Ashburton and Totnes

[JohnBS]

ASHBURTON AND TOTNES

 

Backscenes 1

 

Above - general view of Totnes

 

INTRODUCTION

I have had a couple of requests to post something on the backscenes for Ashburton and Totnes. This post is based on an article written for the Model Railway Journal, edition 266.

 

Both these layouts are to 2mm scale but with N-gauge track. As such, I describe some of the methods that I have used but it is not intended to be prescriptive and the same techniques will apply to all the smaller scales. Perhaps the most valuable characteristic of 2mm scale (N-gauge) is its ability to set the railway in a scenic context. One only has to think of the seminal layouts of recent decades – Gransmoor, Chiltern Green, Chee Tor and Copenhagen Fields - to demonstrate the validity of this. However, even this scale does not avoid the ever-present limitation of available space. A carefully designed and executed painted backscene can help mitigate this limitation.

 

DESIGN

Design criteria

Before embarking on creating a backscene, some questions must be considered:

. What is the display height of the layout?

. What level(s) are the running lines?

. What is the design viewing eye-level? (Normally in the range of 1.4 - 1.6m)

. How is the layout to be lighted?

. What direction and angle, intense or diffuse?

. From where is it intended to operate the layout? From behind the backscene, from in front (suitable for small layouts), from the ends, or by CCTV.

 

It is essential to determine these factors before setting-out the backscenes. The absolutely key factor to be aware of is that the backscene horizon is, logically enough, a horizontal line at the design viewing eye-level. At no point should the sky be visible below this line, though locally, hills, trees and buildings can project above it. Another factor, affecting the overall height of the backscene, is the operating position – is it necessary for the operator to see over the top of the backscene?

 

The backscene

My Ashburton and Totnes backscenes are made in two separate layers – a scenic profile fixed to the baseboards and a sky board, separated by a few millimetres from the scenic profile. The reasons for this separation are:

The two layers increase the apparent visual depth without adding significantly to the physical dimensions

The sky boards, which generally benefit from the softness derived from the use of larger brushes, or spray-painting, are physically separate (or separable) from the more intricately-painted scenic profiles

The scenic profiles form part of the protection of the layout during transport

The sky boards can be transported and protected separately, if wanted

In my case, I have a layout height (track level) of approximately 1.2m (4ft), a design viewing eye-level of 1.4m (4ft 8in) and operation from behind the backscene. The top of the backscene is 270mm (11in) above the track level, giving an overall height of about 1.5m (5ft).

 

Above - reference material and work in progress

 

MATERIALS

Boards

Sky boards – 3mm MDF (usually obtainable in 1220 x 610mm or 2440x1220mm sheets from builders' merchants or DIY stores)

Scenic profiles – 2mm or 3mm MDF, as above

Paints

Primer/undercoat – matt emulsion – white for sky boards, mid dull green for scenic profiles

Finishing paints – for sky matt emulsion match-pots

Finishing paints – for scenic boards artist’s (not student’s) acrylic paints (Daler Rowney or Winsor & Newton)

Colours

A large range of colours is not necessary, my basic range includes:

. Titanium white (you will need lots - get a larger size than other colours)

. Yellow ochre

. Sap green

. Hookers green

. Cerulean blue

. Ultramarine blue

. Violet

. Burnt sienna

Try to avoid using black – much too stark and dead – you can get as near as you need to by mixing Hookers green, ultramarine and burnt sienna.

 

Above - the tools of the trade

 

Brushes

For priming/undercoating, a good-quality decorating paint brush, (1in or 2in depending on the areas to be covered)

For blocking-in colours, one or two flat artist’s brushes (nylon or synthetic are fine)

For intermediate work, a good quality round brush No 3 (sable or synthetic sable)

For fine detailing, a good quality No 1 or No 0 brush (sable or synthetic sable).

 

Accessories

A palette - piece of hardboard (or an off-cut of the MDF), about 200x300mm

A small palette knife for mixing and for cleaning the palette

Cling-film to cover the palette

Retarding gel; mixed with the colours, this prolongs the usability of the paint on the palette.

