Scratch-built card and styrene structures (based on real buildings around London Bridge)

[grahame]

With the main structure framework and roof tents effectively completed as far as possible at this stage, it's back to the wall panels that will hang off them:

 

 

G.

[grahame]

A little more progress:

 

 

G.

[grahame]

And a tad more - the last for today:

 

 

G.

[grahame]

I've found myself adding smaller and finer details which has made me stop and think:

 

 

Perhaps I'm falling in to a trap of adding more and more detail when in reality what is required is overall consistency and atmosphere/look. After all this building will be at the back of the layout (against the backscene board) and behind the station on a viaduct. And of course many modellers seem to make do with shiny generic Metcalfe card kits that lack relief features such as sills, quoins, cornices and so on. I certainly don't want samey, me too, kits or RTP buildings as I'm trying to depict a real place and prefer structures to be better detailed and finished. But I do want the whole scene to pull together in one homogenous vista and appropriate for the location.

 

Consequently I think I need to scale back a little although still ensure that the buildings look the part and are at a level of detail I'm happy with. As a start I've very much simplified the carved panel on top of Denmark House. It has a representation of a steam boat on top of a scroll flanked by two cherubs. The panel will be at right angles to the viewing position so will mainly be seen from the end (rather than straight on). Here I've keep it very simple and representative - and I'm sure some additional relief can be alluded to by careful painting and shading:

 

 

The question is, does it work and is it acceptable?

 

G

[ThirdRail]

It could work with the right paint effects and save you a lot of effort. I guess the question is how much is it going to bug you every time you catch sight of it from the "wrong" angle? You could always go with paint for now and replace it with a MkII version with more relief if the mood takes you in the future.

 

Of course I'm saying all this from the comfort of the sofa where I'm still stuck in the "research" phase for Woolwich Arsenal!

Edited June 5, 2018 by ThirdRail

[Stubby47]

but the more you look at buildings the more they are just simple geometric shapes, like boxes and wedges, grouped together.

 

Very true, but the skill (of which you have bucket loads) lies in deciding how and in which order to re-create those simple boxes and wedges to make up the more complex shape of the buildings.

 

I have to keep reminding myself this is also in 2mm, which makes the level of accuracy & details even more impressive.

[Stubby47]

I've found myself adding smaller and finer details which has made me stop and think:

 

<snip>

Perhaps I'm falling in to a trap of adding more and more detail when in reality what is required is overall consistency and atmosphere/look.

 

The question is, does it work and is it acceptable?

 

 

 

I think if you can add the details, do so. The realism is only enhanced when the details you'd expect to see (but don't necessarily notice) are there - they are more obvious when they're not there. 

 

Even if the building is at the back, hidden by others, if it has the same level of detail as the foreground it will look 'right'.

[grahame]

Okay - thanks for the comments.

 

I've added one more layer of detail to the sculptured panel (it's still quite basic but hopefully gives a better impression now), given it a splodge of paint and covered the pitched surfaces with Redutex self adhesive tiling (the ridge tiles are yet to made and added). I think that's as far as I can go on it and I'll run it up the masthead hoping it'll pass muster (and I've still the option of adding shading, etc.):

 

 

G.

[grahame]

Last post for today - I've now cut all the apertures (I think) for Denmark House as well as Emblem House (although there are still a few dormer windows to make and fit). And there still seems like a lot of modelling to do for this building :

 

 

G.

[grahame]

Here's a pic of how Denmark/Emblem House fits between the buildings either side. It's taken at an angle to what will be the back scene board. None of the three have windows fitted so the wall panels are not fixed in place and consequently look rather higgledy piggledy. There is also a large concrete brutalist style building (Colechurch House - which I've already made) that goes partially in front of St Olafs House (the white art deco building) and blocks off the view of Denmark House:

 

 

G

[grahame]

A kit of many parts :

 

 

This pic (above) shows my approach to building construction where parts (or rather sub-assemblies) are constructed, detailed and painted before being glued together as a kind of easy build kit. Obviously throughout the process I double check the fit of the sub-assemblies but without gluing them in place until ready. There's still some more assemblies to make for this building (it's quite complex and detailed) such as the dormer windows and chimney pots/flaunching strips (to go on top of the stacks). Glazing/window fitting tends to be the last thing before final assembly to allow painting and spraying with matt varnish.

 

HTH.

 

G.

[grahame]

Unfortunately very little has been done today - I've had visitors seeing how I'm recovering. But just a bit achieved that shows a little progress and getting towards the stage of painting (once all the architectural details have been added)

 

 

I doubt much will get done tomorrow as my brother is visiting . . . .

 

G

 

 

 

 

[acg5324]

Excellent stuff. Just how big is this layout likely to be when it gets built?

[grahame]

Excellent stuff. Just how big is this layout likely to be when it gets built?

Thanks.

 

The scenic section will probably only be about 10ft long - that's the beauty of N gauge and urban developments. N/2mm is a superb scale for setting complete trains in a realistic environment and with urban locations the buildings are packed closely together. And urban scenes tend to mean you don't need lots of that difficult to model effectively green nature stuff that many layouts seem to consist of. But even in 10ft you need a lot of buildings for a decent urban effect.

