Jump to content
 

Take a little walk to the edge of town...


Ben B
 Share

Recommended Posts

...and go across the tracks.

 

Setting my stall out for the Round 4, Industry topic.  I thoroughly enjoyed doing the miniature railway for the last round, and thought I'd have another go this time but with something a tad more conventional in 00.  I'll be honest, I don't model much in 00, but have acquired a lot of bits and pieces over the years.  I'd been trying to come up with a theme for it, and decided (having done the seaside) this time I'd do something urban... as the title indicates, I might have been watching a bit too much Peaky Blinders, and kept thinking of the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (even if it is sadly deficient in terms of celebrating the railways of Dudley, with the exception of a single locomotive and a bit of narrow gauge colliery stuff).

 

I grew up in Langley Green in the West Midlands in the 1980's, in that odd period between industrial decline and massive regeneration, and have memories of grotty, crumbling brick and rusting corrugated iron buildings, and mucky canals.  But then I've also been looking a lot through the excellent "Industrial Railways of [various areas]" by Gordon Edgar, and keep seeing lots and lots of ideas... so this build is going to be taking bits of inspirations from all over the place.

 

I also wanted to create an atmospheric model with smoke effects and lighting, modelled at night.  So after lots of doodling, I've come up with the plan to do a tiny slice of an industrial tramway somewhere in the West Midlands, inset into cobbles (but inspired loosely by a street-running tramway which ran to the Huddersfield Gas Works- bits of it are still extant and visible in the road, and also from the remains of the Barrow-in-Furness industrial tramways), with a canal at the lowest level for the Midlands bit.

 

I'd thought initially about setting it in the 1920's-30's for the Peaky Blinders atmosphere, but following more research in the books, I really wanted to model the last gasp of the 'traditional' industrial railways with rusty diesel shunters and battered BR 16t wagons, so it would be vaguely 60's to maybe the early 80's at the latest.

 

Finally?  I've decided to make everything using Dapol/Airfix building parts, just because I really like the kits.  It will have steam/smoke effects built in from the start, and fingers crossed, I'll have the basic woodwork done this week...

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Ben B said:

I also wanted to create an atmospheric model with smoke effects and lighting, modelled at night.  So after lots of doodling, I've come up with the plan to do a tiny slice of an industrial tramway somewhere in the West Midlands, inset into cobbles (but inspired loosely by a street-running tramway which ran to the Huddersfield Gas Works- bits of it are still extant and visible in the road, and also from the remains of the Barrow-in-Furness industrial tramways), with a canal at the lowest level for the Midlands bit.

 

I'd thought initially about setting it in the 1920's-30's for the Peaky Blinders atmosphere, but following more research in the books, I really wanted to model the last gasp of the 'traditional' industrial railways with rusty diesel shunters and battered BR 16t wagons, so it would be vaguely 60's to maybe the early 80's at the latest.

 

Finally?  I've decided to make everything using Dapol/Airfix building parts, just because I really like the kits.  It will have steam/smoke effects built in from the start, and fingers crossed, I'll have the basic woodwork done this week...


Fascinating back story to your model, Ben! If it’s like your last cakebox model, it will be packed full of detail!
 

Marlyn

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Well, not quite as last-minute as the Miniature Railway build I did for the last cakebox; I've been working on this throughout December, and finally got chance to post something tonight now that shopping, Carol Concerts, and so on are done...

 

The Concept- in a bit more detail...

 

   Having had a vague idea for an industrial railway somewhere in the West Mids in the 60's-80-'s, I decided to tighten things up a bit before I started building.  I've imagined therefore that the diorama depicts a scene set in the West Midlands, specifically near Langley Green, Oldbury, sometime in the early 1980's.  In reality there are still, just about, some brick-built industrial buildings which once belonged to Chances, down near the motorway and canal, alongside the electrified Stour Valley route into New Street.  

