Jump to content
 

One Step Forwards and Two Steps Backwoods


SonOfMike
 Share

Recommended Posts

OK, well after a bit of mithering and procrastination I have decided to throw my hat into the ring for the latest January 2021 Cakebox Challenge. My get-up-and-go, modelling-wise, had got up and gone and I thought this maybe a way of getting my mojo back. Also, I had started a few months ago on a building that I didn’t have an immediate use for. I simply don’t have the time or the storage space at the moment for the extension module for my micro layout that I was considering and so I thought maybe I could finish it and use it as part of this challenge, with a view to using it on the extension at a later date.

 

A quick test revealed that the building was slightly too long to fit on an 8 X 8 inch base parallel to the edges but it would fit on the diagonal. This in turn meant that I potentially would have some compositional challenges to deal with, and that piqued my interest.

 

My idea is to build a scene depicting some tiny part of a backwoods logging railroad. My plan is that it will feature some / all of the following depending how I get on: The building, pine trees, some rough track, a timber retaining wall and a rocky outcrop, the usual scenic treatment (backscene, ground cover, grass, bushes etc.) and a freelance geared steam locomotive (somewhere between a Dunkirk, a Climax and a Heisler).

 

I will be using as many found materials, items from the scrap box and bits of rubbish as I can. I appreciate though that there is a fine line between rubbish and bits and bobs that I have kept because I am a hoarder and thought may come in useful one day. I will therefore nominate the two items that I am classing as my items of rubbish when I have finished the build, even though the rules state that “how you define rubbish is to you”. I will point out all the other bits that I am using that fit my own classification of rubbish.

 

My daughter has threatened to help me but I’ll see how that pans out. I may end up doing most of it on my own.

Edited by SonOfMike
a full stop was miles away from where it was meant to be
  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

I recently bought a new chair in an attempt to save my back from this working from home thing. I thought the box would do for the base, so I cut a couple of pieces slightly under 8 X 8 inches square (there is a reason for this) and laminated them with the corrugations at 90 degrees to each other. The result seems fairly strong and it will be covered with a thin layer of craft foam to help protect it from sogginess when it comes to scenery later.

20210109_133938.jpg

20210109_135543.jpg

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

The reason for the base being slightly undersize is to allow for some mountboard to facilitate a backscene on two sides and to neaten the edges and hide the corrugations on the other two sides. The two narrower strips will be painted eventually.

20210113_122555.jpg

  • Like 6
Link to post
Share on other sites

Here are a few pictures of the building that will form much of the scene. It's built from odds and sods and already includes an item of rubbish -  the cyclone air filter on the left hand side is made from bits of sprue and the end of a defunct ball point pen. I won't include this item as one of my bits of rubbish though as it was started before the challenge was announced. The three main sections still need sicking together and it needs barge boards and signage, amongst other things, to finish it off.

 

20200816_150930.jpg

20200816_150949.jpg

20200816_150957.jpg

20200816_151009.jpg

  • Like 9
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
30 minutes ago, SonOfMike said:

Here are a few pictures of the building that will form much of the scene. It's built from odds and sods and already includes an item of rubbish -  the cyclone air filter on the left hand side is made from bits of sprue and the end of a defunct ball point pen. I won't include this item as one of my bits of rubbish though as it was started before the challenge was announced. The three main sections still need sicking together and it needs barge boards and signage, amongst other things, to finish it off.

 

20200816_150930.jpg

20200816_150949.jpg

20200816_150957.jpg

20200816_151009.jpg


I wondered if it might be this one - having seen it on the Apocrypha thread.  It is a very impressive piece of scratchbuilding.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't had as much time as I hoped today, nor enough light for any decent photos but I'll share what progress there is. Firstly, some more rubbish: some still foam packing which will be used as the base for a bit of landscaping, some card from a box and some reject prints from when the printer was running out of toner (the print on the right is how the colours should have come out). I had scooped these up with some other prints and kept them by mistake so I thought I should use them.

