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The Osney Story: 0 Gauge Cameos and Dioramas


rcf
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Hi Rob,

 

This is a bit of an odd suggestion, but have you considered a windbreak affair, sort of part panels of semi transparent material between posts :

 

post-7025-0-84378200-1355921264_thumb.jpg

 

(Idea pinched from the Hellingy Hospital layout (?))

 

Stu
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Hi Rob, and everyone else,

 

I know what you mean about thinking the layout is the "wrong way round"

At the planning stage, we tend to look at things as 2 dimensional elements...

... perhaps this is down to all those Peco & Hornby track plan books we drooled over as kids?

 

I am guilty of forgetting just how big something can be, especially in O gauge

 

However, I do think that autocoach looks too uniform in colour and tone

I'm sure weathering will tone it all down,

and don't forget our eyes tend to break down individual elements within a scene....

 

..... forgive my rambling on,

but a few well placed figures within the coach,

will break up that scene-within-a-scene

Place just a couple of figures in the coach, close to the window

but don't overfill it, and place the figures unevenly about the coach

 

I'm sure the eye will then be drawn around the coach itself...

especially if there are 1 or 2 "entertaining" figures therein...... ;)

 

Also, don't forget that we frequently try to create too perfect a scene,

and life's not like that!

How often have I tried to photograph a loco or a building

only to find a lamp-post or tree in the way,

or a modern car, parked behind that lovely old steam loco?

 

Indeed, snatched glances at a train, emerging from behind a tall building,

and dissappearing again, just as quickly behind a tower block are daily occurences in everyones life....

(Indeed, I built "Bracty Bridge" with that very thought in mind)

 

I suspect that while your passenger train is parked in the platform,

interest will be heightened, as a goods train passes behind it....

... onlookers will attempt to peer around the coach,

to get a better view of your nicely weathered, rusty minerals...

Barry Norman would term this a "view blocker"

but I would add, it's a moveable view blocker.....

 

I know you've said that adding foreground is a no-no,

but I think Mudmagnet did mention it being "removable"

 

My thoughts on this are that you could indeed place landscape modules in the foreground

They needn't add to the overall size of the baseboard itself,

in fact, they could be made from offcuts of lightweight foam insulation board?

 

They could be in the form of a couple of pieces - jigsaw style.....

I use a folding layout table - so I would be able to simply "plonk" the pieces in front of the layout

but if Osney has its' own legs or stand, Foam board is so lightweight, you could even attach them with velcro, at a show

 

Just a narrow strip of foreground could add much interest to the layout,

and a few well placed tall bushes could break up the scene as a whole, as you say

 

Firstly though, don't despair!

Sometimes, it takes a while to get used to something new,

others may not even think there's any problem at all

Me? I really like the layout, and that includes the arrangement of the running lines

- You modelled the original Osney from the less-modelled approach aspect....

.... and that's one reason I thought it was brilliant!

 

Besides, if you decided you couldn't live with it

I'm sure you'd have a host of offers from others who could ;)

 

Cheers again

(Appologies for such a long-winded reply - but I was thinking about it a while)

 

Marc

Edited by marc smith
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Hi Rob,

 

This is a bit of an odd suggestion, but have you considered a windbreak affair, sort of part panels of semi transparent material between posts :

 

post-7025-0-84378200-1355921264_thumb.jpg

 

(Idea pinched from the Hellingy Hospital layout (?))

 

Stu

 

Interesting Stu, a visual break and protection for the layout at the same time, would also keep those pesky photographers from taking embarassing close-ups!!

 

Rob

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Hi Rob, and everyone else,

 

I know what you mean about thinking the layout is the "wrong way round"

At the planning stage, we tend to look at things as 2 dimensional elements...

... perhaps this is down to all those Peco & Hornby track plan books we drooled over as kids?

 

I am guilty of forgetting just how big something can be, especially in O gauge

 

Marc

 

Marc,

 

I agree, I ended up laying my track and then realised I had a big area to fill at the front of the layout. Then decided to turn things around and view from the other side!

 

Alan.

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Hi Rob, and everyone else,

 

I know what you mean about thinking the layout is the "wrong way round"

At the planning stage, we tend to look at things as 2 dimensional elements...

... perhaps this is down to all those Peco & Hornby track plan books we drooled over as kids?

 

I am guilty of forgetting just how big something can be, especially in O gauge

 

However, I do think that autocoach looks too uniform in colour and tone

I'm sure weathering will tone it all down,

and don't forget our eyes tend to break down individual elements within a scene....

