Penhayle Bay

[Gwiwer]

echoes of Moorswater perhaps?

 

Loosely based on St. Germans but in the right area B) Large-logo tractor? That's one livery I don't have but will see what can be done. There will be plenty of photo opportunities when the module is finished and fitted - I'm rather looking forward to a blue Western on the hoods myself.

[Gwiwer]

I have reviewed the images in my gallery and it is time to take down the one of the viaduct under construction.

 

I was asked (by HealeyMills) in a gallery comment for some information on the paint job and I felt it was worth preserving my reply. This describes how I have painted the plastic panels from the Wills kit which forms the basis of the viaduct shown above.

 

The viaduct itself' date=' which is an almost exact twin of the Ratio N-gauge one, is moulded in sheets best described as an eau-de-nil colour other than the brickwork. To get that to what is shown in this image has taken several coats of paint and days of drying along with some blotting and wiping back as well.

 

First I laid out all the stonework panels and washed them over with a mix of Humbrol 34 and 72 about 50:50 then let down with about 50% thinners. This ran into the mortar courses nicely and was worked around with a fairly large brush. OK - it was a 1" house-painting brush! The excess on the raised stone mouldings was wiped back lightly with a rag and this then allowed to dry.

 

Next came a mix of Humbrol 26, 33, 34, 64 and 72. With five colours ranging from white to black one trick is to not over-mix them but leave them roughly swirled together in the tray. The stonework needs to represent weathered granite which is tricky because the composition of the rock itself is of grains ranging from white to black. What the eye tells the brain when you stand looking at a real structure isn't the colour you need to use to achieve the result. Often you sense that something is brown; using a brown mix of paints will not look achieve a look like granite.

 

With those paints mixed in the approximate proportions of 10% No.26 brown, 10% No.33 black, 10% No.34 white, 40% No.64 grey and 25% No.72 brown and rough-mixed to check the appearance I then added single drops of other colours 29 brown, 93 brown, 66 grey and 147 which is a sort of duck-egg shade. The whole mix was then let down slightly with about 10% thinners and the entire stone surfaces painted. Before each panel was dry I lightly blotted the surface with a rag again to ensure it dried unevenly.

 

When all that was thoroughly dry I used a stiff-bristle brush (actually from a dustpan-and-brush set I use to clean to bench!) and briskly ran that over all the painted surfaces again to ensure it was kept rough and uneven. Finally I dry-brushed some touches of Humbrol 33 black here and there and again blotted them with a rag.

 

That completed the rough stonework. The capping and decorative arch stonework was a little simpler being (so far) just a light application of Humbrol 103 cream mixed with a tiny amount of 34 white and thinned about 25% to give a pale and slightly creamy texture to this dressed stonework. The finished scene will have that aged by the use of weathering pastels.

 

The brick inverts inside the arches are not those supplied with the kit. I have used Faller brick card ref. 170624 cut and shaped and this again will be receiving some weathering pastel attention. At present the brickwork is straight from the pack.

 

There is a stray spot of plaster showing on the viaduct from the landscaping which will be brushed off in due course. All the greenery is Woodland Scenics Coarse Turf in Earth, Light Green and Dark Green, with the addition of a piece of Fine Leaf Foliage in Olive Green showing as a tree-top.[/quote']

[Gwiwer]

The new viaduct scene is almost complete and should be fitted tomorrow replacing the 6-year old Metcalfe cardboard viaduct which has served since the layout was built. Still some touches needed to the backscene and a little vegetation infill here and there, but basically ready to fit in place and fix the track. Water is "Magic Water" coloured with a single drop of Woodland Scenics "Earth Undercoat" per capful of water product. Just enough to make it murky without being a ribbon of shiny brown.

 

 

 

 

[HealeyMills]

Absolutely Fantastic!

 

Can't wait to see it in situ.

 

Cheers

Lee

[DougN]

Rick this looks fantastic. The idea of quietly observed scenes is great. The fence panel that has come free and dropped one end, The sunken boat. These are what bring the layout to life. Doesn't have to be a large or expensive item to do scenes that achieve the interest. Well Done

[Gwiwer]

In situ, in the raw (as it were) since there is still clearly some tidying up and ballasting to do and the painted backscene is incomplete. I am also not entirely happy with the way the water went down and have plans to remove the "bits" from the mud flats and flatten the gloss on those areas a little with Dullcote. I'll test a patch first to see how it looks before doing the whole thing.

 

 

 

[Kris]

That viaduct is looking very nice. The boat half submerged in the mud is a great touch.

[Gwiwer]

BR Blue....Hoods.....we like that

 

Look forward to it...

 

Your wish ......

 

 

 

 

Also solved the problem of what to do with a small hole which appeared in the ground cover after the PVA had dried .....

 

 

..... even if the "fox" does look more like a dog for now. More detailing required

[Guest 34008Padstow]

fantastic work there. love the new bridge and the boat sunk in the mud. reminds me of the numerous wrecks at dawlish and coombe viaduct

[Gwiwer]

In the last three days no less than six metres of back scene has been cut, painted, gone in, and had the ground cover matched up to it. Just for good measure most of these panels also have a waterproof membrane fitted to the back as they are fixed to the garden fence. This is a source of rain water ingress which has caused slight damage to parts of the layout in the recent very wet weather. Almost all of that water will now be fed harmlessly away down the back of the scenes to the ground.

 

A broad overview of one corner showing the new back scene panels in relation to the fence and surrounds.

