Les1952 Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 So many great little scenes going on all over the place, you seem to have endless ideas for these little touches. Certainly worth while though, there is just so much to see and take in. If it is to be an exhibition layout it needs to have a lot to look at in case the trains either get boring or have a pile-up round the back...…. Many thanks for the compliment. Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Ah well, no maroon Thompsons to come from Farish this year. More money saved for Furtwangen II.... Some more pics to bore you with instead. The happy campers have taken up residence in the corner of the car park field. The third happy camper is watching the cricket. presumably the chairs up there are more comfortable than the log the other two have found. Twelve dustbins have arrived. One needed to go in the cricket area. Note the cat and dog standoff just behind it. The mobile shop has wheezed its way onto Belgrave Terrace. It is a Bedford OWB, the same as the one that the Co-Op on West Auckland Road (Darlington) used to keep in a lean-to at the side of the shop, and approximately the same colour. I can't remember ever seeing it out in the open so I don't know it there was any lettering on the side. In any case I've no suitable unshaded letters to say either SHOP or CO OP. It looks suitably tatty. The Moggie Minor now has its driver leaning on the wheelarch chatting to his mate on the bridge. That at least gives the excuse for stopping and the reason the wonky Jowett Javelin has had to pull out into the centre of the road. Golden rule- if you make a bodge either hide it, disguise it, or find something to make it look deliberate. One director of ours used to say "If you make a mistake on stage keep going. If you can't hide that you are doing things differently glare at someone else. That way the audience think it is them that are wrong." On that philosophical note time to finish. Tomorrow the 2mm static grass should arrive- the 1mm stuff didn't work but the burnt 2mm stuff looks OK. I'll do areas of the embankment with 2mm of different colours. Railway embankments were anything but uniform. Les 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 I had to go to town this morning to post a pair of 9Fs off to DCC Supplies for fixing. One was the penultimate repair from the stock box that got dropped a year ago. The other had a freak accident on the club layout Rise Park when it derailed in the tunnel and fell through the access hole onto the clubroom floor. As I was in town i called in at Steve's emporium and got another colour of 2mm static grass. The two I'd bought on eBay were waiting on the back doorstep when I got back so I have a mix of four colours to blend. I've started by blending from the area of burnt grass I tried on the front embankment face and then had a go at the area behind the track round the back of the farm- it makes sense (at least to me) that as that area is sloping and has track in front and trees behind that the farmer wouldn't bother much with it apart from possibl tethering a goat there now anfd again. It doesn't look as it it is standing up very much at the moment. I'll see what it is like after I've passed the mini vacuum over it in the morning. If it is rougher I'll do the rest of the embankments. I also got some more general green foliage, which can get added into this when I've finished. I'll try to remember to get some pics on Sunday- there might be something worth photographing by then. Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Still not got the pics taken o the re-grassed embankments. I've been a bit busy this last couple of days stripping down and tweaking analogue locos for Rise Park. The particular one that has taken a lot of effort is an ex-GCR O4/5 2-8-0 which didn't want to run forwards. I've now got it running acceptably. With a little bit of luck I should get some pics and videos done tomorrow as I've got Geoff coming over in the morning and Bob in the afternoon for a play and familiarisation. That will mean all of the operators have had a play in advance of Sileby- which is now only just over three weeks away...… The only thing needing finishing now is the layout curtain, and that is at the hem sewing stage. A couple of minor tweaks here and there could do with happening but things are basically ready. Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 As promised, the pics of the static grass. Note the burnt area of grass on the embankment in front of the main line. Les 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 As promised, the pics of the static grass. IMG_9769.JPG IMG_9771.JPG Note the burnt area of grass on the embankment in front of the main line. Les Fantastic modelling in 2 mm scale Les. I struggle to achieve the same results in 4 mm. Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Fantastic modelling in 2 mm scale Les. I struggle to achieve the same results in 4 mm. Regards, Brian. Many thanks for the compliment. I just wish I could do ballast and rail sides to your standard. Addition of the weekend- the Perspex piece to protect the signalbox from small fingers. The random triangle on the black apparently under the Perspex is a reflection of my chair (thank goodness, it took a little while to work that one out). Les 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 53 blasted attempts to get the password into the new RMWeb site and it FINALLY accepted the one I started with. NOT IMPRESSED. (and the site isn't as user friendly as its predecessor. How do I know how many? - simples. I wrote down each failed attempt and counted the lines! 