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Hi Martyn,

 

Filming of Vital Spark was still going on at the beginning of 1973.

 

However, I don't recall seeing it on the northern side of the Crinan Canal over the summer that year - we had in previous years.

 

Joys of being a canoe instructor for the summner season!

 

Thanks

 

edit...

 

Details on Vital Spark can be found here:-

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052523/

Edited by Scottish Modeller
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Para Handy was still on the go!

 

Nice layout and of course that 126 is tremendous.

Ah yes the "Tales of Para Handy", the puffer "Vital Spark" being another bona fide visitor to Crinan, as seen here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vital_Spark (current "Vital Spark" aka VIC72 "Eilean Eisdeal", officially renamed "Vital Spark" in 2006.

 

Cheers for your comment about the class 126 too.

 

Martyn.

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Hi Martyn,

 

Filming of Vital Spark was still going on at the beginning of 1973.

 

However, I don't recall seeing it on the northern side of the Crinan Canal over the summer that year - we had in previous years.

 

Joys of being a canoe instructor for the summner season!

 

Thanks

Excellent information, many thanks, I must delve into this further!

 

Martyn.

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In addition to the cars seen earlier, I have now more or less completed two "Macbraynes" lorries to work from the NCL depot (as at Kyle of Lochalsh - presumably Macbraynes ran the operation due to much of the traffic involving ferry transfer to/from the Isles). A very useful Facebook page provided photos to work from, using EFE and Base Toys donor vehicles which have had various cab / chassis / body swaps and reworking, and a repray with car aerosols (further info on my workbench thread).

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A little light chassis dirt to add and they are good to go.

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I have finally made a start on fitting new backscenes from ID Backscenes, starting with the canal extension board. Some online public images were cut and added behind the locks; a little further blending & tweaking is still required.

 

The road has had new arrows added from an old set of Heki rub down transfers I had forgotten about, and "tarmac" added over the baseboard join, and a little weathering of the surface started - tyre wear and oil drips around the bus turning area done so far. (With apologies that the last couple of images decided to rotate themselves!)

 

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Amazing work!

 

 

Thanks Dan, hope you are doing well.

 

 

You know what Martyn, they really work, amazingly well, I love how you've incorporated the basin in the background.

 

You must be chuffed with how they've turned out?

 

Al.

Cheers Al, yes I'm pleased with it, I think it captures the wooded slopes feel of the immediate area about as well as possible for a non bespoke backscene, far better than the previous version anyway, still got the other 3 boards to do yet though!

 

Martyn.

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Hello Martyn

I've been watching your excellent work on Crinan for some time but this is the first time I've commented...to say how superb the new backscene  looks. You've succeeded really well in the difficult transition from 3D layout to 2D backscene.

Keep up the good work... 

 

Regards

Alan

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Hello Martyn

I've been watching your excellent work on Crinan for some time but this is the first time I've commented...to say how superb the new backscene  looks. You've succeeded really well in the difficult transition from 3D layout to 2D backscene.

Keep up the good work... 

 

Regards

Alan

Thank you for your kind words Alan, I was conscious of how to avoid the "flat baseboard meeting backscene" dilemma, thankfully the lowered canal locks and raised road next to the station really helped break up the straight edge. The next board to receive the new backscenes (the station) just has a wall along the straight back edge so I am thinking of ways to relieve that too as I've always thought it suffers slightly from just that same problem. Always something to do as they say!

 

Martyn.

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Another backscene has been re-done today behind the station. In a break from conventional wisdom the next to be done will start from the fiddle yard end; somewhere around the middle of the layout there will inevitably be an overlap where they meet but I have an idea for disguising this.

 

The Macbraynes lorries have now arrived at the NCL depot too!

