Chris Nevard

Thanks Mr Craigwalsh, the problem of too much post blog editing with cut and paste. Not being a proper modeller, I tend to buy wagons at the spur of the moment at shows, then discover that they're out of era later when I finally decide to do some kind of half hearted research. I do like the earlier stuff, so really should be modelling pre-war (but I'm not going to). Mr Hymek2, the texture is bog roll bonded into the plastic card roof with lots of solvent. Once painted and weathered it's quite effective and will look a little like the roof here on this LBSCR van done at te weekend: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/5697265586/sizes/o/in/photostream/ The rest of it will be treated much like this Python (I really need to improve the glazing on this one kicking off with some muck) which also has a bog roll roof. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/3632220274/sizes/o/in/set-72157612139416281/

nevard_110510_minkD_DSC_2168_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. A Parkside Dundas kit of a GWR 'Mink D' Goods Van after assembly and a coat of BR Carmine courtesy of Halfords Ford Venetian Red. Obviously this wagon is not yet finished should anyone ask, the roof needs painting grey, the underframe black, then numbering, couplings and the all important weathering. Parkside Dundas kits are mostly a joy to assemble, with little flash and carving required to get them to fit together, with the basic assembly taking about an hour. However in this kit for some reason the brake shoe legs or arms or whatever they're called are about 3mm too short, so a little shim of plastic card was bonded to the underside of the chassis behind the solebars so the shoes hang at the correct height in relation to the wheels. Some of the chassis detail is supplied as thin plastic rod which will last about 3 minutes in the real world, so that was replaced with some suitable brass wire for added strength and fidelity. Historically to be totally accurate, it's touch and go as to whether this type of GWR Mink D lasted into the BR era, though the similar looking later designs did. Of course in Nevardland I don't worry about bending time ever so slightly, and anyway, the only people that might get upset probably have squeaky voices and are generally not the sort I'd be comfortable introducing to my wife or 'normal' friends ....... Edited for typo

Thanks chaps! Here could be a shot of the van a fe w years later, shortly before the brewery owners decided to use the wagon and a fire lighter for the boiling coppers http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pic2/wagons/lbsc_box2.html Something I didn't mention is the roof, some some time I've been soaking a single sheet of bog-roll with polystyrene solvent and bonding it to the plastic roof. Once painted and dry-brushed the effect is quite nice. There 1024 res version of the snap at the top of this page might show it off al ittle better http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/5696088317/sizes/o/in/photostream/

nevard_110511_LBSCR-8-tons-van-DSC_2157_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. I've had this kit of a LBSCR 8 Ton Van in the 'kits to be done one day before I die box' since ExpoNG 2010, having bought it direct from the manufacturer Smallbrook Studios who are more well known for delightful resin based narrow gauge kits. However, in addition to their more well known items, they also produce a small range of ex-LSWR and LBSCR prototypes in 4mm scale designed around the Dapol 10ft wheel base ready to run chassis, the kit prototypes being wagons that ended up on the Isle of Wight in their later years. Without going into too much detail, after all that's what the supplied instruction are for, here is the completed wagon after an afternoon's work. My depiction here, is a 'what if' should one of these wagons ended back on the main land in private ownership after finally running out of puff in the engineering section of the Southern Region. The numbering might horrify the purists, but they were simply home printed out onto self-adhesive label and stuck on rather than messing about with transfers (what is all this 'decal thing'? I'm English so 'transfers' it is - so there!). In real life, which will not be nearly as big as you see on your screen here, the paper numbering looks quite respectable. For the neurotics which I'm sure there are plenty, I'll just tell them that the wood was so rotten that some plywood was used as a base for the numbering. The wagon here is in quite a heavily weathered state, after its last overhaul it would have been pale grey or possibly even bare wood with the white numbering on black. A few colour washes and much dry-brushing has produced the excessive exposed to the elements look I wanted.

The plan at this stage is to have the layout as part of the magazine display - that way I hopefully won't have to play trains too often because I'll be able to farm the operation off on Mr Dibber and the other red polo shirted people.

Jabs from ruscksacks or against germies? I've got just 3 or 4 months to practice being a primadonna moaning about wind, dust and fry-ups now, whilst booming out "don't you know who I am? I've been building model railways for 30 years darling!"....