   I've decided the cakebox represents part of the premises of the fictional "Spon Lane Mechanical Engineering", a metalworking firm which services the steel and manufacturing industries in the area.  The works is served by a small internal network of lines which branch away from the Oldbury Town goods-only line, which (in this scenario) survived closure of the Oldbury Town Station, and survived to run beyond the grounds of Albright and Wilsons chemical works.  The real  branch line does survive incidentally, though heavily overgrown, into the old chemical works, and I believe at one point there was a proposal to reopen it with a Parry People Mover to the edge of Oldbury town centre, but it's unlikely to ever happen.  A disused arm of the canal also runs into the fictional works, crossed by bridges and buildings.

   My fictional "Spon Lane Mechanical Engineers" is a firm very much on it's last legs, with their buildings increasingly run-down and tattered.  Their customers have been closing with the decline of the local steel industries, and their last big customer up the mainline, Round Oak Steelworks, is due to close soon, with the last few wagonloads of parts being sent to the exchange sidings to be tripped via Stourbridge Junction to the works.  There is no money to maintain their structures or their ancient railway network and locomotives, but they are clinging to life.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_15.jpg.e86ead2baabb28558d436756d30f0693.jpg

 

I wanted a railway line set into cobbles, in a complicated scene with ancient buildings hemming everything in claustrophobically.  There would be lots of straight lines, but I was going to try and avoid having too much parallel to each other.  Starting out, I marked out a board and laid some odds and scraps to test compositions.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_11.jpg.02f47cf63f608d0d446e4cd86fe413ca.jpg

 

Once I'd got the rough idea, I started cutting wood.  I knew I was going to need to finish the canal (with towpath and steps-up to the bridge) before I did anything else.  A right mix of scrap ply and 3mm MDF were used.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_10.jpg.99b02bb8d1a08ec4f460b78592646239.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_12.jpg.5f621ec81860b001a44448eb598eae8f.jpg

 

The canal followed the same method I used for the water on the miniature railway cakebox, black paint under acrylic.  However I ended up using a thicker (3mm) scrap of acrylic this time, and mixing some brown paint in (as this was meant to be a manky, abandoned canal arm).  The canal was masked-off so I could work on the rest of the scene.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_08.jpg.61ff5ac296ac913e38e85fa127fcf1fc.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_09.jpg.c3c776cc8374fab0dcf3376846defabd.jpg

 

The pediment for the railway bridge was cut from some spare Peco platform ramps, set into the Wills brickwork, and everything was given a wash of watered-down black acrylic, wiped off with tissue.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_07.jpg.e4b19357d32ef43f9585e9b14acdb92f.jpg

 

The towpath had more Wills brick sides, with the surface from the Airfix/Dapol platform kit donating the flagstones.

 

   For added interest, I wanted steps up from the towpath, so these were done with some bits of the Airfix/Dapol footbridge kit.  The bridge I wanted to look a little more ornate, so once some old I-section girders had been set between the walls, I used some modified Wills bridge sides.  Oh and forgive the intrusion of Devious Diesel, I was a little short on 00 stock...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_06.jpg.68008c02ec33faa8f5c869083a7fb766.jpg

 

I wanted track inset into cobbles, and after planning to build it all from scratch, I took a shortcut when I realised the track would be entirely straight.  I had a damaged Hornby level crossing, so I chopped it about and used it as the basis, as it had the checkrails etc moulded in, and would provide a good surface for adding the cobbles.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_05.jpg.3a5b994470a3a5e7deb34fa083b922dc.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_04.jpg

 

I knew I'd be using hacked-about odds and ends from the range of buildings in the Airfix/Dapol range, and that I wanted them illuminated, but I also realised the increasingly thin plastic Dapol use (to preserve the old tools) needed backing to stop the walls glowing.  I knocked up some rough shapes for the buildings from scrap MDF (one of the advantages of having been a DT Technician, access to tons of scrap materials).  I had thought I'd build the actual structures with laminated plastic, but in the end for time reasons just mounted the kit parts onto the wood, and opened up some apertures behind the windows.  Not all the windows would be lit, to give an impression of bits of the buildings being disused or just closed for the night.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_14.jpg.48c5a7b6c4a67e8f9ded4cb41b77932a.jpg

