BusDriverMan Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 I particularly like the back elevation and the guttering! Sorry - I think you answered this in a video or a youtube comment already - but is it right that pretty much all of the brickwork, stonework, tiling etc across the whole layout are the output of your desktop printer? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 3 hours ago, BusDriverMan said: I particularly like the back elevation and the guttering! Sorry - I think you answered this in a video or a youtube comment already - but is it right that pretty much all of the brickwork, stonework, tiling etc across the whole layout are the output of your desktop printer? Yes, absolutely everything was printed on a 5 year old 70 quid Canon printer. I think the tricks are: Use 120gsm matte photographic paper - good surface to print on but thin enough to fold. Set the printer driver manually. Set it to ultra high quality and trick it into thinking it is printing on Canon Ultra Photographic paper or whatever. It’s not, but it makes it try harder. Set the colour density manually too. Set it to “dark”. It uses a lot of ink but it’s worth it. Final trick is FOUR coats of varnish. Two gloss to start with as the matte soaks into the paper and leaves a residue. Then two matte or ultra matte. I brush this on. It makes the paper solid, waterproof, and blends all of the disparate bits of the buildings together. Almost all the buildings have three or four different layers of card to build up relief. Things like lintels are just stuck on top rather than included in the base print. This adds a subtle 3D effect that finishes it all off nicely. 3 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 PS. The guttering is just the edge of a bit of cornflake packet coloured in with a Sharpie pen and then cut very thinly. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusDriverMan Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 I swore off inkjet printers forever after staining one too many kitchen curtain with unexpected behaviour of refill kit syringes but you're making me reconsider £70 (plus endless ink) is very cost-effective for the results you're getting here! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMcKenzie Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Brilliant modeling, really enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing. All the best, Dave 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 My attention is turning to the Station End of the layout and here’s a look at how I am planning my scratch building of the station and the disused warehouse behind it. Chandwell is on a hillside so the ground is higher at the back right than at the front or the left. I use simple folded bits of value copier paper to work out the arrangement of how everything will fit together. The warehouse will be half relief. The station at the end of the platforms will be ultra low relief and the buildings at the back will be quarter relief. There includes a set of steps from street level to warehouse level. It is all a bit complicated in my mind so I find that doing mock ups like this is very cheap and allows me to be sure that what I am visualising will work without wasting any glue, card, printer ink, or time... At least that is the plan! 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) I have finished the platforms and am happy with them. I tried to model puddles and crumbling tarmac with a half-decent effect. I’m moving onto the canopy now, which I am loosely basing on the one that used to be at Ilkley. There are some wonderful pictures elsewhere on RmWeb which have inspired me. I am hand-cutting the trusses and making them out of three layers of 0.5mm card. These are being fixed together with 54x2x1mm matchsticks of card and a 2mm high strip of Cornflake packet. I’m using normal PVA glue for this and a jig made from Lego. If you want to see more of the platforms, the latest video is on my YouTube channel: Edited January 30, 2021 by Chandwell 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
armleyroad Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Are you going to use LED lights in the canopy. I am currently looking into this to, any ideas? Top work again and good video. It's funny that people were commenting on your bookshelf... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Ha ha. I know! It made me laugh. Not 100% sure about lighting yet. I’ve ordered some 3mm and 5mm warm white wide-angle LEDs and will see what they look like hidden in the apex pointing down. I need the wires to be hidden so may use copper tape. I also need the roof to be removable so I can get into it. I think a bit of trial and error will be in order. Also trying to decide whether to glaze it and if so, how. Current thinking is to use printed acetate with suitably grubby appearance. I’ve not thought that far ahead yet as to be honest I am not sure if this structure will even work! Have you thought about how you’re going to do yours yet? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomsontour Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Superb modelling buddy loving the attention to detail, although I'd probably look at buying shares in cornflakes with the amount of boxes you must get through haha All the best Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
armleyroad Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 2 hours ago, Chandwell said: Ha ha. I know! It made me laugh. Not 100% sure about lighting yet. I’ve ordered some 3mm and 5mm warm white wide-angle LEDs and will see what they look like hidden in the apex pointing down. I need the wires to be hidden so may use copper tape. I also need the roof to be removable so I can get into it. I think a bit of trial and error will be in order. Also trying to decide whether to glaze it and if so, how. Current thinking is to use printed acetate with suitably grubby appearance. I’ve not thought that far ahead yet as to be honest I am not sure if this structure will even work! Have you thought about how you’re going to do yours yet? I will use hanging style fitting warm LEDs but I've got some very thin copper enamelled wire which would need to be run in the roof then out to the power feed. Copper tape may work out fine when all done and painted up. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