 

More to come.

 

John

Edited December 26, 2018 by JohnBS

[RichardW1]

John

 

I can see a Video / TV program for this - How paint backscenes properly  (Not that I have ever painted one!)

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to document this- it is always good to see your work here.

Richard

[JohnBS]

ASHBURTON AND TOTNES

 

Backscenes 2

Above is a typical section through my recent layout - Totnes - showing the construction. Ashburton construction is very similar but narrower

 

CONSTRUCTION

 

Generally

I prefer to cut the final shape of thin MDF with a Stanley knife, rather than a saw or jig-saw which leave lots of rough edges. For straight cuts, I use a good metal straight-edge and cut from both sides. Also it is a good idea initially to make each board very slightly over-length, then offer the boards up to the layout and cut or plane them to butt-up precisely – it’s much easier to remove a few millimetres than trying to add a 5mm extension!

 

Sky boards

These I make with an additional reinforcing strip of MDF about 45mm wide laminated to the back of the top edge and a second spacing strip laminated to the front of the bottom edge. Of course, any curves should be formed before the laminations are added - use steam or hot water for tight bends, shape around a suitable former and leave overnight for the laminating glue to dry fully before releasing. Make the curves to as large a radius as possible; in my case, I have used a minimum radius of 450mm.

 

My sky boards are a maximum of 1.2 m (4ft) long - a good length for handling and economical for cutting out of standard-size sheets. If it is intended to join two or more panels end-to-end, I stop the top reinforcing strips about 15mm short of the ends of each panel, add a vertical strip below and a third strip ending in line with the board. This allows a 25mm wide loose tongue of 2mm MDF to be inserted to align the adjoining boards, when set-up on the model, and can then be locked with a small case-latch on the rear.

 

Figure 1 Unconnected sky boards from the rear

 

Figure 2 Connected sky boards from the rear

 

Figure 3 Connected sky boards from the front

 

Figure 4 Four sky boards nested together

 

Figure 5 All wrapped-up and ready to go!

 

On completion of the boards, plane and sand all edges, check for fit and prime front, back and edges with emulsion (slightly dilute the first coat with about 10% water). It is a good idea to clamp the boards to their finished shape while the paint is drying to avoid warping. When complete, transfer the horizon line to the boards.

 

Scenic profiles

These are made of single layers of MDF. Start the boards so that the bottoms can be screw-fixed to the structural bed of the layout and extend upwards to the highest desired point of the scenic profile. Mark the extent of the modelled ground, trees and buildings where they abut the scenic profiles. Then mark the horizon line and carefully plot out the desired scenic profile, all of which, of course, should be on or above the horizon line. Cut to the scenic profile - remember that the distant details will be very small so finish off carefully with a scalpel and Swiss files. Bevel the back edges of the top of the board to leave a fine knife edge. End-to-end joints can be made in a similar way to the sky boards, but without the case-latches. Sand and prime all round.

 

More to come,

 

John

Edited December 28, 2018 by JohnBS

[bécasse]

I prefer to cut the final shape of thin MDF with a Stanley knife, rather than a saw or jig-saw which leave lots of rough edges. For straight cuts, I use a good metal straight-edge and cut from both sides. Also it is a good idea initially to make each board very slightly over-length, then offer the boards up to the layout and cut or plane them to butt-up precisely – it’s much easier to remove a few millimetres than trying to add a 5mm extension!

 

If you do end up with the unfortunate task of having to add a 5mm extension (something I try to avoid too), I have found it best to cut a thin strip of 6mm MDF which is then glued with "strong" pva glue orthogonally to the end of piece needing extension. After allowing the glue to dry thoroughly (preferably at least 48 hours), I sand it all down flat to the required size. If it is going to form part of the sky, you might just need to add a little filler and then sand that down but I haven't had to do so so far. I also always sand down the last millimetre or so to the required size even without an extender fillet; temporarily cramping lengths of straight metal strips either side of the MDF makes it easy to get this just right. Remember, of course, that one should take precautions to avoid breathing in the sanding dust from the MDF.