 

  I needed to keep things simple; the buildings were lit by gluing into place a string of LED Christmas lights from Wilkos, the battery pack concealed behind the towpath wall.  I painted the windows with a mix of Poly-cement and watered-down light grey paint, to give an impression of frosted/condensation-covered windows, which would helpfully mean I wouldn't need to model any interiors.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_03.jpg.a3515382211a7b4bf16c9b7d11deaa1b.jpg

 

The buildings mainly use the Station and the Engine Shed kits, assembled in a slightly haphazard way with cracks and joins, to represent the ageing, ill-maintained buildings.  Covered walkways linking the buildings made the most of the Signal Box and a few more bits of the Footbridge kits.

 

Next up, detailing...

 

 

Edited by Ben B
Moved a pic which was in the wrong place
  • Like 6
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_27.jpg.e778d529c0ff0d766a84f412daa442f6.jpg

 

I wanted some working streetlights and so ordered, from China, a set of rather nice oil lamps... which vanished somewhere on the high seas.  Perhaps some pirates really needed some detailing parts for their layouts they work on between pillaging and machine-gun maintenance.  Happily, I found a box with 4 streetlamps in the bargain bin at Frizinghall Models.  Being the last things going in to the model, fitting them was a bit of a faff, but I worked out I could drill some holes, fit the plastic tubes from old biros, and feed the wires down them.  For simplicity I wired them up with two lamps to a 9v battery.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_28.jpg.6af44b1c9e6ef9ef50ef204a577756c1.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_16.jpg.2abfb20502fb2034ba52af05c6648852.jpg

 

Reeds were added to the edge of the canal, and some greenery was added to the walls here and there, though not too much as this was meant to be set vaguely in the autumn.  I used the same paintbrush which I'd chopped up for the Miniature Railway project, and glued them to a bit of acrylic.  Cut out, and with the base painted brown to represent a general build-up of silt, they could be easily glued onto the canal surface.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_29.jpg.acd0dc9097d7c38ada5abab8b9215db4.jpg

 

I realised the towpath needed a bit of interest, so a Hornby Sheepdog was selected to become a fox with  a bit of repainting...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_24.jpg.e800a51fb4056b5b6b68ba0b5341b35a.jpg

 

I wanted the canal to look very disused (I can just about remember canals looking very neglected when I was growing up in Langley Green in the 80's).  Some swirled metallic paint would represent oil spilled from a couple of Wills barrels, and some other scraps were added.  It seemed to missing something, so I cut the bottom off the boat I'd used to gauge the width at the planning stage, to represent a part-sunk barge abandoned in the old canal arm.  There's a few in this condition at the Black Country Museum, but I can remember seeing something similar somewhere in the vicinity of the real Spon Lane when I was younger.  The boat is one of the pontoons from the Airfix Bailey Bridge kit.  Oh and the drain cover in the wall is a bit from the Airfix/Dapol Girder Bridge... as I mentioned in the Miniature Railway build, I think including a bit from this kit in any build is mandatory...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_25.jpg.c33437d5eb38359c8786ac900dbc52e4.jpg

 

I also bought a tub of odds and ends from Frizinghall Models for the princely sum of 50p, and it yielded most of the detailing parts.  A couple of figures, and lots of broken bits.  A water pipe and valve came from the Water Crane kit.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_22.jpg.e37a326f8499a41c867c70797d07792d.jpg

 

For a splash of colour, I dry-brushed the doors a pale blue, along with odd bits of the walkways.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_23.jpg.163aac36abb182cb30ebd756a3fdc34f.jpg

 

I wanted everything to look like a damp, misty night, so when everything was set, I hit it with a blast of gloss varnish, from above so it would settle naturally like rain.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_18.jpg.e5ee2a110bdf55a07f662d006e4529fc.jpg

 

I also added some scraps of trees growing out of the more obviously disused bits of the buildings.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_19.jpg.b3061b705372e45f398a36c79a5a36e6.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_20.jpg.729ee70ffb1dc6a92cd3f8709165bd88.jpg

 

A quick test in the dark showed the sort of effect I was after; next up a little bit on the trains used for the model...