9C85 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I have just stumbled across this layout thread. I have to say that it is one of the most inspiring things I have seen on RMWeb. This is proper modelling, using everyday materials to make extraordinary scenes. So far, on my layout build, I have been thinking that I can only have a scenic element if it is commercially available, and I have even limited my Ebay searches to kits that have already been built by previous modellers. I have access to top notch photo editing and graphics software, plus a printer, so there's technically nothing stopping me from creating a unique, realistic, grotty urban backscene for my layout. Well done again on a superb piece of modelling and thanks for the inspiration. I will binge watch your YouTube channel when I get a chance. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 23 hours ago, armleyroad said: I will use hanging style fitting warm LEDs but I've got some very thin copper enamelled wire which would need to be run in the roof then out to the power feed. Copper tape may work out fine when all done and painted up. Lovely picture of the roof. What are the dimensions of those glass panels do you think? I’m having a crisis of confidence at the moment that I’ve made my main truss too large for it to be glazed in a similar way to this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 22 hours ago, 9C85 said: I have just stumbled across this layout thread. I have to say that it is one of the most inspiring things I have seen on RMWeb. This is proper modelling, using everyday materials to make extraordinary scenes. So far, on my layout build, I have been thinking that I can only have a scenic element if it is commercially available, and I have even limited my Ebay searches to kits that have already been built by previous modellers. I have access to top notch photo editing and graphics software, plus a printer, so there's technically nothing stopping me from creating a unique, realistic, grotty urban backscene for my layout. Well done again on a superb piece of modelling and thanks for the inspiration. I will binge watch your YouTube channel when I get a chance. Wow! Thank you! That is very kind of you to say. I am really pleased that you find my thread inspiring! Enjoy the videos too! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
armleyroad Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 52 minutes ago, Chandwell said: Lovely picture of the roof. What are the dimensions of those glass panels do you think? I’m having a crisis of confidence at the moment that I’ve made my main truss too large for it to be glazed in a similar way to this. Well I've had a quick look at Ilkley and I think they're a similar design to Skipton, just over a foot wide, maybe 40cm. When scaled down to your N gauge it's going to be very fine. Good luck... will send more photos if needed. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 12 minutes ago, armleyroad said: Well I've had a quick look at Ilkley and I think they're a similar design to Skipton, just over a foot wide, maybe 40cm. When scaled down to your N gauge it's going to be very fine. Good luck... will send more photos if needed. Thanks. In the plus side, I’m only “being inspired by” Ilkley! The back part of the roof (which is now M&S) was of a different design to the front canopies which were more like this, I think. But still... I need to think a bit about what I do once I have the frames made. Would you say those panels are about 1ft by 5ft? Two on top of each other therefore about 10ft? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
armleyroad Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Yes I estimated roughly the same but see whatever looks right when assembled, I will be doing all this soon hopefully on my canopies when the curved brackets arrive. It may be possible for you to represent the white lines on the glazing itself rather than making separate tiny strips to fit between? Maybe you could do this on inkscape? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
armleyroad Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Like this possibly? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 1 hour ago, armleyroad said: Like this possibly? My plan is to do something like that. I will make a grid in Inkscape that is of the correct dimension for the space I have, and then use lines to suggest glazing panels. I am concerned I’ve gone too large to be realistic on the number of panels that would be used, so may do half tile/wood, and half glazed, but I am not sure yet. The most obvious problem I have is that my printer cannot print “white”. So I’d need to commission a screen printer or just use black strips. I will go black I think. I am going to model some, of not most, of the frames empty though, which will lead to a challenge of its own I think. This may be one of those things where modelling in N is an advantage as it may be less obvious that something is wrong because it’s so tiny. But we will see... I can’t wait to see your interpretation of Skipton. If it’s anything like what you’ve done so far, it will be nothing short of spectacular. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 Making some progress. Main structure done and painted (not a strength of mine!) and the first glazing panel in place. I just printed this onto inkjet-compatible acetate. It’s working quite well so far, and so I think it may work out in the end. 10 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan. Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Nice work Michael. Have you used a prototype as a basis? Cheers Duncan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Duncan. said: Nice work Michael. Have you used a prototype as a basis? Cheers Duncan Thanks Duncan. Yes, it’s loosely based on the rear part at Ilkley. The bit that is now Marks and Spencer. There are some great pictures of it in this thread on page 12. The best it about it is the columns were square-profile and didn’t have fancy brackets so I won’t need anything fancy other than my trusty Cornflake packet! Edited February 8, 2021 by Chandwell Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chandwell Posted February 11, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 11, 2021 The glazing of the roof continues. The printed acetate was too shiny. It looked like thin plastic (which it is) instead of dirty glass. So I tried brushing on some matt varnish and it’s ended up looking ok. Not too shiny and a bit frosted. It looks much more like grubby glass now than it did. The main glazing is now done. I’m now adding the top bit on. I don’t know the architectural term but the bit at the apex of the roof above the main bit for ventilation. Once the glazing is done I will add strips on top of the beams to represent the ironwork surrounds on top of the main trusses. I think it is going to work out well enough. 13 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 Looks excellent, you are certainly a master of what can be created with card! Fantastic work, really enjoy your thread and YouTube channel. Graham. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 On 11/02/2021 at 20:57, shanks522 said: Looks excellent, you are certainly a master of what can be created with card! Fantastic work, really enjoy your thread and YouTube channel. Graham. Thank you Graham. I never told you but Smithdown Road was a huge inspiration to me years ago, and I still think of it when I think of building a tail-chaser. The track plan must have been some kind of dark magic because despite your excellent video tours, I never really fully understood it! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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