[JohnBS]

ASHBURTON AND TOTNES

 

Backscenes 3

 

A general view of the model of Totnes with the town and the Dart estuary beyond.

 

PAINTING

 

Composition and setting-out

A couple of basic points need to be remembered. Firstly that the backscene is the background to the model, there to give an illusion of greater size than the actual space available for the baseboards and as a foil to separate the model from the real world of operators' heads and the general public. We are not trying to draw attention to the backscene; let's get viewers to concentrate on the modelling in the foreground. Avoid any fussy detail, lots of buildings (unless you are modelling an urban prototype) or livestock. Secondly, it is important to make the transition between the model and the backscene as seamless as possible. This means trying to match the tones and hues of the backscene to those of the model, bearing in mind the affects of the direction and intensity of the lighting.

 

It is a very good idea to get appropriate reference material for the model’s locality and period – land forms, cultivation patterns, enclosures, crops, etc vary geographically, seasonally and between different periods.

 

For example, cultivation methods and crop types were significantly different in the pre-war period. Fields were smaller, barley was a principle cereal crop, with some oats and wheat (particularly in East Anglia), sown grass for hay, fodder crops such as kale and root vegetables and permanent pasture. Cereals were cut by binder, sheaves set up in stooks and then stacked in the yard for threshing. Elm trees were common in hedgerows. Crops such as maize, alfalfa and rape-seed were not grown, black and white cattle (Holstein Friesians) were rarely seen and there were no 'tramlines' of crop-spraying tractors. However, the change in agricultural practices over the last century is a complex subject perhaps better described in a separate article.

 

Contemporary and current photographs are obvious starting points, but usually the details have to be modified to integrate with the three-dimensional part of the model. Taking your own photos has never been easier- many cameras or phones have a panorama setting. Otherwise, take a slightly overlapping series of photos from a suitable vantage point. Try to keep the camera horizontal or the resulting panorama will be curved. I have usually taken a minimum of four or five photos in each panorama (this is enough to cover a 1.2 m long board), printed them out in black and white on A4 copier paper and stuck them together. Then it is a simple job to trace down the key features on to the blank scenic board, modifying as necessary.

 

Similarly, references are necessary for sky conditions – as well as your own photos, there are several available books on the subject with good colour photographs of the main types of clouds.

 

Consider carefully the lighting direction of the model and the risk of casting shadows of trees or structures on to the backscene. Beware the lone tree or factory chimney 50mm in front of the backscene! If necessary, locally amend the three-dimensional part of the model. Carefully draw out the main features of the scenic profiles boards. Remember that the intensity, or grain, of detail increases markedly as you move up towards the horizon. It can be useful to divide the back-scene in half horizontally between the 3D model and the horizon line, then in half again and repeat several times (see below). Each of the narrowing strips should contain approximately the same amount of detail.

Figure 6. A "Flat Earth" diagram illustrating the 3D part of the model, the 2D painted scenery and the sky, showing the position of the Horizon (= Eye Level) and the diminution of scale as distance increases.

Figure 7. As above but with the addition of some undulations. Note that nowhere does the sky appear below the horizon.

Figure 8. The beginning of introducing vegetation and clouds.

 

Perspective

The basic rules of drawn perspective apply to backscenes as well as any other sort of “realistic” painting. The first principle is that parallel lines appear to meet at a point on the horizon, known as the “vanishing point”. This applies to straight and level roads, parallel field boundaries on flat ground, etc. However, the “vanishing point” for parallel lines on rising ground is above the horizon, and the converse.

 

Painting generally

Particularly for the sky and distant scenery, you are not looking for texture – thin the paint down to watercolour consistency and use multiple layers - “glazes”. If you are expecting to have a long session to get large areas done in one go, it is a good idea to mix some retarding gel with each of the colours. When acrylic paints set, they are insoluble so don’t forget to keep the brushes in water during a painting session and give them a thorough clean in warm soapy water when you finish. Acrylic paints can be kept workable for a longer time by wrapping the palette with cling-film when not in use.