  • Like 8
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_13.jpg.1b5a4e680392ff1f04a661a8e43cc018.jpg

 

I was struggling a little for trains to use... as the guest appearance by Devious Diesel here shows, anything around 08-size seriously overpowers the scene.  When I did the planning, I used my treasured, if somewhat battered, Airfix Pug (which I inherited from a long-deceased relative).  But I wanted something fitting for the 80's time period, which meant a diesel, and for preference working lights...

 

...which meant a significant cost for tiny loco lamps.  I was trying to do this very much on a budget, but found an old Model Power switcher which was listed (on eBay) as having working lights; naturally, when it turned up, it didn't, so back to square one. 

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_02.jpg.7633e47f8221b719a5a5839b650ce157.jpg

 

The solution was this venerable Triang dock-shunter, which had come in a big box of spares years ago, and which whilst rather chunky was also short enough to not dominate the whole thing too much.  Whilst pretty American in design, I reckoned it could pass enough for a vintage 1950's shunter, the sort of thing a dying firm would be nursing through.  The only downside was it looked a bit heavyweight for the bridge, but maybe shooting the pics in the dark would help hide the fact.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_01.jpg.62fcd8a5be3d4be6855f481fa78809d2.jpg

 

The mechanism was gunked-up, rusty, and past it (with no way in hell that original light bulb would ever work again), so I stripped it out, and thus the bonnet provided enough clearance for a couple of micro LED torches, that would at least save me having to wire up some lights into it for the sake of this one shoot.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_30.jpg.a2412ad182814ed3aeacafaf84b81a5e.jpg

 

Quick test showed it looked as I wanted, once some glazing had been added.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_26.jpg.0e2e09bd0b7b2b5056ef385cbb05fcf6.jpg

 

I'd originally thought about having a 16T mineral, but given the supposed nature of the works as a light engineering firm, something a little more generic seemed to be in order.  I decided to knock-up a basic, open, internal-user wagon, using a seriously knackered Triang brakevan which had been in the same bundle of odds and ends as the shunter.  With the body chopped away, a new plank floor was added from a bit of an Airfix level crossing (which had donated the planked roof for the walkway on the buildings).

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_17.jpg.21dfe690d3c453ca345cce1571621225.jpg

 

A quick blast of black, then dry-brushing with browns and greys gave me a low, small and relatively unobtrusive wagon for the scene.

 

Next up, the final photographs...

  • Like 3
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_65.jpg.d50940a9efc985fdecadef6e93f3ae42.jpg

 

Boxing Day evening saw me have the first chance to shoot the pictures with the set, with the steam-generator running.  A piece of mirrored acrylic came in handy for extending the scene...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_55.jpg.48a3b0a3176bc24f70bcffa71f4af4a6.jpg

 

View from the rooftops, with workers enjoying their snap on the late shift...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_59.jpg.2f4c4e1c3e9a3e94f292624802731997.jpg

 

More workers and driver taking a break... no wonder the works is going bust, nobody does any actual machining...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_54.jpg.1cf815b87f58ce37e6dd71ce6f62a2ab.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_58.jpg.f33c1a92fa159fbc3a46a4f7df815385.jpg

 

Greyscale experiment...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_64.jpg.7fc937aabe910d0733ff2f8e8b005ccc.jpg

 

I enjoyed these shots, but the lighting in the diesel packed-in, annoyingly... so I dug out the Pug loco for a few more...

