brylonscamel

Thanks Allan - if I have any other bright ideas (this may prove unlikely!) I'll share them. I've had so much help from other modellers - it's nice to be able to return the favour.

I described how I do this on a Facebook Group - I make no claims to this being the best method but it works for me. Here's a link to a document that I just created with some photos to show the process ... https://tinyurl.com/cutting-easy-windows

Oh! I like this a lot - you've got the whole scene looking really convincing, right down to the scrubby greenery. A 'back of the yard' scene that rarely gets the same attention as more obvious parts of a model.

.. and some pictures of the latest project - the Aberdeen granite tenement buildings (the photos have been shared elsewhere on the forum but I like to keep this thread up-to-date)

Here's an update on the 'Caledonian' signal cabins - which are now complete and have been returned to 'Braeside' to replace the temporary Metcalfe models that were gracing the layout.

I saw this at an exhibition (Farnham) and was really fascinated by the modelling - such a great use of a small space to create such an atmospheric scene - and the model making is top class. I also had a look at your Photobucket pictures and it revealed so much work behind the scenes to create this. Oh and the guys on the stand seemed to be having fun operating it. Thanks so much for exhibiting this model. It gave me a lot to go away and think about.

.. yeah - it's a bit of a glaring omission; I can cut some from very thin styrene to sort this out!

I've been posting photos here as I make progress with a couple of Aberdeen granite tenements. The last couple of days have seen my brushes out for the first round of paintwork. I'm always curious to see if the thing comes to life with a bit of dry brushing over the contours of the mouldings.

.. they certainly look "rough around the edges"!

Thanks Allan! .. In reply, here's a small selection at close quarters - from some Hornby loco crew (plastic mouldings - stand up OK to close examination) through a couple of blokes in a dinghy (white metal castings that look OK to my eyes) and finally to the coal yard workers (white metal mouldings at the 'lumpy and clumsy' end of the spectrum!)

Oh dear - I have used a lot of white metal figures (among the Preiser and Dapol / Airfix mouldings) and I've looked at them again to see if they really are as bad as you say! The conclusion I've come to is they vary a lot in quality but they offer variety and I've been happy to be mix them up to form an interesting scene. Also - close-up digital photography can be very 'cruel' - when viewing the castings in the flesh (or metal) I'm unaware of their shortcomings - turn the camera on them and they can seem a bit clumsy. The Preiser figures do have a sort of European flavour about them - a lot of the figures look more 'Bahnhoff' than 'County Terminus' - or appear to be strolling towards a Berlin cafe or busying themselves in the yard of a BASF factory. But that might just be me!!

Hi Tony - it is 2mm styrene sheet, onto which embossed styrene sheet (Slaters cut stone) has been overlaid.

... isn't it just!

This is the variation that convinced me that flues run down the side of the stonework ....

Thanks Allan - funny you should mention that as it's been a matter of discussion in my house! I was equally intrigued by the arrangement (which is a common feature of these tenements) We came to the conclusion that the chimney flue must be routed down the side of the dormer stonework to provide fireplaces at the front of the property.

I keep returning to this thread, only to be blown away by another beautiful modelling project!

I'm back with another little project, which I've tried to photograph as I stumble through the stages of construction! Here's progress-to-date on some 'Aberdonian' granite tenements for our layout "Braeside". It's all styrene sheet construction and so far I've only got two out of the four tenements underway! But hey ho - I'm finding lessons learned in stage#1 are speeding the next one along. I'm also hoping the painting and detailing stages bring the things to life.

This remains a first rate thread!!

You'll all be pleased to hear that I won't be clogging up this thread with my signal boxes as .... they are pretty much finished! I'll have to find some other scratch-building ideas - but that shouldn't be too hard! Just to say that I've had a lot of fun trying to re-create these distinctive boxes (inspired by Stonehaven station and Dyce Junction) and have learned a few things along the way. The signal box interiors have been assembled from the old (Wills) and new (Severn Models) kits and I've really liked the way they came together. There is a right cock-up which the eagle eyed may spot in one of the cabins - but a last minute bit of attention with some snips disguised my schoolboy error. All I've got to do is draw a little track diagram for each cabin, put the walkway around the junction box and add some down-pipes for the guttering and we're all done. I expect the tiny signalmen to be fully occupied operating the levers for some Christmas running on the 'Braeside' rmodel railway!

To be honest I fiddled about with it for a while before I hit on an appearance that I was happy with! The original signal box had a very distinctive pattern where the bricks had been replaced and the resulting 'mosaic effect' was something I was keen to reproduce. Let's hope I don't spoil it by bodging the roof tiles or the woodwork ;-)

Gosh - that's quite a 'scenic break'! Wonderful modelling, it has areal sense of scale ...

I hope it's OK to post 'work-in-progress' photos but I've just added "the ALL IMPORTANT steps to the cabin of the tall box" and had a crack at painting the the brickwork. It appears many of the old 'Caledonian' boxes have been refurbished in recent years , with brickwork and mortar over-painted in a light brick red. Earlier photographs of the brickwork on the signal box that inspired my model (at Dyce) reveal a much more interesting patchwork of old dark brick and bright new brickwork with re-pointed mortar. This is the appearance I wanted to recreate and it took a bit of time staring at old photos to work out what I wanted to achieve. So here's the result .....

I posted recently some pictures of progress on my 'tall Caledonian signal box' - destined to replace a Metcalfe signalbox kit that graces a junction on our layout 'Braeside'. It was always my desire to have a new station box - to replace another Metcalfe model that was plonked on the end of a station platform. Well, I've been busy and I'm happy enough with the results to post a little collection of photos - including the replacement roof that I made (because the original was all wrong and didn't have the correct amount of overhang! These boxes, which appear to be numerous in Scotland have some distinctive features, such as the broad hipped roofs and rather attractive windows. They aren't fully painted yet and missing gutters and pipes - and the ALL IMPORTANT steps to the cabin of the tall box but I thought it would be nice to share the progress-to-date.

"it also made me smile which is something 4mm hasn't made me do for a while" .. that pretty much sums up the reason for anything worth doing.

What a fantastic scene - I for one wouldn't hesitate in sharing this bit of scratch-building on the basis that it's realistic, well constructed and has a novel use of materials.