Sandhills

10 days since the last entry & not had a lot of time to do much to the board, until today ! Awaiting detail bits & lighting for the 3 structures that have been started so rounded up every last bit of plastic & balsa and set about the 4th & biggest structure for the board. Turned into a bit of a monster and by the end of construction I was cleared out of all material so building number 5 will require a few purchases & a re stocking of the storage box ! Anyway, results shown below (apologies for the poor lighting and kitchen backdrop) with the structure shown off the board first then positioned on the left hand side & back edge of the board. A conveyor will run from this structure, across the elevated loading lines and into the loading hopper shown on previous blogs. This is yet to be constructed and will be broken half way across its journey by a conveyor sub station, ie the 5th and final structure for the board. Fitted lights inside the depot building although the benefit from these will show better on a planned night shoot sometime in the new year when all the lights are installed and all 5 buildings affixed to the board. Took delivery of a few samples of Silfor grass mats and have played around with a few ideas on the bottom left section of the board. Track has had a base coat of Rail Match sleeper grime and weathering and rusting will take place over the coming weeks, no doubt as, ???one line at a time??™ sessions until complete. The metal storage bins shown in front of the depot are a little tester/teaser from Pete H (PHD) and I can see them being added to Pete??™s product list vcry soon. I for one would like several more & at least 5ft of the modern security fencing !! Not sure about the retaining wall colour, texture & design and further weathering and covering with foliage may be required to get something I am a little more happy with. Love the Silfor grass mats and think I will go for a lush green summer look across the board to suit the blue sky & sunshine photos I plan to take in the summer months. Was so pleased with the colour my plaster repair concrete apron dried I have decided after a good sand not to paint and I have added the weathering powder straight to the plaster. Hopefully I can get the board outside in the garden for 10 mins between now and the weekend and get some natural light on the grass. With work going into overdrive & lots of family commitments in the run up to Christmas it may be my 5 days off over Christmas before I can get anymore done.

Looked at some finescale track and was impressed. However........... Then looked at contents of my wallet and what I had leftover from previous projects and a compromise was required. Seeing as I made the trackwork on 'Two Way Traffic' look quite realistic I have decided to go with Peco 75 and the ballasted underlay rather than the more expensive route of breaking new ground with C&L stuff.......another time maybe ! Anyway, soldered droppers onto 5 lengths, incased them in the underlay and glued them down into position. A quick test with the Dynamis connected to the DCC bus I have fitted revealed all my solders were good. Marked out the area where the depot will sit using some L shaped plastic strips and filled the area with plaster repair. Smoothed over and misted with water its drying nicely with no signs of cracking. When dry I shall spend time cleaning up and sanding smooth and using a sharp knife to dig out the inside of the running rails to allow locos access to the depot. Did this sucessfully before on Brooke Wharf so i'm not too worried even though it can be a nightmare job. To get the same sort of finish on the track as the last photo board I will be spraying all the track and ballast with Railmatch Sleeper Grime, weathering in places, rust side rails & pick out the sleeper chairs. Much of the track work will have weeds in the four foot and I expect on some photos, with the length of vegetation that the track work will be obscured anyway. 3 buildings are at the final stages of weathering, detailing and lighting however for these to progress an online shopping spree for lights will be required so post Christmas for that one !! The final 2 buildings to make the magic 5 are still at the 'planned in my head' stage but with a good supply of card, plastic and balsa I can make a start over the coming weeks. Seeing as I made a saving/compromise with the track I plan to indulge on the scenics and its likely that the ground cover base will be the rather expensive but completly brilliant Silfor grass mats from International. Simon of this parish has very kindly decided to let me purchase the re spray of 001 so thats on the Christmas list as a present, 10+ ECC PGA's have been secured at the model shop and will be held under the counter until next year when financies allow. I also plan to have re sprays of 005 & 010 before October next year and this will bring the Construction Tug fleet to 4 all operating on the board. All sound fitted its not going to be cheap but with a Christmas, Birthday & plenty of summer time OT it should be affordable. The rough timetable looks like this - Now - New Year = Buildings, trackwork, electrics New Year - March = Scenics March - April = Building placement, further smaller detail May (Birthday month) = Purchase DCC system (Lenz or Prodigy ?) June - July = The finshing touches August - September = Fleet upgrades, wagon weathering, late summer sun photo sessions October = Final presentation Really enjoyed todays session and coupled with the enjoymant of seeing everyone elses progress via the forum i'm getting really excited by the potential photographic trips in the summer. Already found 2 cracking locations out towards Mountsorrel with the quarry and blue sky as backdrops. 2010 sq in but the views will go on for miles !!

Getting withdrawl symptoms with no finished layout to photograph so heres one from the archive that I have always liked as it was a very sunny & enjoyable day back in the summer.

