artizen

You are a very patient man. To even think of cutting 162 curved beams and then shape each one individually to correct profile makes me reach for a strong coffee!

I have to disagree. This layout is definitely worth exhibiting. Just ask lots of RMwebbers to come along with suitable sound chipped locos to help make it the beast that it should become! I would imagine a very busy shed with around 40 or more locos all moving and doing things is a definite difference to the more usual TMD or roundy. Probably a nightmare to operate but then just think of it as a challenge! You can't invest this much time and hard earned coins of the realm into this and not show it off.

Glad this is on here at last! I followed this layout for ages on NRM website. It always looked the part (never mind the historical accuracy etc). The overall mood captures the area really well and your techniques and build quality creates a real feeling for a time and place lost. Post more photos please!

Sorry Ron - I thought our mould making session was last night but it turns out it is about two months away! If you need info on moulding materials etc, look for suppliers to the film and TV industry. The local company here in Brisbane is called Barnes and they have a mind-boggling range of stuff to choose from. I use a product called Pinkysyl silicone rubber compound to make my bricks but you may need a harder material to create resin products from.

A few copies of News of the World wouldn't go astray then? Looking really good now.

I think I remember you mentioning that the roof will be removable for viewing at shows but how much of the track outside the shed are you intending to model? I can't imagine how many operators it would take to have around 30 locos all busily going about their business in and around this epic! All with sound as well - please post a video when that happens!

If it helps - I used Windsor and Newton Burnt Umber artists' acrylic paint to do the rails on my layout. Maybe too dark for some viewers but it was what was lying around. Surprisingly it sticks quite well to Peco track. As you can get 75mL tubes for about the same price as 12mL of Humbrol, maybe worth a look. Colour choice is yours though - I feel UK rust is quite a light colour in some areas and much dirtier in others.

Looking good now with the added clutter and weeds around the tracks. Just need to double the quantity of green stuff I think!!!!! Have you painted the track rails yet - they still look shiny in the photos. Take your time adding the scruffiness - sneak up on it slowly so it looks realistic and passes the test each time you look at it. Maybe add some bushes to the mix as well as the flock for variety in colour and height. Looking good - keep going.

Going to a meeting on Monday night about resin moulds and casting stuff that cannot be purchased in a store. Should be interesting. If I learn anything I will let you know! Currently my knowledge is restricted to silicone rubber moulds for making bricks.

Found this link http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/tmrg/images/greenparkroof.jpg http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/33141-lime-street-station/

There was another build on RMweb that used Shapeways or someone similar to build canopy supports using rapid prototyping. Can't remember the layout now though. Maybe send Shapeways the CAD file for a quote? Can't imagine me ever having the patience to build hundreds of little posts to any level of accuracy!!!!

I have only just logged back in this morning to see your reply to The Steamy Pudding! Yes - Gn15 is modelled on 16.5mm track which represents 15 inch minimum gauge at a scale of either 1:22.5 if you are a bit of a purist/European or 1:24 which at this size is interchangeable really. By going to 1:24 I have access to truck, car and dolls house materials at the right price so the population just swelled yesterday by three - a Dalek key chain which happens to be about the right scale, and two more Stigs in soap! There is certainly no rivet counting in Gn15 - it's all about having fun!!! I watch of lot of threads on different forums and yours is one of only a very few that I have directly bookmarked. I scan about eight forums daily searching for snippets of information and watching wonderful modelling happening all around the globe. The internet certainly has opened up the whole hobby of modelling to a global audience, which is why you can model in Spain and someone like me in Australia can comment daily on your wonderful work. Keep posting the photos - we are all watching!!!

It's surprising how many bricks each building is taking. The current building extravaganza includes a tunnel (2000 bricks), an office (around 800 bricks), a drainage ditch (around 600 bricks) and the beam engine museum (around 2400 bricks). Here is a very low-res image from a calendar I have just produced to take with me to NZ next week for a couple of fellow modellers.

