wiggoforgold

It was an excellent show, and operating Bleat was great fun. Sheepbloke minor did some good operating too. I came away with some new ideas, so all. In all a most useful weekend. Alex

Our cat didn't watch from afar. The exploratory paw in the engine shed was dealt with by modelling the shed closed with the doors shut. Alex

I like the water tank. You may recall from the RM web members day last year that I made something similar for Upwell Drove; I also found my original model too big, and the history of the redesign can be found in my layout thread. Can I commend to you the Wills vari-girder as a source of tank side panels? Building a tank from these enabled me to work out a suitable size for the supports. Alex

And I was so comfortable with the lack of lining. I think it .ooks really smart. Perhaps it lost the lining towards the end of it's service? An economy repaint perhaps? Alex

Sounds like a plan. Thanks. Alex

That's unlined. Moral: don't rely on memory. What to do now? I could remove the lining, but as it's an excuse for another one, I'll find a 45xx that ran on the branch in lined green, renumber the model, and make a new 4574 in lined green. Result: Alex

Ho Hum. I thought it did, but I'm looking at a picture of 4574 in Laira shed after withdrawal and I'm not sure ; I'll have another look in the morning when the light is better. Alex

Latest additions to the roster - 4555 and 4574 of Laira depot. Alex

Morning Martyn, I was giving some though as to how I might achieve the Fenland soil colour. Have you thought about using powders? From the ground texture you have achieved, I think I'd make a mix of a black/brown soil colour by mixing powders. I'd use dark earth and smoke, mixed with a little water and decalfix and applied as as wash. Once dry, a bit of dry brushing to enhance the effect, and possibly a bit more powder, this time applied dry. There shouldn't be any resultant glossiness, but if there is, a quick spray of acrylic Matt varnish would get rid of it. Hope this is helpful Alex

Hi Brian The internal walls on my model are more for ensuring the external shape of the structure is maintained, rather than faithfully replicating the actual positioning. That said, hopefully they are in roughly the correct places. Looking at the lower of my 3 photos above, from the southern end, I think the lower right hand room is the toilets, the top right is the Princetown waiting room, the top left the Plymouth waiting room, and the lower left is a lobby. Access to the Princetown waiting room would be via a door in the back wall of the Plymouth waiting room. I'm not sure which rooms will get interiors yet. Based on the proposed position on the layout, the Plymouth waiting room won't, the Princetown waiting room probably will, and the lobby may, because the interior of those two rooms will be visible through the windows. The toilets won't. Happy Christmas, and thanks for your kind comments. Alex

Her's a festive picture of parts ready for one of the New Year projects. Merry Christmas everyone. Alex

Happy Christmas all Alex

As you may have noticed I am a bit of a fan of Treemendus earth powder. They already do Nornandy earth, I wonder if they might be persuaded to do Fenland earth? Alex

Looking forward to it Rob. I may bring a new toy with me Alex

Nice work Martyn. I like the gates. Did you make them or are they commercially available? Alex

Once back from the Manchester show, I 've had the oppportunity to do some more work on the up platform building. Having had the opportunity to see some pictures oif the elusive Princetown platform, and looking at the pictures Bill kindly posted of his model, I decided that I could not live with my guesswork as to the layout of the Princetown platform face, and have rebuilt it, minus the door. The model has now aquired a brick plinth, made from Wills sheet, and internal walls. I've done a bit of filling, and given it a coat of grey primer to highlight any areas in need of attention. The next stage is the roof, complete with chimney and canopy. Alex

Merry Christmas Rob.

Don't encourage him!!

Keith, further to your guest ion about suitable brickwork for the platform face: Browsing the web yesterday I came across this site: https://www.railwayscenics.com/index.php i'm going to try their old orange brick for the platform face. They also do a diamond pattern paving, which looks to have possibilities for some GW platform surfaces, including the down platform at Yelverton. Alex

A couple more pictures: Having arrived at Upwell Drove, 68223 starts to shunt a train of vans. Ex LMS van anbd GE brake van Alex

As promised, here are some pictures of the layout at Manchester: At a deserted Upwell Drove, Mario the station cat waits for the first train of the day. A J70 takes on water J70's were much in evidence: 68222 and 68223 Finally, and overall view of the layout Alex

Hi Keith, I've been giving this some thought. Be aware that the Up and Down platforms are different construction. The down platform is stone, the up platform (including the Princetown branch platform) is brick. I haven't finally decided which Scalescenes sheet to use for the brick, but it will either be the red or possibly the London brick. If you haven't already seen them, there's some useful pictures of the Yelverton platform sides to be found on the net if you Google "Yelverton station" Alex

That's the Manchester show done. Back to Cornwall in the morning. Thanks for all the kind comments. I'll put some pictures up when I get home Alex

Cheers Mark and thanks for your help today. We are enjoying the show and have already met lots of friends old and new. Pictures to follow when we get heme. Special thanks to Liz who drove the layout up from Cornwall in a hired car she only picked up on Thursday with horrendous road conditions between Birmingham and Manchester. Couldn't have done it without her. Looking forward to tomorrow. Alex

These arrived from Narrow Planet today. On the basis that 4574 is currently on the work bench, any thoughts on the identity of the New year modelling project? Alex