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The rear supporting wall at the station has now been replaced. After some thought I decided to incorporate a Fish Loading Dock, accessed by sliding doors. As the canal basin is across the road beyond the wall the imagined scenario is that boats could unload here (the Railway Co having assumed control of the canal) and boxed fish moved on carts straight to waiting Insul-fish vans, thus removing the need to tie up valuable goods yard space. However the Fish Dock is little used by 1970 as most fish now travels by road. . . A MacFisheries lorry is planned using parts left over from the Macbraynes vehicles now!

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  • RMweb Gold

The rear supporting wall at the station has now been replaced. After some thought I decided to incorporate a Fish Loading Dock, accessed by sliding doors. As the canal basin is across the road beyond the wall the imagined scenario is that boats could unload here (the Railway Co having assumed control of the canal) and boxed fish moved on carts straight to waiting Insul-fish vans, thus removing the need to tie up valuable goods yard space. However the Fish Dock is little used by 1970 as most fish now travels by road. . . A MacFisheries lorry is planned using parts left over from the Macbraynes vehicles now!

attachicon.gifIMG_20171207_114256_1.jpg

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Hi Martyn,

 

Without wanting to seem over picky or fussy....

 

I've just noticed your canopy girders and not sure if this is how they would have been done?

 

Looking at how you are portraying them they appear to be of the type that would have needed either to go through into the wall for support or rest on stone/brick buttresses or a canopy post at the wall end.

 

If they are meant to be cantilevered girders they have too much of an overhang from the canopy support pillars on the platform.

 

Thanks

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Hi Martyn,

 

Without wanting to seem over picky or fussy....

 

I've just noticed your canopy girders and not sure if this is how they would have been done?

 

Looking at how you are portraying them they appear to be of the type that would have needed either to go through into the wall for support or rest on stone/brick buttresses or a canopy post at the wall end.

 

If they are meant to be cantilevered girders they have too much of an overhang from the canopy support pillars on the platform.

 

Thanks

The girders should go into the wall yes, a little more disguising is probably called for to get it to look more like the Mallaig version I based it on, including some work on the main canopy itself - which will have single central supports instead of the Airfix pairs it currently has so the walls will need to do their proper job of supporting the girders in the end anyway.

 

As the walls had to be made at home I deliberately decided not to make hollows for the girders in it in case the measurement was slightly out in one plane or another.

 

I am much happier with the style now than with the previous Ratio walls though.

 

Photo of Mallaig in link here shows the style, note wide canopy with only single vertical columns and girders into the wall to support it:

 

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mallaig_station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_477694.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

 

Thanks,

Martyn.

Edit for prototype image link

Edited by Signaller69
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I thought the same thing yesterday...and acheived exactly nothing, except 3 hours of shunting.

Wish i had your motivation (and skill) when it comes to scenics.

Ended up going out to do some Xmas shopping as the roads have been cleared so not exactly a productive afternoon's modelling here! 3 hours of shunting sounds far more fun.

 

Thanks for your kind words, I think as far as motivation is concerned I'm like most modellers' in that it comes and goes. Sometimes seeing a photo or others' work gives me ideas on improving existing area of the layout, the canopy walls being a good case in point - I was happy with the Ratio kit ones but they are not really representive for what I needed them for, so the first wall - being a plain affair - was simply knocked up from some hardboard covered with Slaters stone plasticard fixed on with contact adhesive, sprayed with white car primer and coloured with cheap acrylics. I was going to do the same for the rear wall until I had the idea for the fish dock, but the only real difference was adding some Scalescenes doors and bits of an old HO scale station canopy from my bits box. It now leaves me with having to do some work on the canopy itself as a result - a by product of improving on ones previous efforts is you find you then have to change something else to fit, or look, better. I wish I could get everything exactly as I want first time round, as some modellers' seem capable of, but on the other hand changing things as I go along seems to keep the interest going if I'm honest.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Happy Christmas Martyn

 

Crinan has been such an influence that I will be starting my own West Highland layout soon. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

Best wishes

 

Max

Hi Max, compliments of the season; that is great news, I'm glad it has supplied some inspiration for your project and I hope to be able to follow it on RMweb soon!

 

All the best,

Martyn.

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