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Stubby47

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Blog Entries posted by Stubby47

  1. Stubby47

    Another Tumbledown Shed

    By Stubby47,

    The last time I updated my thread was to add an entry about a little tumbledown shed.
     
    That was far too long ago, so I thought I ought to add some more entries.... starting with another version of the very same shed.
     
    Following the launch of my bespoke building building service, a commision has come in for two buildings, this being one of them.
     
    So, although not quite finished in these photos, here is my 2nd model.
     

     

     
    Edit 30/09/13 - A bit more progress :
     

     

     

     

  2. Stubby47

    Another Tumbledown Shed

    By Stubby47,

    The last time I updated my thread was to add an entry about a little tumbledown shed.
     
    That was fa rtoo long ago, so I thought I ought to add some more entries.... starting with another version of the very same shed.
     
    Following the launch of my bespoke building building service, a commision has come in for two buildings, this being one of them.
     
    So, although not quite finished in these photos, here is my 2nd model.
     

     

  3. Stubby47
    This is another of those Marc Smith inspired ideas....
     
    The picture below was taken at the Launceston Steam Railway yard. The building, I believe, is being used as a residence, but I will be re-defining it's use to that of the Polbraze Harbour Office. Marc had asked in a comment on my gallery if I would be making a model of it - well, yes, I am.
     

  4. Stubby47
    Ok, this is the first stab (actaully the second, but the first was too small...) at the front wall of the Harbour Office.
     
    The paint is simply water colours, dabbed on in small, stone sized blobs. I think it needs more definition, so a black 0.3mm pen will be purchased today to help.
     
    The steps don't quite line up with the step wall - this is because I can't make steps and resorted to using a piece from the Airfix footbridge. However, the side of the wall will be well covered with ivy, etc., so shouldn't show too much.
     
    The brick work around the door & windows also needs to be improved - I have a cunning plan...
     
    Comments (good or bad) always welcome.
     
    Stu
     

  5. Stubby47
    Following my help request thread for 'what items would go in a harbour office', I've added a roll top desk, some filing cabinets, a book shelf, a desk around the windows at one end and some desk items, being a book and some ashtrays so far.
     
    The extension now has a roof and the start of the panelling and other dressing around the outside.
     

     
    Other items to add are :


    Inside :
    Telephone, kettle, mugs, coat rack & coat, maps/charts, vhf radio & radar, people!, chairs and lighting
    Outside:
    A telephone repeater bell, official posters on a board/poster cabinet, sandbags, a set of weighing scales, radar & vhf aerials, fish boxes, lobsterpots, etc
     
      Just to proove I'm not all there, I added a cigarette to one of the ashtrays...

     
     
  6. Stubby47
    It's starting to come together now.
     
    These shots were taken with out the extension fastened to the main building, hence the slightly wobbly look and the columns not looking exactly correct.
     
    The main view from a similar perspective to the original prototype

    A seagull's eye view

    A close up of the office

  7. Stubby47
    Managed to get a bit more work done on the Harbour Office.
     
    Stage 2.
    The building is now 3d. I've inserted a false floor to give the box some strength. The wall to the extension has been given a panelled wood effect.

     
    Stage 3.
    The extension is being constructed, it's seen here temporarily placed against the main building for the photo. The wall of the entension are all clear platicard, with the panelling and framing added on. As this building will be at the front of the layout, I intend to detail the office inside.
     
    I'll also probably add lighting (a first for me).

  10. Stubby47
    This is a shop near the cathedral in Truro, which although standing empty for some time, is now (Nov 2009) being readied for opening as a sweet shop.
     
    This is the real thing
     

     
    and this is the model - note the addition of two windows - a complete mis-calculation on my part...
     

  11. Stubby47
    Ok, so I now have another dilemma... how wide is 7mm track (given that OO is 16.5 mm) and would 7mm stock run on code 100 rails ?
     
    Also, if I made the receiving line mixed gauge, standard (wagons) & NG (loco), would it look 'wrong' (ignoring Rule 1 for a moment)?
     
    The rationale (!) behind this train of thought is to use a loco from Wheal Tiny (when I've built it) to both propel the hopper wagon on to the upper track to discharge the Cement, and also to manouever the standard gauge wagon under the exit hopper, using a mixed gauge track.
     
    Comments more than welcome, please.
  12. Stubby47
    I like this blog thingy.
     
