Easton, Isle of Portland

[Oldddudders]

58 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

the shoreline on the Gillingham side 

Aka The Strand?

[Mick Bonwick]

7 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Aka The Strand?

 

That's the place. Paddling pool, swingboats, bandstand, outdoor swimming pool, miniature railway and ice cream from the cafe.

[Oldddudders]

21 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

That's the place. Paddling pool, swingboats, bandstand, outdoor swimming pool, miniature railway and ice cream from the cafe.

In the Summer of '75 I would occasionally be in the ticket office at Strood. Kids with a rolled towel under arm would come and ask for a "half to the Strand" which I initially assumed to be Charing Cross! We learn.....

[westerhamstation]

This might be of interest. All the best Adrian. Lets all go down the strand have a banana.

https://www.strandpool.info/history

[Fishplate]

13 hours ago, westerhamstation said:

This might be of interest. All the best Adrian. Lets all go down the strand have a banana.

https://www.strandpool.info/history

 

Hi Adrian @westerhamstation. I lived in North Kent for many years and never knew about this ! Maybe it was run down/ closed at the time ?

 

The things you find out about on RMWeb. . . . Thanks for sharing. Will read with interest.

 

 

 

John

[Mick Bonwick]

All Land Rovers neatly and safely packed away for the time being, I carried on with some scenic work this afternoon.

 

The concrete fencing as supplied is completely brand new and spotless, understandably. It needed to be aged, so I found a photograph of aged concrete fencing (!) and proceded to try and replicate the effect.

 

Searching my collection assortment of pigments I chose these three to use as a practise. 

 

We have Burnt Umber, Army Green and Europe Earth. Working on the sprue as a guide, and working clockwise from top left, the burnt umber is applied first, to create a darker patch in the centre of the panel. Next is an army green application down each side and, finally, a europe earth across the top. Once all these are in place the same brush used to apply the pigments is gently moved across the panel to blend these colours into each other.

 

 

 

The end result was not too far from my intended look, so I proceeded with the diorama fence panels.

 

 

I only managed to complete two panels before dinner's readiness was notified, so I'll continue on the morrow.

 

 

 

[bgman]

1 hour ago, Mick Bonwick said:

Europe Earth

 

A very underrated pigment in their range and one I go for quite often.

[Mick Bonwick]

I had a telegram delivered today, which took me some time to decipher.

 

Lodmoor Airfield stop Douglas Dakota delivery stop Futuristic vehicles need collecting stop

 

I hitched a ride from a certain squadron leader, who happened to be refuelling for a photographic mission over Encombe Town, and found what turned out to be some military surplus cross-country capable utility vehicles. They had arrived from somewhere called RAF Charmy Bottom in a Douglas DC-3 Dakota of Transport Command, piloted by Flying Officer S. Lowcomo.

 

How very exciting.

 

[MrWolf]

Jolly good show old chap!

 

 

 

Proper off roaders? That will upset The Donkey Slappers!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by MrWolf
SNAFU

[Tony Teague]

Hmmm..... S, Locomo you say?

 

 

A memory stirs.....

[KNP]

9 hours ago, Mick Bonwick said:

I had a telegram delivered today, which took me some time to decipher.

 

Lodmoor Airfield stop Douglas Dakota delivery stop Futuristic vehicles need collecting stop

 

I hitched a ride from a certain squadron leader, who happened to be refuelling for a photographic mission over Encombe Town, and found what turned out to be some military surplus cross-country capable utility vehicles. They had arrived from somewhere called RAF Charmy Bottom in a Douglas DC-3 Dakota of Transport Command, piloted by Flying Officer S. Lowcomo.

 

How very exciting.

 

 

I say old chap, spiffing good show these military types....

Confuse the the enemy, what, by having the same number plate so they can't easily track the utility vehicle thingies when on mission.

What a cunning wheeze must try that with our planes....

[MrWolf]

The Ministry of Defence would like to point out that "Donkey Slappers" is a derogatory term for the tank regiment, derived from the fact that they were originally cavalry regiments.

 

Just in case anyone was thinking: "What is that lupine loon rambling on about this time?"

[Mick Bonwick]

9 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

The Ministry of Defence would like to point out that "Donkey Slappers" is a derogatory term for the tank regiment,

 

If you ever used that term within earshot of a cavalryman, you car would be a pancake very soon afterwards. Unless you were very fleet of foot, you would be, as well.

