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Torre Station - Western Region in the 1950's in P4


MPR
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Excellent stuff, Martin.

 

This is a very tricky subject, in some respects. Some prototype surfaces often don't scale down to any kind of texture at all and often a paint finish alone can be sufficient.

 

I will watch how you get on with interest.

 

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Hi Tim

I have to say I completely agree with you - I ended up stripping most of it off this afternoon, leaving just the paint in place for now! I think I will just use layers of scenic dust to keep it all restrained. This in turn has meant that I have had to spend a couple more hours filling and flattening the grout layer on the roadway further - I won’t be able to conceal the dodgy  bits on the surface otherwise. The suggestion by “Bristol Rich” to use stocking material will be really helpful for achieving this finer finish  - I think it will make application a lot easier.

Best Wishes

Martin

 

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Martin,

 

One other suggestion here is to use fine grit paper as the basis for this kind of surface. I've used this quite a lot in my p4 and p87 models. It takes paint from an airbrush quite well, allowing subtle variations in colour to be built up, and texture can be enhanced with small patches of dust fixed with dilute PVA.

 

Hopefully the attached photo of the loading bank on my recently completed Danish goods shed will hint at what can be achieved.

 

I love the way your layout is shaping up. Worth experimenting with different techniques in small areas until you get the best effect.

 

Regards,

 

Geraint

20200215_214229.jpg

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This is really looking great, i know the station quite well, and you have captured it perfectly. I am interested to see how you finish the roadway along the front of the station, as i have something similar to do myself soon, and I am finding that these kinds of surfaces are difficult to get right. There is an chapter on this in Gordon Gravett's book 'Modelling Grassland and Landscape Detailing', where he uses talcum powder dusted onto wet paint to form the texture. I am looking on with interest.  

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14 hours ago, 3283 Comet said:

I am interested to see how you finish the roadway along the front of the station, as i have something similar to do myself soon, and I am finding that these kinds of surfaces are difficult to get right. There is an chapter on this in Gordon Gravett's book 'Modelling Grassland and Landscape Detailing', where he uses talcum powder dusted onto wet paint to form the texture.

This will be a first for me, as I haven’t got a layout to this point scenically since I was a teenager. I did try the talcum powder method on the ballasted areas (ie the greyer areas outside the 4 foot), but I don’t think it gave enough texture for those areas. The texture might well be good enough for tarmac, but the application process did make the final colour quite hard to judge, as the talc is obviously so much whiter than the final colour you are seeking. In this respect, the very fine powders that Attwood and others have brought onto the market in the last few years are a real boon, as the paint and powder are much closer to the final colour - the test pieces seem very promising. I’ll photograph and post as I go, good or bad!

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I think that the talcum powder effect is harder to achieve than Gordon makes it look. I did try it myself years ago, but wasn't totally convinced.

 

In some ways, it may be easier to get 'right', if the underlying paint layer is sprayed on, rather than brushed on, so as to get a completely even finish. I think that the way you sprinkle the talcum powder on is also important.

 

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Testing the scenic dust...

Following “Bristol Rich’s” suggestion, I used some old hosiery material as a fine sieve. This was secured over the top of the old mini jam jar I have been using to keep the Atwood Aggregates BF scenic dust in. 

814E7AE0-775B-4ABA-BA00-D25F151DD182.jpeg.2ac2563875dc4d6af2b368dab69f4e46.jpeg
Next time, this will be trimmed down and held in place with an elastic band - the rest of the material can be used for the other colours.

 

The dust is very fine - use of a mask is sensible.

 

D4B51FAE-D356-4539-9672-20628B8C948E.jpeg.e9cb3aa96cb30f6c9212167f495ee4c5.jpeg
For the first trial, I mixed Artists acrylic light grey and cheap school glue PVA, and diluted it to single cream consistency. This was then brushed out thinly onto a piece of card, so that there were no brush marks showing.
The dust was then shaken out over the surface evenly, until all the paint had disappeared. The dust clogged the sieve material somewhat, so it needed a little prodding to release it, making the speed of release very controllable.

After a couple of minutes, the excess was shaken off and the surface was allowed to dry thoroughly.
The result was as shown, with the A30 to give scale.

4131BCB4-55B9-4C58-ACF7-5B4357550735.jpeg.8e822d18897a407dd490cc92192cad83.jpeg

After a couple of hours, I ran my finger over the surface to free any remaining loose material, and brushed the surface clean.


I think this will be ideal for the trackside areas mentioned in the previous post, plus the less well-kept corners of the roadway, but is a little coarse for well used and maintained tarmac.


AD5C59D1-12F0-4F3E-BCE5-92BEAF3824ED.jpeg.e46a7a14cd20be8dd3f5ee45372f607b.jpeg
Accordingly, I also made a second test repeating using Tamiya light grey acrylic only, applied straight from the jar, again with dust sprinkled evenly on. When the surface was rubbed after drying, almost all of the coarser particles lifted off, leaving a very flat matte finish

6D39F981-3BAF-4FB2-BD47-0651ACB17965.jpeg.4ed6fc6684177e4baf32e6e5747cf88e.jpeg
After slightly harder rubbing, very few coarse particles remain.


My preference, therefore will be to use a mix of all three colours I have available to build up a very fine surface using just the Tamiya acrylic, then to add a little PVA to the mix afterwards in some patches to build up more material in odd corners and other distressed areas.

 

Edited by MPR
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13 minutes ago, 3283 Comet said:

I like the effect you have achieved in these test pieces. How easy do you think it will be to transfer this method on to the larger areas you have in front of the station?

I’m not sure at the moment, there are some obvious break points between areas where there was resurfacing done at different times, so I will probably break down into manageable chunks on that basis and take it slowly. The prototype photos I have show it getting rougher as you approached the goods shed.

