Leaderboard

A few shots of the recent progress with the layout. Once the sculpimold has set I next give the ground a light pass of short straw static grass, then a second layer of 2mm dead grass. The back scene arrived, this is a 3mm thick sheet of PVC foam board, it takes paint well and is self supporting. Scrub bushes added with simple PVA Seamfoam trees. The trunks were thickened up using builders caulk and grounded foam for leaves. A quick pass of weathering powders to tone down the yard and roads.

Evening folks, Here are the concluding stages of some painting and weathering I have been working on. Again, as with my quick and dirty weathering blogs, I do not own an airbrush and have endeavoured to produce something comparable to the results one can get with an airbrush (but acknowledging the superiority of the airbrush). Here is the wagon painted using different tones and modelmaster decals added. I use decalfix by humbrol to silvering as I didn't want to gloss varnish the vehicle as I felt the subtlety of some of the planks would be lost glossing then matting. Next, the wagon is treated with decalfix and weathering powders, flowed around the raised detail. This is the shock open I have also been treating. certain planks were dry brushed with humbrol stone to suggest worn paint and the grain of the wood. The metal work on the end of the wagon are treated with heavier amounts of powders to suggest the flaking, rusty metal work. These are dabbed onto wet decalfix and built up using humbrol smoke powder and Carr's rust colours. The underframe is lightly treated with brake dust colour powders. The top plank on the wagon was done by dry brushing onto wet tacky paint to maintain the brushstrokes to give the appearance of the grain of bare wood. This has been an enjoyable little project.

That last posting at the end of August saw me starting a few wagons. Since then I've made 4 Dapol 16 Ton minerals, 7 Dapol 'Esso' 35 Ton GLW tanks, 2 Cambrian 'Catfish' Hoppers, 3 Cambrian 'Mermaids' and tidied-up a few others. I just never got around to posting. Currently I'm having a rest from Wagons !! and working on my 2019 diorama scene. The initial inspiration came from my love of rural scenery and the Ratio occupational bridge ...... Placing bits out to try and visualize a complete picture on the scrap warped piece of ply. I had in mind one of those dirt roads that only get used by farmers, and dug out this old Hornby building. Because I try to make a 'new' diorama each year they have to be quick, with mostly stuff laying around with the resulting negligible cost. Foolishly I thought it needed water somewhere so at the last moment a pond was excavated ! Under the date stamp you'll see the VERY old trick of using coconut matting as growing corn. Youngsters will be surprised at how tall corn used to stand, the new short development something from the last 50 years ! Still a few jobs to do, but well on the way, my next postings should show it finished. This will be on show at the Bridport Clubs January Exhibition with any other entries into our 2019 diorama challenge. Dad-1

Have finally got round to finihing a few more pre group wagons. The LNWR Brake van is a London Road models kit. This has used up nearly all my HMRS LNWR diamonds, I have enogh left for 2 more wagons but I have 6 wagons to finish! The HMRS has been out of stock of this transfer sheet for months and seem not ba able to find a printer to make some more. Coast Line Models do a sheet of diamonds but they are noticably bigger than either the HMRS ones or the Ratio wagons ones. I have lettered the brake van "Shrewsbury" on one side and "Walsal"l on the other. Would be nice to have a "Stafford", but I will have to make do with a "Crewe"

Due to actions by the RMWeb team, who decided to support the toxicity of @woodenhead and "punish" me by deleting all the images I've uploaded, this content has been redacted.

