RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted April 11, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 11, 2011 Du Cane Court is 10 minutes down the road from me and I took some photographs on that same walk I pictured the gas lamps. It really is an outstanding building and still today a very desirable address. I did look into modelling it for Frankland, but even a 'compromise' version would have overpowered the layout (check it on Google Earth or similar to get an idea of the scale of the place). It was opened in 1937 and apparently is still the largest privately owned block of flats in Europe (676 apartments). Instead my block of flats will be based on Hartington Court, Chiswick, which was built in 1938. My late father-in-law was a Du Cane resident 1976-95, and there is a garden seat in his memory, dedicated by his daughters. Your chosen alternative looks absolutely suitable - you really have a flavour for this era, which is lovely to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 BernardTPM: Ah, Bernard, it was your comment on my previous attempt at a 3-SUB that stuck in my mind: inter alia " ... While the old Farish coaches do have a reasonable semblance they are a little tall in the body and the compartments rather too long for typical SR units. If you can get them, the 4-wheel coach bodies have usefully lower windows and can be further reduced in height by taking a little off the wide eaves above the doors ... " I did think about using the four wheelers, but the hassle and cost of getting them off eBay (etc) and all that cutting and shutting made me think 'there must be a better way of achieving this' ... so thanks for making that comment because it was largely instrumental in sending me off on the search that led me to where I am now with the Worsley Works kit So a big thanks to you. I'm sure you won't regret the decision. You've made the best 3-SUB I've seen out of Farish coaches, but I suspect that as you went on you'd become disatisfied when you began to compare it with other more accurate models. I'd say the etched route was better than old Farish 4-wheelers too; good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks for further comments Ben A: Thanks, I missed that news, but will now be keeping a keen eye out for updates. It feels like things are starting to fall into place quite nicely for the travelling public of Frankland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Frankland Intermission The new Talkies are all-the-rage in Frankland - and not be left out the townsfolk have come up with two of their own: We hope you enjoy them 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MrSimon Posted April 17, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 17, 2011 Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Hudson Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I just watched the video from 17th April with a stupid smile on my face fixed for the full running time. Really excellent, you should be proud of this both in its conception and construction. (I have sort of said this before but deserves repeating!) Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thankyou Mr Simon and Mr Hudson, I had fun making the films and am glad you enjoyed them. I often spend time on my knees squinting at the layout through one eye to get a 'Franklanders-eye-view' of proceedings. Hopefully the videos conveyed this way of seeing things better than photographs or written accounts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Martin Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Mark Firstly: top layout! I've always liked the idea of a "suburban deco" model, and this is very much the sort of thing that I'd have fancied. It's beautifully realised too. I especially like the houses set on the hill - just right. Secondly: last October you were asking about very small sizes of styrene strip. I think that someone mentioned that Evergreen do 10x20 thou strip, which you can generally get from any retailer that has one of the Evergreen display stands (the product code is "100"). You CAN get smaller though: Plastruct do square rod which they describe as 0.3mm (about 13 thou) square. The product code is MS10P. This isn't part of the well-known Plastruct black / orange display unit, but any retailer that stocks the range should be able to get it as a special order from the wholesalers. Failing that, you can try the UK distributors, who seem to sell direct. The current price is £2.44 for a pack of 10x10-inch lengths, plus postage. It's very small and fragile, and visually almost indistinguishable from round rod; but it "sits" differently when you lay it onto a surface. Hope this helps Keep it up Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Balin Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Brilliantly evocative stuff, even in its unfinished state! What is the music that you have used as the soundtrack? Admittedly, it's well before my time, but still fascinationg to listen to. Best wishes, Ian (Another fan of the 1930's Southern.