"Anything You Can do, I Can Do Better ! Robinson and Downes.

[Edwardian]

I do believe that a large fully sceniked section is planned for the future over on the opposite side of the layout of freelance factories/buildings etc that will disguise the massive storage sidings. But it's very early days yet, Simon's got enough on his plate as it is !

 

And yes, that roadway that runs along the top of the embankment really has to be seen to be believed. Every crack, road repair, manhole cover, you name it, it's all there in truly magnificent detail. - and there'll be 180 ft of it !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

 

I think a long straight run would be a magnificent set-piece to include in any layout.  Glad to hear that there may be even more of the quality of this modelling to come.

[HeatonLodge40]

Thank you Allan for your kind comments - coming from the master that's praise indeed!

Thanks also to everyone else whose offered some positive feedback it's much appreciated.

 

There's a couple of reasons why I've not started a thread on Heaton Lodge..the first being BRM are giving a taster later this month. The second is we all know how many epics get announced and never get completed.

Heaton Lodge won't fall into that category.

 

As some may know I spent many months as a child at HL so the place as it was in the early '80's is a special place for me. Allan's right in that I don't do things by halves and the idea of a exact scale replica in 7mm has been at the back of my mind for at least a decade. Of course 1.5 miles in O gauge is a big project and it would look pretty dire if it wasn't to a very high standard.

To they end after 4 years of research there's some talented individuals working as we speak on HL. However since I wanted to complete the scenery side I had couldn't let the side down given I'd never even completed a layout myself.!

 

So it's taken 2 years of constant practise on over 40 practise embankments made from polystyrene, complete with over 70 different mixes of static grass and layering techniques to achieve that typical British winters look and get the colours as near to original.

Much of the techniques I've used are modified versions of Gordon Gravett's especially the roads which in my opinion don't get enough attention on a model.

Worth mentioning HL isn't just 4 straight tracks for 180ft. There are two huge double junctions, a 40ft gradient to two single bore tunnels and some sweeping curves for the line going South to Huddersfield.

Currently 4x 4ftx4'6'' fully completed boards are being finished per month and I'm now working on boards 9 & 10 out of the 44 that run down the public viewing side.

There will be a few other things that break the mould hopefully regarding exhibiting HL. I'll include this and more in a new thread I'll begin next month if anyone's interested.

Anyway.. Sorry for gate crashing your thread Allan

 

Simon G

[HeatonLodge40]

A pic of Woodend Road that runs for about 30ft parallel to the main line and where I used to walk along to get to the bridge..

[allan downes]

 You can gate crash my thread any time you like Mr George. Nice to see a bit of quality on it for a change !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

[allan downes]

This is what's left of Trowse Pumping Station coal delivery siding showing both sides of the tracks.

 

Better outside shots monday, if the rain stops...

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

 

[Ian Smeeton]

Allan, I haver to ask,

 

How did you manage the peeling paint effect on the beams in your carport.

 

They are so realistic, I can't actually believe that they are not real.

 

So, come on, spill the beans...Which version of Colron did you use for this one?

 

Regards

 

Ian

[allan downes]

Allan, I haver to ask,

 

How did you manage the peeling paint effect on the beams in your carport.

 

They are so realistic, I can't actually believe that they are not real.

 

So, come on, spill the beans...Which version of Colron did you use for this one?

 

Regards

 

Ian

 

Wicks pre peeled paint. Tenner a litre.

[The White Rabbit]

 

I sell mine at £4.99 a litre...

[Ian Smeeton]

I think that they paid me to take some.

 

Very effective, though.

 

Regards

 

Ian

[allan downes]

Trowse pumping station outside just before it rained.

 

Yesterday, delivered car load of buildings to a house somewhere at the bottom end of the M1 Coneway.