I have recently been honoured by having an article entitled “Slow Modelling - an alternative way forward” published in the Model Railway Journal (No. 274, page 276). This described some of the recent changes in my modelling practice and the relationship between modelling and wellbeing, but it did not really get to some of the underlying problems. The original, first draft, of the article included what might be seen as more contentious comments about the natural of railway modelling as we are confronted with a radically changing world. I have posted some of the originally text here. I hope this makes sense without the article as published. The original pieces of text are in italics. I am sorry this is a rather longer post than usual! Firstly, some addition comments on the relationship with models having used the article to outline the importance of scratch-building that gives a strong degree of connectedness with models made. “For many modellers of my age the desire for connectedness is not new. This connectedness often focuses on a nostalgia for the dying days of steam and is supported with a wider range of very high standard ready-to-run models of a then ever before. However, ironically these models have little connection with the audience and are produced by people for whom they are culturally alien. The ‘craftsmanship’ may have been done on a computer or even directly scanned from the original, but the owner of such an item has no real relationship with the model. Technology has produced a model ‘for us’, but it is not a model made ‘by us’ or ‘from us’. Technology has reproduced a piece of the past and presented it to us in the ‘now’, to support our connectedness with the past. “The act of purchasing and possession, of ownership, is more abstract than the act of making something. We surround ourselves with artefacts that are produced remotely, often of materials that are not sustainable and in working conditions that might be considered as less than desirable. Indeed, there might be a similarity between our knowledge of the model railway factories and what was always said (but often untrue) about city children, that they did not know where milk came from. However, for many of us the desire for instant gratification far outweighs less assured and more distant rewards to be found in scratch building. What really counts is the process; the process of working materials into the artefact by way of taking our hands and brain cells for a walk. In so doing one changes the relationship between oneself, the materials and the process to make something that is ‘of you’ and not just ‘of your list’. (Or should that be ‘off your list’?)” The canopy at Axminster. I have always liked these fairly bold canopies found on many of the old LSWR stations west of Salisbury, often in association with a station buildings designed by Tite. Laser cut LSWR station canopy in 1/64th scale. Of course there is no commercial model version of the canopy in any scale let alone 1/64th. So I went for a little laser cutting project for this. It could have included the roof flats and the skylight surrounds, but that would be over the top (sorry about that!), so it was just the valance that was laser cut. This seemed important as the repeats of the up and downs and the curves would be very hard to achieve with the necessary level of consistency when working by hand. Secondly, for a great deal longer than many, part of the function of being a geography teacher, I have been aware of what has been going on in the global environment. This awareness, which developed from the 1970 onwards (Yes, the early evidence was there as long ago as that!) has lead to an examination of how to proceed in what will most likely be the last decade (hopefully two) of my life. This paragraph raises wider issues about the nature railway modelling, nested as it is at one end of the spectrum in the toy industry and at the other in model making. “For some years I have been increasingly concerned about the human fascination for injection moulded petroleum based plastic and the way this fascination, or perhaps I should say addiction, is passed on through contents of the average child’s brightly coloured toy box. (Although I hear that Lego are going over to bioplastic.) It is also a concerning to look at the environmental impact of modelling as with so many other products. This is not just about the materials used, but the whole pyramid that imports of finished models stand on, dodge chemical industries, industrial pollution, international shipping (a very dirty industry), packaging, production energy, etc. It’s no good saying that we do not need reduce our carbon-foot print while China continues to pollute. We exported our (the UK’s and our individual) carbon-foot print industries to China, a shedding of responsibility that seldom seems to be mentioned in the media. But then the media does little to improve the understanding of economics, trade and the environment.” While it is easy to write such words, it is not so easy to act upon them. It is all too easy to hypocritical in comments on this topic… to offer “do as I say” advice rather “do as I do”. Actions speak louder than words. “Indeed the last year has seen some fast action with the introduction of a far reaching rationalisation programme applied to my modelling projects. Dr Beeching would have been proud to see those with a low return (measured in fun, creativity or challenge) being cut back and the rapid disposal of redundant equipment would have gladden his heart. There are siren voices warning against such quick and decisive action... while others greet me with what are you selling today! With just a few final items on eBay and some esoteric bits being offered to more specialist markets the clearance is nearly done. Interesting that one of my eBay customers was someone who helped operate my Cornish opus - St Juliot, at RailWells some years ago. “But as I type these last words, I hear the bang of the carriers van door and by the time I get to the front door there is a parcel with my next set of laser cut plywood baseboard components! These are made to my design, but the cutting out would now be beyond the capabilities of my recently refurbished workshop, which is now more of a studio. Indeed, I would have designed them differently if they were not to be laser cut. I can still take short cuts and perhaps I have to settle for being ‘selectively concerned’ about the impact of my modelling. The reality is that we are drawn into modern production systems and that resistance can only be limited… whatever the scale! at sixty nine I may need to take some short cuts to produce even the smallest of projects. The fact that these boards are circular with a width of 100mm and a centreline radius of 571.5mm, automatically limits the size of one’s project.” There is, of course, a paradox or contradiction here. What to do with the ‘stuff’ one already has and would really like to keep? My collection of German (German by both prototype and manufacture) 1/160 scale (N Gauge) has nowhere to run. It was purchased for sentimental reasons and I would like to make a little layout, using one of these test tracks and some extension materials remaining from previous projects. As mentioned above, this design was originally made for a friend but was developed with a view to marketing these simple and rather useful items. However, this idea has not been followed through, partly as it only encourages further modelling developments. Klein Holtzapffell This layout developed out of the idea of a circular test track base to carry a circle of Peco Number 4 set. With the rolling stock from the original Holzapfel layout to hand, felt the need to have somewhere to see it run. This circular formate has the great constraint of size limitation, so greatly reducing the potential amount of material required to complete a layout. The missing, forth board between the tunnels will carry a simple fiddle yard with four fixed roads in the middle and two 'traverser points' at each end. ‘Arkade Tunnel’ Made on baseboard already laser cut, using extruded polystyrene off-cuts already purchased. The tunnel mouth by Faller has been recycled from the original Holzapfel. The only new purchase seen here has been the Faller foam ‘arkade’, which was a cheat to get the retaining wall built quickly. Now called the Kapelle Arkade, the chapel has been recycled from the previous layout, while the walls are finished off with some copping stones cut from art-board card off-cuts, as are the cable throughs. The white Plastikard is not the most appropriate material for the inner retaining walls of the little under-bridge, but it was to hand from the scrap box. This will be hidden when the stone retaining walls are put in place once the bridge design has been finalised…. Stone arch or girder? But this questioning is only part of a series of actions:- This is the left hand end of St Juliot in 1/64th scale. The track is the most resent offering for bullhead track from the S Scale Society, with the centre line being the through road. The van has a resin cast body; the bicycle is a Southwark Bridge etch and the basket on the platform is a piece of white-metal produced for 7mm. Apart from those items, everything was scratch built or hand made mostly with off-cuts and recycled card. The trees and the grass pose a bit of a problem but care has been taken to keep the waste (overspill) materials from these operation in the waste bin rather than being washed down the sink. These sorts of micro fibres are able to escape the waste water treatment plants and end up in the marine environment…. Along with the fibres from fleeces and other recycled ‘plastic’ clothing!! The whole layout has been passed on several times and is now probably being recycled into some other configuration. Draft plans for Mellstock Intrinseca. The boards and some track are made for my one large project. However, since this picture was taken the thing has been scale back a little more to give a much greater sense of space and to reduce the the amount of materials required for the project to be completed. But it is all scratch building, so should keep me busy for a while….. Conclusion While some will no doubt thick my words here are rather extreme, I am of the view that some modellers (perhaps I should call them ‘glazed box openers’) are rather more extreme. I recently came across a layout which included multi-storey fiddle yards with capacity for 140 sets of coaching stock. Whatever is the point? They probably require more space to store the empty boxes than most people have for layouts. However, such extremes become more balance when one starts to to live by the creed of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The most important of which is Reduce… Such an alternative approach has also caused me to think carefully about the role of exhibiting. Having switched from exhibiting layouts transported by road, I proved to my satisfaction that it was possible to take layouts to exhibitions by public transport. I have now got to the stage where I feel exhibitions are just a means of encouraging dissatisfaction and of the initiation of new plans and further consumption. While the quality of finish of a scratch built model may not compare with the very best of the those resource consuming mass produced items, the benefits to the modeller of producing something of your own with your own hands far outweigh the short-term adrenalin rush of buying a glazed box or receiving an order from a bespoke model supplier. Increasingly, it is also of benefit in much wider, if very small, way in the future management of our environment and our resources. Is railway modelling very high on the list of human activities that can be sustained in a future society concern with these issues and a world with a more equal sharing of resources? I rest my case!

