Rustons Sidings.

[sb67]

14 hours ago, DanielB said:

Found it! I knew I'd seen it somewhere. Clifton Rocks Railway, in Bristol:

 

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/bristols-clifton-rocks-railway-restored-2816467

 

I found a few more pics of that on line and it definitely given me some ideas, I'm thinking of a couple of arches used for storage and maybe some stairs leading over the top of them to the path at the top.

https://www.cliftonrocksrailway.org.uk/

  

Edited January 12, 2020 by sb67

[Alister_G]

5 hours ago, sb67 said:

do I need to put pillars ( not sure if that's the right term)  at the ends of the wing walls? 

 

They are quite common, but not compulsory. The left-hand one, possibly, if the wall stops there, but if you're going to continue with a retaining wall on the right-hand one then you could just take it round the corner.

 

Al.

[47137]

On 11/01/2020 at 19:08, sb67 said:

I've been trying out some scenery ideas. Not sure what I can do, the embankment to the right of the bridge seems really steep unless I change the location and have a chalk or rock cutting with a path on the top, something I like the idea of but don't know how to model. The stairs I have seem a bit too big as well so I'm not sure if I'm going to use them.

 

 

 

 

 

For a chalk cutting you could try Lightweight Hydrocal plaster by Woodland Scenics. You would need at least one of their moulds. The plaster dries white so should look like chalk without further colouring.

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

Been having a play this morning with the scenery. It's my idea of the Clifton Rocks Railway photo that Daniel kindly posted the link to.

The brick work at the end could indicate some sort of repair or wall that has worn away and the blank bit of the arch would have a door in it, like the pic.

I tried extending the retaining wall around the corner but I thought it didn't look right, maybe because the wing wall is at an angle.

I like the look of the Woodland scenics moulds but as I've stuck my polystyrene down and have only a small bit to do I'd like to try and have a go myself at making it look chalky/rocky. I was thinking plaster impregnated paper or cloth or just painting plaster on top of the polystyrene?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sb67]

Another idea I got is to adapt the stairs into the wall, maybe with brickwork underneath,I quite like the mish mash of styles as if things have been added over the years.

[47137]

If you use cloth soaked in plaster, the result will be stronger and less likely to crack. Also you can build up layers to make a consistent thickness. However, the amount of fun involved will be just as good whichever method you use :-)

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

2 minutes ago, 47137 said:

If you use cloth soaked in plaster, the result will be stronger and less likely to crack. Also you can build up layers to make a consistent thickness. However, the amount of fun involved will be just as good whichever method you use :-)

 

- Richard.

 

And just as messy too, I guess 

[Alister_G]

2 hours ago, sb67 said:

I tried extending the retaining wall around the corner but I thought it didn't look right, maybe because the wing wall is at an angle.

I like the look of the Woodland scenics moulds but as I've stuck my polystyrene down and have only a small bit to do I'd like to try and have a go myself at making it look chalky/rocky. I was thinking plaster impregnated paper or cloth or just painting plaster on top of the polystyrene?

 

Hi Steve,

 

I wonder if on the right-hand side there wouldn't be a wing wall, as the landscape is at that height all the way back, and the retaining wall would just extend from the line of the bridge structure - so effectively cutting off the diagonal - your steps could then come directly down from the path above to the side of the bridge.

 

Excuse the rough hacking

 

 

 

 

Also, plaster over polystyrene is something I've done before. Use a layer of neat PVA first and let it go tacky before applying the plaster. The results look like this:

 

 

 

EDIT: to be technically correct this is ready-mix filler, not plaster.

 

 

Al.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Alister_G
clarification

[sb67]

37 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

 

Hi Steve,

 

I wonder if on the right-hand side there wouldn't be a wing wall, as the landscape is at that height all the way back, and the retaining wall would just extend from the line of the bridge structure - so effectively cutting off the diagonal - your steps could then come directly down from the path above to the side of the bridge.

 

Excuse the rough hacking

 

 

 

 

Also, plaster over polystyrene is something I've done before. Use a layer of neat PVA first and let it go tacky before applying the plaster. The results look like this:

 

 

 

EDIT: to be technically correct this is ready-mix filler, not plaster.

 

 

Al.

 

 

I like that Al, could be worth developing, did that image come from steps you've built?

[Alister_G]

36 minutes ago, sb67 said:

did that image come from steps you've built?

 

Sadly not, just a bit of photoshopping from some random image.

 

I have done a similar set of steps down a retaining wall, like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Al.

[sb67]

Ok, thanks Al. I've a template that someone from RMWeb kindly sent me, I'm going to see if I can do anything with them. 

