Sandhills

With Friday, Sunday & Monday free from work & a box full of scenic supplies in the model stores its time to crack on and cover some of the bare bits and those foam/concrete(!) blocks. With the left bank complete I decided to make a little feature on the right bank. A landslip which occurred several years ago was fixed by an infill off large boulders which have since been overtaken by shrubbery. The retaining wall still needs a cover of stonework but the major task of glueing the stone pieces in place has been completed this afternoon. A visit to the model shop yesterday turned up another little feature when I was rather drawn to Bachmann’s brick platelayers hut. I have steered away from ready to plonk buildings in the last few projects but I couldn’t resist this one and I have added some oil hand prints around the door and some excellent Ivy from International. Still a bit of weathering to do round the windows and roof but it serves the purpose it was bought for and will act as a shunter/traincrew cabin for the sidings. Spotted the Dapol silver bullet ECC tanks yesterday ! 6 are on the shopping list but at £27.95 a piece I cant see the final train of Speedlink Distribution 37’s rumbling across the high level with 6 tankers happening until my birthday & possibly next Christmas have passed !! Although the weather has put any major photo sessions on hold both yesterday & today I’m hopeful of getting out with the board on Sunday or ‘good old’ Bank Holiday Monday. Saying that though, I think the nighttime stuff out in the back garden that I have done during dry spells over the last couple of nights has proved more successful so far than the daylight stuff. The combination of a pitch black sky with no street lamp orange cast infront of the board and the house security light on behind me has given some dramatic results which I have been very happy with. I will do a separate blog entry for the weathering of 47535 & 50045 however I have to say that I’m very impressed with the new Bachmann 47 especially with the sound added from Howes. The 47 was, by my standards, lightly weathered however I have to admit the OTT look on the 50 was by accident. Strong thinner and too much rubbing led to the paint starting to disappear on the red,white & blue stripes of the NSE livery however a quick save with kitchen roll & lots of blowing rectified the situation and by default left quite an authentic finish of ‘shagged paintwork’ !! Next up, a rake of mainline blue seacow’s ! Might need a pair of Mainline branded 33’s to pull them !!??!!

'Happy Days !' 'In the dead of night a convoy heads for Bristol'

Superb Brian, Thanks for the tip, that will save me a lot of work ! Just one question. Does this single cable run to & from any particular insulator or does it not matter ?

Thanks Dave, Your nudge to put track down there was inspired ! Probably getting better shots on the lower level now with the board unfinished than I will from the top level when its done !!

Cheers Paul I have rigged two poles up on a block of foam at the correct distance apart and as soon as I can get in town and purchase some different types of wire & thread I will set them up then post some pics and put the different choices to the vote !

Amazing what you can get done in a few days with no work or female interference !! As you will have seen from some of the photos in my gallery, work on scenics has begun and the first 2ft of 6ft is about where I want it. Really feel like my scenic work has come on a little from previous projects, the secret I think, is taking your time, using the higher priced end range of materials and taking the time to tidy up each section after the glue has dried with tweezers, picking out all those annoying bits that tend to stick out like sore thumbs on close up pictures ! The board has a split personality with the higher level single line in place and now, 2 dead end roads which sweep round and disappear off the front edge of the board on the lower level. I can now take my prototype length train shots with sky backgrounds on the higher level and my closer studies of weathered & detailed locos & wagons on the lower level. Slight curves in all the tracks help with keeping the baseboard edges out of the pictures. Just to run through some of the materials & features used, the retaining wall sections are all from Internationals Rustic foam wall range, the excellent telegraph poles from Express and most of the scenics have come from the Silflor range available at International. Still using good old Peco code 75 but the ‘call’ of P4 beckons as I still feel a lot of the closer range shots are let down by wheels and track. Paint & weathering wise, everything has had coats of Railmatch Sleeper Grime, Frame Dirt & Weathered Black with some extra touches using Carrs weathering powder applied with small make up brushes and sealed with Railmatch Matt Spray Varnish. After a Google search for spacing distance on telegraph poles I found that 10.4’’ between poles and around 1.5’’ from nearside rail was about right. The first 3 are lightly tacked down with PVA as I am still not convinced on height, size & location. Several photos have given the impression that they would decapitate traincrew despite being a scale 10ft from the nearest running rail. They say the camera never lies but I think the rule of angles often can !! Top level photos wont be undertaken until the board is complete. Apart from the 6+6 Redland and ECC PGA’s I have I am a little short on full rakes of anything. I suppose some mixed Enterprise trains could happen but I really cant wait for the day when I can picture a cl50 on 6+ NSE coaches or a cl60 on 10+ seacows !! Space in the bottom right corner of the lower level is begging for some kind of feature whether it be a structure, building, mast or derelict water tower .?.?.?.?.? Fencing is also a thought. I do love Pete Harvey’s security fencing sprayed silver or green and may have to find a use for some somewhere on the board. I also need to think about how I do the wires between telegraph poles ?? Any ideas on materials & execution would be greatly appreciated !! Bachmann 47535 with Howes sound is currently in the hands of Parcel Farce and should arrive tomorrow, so looking forward to a few nights on the workbench weathering, detailing, hearing and then photographing my first ‘Spoon’ next week !! More Large Logo Blue, I shall be modeling steam next at this rate !! Despite one of the comments on the last Blog entry, I can assure everyone I didn’t use breeze blocks to build the embankment despite the photos suggesting otherwise. The board is remarkable light and I can comfortably carry it with one hand between home & garden !! Just incase anyone is interested, the foam slabs were from B&Q and £11 for 5 4ft by 1ft pieces. It was very easy to work with, didn’t shread into snow like some cheap polystyrene blocks do and I actually used an electric kitchen carving knife to shape my earthworks !! Carving the Sunday roast will never be the same again !! Anyway, with a mass of glue, varnish & scenics drying nicely on the board I shall turn the last of my free time this afternoon to a few more photos, maybe a little DCC sound video (!) and painting up the Shawplan pipes ready for ‘University Of Leicester’s’ bufferbeams !! My final pic is my favourite so far, without even knowing it I created a quiet little corner, 'feet up on drivers desk, tea can on hot plate and a copy of the paper', making it the perfect little spot for a PNB !!

