aberdare

I look forward to seeing the results of your work as I also think trees need to be as realistic as possible and it is something that I aim for on my own layout, I use both the copper wire method and natural. I never really followed any particular method as I just looked at what I had available and dived in, after all each tree is always a unique item in itself and am always fascinated to see the odd way some grow. My wire examples start around p9 post 214 ( I think) of my thread and end on p13, natural ones appear later if you are interested. I hope you achieve the look you are after, best of luck Jim

I must admit that I do not spend money on anything I can make myself apart from base materials, in the case of the trees I was lucky enough to have a several metres of speaker wire left over from some work years ago, add to that some left over flexible grey floor tile grout, then paint, PVA and water all mixed in an empty weed killer spray bottle and a few hours later a tree, Even my foliage was mostly made from dried & dyed tea leaves so all in all probably even cheaper than the ones you are looking at. Others come from dwarf shrubs such as Thyme grown from 60p nursery plants and again PVA, tea leaves and a bit of hairspray, I am now also starting to use some silk lap that I picked up for 85p when I took the wife to one of her Sewing & Knitting fairs. So I keep costs to a minimum by foraging about in mine and others gardens as well as the local hedgerows, I can then spend my money on things such as the Stadden figures that I can't make, I did have a go once though, but they looked even worse than Frankensteins monster. So if it works it works and if not, well we tried and failed, so what, have a go at something else as it might just work. All the best Jim

Hi Gary Those trees from the model tree shop look much better than what you had so I would definitely go with them and with what you have planned they should end up looking pretty good, as for trees near the line I do know on the line I am modelling there were plenty just over the railway boundary fencing on the farmland. For the first 24 years of the CVLR being open the station was actually over shadowed by some rather tall trees on nearby land. Personally I like to make my own trees to get the unique look of each but then again I love the scenic side of things. Jim

I too thought about buying the latest 1860 set with the free figures but took a little time out to think about it and decided not to, there would just be too many I could not use as good as they are, The only use would be the same as Edwardian suggested in mentioning the opening ceremony of the line - 1876 for me - where that type of dress can be seen. I'll definitely be buying a few of the driver/fireman sets though. Jim

That is a heck of a lot of slates to fit Paul and a lot of brickwork to paint later too. I think that amount of repetitive work would test my patience and I would have to have a good few breaks, it'll be a stunning feature once done though with a length of almost five feet. Jim

Hi Neil I may have to see if I can make any time to investigate Inkscape as it seems to be the preferred package for a lot of people now especially for more complex work, so far I have stuck with the supplied software as it has been capable of doing everything I have asked of it so far, the trouble is the time to use what I learn before I forget it again and end up back to square one. I really need to make more use of the cutter though rather than it sitting back in its box for months on end, maybe I need to spend more winter evenings drawing stuff up ready for cutting later, then again I already have a few other bits waiting for me to use. Back to that thing called time again. Glad to see that you are making progress though and I will keep an eye open for more posts when I can. All the best Jim

I have now completed building the rest of the walls to give me some stronger box sections for handling and then placed this on a board with some corner blocks inside to keep the whole structure square, a necessity to allow me to form the roof shapes. These have also now been fitted and I can start to fit the windows and secure them before roofing commences, the windows are some etched ones from the early 80s that I had and the fineness of them seemed to suit the factory well as will be seen in the pictures. This one is not fixed yet as I just wanted to see how it looked, as this will be the office I do have another with opening lights at the top that could be more suitable and may be chosen instead although the window aperture will need widening by about a millimetre. Here are a few photos to show progress to date. I only have to decide on how I am going to have the glazing bars in the curved sections above the main windows, the picture I have seems to show a fan pattern but that may just be a step too far for a building that will sit near the back of the layout, but we'll see. Catch you all later with more progress, hopefully next week. Thanks for dropping in. Jim

Nick Doncaster is definitely one of the shows I can make as I can get there in an hour or so, I will make plans to visit nearer the time all being well. I shall be looking forward to that visit immensely. Jim

Hi Nick I know what it is like to suffer from a few cobwebs out in the shed but luckily for me the largest ones are up near the roof and not on the layout, as for the tree I guess that is one of the hazards of an exhibition layout - bits fall off - at least with mine the leaf fall remains pretty stable, that is as I modeled it. It's also good to hear about what you are doing at Pendon with the younger generation. One day I would like to see MM but sadly I think I am just too far north for that to be feasible. Keep up the good work. Jim

Hi Gary I wondered where you had got to as I had not come across any posts on here and I noted that you had left YMR, it was only the fact I spotted your other post today and followed the link here that I found out you are still modelling away. Even though this is not my 'kind of thing' I see that it is still up to your usual high standard, I shall have to try and remember to drop in from time to time. Jim

Hi Al I love that solution to the seating, so simple and yet so effective. As you know I am not one for doing interiors but I do enjoy watching how you go about yours especially when they are illuminated as well. Going back a few posts I think the minimum glazing bar thickness I got was 0.35mm but it does seem to depend on the support around that bar, in my case some of the panes were only 2 or 3mm in size so that seemed to help. Keep up the good work. Jim