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted February 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 3, 2019 Les, I must be one of the lucky ones. Straight on no problem. Lots of things are easier to do than before but still finding my way around. Baz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 I'm with Les . . . AH DIVN'T LIKE IT!!!!! John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 (edited) Layout curtain now finished- that also makes a difference. A new addition to stock is a Class 25, which I'm in process of turning into a Thornaby one - ignoring the fact that Thornaby had the 25/0 subclass and this one is really a 25/1. The roof still needs making a lot more matt and even, but I'm fairly happy with the sides. I saw the entire 25/0 sub-class when they were still theoretically green. Not that you would have noticed for they were usually as filthy as that and the numbers were always difficult to read. This one will be dedicated (for now) to Croft Spa and will work the sheeted 5-plank train pushing the brake tender, with one of the class 24s as reserve. the other 24 will be dedicated to Hawthorn Dene and work turn and turn about with the two class 27s. Also appearing in the post this morning is a replacement chassis for the class 33. I managed to drop in and broke off the buffer beam from one end destroying the buffers in the process, and mangled the buffers at the other. The body was undamaged and the spare part from Dapol is a complete chassis. I now have something specific to look for in the Dapol "NQP" scrum at the open day- a class 33 in green with good bodyshell but serious electrical problems. That way I can use the bodyshell and frame from that with all the good bits of the broken 33 to make a second good one. I should end up paying less for a rebuild-it-myself job than fro a new one even including the replacement chassis. The rebuilt class 33 stands in the loading dock. Again it has had a little subtle grot added to take the shine off a bit while leaving the impression it is still new and sparkly and belongs to a depot that puts its diseasals through the carriage washer occasionally. Les Edited February 6, 2019 by Les1952 trying to get photo uploader to behave itself. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MrSimon Posted February 6, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 6, 2019 The 25 looks good - maybe add a bit more black around the exhaust and wipe some of the weathering off the windscreens and side windows... just so the driver can see the signals! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 2 hours ago, MrSimon said: The 25 looks good - maybe add a bit more black around the exhaust and wipe some of the weathering off the windscreens and side windows... just so the driver can see the signals! It did occur to me that I should have wiped it before the matt varnish dried...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 (edited) I've updated the layout flier - new pictures The header pic for the flier New pic of the station. Looking along Belgrave Terrace. Malcolm Grubey looked at the flier at Doncaster today and booked the layout for Wirksworth show in October. That makes three shows booked in. I do hope it works when we get to Sileby..... Les Edited February 10, 2019 by Les1952 picture uploader can't count! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) Just back from Sileby. I only actually got to take the one photo- the layout under its dust sheets last thing on Friday. Positives- The layout performed well. Most problems were operator error. There were a lot of positive comments especially from people who know a good layout (and have made very fine layouts). The gardens generated a lot of interest with people spending a lot of time looking at them. Right at the end one old guy who had trainspotted at Croft Spa said the station was just right and the village looked authentic. He couldn't remember the footbridge, which narrowed down its removal to pre-1958 but post-1955. The lighting rig worked. At the end of the show we were in the car in 25 minutes and unloading at home 40 minutes later. By Sunday morning we'd worked out how to shunt the carriage dock reliably. Negatives- The point at the end of the row on the anticlockwise exit of the fiddle yard gave intermittent short circuits all weekend- however Ian (Sherwood Models) brought one in from the shop on Sunday so I now have a new point to replace it. The layout didn't fit in the car very safely to go. However a bit of thought on the way home on Friday resulted in repacking differently on Sunday at the end of the show, putting the first two trestles in the car first and the layout on top of them. It ended up taking up less space in the car than Hawthorn Dene, though including the trestles it may well be heavier. The carrying knobs on the end pieces are useless and I'll have to replace them with better handles. I should have had three dustsheets made- I need to talk to former pupil Gina at Boyes to get another metre of material cut- a minor issue. I've found a few small jobs to do before it goes out to Manchester in May. However I have picked up two new firm bookings, Loughborough Soar Valley at the start of September and Wirkswirth in October, with the possibility of Leamington next year or the year after. Overall a very pleasant weekend. Les Edited February 17, 2019 by Les1952 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) Now I've seen it and trimmed about 15 seconds of mayhem off the start this video deserves to be shared. Right at the end of Sileby show as we were putting trains away the guy from MERG (Sorry, can't remember his name) offered to attach his camera truck to the front of a train on Croft Spa. This is the result- apart from showing how straight the track across the front isn't and how poor the whistle is on the sound-fitted A3 - the middle bit is a classic..... Enjoy.... Les Edited February 19, 2019 by Les1952 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 The latest Croft Spa video, with 60116 and 60124 on trains. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted April 23, 2019 Author Share Posted April 23, 2019 Some more recent photos. I've been working away at bits that don't make an obvious difference, such as filling in lightly dodgy bits of ballast and trying to get the rail sides more even. However some more people and a few small details have appeared. First a pic from some time ago, the G5 on passenger approaching Croft Spa station from the North. The bloke at 24 Belgrave Terrace seems to have had an accident. Here he is pottering about in the garden with his leg in a plaster. Must get round to tethering the goat next door. A few more bits have gone into the scene at the pavilion, such as a couple more benches and a young man on the pavilion steps fastening his shoes- he must be posh as there weren't that many white trainers around in those days. They certainly have attracted the attention of the small dog. I must straighten up the guy in the green jeans. He is too straight-backed to have been on the pop. There still isn't a flag on the top of the flag pole. The next show is MRX Manchester. Given my disgreements with Peter Crichton over the B word I might put an EU flag there just to wind him up. The permanent one will be a County Durham flag. I know it is too new but it will do as the ficticious Croft Cricket Club flag. Given that play has stopped to recover the lost ball the queue for the ice cream van is building up. I decided the Jowitt Javelin was a little too posh to be coming down Hurworth Road, so it has gone to join the other posh cars in the car park. The opposition today must be fairly well heeled as they've hired a Wally's Trolly as the team coach. There is more at the back of the farmyard but I've not yet installed the last item so pics of that will follow. On Hurworth Road I'm not happy with the Bristol LL (bodged rebuild of an LWL) so I'm looking for a Dornaplas Bristol LS5G to replace it. I remember LS5Gs and occasionally MW5Gs on the 34. Les 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMcKenzie Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Looking great Les. From my experience those small thing's that don't make an obvious difference only stand out when they are not done. Once they are done they just blend into the rest, but they make the background look realistic and make the trains stand out. Great modelling as always. All the best, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 He wouldn't have had trainers back then. . . .If he was well off they would have been Dunlop Green Flash sandshoes. . . or a cheaper make from the local store . .. Looking good, Les. John 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manna Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 G'Day Folks Us poor B******, had to wear white Plimsolls, didn't they smell after a few outings........ manna 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Looking great Les! Love the G5 in particular. 14 hours ago, Les1952 said: Given my disgreements with Peter Crichton over the B word I might put an EU flag there just to wind him up. The permanent one will be a County Durham flag. I know it is too new but it will do as the ficticious Croft Cricket Club flag. Do it! Fly those EU stars with pride I really like 'our' County Durham flag, it's a shame that it hasn't taken off as much as the Northumberland one. You see their red and yellow striped flag all over the place now, flying from many buildings and one thousands of cars too. I work in Northumberland and folk are very proud of it. It would be great if our County Durham one became more prevalent (particularly instead of St George's crossed and Union Jacks, which I very personally don't like). Back to Croft, that's a lovely little cameo scene above with the ice cream van and bus etc. Really helps to bring the layout to life. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted April 24, 2019 Author Share Posted April 24, 2019 21 hours ago, Two_sugars said: He wouldn't have had trainers back then. . . .If he was well off they would have been Dunlop Green Flash sandshoes. . . or a cheaper make from the local store . .. Looking good, Les. John Many thanks. Actually given where they are he could be wearing cricket boots (the opponents did come on a posh bus from Leeds...) Les 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 On 23/04/2019 at 23:56, manna said: G'Day Folks Us poor B******, had to wear white Plimsolls, didn't they smell after a few outings........ manna We had white ones as well. A nightmare to keep recolouring as the stuff got all over hands and everywhere. You got slippered if you allowed them to get mucky enough for the PT teacher to notice Les 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted May 22, 2019 Author Share Posted May 22, 2019 The layout set up last weekend in Manchester Museum of Transport with the multicoloured operating team of Eric Beech in burgundy, Bob Lockey in black and Gary Tabener in green. I was wearing blue. So much for club co-ordination. The layout ran well all weekend and apart from one or two locos needing a service after the weekend's running, and a couple of A4s that didn't like the road I wanted them to run on the main casualty seems to be a UM loco that has got bits in its drive- another cleaning job. I've now got the layout stored in the Bingham MRC clubroom, where it will be erected on June 4th for a bit of training of operators and for photography. It can't have its electrics before then as NO PLACE needs them on June 1st at Sleaford. Pics of the flags to follow. Les 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now