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Braeside Models: The Scratchbuild Commissions of Brian McCulloch


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Navigating new but choppy waters.

I am now charting a path into model-making as a full-time occupation. I'll use this forum thread to document my new  adventure. Expect Scottish themes, architectural models, slices of scenery and anything else my customers throw my way!

 

Wish me luck!

Brian

 

 

Edited by brylonscamel
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Catching up at the harbour

First off is a little coastal scene I made in the Autumn last year. It is a photographic setting for a resin-cast model, made from one of my clay-and-card originals.

 

The setting is tiny - just 60cm x 30cm - but just enough room for an Artitec boat and my croft cottage.

 

The visual queues were taken from areal location -  'Cove' harbour on the Berwickshire coast:

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Edited by brylonscamel
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5 minutes ago, David Bell said:

That is very effective Brian, especially the distant masts beyond the seawall

 

Thanks David, I haven't given it a permanent backscene to facilitate this kind of thing - it gives options to photograph it under different conditions. How about distant cranes from the harbour at Grangemouth!?

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12 minutes ago, brylonscamel said:

 

Thanks David, I haven't given it a permanent backscene to facilitate this kind of thing - it gives options to photograph it under different conditions. How about distant cranes from the harbour at Grangemouth!?

Oh don't! I can already see a diorama, two tracks in front of the signal box, road ramp behind the box, bridge to the left, signal in front, low relief Forth Ports office on the right and the distant view of cranes and one of Grangemouth's venerable old harbour tugs on the backscene. I am talking myself into this I think!

I could even pose a model of BP Chemicals old shunter with a couple of oil tanks waiting at the signal. My dad worked for BP Chemicals his whole working life. He was the Lab Manager at the plant.

All the reasons in the world to do it then

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11 minutes ago, David Bell said:

Oh don't! I can already see a diorama, two tracks in front of the signal box, road ramp behind the box, bridge to the left, signal in front, low relief Forth Ports office on the right and the distant view of cranes and one of Grangemouth's venerable old harbour tugs on the backscene. I am talking myself into this I think!

I could even pose a model of BP Chemicals old shunter with a couple of oil tanks waiting at the signal. My dad worked for BP Chemicals his whole working life. He was the Lab Manager at the plant.

All the reasons in the world to do it then

It does sound like a good plan - it even brings your Dad into the story.

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Lovely work and especially nice for me as my grandfather was a fishing boat skipper which I'm old enough to just about remember (but only just).

 

His boat was the LH255 'Goodwill' and looks very similar to the boat you've modelled. Its included in the following (colour) picture which might be of interest to you.

http://www.trawlerpictures.net/gallery/image/8905-whitby/

 

The picture shows the boat in Whitby, but its home port was Fisherrow (Musselburgh) where my family still live overlooking the harbour.

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39 minutes ago, millerhillboy said:

Lovely work and especially nice for me as my grandfather was a fishing boat skipper which I'm old enough to just about remember (but only just).

 

His boat was the LH255 'Goodwill' and looks very similar to the boat you've modelled. Its included in the following (colour) picture which might be of interest to you.

http://www.trawlerpictures.net/gallery/image/8905-whitby/

 

The picture shows the boat in Whitby, but its home port was Fisherrow (Musselburgh) where my family still live overlooking the harbour.

 

I regard any model of mine that triggers a memory or family association to be a success!


Those boats in the photo from Whitby are beautiful and the three nearest boats  (including your grandfather's) are registered as 'LH' for Leith but I assume you knew that!

 

To my untrained eye they have a very strong look of a North Sea fishing fleet. I'm starting to recognise these purposeful looking boats,  - not unlike the Artitect shrimp/crabber but with high pointed  bows and broader rounded sterns. I'd love to try and reproduce one in model form. Even the bold painted letting with a heavy serif and shadow is lovely!

MFS-12-Duo-cropped-1024x827.jpg

Edited by brylonscamel
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39 minutes ago, WM183 said:

I'm not sure at what point model building becomes fine art, but you're comfortably past that point. Breathtaking work! 

 

Thanks, that really is a lovely comment. Funnily enough, I did stick one of my 'Caledonian' signal boxes in a picture frame just the other day .. 

shadow-box-camperdown-01a.jpg

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8 minutes ago, brylonscamel said:

 

I regard any model of mine that triggers a memory or family association to be a success!