 

The other benefit with urban buildings, particularly large city centre ones and with tracks on a viaduct, is that they help give a layout height and structure - which is a dimension often missing on lots of layouts. Many look like track has been laid on top of a featureless flat billiard table green field.

 

Although not fully worked out, as the tracks go off-scene towards Charing Cross over Borough High Street it will loop around on itself to re-enter LB through station. I'm planning for the other end (Eastbound to the South coast) to feature a different setting after passing a scenic break.

 

HTH

 

G

[grahame]

For some strange reason I dislike making dormer windows, ending up either leaving them off completely or putting construction off and taking ages to get around to them. But now that my visitors have left and I'm the only one in the house, I've made the main long dormer as it's a fairly prominent feature. There is another smaller one above it . . . . ugghh; shudder:

 

 

G

[acg5324]

Thank you for the info on the layout, very interesting, clever idea that the Cannon St arrival services loop round to become a CHX departure and v/v.

 

You are right about the N gauge advantage, one of the reasons I can make Olympia as it is.

[grahame]

Both dormers are effectively now complete construction-wise, but need priming, painting and glazing. They'll be finished as separate sub-assemblies and added at the final assembly stage. Next is to crack on with the window panel detailing including those distinctive broken pediments. And then glazing - and there's a heck of a lot of windows.

 

 

G.

 

 

[grahame]

It's all starting to get very grey . . . . . 

 

 

G.

[grahame]

Attention has turned to making some of the smaller sub-assemblies that add detail to the structure. Here's some of the roof top features and chimney pots/flaunching strips. They need painting and the pots seem rather large diameter (although when placed in position it's not obvious) but it was the smallest tube I could find in my stocks - I'm sure I had smaller. If it turns up later I'll replace them, hopefully managing to fit another pot in each run. I'm not sure what the roof structure is - it was difficult to discern from aerial views but looks like it might contains some air-con units in the recess - but it looks good in place on the flat roof behind the longer chimney stacks and adds detail and interest to the roof which is important in N/2mm models: 

 

 

G.

 

 

[grahame]

I've now started to get some basic blocks of colour on various parts. Next I'll try to lay the Redutex tiling on the main pitched roof. It looks like it might be quite tricky with the dormers making the surface areas complex shapes:

 

 

G.

 

 

[grahame]

The Redutex is now on. I fitted the main forward facing surface in two parts, with the join straight down the middle. Ridge tiles and flashing needs to be added. The dormers are just resting in pace - they need painting and glazing before they can be fitted:

 

 

Time to have a break and make a nice pot of tea.

 

G

 

 

 

 

 

[phil_sutters]

Attention has turned to making some of the smaller sub-assemblies that add detail to the structure. Here's some of the roof top features and chimney pots/flaunching strips. They need painting and the pots seem rather large diameter (although when placed in position it's not obvious) but it was the smallest tube I could find in my stocks - I'm sure I had smaller. If it turns up later I'll replace them, hopefully managing to fit another pot in each run. I'm not sure what the roof structure is - it was difficult to discern from aerial views but looks like it might contains some air-con units in the recess - but it looks good in place on the flat roof behind the longer chimney stacks and adds detail and interest to the roof which is important in N/2mm models: 

 

DSC_5937.JPG

 

G.

I know that you have had my view of this area taken from No.1 London Bridge, but I have blown up a section of the original full resolution image. It is still fairly fuzzy, but may be of some help. On the chimney pot issue, you are missing six pots from the long runs, as you can see in the more recent frontal view. That is for information, not by way of criticism, as I have great admiration for your modelling skills. I am fairly sure that you have had that photo as well at some point, but 'viewers' may like to see what a challenge you have set yourself.

 

Best wishes for your recovery.

 

Phil

[grahame]

I know that you have had my view of this area taken from No.1 London Bridge, but I have blown up a section of the original full resolution image. It is still fairly fuzzy, but may be of some help. On the chimney pot issue, you are missing six pots from the long runs, as you can see in the more recent frontal view. That is for information, not by way of criticism, as I have great admiration for your modelling skills. I am fairly sure that you have had that photo as well at some point, but 'viewers' may like to see what a challenge you have set yourself.

 

Best wishes for your recovery.

 

Phil

Excellent - thanks.

 

Bearing in mind the simplification,compression and truncating (for low relief) I've used the pics confirm I'm pretty much there with the model.

 

The white tower/turret and railings in the foreground arson the roof of Stuff Olaf's House.

 

G

[phil_sutters]

Excellent - thanks.

 

Bearing in mind the simplification,compression and truncating (for low relief) I've used the pics confirm I'm pretty much there with the model.***

 

The white tower/turret and railings in the foreground arson the roof of Stuff Olaf's House.

 

G

Methinks your predictive text is getting out of control! Maybe the medication is still affecting things?           *** I agree with that.

Edited June 9, 2018 by phil_sutters

[grahame]

Methinks your predictive text is getting out of control! Maybe the medication is still affecting things?           *** I agree with that.

 

Yeah, bleeding spell chuckers.

 

Anyway here's another pic that doesn't need more mangled words:

 

 

G.