  • Like 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_51.jpg.7556d4257b91545171484f17d2f996a2.jpg

 

I'm very fond of this Pug model, and I like the prototypes, but it seemed a little out of place for an industrial concern in the early 1980's; at least until I'd read up a bit more through the excellent books by Gordon Edgar, which showed that some places used steam into that period.  The NCB did a fair bit, but smaller concerns like the scrappers at Shipley, Crossley-Evans (near where I currently live) had an active tank loco into the 80's.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_52.jpg.af7548bd641136098766118b05205ec2.jpg

 

It certainly seemed to fit the scene, just a shame I couldn't get working lights onto it.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_56.jpg.6c31346f2254cae83670b4a87dc7411a.jpg

 

Another break for the staff; must be a seriously demoralised workforce...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_62.jpg.5a44ccd75620fe264c8a037184820a12.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_53.jpg.8aa7bef30003c0bc3a3c6586a68f51aa.jpg

 

More greyscale tests, which seem to work better with the steam loco prototype.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_60.jpg.71910d172e8af8a925838cd8f0c6ac6e.jpg

 

So summing up?  It's rare that my projects don't suffer some form of mission-creep when I'm building them, but this came out pretty much as I planned it.  I'm satisfied with how the build went together, it was a relaxing project to do, generally speaking, and I'm very happy with how the final photographs turned out.  All in all, an enjoyable Cakebox.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_50.jpg.54dfd65da8197e593d3429c09a6f2641.jpg

  • Like 10
  • Craftsmanship/clever 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

That's incredible! Your use of height and 'slicing' the scene up along diagonal lines is very effective, and the whole thing oozes atmosphere.

 

It's one of those that makes me think 'cor, I wish I'd made that!'

 

  • Like 2
  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Ralf said:

What did you use? Literally steam generator? 

 

Pretty much; it's a USB-powered thing about the size of a jam jar, sold as a humidifier.  You fill it up with water and it creates a jet of steam.  Handy little device for doing steam effects with models, I'm trying to incorporate one into a G-scale loco at the moment for a pic...

 

On 30/12/2019 at 18:09, PAT JAYA 185 said:

I bet it was a fun build?! 

 

Very much so- it was different to the sorts of builds I usually do, and nice to work in 00 for a change.

 

Thanks everyone for the positive comments!  Much appreciated :)

 

Ben

  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
On 27/12/2019 at 22:34, Ben B said:

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_13.jpg.1b5a4e680392ff1f04a661a8e43cc018.jpg

 

I was struggling a little for trains to use... as the guest appearance by Devious Diesel here shows, anything around 08-size seriously overpowers the scene.  When I did the planning, I used my treasured, if somewhat battered, Airfix Pug (which I inherited from a long-deceased relative).  But I wanted something fitting for the 80's time period, which meant a diesel, and for preference working lights...

 

...which meant a significant cost for tiny loco lamps.  I was trying to do this very much on a budget, but found an old Model Power switcher which was listed (on eBay) as having working lights; naturally, when it turned up, it didn't, so back to square one. 

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_02.jpg.7633e47f8221b719a5a5839b650ce157.jpg

 

The solution was this venerable Triang dock-shunter, which had come in a big box of spares years ago, and which whilst rather chunky was also short enough to not dominate the whole thing too much.  Whilst pretty American in design, I reckoned it could pass enough for a vintage 1950's shunter, the sort of thing a dying firm would be nursing through.  The only downside was it looked a bit heavyweight for the bridge, but maybe shooting the pics in the dark would help hide the fact.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_01.jpg.62fcd8a5be3d4be6855f481fa78809d2.jpg

 

The mechanism was gunked-up, rusty, and past it (with no way in hell that original light bulb would ever work again), so I stripped it out, and thus the bonnet provided enough clearance for a couple of micro LED torches, that would at least save me having to wire up some lights into it for the sake of this one shoot.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_30.jpg.a2412ad182814ed3aeacafaf84b81a5e.jpg

 

Quick test showed it looked as I wanted, once some glazing had been added.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_26.jpg.0e2e09bd0b7b2b5056ef385cbb05fcf6.jpg

 

I'd originally thought about having a 16T mineral, but given the supposed nature of the works as a light engineering firm, something a little more generic seemed to be in order.  I decided to knock-up a basic, open, internal-user wagon, using a seriously knackered Triang brakevan which had been in the same bundle of odds and ends as the shunter.  With the body chopped away, a new plank floor was added from a bit of an Airfix level crossing (which had donated the planked roof for the walkway on the buildings).