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Thank you Jim, I'll get some of that. The E.M.A. website looks to be a handy resource too. Hello Ian, the song is 'Life Begins At Oxford Circus', played by Jack Hylton And His Orchestra. Jack Hylton was a British bandleader who was hugely popular not only at home but across Europe and North America too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Balin Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Thanks for the information - a couple of CD's should be headding this way from Amazon very shortly. At £2.99 each, they're a bargain. Have a good Easter weekend, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Frankland update No. 6 Hello everyone and welcome to another in our series of occasional broadcasts from Frankland ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've had a space in the public gardens at the bottom of Frankland Hill earmarked for a bus or tram shelter - and decided to make this my next project. I wanted something quite rustic and browsed the London Transport Photographic Archives for inspiration, eventually deciding on the tram shelter at South End Green, Hampstead, photographed in 1933. Image 01, Image 02. I also quite liked the story behind it: The shelter had been donated by a member of the public in 1893 who took pity on the drivers of the trams which then had open platforms. The drivers were soaked and frozen in the winter and this was a place to warm up. Frankland also needed a public convenience, and one had been built next to the Hampstead tram shelter in 1897 by the LNWR. However, I decided to have this wrapped around the tram shelter for reasons of space and also I thought it was more aesthetically pleasing :-) For the Conveniences I found pictures on Flikr. So that's the preamble - now on with the show! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As usual I drew up a plan roughly to scale and got the Plasticard out. First sections of the shelter below. One characteristic of the shelter are it's leaded-light windows. To create the leading I laid some clear plastic at 45º over a sheet of graph paper and scored it with the back of a knife. Then I painted a mix of grey and gunmetal over the surface, and after a few seconds wiped it off leaving the paint in the grooves. By the way - I always have a 'project box' to keep parts in - otherwise it's so easy to lose things, especially small parts. Does anyone else do this? Basic shell assembled. Next I needed to get an idea of the degree of the incline on the hill in order to adapt the buildings to suit. And dug out a big hole. I then made a base on which everything would sit, and created some angled steps so the shelter would be level. Next the inside stair assemblies. The steps were from a Ratio 'Southern Railway Concrete Footbridge' which is now surplus to requirements. Here are the inside walls fixed into place. Then the outer walls were made and lightly curved ready for fixing. Some extra bracing was required at the bottom to stop the curved sections from springing out. Various timetables, route-maps and adverts printed out ... ... and added to the shelter, now with interior walls. Further progress. On the right you see the staircase walls with holes drilled ready for the railings. I was very nervous about drilling the holes as just the smallest error could see the drill coming through the side of the walls. The holes look huge, but in fact are only 0.5mm. To the left of the stairs is the obligatory drain, and to the left of that something I am particularly chuffed with, ground-level skylights for the toilets. These are made from two window-frames surplus from a Walthers kit. I used Humbrol Clearfix to glaze them, then underneath stuck a strip of Ultima 'Opaque Glazing'. Next a picture with the first length of railings in place. Most of the area around the walls will eventually be planted with bushes and shrubs, only the front strip will remain paved. Over the entrance to the stairs are two lamps. For the lamps I used a couple of sections of cocktail stick, rounded off with sandpaper, painted off-white and then satin-varnished. The tops of the lamps are two bits from a sprue that happened to look about right for the job. I drilled a small hole through the top of the lamps and threaded through some fine Microstrip. Here you see one side of the lamp support stuck to railings. Later the other side was bent around-and-down to the other side of the railings. And that was the exercise completed, apart from a light dusting of weathering powders to tone everything down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So - Penny at the Ready? We bring you Frankland Tram Shelter and Public Conveniences ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, that concludes another broadcast from Frankland. Being Sunday evening transmission ends early, so for further entertainment why not get down to the Picturehouse? There's a most entertaining you really shouldn't miss! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Just watched those videos - superb! Wonderful sense of era, character and detail, really is a joy to watch this layout develop David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Excellent stuff - a lot better than just bog standard modelling. G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Thanks David and Grahame, appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew F Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Hello Mark. A wonderful update!. The bleached sunlight shots of the new tramshelter/privvy are excellent as they really convey the atmosphere of the area at a certain season, especially with the trees partly obscuring the scene(did you tell us how you made those?); but not just that; they show the accurate modelling for us to inspect and the lengths you've gone to produce that level of detail. Aside from the mind blowing modelling; the representation of those maps and signs are really something else. Did you have these