G-man69

Hi all, Progress has been slow on this one due to various 'real-world' events impacting on my time, but thought I'd post some images of the finished camouflaged pillbox. And, although taken prior to the groundwork being done, the next few images hopefully give an impression of how it will sit within the completed diorama, 🤔. Any and all feedback greatly appreciated as you chaps are the experts in all things 'railway'. Thanks, and cheers, 🍺. G

Hi all, For various reasons progress is a tad slow on this build, but thought I owed a big thank you to 'eastglosmog' for his suggestion of adding a pillbox for added interest to the railway bridge embankment scene. Initially I cobbled together something from old card that was meant to represent a Type 24 pillbox, but it didn't sit comfortably due to the size, I'll have to find another use for it in another diorama, 🙄🙁. So instead, I cobbled together from card something to represent a Type 26, being smaller I think it might work, I then found an image that showed a Type 26 camouflaged as a Platelayers Hut. It looked as if it had been clad in old timber railway sleepers, and had a dummy chimney mounted on top. I also found a picture of a brick built variant where the embrasure was almost at track level, so it's going to be recessed slightly into the embankment so I've created some steps to allow access. So thanks to 'eastglosmog' for his suggestion,🙂. Another question, I like the look of the concrete cabling trunking shown in the image below, especially where the cables are shown bridging a missing section. Would this type have been used back in the 1940s? If not, how was cabling carried alongside track, and how would it have been carried over the bridge? Any help you chaps can provide would be greatly appreciated,🙂. Cheers, 🍺, G

Thanks to everyone above for their kind words and/or suggestions, as always it's much appreciated,🙂. Cheers,🍺 G

Thanks to Kev and Alan for their feedback, I had toyed with the idea of a pillbox as I had one going spare from a previous build, it was scratch built, but I wasn't happy with it, so discarded it. However, as this latest diorama is meant to be set in a town/city I thought a pillbox would be unlikely,🤔. Instead I just created general clutter for the area. I never finished the above as I became bored with it, but maybe, one day, I'll return to it,🙂. Thanks again chaps, G, 🍺

Hi all, For those of you that followed this topic I promised I'd send some updates. I have based the bridge, maybe loosely,🙄, on various bridges shown in the book "Bridges for Modellers" by L. V. Wood, that was kindly recommended to me above. The partial bridge is scratch-built from various bits of plastic sheet/profiles. The rivets aren't accurate, but are simply to give an impression of detail, they were made by cutting strips of thin plastic sheet in to which I pressed a rounded head piece of metal. The overall size was estimated from various bits of information given in the book, but as there were no specific dimensions for given bridges they may not be anywhere close to accurate,🤔. The buttress wall is, again, is scratch-built, with each brick being scribed/embossed on old greeting cards, each brick is approximately 1mmx3mm...it was slow going,🙁. It's nowhere near finished, each element, bridge, track bed, buttress are all separate so I can work on them, but please feel free to comment, positively or negatively, you're the experts, so your feedback would be acted upon, where possible. This brings me to another question...what type of, if any, infrastructure would have run adjacent to the track in the 1940s,🤔... Would there have been cabling, e.g. for signalling and/or points, and if so would it have been exposed or in trunking above or below ground, and... If cabling was involved how would it have crossed the bridge? Apart from signals (which I'm not sure I'll introduce) what else might be located alongside a small stretch of rail leading up to a bridge? I'm quite happy to post more images if that might help with anyone's feedback, but I didn't want to bore anyone, also, there's a size limit,🙂. Any, and all feedback will be appreciated. Thanks for reading, and cheers, G

Thank you all for taking the time to respond in both a supportive way regarding my specific question, and the flattering comments regarding the barn (a couple more images of the rest of the interior below), it's much appreciated,🙂. My apologies, about the 'house' outline, it was the quickest and easiest way of trying to represent my initial layout thoughts,😕. Thanks for the heads-up on the book, I've ordered a second-hand copy off of the internet. I'll post some images once it Thanks again, and cheers,🍺, G

Hi all, I am trying to work out sizes etc for another small (A4 size) 00 diorama. I'm imagining a WW2 era city/town scape, a partial row of Victorian terraced houses, road passing under a railway bridge. There will be a partial embankment and retaining wall (see rough sketch below (Plan 01)). The partial bridge will be scratch built and will be a steel through girder type, which I think would be okay for WW2? I'm trying to find details of the supporting Buttress and Wing walls (not sure of the exact terminology, but have provided a rough sketch below (Buttress 01) showing the information I'm trying to find. If anyone can help, or point me in the right direction I would be grateful. Cheers, G p.s. Below are a couple of images of a scratch built ruined barn and packhorse bridge in 00 scale that I'm currently working on, should anyone be interested. They're both DAS over foamboard.

