A New Start

[Alister_G]

Congratulations mate, on passing the course, lots of hard work but well worth it.

 

EEWWW, that second pink cottage is a bit vomit inducing...

 

You can see why the council might object to the first one too, it doesn't exactly blend in with its surroundings, does it?

 

 

bgman, love your cottage, the thatch is some of the best I've seen modelled.

 

Al.

[C&WR]

Didn't get to the work bench until later than planned last night.  For some reason TLHC likes to use it as a dining table!

 

I had mixed results with the windows.  I had a bash at Doug/Chubber's method here having liberated a couple of sticky labels from my assistant's drawer.

 

The main issue I have is that all the windows are a little irregular, so I had to put the label behind the aperture and use the aperture as a stencil to give the outline of where to cut and then draw in the glazing bars.

 

The first couple of attempts showed why a good scalpel and really good application of the label to the transparency will be necessary to succeed in this as the label wrinkled.  I also think I might have been trying to cut the bars too fine as a couple of the intersecting squares came loose.

 

In the time available I made two windows which looked acceptable, one of them being black by the simple expedient of colouring in the label with a permanent marker before peeling off the pieces where the panes are to be - I didn't want to try and do this afterwards so I didn't have to do window cleaning in 4mm!  I also did a white one which was lovely, but in the cold light of day the frame round the panes was too small and in removing it I managed to damage the label.

 

I'll persevere over the weekend.  It's TMSC's birthday treat tonight!  However when building the railway hotel I will look seriously at stock plastic/etched/laser-cut windows...

[C&WR]

Finally glazed the windows with a combination of styrene & cut out sticky labels. Have also added some scraps of material as curtains - one house used the red gingham from a camembert. Suspect it might be a bit cheesy indoors!

 

Waiting for the glue to dry clear before photos. Am also slightly stymied as I have mislaid my LEDs, and putting lighting in is part of making the floors & ceilings.

 

Off to Homebase shortly to see if they have hemp. Of not will have to beg some from my tame plumber when he comes to do a job this week.

[C&WR]

As promised, a triptych:

 

 

 

 

Glazing bars at the upper right window of the pink cottage a bit thick, but they are the same as the styrene bits on the others.  Remaining curtains made from some ribbon I put away just in case, and some Christmas wrapping tape!

[ess1uk]

Thanks re the course, it's nice to back up the actual coaching I have been doing formally for two years with an actual qualification.  Thanks also for posting your building, that is a truly lovely piece of work.  I am very tempted to thatch mine and may pop into the hardware shop at lunchtime to see if they have hemp.

 

The reference picture I showed above was jsut from a random Google search.  It is in Kennford near Exeter and the owners were told to tone down the colours by the council!

 

You should have seen some of what came up with a search for "pink cottage".  This was a favourite:

 

 

i remember seeing that cottage on the news and them having to repaint it

[C&WR]

TMSC's birthday today, and once he was tucked up in bed managed some time at the workbench.  First of all I cut a floor for the upper storey of the cottages, then lined what would be the ceiling of the ground floor with Scalescenes cream clapboard.

 

Having found my LEDs I poked some holes through this over each front room, then using the trusty copper tape soldered it all up.  I was delighted, having put two strips of tape down the side wall of the end cottage,glued the floor/ceiling in place, then put a dab of solder to connect these to the horizontal bits and applied power that it seems to be electrically sound:

 

 

With a bit of darkness:

 

 

And what lies behind:

 

 

Now to lay some floorboards in the upstairs rooms and repeat the exercise for some ceiling.  My dilemma is whether to detail the interiors or even whether there need to be divisions between the cottages.  

 

This is going to be at the far side of the railway, and the curtains obstruct most of the view. Only thing is I will know what's in there or not...

 

Edit to add:

 

The device at the front is a peg with two drawing pins through the grips with wire round their shanks.  I can then grip a flat 3v lithium cell in the peg and use the far ends of the wires as probes to test for electrics working.  So much easier than when I was taping or blu-tacking the wires to the cell, the thing would inevitably come unstuck as I pressed the shutter!

