Hemyock - Down on the farm...

[Jaz]

The cottages are coming along nicely. Am liking the subtle paint job.

[aberdare]

A few more pictures to show progress so far.

 

 

This has been a bit slow as I had problems cutting windows a couple of days ago as they were a bit finer than those already cut, so I decided to take a short break away from them and then have another go.

 

The first cottage has now gained one of the doorframes and some curtains.

 

 

 

The second cottage now has some windows now that I have a steady hand.

 

 

 

The other side including the first of the cottage doors, each of those small panes in the door is approx 2mm sq.

 

 

 

The two together in roughly the position they will fit.

 

 

 

 

I have now also started to draw up the butter factory of which I only have one picture of to work from, this is shown here (bottom of page) and isn't much like the modern factory seen in later photographs. At least the picture I have is larger with better resolution than this. Once completed I hope that I will have faithfully replicated this scene.

 

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

 

Jim

[Andrew P]

Hi Jim, some really lovely work there and I love the wavy net curtains, that#s something I've never seen depicted before.

 

Well done mate. :locomotive: :locomotive:

 

Bodge

[ChrisN]

Well done Jim.  Just keep at it and keep coming back after those days when you are not on top form.  Your cottages are looking really good.  Food for thought.

[Andrew P]

So Jim, after your visit to York today and talking to Mr Gravett (post in Lounge) we should see some more stunning scenic's this week then, hahhaha.

[Mikkel]

Very nice progress, Jim. I like the textured effect. Those 2mm panes can't have been a lot of fun!

 

PS: I never knew the good people of Hemyock had such tall legs! ;-)

[aberdare]

Andy - The wavy curtains are thanks to the dear wife who is into crafts, a bit overscale but I liked the effect so used them anyway, as for the scenics I did buy a few more bits today to work on the riverbank so you will have to wait and see. I did ask Gordon about one thing I intend to do and he said that it was something he hadn't ever done either.

 

Thanks Chris, I'd always rather leave things for a day until I feel right, I hate messing things up. glad you like the cottages even though I'm not quite happy with the first one myself, it needs a couple of tweaks to get rid of some small errors that are starting to irritate me. Iv'e tried ignoring them but they just won't go away.

 

Mikkel - ahh, those little panes or was it pains weren't that bad, just time consuming but it was what I wanted so stuck with it. Yes the locals did have long legs to negotiate the flood waters from the Culm.   Ground levels are currently being worked on now that positions have been finalised.

 

Butter factory design and drawing is progressing well and with a bit of luck may be cut out for trial assembly in about a week, unless I get sidetracked of course.

[john flann]

Jim, you said you were wanting information about the Butter Factory, (I assume that is distinct from the Creamery) but have you tried the County Archivist?

 

In their archives is bound to be a set of OSS's, and these will show at the least the ground plan of the Factory and the surrounding area. The best scale for you would be 1/500, the 1/2500 would be ok as would the 1/1250. The first two are older, the last more recent.

 

The cost is nor prohibitive, you would not need the whole sheet, just ask for what you need.

 

Regards,

[aberdare]

Hi John,

 

thanks, but yes I have tried the Archives and though I found plenty of drawings for the station buildings at Tiverton Junction which I need later, I found nothing for the butter factory. The OS plan I have is for 1904 which is perfect for getting a rough size and shape of the building and with the photograph I think I have enough to model what I need, however you can't have too many photographs can you?

 

As the cottages take up a fair amount of the area where the new offices sat I didn't have too much space left to fill and the original mill building and a small butter factory with boiler house should do nicely, at least it all fits with the information I have managed to gather.

It's quite a big project so should keep me busy for a while - amongst other things.

[Physicsman]

Hi Jim. My first visit for a couple of weeks - you were still making your tree the last time I looked.

 

Good to see the cottage work - and a nice rendered finish. Keep up the lovely work.

 

As for Mr Gravett - well, he's a bit of a genius when it comes to landscaping/scenics. I'd love to have been in your place!

 

Jeff

[aberdare]

Thanks Jeff

 

Gordon is a great person and easy to talk to and share methods or thoughts, a thoroughly enjoyable thirty minutes or so until I made room for 5050 of this forum.

 

The cottages are still progressing and the first has reached the roofing stage so I have a lot of slates to cut out and fix before moving onto the second. 

 

The tree building is always ongoing and while I was waiting for glues to dry I continued along the riverbank with grass, weeds and a bush or two. But a post is not a post unless it includes a picture or two so here are some of the progress to date.

 

The work done has been from the wooden planks to the small tree on the righthand bank..

 

 

 

 

Looking across the river and a bit closer.

 

 

And a final black & white one, just like the ones I work from.

 

 

The trees here will get bigger and the bushes thicker as I progress away from Hemyock.

 

 

Looking at these now I'm so glad I went to the trouble of building in the internal detail on the two sheds.

 

 

Jim

 

 

[Andrew P]

Lovely work there Jim, really nice bushes and the Shed Doors stand out a treat.

 

Keep the pics coming. :locomotive:

[ChrisN]

Jim,

You certainly did do the right thing modelling the insides as the buildings are so open.  Looks good.