 

..... forgive my rambling on,

but a few well placed figures within the coach,

will break up that scene-within-a-scene

Place just a couple of figures in the coach, close to the window

but don't overfill it, and place the figures unevenly about the coach

 

I'm sure the eye will then be drawn around the coach itself...

especially if there are 1 or 2 "entertaining" figures therein...... ;)

 

Also, don't forget that we frequently try to create too perfect a scene,

and life's not like that!

How often have I tried to photograph a loco or a building

only to find a lamp-post or tree in the way,

or a modern car, parked behind that lovely old steam loco?

 

Indeed, snatched glances at a train, emerging from behind a tall building,

and dissappearing again, just as quickly behind a tower block are daily occurences in everyones life....

(Indeed, I built "Bracty Bridge" with that very thought in mind)

 

I suspect that while your passenger train is parked in the platform,

interest will be heightened, as a goods train passes behind it....

... onlookers will attempt to peer around the coach,

to get a better view of your nicely weathered, rusty minerals...

Barry Norman would term this a "view blocker"

but I would add, it's a moveable view blocker.....

 

I know you've said that adding foreground is a no-no,

but I think Mudmagnet did mention it being "removable"

 

My thoughts on this are that you could indeed place landscape modules in the foreground

They needn't add to the overall size of the baseboard itself,

in fact, they could be made from offcuts of lightweight foam insulation board?

 

They could be in the form of a couple of pieces - jigsaw style.....

I use a folding layout table - so I would be able to simply "plonk" the pieces in front of the layout

but if Osney has its' own legs or stand, Foam board is so lightweight, you could even attach them with velcro, at a show

 

Just a narrow strip of foreground could add much interest to the layout,

and a few well placed tall bushes could break up the scene as a whole, as you say

 

Firstly though, don't despair!

Sometimes, it takes a while to get used to something new,

others may not even think there's any problem at all

Me? I really like the layout, and that includes the arrangement of the running lines

- You modelled the original Osney from the less-modelled approach aspect....

.... and that's one reason I thought it was brilliant!

 

Besides, if you decided you couldn't live with it

I'm sure you'd have a host of offers from others who could ;)

 

Cheers again

(Appologies for such a long-winded reply - but I was thinking about it a while)

 

Marc

Hi Marc,

 

Thanks for the detailed response and certainly no need to apologise. I think we often think along the same lines. Time does make a difference and my views are already mellowing towards the coach. I have added four passengers and a driver, 'aged' the roof and it is starting to blend a little better, but there is more to do. When I am happy with it I will post some photos and get everyone's response.I had a little set back when SWMBO came in yesterday and said 'gosh, that's big' and sadly she was talking about the coach!

 

I think you might be right that when I have two trains passing it will create that extra interest which was my original intention when going for this design. I like your idea of a movable view blocker and also catching glimpses of the train between buildings etc. I think that was why Osney Mark 1 worked so well.

 

I have given a lot of thought to the suggestions about adding an extension to the front and if I wasn't going to exhibit I would certainly go down that route but I really want to keep things compact and simple at this stage, so that everything is managable by one person, and the more additions I make the greater the logistical problems.

 

Anyway feel free to ramble on as much as you like, lots of good advice in there. Now,where's that air brush!

 

Regards Rob

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Hi,

 

I have to, without wishing to appear sycophantic, agree with Marc.

 

The other issue is that we, as humans, are programmed to be alerted to/by 'reds' and 'whites', which many of the great artists/painters well understood in terms of drawing the viewer's eye into a scene/painting in the way in which the artist/painter wanted, you are placing a red/maroon vehicle right in the firing-line, Marc's ideas to draw the viewer's eye elsewhere is well worth considering...More weathering on the Auto-Coach will help if you wish to weather it more heavily.

 

Looking forward to seeing your ideas and progress.

 

ATVB

 

CME

Edited by CME and Bottlewasher
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I have been interested in this debate. I think you need something of interest in the foreground. The idea of a bit of fencing if coupled with say a foot path I could see an old chap with a dog talking to a lady with a pram. Not central but off to one side so that after seeing the coach your eye gets drawn to one side which then leads round the coach to the wagons behind.

Alternatively I find the steam railmotor very effective your eye gets drawn to the motion

However we are talking about a slight enhancement of what is a very good layout.