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Dec_19_17.jpg.21dfe690d3c453ca345cce1571621225.jpg

 

A quick blast of black, then dry-brushing with browns and greys gave me a low, small and relatively unobtrusive wagon for the scene.

 

Next up, the final photographs...

How much for instructions for the wagon itself ? I was thinking a short wagon for hay bales on a light railway for a farm.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I enjoyed identifying the component parts  from Airfix kits which you have  so artistically incorporated into your masterpiece.

A kit which crossed my thoughts  is the Airfix Airfield Control Tower, it contains plenty of doors and windows (16) and captures  the look and feel of 1950s utility and austerity of a post-WW2 industrial building in concrete, also not too expensive on eBay!

Edited by Pandora
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 28/09/2020 at 15:13, Daniel Gee said:

How much for instructions for the wagon itself ? I was thinking a short wagon for hay bales on a light railway for a farm.

 

It's pretty simple (as befits a build that took place about the night before I needed to shoot the pics!).  It's a Triang short-wheelbase brakevan of somewhat knackered condition, I think it might be the Toad model- I chopped out the central body (I had no roof for it), then the roof pillars at the ends, just leaving the end lower panels.  I replaced the decking with some planks from an Airfix level crossing kit as it had nice planked detail.  It ended up not unlike those old brick-carrying short-wheelbase wagons, and quite effective for the pics. 

 

I reckon it would make a nice haybale carrier, though I wonder if a farm might have a lighter field-railway type NG line rather than standard gauge?  That said, the image of a Ruston 48 with a few light wagons of haybales threading between barns or down a country lane somewhere is very appealing... look at some pictures of the Burneside Tramway in Cumbria, on this thread:

 

 

 

14 hours ago, Pandora said:

Spon Lane. Superb!

To give a make-believe illusion of the depth of the canal water,  the floating oil drums could be  cut down so only 50% is above the scenic water level.

I wish I could build such an interesting  cakebox.

 

Thanks for the nice comments :)  I did file-down the barells slightly at one end to make them look like they had a few slops of liquid in them, but it didn't end up showing too well in the final photographs as it's probably too gloomy on the canal- there's a fox on the towpath that just doesn't show up in these photographs for example.  I keep meaning to unbury it and re-shoot the pictures in a less rushed setting, though I'm increasinly thinking of just building a slightly bigger layout to the same theme...

 

3 hours ago, Kevin Johnson said:

Ben you have modelled a fantastic little cakebox scene. The grot and grime you have done nicely along with the steamy affect. :good:

 

Thanks!  Grot and grime hide a multitude of modelling sins when the build's been done in a hurry ;)

 

1 hour ago, Pandora said:

I enjoyed identifying the component parts  from Airfix kits which you have  so artistically incorporated into your masterpiece.

A kit which crossed my thoughts  is the Airfix Airfield Control Tower, it contains plenty of doors and windows (16) and captures  the look and feel of 1950s utility and austerity of a post-WW2 industrial building in concrete, also not too expensive on eBay!

 

Glad I'm not the only one who plays 'spot the Airfix kit part'!  I'm awful watching Gerry Anderson productions for this very reason.  Do you know, I never even thought about the Control Tower kit?  It's 1/72nd isn't it... Hmmm...

 

The little spate of comments on this Cakebox the last few days has been very pleasant- I've been toying with doing a Steampunk-themed micro, expanding on this build, using the same techniques., or maybe just a bigger slice of this imaginary industrial branch in the 70's or 80's for my Hornby 48ds.. a nice little project for this winter perhaps :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 02/10/2020 at 19:56, Ben B said:

 

It's pretty simple (as befits a build that took place about the night before I needed to shoot the pics!).  It's a Triang short-wheelbase brakevan of somewhat knackered condition, I think it might be the Toad model- I chopped out the central body (I had no roof for it), then the roof pillars at the ends, just leaving the end lower panels.  I replaced the decking with some planks from an Airfix level crossing kit as it had nice planked detail.  It ended up not unlike those old brick-carrying short-wheelbase wagons, and quite effective for the pics. 

