Traeth Mawr -Building Mr Price's house , (mostly)

[ChrisN]

If you look later in the thread that John found, you'll see a modern view of the same houses : http://ngrm-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7023-st-marys-wllr-in-7mm-ng/?p=158227   It's interesting to see how many original features remain.

 

Mike,

I shall have to look for my password when I am back home.

[Simond]

I don't know about Welsh shutters, but you can certainly close French ones from inside!

 

Best

Simon

[corneliuslundie]

Spotted in the library today: "Welsh costume in the 18th and 19th centuries" by Ken Etheridge.

 

Quite a small book, with what appeared from a cursory glance to be coloured artists' illustrations of costume. I have a feeling it may deal only with "posh" costume, but that might be maligning the author. If I spot it again when I have finished going through the diaries of Lady Charlotte guest I'll report again.

 

According to Amazon: "This book researches the development of what we know as traditional Welsh Costume. Commencing in the eighteenth century, Ken Etheridge uses many original sources and gives a rich insight into the manufacture of local dress, from home-spun garments to intinerant tailors who also served the function of gossip columnists. Included in this interesting volume are sections on costumes of individual areas and on men's costumes. This volume is well illustrated with early etchings and colour prints and drawings by the author from original illustrations, showing different types of dress and accessories."

 

Jonathan

[ChrisN]

Spotted in the library today: "Welsh costume in the 18th and 19th centuries" by Ken Etheridge.

 

Quite a small book, with what appeared from a cursory glance to be coloured artists' illustrations of costume. I have a feeling it may deal only with "posh" costume, but that might be maligning the author. If I spot it again when I have finished going through the diaries of Lady Charlotte guest I'll report again.

 

According to Amazon: "This book researches the development of what we know as traditional Welsh Costume. Commencing in the eighteenth century, Ken Etheridge uses many original sources and gives a rich insight into the manufacture of local dress, from home-spun garments to intinerant tailors who also served the function of gossip columnists. Included in this interesting volume are sections on costumes of individual areas and on men's costumes. This volume is well illustrated with early etchings and colour prints and drawings by the author from original illustrations, showing different types of dress and accessories."

 

Jonathan

 

Jonathan,

Thank you.  I wonder how much 'Welsh' costume had given way to 'Generic' clothing by 1895, especially somewhere like Barmouth which by comparison was more cosmopolitan than elsewhere perhaps.  (They had at least two Austrian waiters and an Australian boot black in 1901.)

[ChrisN]

I had hoped to post some pictures of what I have been doing lately but it has not turned out quite like I would have wanted it to be.  I have been painting the figures of the ladies who I baked in the oven.  I wanted to get on with these as Andy Stadden has asked that he sees how they turn out and pictures of pewter figures not melted are one thing but in glorious Technicolor, something else.  All has gone fine and it has only taken me since the beginning of July, including in that time two weeks away.  I came at last at the weekend to varnishing.  Now I have had problems with the matt painted varnish although this was my preference.  I decided however, that to save time, and to do the previous figures that needed doing I would spray them.  So last Sunday evening I found an old shoe box top, lined them up, found my can, gave it a good shake and sprayed them, but not too much.  I then left them to dry, sitting outside so the house would not smell and repeated the process about 20 minutes later, with a little more spray.

 

Absolute disaster!

 

 

As you can see from the top, they appear fine, but the bottom rows have 'frosted'.  I was not happy.  On searching the internet I found one reason was not shaking the can long enough, one person said 5 minutes, and they gave various solutions, and on talking to someone in a local model shop he suggested that leaving them outside could have made them cool and caused it.  Either way I have a problem.  As he said, 'And we do this for fun!'

 

The good news is that the varnish is acrylic and the paint is enamel so I could add thinners and take it off, although I think I could get away with the four sitting ladies as, well they are sitting and the only one it might notice on is the lady in blue.  (There are no 'Ladies in Red'.)

 

So my options are as follows:-

 

1) Cry

2) Stand them all with their backs to a wall

3) Repaint over the varnish because I always note down the colours I use, (except when I don't as in this case.)

4) Add more varnish- yes that was an internet suggestion to make things better, although it may only have been when too much matt varnish turns things shiny.