Hi Jim Bad news is this is OO, however, good news is with one 4x1 block of polystyrene left, some wood and a couple of quid in the birthday pot I am looking into a few ideas connected with P4 !! Its taken me over a year to go from code 100 to code 75 so the process of getting into P4 may be a slow one so dont hold your breath but I agree, some of my weathered wagon pics are let down by the wheels & trackwork so I am definetly interested in doing something in a more detailed and realistic scale. Regards Jon

Thanks Dave, after your post I decided to install track on the lower level. As you may have noticed from the weekends photos, it gives the board several new views & more uses........

'One for all the Class 50 purists ! No Loadhaul Froth here !' 'Nearing the end of its days, 33108 is stabled in a quiet corner at Meldon Quarry'

The lonely nights in front of the TV finally got the better of me last night and with 2 days off work I decided it was time to get into a new project and make the space problem work one way or another. A full blown layout was out of the question, a shelf layout is being done in my lad’s new bedroom and with photography on dioramas being the thing that really floats my boat I decided to go for another. This time a little larger and a bit more adventurous on the scenic side ! A bookcase in my bedroom very kindly has a 6ft by 18’’ flat top so it was crying out to have a model board stored on top of it so with the max space in the back of the car with seats folded and shifted about I decided to go for a 6ft by 1ft scene. I suppose with power supplied to it whilst at home it could be a layout of sorts but for the sake of argument lets stick to it being the mother of all photo dioramas !! Not really got a name, story, history, location or era yet as with my varied tastes in locos and stock the storyline to accompany photos, era & location could all change on a weekly basis ! A trip to B&Q & the model shop for a few bits and my legendary speed at starting projects off at a pace has combined to result in a fair bit of progress in initial build this evening. I would love some suggestions & ideas as to what should be included as I still feel it’s a bit of a blank canvas. With only a foot in width to play with and a hefty embankment at the front and a rear hide wall/bushes (still to be started) at the back, it has limited me to a single line. I tried double track but it all looked a bit squashed. Single locos can be pictured in several locations along the length of the board and full length trains can easily be accommodated along the full 6ft length. Think I will try my hand at homemade trees, maybe some water and to give it some height, telegraph poles and wires. Fencing, P Way clutter and foliage will all add to the scene and I will definitely be using the excellent Silflor grass ! I will document all the build process in future blog entries but for now, seeing as its way past my bedtime (!) here are a few shots of progress so far. 2x1 framing, 6mm marine ply top, heavy landscaping using polystyrene insulating blocks cut to size and shaved with an electric carving knife (that was great fun by the way !!) and the first of the foam walling sections from International Models installed. I will give full details of the build so far in the next blog entry.

Superb Jim, As if the box, OHLE & track work are'nt real enough, you manage to shrink a real tamper with some wonderful 'size reducing' machine you must have built and then park the thing on your layout !! On a serious note, the colours around the bogies and underframe equipment (rust on the guide wheel) are spot on. What camera are you using ?

'Ark Royal awaits its next turn of duty on a quiet Sunday afternoon at Old Oak Common' 'Why is it, you can never find a tail lamp when you need one !'

'Spring '92 and with a DMU shortage & Class 50s dropping like flies, West of England Control pluck 33108 out of Riverside Yard to operate 2F19, the 0836 Exeter St Davids - Barnstaple stopper.' 'Seen here passing Chittlehamholt with a tired looking Mk1 Open & Brake, the Crompton sounds glorious attacking the steep banks.'

........and this is what it worked back the next day !

'Stranger in the night' 'Its gone 22.00 and a Crompton rattles down the single line heading for Brooke Wharf on a light engine working from Hither Green ?'

