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I first saw the Cake Box Challenge on Laurie Calvert’s YouTube video and was inspired to have a go. Like Laurie, I have chosen a slightly fantastical theme and, after borrowing my daughter’s ‘Steampunk Bible’, have drawn up my first idea using the Dapol kit of Stephenson’s Rocket for the railway line section which is on the upper level. I have noticed a few members have the canal theme, but thought this was also an interesting feature for me to model on the lower level with a cobbled wynd leading up to the wooden board crossing over the track. The diorama will evolve as I am always over optimistic about the amount of structures and detail I can squeeze in. However the building features will be in scale vertically, but the footprint will not - a la Rowland Emmet. I have already kitbashed some of the free online Wordsworth kits for a children’s diorama and am using this as a guide for my cake box. Scalescenes excellent canal kit will also be converted. Extra thick corrugated cardboard forms the base for my ‘cake box’ with expanded polystyrene for the landscape and upper trackbed. I am a returning modelmaker but still a railway ‘newbie’ so here goes...

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Games Workshop paints & maybe a few of the figures could work well for Steampunk?

Dava

Thank you - already on it Dava!

My daughter had all the gear during her ‘Goth’ phase! She is now a professional illustrator and has also offered to assist with layout backscenes, etc so might be taking her up on that.

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Langley Models canal figures and accessories arrived in the first mail of the new year! Oops one of my canal boat ladies has only half an arm - planning to remodel one of the carthorses to place them on the steep cobbled wynd. Might be a bit fiddly, but will give it a go. Starting on the main model this week....

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Bought some VERY CHEAP figures (pack of 100 from China) to customise for my CB Challenge. Only four seated men and three quarters of the ladies are in trousers, but it’s potluck at that price! Most of my modelmaking is usually historic, so ladies will require to be attired in skirts/dresses. Removing the flash tonight before selection - chocolate box tray from Christmas present proving quite useful for the sorting process.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cake box finally arrived last week! Made a start on base structure - decided to use a piece of 5mm ply for base instead of thick card, to reduce risk of warping. A bit quick off the mark with sculpting the expanded polystyrene ‘wynd’ to connecting the two levels, so will have to build this up with the modelling clay and texture with cobble surface. Retaining wall and canal tunnel entrance to be constructed next as well as planning the buildings!

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I like this idea, the steel framework of the corrugated cardboard looks really good, could you keep it?

Interesting option, Geoff! I’m actually modelling a retaining wall which has a balustrade alongside the track on the upper level and incorpates the tunnel entrance for the canal at the lower level. My ideas will evolve, so the end result may yet differ from my initial concept. Thanks for the feedback.

Marlyn

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Working on mock-ups of buildings and deciding how to model the ‘wynd’ with round cobbles. Checking images of Scottish medieval cobbled ‘closes’ - something like Sharp’s Close in Falkland with a gutter to one side https://goo.gl/images/ZGYBSf or Halliwell’s Close in Selkirk with central gutter https://hiveminer.com/Tags/close%2Cwynd ? Now where did I put the DAS?

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Vertical alley (Kierant) is stepped, Geoff, so my canal boat horse might struggle! The boat will be 'legged' through the tunnel while the horse is taken up and over to the other side. This weekend has been tied up with paperwork, so hope to get some more modelling and pictures up during the week ☹️

Thanks for your comments.

Marlyn

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  • 3 weeks later...

Always love to see steampunk stuff! Definitely going to keep an eye on this!Always love to see steampunk stuff! Definitely going to keep an eye on this!

Hi Tall Controller - been a bit busy with other projects, but will be posting an update soon!

 

Marlyn

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  • 2 weeks later...

Progress still a little slow. Constructed half of a working canal boat from Scalescenes kit (still requires tiller, stove chimney and needs weathering) and cut up one of the cheap seated Chinese figures to create a ‘legging’ boatman to take the canal boat through the tunnel!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

How's the modelling going, or has the weather stopped you to?  I have been following this post with great interest and am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

With regard to Vertical alley(Kierant) you could make the steps wider and slopped so the horse can walk up. and I think I remember at the Canal museum they had 2 leggers laying on boards, facing sideways, to walk through their tunnel, one each side wall. also have you seen KNP's post (Not Another One) with the larger horses, one of these might look good as your canal horse. best of luck.

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Working on a couple of other things at the same time Geoff, but definitely going to finish this one as well! My tunnel is quite narrow, so based my legging man on this photo in Standedge Tunnel http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/news/legging2006.htm I have a large horse in the Langley white metal kit of figures I bought earlier, which will be fine. I plan to have a roughish cobbled slope which would have given the horse’s hooves a reasonable grip. I have already admired KNP’s model - wonderful detail. There are a few ‘Cake Boxes’ with canal and water edges to them, so want to make sure mine is another twist. Your first model worked out really well and enjoying following your progress on your ‘second’!

 

All the best, Marlyn

 

View from the my window - cleared the path and its’s snowing again!!

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Stephenson's Rocket kit half assembled and painting it as I go - got to decide if I should just weather the traditional yellow body or go for a completely different colour. Cobbled alleyway is also nearly finished, but a bit fiddly - will post pictures shortly.

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Stephenson's Rocket kit half assembled and painting it as I go - got to decide if I should just weather the traditional yellow body or go for a completely different colour. Cobbled alleyway is also nearly finished, but a bit fiddly - will post pictures shortly.

 

Could you make the yellow body wood lined or a copper finish? I believe the Steam Punk look is dark colours (or the complete opposite very bright) I saw something on Phil's blog about a steam punk train race and one was a very bright colour. (I think Pillar box red)

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Could you make the yellow body wood lined or a copper finish? I believe the Steam Punk look is dark colours (or the complete opposite very bright) I saw something on Phil's blog about a steam punk train race and one was a very bright colour. (I think Pillar box red)

I agree Geoff. Think I might hold on completeing the painting of the boiler of the 'Rocket' until I see how the buildings and overall scenery pans out. Treating this as a fun project!

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Stephenson's Rocket kit half assembled and painting it as I go - got to decide if I should just weather the traditional yellow body or go for a completely different colour.

 

 

Could you make the yellow body wood lined or a copper finish? I believe the Steam Punk look is dark colours (or the complete opposite very bright) I saw something on Phil's blog about a steam punk train race and one was a very bright colour. (I think Pillar box red)

 

Possibly paint it dark oak or mahogany. Or this:

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I wouldn't get too hung up about the colour.  Get three or more steampunks in a room and you get, generally, at least five definitions of what steampunk even is, before getting down to the minutae of the smaller details.  (You could even have a little scene on the model of two blokes in tophats and goggles arguing the toss whether a piece of machinery should be polished brass or painted....)

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