5) Carefully remove the varnish from the back and hope the paint stays, then re-varnish.

6)All of the above one at a time and see which works best.

 

If you have any suggestions, or this has happened to you and you have solved it please let me know.

 

The things I have learnt are:-

1) Never do things in a hurry, (Yeah well I knew that on already!)

2) Never spray outside at dusk, or on a cold day

3) If I must spray shake the can till my arm falls off

4) Hand application is probably better if slower.

 

If you have been, thanks for looking.

Edited August 18, 2015 by ChrisN

[Simond]

Chris

 

my sympathy.

 

my guess is that the prime culprit is #2

 

best

Simon

[steveNCB7754]

I had hoped to post some pictures of what I have been doing lately but it has not turned out quite like I would have wanted it to be.  I have been painting the figures of the ladies who I baked in the oven.  I wanted to get on with these as Andy Stadden has asked that he sees how they turn out and pictures of pewter figures not melted are one thing but in glorious Technicolor, something else.  All has gone fine and it has only taken me since the beginning of July, including in that time two weeks away.  I came at last at the weekend to varnishing.  Now I have had problems with the matt painted varnish although this was my preference.  I decided however, that to save time, and to do the previous figures that needed doing I would spray them.  So last Sunday evening I found an old shoe box top, lined them up, found my can, gave it a good shake and sprayed them, but not too much.  I then left them to dry, sitting outside so the house would not smell and repeated the process about 20 minutes later, with a little more spray.

 

Absolute disaster!

 

Oh dear.jpg

 

As you can see from the top, they appear fine, but the bottom rows have 'frosted'.  I was not happy.  On searching the internet I found one reason was not shaking the can long enough, one person said 5 minutes, and they gave various solutions, and on talking to someone in a local model shop he suggested that leaving them outside could have made them cool and caused it.  Either way I have a problem.  As he said, 'And we do this for fun!'

 

The good news is that the varnish is acrylic and the paint is enamel so I could add thinners and take it off, although I think I could get away with the four sitting ladies as, well they are sitting and the only one it might notice on is the lady in blue.  (There are no 'Ladies in Red'.)

 

So my options are as follows:-

 

1) Cry

2) Stand them all with their backs to a wall

3) Repaint over the varnish because I always note down the colours I use, (except when I don't as in this case.)

4) Add more varnish- yes that was an internet suggestion to make things better, although it may only have been when too much matt varnish turns things shiny.

5) Carefully remove the varnish from the back and hope the paint stays, then re-varnish.

6)All of the above one at a time and see which works best.

 

If you have any suggestions, or this has happened to you and you have solved it please let me know.

 

The things I have learnt are:-

1) Never do things in a hurry, (Yeah well I knew that on already!)

2) Never spray outside at dusk, or on a cold day

3) If I must spray shake the can till my arm falls off

4) Hand application is probably better if slower.

 

If you have been, thanks for looking.

 

Chris,

 

What a great shame.

 

Do not have a 'fix', but one 'trick' I picked up when aircraft modelling (actually, from a car modeller's demo, at a show), is the use of a hot hair dryer during spraying.  Use it just before actual spraying the paint on, to slightly heat up the subject matter (takes any chill/condensation off and encourages rapid drying).  Once the appropriate coat of paint has been applied, use the hair dryer again to get the paint to dry much quicker (stopping any runs and allowing subsequent coats to applied sooner). At a pinch, I have under-coated and top-coated on the same day, even masked and applied a different colour on the same day (albeit using low-tack Japanese masking tape).

 

Obviously, spraying should (ideally) take place at room temperature or above, but this often conflicts with good ventilation (unless you have a pro-spray booth).  Equally, you can have the spraying environment too hot - not nice to work in and the paint may dry in the air, before it hits the model. Most of my model spraying is done in the garage, which I pre-heat with an electric fire - note, this is not switched on during the actual spraying!! Most important, is to have a proper face mask (mine is a 3M one, with dual filters).

