Port Chambre

[CourthsVeil]

Concretized

 

 

Now all the hardstanding areas are "concretized", i.e. covered in plaster, trowelled flat and dried. Thereafter smoothened with wet&dry (#320).

Some holes and other flaws deliberately left; this concrete seems to be not very well laid out and maintained…       

 

This how it looks after the first – very light – weathering has been applied. Just a bit black & (even less) primary blue. More after this has dried, and some other colours to add…

    

 

 

 

 

 

I'd love to know peoples thoughts, and I'm open to suggestions.

 

Regards

   Armin

[JeffP]

Very large areas of concrete often have joins that are visible, since it's not possible to mix, or have delivered, enough concrete to lay before some of it starts going off.

[westerhamstation]

Hi Armin, it was worth all your effort and will look really good when you have finished painting. All the best Adrian.

[Andy Reichert]

Lookin' good

 

Andy

[Stubby47]

Very large areas of concrete often have joins that are visible, since it's not possible to mix, or have delivered, enough concrete to lay before some of it starts going off.

The joins quite often have black bitumen-type stuff as a filler and/or have grass & weeds.

[CourthsVeil]

Jeff, Adrian, Andy & Stu: thank you for the interest and comments, are appreciated!

 

Joins, rust stains, grass & moss etc. will follow – for sure      

 

 

In the meantime a bit of progress:

 

Two ways to make a barrow walk:

 

Get some 0.8mm (32thou) balsa sheet, give it one (or two) light anthracite washes, cut strips of sufficient length which you glue to a supporting thin card strip.

Glue this firmly between the rails:

 

 

 

Or you take a wooden coffee stirrer (well, here it is a wooden stick for home brew ice lol­lies). Cut to suitable length, apply washes to weather it sufficiently. Then score with a sharp knife to make the individual planks; deepen these marks with a blunt (kitchen) kni­fe and enhance them with a well sharpened hard pencil. Should look like that:

 

 

 

And in its place:

 

 

 

As you can see with the paving's edge in the last pic, there's still quite a lot to do…      

 

As usual your comments and criticism is welcome.

 

  Armin

[47137]

Armin,

 

I do like the use of a pencil to apply shading and detail, like on the barrow crossing. This must be much more controllable than trying to dribble in paint. I imagine, coloured pencils like browns and greens will work too.

 

- - 

 

You mentioned papier mache a while back:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96574-port-chambre-–-concretized/?p=1886594

 

I would interested to see how you make this - is it large bits of torn up newspaper or something much finer like shredder cuttings? And is it mixed with wallpaper paste or something else? I have been a Mod-Roc and wire mesh man for years, but papier mache is a lot less messy and the mess is easier to deal with.

 

Thank you for all of the updates.

 

- Richard.

[CourthsVeil]

Richard, thanks!

 

Answer re. paper maché will follow soon – after shopping with Mrs. CV I need a nap…      

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Well, I’m back on track…

 

Papier maché now:

 

I tear sufficient pages of old newspaper (best with a shredder, sometimes cheap at Aldi, Lidl & Co.), fill the pieces with water into my onioncutter. My OWN cutter! ^*)

 

This paper-water-mix is thoroughly blended until no more pieces of paper are discernible, just fibres. I then strain this stuff, press the remaining water out and then… I have a dumpling (kinda) to which I add one or two spoonful of wallpaper glue (Metylan). Knead this well and that’s all! (May be kept in the fridge [honey jar etc.] for some weeks – just don’t let it get dry.)

 

The wallpaper paste will hold the stuff together, no mesh etc. needed. To keep it firmly on the underground, however, a layer of PVA is recommended. Needs several days to become dry. I don’t put thick layers down, only up to 5mm or ¼ in.:

 

The result is surprisingly lightweight and can be easily trimmed with knife, scissors, saw, file etc. Takes paint quite well.

 

This will be medium grey; if I would want it white, I would have to start with fresh paper for copiers. Others like to add brown paint before putting it down when forming slopes etc.; IMO this is needless, since later it anyway will be covered with soil, grass etc… (Also, real gravel is more often grey than brown.)