[sb67]

Try as I might I couldn't get the steps to fit where In wanted them so I've decided to go with my original idea. I've used plaster soaked cloth and added a bit of powder paint to the mix, with hindsight this looks massively the wrong colour but I'm guessing the way to paint the rocks would be the same as the bridge using washes of various colours so as soon as it's properly dry I'll give it some grey washes and go from there. 

I'm hoping I can get it to look the way I want with a bit of work.

 

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by sb67

[47137]

Powder paint in the mix can do only good, if the model ever gets a knock the chip will show an earthy colour not brilliant white. I suggest you leave it overnight to see what the final colour is.

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

With the bank drying nicely, going to take ages to dry properly I think. I've put some scrapes and texture into the soft plaster and been thinking about the next bit. As I've got some stashed away and never used it, I was going to start as a base with the time honoured method of carpet underlay for clumps and tufts of grass. I'm guessing though the first step would be getting the colour of the earth/rocks right first? 

[47137]

You can really go to town with this sort of thing if you like. If the grass cover is going to be pretty sparse you could try going back to the chinchilla dust to represent some scree, and then add patchy grass on top. I bought a static grass applicator a few years ago, it was quite expensive but I don't regret having it. It lets you do all sorts of grass effects, in my case frequently by accident.

 

Gordon Gravett suggests using coloured gloss paint to fix down the dusty surface material. The chinchilla dust is absorbent and I experimented with loads of different paints to see what colour would come out. There are lots of variations in colour possible.

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

Thanks Richard, I've used Gordons methods before, it' surprising how the gloss paint dries using different material.  I've got a static grass tea strainer and I'm sure I'll use that at some point. I've never modelled a lot of greenery and fancied having a go at some old school methods. I think it's important to get a good base colour to work from so  I'll prob paint the top of the bank with a browny grey and sieve some ash or chinchilla dust over it and try and make the main rocks look like the pic I'm working from. 

As I said I havent done much scenery and I'm looking forward to having a go. 

The plaster's still soft, could take all week to dry! 

[Stubby47]

Simon on Heaton Junction adds the static grass to the pva, then sprinkles earth powder on top.

I've tried this and it works well, helping to hold up the grass and covering any patches of pva, removing the shine.

[sb67]

 

1 hour ago, Stubby47 said:

Simon on Heaton Junction adds the static grass to the pva, then sprinkles earth powder on top.

I've tried this and it works well, helping to hold up the grass and covering any patches of pva, removing the shine.

 

Thanks Stubby. I've read that, also that the pva layer shouldn't be too thick, I've not tried them myself though. The small bit of static grass I tried the grass was a bit flat until I held a hoover above it and it stood up.

[Alister_G]

I use Burnt Umber artists acrylic paint as a base for static grass, as it dries to a nice brown matt finish, so if you want earth to show through in some patches it does the job.

 

 

Al.

[chuffinghell]

Looking good Steve 

[sb67]

15 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

I use Burnt Umber artists acrylic paint as a base for static grass, as it dries to a nice brown matt finish, so if you want earth to show through in some patches it does the job.

 

 

Al.

 

Thanks Al, I like that. Did you stick the grass to the wet paint? 

[Alister_G]

16 minutes ago, sb67 said:

 

Thanks Al, I like that. Did you stick the grass to the wet paint? 

 

Yep, the paint is used neat, and is nice and sticky, so I just apply a thickish layer and then static grass over the top.

 

EDIT: this is the paint, 200ml for £2.00 ish other makes are available.

 

https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/acrylic-paint/burnt-umber-acrylic-paint---200ml/5052089216648

 

Oh, and what you see above is a mix of Woodland Scenics 2mm Static Grass Medium Green and WWS Patchy Grass 1mm Static Grass which is an olive colour.

 

I've found that using the less vivid greens works best for capturing a "real" look. I steer clear of the bright greens and bright yellow-browns that you can get, my personal opinion is they don't look right.

 

Al.

Edited January 14, 2020 by Alister_G

[sb67]

As the plaster's still soft on the bank I've started the other side. Stuck the tree there to get an idea of what I'm aiming for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the ideas and tips Al, the bit about using less vivid colours makes sense. I'm hoping to go to the Canterbury exhibition at the weekend and was going to look for some static grass, I'll bear that in mind.

 

 

[chuffinghell]

That bridge is a masterpiece Steve 

[sb67]

Thanks Chris, I look at and think of many ways I could have done it better, so much for building a micro layout in a couple of weeks! Keeping me busy though