Thanks to both SR71 and Andy for confirming that my second sketch is more likely to be the type encountered,. Thank you for the link to your photos SR71, the first ones give me some idea of how the framework looks, much appreciated, . The bridge/canal will be WW2 era, and UK based, I had been toying with an idea of a fictional area in the south-west, maybe along one of the 'stop lines' built to hinder the Germans if they invaded...but never too proud to ignore the ideas of others. Cheers, G

Hi all, You have kindly helped me out on two questions posted previously within this topic, both related to small dioramas (A4 footprint) in 4mm scale, both set during WW2. The first being possible sources of implements/items to ‘dress’ a ‘farmyard’, the second being the type, and suppliers, of rolling stock suitable for a quayside setting…now nearing completion (see image below). Now I'm aiming to create another A4 size diorama using up the track left over from the above scene. Again, it'll be set during WW2, but this time will incorporate a railway bridge passing over a canal an acute angle, as opposed to 90 degrees. I therefore have two questions: Firstly, would the bridge supporting walls be parallel to each other, but not to the banks of the canal, as in the left-hand sketch below, thereby allowing a square built bridge to be built across the span, or… …would the bridge supporting walls be parallel to the canal banks, as in the right-hand sketch, thereby requiring the construction of an angled bridge across the span? I hope the above makes sense? Secondly, does anyone know of a site(s) where I can obtain detailed construction details and dimensions for a steel plate girder type railway bridge? The kind of dimensional information relates to overall width for a single track, or possibly double track line, including clearances either side. Size of supporting beams and how they would be braced together, size of sides/parapets, and whether the base would be ballasted or planked…basically anything that would allow me to scratch-build the item. If anything is unclear and/or anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask away. Cheers, G

Hi all, Another big thank you to everyone for their continued help, it is appreciated. I quite like the fact that the wagons will be a bit long in the tooth for the intended era, it means I can have a go at showing them weathered and worn. I've never painted railway elements, but being primarily a 1/35th armour modeller, bent and battered representations of items is in my DNA, . I've also started to look for a 'Terrier' as suggested by RJS1977, but so far have drawn a blank due to cost, but will keep looking. Thanks again everyone, and cheers, G

Hi all, A brief update, there were no suitable Dapol kits of 'planked' wagons, so I ended up buying both a 5 and a 3-plank 8t wagon kit from the Slater's brand. I'm hoping that, on the back of your kind help, that both of these are suitable for the WW2 era? Has anyone any experience of this manufacturers products? Cheers, G

Hi all, A brilliant response, as per...your assistance has been outstanding throughout, it's been informative and friendly, and I thank you all for that, . Really appreciated seeing the images of wagons being shunted by a horse, thanks Cypherman, and I promise not to replicate them as they're not yours. I will see if I can pick up a couple of 'planked' wagon kits as I have another WW2 A4 diorama idea forming. though I have no idea what engine I might yet use on it, but for this build I think I am going to have to exercise a bit of artistic licence and use the Pug. As an aside, after the great feedback from you guys I gave the Hornby site a once over, shame not everyone uses the 'Era' classification system, would have made my choice a tad easier, . Thanks again to everyone for their kind and continued support relating to my enquiries, and cheers, G

Hi all, And again, firstly, a big thank you for taking the time to read and respond and, even though each answer often seems to generate additional questions, your time and effort is greatly appreciated. Because this diorama is part of a group build on another site I feel obligated to build as much as possible from kits, as opposed to ready built. though I am struggling to find any at the moment. However, I notice that 'planked' wagons seem to come in anything from about 4, through to about 9 planks, would it be okay to use any 'planked' wagon for the era? Also, Andy makes the comment that the Pug is probably incorrect for the setting, so is there a small shunter that would be better for an early 1940s South coast scenario. It has to be about Pug sized as 1} the base footprint is only A4, and 2) I need to fit a couple of road vehicles into the overall picture. I apologise for all the questions, some of which probably sound a bit dumb to experienced railway modellers, but whilst I'm not pedantic about accuracy, I would like to get as much of the basics as correct as possible. Thanks again to everyone for their help thus far, and cheers, G

Hi all, Firstly, a big thank you in general to everyone that has taken the time to read and respond, it's much appreciated, . the images/links provided by KingEdwardII and Cypherman are going to be especially useful, thanks chaps. Secondly, I should have probably mentioned that the black is just a primer finish, so a grey for the wagon isn't a problem. However, I wish I'd spoken with you all before starting my diorama as my idea was for this to represent a small fictitious British South coast harbour at the time of Dunkirk. However, reading the above responses it sounds like my choice of coal truck might be wrong for that period. Are there any inexpensive kits of either12T 7-plank wooden bodied wagon or 5-plank open wagons, as described by Michael, for me to more accurately represent the time period? If anyone has any other information they think might be relevant to the period/location it would be gratefully received, . Thanks again to everyone, and cheers, G