 

But it is also possible to fill a mould and make a stone wall:

 

 

 

Hope this is of help. Any questions – call me!

 

  Armin

 

 

^*)  I do not borrow the blender from the kitchen – not even when SHE is out of town! Cause I know how to beha­ve and bought my own – cheaply (Aldi, Lidl & Co.). This thing then may become dirty as it wants. Why? News­paper inks are rather ugly to remove from kitchen machines (don’t ask, how…)!

[rue_d_etropal]

interesting to see you use mashed paper,,as I have been using a non glue version for a few years since someone on another forum tried out putting art paper in a blender.

As I said I don't add any glue at all, there is enough in the paper, but it does take a while to dry. Without glue it is even lighter as well.

The ink in newspaper is a pain, but surprisingly if you re-mash anything that has already been mashed and dried, there is no ink stain. I am now using mashed cardboard. It actually mashes easier , and no ink stain. Best material is actually egg box cardboard, partly because it is in effect mashed and moulded already. If you are going to use newspaper, look for the poorest quality as it breaks up better. No need to use a shredder. tried it and found no benefit, and you may overload the blender9I have gone through several already).

If you don't have a blender, then any tissue paper, eg toilet paper, soaked in water, , broken up then resoaked works almost as well. The second soak, breaks up the paper fibres, so there is less tendency for the paper to split when it dries.

One rule though, do not put the dirty water down the sink as it will dry and then block it. I re-use water from one mash in the next.

For more info online, it is usually found under 'paper casting' not papier mache, although historically simple mashed paper or the material used to make paper, was used 1000s of years ago, before anyone used it for artwork.  Otherwise just ask me as I have tried out a lot of ideas with it. Used in similar ways to ho we use plastic now, but it would have need something added to make it waterproof.

 

One of my current projects uses it for hillsides, over a rough deck of pink insulation, but have also used it on cage wire mesh(stronger than chicken wire). Apart from my model railways I have used it a lot for my art work including scuptures.

 

What always catches me out is how much paper or cardboard I can get through.

 

This is one of my mini layouts built 2007-8 I think using mashed paper moulded., apart from the corrugated paper, the track and the train, everything is moulded paper, even the stone setts on ground. I also mix shredded paper in emulsion paint as a filler and for textured detail at front.It was built in a small cardboard box.

[47137]

Answer re. paper maché will follow soon – after shopping with Mrs. CV I need a nap…        

 

Papier maché now:

 

I tear sufficient pages of old newspaper (best with a shredder, sometimes cheap at Aldi, Lidl & Co.), fill the pieces with water into my onioncutter. My OWN cutter! ^*)

 

This paper-water-mix is thoroughly blended until no more pieces of paper are discernible, just fibres. I then strain this stuff, press the remaining water out and then… I have a dumpling (kinda) to which I add one or two spoonful of wallpaper glue (Metylan). Knead this well and that’s all! (May be kept in the fridge [honey jar etc.] for some weeks – just don’t let it get dry.)

 

The wallpaper paste will hold the stuff together, no mesh etc. needed. To keep it firmly on the underground, however, a layer of PVA is recommended. Needs several days to become dry. I don’t put thick layers down, only up to 5mm or ¼ in.

. . . 

 

^*)  I do not borrow the blender from the kitchen – not even when SHE is out of town! Cause I know how to beha­ve and bought my own – cheaply (Aldi, Lidl & Co.). This thing then may become dirty as it wants. Why? News­paper inks are rather ugly to remove from kitchen machines (don’t ask, how…)!

I have been out shopping too - and returned home with an Argos Value Range Jug Blender. This is noisy, but incredibly effective. I load in about a quarter of the height of the jug with paper pieces out of a cross-cut shredder. Add about 500ml water, switch on and run for ten seconds. This creates a pulp, straight away. I run it for another minute or so to get rid of the lumps, this makes something like thick soup except it is pale blue and the ink is visible on the inside of the jug. Squeeze out the water in a sieve and repeat.

