Toto, we're not in Metcalfeshire any more!

[brylonscamel]

On 29/01/2023 at 09:50, Bluemonkey presents.... said:

Outstanding!

Thank you - I just looked at the date stamp on the early photos and the station has been 14 months in the making.

 

[brylonscamel]

Et voilà! The station has been a slow-burner of a model but is finally installed

It  has been a joy to finally see trains underneath the platform canopies.

 

Here, an old Hornby 101 DMU burbles away before departing for Aberdeen

 

Aberdeen Ferryhill stalwart WD 2-8-0 90441 clanks and hisses as she slips through

Edited February 10, 2023 by brylonscamel
typo

[brylonscamel]

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by brylonscamel

[brylonscamel]

Caledonian Blues

I love the Caledonian 812 that Dad picked up recently. It finds a home on 'Braeside' on the excuse that it could have been one of the locos singled out to run RCTS specials in the last days of Scottish steam.

Here she is, backing onto the Braeside coaling stage. Perish anyone that tips the coal carelessly, spoiling her pristine appearance in a cloud of coal ash.

 

 

[brylonscamel]

One of my favourite views is glimpsing the main line from the rear of the engine shed.
The dominant building in this view is the sand-kiln, supplying locomotive crews with dry sand for sand-boxes and kindling for fire-lighting.
 

Edited February 12, 2023 by brylonscamel
typo

[brylonscamel]

BR Blue Weekend 

Occasionally I get to dig out a small stash of early 80s BR Blue to recreate scenes from my 'youth' ..

 

 

 

[brylonscamel]

Edited February 22, 2023 by brylonscamel

[brylonscamel]

 

[brylonscamel]

Early spring sunshine has turned to some more *ahem* changeable ..

 

[brylonscamel]

[brylonscamel]

The bus forward to Kincardine O'Neil is taking forever. Probably because I haven't made it yet!

 

[dave55uk]

On 22/02/2023 at 16:12, brylonscamel said:

 

 

On 22/02/2023 at 16:12, brylonscamel said:

Nice, but sadly wrong placing of signals.

Edited July 1, 2023 by dave55uk

[brylonscamel]

Distant hills ..

[brylonscamel]

Whilst paying Dad a long-overdue visit, I updated the distillery to include a stencilled sign on the roof of the stills room.

[brylonscamel]

Whilst I was busy with the roof signage, mini-me was busy in the distillery car-park, touching up  some scratched lettering on the company van ..

[brylonscamel]

The pace at which I've been working recently is slow, despite the hours worked!

I'm also pernickety and know that mistakes creep in if I rush.

With five projects running in tandem, progress can feel glacial (despite the heat!)

However, I love the moment that character starts emerging from the scatter of components and materials.

This freelance version of an Aberdeenshire hotel, bar and shops has reached that point.

It will form a backdrop to a scene on Dad's layouts and is based on the Huntly Arms Hotel in Aboyne.

With a linear plot available, I hacked the buildings around to fit, retaining as many original features as possible.

These photos show what roofs, chimneys and architectural details contribute to a model.

With paint and details, this should be a super bit of Aberdeenshire vernacular!

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by brylonscamel
typos

[brylonscamel]

During the process of miniaturisation, the 'Huntly Arms" has become the "Glentanar Hotel".

 

 

[brylonscamel]

 

The paintwork has hopefully conjured up the flavour of the stone and the appearance of the buildings that were inspiration for the model.

 

 

I love the pinkish colour of some Aberdeenshire granite. This is typical of the area (Aboyne) and may have been sourced from quarries at Kemnay.

 

The Glantanar name is true to the area, if not the actual hotel. The Glentanar estate is a huge chunk of land at Abyne.

For us, it has a personal connection as Dad worked at the Glentanar Bar in Aberdeen as a youth. It proved quite an experience for a man educated privately at Robert Gordon's School.

His education behind the bar introduced a few choice phrases to his vocabulary! The side door to the bar fixes the connection nicely.

 

The 'wee shopy' at the end was my idea and Dad asked that we name the shop after a relative who ran a small store in Aberdeen. Dad was always amused at the original sign, which was laid out oddly and read "General H. McIntyre Merchant". We suspect that locals would have called him "General McIntryre" as a joke!

 

[MrWolf]

There's a warmth to that stone colour that is very convincing indeed.

[brylonscamel]

On 17/10/2023 at 00:35, MrWolf said:

There's a warmth to that stone colour that is very convincing indeed.

Thanks - I fiddled about with it before I got the balance right.  I've made a few buildings in Aberdeenshire granite, with varying success.

The distillery office worked out nicely but my method is changing / improving over time, which doesn't help consistency ..

 

[AndyB]

Those buildings are absolutely beautiful and really capture the essence of that part of Aberdeenshire perfectly. Please keep posting; they always bring a smile to my face. 

 

Your hotel reminds me of the buildings around Station Square in Ballater. Very convincing. 

[brylonscamel]

2 hours ago, AndyB said:

Those buildings .. really capture the essence of that part of Aberdeenshire perfectly

Fantastic - from the outset, the plan was to remove us from Metcalfeshire and put us in Aberdeenshire. Admittedly a hotch-potch of locations were used for inspiration but it seems to knit together well. It was all to be done through buildings, fixtures and scenery, as there was no scope for ripping up trackwork or changing baseboards.

[MrWolf]

It is difficult to maintain consistency with anything creative as we learn and grow and as products and materials change. I've found that over the last three years. I don't know how a project such as Pendon manage after seventy years.

[brylonscamel]

4 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

I don't know how a project such as Pendon manage after seventy years.

That's a good point, they even manage consistency despite a changing gallery of model-makers!

Edited October 18, 2023 by brylonscamel
typo

[MrWolf]

4 hours ago, brylonscamel said:

That's a good point, they even manage consistency despite a changing gallery of model-makers!

 

Perhaps someone with closer connections to Pendon could confirm, but I imagine that they make a lot of reference to Roye England's notes on construction, which IIRC were serialised in the Model Railway Constructor back in the early eighties.