 

One final 'word to the wise'; its probably not a good idea to have the hair dryer blower set to 'Warp Factor 10', in your haste to dry the paint.  This is especially true, if you have been a bit heavy-handed with the paint application, as any runs will probably end up halfway round the model before they dry! (Ask me how I know)

 

 

Steve N

Edited August 18, 2015 by steveNCB7754

[ChrisN]

 Thank you both.  Although it was nearing dusk it did not seem cold, I had the back door open and it had been a warmish day.  I looked at my coach tonight and I wonder if there is the same effect as well, but maybe not as severe.  I had assumed that is what the matt varnish would do to it.  In the past I have used satin varnish on stock.

 

I have visions of me using a cotton wool bud to remove the offending varnish, although I would have to go and buy some as my wife does not use them.  I only intend to do the backs as, firstly they are the worst and secondly I cannot do to much damage to what I have painted.

 

We live and learn.  I had a friend once who told his children that there are two ways to learn things, the easy way and the hard way.  The easy way was to learn from others mistakes, the hard way was to make the mistakes yourself.

[Simond]

Chris

 

I'll claim no expertise here, but perhaps it can be easily resolved - try overspraying one of your little people - it may be that the effect is only on the varnish surface, and another coat will simply replace that surface with a new, hopefully smoother, one.  If you pick the worst one, it'll be a simple experiment.

 

HTH

Simon

[Penlan]

So long ago, I've forgotten when, but when my youngest lad did a project for school, decorating a model car with homemade decals etc., I said 'we' should varnish it to protect the fantastic job he'd done - spray satin varnish, everything went 'crackled'.  

I had to write a letter to the school apologising for fecking up my lads project.

That was the last time I was allowed to touch any of his work... But I can still pull 'rank' on him with soldering, even if he has got a Masters Degree in Electronics and Communication (The last bit is ironic, I rarely hear from him).  

[ChrisN]

So long ago, I've forgotten when, but when my youngest lad did a project for school, decorating a model car with homemade decals etc., I said 'we' should varnish it to protect the fantastic job he'd done - spray satin varnish, everything went 'crackled'.  

I had to write a letter to the school apologising for fecking up my lads project.

That was the last time I was allowed to touch any of his work... But I can still pull 'rank' on him with soldering, even if he has got a Masters Degree in Electronics and Communication (The last bit is ironic, I rarely hear from him).  

 

Penaln,

The 'like' is for the information, not that your son hardly ever contacts you.

[Donw]

Painting is not my forte. Once trying to get things done for an exhibition I sprayed a crane matt black during the night and that frosted. I suspect that as it was dusk and the air was cooling the air was holding too much moisture. Quite often the dogs come in with damp feet from the dew on the grass although the air is still warm.

Don

[Penlan]

The 'like' is for the information, not that your son hardly ever contacts you.

There is a view in west Cornwall that when the children contact you, it's normally to borrow money.

It's said that when parents have lived in the home Counties the children pop in for a 'cup of tea' and ask to borrow £££'s,

but by living way down west they have come down and stay the night, plus hopefully a bribe by buying Dinner (only the best places will do for parents..  ) before asking for £££'s.  

We parents end up the poorer (£'s) but at least we have < 24 hours of their company.....

Edited August 19, 2015 by Penlan

[ChrisN]

There is a view in west Cornwall that when the children contact you, it's normally to borrow money.

It's said that when parents have lived in the home Counties the children pop in for a 'cup of tea' and ask to borrow £££'s,

but by living way down west they have come down and stay the night, plus hopefully a bribe by buying Dinner (only the best places will do for parents..  ) before asking for £££'s.  

We parents end up the poorer (£'s) but at least we have < 24 hours of their company.....

 

When I semi retired I moved closer to my eldest and his wife, although my youngest who had been living with us stayed behind.  It now means we see them regularly plus we get to see the Grandchildren. ("Dad, can you look after them this Thursday and Saturday?").  The middle one and his wife might move near the both of us next year as they are thinking of fostering and it would be good to have the family close.  We are going to see the youngest and his wife next Sunday.

 

I will not mention money but when we go out with them it is usually me that pays.

 

This is just an interlude while I spray figures.  More later.

[ChrisN]

Well, one of my ploys of getting rid of the frosting was to put more varnish on, but to be honest, if Simon had not said that is what he would try first I may well not have done it.  It did seem fairly counter-intuitive to me.

