Anthony Ashley Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 LAYOUT UPDATE 7 AUG 18 Dear All, A very long lay off with much work in my new job. I thought I was going to retire but ended up back filling instead. I have this job till Jun of next year. For the job I have been out bush for a month and before that been busy getting ready for that activity. I have also had a trip from Perth to Brisbane, which is about a 6 hour flight. Scotty and Simon thanks for the comments above. Chicken wire and material dipped in plaster are my preferred medium. Anyway I have now done some more work on the hill at Bangor. Photos are enclosed. I have cut back the foam to give a better shape to the hill. You can see the tunnel in the left for ground. Next will be the coverage of the foam in chicken wire. Regards, Anthony 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 LAYOUT UPDATE Wire has been completed Photos are below. I have attached it to the foam using staples and super glue. Next will be the cover using material and pigmented plaster. Regards, Anthony 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted August 12, 2018 Author Share Posted August 12, 2018 LAYOUT UPDATE 12 Aug 18 Dear All, Completed first layer of the material dipped in pigmented plaster. With quite a good effect. The structure is still very light and movable with the hidden track underneath. I shall try another layer today. I did the initial layer with the hill in situ, but it is difficult to reach so now I know it works will remove and do the next layer in a more convenient location. I used a bucket with a piece of dowling to wipe the material of excess plaster. Photos are below. I shall put some scrunched newspaper behind to push the wire forward before the next layer so that the supports are less visible. Regards, Anthony 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faza Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Any update Anthony? I've been following this thread for around 3 years, always been in awe of your work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 Dear Faza, My apologies for not getting back to you earlier. My promises of retiring in Jul of 2018 have not worked out as expected. I have had an extremely busy year back filling someone in a prior job I have done. This has resulted in one of my busiest 6 months in my job. Even though I have been back in Brisbane I have had nearly 3 months away in the last 8 months, This has included remote exercise areas in North Queensland and three trips to Papua New Guinea. In between these trips I was preparing material for overseas and managing domestic issues. Time has been of a premium with no time for my model railway. I went on leave on 21 Dec and am off till 16 Jan. I am now retiring in Jul 19 but expect solid work on the layout over the next 6 months. My train colleague Ross came over today to inspire me to kick on with more modelling in the shed and it worked. I stripped back the removable mountain which I covered in cloth and plaster, Simon in his prior comment was exactly correct, the plaster was too brittle over the chicken wire. I further experimented today with the assistance of Ross, We tried a newspaper base soaked in a 50/50 mixture of aquadere (white wood working glue) and water. The base is very much tighter stronger and more stable with hardly any movement in the paper mache base. As recommended Simon you were quite right! The other advantage is the weight which is next to nothing. A thin layer f plaster should complete the effect. Photos of my work are below. You will have to trust how much stronger the base is. Once I have done a little more with the removable hill I need to set up the roads on the bottom of the layout at Pen-y-clip and then plaster the large mountain at the bottom of the lay out. Regards, Anthony Ashley 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Anthony, Delighted to read your post, and yet more delighted to hear that paper mache works, I’m sure it will be very tough, and climate proof, once painted underneath, and decorated on top. Will be watching with interest for the next steps, All the best for 2019! Simon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Dear Simon, Thanks for your reply. It has been a long time between entries but I am back in the swing!!! I spent today reworking the plan for western Penmaenmawr in order to properly fit in the mountain, roads and as many of the western Penmaenmawr buildings as possible. This meant deleting some buildings, chopping off some of the actual western part of Penmanmawr and realigning the road to fit in the mountain supports and all of the road space. The reworked plan is below. The road had to be curved to fit in the height of the mountain. I need to secure the roads to stabilise the wire before I add the paper mache. The mountain will be a huge task to finish. I have added most of the track supports but have two more to go. These support the start of the divided road section As the model is set in 1960 the freeway is not yet in existence. The section being held down by the drill needs to be cut down the middle for most of its length to create the higher and lower road. The lower road will connet to the road viaduct. Each road section will be screwed to the supports with the wire sandwiched between the two to secure it. I need to cut and secure the remaining 2 supports and the road base to the supports. All comments are most welcome. Regards, Anthony Ashley 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Anthony, I remember the old two-level road, though not in detail. It seems to me that the vertical separation you have between the railway and the road is more than I remember, but memories are apt to play tricks! I’m sure the combination of chicken-wire trapped by the road onto the supports, and papier-mâché mache, will give you a stiff, light shell on which to create your landscape. All the best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 Dear Simon, thanks again for your insightful comments. I really appreciate the feedback, as posting in a vacuum is much less fun than getting the odd response which keeps me interested and active. I think the vertical distances in this case are about right, although I do normally exagerate the vertical differences in height, as in N gauge unless you do so they are almost impossible to notice, especially with the viewing distances involved. I have taken a screen shot to show the area under construction