"Diesels in the Duchy" - AKA St Blazey - DCC EM

[2ManySpams]

 

 

Note: Although started as a buildings thread, further down are posts containing photos of the whole layout at shows such as Stafford and DEMU. In December 2010 the thread also considered moving the period of the layout to the late 60s...

 

 

Building 1 - The "Admiral Rodney"

 

On the previous RMweb site I mentioned that I had committed to making a number of buildings for a friends layout. The layout is set in the 80s and is based on the key features of St Blazey depot down in Cornwall.

 

The prototype for one of the buildings was a rather nice Cornish pub in Par called the "Par Inn". I put a shout out on the old RMweb for some photos and days later I had a load and some measurements thanks to Penlan. Two of Penlan's excellent photos are below:

 

Using the photos, measurements and some aerial shots from Google Earth I drew up some elevations of the pub to see if it all looked about right.

 

The next step was deciding what to build the pub from. Plastic is my favoured medium but none of the commercially available sheets really looked the part. After some discussion about options here, I decided to hand scribe the stones. Seemed a good idea at the time.....

 

The following shots show how the build progressed until near completion for the Stafford show in Feb 2010.

1. Scribing the flats

 

2. Putting it together

 

3. A spot of painting

 

4. Pub In-situ. To the left is John's crossing keeper's cottage and to the right an end wall of Damian's roundhouse.

 

The original plan was to call it the Admiral Benbow but it has turned out to be the Admiral Rodney - after a cat...or is it a Class 50??

[norseman]

Thanks a lot for showing this to us novice scratchbuilders. Great to see the whole progress, and I must say a superb result!

[2ManySpams]

Thanks for the comment - more buildings to follow:

 

Buildings 2&3 "Powerhouse and Tower"

 

At the rear of St Blazey shed, to the West of the roundhouse is a row of long buildings of various heights. To fit these on the layout Damian moved them to the East of the shed and they form the central backdrop to the overall scene. To keep the relationship with the roundhouse correct, the model has been built as a mirror image.

 

Two of Damian's photos of the prototype buildings are below:

The rag tag collection of doors and windows above is what we're referring to as the workshops - they have still to be modelled.

This shot shows the workshops left, tower centre and Powerhouse right. The order on the model is reversed. Note how the brickwork on the upper part of the tower is a different shade.

 

Building proceeded as shown in the photos below. The windows are excellent and were custom made by York Model Making.

 

1. Production of the flat panels for the Power House

2. Turning the flats into a 3D block and detailing. The dark shots show how late some of the modelling was done! The roofing is by Wills and the brickwork by SE Finecast.

3. The building frames sprayed with Halfords plastic primer - waiting for final finishing at the show to match the brickwork of the other buildings. Windows and doors temporarily inserted to see how it looks.

4. The buildings in-situ on Damian's layout. (Must get a better shot). To the left is another end wall of Damian's roundhouse and to the right a bit of Andy's wagon works.

[vac_basher]

My goodness Chris, that is some jolly good modelling. I have to say the pub looks even better than I thought it would (I love the entrance!) and the power house is a stunning piece of work too.

You're a very talented modeller. An inspiration to the vast majority of us.

I look forward to seeing more of the good stuff.

Exhibition dates?

[ullypug]

Very impressive. You've got a good eye for colour too. Are there any photos of the rest of the layout anywhere?

[10800]

Wow, that's good stuff Chris, and not a P set in sight!

[2ManySpams]

Wow, that's good stuff Chris, and not a P set in sight!

 

Not yet anyway - but i do have some EM wheelsets handy and i'm currently converting some locos that would have been seen at St B in the early 1960s. All i need is for Damian to look away for a few moments when the layout is at the next show

[2ManySpams]

My goodness Chris, that is some jolly good modelling. I have to say the pub looks even better than I thought it would (I love the entrance!) and the power house is a stunning piece of work too.

You're a very talented modeller. An inspiration to the vast majority of us.

I look forward to seeing more of the good stuff.

Exhibition dates?

 

Thanks for the comments!

 

I beleive Damian's Diesels in the Duchy will be out three times this year (along with three invites for Treneglos). The DitD shows are:

 

Feb - Stafford (Done)

June - DEMU Burton

October - Wadebridge

[Waverley West]

Superb, Chris, just superb. Thanks especially for the "step-by-step" guide too. That was fascinating.

 

I'd be interested in seeing photos of the rest of the layout too.

 

Cheers,

Dave

Waverley West

[2ManySpams]

A good overview of the layout can be seen in the shot below:

 

 

I'll be loading more photos tonight. I've only helped with a few buildings and a bit of green stuff - the vast majority of the work has been done by Damian working on his own. Impressive considering the layout was only started in 2009!

[bubbles2]

Wow, thats looking good, really looking forward to seeing this at Wadebridge.

[gwrrob]

Building 1 - The "Admiral Rodney"

 

Wow Chris you have been busy ! Excellent work mate ! What shade/colour of paint did you use on Par Inn to blend all the various colour shades together nicely ?

[mudmagnet]

Great buildings and good to see the construction details on here.

