Pragmatic Pre-Grouping - Mikkel's Workbench

[Siberian Snooper]

Look at this. The Great Western Society seem to have used the wrong paint!

https://www.facebook.com/DidcotRailwayCentre/posts/1684185191608362:0

 

It does look to be somewhat light in colour, perhaps they use a quick fade grey paint.

[K14]

Look at this. The Great Western Society seem to have used the wrong paint!

https://www.facebook.com/DidcotRailwayCentre/posts/1684185191608362:0

...didn't I read somewhere that the red become grey as it aged?

[BG John]

Quoting me:

BG John, on 18 Feb 2017 - 10:04, said:

 

...didn't I read somewhere that the red become grey as it aged?

They've only just painted it!

[Mikkel]

Look at this. The Great Western Society seem to have used the wrong paint!

https://www.facebook.com/DidcotRailwayCentre/posts/1684185191608362:0

 

That led me to have a little look for other preserved goods stock in pre-1904 livery. Noone seems to have taken the leap to red yet. Mind you, right or wrong I think the grey is a very smart livery with the pre-1904 lettering, and as nothing has been finally proven either way we can all make our choices 

 

4-plank open no. 41277 : http://www.svrwiki.com/GWR_41277_4_plank_Open_Goods_Wagon

Fruit van no. 47886: http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/wagons/47886/47886pic_01.html

 

And then there are the Toads, which according to Atkins, Beard and Tourret were grey even under the red wagon livery scheme. I have accepted this and painted my own that way, as it seems to make sense that brake vans would have a different colour - although I don't actually recall seeing an official GWR source for it anywhere?

 

GWR No. 56400 at Didcot. Shared under Creative Commons. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GWR_wagon_AA3_TOAD_56400.jpg

Edited March 2, 2017 by Mikkel

[Mikkel]

Bit of progress with the Park Royal stable block.
 
A digital drawing for the Silhouette cutter was made in Inkscape by simply drawing on top of the official drawing, using Mike's thread on here as a guide.

 

 

The Silhouette can't cut 20 thou, which is the thickness of most embossed sheets I've come across, including the SE Finecast sheets that I favour. So I used the Cutter to score the rear side of the sheet, and then cut through with a scalpel. 

 

 

 

I had to cut out the sides in three sections, divided where the prototype conveniently had downpipes. The sides are laminated, here with a 60 thou sheet. 

 

 

 

So the front is now taking shape:

 

 

 

I struggled a bit with the windows at first, as the Silhouette cutter wouldn't cut the glazing bars neatly. The solution was in one of Jason's posts (thanks Jason!), which suggested a different way of drawing the windows (using individual straight lines rather than "boxes" to make the windows). The result were these windows with 0.3mm glazing bars. The "hit-and-miss" vents below now look slightly rough by comparison, but I think they'll be OK once painted.

 

 

Next step will be the arches over windows and doors.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Mikkel

[bgman]

Well done Mikkel,

 

It's certainly encouraging to see what progress you've made with the Silhouette especially on this project.

 

May I ask whether you made a deliberate decision to line up the coursing of the brickwork at the openings ( they seem to line up correctly from the photographs) when cutting the SE brick sheets ? I'd be very interested to know how you achieved it if so.

 

ATB

 

Grahame

 

p.s. Bit of luck with those down pipe positions !

Edited March 12, 2017 by bgman

[Compound2632]

Would it be practical to use the Silhouette to scribe the brickwork? For the truly fastidious (aka manically obsessive) this would enable the pattern of brickwork at corners and openings to be exactly reproduced, including half-brick closers etc.

[Siberian Snooper]

Would it be practical to use the Silhouette to scribe the brickwork? For the truly fastidious (aka manically obsessive) this would enable the pattern of brickwork at corners and openings to be exactly reproduced, including half-brick closers etc.

 

I have tried that for some bridge abutments, but the silhouette didn't like it, I assume because of the file size, in the end I got the silhouette to cut the brickwork from Slaters brick sheet and just did the brick arch on the Silhouette, it still needed the use of a "skawker" to emphasise the mortar courses . There is a photo of it on one or other of the threads.

[Mikkel]

I had the same thoughts, including lining up the brickwork at the openings, and so made a test of having the cutter scribe English Bond brickwork:
 

 
Apart from the file size issues mentioned by SS, it also looked a bit messy in close-up, and I was concerned that the mortar courses wouldn't allow the paint to flow as per my normal method. It's possible that some of the other blades available might make a neater mortar course.

 

PS: So to answer Grahame's question fully, I decided to just cut the Finecast sheets at random. I think it looks OK, but the finer details of English bond around doors etc will not be captured.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Mikkel

[bgman]

Hi Mikkel,

 

I thought you might have had a go and to be fair it isn't too bad a representation and could pass as old brickwork possibly ?

 

I've had thoughts about scribing sheets for Bath stone and an initial trial seemed favourable, but then the courses are somewhat larger and finer mortar beds so I'm not too concerned at the moment, time will tell and I need to do a trial piece.

 

Not this afternoon though, I've just come back from a bike ride and to be honest any modelling will take second place until later, I'm knack€red !

 

Look forward to seeing your progress.

 

ATB

Grahame

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz !

[Mikkel]

The problem is mostly the material pushed up by the blade, which forms a ridge that doesn't look so good in my eyes. I've done the arches in the same way this evening and it's OK but for a whole wall I'm less certain.

 

In 7mm it should be better I think.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Mikkel

[Silver Sidelines]

Good Evening Mikkel

.. I've done the arches in the same way this evening and it's OK but for a whole wall I'm less certain.

..