 

Traffic cones never had it so good where any surplus are stored on the M1 with mock roadworks to make you think the motorway is going to improve so you can do 15mph flat out in comfort and actually USE all four lanes built of course on the cheap where the hard shoulder is now replaced with 'Refuge Points' just about large enough  for one driver and his dog ( as long as it's a small one )  where you have to leave your steaming heap hanging half out into the slow lane at the mercy of, immigrant car drivers with driving licences, immigrant drivers with no driving licences, immigrant drivers without both a car and a licence, immigrants with just a hand cart, 40 ton trucks, rich redundant factory workers in mid life crisis super cars and souped up kids in souped up Escorts. The MI infuriates all and accommodates none. 

 

Today, a massive  northbound section of Britain's miserably failed attempt at mirroring the German Autobahn was closed completely because a caravan jack knifed. The police are now investigating how a caravan can possibly jack knife unintentionally at 5mph the average top speed on Britains MAJOR trunk road and permanent home to most of Britain's earth moving equipment, shredded truck tyres and Coke cans.

 

Stay at home and build Ashburton instead.

 

 

 

 

 

[allan downes]

Marketing leaflet  from Road Cones 'R' Us. Expect one through your mailbox soon.

 

We are pleased to announce our new user friendly road cone.

 

No more worries about expensive storage anymore. We will provide you with cone rights on any road in the UK, whether it needs repairing or not.

 

We now have girlie cones finished in transparent pink with soft frilly overtones. 

 

Our standard 'curse and cuss' model will still be available to people with no hair and now at reduced M1 Motorway prices but due to great and unforseen problems with local councils and well and truly uninformed planning dickheads, our  special Continetal Truck Driver Proof M25 cone will remain the same at £ 100 per cone or £10,000,000 per mile. It's all the immigrants you see. None of them can drive in a straight line. It's their culture not to if they can help it apart from which the idea is unheard of in Poland  and even more unheard in Romania and never heard of at all in the Sudan ( But not our chairman's wife - or when she's sober anyway... )

 

We are also doubling up on our well received Pot Hole Cone production so that all local councils can now spend more  of your money on non-productive meetings and even less productive lunches instead of repairing pot holes and the odd meteor crater or two.

 

The gas and water board, our longest standing clients, will continue to enjoy our special offer budget cone in return for a little water and electricity every now and then  and specially during the World Cup Final  and for when gran wants the toilet in the middle of the night.

 

And finally, would the MP who claimed 40,000 cones on his expense returns to cone off his Private Estate return them incognito  before the next government audit and, for a quick back hander all round, our members of staff will keep shtum - excepting the office cleaner who, after 40 years in service, still doesn't know what we make and even wears one as a hat on halloween - but she has good legs so nobody says anything especially our MD who is trying to get her interested in the opera - or, failing that, round the back of it during the interval with between the intervals as a final intention and long term investment. That's when he  is let out on parole of course  where he's currently doing a twenty stretch for doing something to a pig behind the gasworks  that's never been done to a pig before - well according to the Farmers Weekly it hasn't anyway -  and out of office hours.

 

Thank you.

Edited April 25, 2016 by allan downes

[mullie]

Try using the M25, perhaps it will improve once it's finished. Only been waiting around 30 years.

[Chalfytich]

Marketing leaflet  from Road Cones 'R' Us. Expect one through your mailbox soon.

 

We are pleased to announce our new user friendly road cone.

 

No more worries about expensive storage anymore. We will provide you with cone rights on any road in the UK, whether it needs repairing or not.

 

We now have girlie cones finished in transparent pink with soft frilly overtones. 

 

Our standard 'curse and cuss' model will still be available to people with no hair and now at reduced M1 Motorway prices but due to great and unforseen problems with local councils and well and truly uninformed planning dickheads, our  special Continetal Truck Driver Proof M25 cone will remain the same at £ 100 per cone or £10,000,000 per mile. It's all the immigrants you see. None of them can drive in a straight line. It's their culture not to if they can help it apart from which the idea is unheard of in Poland  and even more unheard in Romania and never heard of at all in the Sudan ( But not our chairman's wife - or when she's sober anyway... )

 

We are also doubling up on our well received Pot Hole Cone production so that all local councils can now spend more  of your money on non-productive meetings and even less productive lunches instead of repairing pot holes and the odd meteor crater or two.

