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MRJ 280


lambiedg
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To be fair, some of our CF baseboard joints may be a bit tired, but we do repair and up date them from time to time. The secret is probably to have inconsistent joints across a scene and have them running at different angles and places, the eye then looses track of where they are. 
 

Tim

Edited by CF MRC
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"You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables." - Samuel Johnson (the lexicographer, not the locomotive engineer).

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Subs copy arrived (unmolested) this morning down here on the not-so-sunny South Coast, so Postman Pat might have done all the rest to the north on his round.

 

An issue of contrasts - the lovely tribute to Shirley Rowe, and yet the 'strange' letter about Copenhagen Fields.

 

Always appreciate every issue of MRJ - so aspirational and inspirational.

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Arrived safely today, along with a few back-issues. Rapid service, but there is a tale.

 

I received an email from DPD advising delivery due between 10.54 - 11.54. The van pulls up outside my house at 10.50, so I open the door but driver advises that need to wait 3 1/2 mins as he is early! Worth the wait though!

 

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My copy also arrived yesterday.  It arrived in a plastic bag, consigning to history the card backed envelopes which were bigger than both the magazine and my letter box - though of late some posties managed to get it through the slot, saving me the trek across town to the sorting office to fetch the bl**dy thing.

 

As for the contents, I turned first to Dave Rowe's touching obituary of Shirley.  Other articles need to be revisited because I fell asleep whilst "listening" to Question Time last night.

 

Chris  

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My copy has just arrived.  A quick scan suggests it will be an interesting edition with a good mixture of articles.

 

It is now sitting under a pile of books in order to flatten it out again.  This is not something I ever had to do when the card-backed envelopes were in use.  I have to say I am dismayed at the switch from a recyclable envelope to plastic.  Definitely a backward step and all the more surprising given the recent attention to plastic pollution.

 

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The "letter from Towcester" made me re-read the article on Copenhagen Fields in MRJ 279.  The description of the article and by assocation, of Tim, is one that I completely fail to recognise.  I'm wondering if there are maybe two different editions of issue 279...

Yes, Tim took a somewhat provocative stance in order to make what I think are valid points about layouts in general but knowing Tim as I do, he would never deny anyone's enjoyment in building whatever type of layout they choose. Considering the opening paragraphs referred to in the letter, I've got a foot in both camps, having worked on CF since its inception and concurrent with CF, built a number of the "two sidings, two buffers stops" layouts Tim mentions. Some of those layouts have gone to new homes, one or two are still in my possession but they have their flaws and don't get used much nowadays.  The fact that 36 years later, CF still holds the attention of its builders speaks volumes for the concept.

 

People will no doubt make up their own minds about the criticisms levelled at the layout in the letter.  It's still unfinished and can absorb almost any amount of detail we make for it so yes there are areas which are indeed sterile. What seems like a reasonably significant bit of work on the workbench just disappears into the overall scene on the layout. Colouring is a subjective issue. My personal view on this is that 2mm scale benefits from subdued colouring because the eye takes in a wider view than the larger scales. Items with more intense colouring can then be used selectively as highlights. The uniformity of buildings is a odd thing to mention as many streets in the area modelled did have identical "spec-built" housing. As an earlier post describes, the buildings are taken from the real life locality.

Far from being "priggish and self-righteous", the team who work on CF are their own sternest critics. If we're guilty of anything, it'd be a certain amount of irreverance for the chosen subject.

 

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Copenhagen Fields is superb but Tim Watson's general comments about other modellers layouts and modelling approach were a tad smug - never a good look - and detracted from an otherwise interesting, informative and useful article. Good modelling should always just speak for itself and there is no need to look down on others who are just trying to enjoy their hobby. Very few layouts achieve immortality; of those that get sold on following their builders demise, I do wonder if they'll last into a further generation. Of those that are 'immortal' there seems to be no constant factor and many are often a bit crude in modern terms, mainly because techniques move on in this wonderful hobby . The point is, they surely all gave immense pleasure to their builders, operators, readers and viewers. I'm so looking forward to the return of exhibitions in general and seeing CF again in particular.

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1 hour ago, 2mmMark said:

The "letter from Towcester" made me re-read the article on Copenhagen Fields in MRJ 279.  The description of the article and by assocation, of Tim, is one that I completely fail to recognise.  I'm wondering if there are maybe two different editions of issue 279...
 