For want of a BLOG post, rather than dwell on pretty photos and blarney, this one is about the journey so far, for Brewhouse Quay has to be one of the quickest layouts I've been able to get together. There is quite a bit more to do, but I think that layout at a push has reached the stage where I'd be happy to take it to a show. That however won't be until September at Model Rail Live in Barrow Hill Roundhouse. Any spare time over the next few weeks will be taken up tweaking Combwich for RAILEX, for that layout is 30 years old now and is a bit like running a classic MG or having a high maintenance wife - constant TLC required! I digress..... Whilst the track is handbuilt, the buildings are 50/50 ready to plop/scratchbuilt, that definitely is has a speed advantage. Whether I'd use such a large ratio in the future is debatable - I prefer a more individual approach. However I was offered the brewery buildings as a freebee, and with these latest Scenecraft releases being extraordinarily good and above an beyond what I could achieve with the time I have available (model making is only a small fraction of my involvement within the hobby). December: planning January: woodwork and soldering! February: wiring, the running of the first train March: groundwork April: colouring May: enjoying

Would I be right in thinking that white paint was more expensive because the manufacturing process was rather involved - hence rather pricy?

Thanks for this - a very useful post and another excuse to sit in the garden with a beer doing it (saves hoovering up you see)..

nevard_110428_J94_DSC_2049_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia. Follwing on from my previous post, ......... "ello, ello, what's goin on 'ere?". What would appear to be a special contract brew for the Black Rat Brewery is under guard courtesy the long arm of the law, or old bill. A few of those casks appear the have already had their liquid bounty racked off if the holes are anything to go by!Out of curiosity, the type of huge wooden cask on the far left are rumoured to be known as a 'butt', this being correct means that they each carry 108 gallions of intoxicating liquor, or possibly just air in this case! More imporatanly who has pinched the ale? Model Rail Forum or maybe YMR? Maybe it's filling tankards at Buck House this afternoon? There's a bigger view here http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

Thanks Paul - I like the sound of that! And they run so well too - all I had to do was widen the back to backs a little and bingo.

A freshly detailed and repainted Hornby J94 Austerity shunts on Brewhouse Quay - click to enlarge to 1280 pixels across. Work so far has been as follows, a nice way to soak up the sunny garden at the same time and you don't have to worry about vacuuming up the bits! Remove the silly clumsy moulded handrail loop midway along the base of the boiler. Fill small cutaway below the above. Replace the moulded smokebox door handles with brass. Remove moulded lamp-irons and replace with brass. File away and replace the cab entry grab rails and replace with brass. File away mould lines on the chimney. Remove moulded coal. Repaint the whole loco in matt black and Ford Meadow Green. Add 3 link couplings. Blacken wheels - this makes a huge improvement, short of actually replacing them. Etched bespoke name plate 'RADSTOCK' from Narrow Planet. Add coal load to bunker. Weather. Add a crew (there's still a vacancy for a fireman). Still to be done Replace the moulded pipework below the cab at a later stage when I source something suitable - suggestions of a supplier greatfully received. Add slightly larger diameter buffers (probably using an overlay) to avoid occasional buffer lock on the sharp quayside bends. Things that won't be done The line along the base of the saddle tank will sadly have to stay, the top section of the tank comes away to allow access to the motor! There probably is a way around this, but this is a quickie (as are most of my projects out of necessity). Want to know a little more? http://nevardmedia.b...label/Austerity

Thanks Mike, age of the wagon would tend to suggest your thoughts

For brick recently I've been using Halfords red primer and do the usual pale wash over for mortar. We tend to overdo pale mortar on models, though in real life it's often darker than the brick. Feathering in some Humbrol 'brick red' and 'leather' randomly will give some colour variation. Picking out the odd brick more accurately in another colour can look good, but it can look a little cartoon like if overdone, that could probably be addresses with a little dry-brushing to reduce the effect if it looks a little like a 'painting by numbers' exercise. For the 'blue bricks' the same grey that's used for slates won't be far wrong. Luckily, whilst steam and semaphores are mostly long gone, we have plenty of old brickwork around for reference.

That might be similar to the revel brown. It's just that my local Modelzone only stocks Revell these days. I like gunmetal black too - it drybrushes to a lovely oily sheen. I hanve to thank Darren of Torrington fame for that tip after seeing what a beatiful job he does on his locos etc.

Ken - those greens work well for SR building green. I just remember it and generally recall the green being a very pale almost copper oxide colour and nothing like what we see on preserved railways (that's probabaly down to the fact that they're repainted far more regularly than working BR). I'll have a look to see what I use for the SR 'cream' later - it certainly will be nothing like the bright yellow 'railway colour'.

Hi Missy, yup, those 'stone' shades get used for dry-brushing everthing too - as you say, it really helps with the patina. I don't think I ever use any solid colour straight from the pot these days - well bith buildings and ground cover anyway.

Beautifully neat work!