 

Anyway, I lined them all up again face down to see which was the worst.  They were a little nervous, at least the ladies were, but the men were putting a brave face on it.  Mostyn Price the Station Master said he ought to be the one 'as an example to the men' but I was a little reluctant as if it did not work his back had slightly more detail to clean up, so in the end I chose William Roberts, the younger of the two Roberts brothers who work as porters.  He put a brave face on it.  Here he is before showing the difference between front and back.

 

 

I then shook the can until my arm fell off, which was a little inconvenient, but it was better than it not being shaken enough.  I then took him outside ad gave him a couple of short sprays.  His back appeared to be back to his old colour immediately, although when it dried it faded a bit.  What do you think, here is the first picture with a picture of him afterwards stuck on the side.

 

 

 think it is now acceptable.

 

I then went and did the rest, here is a before and after shot.

 

 

This is a not particularly convincing photo but it is clear hat some are quite different, and although it may look like it none are now worse than before. So a fairly successful afternoon, thank you Simon, which was followed by preparing the next section of track.  It is ready to lay and photos of it when I have had time.

 

If you have been, thanks for looking.

Edited August 19, 2015 by ChrisN

[Edwardian]

I have been 'off-thread' for a time, so just catching up.  If I may say so, these are extremely well painted, Chris, by which I mean both the shading and the highlighting, and the palette you have used.

 

I am glad that the varnish issue appears to be resolved.

 

But what is all this about putting them in the oven?!?

[ChrisN]

I have been 'off-thread' for a time, so just catching up.  If I may say so, these are extremely well painted, Chris, by which I mean both the shading and the highlighting, and the palette you have used.

 

I am glad that the varnish issue appears to be resolved.

 

But what is all this about putting them in the oven?!?

 

Edwardian,

Thank you.  I am still experimenting with shading and the colours are not always simple.. I would prefer t if I could have all the women in uniform so that I would not have to worry about what they wore.  A C Stadden's figures are so good that if you have a grey primer and use a wash for the flesh then if you are careful/lucky you do not cover the hollows so that you get eyes and mouths.

 

I wanted to add the voluminous sleeves to some of the ladies asit was becoming obvious from pictures of Barmouth that I could not use the excuse that as this was mid-Wales they would not have the latest fashions.  The visitors certainly had and so I think did some of te locals.  I will put up some pictures of the four ladies but the ones I took had them covered in dust that I only saw in the picture so I will need to do it again.

 

One lady, the one on her own, I used DAS clay.  My DAS is now getting a bit old and dry and I struggled to get bits on that would stick.  I avoided Milliput as the first time I used it, it was messy  and I was not sure that I could make up small enough quantities but more of that in a later post.  I have some Fimo which is a modelling clay but needs baking.  If you do not bake it, it oozes a greasy substance.  Using this I added two sets of sleeves and a tie.  It seems to have worked quite well, but only as the Stadden figures are made of pewter.

 

I quite enjoy the figures but they are not as easy to paint as twenty years ago and I am not at the standard of some others on this forum.

 

Edit:  I have just looked at those figures above again and I must say I am quite impressed, not sure it was all me or what I did.

Edited August 20, 2015 by ChrisN

[Edwardian]

Chris, though, as you know, I am hardly the expert on fin de siècle feminine fashion, but I associate the puffed upper sleeves with the 1890s.

 

Have you tried Greenstuff?  It is designed for figure sculpting, and, being 2-part, cures without baking once mixed.

 

Funnily enough, a set of dentist's tools is all you need to sculpt.

 

Those figures are spot on.  Subtle, yet capturing all the definition.  I am very impressed!

[ChrisN]

Chris, though, as you know, I am hardly the expert on fin de siècle feminine fashion, but I associate the puffed upper sleeves with the 1890s.

 

Have you tried Greenstuff?  It is designed for figure sculpting, and, being 2-part, cures without baking once mixed.

 

Funnily enough, a set of dentist's tools is all you need to sculpt.

 

Those figures are spot on.  Subtle, yet capturing all the definition.  I am very impressed!

