alanbuttler

Thanks Tim, I was just thinking this morning about how to add a few dents and scrapes :-) Will post up some more photos this evening after I've had a go at it

That is first on the list :-) Along with the driver chatting out the window to him

Thanks, I'll give that a try. My airbrush compressor is on the blink at the moment so when I've worked out what is up with it I'll revisit the transit. I've really enjoyed reading about your two layouts, it is such a photogenic subject area. I found that Bristol archive site particularily inspiring and I'll be creating some new figures based on the guys in those photos.

Thanks Mikkel, it does feel good and is reconnecting me with my products in a really nice way. I'm sure these dioramas are also going to inspire many new ideas. I realised a while back that the only way I was going to get any modelling done was if I could do it in a work setting :-D

The Barton Road diorama is suitable for a few time frames between 1950 and 1980 so I've been collecting vehicles to pose in the scene alongside some suitable Modelu figures. The 1970's period interests me the most, with Bath Road 03's working the Avonside branch cement works and distillers. First up on the list of vehicles to weather is an Oxford Diecast Mk1 Ford Transit. This is my first attempt at weathering a vehicle and I've been following Mick Bonwick's blog notes on the process. Any feedback is much appreciated! First step this morning was to apply Humbrol Matt Cote and the model left for the day whilst I got with printing orders. This evening I set about my first attempt at applying some MIG Productions neutral wash to the body work. The photo I'm working from shows some grime on the lower panels and quite a lot of rust on the bonnet just above the radiator grille and around the headlights. After leaving for 10 minutes the wash is removed using some white spirit to get the desired level of road grime. A little AK Interactive Fuel Stains is used around the filler cap Originally rust had been added using a very fine amount of powder, then I'd remembered I bought some Gundam Real Touch paint markers some years back and had been yet to try them. The set I have comes with Black, Brown, Green, a sort of burnt Orange, Pink and a blurring pen. These pens have two tips, a fine tip and a brush tip. First job was to line out the windows using the fine tip black pen. With some success using the black fine tip I experimented with the brush tip of the brown pen for applying rust to the front of the vehicle, the sills and around the wheel arches. It looks a little heavy handed in close up, I think the whole front end needs toning down. I'll apply some Dullcote in the morning and later experiment with some neutral tone powders. Any tips, thoughts, critique much appreciated! I couldn't resist seeing the transit parked up on Barton Road. It now awaits a driver!

Good to hear from you Andy :-) Hoping to post more over the coming weeks

Thanks - I can't take create for the scene, that is the work of Dan Evason at Tunnel Lane Models (https://www.facebook.com/groups/tunnellanemodelrailways/). He made 3 dioramas for Modelu for product photography :-)

January 2015 was the last time I did any modelling and Modelu was still a figment of my imagination. I was working out my 3 months notice from my IT job, living in Wales with my mother and spending my evenings trying to get my new 3D printer to work consistently. This Dukedog project was one of the first successes in those early days, with 3D printed top feed, sandboxes and whistles (these are in the product range). No 9000 was destined for Oswestry Works, but it looks just as good at home on Dan's Portmadoc diorama. Next job is to lightly weather and and some shed staff. 9018 is still in the same state as it was 5 years ago, awaiting repainting and weathering, the Prairies need renumbering and detailing and the Collett was going to get some sandbox linkages and a few other details.

I recognise that chap, 1404 I think :-D Thanks Mikkel, it is good to be back and making time for modelling. Just been scanning back through my posts and it is strange to think when I was detailing the pannier or snapping bits of dukedogs that Modelu wasn't even on the horizon! Just on a practical level looking at how much I was relying on brass details and scratch built bits. Seems like another world now with what is possible with the printer.

Yes depending on the camera angles! I'm looking to paint some of the pre-grouping figures for product shots so Portmadoc and Barton Road would definitely suit those periods.

My last post to this blog was the last time I did any modelling, way back in February 2015 when I was detialing stock for Oswestry Works. Modelu took over my time completely from then on and the hobby became full time work. 5 years later and I'm blowing the dust off the paints and preparing stock and figures, not for Oswestry unfortunately but for 3 diorama's I've had commissioned for showcasing Modelu products. All that work on Oswestry Works will come to fuitition at some point as it would also serve as a fantastic scene for displaying products. Dan Evason of Tunnel Lane Model Railways has worked his magic on 3 dioramas for Modelu, depicting different periods in order to get the widest possible time settings. I hope to do them justice with figures and stock. Bristol Barton Road Crossing A 14" square diorama of the Barton Road crossing of the Avonside Wharf branch in Bristol. This was originally the terminus of the Bristol & Gloucestershire railway, the line crossing Avon Street and fanning out into wharf sidings. In modern times the line became a branch from Lawrence Hill to a cement terminal, scrap yard and distillers, seeing traffic hauled by Class 03's and later 08's. In the steam era Pug's worked the branch. On the stock list are a BR Green 03, BR Blue 03, BR Blue 08 and a BR early crest Pug. Portmadoc Loco Shed A two road sub-shed of Machynlleth, this shed has always captured my imagination seeing the mix of smaller locos in a residential setting. Stock list includes Collett Goods, 4500, 4575, Dukedog's, and Ivatt 2MT. Barmouth South This diorama will be used as a multi-period from the 1950s up to the 1990s. Stock for the steam era includes Manor's, Moguls, 74xx, 58xx, Collett Goods, Small Prairie Tanks and Dukegods. The diesel era includes Class 24s, Class 25s, Class 31's, Class 37's, Class 40's, Class 101 and Class 150 DMU's.