 

Painting the sky

Usually we are not seeking to attract attention to the sky on our models, rather the sky forms a visual break between the model and real worlds. Therefore it seems to me best to underplay the detail and contrast. At its simplest, an effective sky can be a gradation from near white (with perhaps a tint of violet) at the horizon, to a pale cerulean or cobalt blue higher up. Even in this country, cloudless days do exist! If you want clouds, remember that they are required to obey the same laws of perspective as terrestrial objects. Clouds near the horizon are seen edge-on and are distant and appear intricate, the big fluffy ones will only appear high up on tall back-scenes. It is important to consider the lighting direction of the model so that cloud highlights and shadows are consistent with the ground features.

 

Painting the scenery

Begin by blocking-in the main colours. I generally mix greens for grass with sap green, yellow ochre, a little raw sienna and plenty of white. In high summer, grass colours have a significant yellow component and grass seed heads can even appear pink! My colours for trees are mixed from Hookers green, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna for the deepest shadows and progressively adding yellow ochre and white moving towards the highlights. As the distances increase, tonal contrasts reduce and colours move towards the blue-violet. The most distant areas, near the horizon line, are almost completely pale blues with subtly varying tones.

 

Not a backscene but a watercolour which illustrates the transition towards paler blues as distance increases. (Island of Andros, Greece, late afternoon in spring.)

 

Check with the three-dimensional model, preferably under the designed lighting and from the design viewing eye-level. Adjust the lines, colours and tones as required. It is surprising how light a tone grass and crops need to be and how important the cast shadows of trees are. Pick-out highlights such as parts of tree trunks catching the sun, similarly wall tops and fence posts. Disguise the junction with the three-dimensional model with judiciously-placed field enclosures, and, where necessary, meld with smooth fillets from the ground surface to the back-scene and with careful painting. Give texture to painted trees where they are next to modelled block planting with applied scenic materials. Remember that you are striving to achieve a seamless transition and an integrated whole. As with any work of fiction, you are aiming for the ‘suspension of disbelief’

 

PHOTOGRAPHY

When photographing the layout or setting-up publicly-viewable CCTV, it is generally most convincing to set the camera at or slightly below the design viewing eye-level (i.e. the horizon level). By all means tilt or zoom but if the camera is raised or lowered significantly, the back-scene perspective will appear distorted and the model unrealistic.

 

Well, that’s all for now.

 

Happy New Year to you all,

John

Edited December 31, 2018 by JohnBS

[JohnBS]

Here’s a Happy New Year to you all and hope that you got lots of modelling done over the festive season.

Nothing much new to report here; having been through all my locos for a routine overhaul, I am now working on fettling the Totnes layout for its next outing (RailWells 2019). That isn’t until August but it amazes me how rapidly the weeks slip by.

I also want to get the Totnes Quay Branch operational by then, to be run as an automatic shuttle or - number of operators permitting - as something simple that can be operated from the front of the layout, allowing me to chat with the public.

If anyone has any comments or queries on aspects of making Ashburton, Totnes or the locomotives, don’t hesitate to reply to this and I will do my best to respond.

Best wishes,

John

[JohnBS]

Hi everyone,

A brief update - 

Totnes is due to appear at the Rail Wells show, Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th August

Ashburton is due to appear at STEAM Swindon, Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th September

Meanwhile, I shall be demonstrating my backscene painting at Jerry Clifford's one day show, Warminster, Saturday 8th June.

Don't forget that Copenhagen Fields will be starring at Basingstoke, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th March - see you there.

Best wishes,

John

[JohnBS]

Hi all,

Well, I haven’t been wholely idle for the last few weeks - been making some progress on making the Totnes Quay Branch into an operating section, rather than just a piece of window dressing. Part of this task was to make two operating line gates for the branch entrance and the route to The Plains (Totnes Quay). I thought it might be of interest to share how I tackled this.