 

I reckon it would make a nice haybale carrier, though I wonder if a farm might have a lighter field-railway type NG line rather than standard gauge?  That said, the image of a Ruston 48 with a few light wagons of haybales threading between barns or down a country lane somewhere is very appealing... look at some pictures of the Burneside Tramway in Cumbria, on this thread:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the nice comments :)  I did file-down the barells slightly at one end to make them look like they had a few slops of liquid in them, but it didn't end up showing too well in the final photographs as it's probably too gloomy on the canal- there's a fox on the towpath that just doesn't show up in these photographs for example.  I keep meaning to unbury it and re-shoot the pictures in a less rushed setting, though I'm increasinly thinking of just building a slightly bigger layout to the same theme...

 

 

Thanks!  Grot and grime hide a multitude of modelling sins when the build's been done in a hurry ;)

 

 

Glad I'm not the only one who plays 'spot the Airfix kit part'!  I'm awful watching Gerry Anderson productions for this very reason.  Do you know, I never even thought about the Control Tower kit?  It's 1/72nd isn't it... Hmmm...

 

The little spate of comments on this Cakebox the last few days has been very pleasant- I've been toying with doing a Steampunk-themed micro, expanding on this build, using the same techniques., or maybe just a bigger slice of this imaginary industrial branch in the 70's or 80's for my Hornby 48ds.. a nice little project for this winter perhaps :)

Please may we see another set of images from alternative viewing points to complement the ones you have posted?

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The Cakebox lives again!  Hornby were running a competition through their social media feed for 'your favourite photograph of a Hornby model', so I thought I'd go for it.  The Cakebox had sat pretty well neglected for the last year or so since I entered the contest, happily it had been safely stored in a cupboard and needed no mending.  I'd always meant to do some shots with 'proper' models (rather than a clapped-out Dock Shunter and an Airfix pug kit) just to see how it looked.

 

Apologies in advance for the heavily watermarked photographs- I'd prepared these for my blog, saved them on a USB, and was going to edit some shots just for here on RM Web with less intrusive watermarks, then my laptop went and fried itself.  When the new one comes next week, I'll re-edit the original shots and try and put some non-watermarked shots up on here.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_32.jpg.c568835c9ea229b3aee0d71b0abe980c.jpg

 

Last time I just did night shots, but I had a certain degree of inspiration this year to try something different...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_31.jpg.e6e46d6241a4e56c8c06406422713f40.jpg

 

This was a couple of weeks ago, where it seemed to be foggy up here in Keighley every day.  I'd built the set with night shots in mind, but I wondered if I could make the impression of a really foggy day with the mist rising up off the canal.  The day after this walk, we ended up Self-Isolating as a household, which really gave me no excuse but to get on with it and shoot some pics.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_02.jpg.d6df41b461edb4ee575b29e309cbe8ae.jpg

 

I replaced the solid, black-painted lid with a sheet of white A4 paper, and shone an LED desklamp through it.  The set was then angled to face the late-afternoon sun coming through a window, and the USB-powered humidifiers switched on- the one concealed in the building to the left of this shot, and a second one positioned to blast a cloud along the canal from outside the set.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_30.jpg.9ca08ca0f1bbe038a008761e2beb26ee.jpg

 

Quick test with the Dock Shunter.  The working lights on the loco had packed-in whilst it was in store (I suspect the tiny batteries were dead, but obviously being in isolation I wasn't able to nip to the shops for any more).