Modelu are operating from home, posting daily with free post on all UK orders

Hi Ian, It appears my hosting company moved me to a new server on Friday evening and this has caused some issues like the one you had experienced. I had the same today trying to access the whole site - it is hopefully now solved, if you have any further oddities then a browser cache reset (F5) or (CTRL & F5) should sort it. Cheers Alan

Hi Hal, are you trying to download the catalogue?

Thanks David, it was a real pleasure putting it together. It will grow over time to include how to guides and other bits of interest

I have a scan of a chap on file somewhere, do you have a particular pose in mind?

As some of you may have seen already, the BRM London show this weekend has rightly been postponed until later in the year. As a result I've decided to offer free postage to any UK orders placed between today and Sunday evening and have published the brand new Spring 2020 catalogue for free download. Happy modelling folks and stay well and safe https://www.dropbox.com/s/m634m377jz0gxx5/Modelu Catalogue.pdf?dl=0

MODELU News - February 2020 MODELU has moved! The move to Bristol is complete and Modelu is now fully operational in Meriton Foundry in St Philip's Marsh. I'm also pleased to announce that Nicola has joined the team and is helping out with order processing and stock control. You can visit us here for 3D scanning or product sales, just drop us an email or a phone call first to make sure we are in. The Shrewsbury studio is still open for scan bookings. Next Exhibition - RAIL 2020 Our next show will be the 3 day Rail 2020 at Houten, Utrecht from 21-23rd Februay. This will be Modelu's first adventure outside of the UK and an opportunity to develop a range for the continental market. We'll be 3D scanning and will have stock of the range in HO, O and OO. You can find us on stand 1.16 in Hall 1A. Order Times Please note that over the next 2 weeks I'll have very little time in the workshop due to attendance at Rail 2020 and a short break the week after. In my absence Nicola will be processing orders and shipping any orders that have all items in stock. Thank you for your patience during this busy time. Modelu Modellers Facebook Group A new Facebook group has been created for customers to share their creations, discuss techniques, request advice and get inspired! Membership is growing steadily and some great work has been shared already, including Dan Evason's Tunnel Lane, Tom Foster's Cwm Prysor, Tim Watson's 2mm Copenhagen Fields, John Chiver's Shwt, Richard Slate's shed dioramas and Jon Fitness' incredible signals. You can join the new group here. Discontinued Resin Sale We've a number of discounted 2mm, 4mm and 7mm figures for sale in the older red and light grey resins. £1 for 2mm. £2.50 for 4mm and £4.00 for 7mm. These include Industrial, BR steam era, Pendon, Modern Image, WWI and Pre-grouping. This shared spreadsheet contains tabs for N gauge, OO gauge and O gauge with products grouped by category. If you are interested in any discounted figures, drop me an email or Facebook message with your list, orders will be taken on a first come first serve basis. Thanks for looking! Dapol Collaboration Big thanks to Neil at Dapol for giving me access to measure up for bespoke crews. Those magnetic roofs really make a big difference! Scanning sessions are being organised with volunteers from the Severn Valley Railway for the forthcoming 14xx and 45xx, the 57xx, GWR Auto trailer, Sentinel and Jinty. New Products Now Available 0300 - The Ragged Victorians The 'Ragged Victorians - The Great Unwashed' are an award winning living history group, re-enacting the lower classes of Victorian England. c1851. I had the great pleasure of scanning many of the group after an event at the SS Great Britain last October. This first release are nothing like anything I've done before and have been hugely enjoyable to work on. More poses are scheduled for later in the year, including seated people and Victorian loco crews. You can read more about the group on their website and see which events they are attending. 0100 - The Pendon Collection Thanks to the Friends of Pendon for attending a scanning day last October, there are now a large addition of new figures to the Pendon Collection. These include seated people, gardeners, workmen and children. Look out for some of these poses appearing in the Vale Scene in the months to come. 1100 - British Rail 1970s Thanks to Mike Wild and Hornby magazine for their feature on Modelu 3D Scanning at Warley! With the help of the SVR's Nick Willcox and Jeff Atkins original 1970s BR kit, we scanned Mike and created two figures for his Class 52 Western. Both these figures are now in the range along with a new leaning shunter and a BR Guard.

Hi AeBor, the Colas and Freightliner ones are generally the hi-vis ones for quarry workings. Hi there, yes quite a few and you can find them here - https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product-category/finescale-figures/railway-and-lineside/1969-1997-rl/ I've another 3-4 to add and more to come!

Yes, from the 20th January onwards :-)

2mmFS Polka Dots!!

