RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 13, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2022 I finally managed to get into the Bunker this morning, so here are some exciting pictures of timber and ply - and I know you love looking at them..... So there'll be another batch in a little while. The base-board for the diorama is a sheet of 12mm thick birch ply, 60cm x 40cm. Shown here with its 44mm x 44mm under-framing. All screws are fitted from the bottom so they are accessible once the scenic part is put onto the top. Two boards have been built. Both will have a power supply and a couple of bolts have been added to allow better alignment when the two are pushed together. More in about 20 minutes, after I've finished my coffee! Jeff 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 13, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2022 First, a reminder of the photo, from post 1, that I'm using as my inspiration for the diorama. There's ALWAYS someone that "gets the wrong end of the stick", so let's make it clear: I am NOT making a copy of this, but the overall scene contains the key elements I want, in order to highlight some magnificent steam locos. Some outline "doodlings" on board 1 to show the positioning of the rear wall, embankments, cess and cork underlay. Cork underlay fixed in place with the approximate position of the outer rails shown in blue. The gap near the board-join is to allow PCB sleepers to be fitted onto the track to anchor them in place at the join. The wall is currently sat on the board. The near wall is incomplete and both walls will actually sit on the top of a rising embankment. There will also be a shorter section of wall towards the front. It was nice to get something done today after 2 days out of the Bunker. 5 hours worth of progress. More walling tomorrow. 7 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted January 14, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2022 (edited) Nice bit of heavy timber engineering there, Jeff. Those boards are going nowhere! Edited January 14, 2022 by Rowsley17D gr 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 14, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2022 A rudimentary track bus has been fitted to both boards. The scenery has been built-up to the plaster stage on board 1 and the first section of walling sat into the wet plaster on the top. When dry, there'll be a bit of additional work on the slopes, involving some DAS edging. Probably tomorrow. Pics for those of you who are interested. I apologise that they are a bit mundane and lack colour - or that they haven't just come from the model shop or out of a box, as those factors seem to attract a lot more "punters".... Jeff 11 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ramrig Posted January 14, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2022 (edited) Wow,. That’s quick work Jeff. so at this rate: Thursday: Baseboards Friday: track bed installed, embankment and rudimentary wiring installed Saturday: Track laid, painted and ballasted Sunday: Fully scenically finished. Walling completed Monday: Running and photographs taken Tuesday: up for sale, sold and onto the next project….. Top work as always Jeff. It is really going to look stunning when complete and give you some quality photo options for your locomotives.. Edited January 14, 2022 by Ramrig Spolling 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 14, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2022 (edited) Not a bad idea, Steve, selling by Wednesday. But before I can do that I'll need to change the track-plan. Maybe run it from wall to wall, as I could just "make it up" and ignore any kind of prototype. Maybe use my stocks of PVA to add some "scenic accents". Yep, that'll be next Thursday's job... Edited January 14, 2022 by Physicsman Punctuation 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium AdeMoore Posted January 14, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2022 1 hour ago, Physicsman said: Jeff Looking the business Jeff, great progress. What you do is right at the heart of what railway modelling is all about. Always inspirational. For me RTP bits are time savers otherwise I’ll never get there! But building from scratch is what I aspire to. Cheers 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 14, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2022 (edited) 29 minutes ago, AdeMoore said: Looking the business Jeff, great progress. What you do is right at the heart of what railway modelling is all about. Always inspirational. For me RTP bits are time savers otherwise I’ll never get there! But building from scratch is what I aspire to. Cheers Hi Ade. Please don't get the wrong impression, as I think there are some wonderful RTP materials out there and I've used plenty myself in the past. I'm relatively new (last 10 years) to scratchbuilding so the "bug" hasn't worn off yet. I suppose (you've heard it before, sorry, I'm not going to rant on) I just get a bit fed up when threads get a lot of credit when a lot of the stuff is plonked "ready-made". I've just ordered a selection of gauges of florist wire, so we'll see how the scratchbuilding holds up when I attempt some trees for the first time! J. Edited January 14, 2022 by Physicsman 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted January 15, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 15, 2022 Despite the increase in price, you're cooking on gas there, Jeff. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 15, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 15, 2022 1 hour ago, Rowsley17D said: Despite the increase in price, you're cooking on gas there, Jeff. I hope to turn the burners up today with further progress on board 2. It's a nice change from GH, and I I do like messing with plaster! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted January 15, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 15, 2022 19 minutes ago, Physicsman said: I hope to turn the burners up today with further progress on board 2. It's a nice change from GH, and I I do like messing with plaster! It'll help dry the plaster quicker. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chipster Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 On 10/01/2022 at 11:16, Physicsman said: Chip, just an afterthought.... Had a closer look at the walling patterns in the pics you attached. Modelling those walls would be easier than the prototype I'm using as the horizontal rows are pretty regular. Better stick to what I've started!! Good Afternoon Jeff I'm back home and here's another pic for you of the very same wall. The wall in the 2 pics last week was rebuilt not that many years ago and probably helps to explain the neat rows of stones, also the bloke that did it is one of the very best wallers I've ever seen, no, it was definitely not me! This pic is to the left of last weeks and you can see where old meets new, also bang goes what I was told as the cams on the original wall are facing uphill! Not a problem with uneven stones at all. You can build your walls exactly how you like and I will find you a prototype to match! Excellent work as always. Chip 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 15, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 15, 2022 Hi Chip. Thanks for the continued input. I actually changed the "cams", following your advice. It turned out that the proportion going one way, and the other was very nearly 50:50. I chose one direction - almost at random - cut out the other direction and filled the gaps with new stones. I think it took about 140 stones, but it does look a lot neater with all the coping stones pointing in one direction. Your photos are very useful and will certainly come in handy when I build my section of wall in 7mm scale. Not sure how long it will be - maybe 30 to 40cm - but, subject to DAS stocks, I may have a go at it at the end of next week. More pics from a short while ago in the post below, but I'll take some closer views of the new diorama wall when I've got it in a more complete state! Jeff 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 15, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 15, 2022 Here are some pics, taken about 45 minutes ago. All the embankments are now plastered. The 2 boards ARE separate, but for matching purposes it's easier to plaster across the join and cut through with a scalpel when the plaster has set. The bottom of the embankment slopes, where the hill meets the cess, will receive the usual "DAS transition" treatment when the plaster has set (on the surface at least). A brown base coat will go on tomorrow and I'll get back to the walling! 9 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 17, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 17, 2022 Here's a quick update. The plaster has been given a base coat of brown paint, standard flock mix and - this afternoon - a base coat of 2.5mm grass. It'll take until tomorrow for the PVA to set and clear, at which point something else may be chucked on top. A bit more walling has been done to join the 2 sections. I'll give the plaster until the end of the week to ensure it's set all the way through, then I'll cut the 2 boards apart. A bit more walling and maybe some rail-fitting tomorrow. Jeff 8 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 17, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 17, 2022 I'll possibly update this thread in a week or so's time, by which stage most of the work will be (nearly) completed. No need to show all the intermediate stages, eh? For those wishing a more photogenic "fix", there'll be a further parade of out-of-the-box locos on the HGS thread later this week. J. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted January 18, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 18, 2022 There's nothing like a bit of green to lift a scene. (I'm a poet and didn't know it!) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 19, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 19, 2022 Just a cropped part of one of today's pics - showing how the walling is looking. Grass still at 2mm stage. 4 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted January 19, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 19, 2022 Looking good, Jeff. Those smaller, thinner stones adding to the number of courses make all the difference. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winslow Boy Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Excellent Jeff. When I first opened your post I thought it was a photo of the real thing. Ian 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 19, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 19, 2022 Thanks to Jonathan and Ian for your comments. I'll take more care over my picture composition when I use the diorama - in its current state - to pose a few steamers for Hell Ghyll Sidings over the weekend. There's a lot more detailing going into the diorama: ballasting, cess, vegetation, telegraph poles, fence posts, trees, more walling etc - all of which should appear in the next week or two. J. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambiedg Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 You turn your back for a few days to start work on your own shunting plank and get some work in on the club layout before the Glasgow show and when you pop back another mini masterpiece has materialised! As mentioned above your last picture is very convincing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 20, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 2 hours ago, lambiedg said: You turn your back for a few days to start work on your own shunting plank and get some work in on the club layout before the Glasgow show and when you pop back another mini masterpiece has materialised! As mentioned above your last picture is very convincing. Thanks David. Here's a couple more pics - taken 30 minutes ago - showing where I'm currently at. 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 24, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2022 Update: Vegetation is currently being added to the embankment. The track is ballasted and I've started weathering it. I should be able to post a picture update on Tuesday, and the HGS thread may - subject to time constraints - have a few more loco pics, taken on here. Fingers crossed. 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted January 24, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2022 Things are progressing (relatively) slowly - approaching 12 days on the project! Here's a "teaser" of the left-hand diorama board - it's just had a track wash and vegetation, wall fence-posts have appeared. 4 4 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