 

I have made up about 600 ml of pulp, including its remaining water content. I don't know it this next bit is sensible, but I then put it in a plastic food container and microwaved it (750W on full power) for two minutes. Then fixed on the lid. So hopefully it will form a partial vacuum inside and stay fresh and moist in the fridge.

 

It has all been great fun to make. I have been very careful doing the cleaning up, and emptied the jug into the garden, not the sink plug hole. The ink has washed off the inside of the jug, but this machine is for hobbies use only. I am tempted to try putting one of those foam scouring pads inside it, to see what happens.

 

I will add the glue to the pulp later, when I start to use it. My scenery includes wood, card, foam board, resin (the aquarium coral), streaks of hot glue, real stone and plaster casts (lightweight hydrocal). I want to use the pulp as a filler and have it stick to all of these, so I am tempted to mix in some dilute PVA when I come to use it. But I wonder - suppose I mix in flour in the blender, would this bind it all together?

 

- Richard.

[rue_d_etropal]

Richard,

Not sure about microwave, I have tried various ways to speed up drying, but a good warm room , next to radiator works best for me. As radiators are on more in winter, it is sometimes faster in winter than summer. My studio/workshop is in a building where heating can be on all year round. I have had a couple of those cheap blenders. OK for occasional use, but I have mashed, what might be considered almost commercial quantities. I use a more expensive , more powerful blender now, but have gone through several of those, so am careful how much I put in. I even tried a hand cranked version, but eventually the gears wore out  on that , so reverted to electric powered versions. Someone who used to run a cafe told me they used to go through quite a few blenders, so even for food processing, they are really designed for low volume use.

I have never added glue, no need, but it might set quicker with glue. On my 'Bangers and Mash layout' I have used it to create the hills, As it dries it shrinks and cracks, so looks like rocky ground. Some cracks did need more mash . It is very easy to press holes into for trees as well. It can be damaged though, so for edges of layout  I have used Rhino wood filler/plaster from Wilkinsons . This sets very hard and is brown, so no bright white streaks when it gets chipped. 

 

I tend to only mash up what I need there and then, as wet paper and cardboard tends to get smelly if left around . Once it gets to this stage, it can still smell a bit when it dries.

 

One thing I have found is that when a mould does not come out properly, or gets broken, or those bits you trim off, then they can be re-mashed. Always was frustrating when plastic moulding failed, as not much could be done , and so had to be dumped.

 

I would recommend for anyone wanting to try it, to use toilet roll paper. Simple unroll into bucket, soak,squeeze out water, then break up and put back in water, and then squeeze out some water and it is ready to use. I have found low cost toilet rolls are best9they don't actually say 'recycled paper' but I suspect they are, as they don't have much whitening in them, and turn grey when wet). I would suggest buying toilet roll, as I don't think you would be popular if you were responsible for there being no toilet roll in the house!

[47137]

I have no intention of using moulded paper. Armin wrote about paper mache and so did I. It might be best to start a fresh topic on moulded paper.

 

-Richard.

[rue_d_etropal]

I was just adding my experience of using it, not professionally, but as someone who followed an idea posted many years ago on another forum by someone else, and extensively tested by me. I have had online threads on the subject , elsewhere, but not on this forum. Sharing ideas and knowledge is what makes online forums work well.

[CourthsVeil]

Richard: you better do not mix the PVA INTO the maché – it will become hard as stone. You may well experiment with flour – we modellers should be curious, that’s one of the beauties of our “profession” – but I doubt that it will be of any help…?

 

 

 

                                                Back to the topic now:

 

After a few further washes with two or three (black) drops of artist’s acrylic paint^*) in 100ccm (~ 4 fl oz) water rounded out with one drop each of ochre or blue or…

 

^*) I use only high grade paint with plenty of pigments, not the cheap DIY-store stuff.