Happy new year all! I've a few new product announcements and some news to share: New Figure Releases 1150-1157 Modern Image Crews In anticipation of the forthcoming Hattons Class 66 locomotives, 8 new modern image figures have been added to the range. These include seated and relaxed poses of crews in Hi-Vis, shirt and tie and polo shirts suitable for Colas, Freightliner, GBRf, EWS, DRS and others. Available now via the website and I'll have stock at Bristol O Gauge show on the 26th January. Big thanks to Mat Grindley for his help with the scans and clothing! 1089-1094 Seated & Smoking Loco Crews Thanks to Nick Willcox from the SVR there are a number of new loco crew figures depicting seated drivers suitable for LNER & BR Standards (available in left or right orientation) along with 3 new figures of crews smoking and rolling cigarettes 0127-0130 New Pendon Figures Four new figures have been added to the Pendon Collection, these include workmen and shop keepers and are a taster of a larger release scheduled for February, including seated passengers, children and other general public figures. Andrew Barclay & P Class Crews Originally designed for the Hatton's Andrew Barclay and P Class locomotives, these eight figures depicting Pre-Grouping, BR and Industrial figures are now available in all scales. The poses suit a wide variety of other locos. 2109 GWR Point Rodding Starter Pack For those looking to give point rodding a trial, a new starter pack of rodding has been added to the website. These are available in 4mm and 7mm and contain the following rollers: 4mm – 10x 1 way rollers & 5x 3 way rollers 7mm – 5x 1 way rollers & 2x 2 way rollers Modelu is moving! 2020 is starting on a really positive note for Modelu. I've just taken keys for a new workshop in Bristol at Meriton Foundry in St Philip's Marsh. I will be moving production over the next couple of weeks, the plan being to be operational ready for Bristol O Gauge show on the 26th January. The studio in Shrewsbury will remain open for scan bookings. In the pipeline The move to Bristol and exhibitions are commanding a lot of my time, so getting new products launched is a challenge. However there are 50 new Pendon figures and 30 Ragged Victorians prepped and ready to go and these will be the next to be added to the website. Later in the year I'll be looking at military figures and have at least 75 British and American WWII figures in relaxed poses ready to add to the website. The big aim this year is to finally set some time aside for scale platform lamps after teasing the idea with the L&Y lamps some years back and test prints of Martin Finney's beautiful LSWR lamps. The last piece of the jigsaw has hopefully been sorted and it now just needs my time to devote to development.

If I remember correctly Phil each team had a print in 7mm scale and any others they needed, such as HO for the WCR guys and 4mm for some other teams. Congrats to all the teams, it was great to be involved in a small way and see everything coming together. The figures created in the final will be on sale soon!

That's the plan Ian! Will be on sale at Warley :-)

News Update - September 2019 The Great Model Railway Challenge Broadcast dates have been confirmed for the new series of the Great Model Railway Challenge and I'm pleased to announce that Modelu will feature on set during the final episode, 3D scanning and 3D printing. Episode one airs on the revised date of September 13th. New Pendon Figures 8 new figures have been added to the Pendon Collection; these include farm workers, workmen and people in conversation. Another scanning session with volunteers at the museum is scheduled for October, with seated passengers and other general public figures planned. These will be available for sale in November. New Seated Loco Crews Two new seated crews have been added to the 1948-1968 range. These include 1090 Seated Driver suitable for BR Standard, LMS and LNER locomotives and 1089 Seated Loco Crew leaning. New Town and Country Figures Three new Town & Country figures are now available depicting the civilian clothing given to a man on his demobilisation from the British armed forces at the end of the Second World War. LSWR Point Rodding These early point rodding rollers have been produced in 4mm and 7mm scales, available in 1 way through 12 way. Used throughout the LSWR, surviving examples can be seen at Sheffield Park on the Bluebell railway. Designed for round section 0.4mm (4mm scale) and 0.7mm (7mm scale) wire. For packet sizes see the website Pipe Fittings and Fixtures For the scratch builders or people looking to add some detail to their buildings, the Architectural Fittings range has been expanded to include pipe fittings and fixtures. These include offsets, branches, bends and shoes, available in 90°, 112.5° and 135° variants. Wing Backed Arm Chair The popular seated signal man figure sits in a rather nice armchair which has been made available as a stand alone item. This was scanned from one of the two wing backed armchairs in the foyer at Pendon Museum. Road Work Lamps The Kenyon Kenlite, a common sight on road works around the country up until the 1970's. These distinctive paraffin danger lamps are now available in packs of 3. Thoughts on material improvements Over the 5 years I've been producing figures there have been many developments in 3D printing, with improved accuracy and detail, surface finish and material characteristics. Compared to the red resin which was used for many years, the new HD Slate has much crisper features, takes paint more easily and is more pliable. At exhibitions I meet many customers who still have red figures unpainted and tucked away in a drawer for future projects. With this in mind I'm considering a trade-in discount offer, where unpainted red figures can be returned and a discount coupon issued for new HD slate figures. This would be for off the shelf products as well as custom scans created at exhibitions. I'm still working out the logistics of how the trade-in would work, but would be really interested to hear your thoughts.