Jump to content
RMweb
 

Oak Road - 2013 to present (a fictitious place somewhere in Somerset) - Raising Money for Meningitis Research


Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Gold

The fence is now well under way and the view from the front looks a lot better than it does at the back (I'm not worried because it will be covered in bushes)....

 

post-18825-0-58810800-1494107553_thumb.jpg

 

....and here's a rare view from the top (I had to spin the board) to see just how far the greenery has grown!

 

post-18825-0-05924400-1494107629_thumb.jpg

 

Tomorrow, I will mostly be.......making trees!!!

  • Like 16
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

As everyone knows, I'm a great believer in customer service and product quality.

 

Earlier in the week, I ordered a Bachmann Snack Van from 2K Technologies via flea bay and this morning it turned up slightly worse for wear. 2K has just sent me another one free of charge even though it was no fault of their own and therefor have effectively lost their profit on the sale.

 

I offered to return the damaged one but it wasn't worth their while trying to reclaim the cost from Royal Mail - what a sad state of affairs that is!

 

Fair play to David for replacing it - fantastic customer service but how can it be right that this company has to foot the bill for someone else's incompetence?

Edited by scoobyra
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Using Sea Moss for the trees is quite expensive when you need around 400 of the them, so I've had a go at making some trees out of florist wire as per the Ceynix Trees method (florist wire, florist tape, postiche) and here's the very first one...

 

post-18825-0-13189800-1494924151_thumb.jpg

 

It's not the best effort but I'm pleased it looks like a tree (unlike my second attempt that went straight in the bin!) and because it's not Sea Moss, it's a different shape and adds more depth....

 

post-18825-0-29054300-1494924156_thumb.jpg

 

Despite watching a number of conventional wire tree making videos, it's not quite as easy as I thought, and I must thank Jacqui of Ceynix Trees for her help and advice in how to create 'real' looking trees in terms of type and shape. I'm not sure I'll have enough trees made for the first show!

 

Anyway, here's the new tree in place and it's funny how just one tree can make the whole scene look different, but then again, anyone that's cut a large tree down in their garden will understand exactly what I mean.

 

post-18825-0-63234500-1494924162_thumb.jpg

Edited by scoobyra
  • Like 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's all coming together now rather nicely isn't it. I haven't been brave enough to even investigate how to make trees but you've got me tempted!!!!!!

 

The curve and hillside work really well together, must try and come and this layout sometime, keep it up bud

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

 

I must have a go at making trees the 'Ceynix' way as yours looks really good......

 

The other advantage apart from price & variation is that they would be much stronger......

I've trees near the baseboard edge that haven't survived being poked.....

 

Looking really good....

 

Cheers Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Hi

 

I must have a go at making trees the 'Ceynix' way as yours looks really good......

 

The other advantage apart from price & variation is that they would be much stronger......

I've trees near the baseboard edge that haven't survived being poked.....

 

Looking really good....

 

Cheers Bill

 

It's funny you should say that Bill because the Sea Moss Trees are about as stable as a paper house in a force ten gale....it'll be interesting to see how long they last before they get broken.......I'll give it a week!

 

The wire method gives a strong trunk etc, but the foliage is still prone to falling off, so I've started spraying everything with Woodland Scenics - Scenic Cement. I used to use PVA but it's made my bridge go glossy - most annoying after all the effort I put in to get it looking respectable!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's funny you should say that Bill because the Sea Moss Trees are about as stable as a paper house in a force ten gale....it'll be interesting to see how long they last before they get broken.......I'll give it a week!

 

The wire method gives a strong trunk etc, but the foliage is still prone to falling off, so I've started spraying everything with Woodland Scenics - Scenic Cement. I used to use PVA but it's made my bridge go glossy - most annoying after all the effort I put in to get it looking respectable!

 

I know the Seamoss trees aren't very strong so on the ones that are prone to get knocked I have inserted a piece of piano wire as far up the trunk as I could push it, leaving some for planting in the baseboard as well.

Eye watering for the tree but it will thank you in the future!!!!

This also had a tenancy to straighten them as well, or join broken stems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

There comes a time when, even for me, enough is enough, so after tarmac surface version 10.6, I've decided to press on.

 

post-18825-0-14376300-1495528370_thumb.jpg

 

To be fair, it's probably the best effort so far and if you're looking at it from a distance, it looks quite convincing. If I could go back and start all over again, I'd use 1200 wet and dry but hey ho, it's been a steep learning curve and mine which at times has been almost vertical.

 

The base layer for the greenery is probably a bit overkill given that it's had scatter and grass added, most of which won't be seen by the time I've covered it in shrubs, trees and bushes but I'd rather go down the belt and braces route whereby if something falls off, there's always another layer underneath before I get back to the brown paper  :laugh:

 

It's been just over a year now to get to where I am and it's not even halfway through yet. With four months left until the first show, I really hope I can get it to the stage where it looks presentable enough not to let the show organisers down  :O

Edited by scoobyra
  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

I'd travel to see as it is now. you could argue that 'work in progress' stuff is more interesting in some ways.

 

But good luck with the rest!

 

Regards,

James

Edited by jamest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

I'd travel to see as it is now. you could argue that 'work in progress' stuff is more interesting in some ways.

 

But good luck with the rest!

 

Regards,

James

 

Thanks James.....but I'd probably direct you to the nearest Specsavers!

Link to comment
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
×
×
  • Create New...