As mentioned in the previous blog entry, I've been restoring a small collection of secondhand scratchbuilt 4- and 6-wheelers. I should point out that I'm cutting some corners here: The premise for this project has been to see what I could do with the coaches with simple means and materials, and without breaking them down into their constituent parts and starting over. First job was to remove the rooves and discard the glazing and droplights, which were beyond saving. The coaches have etched brass sides, but have been assembled with glue. However the original builder did it properly and only the coach seen here (another First to dia R1) needed a bit of reinforcement in the corners. This 6-wheel First/Second Compo to diagram U16 was restored some time ago. Most of the repairs are hopefully self-explanatory. The coach was built with droplights in the luggage doors, which it shouldn't have. This mistake is probably due to an error in Russell's Great Western Coaches vol 1 (p47). Fortunately I have a copy of the Newsletter of the Great Western Study Group No. 51 (1996), which includes an invaluable list of known errors in the Russell volume. The windows were blinded with plastikard filed to shape. A bit tricky, but filing and fitting can be a strangely pleasing exercise, I find. This 6-wheeler was originally a W3 parcels van. Certainly an interesting prototype, but I already had a W1 parcels van and didn't really need another. So feeling a bit reckless I converted it to a V13 PBV, which as far as I can see has virtually the same dimensions. The main difference was that the V13 had guards lookouts, and I found some in an old K's kit that happened to have the right measurements. I wait with baited breath for someone to tell me that there was some major difference between W3 and V13s that I haven't noticed! (if so please do tell, it has not been painted yet so there is still time to change it back!). On some of the coaches I added new springs, while on others I repaired the existing ones with thin strips of glazing (the thinnest material I had to hand). I am not sure the latter is totally rational, but then modellers rarely are :-) Here we have another unusual beast - a six-wheel saloon to diagram G20, the one that is preserved at Didcot. It is currently receiving the standard treatment of repairs. The interior of the G20 Saloon, which has had a new lick of paint. I haven't been able to find any drawings of this diagram, so I am not sure if the arrangement of the seating and tables is correct? The brake gear has been replaced on some of the coaches. This is of course a simplified representation. In fact, brake gear has for too long been one of my blind spots and I'd like to learn the details better. That's it for now. So far I'm very much enjoying this work. It may not be text-book modelling, but I find it relaxing and it's nice to breathe some life back into these old models. Go to part 3