Thanks Andy, I like to share when I can as I remember very well how I was inspired by others sharing their work when I first joined, with a bit of luck I should keep doing this for a while yet. Chris - Yes I have and I am hoping to get to York next year so I can buy a few bits for the detailing. As for the pace that is because this is the quick bit - building a framework - it will slow up a bit for some of the work to come. Mikkel, the carcass and brickwork are cut out on the portrait cutter, the stone on the mill are Slaters with the front being an overlay on the brick that I thought looked wrong, like you I like the changes in size as well as the materials as it seems to show the history of an expanding business over the years. The larger bay on the right is the one that had the first line extended across the road from the station into the building, that may help why it is larger than the others. The rest of the building is under construction so then I'll have a much more stable structure to handle, I have also selected a base to build it on now to keep it all square and eventually to have a surface for cobbles or sets that were in the yard. Jim

Hi Chris Congratulations on the Grand daughter. The coaches are coming along well and I like the idea of your little jig for the seats, just goes to show how some simple things can make life so much easier. I am looking forward to seeing them completed, are you brush painting or spraying them as I am interested to see how they turn out around the handles etc, I have always left them until last and just been careful not to mess up my paintwork. All the best Jim

Hi Jeff. You can't take your eye of this topic for a minute or else it's all change, I'll have to try and stop those little one or two day breaks away that I have. I can sympathise with what you are going through as I have done the same on a couple of occasions, I remember talking to Jason about this at Hull a couple of years back as to why I never did. The first time was when I first started back in 1980ish and I wanted to build everything from kits or scratch but I let my old man talk me out of it, he only wanted a big layout to run his stock on and also tried to get me to model the mid 30s. I wasn't having that though. I then thought about it really seriously again around 2002/3 and had a few discussions at the Doncaster show about converting to EM, I was well paid then and still just short of 50 years old, so plenty of time and money, then I changed jobs and moved house and that was that until I retired here 7 years later with those two critical elements. As Hemyock and Tiverton Junction will be two separate layouts joined by a cassette I did consider it again for the former but abandoned that idea when I realised I would need two of everything for that line. So I didn't do it as time and money would stop me from ever completing what I want, so how does that help you? Well, if I was in your shoes I would because I think you can tell it is one of those things that has and still does play on my mind and I wish I had told my old man not to interfere in my layout just as I didn't in his. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though isn't it. All the best in your decision mate and I look forward to whatever it is you decide as KL will be great either way, the scenics will always make it special and that is why I spend so much time on mine as it is more important than the track to me as life is. Jim

Gosh! Thanks Neil but all I try to do is my best in whatever way I can, it can take a few attempts sometimes though. Right a bit of modelling has continued and I have a structure for the old mill now built in stone, the frontage of the rest of the building is almost complete with the exception of the loading bay and canopy, once I have the full building footprint complete it will be the windows next. A few pics to show progress. I will make the rear walls out of plain card painted brick colour as I will be the only one who will see them in that far corner of the layout. If the build keeps going at this pace then I may just have a go at the tiles on the roof later but whichever style I choose I know it will be one of the longest jobs bar the final colouring which will get done loads of times before I will be content with the finished building. As long as I can get it looking something like the original and reproduce some of those early pictures in miniature I will be very happy. Jim

Hi Chris Thanks Chris but I think I have found out most of what I need to know now. I gathered together everything I have and had a good close look at it all, the bays are actually wooden and they or something similar were there before the new factory was built in 1897. I noticed also that they had pantiles on the roof not slates as I first thought but I may go for the latter as it is quicker and easier, I don't think I could face making tiles for a roof that size but you never know as I am prone to changing my mind if I get need to 'do it right'. I've chosen to do the mill in stone as I feel that is right and the new frontage I have made already looks better, some materials just suit a building and it will add to the general scene in that corner of the layout. Still not sure of the office or its doors yet but I have been comparing the OS maps of 1888 and 1903 to highlight where new building has taken place so I have a few options now. Having just got all appointments and other things out of the way I hope to make good progress over the coming days, fingers crossed that that is the case. Jim