 

That's the result of the third wash (left) compared with the second one

 

 

 

An overview:

 

 

 

The following took surprisingly little time to make the surface looking old: I applied ground chalk pastel: dark green makes moss & algae, ochre or umbra is for other stains (rust, oil?). I grind the pastel stick using a tea sieve (again MY own…), then rub the dust in with a not too soft brush. This may be blended further with a damp brush. Should the result be too colourful I can attenuate it with fine steel wool. Then hoover it.

 

That’s a matter of a few minutes – really!

 

 

 

And it is fun. And the following steps are fun too:

 

I get the already mentioned blunt kitchen knife (must I emphsize that this too is MY own?), a soft pencil and the ruler. Make grooves with the knife point – I push it, don’t draw – which then are blackened with the pencil. Not too straight, but also not too sloppy:
A few cracks in the concrete plates should have been occurred: I just draw some irregular lines with a well sharpened pencil:

 

 

 

In the joins between the plates of course have accumulated dirt and seeds of all kind. This  – as Stu quite rightly has pointed out – gives rise to some growth:

 

 

 

So where are the boxes with the various grasses etc.? A fine (!) brush and PVA pre­pare the base for stripes of greenery. First attempt:

 

 

 

Next step – now with longer fibres and 15kV:

 

 

 

Final touch – larger tufts added by hand (0 kV again):

 

 

 

Lastly a second overview:

 

         

 

 

Suggestions, critizism…?

 

Regards

  Armin

 

 

 

 

PS: “Genehmigt” said Mrs. CV after inspecting what I have done. First she suggested a lawn mower, but after a brief explanation (“It’s a rather forlorn and windswept harbour place, honey…”) she approved – smiling.

Thereafter I could totally innocently tell her that I catched another loco: a B. Spectrum Class 03.

Now waiting for the postman…

 

 

[JeffP]

I was going to mention flour.....but the result might attract vermin..........

[Removed a/c]

Looks wonderful, 

[westerhamstation]

Hi Armin, nice job on the colouring of the concrete, the grass has added another dimension to it as well. All the best Adrian.

[CourthsVeil]

Thank you for your comments, Britfarmer and Adrian!

 

 

 

    Buildings again

 

The Low Relief Factory doubtless is a fine building, but I was curious how something quite different would fare…

Years ago somewhere in Carl Arendt’s wonderful webpage I had seen an ensemble of buildings with a southern feel. I made something similar for the very first (2010ish) of my dwarf layouts (as I pre­fer to call them), and was satisfied with what I got.

Now I came back to this idea and that’s what I came out with:

 

 

 

Seen this way it leads nicely ( imho ) into a street canyon hiding the connection to the fiddle stick (yes, the bumper HAS been taken away…):

 

 

 

 

 

The same seen from above:

 

 

 

 

There are still a lot of details missing: a door, rainpipes, vents, ivy, weathering etc. etc. Not to forget embedding…

 

What do you think?

 

  Armin

 

 

 

edit:

A week ago (post #89) I wrote: "Thereafter I could totally innocently tell her that I catched another loco: a B. Spectrum Class 03."  Numbered D.2012   

NO, she is not a Spectrum, just plain Bachmann she is. Which doesn't matter – after a little clean of the axle bearings she performs really well. Chuffed…        

Why the axle bearings? Because this loco doesn't rely on wipers, instead the current is transmitted directly from the axles to the frame halves.

In this case grease is of no help for reliable running. Really not…       

[Removed a/c]

I agree with you Armin, i like the hidden fiddleyard too. 

[47137]

Richard: you better do not mix the PVA INTO the maché – it will become hard as stone. You may well experiment with flour – we modellers should be curious, that’s one of the beauties of our “profession” – but I doubt that it will be of any help…?

 

I have had a go with wallpaper paste because this contains a fungicide.

 

I have mixed up 250 ml of wallpaper paste, and stirred in the pulp I made a few weeks ago. This has made a soft slurry with no lumps, and it is easy to press into small spaces to fill them. The mixture is about 600 ml in all, 350 ml pulp : 250 ml paste. I have done a "test piece" by filling in some of the gaps between small plaster castings I already glued onto my "hill made from aquarium coral".