Thanks Dave. No probs with warping. Most of the stuff I use is 10mm thick and the pieces are all relatively short so it isnt a problem. Doesnt like getting wet and can be a little awkward to cut unless your using a really really sharp blade but it does provide a really sturdy basis to work on and add too.

Going to pick up some 4mm railings on the next visit to 'ye olde model shoppe' next week ! Until then I will make sure no Preiser men fall to their little 4mm deaths !!

The wallet couldnt stand the pressure of two mate ! Progress will slow a bit after this session as any further work = expenditure !

Still waiting for the boiler suited man with spanners so in the meantime challenge work continues at a pace ! For 75p, a strip of balsa split in half gets you a chunky conveyor belt housing in 5 mins.................. Stuck together and cut to a length leaving a few mm either way ready for fitting a quick rummage through the off cuts from the building panels gets you enough to cover 3 sides..................... Finished in 5 mins with the aid of super quick setting Red Rocket and its off to the spray booth along with an equal length of pipe............................. The magic colour as many on here will have discovered in the past is the Halfords Grey car primer. I use the one for plastics.............. Welcome to my sophisticated spray booth with natural vapour extraction !! Dont think SWMBO was too keen on grey kitchen units and worktops !! No problems this time with the paint going wrinkly and half a can later everything was coated to a satisfactory level with any light patches covered later with the weathering. Remebered to mask off the brick work this time ! This stuff doesnt come off to well without lots of scrubbing and very strong thinner ! Once dry I decided to go for an ashphalt roof effect on building 3 and after mixing a pot of 2 & 4mm black & grey ballast I painted the roof area with a layer of pva and sprinkled away ! Left outside for an hour I blew the excess ballast off, checked for any glaring errors and everything is now inside and ready for a test placing on the board and a few more pics. More on that later..........................................

Talk about being stuck between a rock & a hard place. Usually work my booked days off for extra pocket money but with the plumber booked to come and sort our heating problems and SWMBO being full time Mon-Fri its down to me to be 'stay at home dad' for the day and await the potentially expensive visit from the boiler man ! Ironic really when I should be working to earn the pennies to pay for the repairs !! Anyway, the plus side is with not having to get up at stupid o clock I had a late night at the kitchen table last night and put together the 3rd big structure for the board. This one is for the front right side of the board and will provide the cover from fiddle to scenic section. I even managed to take a few pics during construction so I can prove its me building these things and not a team of modelling goblins that do it during the night while I sleep !!!! Still have the pipe work and conveyor housing to do but this cant be started until the two buildings these will run between are finished and in place on the board. The story so far then................. First up, a balsa wood frame using rough measurements for loco clearance, scale and board position. I cut my balsa strips up with a very sharp blade and use a sanding block just to square off my cut edges. Nothing is an exact science and so long as it sits level and holds together well it does for me. I use rocket glue (yellow) to hold everything together and the roof and underfloor were done using 5mm foamboard this time as the balsa supply was running out ! .....and to give you an idea of how it works on the board - Next up is the brickwork. One sheet of 4mm plasticard brick painted with Dulux white emulsion. I then sponge off the top surface and this leaves a rough looking white in the grout. Cut in strips and applied to the structure using rocket then the joining edges trimmed with a scalpel. Decided not to go for the overhanging side cladding this time to save on wood strips and time so the next step was to apply the plasticard planking cut to size directly onto the frame. Even though this stuff is designed to represent wooden planking I think it works quite well as modern industrial metal factory cladding especially when painted with the grey primer. After a rummage in the bits and bobs box I found a few strips of tube and right angled plasticard to add some detail, hide some joins and finish the corners to cover my dodgy cuts and unequal lines & gaps !! 'Good size, this one' as you will have noticed and I think once the joining pipes and conveyor belt housings are added from the loading hopper on the higher level, this building will look at home on the front edge and serve its purpose to hide the fiddle well. Its not raining this morning so next up is to mask off the brickwork and give everything a good coat of Halfords Grey Plastic Primer outside in my garden spray booth !! More pics later............................

Just a quick update today with one addition to the project......................... The era the board is run & photographed in will vary according to the stock I have at hand but the main time period I am going for is 1990-1995. My favourite railway period and also a time of some of my favourite liveries. Dutch, civil engineers & above all the two tone grey with sector markings. The colour scheme and vinyl lettering is as close as I could get to 'Construction' and with a blue drape around the table (yet to be stitched by mum !!!!) I am happy with the presentation so far. Just hope the scenics on top look as good ??!! A couple of express connection DCC plates will be installed on the front left and back right of the board for all round operation. Anyone got any Railfreight Construction 'blue & yellow block' motif stickers leftover from the Railfreight Roadshows in 1989 ?????? !!!!!!!