[MrWolf]

7 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

If you ever used that term within earshot of a cavalryman, you car would be a pancake very soon afterwards. Unless you were very fleet of foot, you would be, as well.

 

It is the equivalent of walking into the Pegasus in Aldershot and announcing that you thought only fairies have wings...

Which is probably why all the front windows of that establishment fold back into the walls.

I learned it from one of my oldest friends who is an ex RGJ Sergeant. They tend to be a little reckless after certain events in the 1980s.

[Mick Bonwick]

On 25/06/2021 at 13:05, MrWolf said:

 

It is the equivalent of walking into the Pegasus in Aldershot and announcing that you thought only fairies have wings...

Which is probably why all the front windows of that establishment fold back into the walls.

I learned it from one of my oldest friends who is an ex RGJ Sergeant. They tend to be a little reckless after certain events in the 1980s.

 

I was once stationed in Aldershot. One of my staff was married to a military chef attached to 2 Para. He was stationary at a set of traffic lights near the Pegasus, on his way home with his wife in the car, and a group of his fellow regimental personnel recognised him as a c**hat (Para derogatory term for soldiers without wings) and approached them 'vigorously'. He drove off through the set of red lights, that being the safer option - police or no police.

[MrWolf]

I can understand that completely. It's called a tactical withdrawal I believe?

 

I've been in there twice, on both occasions when travelling down to the south coast with friends who have served in 2 Para, two in the Falklands and two in the Balkans. I was half expecting to be asked for credentials and everyone else kept schtum too, 23 and 59 Engineer wouldn't cut any ice, even though Soapy technically had his wings.

 

Nobody cared.

 

We had a couple of beers, a few games of pool with my friends old comrades and went on our way. Saw absolutely nothing of the legendary mayhem.

 

Bit of a relief / anticlimax, not sure which! 

 

I don't know if the place has had a makeover in the last fifteen years, but you got a grandstand view from the pool tables (which were too close to the khazi on the back wall) down the steps and out into the street, through the longest narrowest pub I've ever been in.

It wouldn't be a good spot to start a scrap, even if it was just full of civvies.

[Mick Bonwick]

Nice easy, relaxed Sunday, spent colouring concrete fence panels with pigments.

Found another piece of seafoam to turn into a shrub.

Now that all the Land Rovers are resting somewhere safe, I've used a tractor to add some interest.

 

 

 

[KNP]

Very nice.

 

Ah.....it looks so happy there, has it settled in?

[Mick Bonwick]

53 minutes ago, KNP said:

Ah.....it looks so happy there, has it settled in?

 

Perfectly at home!

[Mick Bonwick]

I went to the workshop this afternoon to get on with some more rail painting. I thought I'd just have a try at creating some ivy before I started.

 

Pieces of rubberised horsehair have been cluttering up a corner of the modelling desk for some time, so I extricated a couple of long strands and covered them with PVA. I then sprinkled on some Green Stuff World Micro Leaves and left the lot to dry.

 

 

An hour or so later and I was able to stick the results to the concrete fence panels to see how it looked.

 

 

I have also played with some more seafoam. When we had a dog I had to go for walks every morning and subsequently had time to study how hedges worked. Many hedgerow trees have multiple stems, so I thought I'd try and replicate this at least once within the walls of my scene. All I've done so far is to stick several small stems together, but I'll trim up the result a bit before tackling the foliage stage.

 

 

[Stubby47]

Would the ivy grow up the concrete 'pole' rather than just across the panel, so it has something to gip on to?

[Mick Bonwick]

21 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Would the ivy grow up the concrete 'pole' rather than just across the panel, so it has something to gip on to?

 

It grows up anything, anywhere! It produces small 'roots' which seem to secrete a very sticky substance that is very difficult to remove. I've even had to remove it from panes of glass in the past. I've just been round the garden and taken some photographs to illustrate;

 

 

 

 

[MrWolf]

About twenty years ago, I pulled a Bedford CA van out of a garden in Great Baddow, where it had stood for several years. There was ivy clinging to the passenger side that didn't come off as we towed it out, it just ripped the runners off the main plant. It doesn't need a rough surface to climb up.

[Mick Bonwick]

Further detailing work this afternoon has involved the area along the exterior base of the concrete fence. I have used pieces of Polak Scenics Purex (fine textured dyed foam) and short pieces of the previously created 'ivy'. These have been placed on torn up pieces of PVA-based recycled static grass mats.

 

 

 

 

[sb67]

Those micro leaves are useful, looks superb Mick.