Evening folks, Completed a couple of Parkside opens recently and took a few pictures of the painting process. It has involved a few techniques i have read about and a bit of experimentation. The wagon is primed using halfords grey Matt spray, the body brush painted with phoenix precision pre 1964 bauxite, thinned right down. I paint the underframes humrol dark grey 34. I used humbrol stone colour, humbrol light grey and humbrol black to pick out the bare wood planks and a mix of different humbrol browns and reds to vary the plank colours suggesting fading. The bare plank mix is dry brushed (more like scrubbed) over some of the planks to suggest flaking paint and ware.

I haven't been able to spend a huge amount of time on the layout recently. As a result I have started many things but haven't completed much. Some projects have been started, scrapped, restarted and stalled! Some simply require more time to complete. I prefer to post when I have something significant to show. So in order to get away from the nightmare building project, I tackled something easier and altogether more enjoyable. Some low-relief buildings for my farm and a small stable block. I gathered lots of pictures from the internet and integrated my favourite features to bring these rather dilapidated and totally generic farm buildings to life! All for now, Jonathan

About ten years ago I came back from Warley with three Ratio Midland clerestory coach kits. My vague intention at the time was to paint and line them in full S&DJR blue livery, possibly with some minor modifcations to the bodies and roofs, just to have a semi-acceptable period-looking train to run behind my one or two S&D blue locomotives. However, time went on and I never got around to it. Eventually I decided that, if I were to go to the trouble of painting and lining a set of coaches, I would rather they were at least approximately right for the desired prototype. I therefore decided to finish the Ratio coaches in lined crimson lake as running in the LMS era, and set about painting the sides as a batch, while still on the sprue: The sides were brush painted with four thin layers of crimson, then allowed to dry properly before adding the yellow panel lining. This was done using gloss yellow enamel applied by bow-pen, neat from the tin. All the books on painting and lining say that more or less neat gloss paint should work properly through a bow-pen (unless there's a fault with the pen itself) and this proved to be the case. However, the paint only has to be a little off its freshness to not flow properly, and it's then that I find it very difficult to thin it back down to the right consistency. There is probably an argument for sticking to fresh bottles for lining. In the above picture, the lowest pair of sides has also had the black line drawn down the middle of the yellow - again after giving the yellow at least a day to harden. In this case I couldn't get acceptable flow from my bow-pen with my existing black gloss bottle, so I opted to use a 0.25mm Rotring pen. Personally I find using these pens a lot more intuitive than either a bow-pen or a Bob Moore lining pen; it's just a pity that they only take inks. The other four sides were treated similarly, and I then made a start on the assembly of the first complete coach, shown here with its roof loosely in position: Things were going spiffingly until I noticed something odd: all the black lining had disappeared! It turned out that just handling the coach had caused all the Rotring lines to rub off, presumably because, going onto gloss yellow, they hadn't had much to key on. Time for a cup of tea! I redid the lining, which wasn't all that harder even though the sides were no longer flat, and then went back over all six sides with a coat of satin varnish, applied carefully so as not to disturb the lining already present. Close-up of the lining at the end of the coach: I'm pleased with the overall effect from normal viewing distance, and it's certainly a lot better than my first attempt at lining one of these coaches, in my teenage years. Now progress must wait as I want to add some seats and passengers before (regrettably) having to fix the roof in place. However, I am very happy with the batch-production method of doing these, and will be taking a similar approach with some LNWR coaches from the same stable. While I was in painting and lining mood, I also tackled this Ratio GWR four-wheeler composite, seen next to the brake third I built a couple of years ago. These are on the Mainly Trains etched chassis. I think there's something a bit doubtful about the overall relationship between footboards, solebar and coach sides but there is possibly some scope for getting the bodies to sit a bit more snugly onto the chassis. In the meantime, though, I need to finish two more of these coaches. This is what operating Wenlock's llayout, and reading Mikkel's blog, does to a chap.

Morning all Just a quick note to say Clevedon will be at Expo EM Autumn next weekend 9/10 Sept at Partington Thereafter it will be at the WCPR Group show at Portishead on 22 October where it will be paired with Weston WCPR which is coming out of retirement for this one day, one off event. Later it will be at Tolworth showtrain in November. Good news is that the layout is up and working though I've a few little jobs to sort this week and I have a new wagon for the fleet. Ah, exhibition deadlines. I remember them! Come and say hello if you're passing.