Edited June 16, 2015 by C&WR

[Snofi]

I'm beginning to realise this railway lark gets you that way. Doesn't matter that no-one else will ever see, you'll know ...

 

;-)

[C&WR]

Put it like this, I've just divided off the downstairs rooms, Snofi!  I was very tempted (as I'm coaching/playing Rugby tomorrow, cooking for the weekend's festivities Thursday & Friday) to make the most of free time and get the next ceiling in...

[class"66"]

More nice work I see here!!

 

 

cheers neil..

[C&WR]

Thanks, Neil!

[Sweven]

Nice work - coming together well. Great battery holder device! Personally I've found the lighting looks best if I add simple (black) interior walls and ceilings.

Cheers

John

[C&WR]

Thanks, John.  I will look at that, although as you see in the early stage of the thread I have been doing interiors*, albeit in the Scalescenes buildings.  I will probably just put in some stripped down representations of furniture/pictures in the cottages, I think while not hugely visible they add a bit of texture and depth!

 

*Former member here Jaz asked if I was a frustrated dolls' house modeller...

[C&WR]

Had a power cut tonight and I thought, "phew, won't have to solder.  I can just do a bit of work on the cottages, then read the paper."

 

So I did.  Made the upstairs ceiling, dry fitted the LEDs to the copper tape, and made the chimneys.  Then the power came on and I had to solder.

 

Results in the morning, the paper calls...

[C&WR]

And here we go.  Attic floor in place with blasted soldering.  The chimneys are the John Ahern standby of stripwood liberated from the workshop bin and wrapped in texture paper:

 

 

 

Interior shot.  The good thing about this being low relief and going hard up against the side boards of the layout is that I didn't need to match up the edge of the wrapped brick paper or feel the need to hide the join:

 

 

Oh, and you might have noticed I have a new cutting mat thanks to TMSC & TLHC who were sensitive to needs on father's day

 

Now for the things I suddenly decide to do at eleven at night when TLHC has pushed off to bed much earlier wanting a good sleep - time to have a try at thatching.  First I cut a roof shape suitable for the cottages and coloured in the base with a dark brown marker. then I cut little bunches of plumbers' hemp and glued them to the card with PVA, starting along the bottom edge then overlapping towards the top:

 

 

The left-hand end, just about to where the 17 gridline meets the thatch, is where I got to after about half-an-hour's work last night  I trimmed this round the edges and ridge this morning, and then did the rest.  I am never going to complain about doing tile strips (or even individual tiles) again!

Edited June 27, 2015 by C&WR

[RJS1977]

I'd suggest teddy bear fur,but last time I suggested that on a forum it led to unmentionable acts of cruelty to teddies!

[C&WR]

Deffo using hemp, Richard!  Here we go again:

 

 

From the left, a bit trimmed & painted.  Just wish I could get the dark in where the shadows should be.

 

The yellowish bit next is a coat of watercolour to darken up the hemp.  Not sure it's necessary as the dark colour covers it.

 

After that a trimmed & unpainted bit. Doesn't look quite right, but trimming will happen.

 

Finally wild & bushy like TLHC before going on holiday & showing her legs.  Will be trimmed, and here it is with the basics done but more painting needed:

 

 

It looks better than I thought, but is the thatch too close to the top of the chimneys?

 

 

Whatever, I'm going to have to make it dark like the bits to the left...

[Alister_G]

Very impressive, the time you've spent on it has certainly paid off, that's a very, very believable thatch, and your dark colour really looks good for older, well worn thatch.

 

My feeling is the watercolour is about right for fresh thatch, as well, but somehow the darker one looks more right on those cottages?

 

Brilliant job mate,

 

Al.

[C&WR]

Thanks, Al. Funnily enough I thought I'd rushed everything from the right of the dark bit as I had to do it in between looking after TMSC & cooking dinner.