 

Edwardian,

Thank you.  I have not tried Greenstuff, although I have tried Milliput which is also two part.  I mixed some a week or so ago and it appears to have dried a fair bit  and in some ways was easier to use than previously.  I use an electrical screwdriver blade for smoothing and lifting and an awl from a set of Jewellers (?) or similar screwdrivers.  I have thought while drilling holes for point motors that a dentist's mirror would be useful, perhaps I should go the whole hog.

 

I am quite impressed with the sleeves, but it has more to do with trying than skill.  The sleeves on each model are similar enough to be the same but different enough to allow for how each sleeve would sit differently.  The lady in brown who was done with DAS has a much rougher finish but again that can be quite typical.  If I had tried to achieve that I would not have done it.  Trying to get it all looking the same, with reading glasses on, looking through a lighted magnifying glass, with a small bowl of water to stop the clay sticking to my tools and manipulating tiny pieces and trying to stick them to arms seems to have had the desired effect.

[Donw]

I would be very pleased to achieve your standard of figure painting  Chris.

 

Don

[ChrisN]

Thank you everyone for your kind words about my figures and your 'likes' etc. 

 

I mentioned that I had ordered some top hats and bowlers from Eight Wheeler Models on Shapeways.  Well, last week they came and here they are.

 

 

The back line are Top Hats, the second high bowlers, the third low bowlers, and the front two lines the same bowlers repeated but only 90% of the size.

 

To give and impression of the size here they are again being looked over by someone impersonating Mr Stroudley.

 

 

Ok, so that is no help but they are not big, and Stroudley is trying to work out why they are on green plasticard.

 

I have a couple of these gentlemen.  Although he is wearing a Trilby and the Preiser Edwardian figures have trilbies I think they did not make much of an appearance over here until the 20s I decided he really needed a bowler.  I asked him to take his hat off but he refused as he said it was stuck, so I went for him with a scalpel.  Once I had started I realised that I should have cut above the brim as there will be some folding over of the metal.  I made a cut just above his eyes but then worked from the back to reduce facial damage.  Once removed I added the bowler and here is the result.

 

 

He is feeling a bit wobbly so I have lent him against the Head's desk.  I had thought I had got away without losing too much detail but I am not so sure looking at this photo and I may need to do some more 'turning up' of the metal on his face.  Ant little holes or gaps can be 'filled with colour' as the decorators I once worked with used to say about cracks and paint.

 

The producer of these hats says he will be making some boaters as he has had many requests for them and also hope fully a plain brimmed hat for the ladies as they can then be used to add things to.

 

If you have been, thanks for looking.

 

 

[aberdare]

Nice work on the figures Chris, you're progressing with them much faster than I am.

 

I have sorted my workshop out a bit now and have all my figures together rather than spread here and there, I was amazed to find I had around 120 or so with only 20 of them painted. It looks as if I have a lot of work ahead of me yet.

[ChrisN]

Nice work on the figures Chris, you're progressing with them much faster than I am.

 

I have sorted my workshop out a bit now and have all my figures together rather than spread here and there, I was amazed to find I had around 120 or so with only 20 of them painted. It looks as if I have a lot of work ahead of me yet.

 

Jim,

Glad to hear from you.  I think I have enough for a small town, or perhaps a large village but most of them are unpainted or partly painted.  They each take a lot of work.

[Alister_G]

Hi Chris, sorry to read of your woes with the figures, as you know I've recently had an issue myself with acrylic Matt varnish, but on vehicles.

 

I'm pretty sure the cause was the same as yours, doing it at dusk on a humid day, and too much moisture in the air.

 

Glad to see you were able to remedy the situation, and as others have said, your choice of colour and shading is fantastic, the figures look amazing.

 

Al.

[ChrisN]

Hi Chris, sorry to read of your woes with the figures, as you know I've recently had an issue myself with acrylic Matt varnish, but on vehicles.

 

I'm pretty sure the cause was the same as yours, doing it at dusk on a humid day, and too much moisture in the air.

 

Glad to see you were able to remedy the situation, and as others have said, your choice of colour and shading is fantastic, the figures look amazing.

 

Al.

 

Thank you Al,

I also wonder whether the fact I left them outside while they dried after the first shot played a part as they may have cooled.  Either way it looks like brush varnishing once winter sets in.