Hemyock - Down on the farm...

[billyb_imp]

Jim

 

That shed looks terrific, the colouring on your tiles is so realistic. 

 

you have inspired me to do something from scratch myself, starting with my platforms, so its out with those Metcalfe card kits 

[The Great Bear]

Excellent modelling of a charming prototype

[aberdare]

Many thanks for all the replies and likes.

 

Jeff – I think that blue Pullman may also be a bit out of period too!

 

Gary – Thank you, the window problem was due to the fact that I had used some clear Acrylic or PVC that was my wifes when she made dolls houses, it stays nice and clear even when using Mek and though the plastic stuck initially the sunlight and temperature variation in the conservatory seemed to lift and distort sections of the strip used for the frames. It only happened on the two end windows so these must have been the most affected by the sun.

 

Billy – I’m glad you like it and as for the roof slates they have only had the initial coat so far, still more to do. I’m glad to see you taking up the challenge of scratch-building, it’s more time consuming but is very rewarding.

 

Great Bear – Thanks, I always found the prototype had plenty of charm and appeal especially in the early period.

 

 

 

Modelling came to an abrupt halt when I ran out of 0.01 x 0.02 strip, where did that last 40 odd strips go? It must be one of the most used sizes by me. I will order some more but I may as well check what I need for the goods shed too as that will be next on the list but I may need to rough up a drawing first.

For anyone who wants to see this rarely photographed building this is it in a scene I hope to replicate only 15 years earlier.

http://blackdownarchives.org.uk/2011/06/castle-farm-cart-at-wagon-and-engine-shed/

 

In the meantime I thought I would knock up some hinges for the doors which will be working versions so I can open and close the doors.

First I soldered some strips of brass to micro tube (0.6/0.8mm)

 

 

Then I shaped them roughly with the mini drill and a stone.

 

 

Threaded some wire (0.45mm) through and separated them, I will now tweak them tonight to get them as similar in shape as possible.

 

 

Hopefully when the doors are made it will all work perfectly.

Now I wonder if I can use that 0.2/0.4mm tube for door bolts??

 

 

[Mikkel]

Great progress Jim. The interior work on the shed is really special, I agree sometimes it's surprising what can be seen of the inside of a building. I really like that scene with the carts in the photo you linked to, I look forward to seeing that in model form.

 

Nice work on the hinges. Looking at them in the raw, it's one of those things that only a modeller would have a clue what was! :-) 

Edited February 17, 2014 by Mikkel

[aberdare]

Thanks Mikkel

 

The hinges were a lot easier and quicker to make than I thought and I'm a little impatient now waiting for more plastic strip, I may have a good hunt round the shed in case I've left an odd piece somewhere.

 

It looks as if I'll have a few horse drawn wagons to make too when I re-create that goods shed scene.

[Sasquatch]

Am really happy that I saw you layout thread on a post in the lounge Jim.

It has been an interesting read. Especially liked the post where your old garage got demolished and that lovely new shed appeared. Great stuff.

Your model structures are second to none and must have inspired others on here no end, including myself.

 

Will be watching with interest

Regards Shaun.

[aberdare]

Thanks Shaun

 

I must admit the new shed was a godsend as I was at a pretty low ebb almost a year ago and removed the link when things in general just seemed to be against me, however I wasn't going to stay down for too long and it is good to get back in the groove. 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your read through and as the likes popped up I revisited your Goathland as it's not that far away and was surprised to see I had not posted on it, it's all the more surprising as I had followed it from day one and even showed my wife pictures of it. That's something I will correct as I have a bit more time to myself as long as I am not engrossed in building something.

 

As for me inspiring others.....well if I have I'm happy but I get all my inspiration from others on here - including you - who have done far more modelling than me.

[aberdare]

Following on from the hinges I made in my last update it was time to start the fitting of them, the hinges themselves were simply glued to the doors in the positions I thought best to allow opening and as they were so large I decided to make another pair so that there were 3 on each door. More on this after a quick description of the hinge posts and a photo.

 

 

The hangers or posts to allow the doors to open were made from some brass 0.45mm wire so I needed to drill some holes in the framework first, the doors were positioned so that a hole could be drilled beneath each hinge.

 

The second hole being made (0.5mm)

 

 

 

Back to the hinges. To check the alignment when gluing the hinges on I fed a length of wire through all 3 and made sure the positioning was parallel to the door before they were glued in place. Here is a photo of the doors and hinges just before I drilled the final hole for the last hinge pin and fitted the door. The top left hand hinge also shows the first of some bolt heads I am going to add, some lengths of 0.5mm rod glued through into the frame.

 

The doors fitted and in the open position.

 

 

 

And closed up for the night.

 

 

 

A final shot showing the inside the shed and the roof detail that I have just completed – apart from final painting of course.

 

 

 

All that remains is for me to make the bolt or hasp & staple for the door, a few bits of trim around the door and final painting inside and out.

More updates later.

 

I might take a small break from the plastic for a day or two and continue on the first 80ft Elm tree for Hemyock, a much less demanding task tolerant of the odd mistake.

 

 

[ChrisN]

Jim,

Brilliant as ever.

 

Have fun with the tree.

[Kenokie]

This is bit of one of those "if I hadn't seen I wouldn't have believed it" moments ..... amazing modelling

 

Its a shame we "missed" at Doncaster but as you say, another time

 

Chris O

[The Great Bear]

Excellent. Last pic shows the quality of the model really well.

[aberdare]

Thank you all for the your comments, likes and of course taking time out to read the post.

 

I progressed a little more with tidying up the frame and fitting a hasp & staple to the door so that it stays shut, there is a little more I need to do before painting but I have a few other non-modelling jobs to do first so it will be after the weekend before another update. 

