brylonscamel

A platform-level view The bay window feature sits on the platform side. Paint and weathering is split between areas above and below the (as yet to be fitted) canopy.

Satisfying details This little bay window was made to replace the original attempt. There were details missing that, once added, makes it a pleasing feature.

A model that has been emerging recently from the 'Braeside' workbench .. This station building is a rescue project, making the most of my client's acrylic carcass but replacing lots of details, including the roofs, chimney stacks, windows, doors and vestibule. Laser-engraved mortar courses survived sanding, fresh primer and repaint to get the most out of it. I quite like using a rattle-can primer as it gives a tiny amount of surface texture, which can be used to aid the weathering process. Cast acrylic provides a hard, shiny surface but this method gives it a bit of 'sandstone' in the finish ..

Thanks! This latest visit has been rewarding - like you say, a transformation.

Cheers Andy - thanks for hanging in there, whilst I made the buildings. Something I appreciated lately is the amount of 'groundwork' that's needed before anything new can be dropped in place. The occasional white-card mockup has come in handy!

.. funnily enough that's what did when I returned home!

ENGINE SHED & COAL STAGE

SIGNAL BOX

DISTILLERY

FARM

STATION GARAGE & LEVEL CROSSING

STATION BUILDINGS

HARBOUR - starting with the quayside, these photos show how each section looks after the '12 days of Christmas' challenge!

The same photo of the baseboards,annotated to indicate the site of each new scene.

Here's a photo as reminder of where I was at in the summer of 2019 .. All the buildings were ripped off the baseboards, large sections of track removed or replaced.

This thread started 4 years ago in the summer of 2019, after persuading my father to completely refresh our joint layout, 'Braeside'. "Let's make it more 'Scottish" I said. "More obviously tied to Aberdeenshire and less crowded. I'll scratch-build everything and replace Metcalfe buildings with accurate local structures." "How about a whisky distillery, a granite station with turrets like the one at Aboyne, a coaling stage based on a real Caledonian example at Ferryhill?" It was supposed to take me a year to complete. Life threw balls at us, mostly curved ones. The pandemic tipped the world on it's head and mum died in the middle of it all. The project was far bigger than I realised and my skills were constantly tested. Everything took longer to make than I thought. A month could vanish, just researching a building. I worried about how long it would take and the risk of letting Dad down. Dad remained patient and supportive. Every Christmas holiday was an opportunity to make a small leap forward. Even when Coronavirus wrecked travel plans, I made things from home. Christmas 2023 has seen us pass an important milestone. The layout eclipses the old Metcalfey version, with it's muddle of kit buildings, clumsy scenery and grumpy trackwork. PS I even overheard Dad talking to his sister on the phone, saying that he was no longer worried that he'd never live to see the completed layout!

THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE I took a 12 day break at Christmas to see Dad, do festive things and crack on with making good on my promise to revamp his layout. The phone was largely off, social apps stopped and forums neglected!

I recognise the character on the stepladder!

Hi Jim, We selected a suitable subject from tenement drawings that I found online. It seems that although there are very strong patterns in their design, few tenements are the same! I adapted the subject to include a bar on the ground-floor. Much of the stonework detail was inspired by this tenement and then weathered ... Cheers, Brian

Watching this with interest - I alsostruggled to find something!

That's marvellous and sounds like a common layout for shop signs of the time.

Mark - you're right - I've already been told to scram! They were especially unhappy when told that I was 'taking selfies and updating my socials ' PS you may recognise the miniature figure ...

I misjudged the the sign over the fire-station engine bay, so our resident signwriter was called in to make good the lettering ..

Pugh, Pugh, Barney, Mcgrew .. Finally, the tiny residents of the Isle of Sheppey get their local fire station. Scratch-built in my favourite sheet materials: Foamex Embossed styrene Oil-board. Custom components laser-cut or by hand - the old-fashioned way!

I'll leave that to my client David!