LDM34046

I agree Graham, I might have to channel my inner Bob Ross!

The shrubs look excellent. How did you achieve them?

Right I’m done. I promise.

Packet number two of DAS acquired and it’s more landscaping, bare with me here… My biggest gripe with Lancaster Lane was how flat the scenics were to the rear of the baseboard and this was something I wanted to alleviate on the new project. Being deep in the country, trees will pay a big part of this remote woodland village. More DAS was laid to create an uneven landscape in the background, hopefully creating an inclosed feel to the station halt once finished. A small track was created that disappears into the backscene with the idea that the road travels somewhere. With trees on either side of the track getting denser towards the back the idea is it conceals the path going off into the distance. More work was added to the large hill at the western end of the layout, smoothing out a few gradients. The large gap between the station and street should house the low relief brewery building. A small scatter of grass and trees in front of the building should blend it into the layout and make it less intrusive. I still need to draw up and design the brewery, based loosely on the building at Aberfeldy. As for the blending of the backscene. I’m still in two minds on how to approach it. I wasn’t a fan of the solid blue expanse that was at the back of Lancaster Lane. The first option is to find a generic woodland backscene and cut it and shape it to fit the different areas of the layout. The second option is to create my own photo backscene using photos from my own collections. Something I briefly experimented with in photoshop. From a low level perspective I think it looks the most realistic however trying to stitch different photos together from the same perspective (and seasons) maybe tricky. My third approach. Considering 90% of the backscene aside from the street scene is made up of woodland, try my hand at some freehand watercolours? Even some rough painting of foliage and trees on the backscene would help bridge the gap with the real trees on the layout. I’m open to any and every suggestion… As for scenics I think I’m there or there abouts. Anymore and I think it’ll be over done. In my head I’ve got a plan of how each scene will work, despite the vast rolling hills of clay, I think they’ll look good once greenery is applied. Next Chapter: Track & Ballast!

Having operated the layout for a few weeks now one of the noticeable changes I wanted to make was making the station longer. Another Wills kit was ordered and now the platform can comfortably fit a loco and suburban coach. The kit itself is probably the vaguest thing I’ve ever built. Designed to held together by hope and optimism. Lots of offcuts of plastic sprue were used to hold the different platform sections together. Once it’s painted and weathered with some signage it should look better. 5775 tests the platform out for size.

Ballast has been ordered. Went for N Gauge ballast in the end. Think it will look much more to scale against the bullhead sleepers. A few Deluxe Materials products ordered along with a few paints and materials should keep me busy to make a start on the scenics. Visited my local narrow gauge railway at the weekend for their yearly exhibition. Only a few layouts however the line put on a good roster for photography.

How uncanny! Looks very similar the layout. Right down to the locomotives and vehicles. Is the crossing still there? Or has it since been lifted? I wonder what the 15 on the front of the loco refers to? Not something I’ve seen modelled before.

Tonight’s little 10 minute project was to get the crossing finished. Regular Code 75 track was cut to length and bent at the ends to form the check rails. These were then glued directly to the sleepers. DAS clay was then used to fill the gap and bring level to the rest of the roadway. Any excess will be removed once it’s dry and the railhead sanded and cleaned for continuity. Ready for paint!

Productive night last night working on some more of the scenics as I’m keen to get painting! The main hillside was made up of layers of foam board to build up the gradient and form the rough shapes. A card strip was glued down to create a rough path up the hillside to the house. DAS was then used to create the bulk form of the hill. It’s still in it’s rough and ready form and needs to be filled and sanded to hide any holes and edges. It’s nice to have a bit of height and variation on the layout. As more land forms get added it’s getting easier to visualise different areas of the layout and how it all ties together. Small mounds of clay were also added in between the track to break up the flat expanse of track. Some landforms were also added right at the front of the layout, similar to Lancaster Lane. Again, to break up the flat areas. This also forms the road that leads to and from the garage and street area. Going to be experimenting with paints and varnishes to create a muddy track. I’ll pretend I’ve got a plan…

The era modelled started out at 1959 - 1962 with the introduction of Class 25’s starting production in 1961. The full yellow ends didn’t make an appearance til some years later so a bit of modellers license is required!

They are addictive I feel! The first but not the last! I’m sure it’ll look right at home with some blood and custard stock. I want to collect a few early diesels just to break up the roster with the steam stock. Mainly light engine or mixed goods on my layout.

The newbie rumbles into town… Thanks to a rather generous competition on the TRS Trains Facebook page I won this train a few weeks ago! Originally BR Blue it’s been repainted BR Green to suit my era of modelling. The party piece is a smoke generator synced to the DCC Sound fitted onboard. Although I’m not usually fond of sound, this does look and sound rather impressive rumbling around the layout. I’m sure a video will follow, although I’m current knuckle deep in some DAS Clay working on the other end of the layout…hold tight.