Some wagon weathering......................... 6 down, only 36 to go..................... A 'Hoodie' Freightliner driver........................ The weather starting to close in......................... I wish I had two.......................... Back in the day............................ and my pet loco looking a bit better then, than it does at Toton now !

5 more from yesterdays cold but sunny trip out in the sticks ! Still not warmed up yet !

Sorry, the sun came out and I couldnt resist !! 'Valiant spends a quiet Sunday stabled at Brooke Lane' '60001 & 60006 head the 6C31 0740 Bow-Brooke empties back to Brooke Stone Quarry' '153333, avoiding the paintshop and still running in Central Trains livery !' 153333 in Leicestershire, taken on location, the white house in the background is Keythorpe Grange Cottage on the A47 between Tugby & East Norton' ........and a couple of wagon shots to finish !

A final selection from me before a stock clearout, some work on new stuff & hunting down new locations before the summer !!

What a popular thread this is lately ! Some super snaps !

My modelling mojo is slowly coming back after a few dark weeks away so thought I would post a couple to cheer my Friday night up !! 'The Sunday afternoon convoy heads for Brooke Wharf having departed Toton 2hrs later than booked' 'After months of railtour duties, 50015 finds itself in less glamorous surroundings working a pway support train from Laira'

Ex 20T Ferry Van ZSX DB768980 awaits collection from Brooke Lane Sdgs & transfer to Brooke Stone Quarry where it will find use as an internal user storage van at the motive power servicing point.

No probs mate, keep the stand as long as you like & we can sort out coming over in March when hopefully the weather will have improved. The coupling was in the bottom of the spares box. I'm guessing its either a Hornby cl60 spare or it came out of the Hornby 08 detailing bag ??

Hello Mate ! Its got quite a good base colour to start with as shown in pic 1. By pic 7 you can see I completly covered it with Railmatch Frame Dirt spray. Quite a thick coat as well. To get to where it is in the finished pics involved taking most of it off with strokes from side to side with a lot of thinner on a cotton bud. I just left patches. Bit hit and miss what you do & dont take off but whilst still soaked in the thinner I also rubbed over it wth a sponge. This may be the key to the pattern/texture thats left. The thicker the coat of paint, when taken off it can go a little bitty & sticky, like the gluey residue left by a label or sticker. I leave some of this on and flatten it with my finger or a sponge so its not too rough. The last thing was to add a dusting of the mid rust powder (the middle packet of the 3 shown). Put quite a lot on and only lightly blow the dust off before sealing with matt varnish. When you spray the varnish on it looks like you have lost all the colour, texture & work but when dry it all comes back and looks ok as above. Hope this helps Jon.

With some free time this weekend further work on Brooke Stone could take place however I was still a bit undecided what to do next on the main board so with a list of small side projects to get underway I decided a spot of detailing and weathering would fill Saturday afternoon. I wanted a van to sit on the back road round the side of the servicing building. Something that would provide storage for the depot and engines could be put to use shunting into a position of loading/unloading on the concrete pad. A browse in the model shop the other day turned up a Hornby 20T ex ferry van (ZSX) which I liked the look of. Lots of potential for some effective weathering and a decent price at under a tenner ! The bonus was it was departmental grey/yellow and would match 50015 a treat. Out the box it was all too clean, shiny and toy like for my tastes ! The undercarriage and couplings defiantly needed work so with a sharp knife away came the ugly couplings and I was left with something a little more eye catching for the right reasons ! Further detail was added in the form of vac & air pipes & a smart working coupling that I can loop over the hook on 50015. With the roads on Brooke Stone all being reasonable straight this connection will be adequate I think. Tail lamps added to the brackets and it was time to weather. My weathering kit (!), nothing special and completely air brushless due to the cost, the cleaning & maintenance involved and also the fact I know I would be useless with it !! Now, don?????t panic but first up was my customary blanket coat of Railmatch Frame Dirt in a can !! Bounced off the board the van stood on at close range and a spray across the roof from side to side left me with this mess ! Taking most of that off with thinner & cotton buds whilst still a little tacky provides the texture and coarse look to the bodywork. The cotton buds cant quite get into all the nooks & crannies so the impression of long standing muck building up in these areas is achieved. Next up was several dustings of the 3 powders you saw within my kit. All rust, brown & yellow based these are applied with the bigger make up brush and pushed & worked into the general areas you would expect rust to have taken hold. Using the powder in the Tamiya box which is a little thicker & oily compared to the loose stuff in the packets I added streaks of the rust colour concentrating on the door and the yellow stripe always working from top to botton and never left to right. Black powder was added to areas around the wheels and handbrake. I picked out a few details with a thinner soaked cotton bud like the yellow axle box covers, lifting points, tail lamps & signage. After a good coat of matt varnish and a couple of dry & windy hours drying outside the finished van was complete and ready to take up residence as a internal user storage van at the quarry. Just a couple of stray hairs to pick off with the tweezers !!