Iain C Robinson

I think that the bargeboards need a little weathering, as does the rest of the paintwork, then everything would tone in. I expect that was your plan anyway, Allan. It's looking fantastic, very Cotswold. The stonework and the roof are amazing. How are you planning on doing the quoins...more fire cement? Great job, guv. cheers, Iain

I love the texture of the walls and roof, and the chimneys...very effective indeed! cheers, Iain

Thank you, Steamymel, for bringing that to my attention. The site is fantastic; I had read Malcolm's article in the MRJ about Iliffe Stokes, but this is much more. Fantastic. cheers, Iain

Looks superb Allan, esp for the first impressions from the mould. OK it is definitely quicker than scribing Das! cheers, Iain

Thanks, Allan. It does come down to what your personal preference is for...Pyruma has a great deal going for it, and at least you can use the new formula Colron on it. One thing I should say as a warning about Das is...don't put it in the oven to harden, as the outside does indeed go very hard, but the inside stays damp for ages, making it impossible to scribe. I shall microwave some next ...thanks Allan for the tip! ... and see how that goes, as the biggest drawback with Das is the time it takes to dry and the concurrent warpage of the substrate...you really have to brace it well. Allan said "do you two actually kip down those mines ?" 8 hours is the longest I have been underground in one stretch...it was in summer and it seemed very bright and very warm when we emerged topsides! cheers, Iain

I'm still here...you don't get rid of me that easily! Petra and I have been exploring some new mines underground since Xmas day...only surfacing for a little while today... I hope you all had a great Xmas with lots of pressies and good things to eat and drink! About this Das/Pyruma thing. They both have their for's and against's...I used to use Pyruma exclusively, but I now prefer Das...but the relief and texture of Pyruma is hard to beat. What I don't like about is is the impossibility of scribing it when it has set, unless you have an air drill and an Atlas copco compressor. But Pyruma takes paint well and dry brushes beautifully. It goes soft in the atmosphere unless you bake it to 300 degrees kelvin or something, so you have to do the Superglue thing....and I have models made with Pyruma on customers layouts that haven't succumbed to that ....yet...I'm waiting to be told to replace them! You can indeed model Das wet using a stone press...I made one out of styrene and the stonework in this photo above was made with it, as were the cobbles, again done with a handy dandy stone press made out of styrene. The difference with Das is that when it is dry, you can work into it again if you want. I have never thought of putting Das into the microwave...now that is a good idea Allan and I will try it when I go back to the workbench, several mines later... cheers, Iain

Happy Christmas everyone and a great New Year...thanks for contributing to the thread and for all the encouragement and advice cheers Iain

Shane's work is absolutely superb, the Watchmaker's cottage is really clever and beautifully made. I agree with Mullie, clicking "like" just doesn't do it justice! cheers, Iain

Your heart is definitely in the right place Allan. Hunting...don't get me started. cheers, Iain

Brilliant!

I'm loving these shots. Your stonework is excellent of course and the interiors are brilliant. I look forward to seeing how you get on with the slates...well, it will be brilliant of course, what I mean is, look forward to nicking your ideas... . cheers, Iain

" after a conversation about the models I make she slipped me a 20 gram bottle for my very own" What a smooth talker, Bill! Respect. Not only managed to slip a socially unacceptable* hobby into conversation with a nurse, but get a bottle of glue as well. I have much to learn from you. cheers, Iain *PS "socially unacceptable"...just to folk with no soul.

There's something very nice about this kind of continuity.

Ah, yes...I remember seeing those cogs on Mikkel's blog. I feel a steampunk kinetic sculpture coming on... cheers, Iain

Yes, that was a wondrous day when I discovered superglue...and that it actually worked! I tried the then new epoxy glue on an etched brass coach kit, seemed to work fine...but then when I cleaned some excess paint off with turps, the glue gave up the ghost and all the handles fell off. Back to soldering... I did spend a lot of time mucking about with Colron and PVA, trying to imitate a certain luminary, whose effortless prose style and modelling skills gave me an impossible ideal to aim for...as for more than £8 a page, that took some time A friend brought me some large sheets of styrene sheet from his work... they could be bonded with paint brush cleaner...we are talking back in the early seventies now...so all my models had a funny smell like Polycell :-) Card and optimism... that's all you really need, although a good imagination helps! cheers, Iain

Thanks, Dr G-F... What a long time ago... that was my first article I think, using illustration board and poster paint. Quite a while to wait for my next one...the editor says August 2014! I was in good company in this issue, anyway...Downes and Heckmondwyke. cheers, Iain

Marvellous work, Lee! As Al says, very atmospheric interior shot. Um...did you stain those beams with Colron ? Someone will have something to say about that... seriously though, it's looking fab. cheers, Iain

I made mine from wood, fixed to the beams above and pivoting on a base from a Mike's Models GWR goods yard crane. Here's a real one at Gilfach Ddu...I have many photos of this if you need details. cheers, Iain

Mikkel's thread about his goods shed cranes is a veritable masterclass and very inspiring: http://farthinglayouts.blogspot.dk/2013/06/cranes-for-depot.html I will have a look at how I made my vastly inferior one... cheers, Iain

Really, really, really super work, Lee. Those Costa's roof beams are the biz. They are a lot of work, but it has all been worth it. I do have a slight suggestion....there should be a crane in the building somewhere...just sayin'..... but the model is coming along brilliantly. Top work! cheers, Iain

I've just caught up with this thread, and I have to say Lee, there is some superb modelling on display here. The view through the window from the outside is very Hopperesque...I love it. After I graduated I spent two years or so driving trucks in the North West, before getting a job as a modelmaker...we visited lots of goods depots with their offices and the like, and the one common denominator was a kettle and tea making facilities, plus the usual non-PC pictures on the walls... Usually the yardmaster was an unhelpful character whose favourite phrase was "more than my job's worth" or another notable one who travelled everywhere on a fork lift truck, as one of my colleagues used to say, "even unto the toilet" :-) Anyway, great modelling and can't wait to see more! cheers, Iain

Trip away, old boy! They are great. The "Cardboard World of Allan Downes"...love it! cheers, Iain

Wall glued in place "ready for scribing" ...what? Why are you not scribing it off the main building....you have skills, that's all I'm sayin'... :-) Not wanting to be cheeky and offensive, just wondering how you manage it! Walls and windows looking nice, by the way. cheers, Iain

Epic stuff, Lee. This sort of thing happens to me all the time, don't beat yourself up about it...and this is going to be a fantastic model. cheers mate, Iain

Very nice close-ups from the pink google van there, Allan! cheers, Iain