Definitely a light wash and some highlights for the stone edges. The base will be blended in with some foliage and the top of the bridge will be a dirt path. Wouldn’t be a model railway without a bus on a bridge! Not big enough for a bus but big enough for a car. Will be modelled as a single lane dirt track.

So Colin at Flexxgenix has once again pulled out the stops and created this road bridge to cover the scenic break at the western end of the layout. The bridge is made from lasercut MDF built and designed to the measurements I sent over. The face of the bridge is again covered in 2mm MDF which has been laser engraved to produce the stone texture. The process is still in it’s experimental phase but the results look brilliant. The engraving does really well at picking out the uneven brickwork on the surface. The original plan was to paint it entirely however the raw colours aren’t far off what I want to achieve. I think some dry brush highlighting and weathering will finish it off nicely.

Nothing new to report. The Royal Mail strikes have meant a few materials for the scenics have yet to arrive so progress has halted. I’ve also been recently enjoying my military history over the last week or so followed by a trip to Duxford yesterday. Back to a local model railway exhibition next weekend which should hopefully kick the modelling gears back into action.

New additions. Motor Oil delivered to the garage. Business must be booming!

I realised I’ve never show the finished control panel. Based on the wooden template I originally created, I sent the measurements to Colin at Flexxgenix. He produces a number of lasercut products and recently did the sign for Lancaster Lane. The toggle switches are sandwiched between two pieces of MDF which then creates a flush finish on the acrylic on top. An annotated layout plan helps makes sense of the points, something I noticed might be of help at exhibitions. The two toggle switches control the two Dapol signals at either end of the layout. The writing was created by engraving the back of the acrylic just enough that a clear channel appeared on the front. This was then infilled with white paint to highlight the text. Four small hex nuts fix the panel to the layout. The measurements coincide with the NCE Powercab next to it and really smarten up the front of the board. Highly recommend Flexxgenix and the work he produces if you’re looking for bespoke lasercutting. Not a paid ad, just a very satisfied customer!

The ballasting looks spot on for the bullhead track. Can I ask what brand you used?

Straight and true. Sanded down the road tonight to level it out further. Still not 100% flat so might go for a second pass. A few of the buildings need straightening up slightly as well. The garage area coming together. Complete with smooth forecourt. The end of the siding has been given a small patch of hard standing. Once blended into the ballast and ground cover this should give a nice ‘yard’ feels for the siding. And finally, clearing out the rails and making sure that trains run smoothly.

A busy evening last night tackling the DAS clay. Rolled out in small patches and then patted and smoothed out on the layout. A layer of PVA underneath to aid adhesion. The two garages in place and a close up of the high street. All the buildings have been countersunk to avoid any gaps or light leak. The road is relatively smooth, for some reason the lighting really picks out the shadows. There’s definitely a few spots that could be smoother. These edges can be sanded down once it’s dry. Once the surface has been painted and road surface applied they’ll be less noticeable. One does question the quality of roads in 1950’s rural Britain! A crude close up of the crossing. Shows the ‘wrinkles’ of clay around the buildings that need addressing. The trains run smoothly across the crossing however any excess clay will be picked out of the inside of the rails once it’s dry. I still need to fashion some check rails to make the inside of the crossing. Will tidy up some more of the road tonight before turning my attention to the crossing itself and then weathering and detailing the rest of the track.

Good Evening! I hope everyone is coping well with the heat. Last week or so I’ve not stepped foot near the layout other than to check the track hasn’t buckled under the heat. Tonight seemed to be the first ‘reasonable’ night of heat to do anything. I decided to sit in the garden and get stuck into the two Fair Price Models on the layout. Thoroughly impressed with the kits. Super easy to build and really sturdy. Still yet to add the details as I need to decide whether to use Wills Sheets or DAS Clay to create the brickwork. All the roof and floors have been left loose so I can detail them with interiors at a later stage. Also tempted to add interior lighting? Need to look into different ways of doing it but I think it’ll pay dividends for some late evening shots. Hopefully next week will be cooler to make a start on the DAS Clay. Also, some new rolling stock to photograph…

The night train.

Not at all hijacking the thread! The photos are greatly appreciated. I’m sure I’m not the only one who could benefit from this! Thank you for the run through, definitely feeling a bit more confident when it comes to laying it now. As with anything in modelling there’s hundreds of different ways to achieve the same result. I noted you laid the Das prior to weathering the track. I had planned to do this first but I suppose the logical step is to get the ‘messy’ business out of the way first. I suppose finding the right temperature for modelling is a personal preference however the 36° heat due next week can’t be good for anything both modelling and modeller alike! Looks like it might be a waiting game for cooler temperatures! Thank you again Rob. Your knowledge is invaluable!

Thank you Rob. That’s incredibly helpful. Do you apply any water to begin with or do you apply ‘dry’ and then add water if needed? Have you experienced any cracking? Does a cool room or warm room work best? I’m very much a newbie, can you tell? 😅 Thank you for your advice!