Mick Bonwick

There has been some mention (elsewhere) recently of spares boxes. I'm all for the "me too" aspect of modern life, so I had a look for mine. Spares box, that is, not life. There was a pile of Ratio Concrete Fence Panels in there , so I decided to use them in the diorama. Because the base of the scene is extruded polystyrene it is easy to 'plant' things, so when it comes to removing stuff from a sprue, I leave as much of the 'tag' as I can still attached to the component. You can see what I mean here.

Just relocated it.

No. We haven't got a new BBQ. There's a clue here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/151137-easton-isle-of-portland/&do=findComment&comment=4475675

No modelling done today, been busy outside. It's amazing what you can find in 3 bins.

I rather like the open nature of the original setup. Just a few buildings to support the idea of "Little" Muddle. Maybe you should remove the building and have a field instead.

The PVA in the photograph is mostly dry, Mikkel. You may be able to determine from the picture that it dries clear and with a shine to it. I don't plan to add anything to what you see, thinking that it looks acceptable as it is.

Quite!

Ditch mud laid and dried. Now I'm applying some PVA along the bottom of the ditch with a cocktail stick to imply that there is some residual dampness there. Not a layer of water, as such, but shiny mud where there is still some wetness. A thin layer will dry shiny.

Thanks, Andrew. The idea behind using the hot-wire cutter was to not create dust in the first place. Using sanding blocks is OK if the foam is not yet stuck down, because the pieces can be taken outside, but some of them need to be stuck down on the layout before shaping. They'll have plaster impregnated bandage laid over them before finishing work starts, so don't have to be perfectly smooth. A couple of components in place to see how it looks. PVA laid in the ditch ready for being muddied, and a couple of taller weeds inserted into the ditch area.

Rob, if you don't hurry up, there will be no modelling done on this page at all!

Layer of glue applied. Followed by the application of two different layers of static grass, a plain 2mm all-over layer for the flat top area and a mixture of lengths and colours for the slope.

There it was . . . . . . . . .Gone!

It's in my diary. In fact, when I look back at old diaries, it's there every year. Who'd have thought?

Shhhh, don't mention a separate one for weathering. Not yet, anyway.

This one is a replacement, Ian. The one I repaired a few years ago needs more repairs (NOT the ones I did then) so we've deicided to replace it completely. The old one is 7' x 5' and the new one is 10' x 8' so a 'few' more paving slabs need to be laid. The answer to your question is 4, if you include the workshop.

Your magnifying glass must be huge! Your attention to detail continues to inspire. I'll have to start all over again . . . . . . . . .

Iain, My observation was aimed at those good folks who seeme unable to find Polak and Mininatur supplies. Polak still advertise from their website but I have no idea if they would post stuff here at the moment. Their website allows one to peruse in German or English so that implies that they might. I stocked up on many lines of scenic materials a good few years ago, so have more than enough variety of scatters, flocks and so on to last me way beyond the end of Easton.

Many thanks for pointing me at your workbench thread, @Mikkel. I'll now spend a good deal of precious modelling time finding out how I ought to have done things! I was interested to see that you, also, have found that many tools, materials and techniques employed by military, wargaming and diorama modellers are applicable to what we do as railway modellers. It's rather a shame that they don't all do it to the same scales. The blue foam that I have rather a lot of was intended for use in modelling workshops, but was too thick (50mm), and was replaced by thinner (25mm) material that had a slightly different composition. I'll have to find a piece pf the replacement material to see if it is more suitable. In the meantime, and while I am waiting for some DAS to be delivered, I have decided to use the piece of foam upon which the setts were modelled as a small diorama. I really ought to be getting on with ballasting, but can't resist working on scenery of the green variety. A section 8" x 8" has been removed from the block and been carved so that a small hut (Page 24) can be positioned at the top of a slope. Progress might be slow, though, because I have to prepare a piece of garden for a new shed. A full size 12" = 1' shed.

I have previously bought Mininatur products from this supplier at exhibitions. https://www.modeldisplayproducts.co.uk/scenic-materials-and-accessories/mininatursilflor Has anybody checked whether they can still supply from what they have in stock? I've not seen them mentioned in this thread.

Hence the current high postage cost.

*** GROAN ***

While thinking about road and track surfaces that might be relevant to Easton, I referred to many sources - books, magazines, Internet forums, other folks' accounts and my own experiments. One method that I have not previously tried is the use of an embossed roller for soft materials. I invested in a roller (Sett Pavement) from Green Stuff World, although I'm sure that they can be obtained elsewhere or even made at home for those with the skills, determination and perseverance. My plan was to use it on some DAS, but a mention by @Mikkel of their suitability on 'blue foam' steered me in that direction. I think that the blue foam referred to was different to that which I have been using on Easton. Hard as I tried I could not get the roller to make a clear impression on my version of blue foam, even by leaning on the roller with most of my weight. I also have a tube of acrylic filler from Green Stuff World and decided to apply a thin layer to the blue foam (while I still had it in the workspace) and run the roller across that. You might be able to make out the abortive attempt on the plain blue foam just to the left of the green filler. I probably should have found and read some instructions on the use of the filler before starting, but where's the fun in that? Something to be aware of before repeating this exercise is that the roller might need a coat of vaseline, talcum powder or water before applying to the filler, just to inhibit sticking. The result shown was the third attempt! After about 10 minutes for drying, I applied a rough coat of Tamiya Neutral Grey acrylic paint to the area. No particular reason for the colour choice, it just happened to be in the box. I made no attempt to make it an even or consistent coat, just slapped it on. I have never previously managed particularly well with dry-brushing, my results always looking as if they had been dry-brushed. This time I had a go with another Tamiya colour (Medium Grey) because that, too, was in the box. This time the result of my attempts at dry-brushing was a little more acceptable. In this photograph you can see where, even after the third attempt, some filler had stuck to the roller during application. It has led to some rather non-prototypical shapes of sett. I finished off this little experiment by adding some AK Interactive Slimy Grime Light wash to the indentation in the blue foam in an attempt to represent a build-up of algal growth in a damp depression in the setts. The Land Rover has intruded yet again, just to give the sense of scale to the scene.

Corrected for ewe.

I think Mrs Brown should be lying under the tractor and Mr Brown should be wringing his hands with glee.