MAP66

You should be very proud of your efforts, its all a learning curve. Just picking up on the static grass, as I suffered the same problem when using for first time with the longer fibres, I still apply using a Noch puffer bottle, as its better for smaller areas, but manage to get reasonable results. When shaking the static grass onto the scene a lot of fibres will lie flat, allow some time for the glue to take hold but so that it is not set hard and then using a hand held vacuum go over the static grass and the suction will pull the fibres upwards (you will need to practice as holding the nozzle too close, the increased suction will pull all the fibres away from the glue which is not good). You can also get a similar result by teasing all the fibres upwards using a wide flat paint brush. Happy landscaping Mark

LIke you I returned to the hobby after a 30+ year gap and have still yet to start on an operational layout, although I do have a layout plan. Before I take that leap, I introduced myself back into the hobby by having a go at the Cake Box Challenges. To me they were the perfect way to get back into railway modelling by providing me the opportunity to experiment with new materials and techniques on a small scale, like static grass for example using a Noch puffer bottle. The weathering you have already introduced onto the retaining walls already looks good so you are already developing techniques which work for you. For the smoke you could try the range of weathering powders widely available, Humbrol already do 'Smoke 16421' within their range, there a bit pricey at around the £4.00 mark but shop around. Apply the powder dry with a brush practicing on an off cut of the retaining wall to perfect your technique. Work the powder in and move it around with the brush until you achieve the effect your after and work from photos of real examples. I find that if you work from photos it inspires more confidence when working with the various materials, although I am guilty of also working from my imagination. You can use a cheap hairspray to act a a type of transparent glue to get the powders to stay in place, also useful for getting various scatters etc to stay in place, when modelling trees, hedges etc. Hope this has been of some use. All the best Mark

Many thanks Phil, only fitting that you have provided your seal of approval.

Well its in, phew!!! Thanks again to all who persuaded me to push it over the line. A final aerial pic. All the best Mark

Very much appreciated Phil, I am guilty of being tardy, but not intentionally. Kind regards Mark

Firstly, thank you all for the support and your suggestions to just send it in anyway as it is. I had certainly resided to the fact that I wouldn't have the time to complete. Now it seems the deadline has bee extended to next weekend? So with that in mind I will spend an hour or so on it tomorrow evening putting some words together and sending it in. Many thanks again for all your kind comments. Mark

Well time got away with me on this one, just returned from a short break to Edinburgh and its back to work on Monday and I have no time left to complete my CBC. So I thought it would be good just show some last pics of how it stands at present. You may think it looks finished but it's still about a week worth of modelling away from how I wanted it to look. But not to worry as I'm sure to attempt other CBC's throughout the year. Anyway, best of luck to all those who submit their entries. Mark

Forgive my ignorance Keith, physics was never my strong point and thank you for the explanation for the gap. Great thing about this forum is that you don't have to wait too long before solutions start coming through. Keep up the fantastic work Mark

Nice work Keith, looking a bit special. I've never used mirrors before to create the illusion of never ending track going off into the distance, looks very convincing. To complete the illusion is it possible to either paint the bottom of the mirror where it meets the ballast a greyish colour or actually glue some ballast to the bottom edge of the mirror to hide the thin black, I guess you would call it a shadow/reflection line. By the way love the figures and the lamps. All the best Mark

Evening Rob That's a great tip and thanks for sharing. Definitely going to try something similar so the viewers eye is focused on the actual scene without the distraction of any clutter behind. All the best Mark

Hi Keith Your right about having a non cluttered white backdrop. When I take these photos I just want to post them asap and I always do it on the hoof (keeping it agricultural) without taking a moment to check composition etc. Doesn't help with just using my phone camera either, I might invest in a decent camera one day. Any way, glad you like the detailing and thanks again for the valid suggestion. All the best Mark

Thanks Al for keeping the humour going. I was confident that some fellow modelers would have suffered the same fate. I expect NHY 581 has a tale or two to tell.... All the best Mark

Act 1, Scene 1 Enter stage right. Station Master looks at pocket watch and confirms that the local passenger service which was meant to pull into the station and then couple up to the Beetle Cattle van is now over 30 minutes late, while Farmer Giles look on in bewilderment as the realisation hits him that his prize Bullocks may not get to the County Show in time. I expect we've all been there, its is a common scenerio. Scene 2 to follow....

Hi Kevin Looking good, I Iike the weathering on the relay boxes and trunking, Jerry's and TechnicArrow's suggestion of removing a couple of lids to expose the cabling would look good. A few strands of painted fuse wire could work to represent the cabling. Regards Mark

Thanks Mike for your kind comments. I like to include as much detail as possible into a scene to try and replicate a lifelike scenario. All the best Mark

Thanks OOman, very kind of you to provide such positive comments. All the best Mark

We had 30 seconds of sunshine today, so I thought lets get some photos of the cattle dock taken in natural light. In my haste I didn't quite perch the roof of the cattle van centrally so there is a big overhang. Any way I just about had time to take a few shots before the clouds blocked out the sun. I have added some signs, the second water trough and one lamp post, one more lamp post to add, these are all included in the kit.

Evening folks Busy with other things at the moment so farmer Giles hasn't quite made it back to the paint shop. Best way to overcome that I thought would be to put up a pic in B&W, now who can tell if he's ruddy complexion is fully restored or not?

Finally finished ballasting the track tonight. Took longer than planned because I get bored pretty quickly and then start something else. Ridiculous really as its only an 8" length of track. Hats off to those modelers out there who can stick at those repetitive tasks until the jobs done. Any way here's a pic looking along the finished track bed. All the best Mark

Nice job, will it keep it clean as well?

A bit of an update tonight, I decided that the far bank next to the track was too close to the track and so I did some groundwork's and put in a wooden retaining wall and grassed the bank. My next trial was to introduce some point rodding, well the remains of some. There had been some track alterations years ago and some of the point rodding remains in place even though the turnout it served had long gone. Not too much scenery to do now, and then finally I can finish the cattle van, just realised that time is running out for this CBC as I will be away last week of March so I need to get cracking. All the best Mark

Thanks Keith Its amazing what you can get away with by using a bit of well placed filler. Thanks Al Like I said to Dickon, a visit to the paint shop and he will be soon back in the pink.

To be fair he was still in shock and the colour had drained from his cheeks. I've booked him in for an appointment with the paint shop to rectify the problem.

Farmer Giles is now back from surgery, head removed with razor saw and then re-attached with super glue at different angle and then a spot of model filler as without this he looked a bit like Bruce Forsyth with elongated chin. Thanks again Stubby for the head removing suggestion. So here's a photo of the refit and he looks none the worse for it.

Well Farmer Giles finally lost his head, but he's still up for a fight. "come back here and take what's coming to yer, I'll bite yer legs off" Always good to throw in a quote from Monty Pythons Holy Grail.