    Following comments from NeilHB, Kenton & RandyWales, futher musing has taken place.
     
    I'm probably definitely almost certain I'm going for a 7mm scale layout (sorry, boxfile). Thanks to NeilHB for the info on 7mm standard & NG track.
     
    RW suggested pre-loading the conveyor feed hopper (CFH), but this would necessitate some sort of mechanism to control the flow, something I wished to avoid.
    So, the upper track will be 7mm NG, utilising the old Hornby 4mm hopper wagon disguised as 7mm NG... This wagon has a reasonable capacity and if the CFH has a narrow exit chute, possibly with an attached agitator courtesy of a mobile phone, the flow to the conveyor could be kept going for longer.
     
    RW also suggested that in place of the mixed std/ NG lower track I use a road tractor, in a similar fashion to the Faller system, to move the standard gauge wagon(s). But, would such a system be able to be reversed / controlled simply? (At least, I know I don't have the skills to achieve this).
     
    However, I'm leaning towards a rope and capstan system to moved the standard gauge wagon in and out of the 'shed'. In its simplest form, this would only need to be a thin cord attached to each side of the wagoin, and the 'inwards' end wrapped around a capstan at the end of the track. By manually pulling on the appropriate cord end, the wagon could be made to move. This would save me having to build my own 7mm loco... (again - probably beyond my skillset at the moment).
     
    So, thanks for the suggestions - it seems as if I'm completely ignoring them but they have helped me to clarify things.
  13. Stubby47
    You know how it is, you have this great idea all planned in your head, you know exactly what you want your layout to look like, then along comes some smart-alec with a wild suggestion and everything goes t*ts-up.
     
    So it is with the Cement shed.
     
    Marc asked if I have a track plan - the track was only going to be a few inches jutting in from the left side, enough to hold one hopper wagon over the hopper.... But Marc also said "And added track on the lid is another stroke of genius!" - I hadn't intended to put any track on the lid - until now.
     
    So this time, it's ALL YOUR FAULT, Marc !
     
    The revised plan actually also solves another dilemma I was having about where to send the cement to from the end of the conveyor. With the addition of the track on the lid, I can now put the cement back into a hopper wagon...
     
    This is my usual crude Google Sketch-up offering, but I think the gist of the idea should be there.
     

     
    Full hoppers enter stage left, and discharge onto the conveyor, which then raises the cement to the other hopper and then discharges into another hopper wagon.
  15. Stubby47
    This is a quick sketch of how I see the boxfile developing.
     
    The scale will be 4mm, set probably current day.
     
    The box will be vertical, landscape-wise, with the lid opening flat in front to give a partly extended baseboard and a place to add information. The inside of the box will be made to look like the inside of a large stone / cement processing shed - think the inside of one of Chris Nevard's buildings on Cement Quay. The track will enter stage left, about 1/3 of the way up the side, and lead to a hopper position - this will use the old Hornby / Triang hopper wagons on a home made activation gantry - something I've used before on a half built layout.
     
    The cement will then drop into a large hopper (as Maenol Mine), then be fed down on to a conveyor belt, which will run stage left bottom to stage right top, then discharge the material through a hole in the building side (original base of the boxfile). The rest of the 'shed' will be full of offices, walkways, etc., plus a full lighting system.

     
    As and when I obtain said box, and make some progress, all will be revealed here.
     
    However, 1st question - do you think I should use actual corrogated plasticard for the inside of the shed walls, or the Scalescenes TX29 sheets ?

  17. Stubby47
    A bit of thinking, musing and pondering, followed by a bit of card cutting and paper sticking, has resulted in the main warehouse building being created.
     
    The theory is that the original building was completely re-vamped inside, creating a new upper floor height and window/entrance. Consequently, the outside of the building was also re-arranged - the large windows were bricked up and smaller ones inserted in the brickwork (still to be done). The main entrance was widened and a roller shutter was fitted to replace the original wooden doors (still to be done).
     
    What this gives is a suitable structure for the location, and which has a reason to be at odds with the alignment of the track (as it was there first).
     
    From the model perspective it fits nicely with the backscene, but contrasts with the track to reduce the simplicity of the three simple sidings (I hope, anyway).
     