I have also tried a further test piece this evening using the artists acrylic /PVA mix, and then rubbing down when dry. This seems to allow very fine control of the remaining texture - I think this will help to blend areas done at different times.

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  • 3 months later...
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Well, it’s been a long time since my last update, without a huge amount of of progress on the layout. 
Just before lockdown, I had most of the materials in place (plus a static grass applicator kindly loaned by Re6/6)

 

The main stumbling block has been to get a fine enough texture on the road surface. I have tried both PECO and Attwood scenic dust, but have found that it is very difficult to obtain a balance between a fine, even surface and obtaining enough adhesion to keep the surface in place. 

For the moment, I have removed almost all of the loose scenic materials and painted the pavement and road surfaces with a grey/cream/umber acrylic mix. It is not intended to be the final word in colour, but is intended to be very close to the final dust layer when it applied.

 

More recently, I have made a couple of test pieces for the grass bank, using “ Fine turf” mix sprinkled over diluted Pva as a base layer. This was then edged with Attwood road grade stones to allow easier integration with the road later. 
IMG_6014.JPG.95707d29ed19cf2422e683d3c5d1d34e.JPG 

The top piece is turf only on the left, with a mix of 4mm, then 2mm spring and winter grass applied. 
The lower piece added 6mm to the mix.

The piece was then sprayed with PECO layering spray - this seems to have bound the road materials nicely as well.

 

I plan to do one more test piece to get fully used to the static grass applicator, then only then move on to the layout. However,  I have already laid the turf and edging in anticipation.

 

IMG_6019.JPG.4c0996e7452bd8d678800ba007b8d5ca.JPGIMG_6020.JPG.548224b7a1f3cf33606b808c71ee6128.JPG

Edited by MPR
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I wondered whether you had considered using fine grit paper as the basis for your roads? You can obviously choose the grade to suit the surface that you want to portray, and it takes dilute paint through an airbrush, as well as weathering powders or chalks.

 

I've found it useful in both P4 and P87. Worth a few test pieces before you go any further?

 

Regards,

 

Geraint

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Using fine grit paper would be a much better solution, I think. It’s a bit late for this layout, as I would have to lift and remake all the pavements to integrate it properly. We’ll see, I might get frustrated enough yet!

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  • 4 months later...
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Not a lot of progress to report - I’ve lost motivation somewhat over the last few months. I’ve had very little modelling time, although I have been working towards completing a Narrow Planet-ised Talyllyn for a friend. I won’t restart on Torre until I have completed it!

I did get a little static grass down before ceasing work though - the photos below show this being done.

The adhesive was PVA, I usually use Resin W wood glue, diluted somewhat and with a drop of washing up liquid to kill the surface tension.

IMG_6034.JPG.e8efd03e50225ddcfc3c541b6b89b2c3.JPG

This was applied liberally to the turf layer with a flat paintbrush. I save these little jam pots for this sort of thing, they aren’t prone to falling over so easily and are reasonably airtight.
IMG_6032.JPG.1a6c6ad01ecd5fd01e1213caacaef950.JPG
I did about 12 inches at a time.

 

IMG_6034.JPG.e8efd03e50225ddcfc3c541b6b89b2c3.JPG

I used a mixture of 2mm and 4mm Woodland Scenics grass, the 2mm using a Noch Puffer bottle...
IMG_6035.JPG.72375768fb9cf46084951f875ce949b6.JPG
...and the longer fibres with John’s Grassmaster.IMG_6037.JPG.2f4ffb81ef6ca8d7057a0a39113e9ecb.JPG


IMG_6043.JPG.5e44d18ecd521d7a695264a835acb145.JPGThe result was quite pleasing, but is still too even and too vibrant for my liking - I will address this in the next round of application (whenever I get round to it!)

 

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Another nice scenic additional  to what is an excellent layout.

 

It is a pity, for whatever reason, you have lost for mojo for it.

 

I would be prepared to buy it from you in the current state if you no longer wanted it. Very cheeky comment but who wouldn't want to own the kernel of what I am sure will be a magnificent layout.

 

Pete

 

 

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Wishful thinking on my behalf!

 

I think many modellers are the same - periods of activity on a layout then some time not touching it. I have a garage getting ever closer to being layout ready but the thought of building baseboards and track :scared:

 

I wish I could fast forward to the buildings and scenery section - much more my forte.

 

I will continue to look at the Torre thread with great interest.

 

Pete

 

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  • 7 months later...
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2 hours ago, Stephen Freeman said:

Just browsing and thought these photos might be of interest taken Summer 1966

torre1966.jpg

torrebox1966.jpg

torrestation1966.jpg

Thanks - it’s great to see new views of Torre - I certainly don’t have complete coverage for this period!

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11 hours ago, Stephen Freeman said:

Just browsing and thought these photos might be of interest taken Summer 1966

torre1966.jpg

torrebox1966.jpg

torrestation1966.jpg

The Midget next to the No Parking sign would make a nice cameo. Mentally filed for future use...

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11 hours ago, Stephen Freeman said:

Just browsing and thought these photos might be of interest taken Summer 1966

torrestation1966.jpg

 

Anyone have any idea what the coaches were doing stored there?  And what they are?

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5 hours ago, mdvle said:

 

Anyone have any idea what the coaches were doing stored there?  And what they are?

Camping coaches?

Paul.

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5 hours ago, mdvle said:

 

Anyone have any idea what the coaches were doing stored there?  And what they are?

Hi,

look like Colletts to me but not sure. Perhaps they had run out of room at Goodrington? I have a not very good photo with Toplights in the background there (Goodrington) in about  1953/4 not sure exactly as I wasn't very old at the time. There used to be a miniature steam ride there which was the subject of the photo.

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