Chuffnell Regis

[Graham T]

I also should have mentioned that I subscribe to Spotify, which is another fabulous way of listening to just about any music you can think of (although I have been able to flummox its search engine once or twice...)

 

I seem to remember it being foxed by this one, for example:

 

[MrWolf]

Spotify doesn't seem to like anything obscure.

I went back to annoying YouTube especially for anything pre. 1970.

 

Neighbors are playing dance music very loud. It's like standing in a taxi office at 3am on a Sunday morning. Drowning them out with a mixture of Credence, Johnny Watson, The sonics and The Smith's.

[Neal Ball]

2 hours ago, Graham T said:

 

I like all sorts of music (country and western) but was never a great fan of Marrs.  That track did make me think of this one though:

 

 

Which has interrupted my listening to Wish You Were Here.

 

Others queued up next to the stereo include:

 

Atom Heart Mother - Pink Floyd

From the sea to the land beyond - (British) Sea Power

Greatest Hits - ELO

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

Greatest Hits - Undertones

Greatest Hits - Elvis Costello

X - The XX

Still - Joy Division

 

I've often been tempted to get another turntable, having sold my (small) vinyl collection a long time ago.  But replacing even my favourite CDs with vinyl would cost a fortune...

 

... that I could spend on rolling stock that I don't need

 

Thats quite a mix there Graham.

 

Although I was listening to Jamie on the laptop.... across the house we have 4 record players, but none in the railway room. We both have large vinyl collections; mine is mainly Jazz, Robbie's is Motown.

 

2 hours ago, Graham T said:

 

Thanks Neal, added to the shopping list.  Does that module also supply power to the rails?

 

Yes it does.

[Graham T]

Turn it up to 11...

[Graham T]

Just now, Neal Ball said:

 

Thats quite a mix there Graham.

 

Although I was listening to Jamie on the laptop.... across the house we have 4 record players, but none in the railway room. We both have large vinyl collections; mine is mainly Jazz, Robbie's is Motown.

 

 

Yes it does.

 

I have a Sonos speaker in the railway spare room, that I use for Spotify if I'm in the mood.  And a reasonably decent stereo set-up in the living room.  Plus a set of Harman Kardon speakers attached to my Mac (which look as good as they sound).  I've never really been able to get into jazz especially, but do like Motown.

[Graham T]

In the middle of a lot of faffing and general procrastination today, I did manage to paint the fogman's hut.  Unlike @longchap over at Newton Regis, I couldn't resist painting it black!

 

 

 

And here's where it will eventually live on the layout:

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Graham T

[MrWolf]

That's not black, it's weathered creosote! Takes on a strange silvery sheen very quickly.

[Graham T]

It started out with a coat of matt black, then got the treatment with a couple of greys, some earth brown, a dab of rust on the hinges, an attack with a fibreglass pen, and finally another thin wash of black.

 

Weathered creosote was the look I was aiming at, so thank you

[Graham T]

I made a start on the greenery for the far corner of the layout today.  This is just the first pass with 2mm summer static grass, I'll add different colours and lengths over this to give it some variation.  Some hedges and trees probably wouldn't go amiss as well...  The bare patch next to the right hand side of the road will (hopefully) represent a muddy area at the entrance to the field.  The backscene was masked off just using some sheets of paper.

 

 

 

I've also been experimenting with some rock moulds, plaster casts basically, for making the rock faces along the river.  The first batch worked well using hot glue to fix it, but I don't think I quite got the mix right in the second batch, and it doesn't like the hot glue at all.  So another set of rock faces is now curing.  If that one still doesn't take to the hot glue then I'll try contact adhesive instead.  Failing that I'll resort to nails

 

Here's a little outcropping at river level.  I'll add some ballast and chinchilla dust around the base of this to try and make it look like a small shingle beach.  Then of course another layer of varnish will be needed on the river itself.

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

Decided to run riot with the static grass while the plaster rock faces are setting...  It all looks a bit bare and green at the moment.

 

 

 

 

I think this might become a favourite view, at least once I've added some grass and so on to the right hand bank.  And replaced that shoddy undergrowth under the bridge.  Said bridge would probably look better with a train crossing it too...

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

So, I've spent this evening carving rocks and running out of hairspray - not phrases I use every day, it has to be said.  The first of the rock faces have now been set in place with contact adhesive.  They still need a bit of groundwork around them to blend them into the scenery, of course, and I think I'll need to add a little more rock between what's there already and the backscene.  Not entirely sure about that though, so I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

 

A lick of paint will help too, be nice to get rid of that "White Cliffs of Dover" look!

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Graham T

[MrWolf]

I like the way that the river tapers towards the backscene, it helps create a sense of space and depth. It's also easier to disguise.

 

It's surprising what odd phrases are created when building a model railway.

My current favourite from my own layout is "The house smells of cooked stick..."

[Graham T]

Need to be rather careful how you say that one ...

[MrWolf]

Somebody (me) put cracked willow twigs in the microwave to dry them out. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, so I can get away with doing it again.