 

The above shows the components. At the core is a geared micro-motor. I obtained mine from Pimoroni (usual disclaimer), found by Google. This one has a reduction of 1006:1, is very quiet and costs about £5 - an excellent product. I also bought the mounting bracket (to the left of the motor) from the same supplier. The motor has a 3.00mm output shaft with a flat. I made an extension shaft of 3.15mm OD tube, filed to leave a mating tang and with a 1.55mm OD central tube in a 2.4mm OD intermediate tube. The extension shaft is retained by a short sheet of plastic tube.

The extension passes through a further 2.4mm tube (through the baseboard), soldered to the gate hanging post. The gate is a proprietary white metal casting. A length of nickel silver wire was soldered to a brass channel which was superglued to the gate. The wire was deliberately kinked to be a friction fit in the 1.55mm inner tube.

The whole is mounted in a simple MDF bracket (left).

The above photos show the mechanism installed on a dummy bit of baseboard. 

In my case, gate operation will be by switching out the branch track and using the line controller. The motor draws a very low voltage (c. 3V). Because the gate is a friction fit in the tube, cut-down track pins will be used as simple limit stops.

if I can remember how to do it, I will post a short video of the gate in operation.

Best wishes,

John

Edited March 8, 2019 by JohnBS

[PaulCheffus]

18 hours ago, JohnBS said:

Hi all,

 

The above shows the components. At the core is a geared micro-motor. I obtained mine from Primoroni (usual disclaimer), found by Google. This one has a reduction of 1006:1, is very quiet and costs about £5 - an excellent product. I also bought Best wishes,

John

 

Hi

 

I assume you mean Pimoroni.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[JohnBS]

51 minutes ago, PaulCheffus said:

 

Hi

 

I assume you mean Pimoroni.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Paul,

Correct - fat fingers.

John

[south_tyne]

John, 

 

Just stumbled across your thread, being a rare visitor to the 2mm scale section...... I am in awe of your modelling. The layout is absolutely jaw-dropping! All I can really say is wow!

 

David

Edited March 8, 2019 by south_tyne

[JohnBS]

Hello folks,

I've been pressing on trying to get Totnes ready for the Wells show (10th and 11th August) - just about finished getting the Quay Branch into an operating condition and started to repair the minor damage which occurred when our newly-acquired kitten found her way into the railway loft - what a sweetie! She is still alive.

As a bit of a distraction, I dug out an old Fleetline white metal kit of a threshing machine, portable engine and elevator. I made a little diorama for the layout and set it in place.

A Ransome, Sims and Jefferies portable steam engine, threshing machine and elevator on the workbench.

Here they are set in place, sheeted over and waiting for this year's harvest.

Best wishes,

John

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by JohnBS
Typo

[CF MRC]

Interesting scene John, and the colours are spot on. However, the canvas belt would not be left on the ground for any length of time, it would be rolled up and kept dry.  The whole of the top of the drum and the straw walkers at the back would also have been sheeted to keep out the water.

 

After the development of the portable steam engine from the 1850s onwards, threshing drums, engines and associated tackle were normally taken to the ricks in the autumn / winter, not the other way round.  The elevator would most likely be used to take the threshed out straw to make another rick and  so would be positioned at the straw walker end of the drum; or perhaps stored parallel to it.  The drum & portable engine are models of very old types which would have been at the very end of their working days by the 1920-30s, but maybe the South Hams were a bit backward...

 

Tim

Edited June 26, 2019 by CF MRC

[Ian Smith]

There are certainly some of us who model the South Hams being a bit backward

 

[Yorkshire Square]

16 hours ago, CF MRC said:

Interesting scene John, and the colours are spot on. However, the canvas belt would not be left on the ground for any length of time, it would be rolled up and kept dry.  The whole of the top of the drum and the straw walkers at the back would also have been sheeted to keep out the water.

 

After the development of the portable steam engine from the 1850s onwards, threshing drums, engines and associated tackle were normally taken to the ricks in the autumn / winter, not the other way round.  The elevator would most likely be used to take the threshed out straw to make another rick and  so would be positioned at the straw walker end of the drum; or perhaps stored parallel to it.  The drum & portable engine are models of very old types which would have been at the very end of their working days by the 1920-30s, but maybe the South Hams were a bit backward...

