cakebox 3 By the Shore of Lake Brienz - A Swiss Adventure in the 1960s

[Marly51]

A memorable Easter school holiday, based at Brienz Youth Hostel in Switzerland, is the inspiration for an N scale cake box model. The youth hostel is on the shore of Lake Brienz, where we often swam after low level walks in the mountains, or days spent exploring by train. Wonderful trains which were immaculate and clean compared to the grubby SNCF train, that brought us from Calais to Basle. 

We all enjoyed our daily ration of Swiss chocolate from the platform machine at Brienz Station. The spectacular mountains rise steeply behind the village, with a road and railway line running past the entrance to the hostel. 

 

Ref. photos of Brienz Youth Hostel.) https://hotels.swisshoteldata.ch/?language=de&module=hotel&submodule=detail&id=14629

 

Brienz is served by the Brünig railway line - a Swiss narrow gauge line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes over the Brünig Pass, using sections of rack railway to overcome the gradients, but with most of the line operated by normal adhesion methods. 

 

Ref: Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 22, 33. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7

 

The two railway items for the model are a length of Peco track and the Del Prado static model of the Swiss electric locomotive Re 4/4 ii, £4 from eBay. All other materials for the model will be scrap hardboard and timber batten for the base & backboard, recycled paper and card, N scale figures from China (100 for £1.99) plus sundry scenic materials from my existing stock. 

 

 

Card mock-up showing the approximate layout of the model.

[Bill_J]

Marly, that is a very nice concept model. Can't wait to see it when it's finished.

[Kevin Johnson]

Hi Marly51 I will be watching with great interest. Your mock-up is great, it’s amazes me how cardboard can be of great help.

[Marly51]

As a side note to modelling Swiss Railways, a member in the Swiss Railways group suggested actually visiting Switzerland to experience the railway system first hand. One Easter memory in the 1960s was the extremely strong smell of ammonia from the fresh manure heaps which were deposited in the fields along the length of the country sections of the railway track. Eventually these heaps would break down into relatively odourless compost! Unless farming practices have changed since then, be prepared for that intense aroma if you visit in Spring! After a couple of days you soon get used to it.

 

https://www.swissbiofarmer.com/aerobic-composting-1/

Edited July 15, 2019 by Marly51

[Marly51]

Always ready to try something new for me! My nearest model shop is 38 miles away, so whenever I am there I like to support them by finding a product or item which might be useful in the future. To date I have just used PVA or gloss varnish to create a water effect on my models, but I think this time I will have a go at creating the lake with the Woodland Scenics E-z Water. To heat the beads, I managed to find the small serving pan at a ‘pound’ shop for a.... £1! 

 

I will create the basic framework for the landscape first, paint the lake base, seal all the lakeside area, edge the shore with tiny stones then maybe make a former, as well?  

 

[Kevin Johnson]

Marly51 I look forward to see how the E-Z water turns out, I think it’s great fun trying something new and pushes you past your comfort zone.

[Ralf]

On 14/07/2019 at 02:48, Marly51 said:

Card mock-up showing the approximate layout of the model.

 

Crickey that's some 'mock up' of the Youth Hostel! My mock ups tend me be far far far more basic! 

 

Good luck with those figures! 

Ralf

 

[Marly51]

1 hour ago, Ralf said:

 

Crickey that's some 'mock up' of the Youth Hostel! My mock ups tend me be far far far more basic! 

 

Good luck with those figures! 

Ralf

 

 

Hi Ralf, I don’t normally mock-up my buildings in too much detail, but this time I wanted to see how the hostel fitted with the railway being on a raised track behind. I still have to draw up my plans for the building and make sure the character of the shallow pitched Swiss roof, with its deep eaves looks right. 

 

Good luck with your figures too!

 

Marlyn

[GeoffinOz]

11 hours ago, Marly51 said:

Always ready to try something new for me! My nearest model shop is 38 miles away, so whenever I am there I like to support them by finding a product or item which might be useful in the future. To date I have just used PVA or gloss varnish to create a water effect on my models, but I think this time I will have a go at creating the lake with the Woodland Scenics E-z Water. To heat the beads, I managed to find the small serving pan at a ‘pound’ shop for a.... £1! 

 

I will create the basic framework for the landscape first, paint the lake base, seal all the lakeside area, edge the shore with tiny stones then maybe make a former, as well?  

 

Marly, when you use this stuff don't forget to seal all around the edge joins of your dam with hot glue, this is the best idea I have been given so far using water products. I tried once with just sticky tape and the medium I was using flowed out.

[Marly51]

4 hours ago, GeoffinOz said:

Marly, when you use this stuff don't forget to seal all around the edge joins of your dam with hot glue, this is the best idea I have been given so far using water products. I tried once with just sticky tape and the medium I was using flowed out.

 

Thanks for the advice, Geoff. I was going to do a test piece, then make the lake before anything else, in case it doesn’t work out! Possibly set the whole board tightly in a former, with the edges all sealed, then if there is still slight seepage it can be trimmed once the product is set?

 

[railroadbill]

Excellent, interesting location and good composition in a small space, it will be interesting to see how the "water" turns out. 