 

[Alister_G]

It's amazing the transformation that a bit of static grass makes. That's all looking rather splendid now.

 

Al.

[Graham T]

It's certainly good for the mojo Al.  Clearly there's still loads to do, next stage will be some blended turf and then some 4mm grass in different shades.

 

From photos (and memory) of the Lugg Valley, I'll put some quite long grass along the actual river banks.

[Graham T]

I managed to plod on a little further with the greenery and rock faces after work this evening.  I've added a sprinkling of blended turf everywhere; it still all looks very green, uniform, and bland, but I'm sure some added grasses will fix that.  The rock faces are still a work in progress too, but getting there slowly I think...  Comments welcome!

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Graham T

[Graham T]

Where the grass ends at the top of the cutting is intended to be the fence line.  I'm going to try to have the grass below that, on the railway property, looking different to that above.  Whether I'll be able to achieve that is another matter, of course!

[MrWolf]

It's not too hard, even I managed it.

I masked the railway formation with lightly applied masking tape, then held the edge of a sheet of paper along my fence line and sprayed on a little layering glue. 

Apply a different grade / colour of static grass and hoover up the next day.

Don't forget the stocking over the hoover pipe! 

[Graham T]

I'll mask with a sheet of paper or card I think.  Afraid to say I'm a bit of a waster and don't recycle the excess though!

[Gopher]

10 hours ago, Graham T said:

I managed to plod on a little further with the greenery and rock faces after work this evening.  I've added a sprinkling of blended turf everywhere; it still all looks very green, uniform, and bland, but I'm sure some added grasses will fix that.  The rock faces are still a work in progress too, but getting there slowly I think...  Comments welcome!

 

 

This is really coming together beautifully Graham.  I agree the scenery looks a bit uniform but certainly not bland.   The river is excellent.  Additional subtle grasses, turf, bushes  etc will certainly help.  The reddish soil colour is spot on for the sandstone based fields in south Herefordshire.   I love the way this scene blends into the back scene.   I'm not sure where the back scene was photographed - but it looks like the Welsh Marches to me, I think I can see Sugar Loaf or the Skirrid in the background (I have the same backscene on my layout) .  Do you intend to colour the rock faces ?  I am not a geologist - but think much of south Herefordshire is sandstone based (looking at the fields and stonework on old buildings and churches).  I wonder whether any rock faces etc should therefore be subtly more reddish in colour to match the soil.      

[Graham T]

15 minutes ago, Gopher said:

This is really coming together beautifully Graham.  I agree the scenery looks a bit uniform but certainly not bland.   The river is excellent.  Additional subtle grasses, turf, bushes  etc will certainly help.  The reddish soil colour is spot on for the sandstone based fields in south Herefordshire.   I love the way this scene blends into the back scene.   I'm not sure where the back scene was photographed - but it looks like the Welsh Marches to me, I think I can see Sugar Loaf or the Skirrid in the background (I have the same backscene on my layout) .  Do you intend to colour the rock faces ?  I am not a geologist - but think much of south Herefordshire is sandstone based (looking at the fields and stonework on old buildings and churches).  I wonder whether any rock faces etc should therefore be subtly more reddish in colour to match the soil.      

 

Thanks very much Gopher   (Don't think I know your actual name, sorry).  I like the backscene too, I'm also not sure of the exact location but it certainly reminds me of home.  

 

I will be painting the rock faces, yes.  I'm hoping to try for something like the photo below, albeit on a much reduced scale!  And my scene won't be tidal, obviously.  That's a pic of the lower reaches of the River Wye.

 

[Graham T]

If I get a chance today I'll be breaking out the Das clay again, to add the cess along the trackside either side of the bridge, and to bed in the various rock faces.  Then I'll add the signal posts and pulleys on the cutting side of the bridge, the grass on the cutting sides, and the fencing.  Somehow I doubt if all of that will be done today though!

[Neal Ball]

Don’t worry about the grass @Graham T, carry on doing what you are doing and it’ll come good.

 

You might have seen on my thread that pre lockdown I met up with Chris Nevard and also Peter Marriott who gave me excellent pointers regarding static grass.

 

As a result, I layer different sizes and different colours… but then only across smaller areas to provide the variety that is seen in the real world….. I glue up only certain sections, apply static grass, then Combe it. (The Woodland Scenics method uses a Comb to get everything to stand up, as well as the static applicator). Then of course hoover up with the Woodland Scenics hoover so it’s then easy to recycle everything.

 

Good luck, you are on the right track. Some brambles or small trees will also make a big difference.

 

 

[Graham T]

I guess I'm not so much worried as impatient!  Layering is the approach I planned to take, but I also like your suggestion of just doing small areas at a time, to get some more subtle variations.  So thank you for that. 

 

Hedges, bushes, and trees will also make a huge difference, as you say.  All on the (long) list of things to do

 

Must have been great to have the opportunity to pick Chris Nevard's brain on this!