How do central heating systems know when theres a cold snap on ? Just about to go out and purchase some bits for the board including the track, Lenz system & the first bag full of assorted scenics and the boiler packs in ! So, as well as being cold this weekend the wallet is bracing itself for the plumbers bill next week and not a visit to the model shop. This challenge really is turning into a challenge and then some ! Good job we have plenty of time so a bit of saving wont do any harm to the boards progress and I can get on with building the next structure which I already have the materials for. Meanwhile, plumbing & heating issues aside, the board progressed a little further this afternoon with a coat of 'Dark Sky' gloss by Johnstones. The support table by the way is a very handy piece of kit I found on the Cromwell Tools website. Currently on offer at ??26 it folds and locks in half a bit like a paste table but has legs of steel tube construction and a hardwood top with a gloss coating. The legs all fold in and a carry handle is included. Very handy and just the right size for Challenge entries. Link below for those interested - http://www.cromwell.co.uk/PRO8000004A Had a half used tub of plaster repair in the garage and seeing as it dries quickly, is sandable and doesnt weigh much when hard & dry I decided to use it up and create some variation in the surrounding land around the running lines. Still have more to add but whats done so far will help to give the stabling point area a bit of depth and seclusion for the photos & the lump on the other side that spans the 2 boards will help to break up the uniformity of the brick wall that will run along the face of the raised loading roads. After another check for warping and that the boards were fitting together smoothly we decided to have a little play with some trains and took a few rough measurements for the next structure which will be right on the front edge of the scenic board butted up to the front panel on the fiddle yard board. It will be as tall as the building at the back on the raised section and span the 3 running lines on the lower section to provided some cover from activity in the fiddle yard. With several pipe runs and conveyors running from this structure to the back structure the view to fiddle yard should be obscured enough and with the fiddle board detached a perfect camera angle will be provided looking through the structure down towards the stabling shed. Right, back to the workbench for some balsa bashing whilst dressed in wooly hat and gloves to keep warm !!!!

I suspect, unlike the 2012 Olympics, Brooke Stone at this early stage, appears to be, on time, on budget and most importantly on size !! After another woodwork session this afternoon the detachable fiddle/loco hide was constructed and with the use of alignment dowels (4) and side catches (3) added to the main board. On the fiddle yard board 2 high sides have been installed using 6mm ply with the back left open for access to the 5 running lines. Another scratch built structure will span the depth of the board from front to back and be wide enough and angled across the join to sufficiently hide rolling stock disappearing off the scenic section. The big moment came at just after 16.00 this afternoon when my lad, tape measure in hand, declared that despite dad's limited woodwork skills the boards, combined, were indeed the magic 67'' x 30'' resulting in 2010sq inches !! Next up is a little bit of filling, sanding and tidying up on the 2 boards then a coat of paint. A shade of Railfreight Construction Blue, or something quite close, is looking favourite at the minute and I will be tasking my local sign writing guy to run up a set of yellow self adhesive letters for the front panel on the fiddle yard board. BROOKE STONE The 2010 RMweb Challenge Along the 5 theme, as well as having 5 roads, a couple more thoughts over the last few days have been - 5 resident locos, possibly all construction based 56 & 60's from the 1990-95 period. All custom re sprays with weathering, detail & sound. 5 major scratch built structures on the board of which 2 have been started, 1 in early stages on the workbench & 2 more to plan, build & place. Spare time and cash for the layout will be on a drip feed from now until after Christmas due to work going into silly season & a 5 year old with a 7 page list for Santa !! Got plenty of building material in the stores though so whilst track, power & control systems, lighting & rolling stock will have to wait until after the festive season I can spend the next month or so beavering away on the workbench coming up with the other 3 structures and finishing the 2 already started.

Couple more from me. The 'on loan' Freightliner 57 with a bit more sky - The photogenic Rat takes Brooke Wharf back to the early 80's -

Thanks for the comments Jim, Dave, Paul & James ! Good to get some feedback and motivation at the start. James - You got me ! Next click after finishing this comment will be to research some decent track. Seeing as it will feature in all the pics it seems worth the upgrade from code 75 ! Paul - Dont get me started ! My lad said exactly the same thing and now wants all 4 layouts linked together before tmow night !!

The bad weather has arrived this afternoon as forecast so its back inside for some laptop work, blog & thread updates & some research into some decent track ! Did manage a couple of hours woodwork earlier this afternoon and managed to complete the higher level base and frame 3 sides of the main board with 6mm ply. All sanded, glued, screwed & nailed with a good level surface, no big gaps (my usual wood working outcome !) and no sign anything will move or warp. Sourced some alignment dowels this morning so should get them fitted tmow & hopefully if the weather allows for working outside I can get the remaining 19''x30'' fiddle board finished and connected to the main board. Plan to use clips at the side along with the dowels and when supported by 2 Wickes trestles it should all hold together well. Weight wise, its certainly lighter than the MDF stuff I have put together before and should make transportation to those rolling landscapes a lot easier !! The shots below should start to give you an idea of size, scale, the sense of space & some of the great angles I can get from all round the board. Looking into track later today. Need to consider cost and also the fact that I have spare Peco code 75 in the Brooke stores but if this bull head stuff really is impressive then I might be tempted. It makes sense to use it as I have bags of time to research & purchase it and when you consider it will probably feature in every photo I take, it surely justifies the upgrade ?