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_19.jpg.6e502cd55d8cc49ec92f1d295ce80182.jpg

 

Last time I used my treasured Airfix Pug kit that I'd inherited, and though I like it, it's a bit simple in the detailing department and anyway, this competition called for the better Hornby model that I'd purchased earlier in the year.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_27.jpg.f05587271ed7f6e5cef32295f1e55c79.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_29.jpg.b46f83ed3ced7dc292469525b3171d28.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_28.jpg.b90d6b68bcf30dec432844c08a302084.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_23.jpg.9d2b94e9d34cf722a61d9a8d00af2e37.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_15.jpg.70f57f39da3588d6291a546e130b6469.jpg

 

Having shot some with the Pug, I decided to see how it would look with a diesel loco, and my favourite model I've bought lately, the Ruston 48.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_14.jpg.34098f16632659aa02e73d45e10215c1.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_18.jpg.0076a10a89eb3782d74bbb96ac95d19c.jpg

 

This model seems really well suited to this set; I wish I'd had this to do the shoot with last year in the Cakebox competition.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_16.jpg.e502659550dc6b30e1b5e0a6bc8593db.jpg

 

I thought I'd try some greyscale edits.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_24.jpg.298145ddf27dba3252ccf32d12525a02.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_26.jpg.4bf0fee7b953cc4b8a497d449b9db94a.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_25.jpg.321cc9f56f793c075403bcb816d871a9.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_17.jpg.284e1f6582d17e15795fa18254ffe8b5.jpg

 

I know the loco is rather  out of focus, but this is probably my favourite from the daylight set of images.

 

I liked how these had come out, but with the light fading outside and everything set-up, I thought I'd do some newer night-time shots too...

 

 

 

Edited by Ben B
spelling correction
  • Like 2
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

So, having done the daylight shots, I waited a couple of hours and did some night-shots.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_21.jpg.cfe8d140acaacb4bc5d5b6bfb88de621.jpg

 

Once again, the sheet of mirrored acrylic was in use to visually extend the set.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_12.jpg.e86e9213c12d9520d035169666bc3c20.jpg

 

The Ruston 48 was still on the tracks, so I started with the diesel this time around.  Pity it didn't have a working light for the pics, but that's down to me not bothering to install one.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_04.jpg.15138575b33e6b93a49660b9c3441b02.jpg

 

Something I managed this time, I managed to remember to photograph the fox under the bridge...

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_05.jpg.3568dff64bd5904238ed21660f6f94d8.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_07.jpg.b92922af56d35e353f5f9dc40c8d69df.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_01.jpg.0311b63cc2e18d80f2d8ebd7b35b18d2.jpg

 

The problem with using such a highly-detailed model loco, it does show up how simplistic the figures are, and slightly ropey the set is too.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_06.jpg.cfa90f3dcb6a691d9ef1b5e0b0308e4b.jpg

 

Another favourite shot, but then I'm a sucker for low-angle photographs.  I like to imagine it's parked up with the engine off and lights out whilst the driver has a break.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_13.jpg.3d7a8dab7eb2e1feb23fc5c0bc7ed91e.jpg

 

Bit of a play on Photoshop to see if I could give the impression of a rainy evening.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_22.jpg.22829e34e2d19415d478e509c54831ee.jpg

 

Then it was out with the Pug again.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_09.jpg.11ae7cf02fad7c173216b6856e5b18aa.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_08.jpg.91f2b68cc77bff127e248b1e559d7200.jpg

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_10.jpg.74579a00181ad0a2cb767985a6d0c805.jpg

 

This was my favourite shot from the Pug selection, and in fact the one I sent off for the Hornby competition.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_11.jpg.79d995262716762350227b46984d7d84.jpg

 

Another higher-angle shot, like you're looking out from a balcony or overbridge.  I think it needs either smoke effects from the loco, or at least firebox glow.  Maybe something else to look into.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_Cakebox_Industry_Nov_20_20.jpg.4bf7a8a1bc3f8b646a3bea4d10857dd4.jpg

 

Final shot, I wanted to see how something predominantly yellow/brightly coloured looked on the set, on the basis of a possible future shoot with another loco I'm building.

 

 

  • Like 4
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
  • Round of applause 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...