Don

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I have been interested in this debate. I think you need something of interest in the foreground. The idea of a bit of fencing if coupled with say a foot path I could see an old chap with a dog talking to a lady with a pram. Not central but off to one side so that after seeing the coach your eye gets drawn to one side which then leads round the coach to the wagons behind.

Alternatively I find the steam railmotor very effective your eye gets drawn to the motion

However we are talking about a slight enhancement of what is a very good layout.

Don

 

Hi Don,

 

+1 from me!

 

ATVB

 

CME

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Hi Rob

Osney is looking realy fantastic. Looking forward in seeing you and Osney at Barnstaple show next year

 

Thanks Ray. Barnstaple will be the first time we have ventured outside Cornwall to exhibit so will be an opportunity to put some faces to names.

 

Rob

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Thanks to all for the continued input. I have definitely decided to take things one step at a time and assess the situation after each step. I think part of my problem was that I had spent time working on the scenics forgetting about the actual rolling stock and it came as something of a shock to introduce a large glossy maroon item into the centre of my picture. I have weathered the autocoach now and am fairly happy with the result, so that is the first stage.

 

I have also taken note of Marc's comments about two trains and I have tried this out and it certainly makes a difference. It creates a real railway atmosphere and completes the picture. You will probably gather that I am warming to the autocoach and may decide to leave things as they are, just add a little more vegetation. possibly!

 

To illustrate the current state of play I have attached two photos. The colour of the coach is better on these pictures and I hope that shows up when posted.

 

Regards to all, Rob.

1258794532_osney044.jpg.b00b64f6cc97db86319db6c78285f69f.jpg1584574763_osney046.jpg.48db37eb9479a6515f97bde95df4c9c8.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by rcf
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What I noticed from the two pictures above is that the colour balance of the layout is neutral / pale yellow

(walls/platform faces) and light greys for the background, wagons, goods vans.

They tend to merge themselves together, whereas, the Autocoach stands out more as it's a totally different shade.

 

Just as a test, why not make up a temporary set of end sheets for the buildings in a harmonising colour to the

maroon of the coach. Distressed dark brown, or deep red, nothing bright, but a subtle shade.

 

It might help camouflage/blend in the different colours.

 

Dave

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What I noticed from the two pictures above is that the colour balance of the layout is neutral / pale yellow

(walls/platform faces) and light greys for the background, wagons, goods vans.

They tend to merge themselves together, whereas, the Autocoach stands out more as it's a totally different shade.

 

Just as a test, why not make up a temporary set of end sheets for the buildings in a harmonising colour to the

maroon of the coach. Distressed dark brown, or deep red, nothing bright, but a subtle shade.

 

It might help camouflage/blend in the different colours.

 

Dave

Thanks for the interesting comment regarding the colour palette of Osney. One of my frustrations is my inability to get a photo of the autocoach that truely reflects its maroon colour. My camera sees red and I see maroon. The last two pictures were better but by no means a true representation. I have tried different lighting and different angles but nothing seems to work. Perhaps someone out there can shed some light, literally! I am actually now quite happy with the colour of the coach as I have got the tonal values (?) the same as the layout and it now blends well following weathering. Unfortunately I can't demonstrate this to you to my satisfaction.

 

This still leaves the issue of the size close to the edge of the layout. I have got some great ideas from you all and these are rattling round and round in my head. I have also been ploughing through some reference books to see whether there is anything I can use from real life, but I am beginning to conclude that there isn't. I am inching towards an idea of how I might procced but am going to take some time before doing anything.

 

I will get back to you in due course but in the meantime to all of you who have been following the story of Osney I hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year.

 

Rob

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone,

 

Decisions have been made and action taken! I was very taken with the idea of some spear fencing but thought it would look a little too much all along the layout and I couldn't think of a justification for using fencing over a short length. I also liked the idea of someone leaning on a fence but again space was a problem. So it came down to the old philosophy, keep it simple. I had a sort of hedge already, so why not increase its height and that is what I have done over Christmas.

 

1951443676_osney061.jpg.8296b85a2acc8afb14a3a51a56409fb5.jpg

 

 

 

814017796_osney072.jpg.d6b30a4e59e6c5b2be9b071cdd596b5c.jpg

Sorry about the quality of the second photo. The next shows how it relates to the autocoach. It is a little dark but I have discovered that the coach colour is much better when using natural light. Unfortunately the layout is set up with its back to the window.