20210116_131949.jpg

20210116_132204.jpg

20210116_135003.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

And this is how they have been used: The reject prints have been stuck to the backscene and the card and packing have been used, along with a PVA and kitchen roll papier mache type concoction, to form the base of what I hope will be a retaining wall and bit of rocky hillside. A scrap of craft foam has been stuck to the cardboard and a bit of old track is now resting approximately where it will be stuck. The track is completely wrong really - it's OO code 75 bullhead and it should be flat bottomed but life's too short to worry about such things. Once something is on the rails and it's all ballasted etc. I don't think it will be too obvious.

 

The wall and hilly bit will be blended into the backscene with undergrowth and trees etc. I hope.

 

The building is just plonked in place while I try and compose the scene.

 

Sorry about the poor photos - bad light, bad phone camera and even worse photographer.

20210117_141341.jpg

20210117_141422.jpg

20210117_141313.jpg

20210117_141328.jpg

20210117_141257.jpg

  • Like 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mike said:

That’s not the same piece of track I dug out of the workshop is it

It certainly is - one man's rubbish is another man's treasure, as they say. I am not counting any actual railway items as rubbish for this build, nor will I be counting all "found materials". My personal definition of rubbish is that it has to be a non-railway / non-modelling item that would be destined for the bin / recycling if I hadn't used it. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

I have decided that I am not going to pursue this any further and therefore will not be completing the diorama or entering the competition. I just don't have any enthusiasm for model making at the moment; all of my mojo is for my other hobbies currently, so that's where I am investing my time.

 

I keep saying to myself that I "must do some more of the cakebox challenge" but it feels more like a chore that I need to complete, in the same way that I keep telling myself  "I need to cut back the bushes in the front garden", and I hate gardening.

 

I'll do some more modelling in the future but for now I will just enjoy looking at other people's work on RMWeb.

 

Good luck to everyone with your entries.

  • Like 1
  • Friendly/supportive 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Johnny - your building is a cracking little model, I love the different textures! I personally enjoy these challenges, but don’t get too worried about finishing on time! One third of my projects always seem to await completion, sometime in the future! For me, too many years of meeting deadlines in the working world has led to a slower pace... model making or whatever you fancy should be enjoyable!

 

Good luck!
Marlyn

Edited by Marly51
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
10 hours ago, SonOfMike said:

I have decided that I am not going to pursue this any further and therefore will not be completing the diorama or entering the competition. I just don't have any enthusiasm for model making at the moment; all of my mojo is for my other hobbies currently, so that's where I am investing my time.

 

I keep saying to myself that I "must do some more of the cakebox challenge" but it feels more like a chore that I need to complete, in the same way that I keep telling myself  "I need to cut back the bushes in the front garden", and I hate gardening.

 

I'll do some more modelling in the future but for now I will just enjoy looking at other people's work on RMWeb.

 

Good luck to everyone with your entries.


Hi Jonny, it’s good of you to let us know - as @Marly51 says, your building is a great model in its own right (and already existed of course).  If you do find the motivation to cut back the bushes in your front garden can you bottle some and send it north* - mine is in need of similar attention.  Keith

__________
 

I live in the North-West these days but grew up in Solihull, where my Dad still lives incidentally.

Edited by Keith Addenbrooke
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I've never bothered with any of these 'challenges' that RMweb throws out. They often seem rather pointless & irrelevant to anyone's modelling in my opinion, the 'cakebox' challenge being a case in point - it's such a small area it offers no chance of being an operational scene, and is no use to those of us who model in the larger scales - almost all of my US O Scale stock - and buildings - are far longer than 8 inches anyway!!! :mosking:

No hobby is meant to be a chore, especially a chore as bad as gardening :scared: !!! So as they say, a change is as good as a rest!! I will enjoy re-reading your layout thread while you have some time off. :yes: :good:

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...