Hi all, You were kind enough to help me with my original enquiry above, and I'm hoping that you can help me again, . For anyone that has read the posts above you will know that I have little, or no real knowledge about railways, so I apologise for asking what might seem a daft question, . I have started a second 00/H0 scale diorama, again on an A4 sized base, but this time actually incorporating a locomotive and a carriage...see image below of progress thus far...so I don't feel such a fraud asking for your help this time, . For anyone interested, the building façade, quay walls, steps and cobbles are all made from DAS with the stonework scribed into it. However, my question is this...would all of the ‘chassis’ (not sure what the lower part of rolling stock is called, ) be painted the same colour as the main body? I imagine that the wheels would not be painted, but would be dirty, though I presume the rims would be shiny if they were in regular use? Thanks in advance, and cheers, , G

Hi all, Thank you for taking the time to either comment, or add a 'like', your friendliness and positive feedback is much appreciated, . Cheers, G

Hi all, I apologise if I'm out of order, but I just wanted to share a few progress pictures as you were all so kind in helping out with my original question, . I appreciate it's not railway modelling, but it's a similar scale, 1/72nd, to H0/00, which I think is 1/76th? If I have overstepped the mark please let me know, I won't be offended, . Cheers, G

Hi Andy, Firstly my apologies for not posting over the weekend as promised, . Secondly, although I have only come back to the hobby these last 2yrs after a 40yr hiatus, my main influence comes from the 70/80s, in particular a gentleman called Ian Weekley who wrote for the Military Magazine. Thirdly, below are a couple of images of the main steps. 1 - I create a template in either card or foamboard, cutting out doors and windows etc...this is where I slipped up, next time I will cut the apertures larger than needed. 2 - Coat the template with diluted white glue and coat with a thin layer of DAS, allowing 24hrs or so for it to dry. 3 - Scribe the DAS with a suitable tool, I have put an image of the tools I use below. 4 - Doors and Windows are old card, glass is bit's of clear scrap packaging, I also use bits of wood and scrap foil trays where appropriate. 5 - Paint and weather to your own preference. If anyone has any questions, or advice, please feel free, . Once again, apologies for the delay, and thank you to everyone that helped answer my original question. Cheers, G

Hi Philou, I suspected the door issue would be spotted, , it basically arose from a stupid error on my part, . This is my first ever attempt at a building, or more accurately, part of a building in this scale...normally I build armour in 1/35th scale and basically do scenery (example below of a river ford crossing)...and I miscalculated a few things, so either had the choice of the doors potentially having been blown off, or swinging outwards...maybe the wrong call, . It's been a bit of an experiment and learning curve with the many and varied mistakes I've made along the way, and there is a lot I will do differently next time, but am enjoying working in this scale. I have added my basic colour to the 'wiggly tin' and will add lighter shades of orange to represent rust, image below. I do like the little details you've added about such things as fly-screens, thank you. much appreciated, . Cheers, G

Hi Andy, I'll post a few images over the weekend of various stages, though I'm sure it's likely to be nothing new as constructing buildings must be a given for most railway modellers, . Cheers, G

Hi Adrian, Thank you for the positive feedback, much appreciated, . Cheers, G

Hi 5050, Thanks for the positive comment, very much appreciated, . The building is mainly constructed from card, plastic strip and DAS...and lashings of white glue, the stonework is scribed into the DAS. I also made myself a jig today to make something that might pass for corrugated iron, almost certainly not accurate, but it's for only four sheets to the lean to roof (see images below). More than happy to share more information if interested, but I don't want to bore anyone, . Thanks again, and cheers, G

A big thank you to Airnimal, RJS1977, Phil, BMS, and Andy for all the advice, suggestions and/or links, they're all very much appreciated and will be explored. It's nice to find a site where so many are willing to offer friendly advice to an outsider, . Thanks again all, and cheers, G

Hi Phil, Thank you for taking the time to kindly respond to my post, , I will check out the suggestions you've made. Cheers, G

Hi all, I am in the process of building a military diorama in the Armorama forum and, as part of this, I’m scratch building a segment of a fictitious farmhouse, Normandy, France circa 1944, in 1/72nd-1/76th (approx. 00/H0), image below for interest, . My question is this, is anyone aware of any sets of early 20th Century farmyard equipment, e.g. spades, forks, milk churns, carts, etc that I could use to populate the yard area, it’s equipment only, not figures using it, . Can anyone help please, . Thank you, and cheers, G