 

735448353_osney069.jpg.d94aaf7891153c582a14b26db16fe03f.jpg

 

Having finished the hedge I thought that it stood out as the only large-ish stand of vegetation. I can hear you saying that that is what I wanted to take attention away from the train, and I may have lost the plot at this stage, but I felt that it needed some counter point on the layout so found myself making  a tree to go on the backscene You can see it in the top corner behind the coach.

 

 

1056366454_osney071.thumb.jpg.527b98cd878415e2935bb20b415f1de1.jpg

 

For anyone interested I made the hedge and tree using the ideas contained in Gordon Gravett's book on modelling trees. Basically I used florist's wire to create the form, covered that with a mix of artex and pva glue with some black paint added to the mix. The foliage is rubberised horsehair and a leaf mix from a firm called Treemendous. I have attached some photos but Gordon Gravett explains it much better in his book.

 

 

2032463253_osney062.jpg.444ff3f291bfc6d8aeb14d0f6f2b4177.jpg

 

 

 

1540889676_osney063.jpg.1f647c0f2852e5bf749a81900468dcd4.jpg

Well that's progress so far, hope you are not disappointed with the result.

 

Rob

163181370_osney060.thumb.jpg.e4f03bc40da37b34e64d97ad3e9bc0c3.jpg

 

Edited by rcf
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Very nice hedge/trees and a method I may well steal for my layout in due course.  Up until now I've used sea foam but I think it might look a bit 'spidery' in O whereas yours have suitable 'bulk'.

 

When you say "artex" are there any alternatives that would work that you can get in small quantities?  I'm not sure buying a whole bucket would really be a wise investment for a handful of trees...

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Very nice hedge/trees and a method I may well steal for my layout in due course.  Up until now I've used sea foam but I think it might look a bit 'spidery' in O whereas yours have suitable 'bulk'.

 

When you say "artex" are there any alternatives that would work that you can get in small quantities?  I'm not sure buying a whole bucket would really be a wise investment for a handful of trees...

I have used sea foam in the past but as you say it is a bit flimsy for 0 gauge. I was faced with the same problem, as you would be,  when buying artex as I only wanted a cupful! I was looking at the possibility of using polyfilla or similar but in the end bought the smallest bag of artex powder I could find and that was 2.5 kg. I don't see why you couldn't use something else as long as it makes up into a paste you can apply with a brush. Gordon Gravett recommends the use of artex as it retains flexibility and doesn't crack.

 

Rob

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Having looked quickly on the B&Q website it seems that there are a number of small packets/tubs available for less than a fiver which won't break the bank at all - I was expecting £20-£30 or something.

 

I guess 'spare' can easily be used for landscape sculpting of small embankments, stream beds etc so it won't be wasted.

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hi Rob,

 

Good work with the trees. Those along the front do seem to break up the view.

I've had a good look through Gordon's book, but have yet to purchase a copy - will do in a few weeks ...

Gordon's work is very good and having had chance to study some of his trees up close - they are very good indeed.

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If you buy the ready mixed stuff in a tub, put some cling-film over the top before putting the lid back on.

 

I've had a large tub that's still usable for about 5 years now!!

 

Dave

I used the powdered version which meant I could mix up as much as I wanted using the glue and paint which gave me the consistancy I wanted. I think this would be better than using the ready made. If you make up too much it , apparently, it keeps for some time in a sealed container.

 

Hi Rob,

 

Happy New Year all!

 

Lovely trees/hedges...can we see a 'fish-eye' view of the whole layout with the new hedging planted please.

 

ATVB

 

CME

I'll see what I can do.

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I used the powdered version which meant I could mix up as much as I wanted using the glue and paint which gave me the consistancy I wanted. I think this would be better than using the ready made. If you make up too much it , apparently, it keeps for some time in a sealed container.

 

I'll see what I can do.

 

Hi Rob,

 

Many thanks - I just wanted to get an overall flavour of the hedge and how it works on the layout.....

 

ATVB

 

CME

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hi Rob,

 

Good work with the trees. Those along the front do seem to break up the view.

I've had a good look through Gordon's book, but have yet to purchase a copy - will do in a few weeks ...

Gordon's work is very good and having had chance to study some of his trees up close - they are very good indeed.

Hi Richard,

 

His trees are amazing when you see them on Pempoul (?) and having got his book a while back I have been looking for an opportunity to try his techniques. They are really quite straight forward but it might take awhile to get results like his.

 

Rob

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