 

If this mixture sets, I think it will be a success - but, how long might I have to wait? Perhaps a week? I am thinking, if I wait more than a week and it is still soft and wet then there is too much paste and not enough pulp in the mixture.

 

Fortunately the hill is detachable so I can put it out of the way and away from the layout. In the meantime, I shall put all the unused mixture in a sealed container in the fridge.

 

- Richard.

[CourthsVeil]

I have had a go with wallpaper paste because this contains a fungicide.

… 

The mixture is about 600 ml in all, 350 ml pulp : 250 ml paste.

…

I am thinking, if I wait more than a week and it is still soft and wet then there is too much paste and not enough pulp in the mixture.

…

 

Richard, thanks for your report.

 

I think, you WILL have to wait.

Much too much paste. Three to four table spoons should do it.

Then, depending on the thickness (!), two to four days…?

 

   Armin

[CourthsVeil]

Just a short progress report today:

 

The old Customs Office got a new roof with an internal bracket to prevent bending:

 

 

 

The new Plant now has the innocent yellow rendering lightly sooted and a bit greenery:

 

 

Btw: the tower now has a door…

 

 

 

 

Maybe that I will put this layout aside for a while. Reason being that a bad, bad boy (has the number 47 in his nickname…) has led my thinking astray. I'm now trying to find out how to make a monorail loco run… Perhaps an experimental rig…? Just a small one…  … ?

 

 

And another task is luring at the horizon: Grandson no. 1 becomes more and more interested in playing with one of my micro layouts.

Does he deserve his own? Perhaps a Christmas gift…?      

A track plan I had in my mind already for some time…?

Oh, not that I want to play with HIS layout      

 

Ooooh, so many ideas, so much to do, so little time !

 

Regards

   Armin

[47137]

Richard, thanks for your report.

 

I think, you WILL have to wait.

Much too much paste. Three to four table spoons should do it.

Then, depending on the thickness (!), two to four days…?

 

   Armin

This seems to have been a complete success - dried out after 36 hours. I probably didn't describe my mix very well - it is 20 ml paste powder in 250 ml water, and then a fairly dry pulp stirred into this. I've written it up in a new topic to save adding clutter here. Many thanks for the ideas!

 

- Richard.

[CourthsVeil]

All together now:

 

 

 

They just need to be integrated in the ground cover soon.

 

 

 

Between these steps I started another Customs Office. This time not rendered but with a brick surface and a variation in the façade:

 

A short progress report can be found in my card buildings thread.

 

 

 

 

 

With some details and put at its place I have this  (look at the nice roof access above):

 

 

 

 

In addition I bodged together another warehouse with an extension clad in corrugated iron:

 

 

 

Now I’m in the favourable position to choose between two rather different backscenes: 

 

 

 

 

 

And a few further photos. First a view along the new warehouse:

 

 

 

The opposite view to the old Customs Office: 

 

 

 

The same with the new Office:

 

 

 

A better view of the roof:

 

 

 

Ooops !

 

 

Before I forget it: Fall is coming and the leaves are starting to change colours. Must go out and har­vest as much as possible to make foliage for autumnal trees (HA! Three different english words for Herbst in a single sentence    ).

 

The procedure is simple: (1) bake the leaves (wet or dry) at some 150°C in the oven, (2) sort by colour, (3) grind them in the coffee mill to desired grade(s), (4) sieve and (5) store resulting foliage in glasses, keep dry!

Simples !

 

As usual your comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

Regards

   Armin

[47137]

Before I forget it: Fall is coming and the leaves are starting to change colours. Must go out and har­vest as much as possible to make foliage for autumnal trees (HA! Three different english words for Herbst in a single sentence    ).

That's ok. But please, don't start on regen/regnen/regnet.

 

I prefer the background with the yellow building, because to me it immediately says "in Germany". The customs house with the brick parapets looks a bit American to me, even though I am sure it's not. The sunbather says "Germany" too but she's not enough to swing the deal!

 

- Richard.