 

Tim

 

Wouldn't a further belt be required to power the elevator/conveyor? 

 

If I were the farmer with the benefit of only one conveyor, I'd use that to get the wheat or whatever up into the thresher, not to move the lighter straw just a few more yards along. So I'd line them up, engine - elevator- thresher and transmit the drive through the elevator.

[CF MRC]

The drum was usually positioned close to (perhaps between) the un-threshed ricks and the sheaves of corn pitch forked to the top of it, where the strings would be cut and then fed in.  Rick yards were carefully set out to make this easier. The main load from the engine would be driving the threshing drum, so it will always be next to the engine, with the elevator relatively easy to drive on a subsidiary belt fed from the drum.  The loose straw would be better suited going up the elevator to get it away from the action. The belt drive to the elevator could be quite small and indeed there were other types of drive that could allow it to be positioned at an angle to the drum.  Alternatives to making another threshed-out rick would be to have a press baler or chaff cutter at the far end of the drum. 

 

Tim

Edited June 27, 2019 by CF MRC

[JohnBS]

Tim et al,

Thanks for the additional information; I will make some changes to the diorama.

Of course, in early summer, the thresher, elevator and engine would have probably been in the cart linhay, back at the farm, but I haven’t got any farm buildings on the layout. I suppose I could make one of those new-fangled Dutch barns over the whole set-up.

Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to make a straw rick and I may be getting somewhere, using Noch "teddy bear" fabric for the sides and lint or plumbers hemp for the thatch.

More to follow.

Best wishes,

john

[CF MRC]

A nice curved tin Dutch barn would look good, John, but I doubt that such a progressive farmer would still be using a portable steam engine - maybe an early tractor.  The portable could be rotting away quietly in a field corner somewhere. 

 

The original type of corrugated iron Dutch barns are fast turning to rust nowadays.   I spent many hours in my youth stacking bales up in the roof of one of them in high summer with a nice heat absorbing black tar painted outer surface - all the more heated if the hay was a bit sweaty. That is what a rick would be made of in early summer - possibly thatched with straw but smaller than a straw stack. 

 

Tim

[JohnBS]

Tim et al,

Thank you for the additional information; I've made a few corrections as suggested and now the threshing scene is as below:

The threshing machine drive belt is now rolled up and protected by the overhang of the grain table. The elevator is in line to feed the straw rick but no-one has got round to putting a canvas over the straw walkers yet. I hope that they do it before the next rain. The straw rick is only protected by thatch but we have just got some more canvas so that may get better protection soon.

 

A view from the other side. Yes, times were hard in the 1930s so we had to make do with an old portable steam engine, rather than a traction engine, never mind a tractor!

Best wishes,

John

[CF MRC]

Excellent John!  

 

Tim

[JohnBS]

Hi folks,

Just a reminder that TOTNES will be making an appearance at the RailWells show, Wells, Somerset this weekend (Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 August).

ASHBURTON will be at the Swindon show, STEAM, Swindon on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September.

Hope to see you there.

Best wishes,

John

[JohnBS]

 

Hi folks,

A few photos of Totnes, taken at RailWells on 12 August.

Totnes station with a down stopping passenger train hauled by a Dean Goods at the platform and an up coal empties behind a Hall.

 

Totnes Quay with a topsail schooner, the Freya V, unloading Baltic timber for Reeves Timber Importers.

 

A sheeted-over straw rick with threshing machine, portable steam engine and elevator. The main and Ashburton branch lines are beyond.

Best wishes,

John

 

 

[JohnBS]

Good evening,

i have just (more or less) finished a new loco - a second 43xx, this time with a 3D printed engine body. The article below gives an account of my efforts.

John

 

43xx.pdf

Edited December 8, 2019 by JohnBS
Updated .pdf

[AlfaZagato]

The 43xx looks very good.   I suppose eons ahead of the P&D Marsh kit?

[queensquare]

Excellent job John, she really looks the part. We could give her a test run at the club in a couple of weeks.

 

Jerry