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Caledonian Basin - railway-in-a-box diorama


brylonscamel
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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, scottystitch said:

Do you do commisions?! :P


Yes Scott - I do indeed take commissions. I switched to being full-time with my model-making at the end of last year. I have picked up bits of work already and have some ideas developing to make some limited-edition buildings.

You can always drop me a personal message to chat about it. I have a web page that gives some basic info.

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In that I'll be in touch.  I'm particularly interested in the canal/cobble stone area in 1/148...

 

Best

 

Scott.

 

EDIT: Actually now I see your website states 4mm and 7mm.  No matter.  Very best of luck with the full time venture.

Edited by scottystitch
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3 minutes ago, scottystitch said:

In that I'll be in touch.  I'm particularly interested in the canal/cobble stone area in 1/148...

EDIT: Actually now I see your website states 4mm and 7mm.  No matter.  Very best of luck with the full time venture.

 

Ah .. yes - I find the smaller scales offer less potential for my techniques - which rely on a lot of carving and scribing - to work.

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11 hours ago, JustinDean said:

Hi Brian - thanks for pointing me to your thread.

 

 

Thanks Jay - there are a few pages of my waffle but the photos really tell the story and I always hoped the construction updates would be useful. I was learning as I went along and some of the materials - such as modelling clay - were used for this time on this layout.

 

Cheers,

Brian

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11 hours ago, brylonscamel said:

 

Thanks Jay - there are a few pages of my waffle but the photos really tell the story and I always hoped the construction updates would be useful. I was learning as I went along and some of the materials - such as modelling clay - were used for this time on this layout.

 

Cheers,

Brian

The waffle is good Brian! 
Your DAS clay work turned out great - I’ve had issues with this cracking/shrinking as it’s dried out when I’ve used it for large surfaces. Would I be correct that this doesn’t seem to have happened for you?

Jay

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On 18/01/2021 at 12:47, brylonscamel said:


Yes Scott - I do indeed take commissions. I switched to being full-time with my model-making at the end of last year. I have picked up bits of work already and have some ideas developing to make some limited-edition buildings.

You can always drop me a personal message to chat about it. I have a web page that gives some basic info.

All the best with your enterprise!

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On 21/01/2021 at 10:50, JustinDean said:

 I’ve had issues with this cracking/shrinking as it’s dried out when I’ve used it for large surfaces. Would I be correct that this doesn’t seem to have happened for you?

 

My experience with DAS clay has been to retard the drying period by keeping it cool away from dry heat. A tiny bit of shrinkage is inevitable but cracking is a feature of differential drying rates. If the material is thickly applied this is exaggerated and you can wrap think clay or poke some holes in it with cocktail sticks but I have rarely needed to do this. I have also sandwiched large sheets of drying clay between sheet of non-stick baking paper to allow it stay fairly damp whilst drying.

Good luck - you can always smear a little wet clay into any cracks to fix the issue.

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6 minutes ago, brylonscamel said:

 

My experience with DAS clay has been to retard the drying period by keeping it cool away from dry heat. A tiny bit of shrinkage is inevitable but cracking is a feature of differential drying rates. If the material is thickly applied this is exaggerated and you can wrap think clay or poke some holes in it with cocktail sticks but I have rarely needed to do this. I have also sandwiched large sheets of drying clay between sheet of non-stick baking paper to allow it stay fairly damp whilst drying.

Good luck - you can always smear a little wet clay into any cracks to fix the issue.

Thanks for the advice Brian - much appreciated! 
Regarding thickness - those DAS slabs you rolled out for the canal side etc. How thick were they?

Cheers

Jay

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  • 2 weeks later...

Commissions and Exhibitions

 Things may be quiet on Caldonian Basin for a while as I'm suddenly busy with commissions and the likelihood of an exhibition happening any time soon seems remote!

 

If anyone is interested, I have started a thread devoted to the commissions. If things are a bit quiet here, it is more lively over there.

 

To keep things alive, Caledonian Basin remains my favourite place for a 'photo shoot' and I did take photos recently of my box-fresh Dapol 29 on the arched viaduct.

 

 

caledonian-basin-nbl-type-2.jpg

Edited by brylonscamel
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Thanks to some characters on RMWeb, I find myself with a lovely invite to bring some stuff along to the SWAG event in April 2022!

 

The aim is to whip 'Caledonian Basin' into shape so that it is properly finished and can offer a basic shuttle through the bridge scene.

 

Here are some new photos of angles not available when viewed from the front. These images reveal layers that are squeezed into the cabinet.

 

cb-OVERHEAD-02.jpg.714599f14a79403baa11f5f2543a96fa.jpg

 

cb-OVERHEAD-03-INSTA.jpg.19631ca5003854b2918b242e9bb65817.jpg

 

cb-OVERHEAD-05.jpg.5529f9c339e3f2ba5aa174d811c13789.jpg

 

 

 

 

Edited by brylonscamel
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On 27/12/2021 at 15:43, brylonscamel said:

Thanks to some characters on RMWeb, I find myself with a lovely invite to bring some stuff along to the SWAG event in April 2022!

 

The aim is to whip 'Caledonian Basin' into shape so that it is properly finished and can offer a basic shuttle through the bridge scene.

 

Here are some new photos of angles not available when viewed from the front. These images reveal layers that are squeezed into the cabinet.

 

cb-OVERHEAD-02.jpg.714599f14a79403baa11f5f2543a96fa.jpg

 

cb-OVERHEAD-03-INSTA.jpg.19631ca5003854b2918b242e9bb65817.jpg

 

cb-OVERHEAD-05.jpg.5529f9c339e3f2ba5aa174d811c13789.jpg

 

 

 

 

That is great news, look forward to seeing it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Clanking overhead

The classic view of 'Caledonian Basin' with a loco on the bridge. Trundling overhead is my first attempt at a kit-built loco, a white-metal and brass version of an ex LNER J35.

Frankly, it was an exercise in proving how good ready-to-run locomotives are these days, and how much work we are spared.

It does have a good hefty feel though.

 

bm-caledonian-basin-summer-2022-FLICKR.jpg.8d0109d4938deb4acdca51514f8bfbd7.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

Going, Going, Gone ...

 

 

The sun sets on "Caledonian Basin" as I'm delighted to say it has a new home.

It will be great to hand the diorama on as its new owner has plans to breathe life into the model, giving it the opportunity to function as part of a railway.

I loved building it and hope it continues to evolve.

 

bm-caledonian-basin-SEPTEMBER-2022-SUNSET.jpg.d9a72a8a49683038f58c1efe6b568656.jpg

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