Tim Hale

Photos, please. Tim

A large hammer? Surely not on such a wonderful layout such as Eridge? Tim

Before we get all pedantic, the building is just plonked down to see if it fits. Of course, there is a gap at the bottom but I bet that won't be there in six weeks time. Can you see the visual clues from Axminster? Tim

http://www.rmweb.co....eaton-junction/ Although by no means fully representative, Seaton Junction or rather its general appearance provides the inspiration for Beaminster Road, unfortunately having no more that 16'x10' dictates that only a very small station can be built but you can still see the visual clues. There are other stations on the route which are equally blessed but the proximity and preservation(albeit by neglect) of Seaton Junction does help in capturing the 'atmosphere' of the Yeovil-Exeter mainline. However it is only a pastiche and not a copy which allows a location of my choice and to omit the other essential 'Seaton Junction' features. Meanwhile, the awful Ratio concrete fencing is ready for planting and weathering, it is a horrible kit. Tonight, I have to drill lots of little holes, exactly 20mm apart and 'plant' the fence. Tim

Adam, Thank you for sharing the build, it is rather stunning. Tim

Looking a lot more green and not so brown. The wispy bit of green in the lower photo is some grass fibres that has escaped my notice. A bit of difference in the last month? Next job is to complete the grass, remembering not to use the B&Q PVA (it's carp) and then build fences, turnout rodding, fill in the cess, fifty trees to make and all the other fun bitsn'pieces that make a complete layout. If everything goes well, the layout will be ready for the Open Day (check RMweb diary) between Boxing and New Year's Day Tim

Rather than waste a day and considerable expense, I decided to do some modelling - you know it is the right thing to do and the layout won't be finished driving to Surrey. This was the stationmaster's house in September '11, it was used as a experiment in 'Gardening for Modellers' for the SWAG April meeting in Taunton and appeared in MI2. The garden looks rather bountiful and capable of providing the Stationmaster with some home grown vegetables. Here is the almost finished scene, it still needs a fence, gate and other small details but the surrounding vegetation seems to happily blend with the building in its new location. All the boards are 120cm x 75cm except the end boards which bridge the gap, these are 150cm x 75cm. The concrete slabs still exist at Seaton Junction. Tim

The GrassTech is a very useful bit of kit, a few more days of slopping on PVA and then doing the shake n'vac, it will then be just the detailing and trees. The concrete came better than I had hoped, the photos don't do the textured finish any favours but it really is rougher than a rough thing, maybe some more weathering and cracks? Yes, it is a Hornby Dublo footbridge. Tim

Bauxite version inbound to compliment lovely weathered grey version from Cambrian by Neil (thanks Neil) Tim

A bit of a postscript - the layout should be up and running (and largely finished) by Christmas, would anyone care to see it in action during the holiday break? Tim

Rather good, I wish that I had your skills. Tim (Pink with envy)

Not much apparent progress and yet lots of work since the last post, notably the surface of the goods yard is now a rather tactile concrete and the first sprouts of vegetation around the edges. The geometric grid is the joints of the concrete slabs - drawn with a thick 2B pencil and subsequently textured with Heki static grass. Unfortunately no goods yards still exist on South West mainline but the closed yard at Seaton Junction had large swathes of concrete and recent trip to Germany revealed recently abandoned yards made from 7m square slabs of concrete. To soften the effect, there will be a great deal of encroaching vegetation plus a layer of dusty gravel with a few potholes revealing the source of the gravel. Tim

I should'nt say too much but isn't that RTP Provender store a little beauty? The corrugated store is a Bill Jones' original, I need to paint it in faded SR green with a bit of crumbly rust at the edges. In a week or so, the trackwork will be painted and detailed, I bought some new vegetation back from Berlin and it will transform the scene however I do like the juxtaposition of the two buildings, they just look right. Tim

After a short break, work can be rejoined. Placing the buildings in their respective location to judge whether the 'whole' looks reasonably similar to a typical small station on the Yeovil-Exeter line, do they still look 'harmonious'? The goods yard is appropriately small, as with other locations it can only be entered in one direction and there is no 'proper' goods shed so a Provender store and a corrugated lock-up must suffice. The image may look unfinished but I have two months* to apply three packets of Heki static grass and produce about twenty various trees to complete the scene. The station at Seaton Junction still provides the majority of the inspiration but I keep returning to my pictures of Hursley - how did Martyn get some much into such a small space? Soon, running can recommence and a U-class is eagerly awaited to take over from the interloper in the platform. Tim *Hopefully the layout will be ready for an open day over the Christmas break.

The 1:76th Ivo Peter's Bentley is due in Feb '13, which should please a lot of enthusiasts.