[Marly51]

Couldn’t resist buying this Oxford 2CV today. I might use it on this model. My husband is a 2CV fan, but sadly our lovely red one fell victim to the North Highland weather. The local car body shop repair man took it off our hands, hoping to restore it, but it just rusted away! 

 

[PaulRhB]

Hi Marly, the ez-water is ok but can get a slight meniscus creeping up the edges so be prepared for that on a scenic bank, we had to glue a bit of scenic stuff on hide it on a club layout as it crept up too far for the gentle waves on a canal  . It also needs a nice stable base or it can crack so a decent bit of timber or some mdf as it doesn’t tend to warp would be good. 

Really like the mock-up  

Edited July 17, 2019 by PaulRhB

[Marly51]

1 minute ago, PaulRhB said:

Hi Marly, the ez-water is ok but can get a slight meniscus creeping up the edges so be prepared for that on a scenic bank, we had to glue a bit of scenic stuff on hide it on a club layout as it crept up too far for the gentle waves on a canal  . It also needs a nice stable base or it can crack so a decent bit of timber or some mdf as it doesn’t tend to warp would be good. 

 

Thanks for the advice, Paul! The lake edge is rocky - hopefully the tiny stones I use might disguise this? I’m doing the lake first, so if I’m not happy with the result, I can try another option.

 

Marlyn

[PaulRhB]

I changed to their realistic water but you have to build it up in thinner layers and it can frost with damp, although it clears again if in a warm room. Bit alarming the first time after a trip in a cold van though  

 

[Kevin Johnson]

Hi Marly51 I do like your 2CV purchase, I’m sure it will look great on your cakebox if you decide to use it.

[Marly51]

PaulRhB recommenced MDF for the base if I was using ‘E-z Water’, but I only have a piece of woodchip, which I will experiment with first. I have deliberately left the board untrimmed at the main lake edge of the model, made a timber former, which has been sealed and pinned. Once the sealant is cured I will define the curved shore edge, form the base of the lake up to the edge using DAS clay, paint to seal then add some sand and tiny stones, before pouring the ‘E-z Water’. These water products are quite expensive and most folk seem to prefer the more recent range with all the different effects. But I’ll see how it goes  Just got to go hunting for the tiniest stone shards from my garden path!

 

Edited July 19, 2019 by Marly51

[PaulRhB]

Chipboard should be stable enough  just haven’t used it for years so didn’t think of it. We used the ez water back in the early 90’s on a US layout and it did well but we did get a few cracks eventually on the river but it was 4ft long so the flexing of the boards going to shows took its toll. I doubt you’ll get that problem on a mini diorama  

[Marly51]

Trying to get lots of outdoor jobs done during this incredibly hot weather, so modelmaking has slowed down a lot! I have built up the lower part of the scenery with three sheets of corrugated box card, then created a ‘pan’ made from DAS air drying clay for the lake basin and given it an initial coat of paint. Alpine lakes can look quite vibrant, but I still want to adjust and tone down the colour a bit before pouring the EZ water. Fully prepared to redo this part of the scenery if this first attempt doesn’t work. If all goes well I can remove the three ‘former’ timber battens, trim the baseboard, and concentrate on building up the rest of the landscape which will slope gently towards the shore of the lake.

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by Marly51

[Kevin Johnson]

Nice work Marly51. The colour of your lake looks so inviting I could just jump in.

[Marly51]

Sadly the ‘E-z Water’ has not worked.  The beads were fully melted, having been heated on the gas hob for over 5 minutes. It poured quite easily, but hundreds of tiny bubbles appeared, as I poured it into the lake area.  The  meniscus, PaulRhB warned me about, appeared too high for such a small model and I did not think I could disguise this edge successfully. I was able to prise the ‘plastic’ water off once it set. The base of the lake will be remoulded, then I’ll use my varnish or PVA method instead.  

 

(I still have 3/4 of the ‘E-z Water’ pack left and might experiment with it at a later date.)

[Marly51]

I like the idea of having some catenary masts on the model and found these N scale dummy masts from Dapol. Although the posts on the single masts, on the Brunig Line, extend above the catenary, I think these are acceptable? 

 

 

Video of the Brunig Line for reference.

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2019 by Marly51

[Marly51]

Baseboard trimmed to size, lake basin repaired with air drying clay, then layers of toilet paper tissue soaked with dilute PVA textured using a coarse paintbrush to create a surface for the lake. This technique is described in a YouTube video by Martin of ‘MarklinOfSweden’. Some tiny stones placed at this early stage to represent  the larger boulders at the shore edge. This will now be left until completely dry, before adding additional texture finishes to the shore edge and painting. Martin recommends leaving the painted surface for a good 72 hours before the next stage. In the meantime the rest of the landscape can be modelled and the youth hostel built.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by Marly51

[Kevin Johnson]

Looking good Marly51, I like the shape of your lake basin and textured surface.

[Marly51]

One thing I really enjoy about these small CakeBox dioramas is the opportunity to experiment and learn more about different gauges, eras, modelling techniques etc. If I hadn’t experienced the holiday in Switzerland, I might not have considered a Swiss theme and decided as a result to find out more about the Swiss Railway network. Forum members in the Swiss Railway Group topic have been very helpful with suggesting some useful books for further research, I also love checking out what other railway modellers have accomplished through their YouTube videos, and this Pilentium one is a favourite.