 

Oddly enough, I did the same and found myself asking the same question regarding differing versions of issue 279.

 

As for issue 280, an interesting read, and (as usual) well worth the wait.

 

Adrian

Edited by figworthy
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22 hours ago, mudmagnet said:

Arrived safely today, along with a few back-issues. Rapid service, but there is a tale.

 

I received an email from DPD advising delivery due between 10.54 - 11.54. The van pulls up outside my house at 10.50, so I open the door but driver advises that need to wait 3 1/2 mins as he is early! Worth the wait though!

 

I trust that when the 3 and a half minutes were up, he also removed the red tape holding his door shut.

 

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6 hours ago, 2mmMark said:

The "letter from Towcester" made me re-read the article on Copenhagen Fields in MRJ 279.  The description of the article and by assocation, of Tim, is one that I completely fail to recognise.  I'm wondering if there are maybe two different editions of issue 279...

 


I too appear to have received the Vanilla version of 279. Anyone know where the vindaloo versions are ?

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27 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

And having read Dave Rowe's tribute to Shirley, my eyes are quite damp.


We have some beautiful London Plane trees made by Shirley on Copenhagen Fields.

 

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3 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Others may have noticed, but just seen that Cygnet have changed their address

Yes, when I first saw that, I jumped to an erroneous conclusion, but the phone number (Didcot code) is a bit of a giveaway.

 

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On 08/10/2020 at 13:29, CF MRC said:

To be fair, some of our CF baseboard joints may be a bit tired, but we do repair and up date them from time to time. The secret is probably to have inconsistent joints across a scene and have them running at different angles and places, the eye then looses track of where they are. 
 

Tim

 

I've highlighted here what I think is the key point in Tim's comment above - the eye readily detects straight lines, but break them up a bit and the eye seems to allow for them in some way.  One interesting idea which very effectively hid baseboard joints was Dave Doe's 'Jigsaw Scenery' concept - this involved removable sections of scenery (divided along, say, hedgerows between fields for example) which sat on top of the baseboard and very effectively hid the joints - the eye completely misses the joins between the scenery sections as they are somewhere near the bottom of a hedge or wall, for example.  I think his layout was called "Flintfields" - set on the GER? There was an article about it, and a subsequent article on the jigsaw scenery concept in the late, lamented Modelling Railways Illustrated (at least, an excellent mag in the earlier issues - I felt it had rather lost it's way by the end.  The most recent thing to put me in mind of early MORILL was the also now defunct Finescale Modelling Review from Bob Barlow).

 

Alastair

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On 08/10/2020 at 21:19, mudmagnet said:

Arrived safely today, along with a few back-issues. Rapid service, but there is a tale.

 

I received an email from DPD advising delivery due between 10.54 - 11.54. The van pulls up outside my house at 10.50, so I open the door but driver advises that need to wait 3 1/2 mins as he is early! Worth the wait though!

 

 

Happened to me with a delivery a few weeks ago.  Driver rang the door bell, I answered and he says 'do you mind waiting 20 seconds as I'm not allowed to make deliveries before the stated time'...

 

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2 hours ago, clarkea1 said:

 

I've highlighted here what I think is the key point in Tim's comment above - the eye readily detects straight lines, but break them up a bit and the eye seems to allow for them in some way.  One interesting idea which very effectively hid baseboard joints was Dave Doe's 'Jigsaw Scenery' concept - this involved removable sections of scenery (divided along, say, hedgerows between fields for example) which sat on top of the baseboard and very effectively hid the joints - the eye completely misses the joins between the scenery sections as they are somewhere near the bottom of a hedge or wall, for example.  I think his layout was called "Flintfields" - set on the GER? There was an article about it, and a subsequent article on the jigsaw scenery concept in the late, lamented Modelling Railways Illustrated (at least, an excellent mag in the earlier issues - I felt it had rather lost it's way by the end.  The most recent thing to put me in mind of early MORILL was the also now defunct Finescale Modelling Review from Bob Barlow).

 

Alastair

I believe the originator of the idea was actually Dennis Moor, with the DeHavilland club layouts. It’s a fairly obvious idea really, so has probably been invented many times. 
 

Tim

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