 

Thanks again.

[gazmanjack]

Fantastic Jim. This engine shed is very impressive and is coming along quite nicely.  Looking foward to your 80' high elm ! I have made trees for my Shunting Plank, seem on YMRC : http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=12116&forum_id=21&page=3#p213544

 

Cheers, Gary.

[aberdare]

Thanks Gary.

 

I shall keep an eye on your progress there in case you have better methods than me. I did try to update on YMR but my dongle kept failing when adding photos, will try again later.

 

Now that the engine shed is nearing completion I needed something else to occupy my time and interest so it was back to the tree I started last year and then left for a while, I do have a habit of flitting from one thing to the next but they all get finished eventually.

 

Right, back to the beginning. My trees are made from loud speaker wire – I have a 100m roll – which is doubled because speakers have a positive and negative of course and each cable contains around 40 strands, plenty of wire to make trees from then.

 

Here they are with one stripped ready, feel free to count the strands if you like but a few get shortened and put aside during the stripping which is not easy.

 

 

These are simply twisted together as seen on this small branch made from the shorter bits that occur during the stripping of the sleeve.

 

 

The base once twisted is soldered together and a headless nail inserted and soldered in so that I can stand it up in my polystyrene block or the layout.  I work my way up the tree forming branches and I tape it all up with masking tape to stop it unravelling.

 

Here it is with some of the lower branches formed and the top canopy still to do.

 

 

Once I have formed all the branches and teased out the individual wires – 600 or 700 on this specimen - I start to solder all the main branches in place, this is just a personal choice for me but it does make it feel more robust and I think helps prevent any cracking of the covering used for bark. The tree can then be tried in position and any adjustments made.

 

After seeing these following shots I straightened the bend in the top slightly and altered the canopy a bit too.

 

 

 

 

 

This may seem a bit over the top to some but the original photographs of Hemyock show a lot of smaller thin branches on the lower trunk and maybe some Ivy growing on it, so I’m adding some of the smaller strands seen earlier to it.

 

Here is that smaller branch seen earlier fitted to the tree.

 

 

A few more to do yet, then some final tweaking before being covered in some sort of sloppy mix to form the bark.

No promises as to when though as I may get distracted and do something totally different.

 

 

[knobhead]

The tree looks lovely, Jim!

 

The spirit of George Iliffe Stokes lives on.

 

Regards,

 

Stefan

Edited March 2, 2014 by knobhead

[Jaz]

Nice shaping on the tree. Especially like the fact you have fine branch. As it has a tall but thin trunk I assume its a fast grower...will it be a conifer? Although the higher canopy lends it's self to a nice deciduous. The silhouette is really nice.

[aberdare]

Love the comment Stefan, thank you.

 

Jaz, thank you. The tree is supposed to be an Elm, a bit like this one only without the top bit, the trunk will thicken when covered and there will be others alongside.

 

A few photos of the added branches today which I think has given me my final form, the tree by the way has shrunk by 12ft with all the twisting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andrew P]

I do like that Tree Jim, the scale height is just about right and suits the location well.

 

Well done.

Andy

[Physicsman]

Very effective Jim and the lighting of the layout for today's photos was spot-on.

 

Almost a shame to have to put any foliage onto it!

 

Jeff

[aberdare]

Thanks Jeff,

 

I must admit I was a bit worried about the light at first as it was throwing it down outside at that time and this is the first time I have used the lighting in the shed for photography.

 

As for covering the tree with foliage there won't be much, I'm modelling Autumn so a lot of the leaves will be on the ground, I may have to make some more as my local sources always seem to have sold out when I get there. The reason for using the fine wire is so that I get that detail on the tree frame itself and now I need to ensure I get that covering just right, the look of the bark will be all important to the overall look. 

[aberdare]

Just a quick update on the progress of the tree.

 

 

I have started to add the covering to form the bark. This was made from plaster, PVA and water and was applied to the trunks and main branches with a brush, I continued with this until I felt I had built up enough thickness and shape. Once this had dried it was time to apply it to the smaller branches, this was too difficult to apply by brush as the thinnest branches would clog as would the small joints that formed them.

 

The way I treat these is to make a mix of diluted PVA with a bit of black paint added, taking the tree outside this is then sprayed on through an old spray bottle until the branches have had a good soaking with a fine mist, the tree is then tapped to shake of any droplets that may cause a lump to form on the ends or joints. Now the plaster can be applied by blowing fine dust over the frame-work, I place some in the palm of my hand and give it a rub to remove lumps and simply stand back and blow so that the fine dust settles on the branches, dust is applied all round as well as up and down.

A bit messy but I think it seems to work OK, a puffer bottle may also be useful but not having one I can’t say.

A few photos to show the current state of the model which has been left to dry overnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More updates as and when they occur.

 

 

[Jaz]

Nice work, like your texturing, and the grey tones. Good piece of observation.

[Andrew P]

Come on Jim, hurry up and get some foliage on that Tree, its making me feel cold, haha

 

Its a really nice job, and its also something I will need to consider when I do my big project, I will be looking to you and Jaz for inspiration.

 

All the best,

Andy

[ChrisN]

Jim,

The tree does look nice.  It looks good enough to be left without any leaves.  I am not sure how late in autumn you are modelling but leaves stay on for quite a while unless there is a violent storm.  It is also in tropical Devon so that may add to it as well.

[Mikkel]

Hi Jim, well I have only just caught up with your tree but am mightily impressed. They are so difficult to get right in both style, height and degree of detail, but as others have said this one seems spot on. Unlike many layout trees it actually adds to the believability, rather than detracting from it.