Hi Andy, thanks, the River is one of the main features as it will be around 14ft long when finished so it deserved some special attention so I'm pleased that it is looking the part. The Butter factory will take me most of the winter as it is around 400mm long 100/120mm deep but I hope to complete it, only the goods shed to go then. Hi Mikkel, there is a path in real life coming to a bend and pool in the river- albeit in the other direction - so it was always going to be there, I do like to try and get a number of things to look at in each view without overdoing it, another reason for the lone figure, enough to break the scene but not crowd it. Interestingly his walking stick is a panel pin that I hammered in to hold him up, looks OK though. Hi Chris, your comment made me smile as you should see my proper modelling bench outside, at least 6 shoe boxes, loads of coffee jars and any number of lids, pots and containers everywhere. The one you see is the concession made to allow me to model on the Dining Table. Hi Al, Thanks but no accident this time, I can't think of what could have happened with 1/2lb 250g of butter though, The title as you guess is the fact that the building has been cut on the Portrait cutter, the very fine mortar lines make it difficult to paint though. I have had a few busy days so have not achieved as much as I had hoped so progress will be slow until nearer the end of the week. I did manage to get some doors made and fitted to the Mill end and get some paint on it. The doors do open and close as I like them to do that so I can model inside should I get the time. Another reason for a pause is to think about the two loading bays, I can't tell from the photos what the finish is as there is no sign of brickwork and the only planking appears to be a canopy over the left hand door. It could be a rendered finish over stone/brick, this got me thinking then as a lot of the industry and farm buildings were nearly all stone and as I don't really know what the mill was built of it is possible that this was stone. Being an early building I think that may have been the case so I need to make my mind up so I can change it before I build the rest, I wouldn't mind that as I want it to stand out against the new (1897) factory. Another thing is as I only know what part of the front and rear elevations look like I have no idea where an office door or main entrance would have been as I can see none apart from the bays, so I could assume that the business is still ran mainly from the original one in the Village or maybe from the large cottage I built which I have assumed was the original mill owners property. As you can see this isn't exactly a well detailed and planned project but I'm sure it will all turn out OK in the end.

Thank you all for the likes and further comments' The river is nearing completion but will probably be left for the winter as I will spend more time in and around the house, so a quick couple of pictures to show how it will remain until the spring when more weed growth and higher water levels occur. A lone walker watches a driverless loco rumble over the bridge, is this the so called 'Ghost train' he had heard talk of? As he stood dazed and motionless he realised it must have been a figment of his imagination, how long he stood there he can't remember but a number of trees seem to have grown rather quickly. A slightly wider shot showing the whole scene to date. With modelling moving indoors I had to decide on a project so I chose to get the Butter factory built, this can be seen in the background of this picture and is one of a couple I have to work from for the original building, I do have much better quality pictures though .http://blackdownarchives.org.uk/category/trades/milk-factory/page/3/ I started off with the walls scribed out on my portrait cutter as this was the best way to form the brickwork and windows, which took a fair bit of time, it was just then a case of cutting out the parts and windows. The painting has been started but is far from finished, the unpainted parts are the bays for milk delivery and shipping of butter at the end of the siding, the far end is the corn mill which was still in use at the time. Finally a view of my winter work station which I hope to put to good use over the coming months, fingers crossed. Jim

A lovely looking loco now she is finished Mikkel, especially with those red wagons behind. It just makes me realise how much work I still have ahead of me yet, ah well I'll get there eventually. It sounds as if you need to invest in an airbrush too, it does make life a lot easier and I remember my first one, a cheap Humbrol one powered by a compressor from an old Dentists drill, things have moved on a bit since though. Jim

Hi Jamie I just saw the title of your thread saying you were going back to buildings so thought I would have a quick look, well it turned into quite a long look as I think all of your buildings are very good - as is the rest of your modelling - so I will follow this whenever I get the chance. As for you being one of the slowest modellers on here you would have to 'owd tha hosses' a bit to be as slow as I am now. Great work across all aspects of modelling and very informative and inspirational. Jim

Belated birthday wishes from me as well Shaun, nothing wrong with being in your 50s, I was still walking up and down Scottish mountains then, it's that 60+ one that gets you and the agility goes a bit and you keep tripping over your feet. Well I do anyway so just stick to the hills of Yorkshire now. Layout looks to be coming on great and I still marvel at the carpentry that is ending up under all that scenery. Keep up the good work. Jim

Hi Jeff I agree with most if not all of what you and Jason are saying as my own work will show a good representation of the places I model within the constraints of the shed, it is that sense of place that makes them easily recognisable that is more important to me than any timetable. As for stock it will represent the period with one or two specials that appeal to me that may or may not have been seen back in 1904 and that goes for the odd loco too, the branch locos though will be as close to prototype as I can make them. The running will be mainly for the entertainment of visitors only as I will easily be engrossed in building stuff for the rest of my days, chances are they will only run a couple of times a year then, that's even less than the four trains a day that ran to Hemyock six days a week.

Hi Chris When I saw your post this morning that was exactly my thought but I didn't have time to reply then, I also solder them on a bit of aluminum angle to hold one of the pieces still and then use a very fine point soldering bit. All looking good so far and I shall eagerly await the next step, in your own time of course' I like the comment about your wife though as it reminds me of mine who often says "Who's going to notice a tiny thing like that, I wouldn't bother". Jim

Mine needs updating too, like John mine was built almost 40 years ago. I think you have definitely shown us the way to go here Mikkel so thanks for that, mine will be used at the Junction (eventually) as there was a saddle tank based there though it was an outside framed one which I think was numbered 1923** but without consulting my notes I can't be sure but I know in the early days it was known as 'Dromedary'. Now see what you have done though, another project logged on the to do list Great work as usual Jim edit.* I was miles out it was 1325