I was fortunate to see the layout at Stafford in February and must say, very impressive. During the course of the weekend quite a few trees appeared on one side of the layout and was interesting to see the layout progress over the two days of the show. I only managed to take a dozen or so photos, was generally too busy to close to during the day and so had to rely on getting photos before the general public came in!

 

Look forward to seeing more photos and construction details.

[2ManySpams]

Great buildings and good to see the construction details on here.

I was fortunate to see the layout at Stafford in February and must say, very impressive. During the course of the weekend quite a few trees appeared on one side of the layout and was interesting to see the layout progress over the two days of the show. I only managed to take a dozen or so photos, was generally too busy to close to during the day and so had to rely on getting photos before the general public came in!

 

Look forward to seeing more photos and construction details.

 

Glad you liked the layout - which exhibit were you on? Yes, several boxes of forest got planted on the Saturday evening / Sunday morning. This layout changed appearance after this forestation!

 

Please feel free to post any photos you took on this thread!

[2ManySpams]

Building 1 - The "Admiral Rodney"

 

Wow Chris you have been busy ! Excellent work mate ! What shade/colour of paint did you use on Par Inn to blend all the various colour shades together nicely ?

 

Hi Rob - thought you might approve of something with a WR flavour!

 

Can't really answer the 'what shade' question as I use a whole series of 'yuck' washes made up from the following acrylics:

 

Chocolatey brown, light grey, sandy tan, cream (not white), reddish brown and a dark grey.

 

I keep going, altering the mixture on the washes until I'm happy with the colour. I use the same colours to tone done most buildings in the hope that there's an overall colour match. A drop of brandy helps too. You'll note that I first painted the stonework in quite bold colours and then toned down rather than trying to go for separate toned down colours first (if that makes sense).

 

Probably not that helpful, sorry!

[2ManySpams]

Wow, thats looking good, really looking forward to seeing this at Wadebridge.

 

It's a bit of a wait until October for you but say hello when the time comes!

[2ManySpams]

Building 4 - The Crossing Keeper's Cottage

 

I must stress first off that this isn't one of mine but John (the builder) is happy for it to be included on this thread.

 

Ok, first off the prototype photos:

 

Annoyingly we realised that the sides seen by the public were the sides you couldn't photograph!

 

 

Here's the building in kit form, held together by masking tape, being tried for size on the layout.

 

And a shot of the building stuck together and painted at Stafford show. The brickwork on the chimney stacks is actually made up from tiny modular brick castings (an old C&L product?) and the stonework in between cut out from the Wills random stone sheet. Truly a labour of love or insanity!

 

John has a real eye for weathering roofs (and telegraph poles - don't ask) and has added the finishing touch to the buildings on Treneglos and DitD.

[2ManySpams]

And now (for something completely different?) a few general shots taken of the layout at the Stafford show with a few added from the building sessions at Damian's house.

 

A few locos first

 

This is the overall diorama:

 

And now a few of the yard which includes Damian's model of the roundhouse and Andy's of the wagon works. Oh and a few of the extra trees at the end!

[Mallard60022]

Building 4 - The Crossing Keeper's Cottage

Here's the building in kit form, held together by masking tape, being tried for size on the layout.

 

And a shot of the building stuck together and painted at Stafford show. The brickwork on the chimney stacks is actually made up from tiny modular brick castings (an old C&L product?) and the stonework in between cut out from the Wills random stone sheet. Truly a labour of love or insanity!

 

John has a real eye for weathering roofs (and telegraph poles - don't ask) and has added the finishing touch to the buildings on Treneglos and DitD.

 

I'm sure I've seen this cottage on a TV programme some years back. It was something to do with moving in and doing it up in the days before all those makeover programmes started!!!

By the way Spams, superb buildings. I'm inspired!

I'm also very envious of the layout.

Sincerely, Phil R. 36E

[Taz]

If memory serves, I believe it was one of the Grand Design programs.

[2ManySpams]

If memory serves, I believe it was one of the Grand Design programs.

 

Taz

I'm sure you're right there - I've not seen the episode though - seems to be one of the few not repeated weekly!

 

Phil

I'll pass your comments on to the layout owner, many thanks.

[Taz]

Sorry Chris, should have added that that is some superb work.

 

As my parents live in Par I am quite familiar with the originals. Think I will have to find an excuse to visit Wadebridge this autumn.

[mudmagnet]

Glad you liked the layout - which exhibit were you on? Yes, several boxes of forest got planted on the Saturday evening / Sunday morning. This layout changed appearance after this forestation!

 

Please feel free to post any photos you took on this thread!

 

Hi Chris,

 

I was operating on 'Bridport Town' so not that far away.

 

I will sort through my photos and see what there is that you've not shown already.

[2ManySpams]

Hi Chris,

 

I was operating on 'Bridport Town' so not that far away.

 

I will sort through my photos and see what there is that you've not shown already.

 

Smashing!

 

Did you see our tree 'washing line'?

[Pennine MC]

 

... A drop of brandy helps too. ...

 

In the paint mix, or down your neck

 

Smashing stuff Chris, all of it.