and think the overall balance of the landscape with vertical differences looks about right,with maybe a few liberties taken. In this photo I have shown most of the road area under construction in view. This shot shows the start of the road divide, as far as I have gone. This shot shows the upper road in place at the top of the photo. The posts with nothing on them are at about the height of the road viaduct, which has yet to be constructed. I am thinking of using Ratio N gauge viaduct piers and then building the carriageway. Shot from the other side of the layout. I have put a cardboard strip to better show the height of the viaduct supported road. . I now have to put the chicken wire between the supports and the roads. I shall staple the chicken wire and then screw the roads. I then need to shape the wire. Once this is complete the paper mache process can begin. I may also plaster the mountain which has already had paper mache applied to see how it goes. All comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Regards, Anthony Ashley 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Anthony It’s fairly astonishing that it was possible to build a road and then a railway around that headland. Clever, and determined... As I said, memories are apt to be unreliable! Happy New Year! Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted January 1, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 1, 2019 Anthony, It's so good to see you back and my apologies for not replying sooner. I hope you have had a good Christmas and New Year. It's unfortunate that you've been so busy away from the layout this year, but you seem to be encouraged by the prospect of having more time to devote to it in 2019. I'm very glad to see the new hill making technique has been successful and hopefully that will give you confidence to tackle the larger structures in a similar fashion. I'm looking forward to seeing the mountain/road project progressing. Please do keep us in the loop, so to speak! Best Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 Scotty, Thanks for the encouraging comments. I hope your Christmas brought great joy to you and your family and that you will enjoy a very successful 2019. My same thoughts to all who read this blog. I have secured the all road surfaces to the supports so am ready for the next stage. Ross is over tomorrow to help support the wire into the correct shape while I add a 1,000 or so staples to secure it to the under surface of the road. If we finish that it is onto the paper mache. Simon I shall follow your advice and paint the under-surface of the paper mache. A busy train day modelling tomorrow. Regards, Anthony Ashley 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Dear All, Work has commenced on the large mountain. I have started the process of paper mache. It has been about 35 degrees Celsius in Brisbane today and about 90% humidity so the work at the top of the shed was to say the least hot. I had great assistance from Ross. A few picture are below. The structure needs to dry to assess stability. The starting work area is at the top of the ladder and not all that comfortable!! I was told to look at the camera! I shall let what I have done dry out and then assess how it looks. Regatrds, Anthony Ashley 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandc_au Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 That really is a WOW!I feel for you in Brisbane.....couldn't live there myself! Khris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 It is big, isn’t it.... Even in 2mm, I suppose mountains are, but, wow! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted January 4, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 4, 2019 Looking good Anthony. You'll have it covered in no time. Looking forward to seeing how it turned out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 Scotty, Your enthusiasm is infectious, but not sure how long this process will take. I have doe a significant patch over about 8 hours but only one or 2 layers. I think I shall need up to 6!!. The top section was done using rather watered down glue and was not as stable as the bit added last night which used much stronger strength mixture. I shall continue with the stronger mix as it provides a much higher level of stability. Given the structure is so large I did the very top but found I needed greater stability in the lower section just above the higher road. I let the top dry out over 10 hours and recommenced last night. Photos are below. I have added a brown land rover on the first curve on the road below the paper mache section to give a sense of scale. I tried photos with the land rover on the paper mache but it was lost in the scale of the photo. I have checked the latest work and it is well dry, so can continue the process. The whole structure is now much more stable as all of the wire between the top of the layout and the road, which are my stable points is covered in paper. With another 5 layers it should be very stable!!! Regards, Anthony Ashley 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold phil_sutters Posted January 5, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) You seem to have set yourself a mammoth task and it looks impressive. Here are a few photos my Dad took in North Wales in the 1960s. It looks like you will need a lot of containers! There are even appropriate road vehicles in one! Good wishes for 2019 - may your good progress continue! Here are a couple I took later - but which show Conwy/Conway Castle and station ...and finally a couple of shots! within the castle to show the state of the walls in 1992. Edited January 5, 2019 by phil_sutters 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 Peter, Thank you very much for your photos and contribution to the blog. The photos of the recreation are fascinating and those of the cars exceptional. If any one else has photos of North Wales in the 60s, particularly showing cars I would be very interested in seeing them on the blog, if the readers are able to do so. I have a number of period vehicles numbering 31 larger vehicles such as trucks, buses and caravans. I have about 60 normal size vehicles, so this makes approx 90 vehicles for the 3 towns I am modelling, or about 30 per town. I probably need a few more. I have recognised some of the vehicles in the photo you have provided of the cars. Photos are below. I have 4 versions of this model in different paint schemes. These two