[Jaz]

Looking nice.As you add more bits, they make whole composition, and everything becomes more believable.....nice work.

[nickwood]

Jim, I remember the excitement of this stage when I was building Much Murkle. You certainly have the eye for a believable scene.

[aberdare]

Thanks for the comments Andy, Chris, Jaz and Nick.

 

I'll try to keep a few pics coming but I have a major garden project on the go at the moment which limits time, but I can't resist popping into the shed so who knows.

 

Here are a few from a few days ago that I have only got around to loading. These show the start of each cottage roof under construction.

 

The first one with it's lines of slates.

 

 

With the second one being thatched I decided to go all Pendon on it and used real hair, mine as it happened as I still have enough despite it getting thinner. Luckily the wife has a home hairdresser visit so it is easy to gather it up later when I clear up, the hairdresser hasn't asked why I bag it up yet instead of binning it but I'm sure she will. Unless she just accepts that I'm a bit odd.

 

Anyway a clump is taken and trimmed.....

 

stuck to the board....

 

and weighted until dry.

 

Both of these have progressed a bit further but no pics yet, the thatch has been brushed and flattened and is waiting trimming.

 

 

 

 

When external work has been halted due to showers and sanctuary is sought in the shed I try to find odd little things to do to pass the time and one of these was more weeds for the riverbank.

When I was at the old station site last Autumn I took a few pictures of the weeds on the bank in case I could model them, well that chance occurred this week-end, something caught my eye and I had a Eureka moment. So here it is

 

The weeds at the old Hemyock site

 

My 4mm version in amongst the grass ( the single stemmed spiky ones)

 

 

Could be a couple of weeks before any further progress is made unless I sneak in when SWMBO isn't looking.

 

Catch you later.

 

 

[ChrisN]

Jim,

Those weeds are brilliant, how did you do it?

 

My wife cuts my hair and I have always wondered what to do with it. Hair shirt?  Nah.  It is a shame there are not many thatched cottages in Wales.  Oh well.

[Andrew P]

Great stuff Jim, I do like the Pendon Thatch really coming on and looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Jaz]

dandilion seed?

[Mikkel]

Hi Jim, very nice and creative work. I actually caught myself wondering whether I have enough hair for a cottage.

 

Very clever idea with the dandelions, is that's what it is. I once read that innovation occurs when two different thoughts or acitivites are coincidentally linked. I bet your garden work has influenced your modelling!

[aberdare]

Chris, I always thought as my hair dropped onto the floor 'I wonder if .....' so gave it a go and it seems to be working OK so far, as for thatch in Wales it tends to be on the other side to where you are modelling as there are quite a few around the borders. Weeds, Jaz got it in one.

 

Jaz, well spotted they are in fact dandelion seed.

 

Cheers Andy, I'm looking forward to seeing it finished too, I just hope it turns out OK, if you hear no more then I ****ed it up.  

 

Thanks Mikkel, maybe enough hair for a small cottage? What I haven't said is how many cuts it has taken to get that much  and as for the seeds, two different activities indeed.

 

Now those seeds. I was up in the Polytunnel a few days back and moved some boxes out of a corner and there it was, this huge dandelion head, nice and dry and ready to use so in the bag it went. When I had time I shook the seed off into a carrier bag, loaded the air brush with some light tan/brown or something like that, poked it in the bag and sprayed while agitating the bag. It's best to let the fumes die down a bit before opening to have a look and do it outside. I let them dry for around fifteen minutes and then shook them out, a bit of a spray with varnish later and they were trimmed and ready to go.

I poked them into gaps in the other foliage and with another spray of varnish, job done.

 

It looks a lot drier today so back to the garden work.

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

p.s I do remove the seed from its floaty bit, just in case.

[kandc_au]

Jim,

I seem to recall reading that the intial buildings at Pendon DID use hair.

Problem was it deteriorated, hence the change to hemp.

As for me I grow more on my face than my head.

Wife gives me a beard cut then whisks over what is left on the head.

Basically a ratio of 20/1 beard to head

 

Khris

[Coombe Barton]

I seem to recall reading that the intial buildings at Pendon DID use hair.

 

They did - see http://www.britishpathe.com/video/hair-thatching/query/wildcard - British Pathe 1958

[Andrew P]

Jim a Chaps just made a cottage for me and used Hanging Basket Liner for the Thatch.

I feel it need lightening up a bit though.

 

[aberdare]

Khris - it will be just like the real thing then so maybe in a few years I can model it being re-thatched, I'll have grown some more hair by then too with more grey in in it, perfect. As for the beard to head ratio if I had a beard at that sort of ratio I'd keep tucking it my trousers with my shirt.

 

Thanks for the link John, I had seen it before but it is always good to watch again as it reminds me of how thorough in measurement I should be.

 

Andy - I remember that from your Kingsley thread and thought then how it looked pretty good, I had a choice of that, hemp or my hair, guess which one was free and I had a limitless supply of - so far.

 

 

Back into the garden tomorrow and there will be no modelling until I move the other shed and put all the stuff back that is in mine.