 

I like the dark bits best. I should model more in the wee hours with a couple of beers on board-seems I pay more attention!

 

BTW, heard from the Arboretum?

[Alister_G]

Not personally, no, although I've looked at their facebook page.

[jcredfer]

You may wish    .........

 

Not personally, no, although I've looked at their facebook page.

 

...........  to venture here .....

 

https://www.facebook.com/people/Arboretum-Valley/100009033798056 

 

Edit - apologies - not sure what happened to the the link here

Edited June 27, 2015 by jcredfer

[C&WR]

Thanks, Julian.  I had been invited over there, but prefer the relative anonymity of here!

 

Anyway, here are the cottages as they stand.  Roof not yet permanently fixed, need to do some flashing round the chimneys, and the chimney pots need touching in:

 

 

Still think the edges of the thatch need a bit more depth.

[C&WR]

A bit of further work on the cottages after a very busy weekend where I did manage to do some preparation.  I had been researching thatch and how to model it so decided to do the decorative bits on the top at the ridge.  

 

First I took a strip of card and glued hemp to it running across the shorter axis.  When this was dry I cut a wavy edge on one side, then made a series of holes through from the back in a grid pattern.  I then took needle and cotton, and sewed a pattern through the pre-made holes. This was glued to the roof:

 

 

You'll see I ran out of the lighter coloured cotton before doing the middle section!  In close up:

 

 

It's all a bit loose, but I hope once painted the cotton will adhere to the hemp. Also need to touch in the light bits that are very obvious in the main thatch.

 

Then it's some tinfoil lead flashing, interiors, & ready to plant!

[C&WR]

Hrar (as TMSC would have it)have had a chance to both work on Wallington & run some trains. Family commitments did intervene, though.

The 14xx I bought for Dad ran beautifully until I hitched the autocoach to it & asked him to come & drive his present. Erse, it jolted & then the motor went mad but there was no traction.

Having taken it to bits there is no evidence of any damage inside, & reintroducing it to the track it worked on & off, but kept just stopping with the motor going wild. Any hints on servicing Airfix locomotives gratefully received.

Glad to say that my class 59 has managed to haul the Bachmann & Dapol container stock & even managed to do many circuits without derailments. A first. However the Dapol couplings are useless, all at different heights, & if not kept tense happily uncouple themselves at random. Still, better than it was & I'm glad the loco accidentally fell into my basket when shopping on eBay

Finally have been having a bad at the Westerham road surface technique. Think M paint may be a bit light, but will see.

Pics tomorrow, I hope!

Edited July 12, 2015 by C&WR

[Alister_G]

Hi mate, re your Airfix beastie.

 

I have a number of the tender drive 4Fs, and your description sounds familiar. First thing, has it lost a traction tyre or two? When the motor goes wild, are the wheels turning or not?

 

If they're not, then has the motor spindle come unglued from the drive cog in the centre - I've heard of that happening, but not seen it. A dab of superglue on the spindle should sort that out.

 

Al.

[C&WR]

First, in answer to Al, the traction tyres still seem to be intact.  However this is not what seems to be the problem, while the commutator rotated* very fast when under load no power was transferred to the wheels.  It had been running beautifully, but hit a bump in the track with the autocoach on the back so I incline towards the diagnosis of a problem with a cog at the end of the drive shaft.

 

The drive wheels turn freely when pushed with a finger and occasionally there was a slight grinding noise when doing so as if something was trying to engage.  Here's as far as I dared strip it so far, pictures a but rubbish I am afraid:

 

 

 

 

 

Any hints and tips about where to go next gratefully received!  It seems I need to take the big weight over the drive shaft off, but I hesitate to do so until I know what I am doing.

 

*To add to the tale of woe when trying to get the thing going again today I couldn't even seem to get the motor to turn.  The two sprung pickups on the rear wheels seem OK, so much head-scratching going on!