 

 

A closer view of this corner showing the lane which leads from Ponsangwyn Yard beneath the main line then steeply uphill into the trees

 

 

Right away from Penhayle Bay as a Western catches some rays in front of the newly fitted back scene and completed vegetation around the signal box

 

 

And as the train runs through Penhayle Tunnel we catch a glimpse of the distant moors with another scene now completed.

 

[Modelling Mike]

What a fantastic viaduct! I love the detail you've added which really brings it to life. Can't wait to see it completed. And your back scenes are looking good. I was worried about the lack of depth on my own layout when it came to adding back scenes, but you've proved that you don't need too much to give a sense of perspective. Great stuff!

 

Mike

[Gwiwer]

Thanks Mike.

 

I really haven't put a lot into the back scenes other than to stick with my overall philosophy of "Less being more - or as much as you need". The viaduct lies on a section of baseboard only 9" wide for the most part (though the viaduct scene itself is twice that width as it sits back into a doorway) yet within those 9" I have rolling hills, winding track and the start of the large cliff scene which then comes out onto a slightly wider section. That entire half of the layout is also just plain double-track with nothing more than a dummy emergency crossover and catch point for variety

 

It's easy IMO too try for too much without realising it.

[Kris]

I hadn't realised that the viaduct was on such a narrow board. It comes across as being much wider in the photo's. That says lots about the modelling to me.

[yellowvanman]

Hi , great layout , the last pics excellent showing the sea, cliffs,tunnel and train ect .. with the moors on the back scene..nice one cheers YVM..( trying to make my first tree..)

[Gwiwer]

Similar to some of the images above but by way of showing the difference between batches of the Kernow slurry tanks and that ViTrains 37's aren't necessarily so bad here's a pic from today's operations.

 

 

Meanwhile around at Treheligan the back scene is located in its final position though requires final touches to the paint and detail.

 

[Gwiwer]

Twas the night before Christmas

And down at Penhayle

Not a creature was moving –

Not even a snail

 

The slugs and the spiders

Were all soundly sleeping

But through small plastic eyes

Tiny children were peeping

 

Out into the darkness

To check on the flight

Of a certain fat gent in

Red due here tonight.

 

The young and the old

All in anticipation

Had gathered to wait at

Their own little station

 

Peering through darkness and

Straining their eyes

To the distant horizon

And dark starry skies

 

When all of a sudden

Went up a great cheer:

“I can hear something coming –

I’m sure Santa’s here!â€

 

But instead of a sleigh

Pulled by Rudolph and crew

From inside the tunnel

A steam whistle blew.

 

Then from out of the gloom

And wreathed in white smoke

Came an unusual train

And a fat jolly bloke

 

Bringing gifts and good cheer

And best wishes to all;

He was driving a Castle

That looked like a Hall.

 

And along with the crowd

Gathered at Penhayle Bay

He wishes you all

A superb Christmas Day.

 

[SRman]

He he! Nice!

 

A Happy Christmas to you, Rick.

 

p.s. What are you doing spending valuable modelling time writing poetry???

[TangmereTornado]

And a Happy Christmas to you too!

 

Great effort with the poem, and the accompanying photo looks really stunning. I'm amazed with the whole layout, it's right up my street - BR blue, diesel-hydraulics, the Devon/Cornwall countryside, it's all there

 

I'll be watching this one with interest, I'm aware I'm rather late to the party but hey, I'll try to make up for lost time

 

Adam

[Gwiwer]

"Yellow Van Man" (no relation to the member of this forum going by the same name) has had a small run-in with the Law after failing to drive with due care and attention. This is a wider view of the scene currently displayed in the gallery.

 

 

Seasonal holidays have allowed good progress to be made with the back scenes as show by a Hymek leading a maroon rake out of Nansglaw Tunnel .....

 

 

..... and the pine forest scene next to the garden fence, which was saturated in a recent rainstorm, has been restored with new land formed and the trees also extended onto the back scene. This panel has a waterproof membrane fixed behind it to prevent further rainwater getting in.

 

[Gwiwer]

I was photographing some newly-acquired (pre-run) rolling stock, something I always do for record-keeping and insurance purposes, and among a number of pretty average images which will stay in the files I though this one may be of interest .....

 

[class"66"]

Very detailed layout you have there!!

[P.C.M]

Hi Rick,

Some great pics there,I do like those backscenes. My brother 'Yellowvanman' is coming out in April we might have to pay you a visit.

 

Cheers Peter.

[Gwiwer]

Would be good to see both of you here Peter. I can easily set up the "yellow van man" scene again as the skid marks are a permanent feature at the bottom of that hill now - black acrylic on a mix of black / white / grey / brown used for the bitumen. Any time in April is good - I just need enough notice to dust off the cobwebs (the joys of working outside!) and stand the little people up!

[Kris]

That's a very evocative image Gwiwer. Where did the 3 dolled signal come from, it reminds me of one that I had once.

[Gwiwer]

The 3-arm semaphores - of which there are three on the layout - are very old Crescent items dating from around 1950-55 and were obtained at different times from eBay sellers. All have been restored with Humbrol paints and - where necessary - Ratio signal ladders.

 

The one shown above with the dmu passing it really needs a shunt disc beneath the right hand bracket to permit a move across the double-slip from up to down main as far as the Limit of Shunt board. The three arms are for the No.1 and No.2 up sidings (driver to inspect the points or follow shunters instructions until I can source a suitable route indicator!), Up Main and diagonally over the slip to the Ponsangwyn Wharf branch. The two arms at the up end of the down platforms (by the 08) are for moves from those platforms to the Ponsangwyn branch and both still require discs to be fitted for shunt moves back along the main line.