  19. Stubby47
    Following the pleasure I had building Woodbrick Road, I'm embarking on a new photo diorama / micro layout based more in the far south west, so I can have somewhere suitable to take piccys of my Beattie Well Tank and various clay wagons,
     
    The real Drinnick Stores was never served by rail, in my imagined scenario the rails were laid many years after the buildings were constructed, so are just simple sidings into the yard. The ground has had to be cut away to provide level rail acces, so a simple earth bank/ loading dock was dug out to facilitate unloading.
     
    Construction of the board is an experiment with foam board, to see how good it is at A2 size. There is only board at present, but I'm planning on at least one more, to convert the diorama into a working layout.
     

    There are a few old factory buildings in the Redruth-Camborne area which are now disused but stlll standing - I'll be using these as inspiration to provide a partial backscene. Imagine an old stone building, the roof has collapsed, the window frames have all been removed, and trees are now growing inside, with branches coming out of the windows.
     

     
    This layout will also be a first for me as it will involve quite a bit of vegitation, something I've tended to avoid so far...
     
    Again, some photos to follow.
  20. Stubby47
    Last night's modelling saw this first wall take shape. Using the Scalescenes' Dark Ashlar and window arches, I've built the main wall. So far I've left the end walls until I work out how deep I can make the whole shell, it might transpire it won't be 100% square to the backscene either.
     
    First piccy, - don't worry, the dodgy bits will be hidden by tree foiliage !
     

  21. Stubby47

    Factory diorama

    By Stubby47,

    As if I haven't got enough to complete, I thought I'd make a little factory diorama.
     
    This is the concept :
     

     
    These are the main backscene buildings :
     

     

     

  22. Stubby47
    Made a decent start on the diorama this evening.
     
    Made in the usual way of 5mm foamboard for the sides & base, the base having a second 5mm sheet spaced by more 5mm strips to give a sandwich.
     
    The concrete is just 1.5mm card, painted with water colours. It needs proper weathering & greenery added, the loading dock is still unpainted and none of the buildings are stuck down.
     
    The flat backscene buildings are from an idea by a YMR member, who also produced the windows & doors. Brickwork of course is by Scalescenes.
     

     

  24. Stubby47

    Harbour in a Crate

    By Stubby47,

    Whilst musing on the Cement Shed boxfile, and doing some modelling on Wheal Tiny, I've been thinking about another concept - a harbour in a crate.
     
    Sounds daft (so it must be one of mine), but consider this...
    Take a crate, similar to that used by Marc Smith for Bracty Bridge , and cut out one side and the front. Make these pieces hinge from their bottom edge, so when laid flat the layout forms an L shape. Leave the back and other side in place, to retain strength and provide a back/side scene.
     

     
    This would give a layout that would be viewable from the front and end. I'd yet to work out how to make the hinged pieces work, but thei main idea is a layout which simply folds up to transport, with something like a bungee cord around the top edge to hold it all together. The quay sides would be similar to Chris Nevard's 'bit on the side', so raised off the floor of the crate.
     
    At the moment, this is pure fantasy, but I'm sure I'll have a go at it some time.
  25. Stubby47
    Excerpt from "A Guide to the Ports and Harbours of Cornwall - 1975"
     
     


    Polbraze.
       


    The town of Polbraze can be found on the coast, between Bude and Looe. The town's origins can be traced back to the time of King Arthur and Tintagel, although no connection has ever been found. In the 19th Century, Polbraze grew from a small fishing port to a minor harbour used for export of Cornish minerals. Today, Polbraze is a medium sized town with a thriving dockland area concentrating on boat re-fitting and repair. This was mainly the result of one family, who moved here in the early 1960's from the coastal village of Porth Byhan. Bob Webb and his son Richard have extended their boat repair business into a major Cornish industry, with contracts for customers all around the Western Approaches.
     
    The dock area is surrounded by many of the original harbourside buildings, including the infamous public house, 'The Algernon Cuthbertson Arms'. There are also shops and chandelrys, plus a few smaller workshops. Within the dock itself, the old cornwall Railway lines are still used by today's modern locomotives, although there are still remnants of the age of steam - the
    raised water tank still dominates the area.
     
    Visitors to the docks will need to pass through the usual security checks, but once inside will find a fascinating mix of old stone quays and modern concrete wharfs. There are also some reminders of the role the harbour played during the second World War, when the docks were an embarcation point for the D-Day landings. The quays themselves are covered in the materials and equipment needed for re-fitting of larger vessels, although some evidence of servicing the local trawler fleet can also be seen.
     
     

     
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