 

The gas and water board, our longest standing clients, will continue to enjoy our special offer budget cone in return for a little water and electricity every now and then  and specially during the World Cup Final  and for when gran wants the toilet in the middle of the night.

 

And finally, would the MP who claimed 40,000 cones on his expense returns to cone off his Private Estate return them incognito  before the next government audit and, for a quick back hander all round, our members of staff will keep shtum - excepting the office cleaner who, after 40 years in service, still doesn't know what we make and even wears one as a hat on halloween - but she has good legs so nobody says anything especially our MD who is trying to get her interested in the opera - or, failing that, round the back of it during the interval with between the intervals as a final intention and long term investment. That's when he  is let out on parole of course  where he's currently doing a twenty stretch for doing something to a pig behind the gasworks  that's never been done to a pig before - well according to the Farmers Weekly it hasn't anyway -  and out of office hours.

 

Thank you.

I believed all of that until you said the office cleaner had good legs after 40 years service.

 

Dave

[Tony Teague]

I appreciate that you are the master of understatement, but, if I understand you correctly, you did not enjoy your motorway experience???

[allan downes]

I appreciate that you are the master of understatement, but, if I understand you correctly, you did not enjoy your motorway experience???

 

 Not when there were more cones than there was motorway.

[Sasquatch]

Cones. I don't miss that one bit Allan! Not saying we don't have them on this side of the pond, we do of course but they are quite rare and never seem to cause the mayhem I remember when I lived over there.

 

Anyway, next time I do come over I'll pack my two stoke weed whacker before you get dragged before the local residents committee for neglecting to take sufficient care of your property.

 

Regards Shaun

[allan downes]

Who's property ?

[RJS1977]

Who's property ?

 

He's on first...

[Sasquatch]

That's such great bit of modeling and a deceptive piece of photography, because it makes it hard to tell where the model ends and the real world begins.

Regards Shaun

[Guest bri.s]

All the work in this thread is amazing top draw modelling ,but the rundown and neglected stuff is astounding ,it truly is artwork

 

Brian

[allan downes]

.....but the rundown and neglected stuff is astounding ,it truly is artwork

 

Brian

 

Like Robinson's hair maybe ?

[mullie]

Like Robinson's hair maybe ?

Who?

[Ian Smeeton]

Cones. I don't miss that one bit Allan! Not saying we don't have them on this side of the pond, we do of course but they are quite rare and never seem to cause the mayhem I remember when I lived over there.

 

Anyway, next time I do come over I'll pack my two stoke weed whacker before you get dragged before the local residents committee for neglecting to take sufficient care of your property.

 

 

Regards Shaun

 

This sounds like a double action flame thrower.

 

Is Allan ready for this?

 

Is there enough Pyruma Fire Cement to contain it?

 

Best regards, and looking forward to the outcome,

 

Ian

[allan downes]

An airline pilot analyzes landings in one simple sentence that may have you thinking about sailing to Benidorm next time.

 

“Landings are nothing more than controlled crashes.”

[The White Rabbit]

Spot the ex-carrier pilot... 

 

After every flight, pilots fill out a form, known as a 'gripe sheet' to tell mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics fix the problem, and then document their repairs on the form.

Found on the Internet (so they must be true) are some actual maintenance problems submitted by the pilots (marked with a 'P') and the solutions recorded (marked by an 'S') by maintenance engineers:

 

P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement.
S: Left inside main tyre almost replaced.

P: Test flight OK, auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back order.

P: Auto pilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Can't reproduce problem on the ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspect crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed in cockpit.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.