Easton, Isle of Portland

[Mick Bonwick]

When you think you've found a suitable colour and then spill it on an area where it shouldn't be.

 

I wonder if I've got any grey pigment anywhere.

 

[Stubby47]

I'd leave it, looks perfectly natural.

 

[bgman]

I would call it a happy accident that works well.

[Stubby47]

[Mick Bonwick]

I wondered if it would be worth trying out a couple of methods of creating puddles. Having already laid the surface I didn't consider placing a piece of CD case down and then building up the ground around it. Left hand side shows some PVA placed in existing hollows in the ground, and right hand side shows some Woodland Scenics Realistic Water plonked down.

 

 

We'll come back and check the results tomorrow.

 

[Mick Bonwick]

I'm itching to get to the greenery bits on Easton, even though there won't really be that many of them. Well, not at the current rate of progress, anyway.

 

I just happen to have a scenery module sitting in a corner, waiting for some attention. It was completed during a Pendon workshop and was totally unsatisfactory, so has been waiting its turn.

 

Having reached a stage where there is some decent looking track available, I thought I'd raid the stock boxes and then get the camera out. The scenery module is placed at the far side of the track, up against the edge of the laid and painted ballast:

 

 

 

A little bit of jiggery pokery and a Peckett waits for its crew in the early morning Summer sunlight: 

 

 

 

 

[Tony Teague]

Suddenly, it's all finished!

[Mick Bonwick]

Just now, Tony Teague said:

Suddenly, it's all finished!

 

All 35cm of it!

[KNP]

27 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

All 35cm of it!

Boasting again!

[Mick Bonwick]

Another try at creating photographs from not much at all.

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by Mick Bonwick

[KNP]

2 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

Another try at creating photographs from not much at all.

 

 

 

You now have one large photo plank with movable scenery!

[Tallpaul69]

On 22/03/2021 at 16:08, bgman said:

 

If you know of anyone who has access to a Silhouette cutter then a mask cut on one would be a solution.

Nick Gough has one, but I have a feeling it's not working at present?

[Oldddudders]

Stubby47?

[Mick Bonwick]

3 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Stubby47?

 

There's no need to be rude.

[Oldddudders]

41 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

There's no need to be rude.

I have no reason to be rude to Stu, who made me a fine station building, using his cutter in part!. 

[Mick Bonwick]

Using silver sand as a surface for a goods yard. Basic steps:

 

1. A thin layer of neat PVA, spread over the area using a scrap piece of card to attain a level surface.

 

 

2. Applying the silver sand from a spoon, tilting it slightly and tapping the handle to spread the sand evenly.

 

 

3. Levelled out using the underside of the spoon to apply just a little bit of pressure.

 

 

4. It's now left to dry completely before brushing off the loose sand.

 

Some more railside painting to be done while it dries. Listening to the Moody Blues helps soothe the atmosphere as I paint the sleepers, ballast and my fingers instead of the sides of the rails.

 

 

[NHY 581]

Mick, 

 

I use a tea strainer to apply the ash I use  onto the yard surfaces. I then add further glue using a dropper as per ballasting......leave, cross everything and hope for the best. 

 

Rob. 

[Mick Bonwick]

39 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

Mick, 

 

I use a tea strainer to apply the ash I use  onto the yard surfaces. I then add further glue using a dropper as per ballasting......leave, cross everything and hope for the best. 

 

Rob. 

 

Rob,

 

Agreed that ash makes a good surface. It was used for this diorama illustrating Pendon figures, produced by Modelu, and gives a very smooth surface, but I rather wanted something with discernable texture to it, so that it would readily take weathering powders and (later) some finer powders (like Polyfilla or wood ash) in some places to change the appearance slightly. There's more to come yet.

 

 

[NHY 581]

12 hours ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

Rob,

 

Agreed that ash makes a good surface. It was used for this diorama illustrating Pendon figures, produced by Modelu, and gives a very smooth surface, but I rather wanted something with discernable texture to it, so that it would readily take weathering powders and (later) some finer powders (like Polyfilla or wood ash) in some places to change the appearance slightly. There's more to come yet.

 

 

 

Morning, Mick. 

 

I tend to 'grade' the ash, literally fine, medium and coarse by 'pre-sieving' prior to application, using my trusty tea strainer. 

 

Mutton was re-done using a coarser grade and I have to say, it was improved as a result. The same grade was used on Sheep Dip. 

 

As a rule of thumb, I'm sure it was Rob (Wolfie) who gave a good example and to paraphrase, draws comparison with riding a 4mm  bicycle across the surface. 

 

Where I have static grass abutting the yard surface, I brush and blow a small amount of dark earth weathering powder onto the border between the two. This seems to soften the edges of the two materials. 

 

 

Rob. 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by NHY 581
Sausage hooves

[Mick Bonwick]

I don't think I'll be using Realistic Water for puddles. It might work better if used on larger areas, but the meniscus curve is too prominent for small puddles. I've tried adding a second layer just in the central area of the puddle (elongated upper on in this view) but that just exaggerated the effect. The group in the centre of the picture are better, and they were done using PVA. Even they had to have a second application, but the end result is better.

 

 

Any further puddles will have to be planned in advance rather than added as an afterthought.

 

[Mick Bonwick]

Back to the foamboard plank used for testing, and the silver sand has been applied as ground cover, followed by some Woodland Scenics Fine Grey Blend ballast to represent the cess. I'm a bit disappointed that the two Grey Blend types of ballast are a different colour, but I doubt if the real thing was colour matched before laying.

 

 

When it comes to laying the main line ballast the cess will be applied first, but I think that might be a little while longer into the future. I'm itching to get on with some greenery, but I've got to find the boxes that contain the 'stuff' first.

[Mick Bonwick]

1 hour ago, NHY 581 said:

 

As a rule of thumb, I'm sure it was Rob (Wolfie) who gave a good example and to paraphrase, draws comparison with riding a 4mm  bicycle across the surface. 

 

Where I have static grass abutting the yard surface, I brush and blow a small amount of dark earth weathering powder onto the border between the two. This seems to soften the edges of the two materials. 

 

 

Morning Rob,

 

I use a 4mm scale foot, courtesy of Modelu figures various, to establish a suitable courseness of underfoot surfaces. If I used a 4mm scale bicycle tyre I'd get too many punctures.

 

 

Static grass application in Bonwick land always has a soil material sprinkled over the whole area while the glue is still wet, so that any sheen from the glue is hidden from sight. I can't find a photograph to illustrate that at the moment (poor indexing), so it will have to wait until I reach that stage on Easton. Unless I go and take one now, that is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Mick Bonwick
Photographs taken and added.

[NHY 581]

That looks spot on. 

[Mick Bonwick]

Colouring the silver sand to make it look more like soil/mud/dirt.

 

Small amounts of different colour pigments are scattered about the area and then blended into each other using a filbert brush. Simple random spreading of the pigment using circular movements of the brush. The volume of pigment you see is more than enough to cover the area.

 

 

 

 

 

[Stubby47]

How does the grain size compare to a 4mm size boot?