kirtleypete

Yes, reduced in size for 4mm scale. They are very like what is on the river bank today, although who knows what it looked like in the 1950's. No doubt a picture will turn up when it's all finished, Peter

I've about finished the row of houses, and now I need to wait for all the fun stuff to arrive for the gardens. I won't fix them to the baseboard until that's all complete, and then I can add the rest of the model around them in situ. Paul pointed out that dormer windows in York are glazed on the sides, called 'York Lights', so I've altered them to reflect that. The model is at the correct level now, the water will be at baseboard level. The bridge piers are the next job, and then I can think about modelling the river itself. Peter

I couldn't paint those red brick decorative courses as neatly as the printed walls Richard. Even better, if you mess up a bit you just glue a new piece over the top! Peter

I've added the front gardens and footpath; there' scope for a lot of fun detailing these, but I'll have to do some shopping first. Peter

I'm waiting for the go ahead from my customer, but my preference is for the self adhesive vinyl sheets from ID Backscenes. They won't stick to the MDF so I glue a thin sheet of aluminium in front of that and the vinyl then sticks beautifully. The aluminium can be ordered cut to size and curving it isn't a problem; the cut out for the tracks can be done with a Stanley knife. I will probably go for the 0-9mm thickness. I don't see the point in trying to paint something that will end up not looking as good, Peter

I have put the terrace in place on the baseboard just to make sure it fits, (it does!), and to photograph it for my customer. I think a job that needs doing soon is to put on the backscene as it needs doing before anything else is fixed to the baseboard, but in the meantime there is the bridge to construct. The separate piece on the right will be attached securely and the backscene will continue behind the terrace. The terrace will be at a higher level, of course. I should finish the terrace today, and then work begins on the bridge. Peter

Two more pictures: Peter

I've begin work on the four bay windows on the middle section of the terrace. I made up the basic shape using three pieces of 3mm clear plastic. While they hardened off I added the roof and steps. Next three pieces of 20 thou plastic card were cut to size for each window and stuck in place with solvent. The glazing bars were added at the same time. Brick paper was stick over these leaving a white window frame showing, followed by the window sill from square section Plastruct, and the roof form three pieces of 40 thou. The stone band above the window is a strip of paper. The are gaps in the window sill that need filling but I'll do that when all four are ready. When I've finished the bays there are four dormer windows to add as well, Peter

I should have realised Jonathan - sorry. What I am doing with the terrace is pretty much the same thing, but three dimensional rather than two. Peter

Yes, just a flat sheet of paper but the image is a photo of a real roof so the slates look three dimensional. I do a range of building papers which I e-mail to people free of charge; they are 7mm scale but it's easy enough to resize them. Have a look at www.kirtleymodels.co.uk for pictures of them. The bricks are the same, taken from a photo of a real brick wall...it really is much easier than painting them! Peter

The row of houses has moved on a little. I'm not sure what's happened to the missing rows of red brick! it's not a problem, I can put on overlays. The white line won't show where the two pieces are joined; a drain pipe and a big tree in the front garden will see the that. I'll make sure all the red brick courses join up too. I'll leave the chimneys until the whole terrace is complete and then do them all at the same time. Peter

That's great Richard, it's made my day! Jonathan, I use an impact adhesive such as Evostick...I use the cheap version from Wilkos which works very well. Ignore what it says about letting it go tacky, just put the glue onto the back of the paper and put it straight onto the plastic, pressing it down with your fingers. A clear tube glue such as Bostick or UHU works just as well. Peter

I've made a start on the terrace. The printed walls are stuck to a piece of 1mm/40 thou plastic card, and braced on the back with square section Plastruct. The gable walls are 2mm thick as there are no openings. The windows are cut from two layers of 20 thou plastic, stuck to a rectangle of 3mm thick clear plastic glazing which gives lots of strength to the building. I added the upper sash from 1mm square plastic strip. The curtains are printed on paper (the pictures pinched from websites selling real curtains), stuck behind the windows and then the whole thing is stuck to a piece of black card ready to be cut out when the glue is dry. With the windows stuck in place and the roof in position it is beginning to look like a building. This section is a third of the total length. The white areas are where the bay windows will be. The doors are simply printed on paper but look very convincing. I'm out tomorrow so the next update will be on Tuesday. Peter

Hi Paul, I came up and took several hundred photo's in August, but if I find I've missed anything I'll let you know. I've looked for pictures of the terrace in the 50's or 60's but haven't come up with anything, but gardens change over time anyway so I'm not too worried. The windows in the houses are modern replacements too, but I can back date those. I tried adjusting and printing the brick to look more dirty but it just looked awful so in the end I used it just as it was in the photo and I think it looks OK on the hotel with the stonework weathered and dirtied. It's a fine line, and weathering on buildings is very hard to take off again if you've overdone it. Peter

I've decided to build the row of terraced houses first which stand on the river bank, 'Earlsborough terrace'. They are built using a mixture of yellow and red brick, so I'm doing the artwork and effectively creating a printed kit: It still needs resizing, but hopefully it should look OK once it's built up. Peter

Brilliant, thanks Paul. It's details such as the design of the railings that I want to get right, probably a job for laser cutting. A bit wet under foot when you took that picture, wasn't it! Peter

I just did the hotel, my customer has done the rest. His track building is superb, and what's more he actually enjoys it! I'm looking forward to doing the river, really it's a diorama that will then be slotted into the rest of the layout. Peter

I've just found this excellent picture of the original railway bridge over the Ouse, conforming that the girders were painted grey. Scalelink do etched lattice which will be ideal for that job. The replacement bridge looks very similar, but has been painted green. I've just bought this picture from Colour Rail - exactly what I needed! Peter

The hotel has been delivered, and thankfully it fits! The board it is standing on is just temporary, but it allowed us to make sure the model would look OK in position. The end screen isn't in the right position, we just wanted to see how it looked. We are going to move the small octagonal building so it does not take up part of the platform, which I allowed for when I built it. The next job is the River Ouse and the railway bridge, so I have brought this board home to work on. This is how it should end up looking (with luck!). Peter

Yes, this is just the first part.... I've the river section to do next so that the track can then be laid and continued beyond the bridge. Following that will be the main station and overall roof, and later in 2021 loco sheds and other such buildings. There's a lot to do! I'll be describing it all on here as it develops. Peter

You're very kind chaps - as to where I go next, it's across the river Ouse and a row of houses on the far bank. Slightly fewer windows than the hotel, thankfully! Peter

Well, it's finished - finally! I'll be delivering it tomorrow and coming home with a baseboard which will have the river and railway bridge on, the next part of the project. The hotel will need a slot cutting on it's baseboard for the basement section, so hopefully that is a job that can be done tomorrow so it sits in place correctly. The final picture shows where it is going to stand. Peter One detail that might amuse you - those stone 'urns' in top of the walls are actually 0 scale oil lamps!

I've finally completed the last window!! Tomorrow I'll weather everything and make the octagonal tea room that is going to be kept separate until the hotel is in place on the layout. Delivery will be on Saturday. Peter This shows what a huge difference a little diluted black paint makes to the windows and drain pipes. I'll do the rest tomorrow.

I'm pleased with that Richard, because being only 2/3rds full size everything seems to be ending up in the wrong place! All the white areas will be toned down considerably when the model is complete, they look very bright at the moment. Peter

I haven't weighed it but it's not all that heavy, the inside is empty space. The problem now is lifting it without knocking something off! Five more pictures are below; I need a couple of days now and it will be finished. Peter