This whole build continues to be completely mad. I'm loving it!!! Says he who has just made 21,000 bricks for the Gn15 layout!!!! Still three more boards to go so I know how you feel about the size and complexity of big models.

I have to admit that all my current layouts are now completely screwed - no glue or nails in sight!!! That way I can pull bits off every time I remember another bit of wiring that needs to be put in. Just a thought - instead of a large mirror, by not try a small high definition camera on a long stick using either self timer or radio release? I just thought of that because I own a Benbo 2 tripod which has that ability (the long stick).

I hope that in the grand scheme of things when all this is nailed down on your final baseboard, that you have thought of all the possible camera angles to take extraordinary shots of all this construction in a working environment. This layout has all the makings of several magazine articles about it.

I am learning from you - keep posting the photos!!! Have just rebuilt a simple little office building three times due to silly little errors. My fault for designing the interior on the fly. Just as well I am using cardboard and printouts from the giant inkjet printer I have otherwise it would have cost a bomb by now!!! Nice to see work that is accurate and as detailed - even when the detail will probably be lost behind other structures.

The driver needs to do a hand brake turn hard right then? It's all downhill after all!!!!

Definitely option 3. It gives a reason for the retaining wall and as you say, frames the area nicely.

This is still unbelievable. My only tiny tiny tiny little niggle is that the brick pattern repeats in the larger areas but I assume that very little will be seen directly and it is still to be weathered etc. Certainly the fit and finish of all your modelling is way better than I can ever achieve so don't take this as a criticism.

I have a bag of black aquarium stones in a range of sizes from 2mm to 4mm which would be ideal except they are a bit shiny. But there is no dust and the look is fairly close to coal. You would need a way of emptying the wagons afterwards which I assume will happen behind the scenes anyway? Going back to the track plan you have posted - there are a couple of peninsula boards which don't appear to connect with the other side and indeed the full run of boards doesn't appear to connect to create a roundy. Have I got it wrong or is this going to be point to point?

In answer to your question - View of the underside looking West (have I got to build all these piers, and more ?) Yes! You do! Because we are all watching and eagerly awaiting further developments. Now I am beginning to see just how complex and huge this model is going to be! The size of this elephant is truly scary (one small piece of plastic at a time).

So far I have only painted the rail sides - with Windsor and Newton Burnt Umber (yes, water colour acrylics!!!). Surprisingly the paint does stick to the metal if you give it time to dry thoroughly before scraping the rail tops. Most of it stayed behind and I have touched it up. As for dirty ballast between the rails, I am waiting to build more of my layout before I tackle that so that I can use a large amount of really thinned paint to stain the ballast between the tracks in what will hopefully be a realistic interpretation of dribbled diesel pee and oils and grease etc. As my ballast is real rock I am thinking towards an oil based paint in the ratio of 1:100 (99% thinners) so that I am just lightly staining the rock each time I pass over it. I would expect to slowly build up the final look and also several goes allows me to vary the intensity in spots on the track such as turnouts etc for a more realistic finish. I will have to test a short piece first though - water based acrylics might be the final choice only because I use them exclusively everywhere else in the building of the layout. I intend to do the ballast dirtying before I add the final layer of weeds and grasses all over the trackwork for that lived-in look of a typical narrow gauge railway. Whatever method you use (acrylic or oils) I will be trying to get the look with a 100mL bottle with a fine spout and squeeze the bottle slightly as I go along between the rails. Being so dilute it won't matter if you accidently squirt a little too much in some places. I think this technique is called confidence in your own abilities!!!!!

Have a look here - a Dutch company now with headquarters in New York but I believe the majority of the work is still produced in Europe - http://www.shapeways.com/materials/frosted_detail Some of the materials have a definite life though - between 2-5 years but painting and careful handling should extend that. JLTRT uses a high-end 3D printing technique for their kits.