Popular Post James Hilton Posted November 4, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) It's 20th June 1978, the last full week of operation at Graig Merthyr colliery and our photographer has caught an anonymous Austerity one shed at shift change... The colouring of this photo has been adjusted on the iPhone to evoke some of the colours in Gordon Edgar's excellent book on Industrial Railways in Wales, where the caption above is paraphrased from (pg 50 for those who have a copy). Of course, this is actually a DJ Models (not the new EFE model) J94 I repainted as a more generic industrial example using Humbrol 131 and then some careful blended weathering and some real coal for a load... this is posed on my micro OO layout Pont-y-dulais, which is inspired but not a slavish copy of Ponturddulais in South Wales. It's a lovely little layout, and I snapped this today whilst waiting for weathering on the Hudson Hunslet's to dry before taking it for a little spin up and down the sidings... In the shed are a pair of Modelu coats hung up (great details in the range these days), I love these little touches that don't over do the cameo but bring a scene to life... this is another one of my firm beliefs, that although a locomotive looks better with a driver, I don't think layouts need cluttering up with them - suggestions of life are more effective in these smaller scales. One thing I was reflecting on as I took the photo, was how lucky I was to have been able to build something that was fulfilling and mindful during construction but now sits and forms part of my life every day. It would be easy to loose this feeling, in the yearning for something more expansive, but the accessibility of the layout, and the feelings and emotions it evokes for me are more valuable than I perhaps had realised, especially with the toll on my mental health with lock down, financial and family pressures. Model making, when you have the mental capacity, is a real tonic. I hope you're all well and perhaps can find some time for yourselves during the latest lock downs wherever you are in the world. More soon... Edited November 4, 2020 by James Hilton 21 2 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted November 5, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 5, 2020 Splendid photo matched by an equally splendid set of words. Rob. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northmoor Posted November 6, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 6, 2020 What a super little layout; your ground work is exceptional. I've sketched a plan or two based on the Pontarddulais exchange sidings before. A couple of other plans to get out the way first though! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted November 15, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 15, 2020 On 06/11/2020 at 21:41, Northmoor said: your ground work is exceptional Agreed and if I may say so, your heaps of coal and ash (?) are very well observed. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted November 15, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 15, 2020 On 04/11/2020 at 11:05, James Hilton said: Model making, when you have the mental capacity, is a real tonic I'm not sure how many people recognise this factor, but it's something that really resonates with me. You can have as much spare time as you like, but if you're not in the right place mentally and emotionally, modelling really doesn't come easily, at least with me it doesn't. Another way of saying it perhaps, is that you need to be in the right frame of mind to be creative. 1 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Hilton Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share Posted November 15, 2020 34 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said: Agreed and if I may say so, your heaps of coal and ash (?) are very well observed. Thanks! They’re formed from DAS clay, with the fingers pushed onto a piece of sheet glass to dry. Once dry, painted, then once that is dry covered with PVA and bedded into a dab of PVA on the layout and then sprinkled with either coal or ash from the fire... the corner pile against the shed was formed in the same way but around a corner of something as well as on the glass. 35 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said: I'm not sure how many people recognise this factor, but it's something that really resonates with me. In general people don’t talk about mental health enough. Mine has taken a battering over the years after my Dad died so I’ve learnt that modelling can only help when I’m in a calmer space, but at those moments it really does help. These days even during the lock down I’ve felt more in tune with it, and happy to accept whether I’m up or down and not dwell but take each day as it comes. 1 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandhole Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 To both The Captain and James Hilton, Can I thank you for pointing out that having loads of time during lock down doesn't equate to loads of modelling. A close friend of mine can't understand why I'm having difficulty in lock down. He has a family and actual physical contact. I'm a solitary soul and have found that hard. I'm now, thanks to Friends all over the world, coming to James's point of view. I'm just rolling along from day to day. Check on your solitary Friends, no matter how comfortable they may seem, lock down is HARD. This place has been a great place to visit during lock down. Thanks to all involved. 3 1 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidmouth Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 @James Hiltonthat is one fabulous mini layout and one that resonates so much with south wales industrial scenes in the excellent Geoff Silcock and Peter Cavalier book 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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