new toy, my original hand-me-down iPhone 7 had problems and has been replaced with a brand new 12 with a much superior camera.

So with out too much a do I had a dabble with it and took some pictures of the coaches I'm working on trying to make them look weathered and in use.

 

Well, with no additional lighting and some cropping to remove unwanted bits we got this little bunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Lighting seems to be main issue as it is very easy to overpower the low light sensor.....but its very crisp, sharp and easy to use.

Still work to do on the carriages though, I use these pictures (and others) to see how things are looking.

Edited June 9, 2023 by KNP

[Andrew P]

Cracking pics young Kevin, superb mate.

[KNP]

Time for the Squadron Leader to get in on the act.

Here he is hanging over the side of his RE8 using the iPhone 12 !!!!!

 

 

[Ponthir28]

Better results than a box brownie.

[KNP]

7 minutes ago, Ponthir28 said:

Better results than a box brownie.

More expensive though!!!!

[KNP]

Swooping his RE8 all over the sky he came back in for some more pictures....

 

 

 

 

It has a wide angle lens, in this case called a 0.5x though I do think I need to work on the colours as it is my belief the low light sensor is struggling with the LED lights.

Early days.

[KNP]

Then daisy cutting he came in low past the farm.....

 

 

and on his way home he passed a large Christmas tree!!!

 

 

Merry Christmas from the Squadron Leader.....

Edited June 9, 2023 by KNP

[Mark Townend]

Thanks for those Kevin. Out of interest, just supposing we were looking at a model of Little Muddle rather than the actual place, would the Squadron Leader have been taking those photos from roughly the eye level a human observer would have?

 

And I know you're keen to avoid showing us anything beyond the limits of the model, but I'm intrigued as to what the view from the front door of the old cottage would be - is there any chance of getting one of your assorted cameras squeezed in to maybe show us the view towards the shepherd's hut and towards the traction engine? Oh, and then how about a view from near the traction engine back down the river away from the viaduct?

 

Only if convenient, don't spend ages doing it and definitely don't risk damaging anything in the Little Muddle world!

[Mick Bonwick]

Surely there are no views not yet covered in this topic. I think that you should read all 337 pages to find those that you seek. You can't have much else to do, can you?

[Podhunter]

4 hours ago, KNP said:

Here he is hanging over the side of his RE8 using the iPhone 12!

The squadron leader has a commendable grasp of technology spanning one hundred years.  I can't walk and chew gum at the same time.

[KNP]

Standing by the toilets! we get a nice view along the line.

 

[MrWolf]

I see that nobody has claimed that umbrella yet...

[Ponthir28]

It’s always summer in Encombe. So no need for umbrella.

[Oldddudders]

Actually the brolly is lost property, and has been labelled and is on its way to the central Lost Property Store. To join 472 others that will never be claimed.