I am just catching up.  I might have to hide these pages from my other half.  She makes all our greetings cards and much more and I can see great interest in the Silhouette cutter.

 

Good to see mention of English and Flemish bonding.

 

Regards

 

Ray

Edited March 12, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[Dave John]

I have had a mess about trying to scribe scottish bond brickwork on a silhouette since nobody makes it. So far results are not good, but if I do find a way of getting the scribing bit to a clean finish I'll report back. 

[Mikkel]

I might have to hide these pages from my other half.  She makes all our greetings cards and much more and I can see great interest in the Silhouette cutter.

 

Hi Ray, I can certainly see how making greeting cards with the cutter could become quite addictive. Within reason though, e.g. we have a tradition here for sending handcut Easter greetings cards, and it would be a shame to do them with a machine.

 

An added bonus for me has been that I had to learn to draw in Inkscape. Although it's only simple 2D stuff, it's handy for many things, including quickly scaling drawings to the right size.

 

I have had a mess about trying to scribe scottish bond brickwork on a silhouette since nobody makes it. So far results are not good, but if I do find a way of getting the scribing bit to a clean finish I'll report back. 

 

Please do Dave, it would be quite a leap forward if this was possible.

[Mikkel]

Modelling time is limited to 20 minutes every morning at the moment, so progress is slow but at least it’s steady.
 
The stable block now has an almost complete front. The parts were drawn up from the original GWR drawing and cut with the Silhouette or by hand. It’s been a bit like designing and building your own kit, which was fun. 
 

 
 
The front is built up from 5 layers, with the windows as the middle layer. 
 

 
 
The doors on the prototype were tall and wide...
 

 
 
...because they weren't just made for humans 
 

 
I modelled a couple of the windows in open position, to add signs of life.
 

 
 
 A few more details and then I need to move on to the ends and rear wall. That should be a breeze, as they were completely plain, with no doors or windows at all    
 

[NHY 581]

Just picked my jaw up, it having dropped when I saw this.

 

Modelling of the highest standard, Mikkel.

 

Inspirational.

 

Rob.

[Mikkel]

Thanks Rob, very kind of you   

 

As always there are compromises and one or two clangers. E.g. the mortar courses don't quite align, due to the way I cut the brick sheet. And the blue engineering brick should have a different pattern. I did cut some of the latter:

 

 
....but couldn't figure out how to integrate it neatly with the Finecast brick sheet. So that challenge is for another project.

 

Anyway I'm really enjoying this exploration of GWR stable blocks. So much that I'm thinking of building another one, i.e. a two storey example based on the prototype at Handsworth & Smethwick. With horses going up the ramp and all.

 

I would need a good excuse for having that many horses though. Farthing is a reasonably big station, but even so it needs something special to justify this. Maybe there was a major coal wharf nearby?

[Stubby47]

Could there have been a nearby brewery, milk depot or rubbish collection yard ?  A hansom cab company ?

 

Almost any industry, other than the railways, would still have used horses as the main form of propulsion.

[Mikkel]

Aha! Thanks Stu, that gave me an idea. I already have a loading dock for a biscuit factory, so if we imagine that it was a big factory....

[Stubby47]

I already have a loading dock for a biscuit factory, so if we imagine that it was a big factory....

 

... big biscuits !!!

Edited April 13, 2017 by Stubby47

[Donw]

Like this? http://www.huntleyandpalmers.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=huntley&f=generic_objectrecord.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3dcms_con_core_identifier=rm-rm-1997_130_264~1_847-i-00-000.tif&t=rm-rm-factory_content2&s=hMy35WbnCl4

 

Don

[Siberian Snooper]

Excellent work on the stable block, I look forward to further updates as you move towards completion.

[ChrisN]

Mikkel,

Twenty minutes each morning!?  How do you find any time in the morning.

 

It is looking really brilliant/marvellous/magnificent.  (Delete as appropriate.)  Lamination is obviously the way forward.  Have you said anywhere how you did the brickwork?

[Southernboy]

I don't know how you do this sort of work in 20 minute shifts - it takes me that long just to warm-up! 

 

Either way, wonderfully observed and so painstakingly reproduced to convincing effect.

 

Inspirational as always

[Mikkel]

Like this? http://www.huntleyandpalmers.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=huntley&f=generic_objectrecord.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3dcms_con_core_identifier=rm-rm-1997_130_264~1_847-i-00-000.tif&t=rm-rm-factory_content2&s=hMy35WbnCl4

 

Don

Yes! Thanks for that Don, I hadn't seen that shot before. The option of a separate factory layout seems ever more attractive.

 

  

Excellent work on the stable block, I look forward to further updates as you move towards completion.

Thanks Snooper, the remaining challenge now is the roof vents. I originally thought the Hornby ones from their old engine shed kit could be modified, but on closer inspection they are rather coarse and the pattern is wrong.

 

  

Mikkel,

Twenty minutes each morning!?  How do you find any time in the morning.

 

It is looking really brilliant/marvellous/magnificent.  (Delete as appropriate.)  Lamination is obviously the way forward.  Have you said anywhere how you did the brickwork?

  

 

Thanks Chris, the brickwork is SE Finecast which I like due to the slightly rounded bricks. They were painted red, then brushed over with milky offwhite, then when dry the bricks were drybrushed with browned shades.

 

I don't know how you do this sort of work in 20 minute shifts - it takes me that long just to warm-up! 

 

Either way, wonderfully observed and so painstakingly reproduced to convincing effect.

 

Inspirational as always

Thanks for the kind words Southernboy. I spend an hour trying to wake up before those 20 minutes :-). I do like modelling in the early morning time though, the world is at peace and it's a nice way to start off the day.