Hi all, Here goes then, dont get too excited as this may not suit many but seeing as I was about to start a new project I might as well join in the fun and enter it as my 2010 challenge layout or should I say overgrown photo diorama ! Its not going to win many marks for operational content or ingenuity but for me this is about some top draw realistic photos, cracking scenary including using some stuff I have not tried before and showcasing some weathered stock both new & old. Lets get the controversial bit out the way first. I HATE POINTS ! Whether it be fitting them, painting them, motorising them and especially, photographing stuff on them. I find them ugly, locos dont look good in pics straggled across them and I feel its quite acceptable on a board this size to imagine my scene & the ground it covers not having any points visable. The other factor is cost. I would much rather spend my money on quality scenics to enhance the pics rather than having to splash out on points, motors, electrics etc etc etc........ So there you have it, no points, but, 5 roads to celebrate the 5th birthday and the 2010 sq in thing nailed firmly on the head with an overall size of 67'' x 30'' which, if my maths is correct equals the desired maximum. The scenic bit is 48'' by 30'' and the beginnings of a baseboard for this section were started on this afternoon. To the right will be a 19'' fiddle. I am looking at ideas for this bit including a slideable cassette system to move locos from one road to another but for the minute I will concentrate my efforts on the scenic bit and see what develops & suits best for the hidden bit at a later date. The board itself is going to be a couple of different scenes from front left to back right, however, my plan will be to give everything a 360 finish allowing photos & viewing from all sides. I am hoping the 2 scenes will sit well together on the one board and the scene I create will be believeable enough. BROOKE STONE then, will be a 2 road loading hopper with a network of pipes & conveyors etc on a raised back level on the board whilst nestling below on the front 1.5' of the board will be stabling sidings, a cripple road for wagons leading to a small reapir facility and a depot building of sorts offering service checks, A exams and undercover refueling for locos not returning to Brooke Wharf or Lane and awaiting their next turn of duty on site, a la EWS and their set up at Mountsorrel. Boards are 2x1 framework with batons every foot and to cut down on weight 6mm marine ply sides and tops. Not worried about warping as I have batoned the underneath well and I am a lot happier with the weight this time as the 9mm MDF constructions in the past have been a real bu**er to shift about when out photographing !! Power and control will come courtesy of a DCC Lenz system which is on the Christmas list and the track will be Peco code 75 having tried it and loved the look of it on the Two Way Traffic board I did a few months ago. Seeing as we have nearly a year I can safely say there will be several new loco & wagon additions for use on the board and I will include the weathering of these items as part of the overall project. Pictures galore guaranteed and I am keen to scratch build as much as possible so all this will be documented. A few pics below to set the scene and I hope everyone enjoys watching it develop into the finished article come October next year...........

Just tidying up the photo files on the laptop & found these 3 which I may have posted on the old thread but fancied seeing again ! 'From the 80's archive, 25095 trundles along the single line from Brooke Wharf with a trip working to Brookestone Quarry' 'Glorious sunshine back in August of this year as 60006 approaches Brooke Wharf Junction with 6E63' '153333 arrives on Dudley Road for refuelling before a day on the Stourbridges'

'Pete Harvey's DRS pairing, 20302 & 20305, power through Brookeshire with a flask working bound for Sellafield.......................'

'The flat cap wearing driver on 6Z25 opens up 25095 at the bottom of Billesdon Bank for the long slog to Brookestone Quarry'

Cant stop listening to - The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition Single of the year for me ?

Nice idea James and the first blog entry already reads well with researched development, interest and hopefully photos....soon ! Going to follow this one with interest and the 'blog favourites bookmark' will be clicked very shortly !

4 'cruel' close ups that I think still work as 'realistic'............................

Well, hopefully, you log off and dont bother logging back on again.

Thanks Oldfield_Park, It is natural light, in fact natural backdrop in natural field about a mile away from home ! Taken on a 4x1 plank stood on height adjustable trestles. The overhanging branch of the large tree just behind me in the shot was a fluke ! Not had a sky as good as that to work with since, unfortunately. The close up works quite well too - Had a go with a better quality camera yesterday (below), now if I can just get those weather conditions back at the same time as having the good camera around we should be onto a winner !? A re take of this one also awaits better weather -

Early evening starts to descend in Brookeshire as 25095 heads for home -

A late summer afternoon in the 'County Of Brookeshire'