are very similar to the ones in the back ground. As raised above if anyone has 60s photos showing cars in North Wales I would love to see them. Part of my prior research was to get photos from the historical societies of the towns being modelled. I acquired quite a few using this method. I have now put 3 layers over the area being paper mached in the last post. Probably about another 3 to 5 to go. Regards, Anthony Ashley 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Dear All, I have spent today adding in 3 further vertical supports for the large mountain. The wire allowed too much movement in the middle area. The addition of 3 more supports as shown in the photos below stabilise the whole upper structure. It is amazing how long such processes take. I have about 15 supports now under the mountain. I may need a few more on the Penmaenmawr side. I am going add foam to insert between the mountain and the road viaduct. I am going to use Ratio viaduct piers but make the viaduct carriageway out of ply, as the Ration viaduct structure does not recreate the oval shape between the piers. All of the arches I have seen in kits for viaducts are half circles arches. I can not find any other manufacturer for N gauge which comes close to the oval arch shape. I thought I would create a card board template, trace it out on ply and then hand cut with a fret saw both sides of the viaduct carriage way. This will be an exacting and difficult task to match the viaduct sides exactly. The arches are 80 feet in real life so quite large. If anyone knows of any close matches available commercially please let me know. I have realised that I do not have enough room between the road viaduct and the rail viaduct, so will add a few blocks of wood to the back of the frame to support the wire supports and push the road viaduct back into the mountain. This will also increase the slope between the 2 roads, which is closer to the real thing. Once the foam is inserted I shall continue with the paper mache on the lower areas. Regards, Any comments criticisms or ideas are greatly appreciated. Regards, Anthony Ashley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Anthony The viaduct is screaming out to be laser cut. You might want to look at the lasers thread in my signature, you might find some fellow countrymen who could advise, or even help! good luck! Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 Simon, You have a great idea in sourcing a 3D printer to do the road viaduct. I shall have to look around and see what I can find in Australia. Thanks for your assistance, as always you are really helpful. I have been working on the foam behind and underneath the road viaduct. I cut and glued the horizontal foam, as I needed to raise the area by the 30ml. Once the horizontal elements had been secured I cut and glued the 30ml sections to reach to the bottom of the mountain. Photos are below. Bottom horizontal sections cut and glued with weights added . There is a 30ml gap to the front with a stone wall sitting below the road viaduct. Vertical section cut , glued and with clamps to secure them. Note the Gorilla glue in the fore ground, used to secure the foam to nearly any surface. Glue has taken with clamps removed. Next will be sculpting the foam to create a steep rather than sheep slope. Once that it is completed I need to cut back excess wire and secure it. Then paper mache time for the lower area. If any Australian readers have any contacts for 3D printing could you please add an entry to the blog. Regards, Anthony Ashley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted January 8, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 8, 2019 Simon, You have a great idea in sourcing a 3D printer to do the road viaduct. I shall have to look around and see what I can find in Australia. Thanks for your assistance, as always you are really helpful. I have been working on the foam behind and underneath the road viaduct. I cut and glued the horizontal foam, as I needed to raise the area by the 30ml. Once the horizontal elements had been secured I cut and glued the 30ml sections to reach to the bottom of the mountain. Photos are below. Bottom horizontal sections cut and glued with weights added . There is a 30ml gap to the front with a stone wall sitting below the road viaduct. IMG_1162V2.jpg Vertical section cut , glued and with clamps to secure them. Note the Gorilla glue in the fore ground, used to secure the foam to nearly any surface. IMG_1164V2.jpg IMG_1165V2.jpg Glue has taken with clamps removed. IMG_1166V2.jpg Next will be sculpting the foam to create a steep rather than sheep slope. Once that it is completed I need to cut back excess wire and secure it. Then paper mache time for the lower area. If any Australian readers have any contacts for 3D printing could you please add an entry to the blog. Regards, Anthony Ashley Anthony, laser cutting and 3D printing are two quite different techniques. In BRMA, Alan Beaumont in SA and Martin Kasellis in VIC are is probably your best contacts for 3D printing but at the moment I can't think of anybody who does laser cutting. Why not ask the question on the BRMA chat group? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 John, You are absolutely correct, a slip of the key board. I thought laser cutting and typed 3D printing. Perhaps age is creeping up on me!! I am thinking of getting one on retirement in Jul. Regards. Anthony Ashley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Dear All, A team of 30 men have been working tirelessly on the Penyclip rock face over the course of the day setting explosives and chiselling out the rock face for the placement of the road viaduct. It is unclear if the chief engineer is content with the amount of material removed but future surveying will be required as the viaduct is being constructed to determine if they have completed the task. No lives were lost and the amount of debris at the base of the cliff is significant. the photos attest to the large amount off explosives involved in the removal of the debris. Photos of the days excavation are below!!! The Welsh appear to be quite adverse to publicity as none of the miners would appear on camera!!! Any comments on whether you think I should call back the miners for extra work would be appreciated. The wire will go to just below the top of the foam. Regards, Anthony Ashley 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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