Those boats in the photo from Whitby are beautiful and the three nearest boats  (including your grandfather's) are registered as 'LH' for Leith but I assume you knew that!

 

To my untrained eye they have a very strong look of a North Sea fishing fleet. I'm starting to recognise these purposeful looking boats,  - not unlike the Artitect shrimp/crabber but with high pointed  bows and broader rounded sterns. I'd love to try and reproduce one in model form. Even the bold painted letting with a heavy serif and shadow is lovely!

MFS-12-Duo-cropped-1024x827.jpg

 

Yes, I did indeed know LH was Leith. I'm a big supporter of the Leith based football team (shouldn't be admitting that just now mind you ;-) ) but yes my mother still has lots of detailss of her dads boat. I believe the boat could well have been built in Cockenzie (just down the coast) as my family have extended family in that area who way back were boat builders, but I could wrong with that. An online resouce shows it was built in 1948 but not where. My mother would know for sure who still lives overlooking the harbour at Fisherrow.

 

Its a lovely lovely model which is superbly observed. I certainly enjoyed seeing it.

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18 minutes ago, millerhillboy said:

Its a lovely lovely model which is superbly observed. I certainly enjoyed seeing it.

 

.. and I enjoyed hearing about your connection to this scene. I am itching to travel north again - I live in Bristol - and part of the plan is to visit the Fife coast and the fisheries museum. Maybe I should add Musselburgh to the list of places to visit. I have friends and family on the East Coast and sadly they feel further away than ever right now.
 

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15 minutes ago, brylonscamel said:

 

.. and I enjoyed hearing about your connection to this scene. I am itching to travel north again - I live in Bristol - and part of the plan is to visit the Fife coast and the fisheries museum. Maybe I should add Musselburgh to the list of places to visit. I have friends and family on the East Coast and sadly they feel further away than ever right now.
 

Yes Fife has some lovely fishing ports, Anstruther etc. That'd be a nice trip particularly if you got some nice weather. Its a lovely bit of coast.

Musselburgh certainly does have some interesting history on a number of fronts if you were at all interested in visiting.

 

I also enjoyed your figures working around and about the moored boat. A picture appeared a while back on a website of my actual grandfather (my family hadn't seen it) and your figures certainly capture the feel of working men (hard working as well they were). It was the wearing on the 'bunnets' that done it for me. My grandfather wore his bunnet all his life, didn't go anywhere without it and is a strong recollection I have of him. I notice the picture of the BF registered ship you also posted also had 'bunneted' crew!!

 

Head down to the fishing section here, that's my actual grandfather with his bunnet on

https://el4.org.uk/parish/inveresk-musselburgh/economy/

 

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2 hours ago, brylonscamel said:

 

I regard any model of mine that triggers a memory or family association to be a success!


Those boats in the photo from Whitby are beautiful and the three nearest boats  (including your grandfather's) are registered as 'LH' for Leith but I assume you knew that!

 

To my untrained eye they have a very strong look of a North Sea fishing fleet. I'm starting to recognise these purposeful looking boats,  - not unlike the Artitect shrimp/crabber but with high pointed  bows and broader rounded sterns. I'd love to try and reproduce one in model form. Even the bold painted letting with a heavy serif and shadow is lovely!

MFS-12-Duo-cropped-1024x827.jpg

Brian 

You are certainly doing that in abundance. My Dad's family are from Eyemouth, just we wee bit South of Cove. I remember these type of boats well

Cheers

David

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Christmas on the Kent coast

Next up is this little commission - an 'art-deco' holiday home on the route of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.

 

The house has been in the possession of a family for many years but its original layout was smaller and more quirky.

 

My challenge was to bring it back to life from an early photograph when it was newly built. The 'semi-relief' model was destined to be a Christmas present for the parents.

 

I decided on O gauge (1:43) as it made for a nice sized model and some likelihood of getting a car of the same vintage as the Ford. Annoyingly, I discovered - too late - that a kit of the Ford in 1:43 is available. But nobody minded!

 

Here is the original photo ..

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Edited by brylonscamel
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