printed somewhere? or download them? That video! ha ha. I've danced like that at 2:20. Yeah, that's a great video....mad but good Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devondynosoar118 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I too have enjoyed watching this very original idea develop! Videos were fun too. Having lived in a 1920's garden suburb I think you have captured the idealistic nature of the town planning very well. The public buildings you have selected fit very nicely too. If this layout doesn't get a magazine feature when finished I will eat my homburg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Colin Posted May 23, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 23, 2011 Just picked up on this thread for the first time and realised I've been missing something very special! The buildings look just superb, the EMUs are really impressive and I'm really taken with the disciplined, cohesive approach - the N gauge side of the hobby needs more layouts like this to show what really can be achieved (and this from an 00 BR/SR modeller)! Looking forward to the magazine article one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hello Andy, The signs are from internet researches: some are 'lucky finds', others from online libraries. I use a page layout programme to scale them to the size I want, and then print them at a shop that has one of those photo-printing machines. The sheets are 8x6" and cost 75p each, which seems reasonable to me. I had initially tried printing them out on a normal office printer, but found the quality lacking. The 'photo' prints aren't perfect, but an improvement on the office printer. The trees were quite straightforward: First I took a small 85x55mm sheet of plastic. This was inserted into a 'Chip n Pin' machine at the 4D Model Shop and then they let me have two exquisite trees. The tree on the left is 50mm and cost £1.91, the tree on the right is 85mm and was £4.70. They need some work around the base of the trunk - but having eyed these up on numerous previous visits to 4D I could resist a sample purchase no longer. You'll also see in the picture some etched 'Chestnut Paling'. Below is a close-up of the paling (£4.34). It's much finer compared to the Faller version (£5.70). The paling is for use in the gardens of the mock-tudor semis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you devondynosoar118 and Colin, your comments are very kind. I always say though that nearly everything I've learned has come from forums such as this - so I return a big thankyou to everyone out there who contributes to the virtual railway modelling fraternity 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold pirouets Posted May 24, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 24, 2011 In the spirit of your comment that nearly everything you have learned has come from forums such as this, I have pinched an idea from you. I think it may have been on the old forum you posted about the development of the Semis which showed how you had built the land around the semi and could just drop the building. So I am trying that by having laid a 2mm piece of card on my layout, but cut out the footprint of each building. Also, i may have to make a visit to the 4D Modelshop when time comes to plant the trees on my layout as they have a good range. I'll keep watching this develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Can I also add how much I am enjoying these broadcasts, there is a lovely sense of time and place. I can sense the spirit of newness and optimism of the residents of Frankland Hill brought about by the pride in their new houses and the new electric trains. Many thanks old chap, I look forward to the next bulletin. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted May 24, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 24, 2011 The trees were quite straightforward: First I took a small 85x55mm sheet of plastic. This was inserted into a 'Chip n Pin' machine at the 4D Model Shop and then they let me have two exquisite trees. Brilliant! I walked right down the garden path on that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Hello pirouets, The idea of bedding buildings into the ground like that is one many have adopted well before my time - I'm just perpetuating what some consider a useful practice. But glad to know I was instrumental in passing the knowledge on :-) The 4D Model Shop is great. It's aimed at modellers in general rather than just those interested in railways. They have plenty of products which make you think 'Ah, now THAT could be really useful for making X, Y or Z'. Thanks Rivercider, It's always nice when people pick up on the broader picture I'm trying to build. The supposed advantage to N gauge is it's much more about 'trains in the landscape' - and I like to think I'm making best use of that. Oldddudders, Glad to have brought a smile :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROADTRAIN1979 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Fantastic work there southernboy, looking superb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L49 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Fantastic work there southernboy, looking superb I second that! Absolutely superb. You are capturing the feel of the suburbs that you can only half experience through pre war colour photos and cine film. Keep up the Whiteman orchestra too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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