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lakeview770

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Posts posted by lakeview770

    Weather pics

    in Wheeltappers

    Posted

    Well winter has seriously hit here, the photo is a little deceptive whilst the sun may be out it was long trousers and sweater time, it managed to hit 69F in old money and dropped to 38F at night. Nothing that wasn't corrected by some potato soup and a hot coffee.

     

    post-8483-0-31534900-1418250353_thumb.jpg

     

    Andy

    • Like 6

    A Nod To Brent - a friendly thread, filled with frivolity, cream teas and pasties. Longing for the happy days in the South Hams 1947.

    in Layout topics

    Posted

    Sounds a bit wider than my Railway room for Wharncliffe then.

     

    With regard to lighting, I successfully used a tripod at the weekend and changed the white balance in the camera for the fluorescent lamps. I also set the camera into manual mode, which also made a difference.

     

    Good luck - But I don't think you need a fancy lighting set-up. Maybe even a couple of halogen lights, but set in such a way to avoid harsh shadows. 

    If your serious about photographing your models on this layout and the next invest in a cheap set of studio lights http://www.amazon.co.uk/Continuous-Lighting-50x70cm-Photography-Softboxes/dp/B0089HTJE4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1416248043&sr=8-2&keywords=studio+lights+for+photographyif thats in your budget then if you can afford it maybe some slightly higher powered ones, or really cheap http://www.lowes.com/pd_203213-1373-FL-300NPDQ12_0__?productId=3122291&Ntt=work+light&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dwork%2Blight&facetInfo= don't forget one of the cheapest things you can buy to help is a sheet of white card/ foam board.

    'Angloshire...' OO in the USA

    in Layout topics

    Posted

    More pics to follow, but here are some answers in the meantime. Sorry it's so long.

     

    'are Americans as familiar with British TV programs & characters?'

     

    The answer is a simple 'no.' There are some that are more familier. Of course Thomas and Harry Potter, but a lot will also know Austin Powers, My Fair Lady, Mr Bean, and Doctor Who. Some will know Are you Being Served?, *Keeping Up appearances, *Inspector Morse, Poirot, Miss Marple and *Fawlty Towers. A few will know Little Britain, *Waiting for God and *As Time Goes By, and NONE will know Ivo Peters, Dad's Army or On The Buses! (*planned but not yet on the layout.)

     

    'You need a TARDIS, by the way....  :sarcastic:'

     

    I already have on that will be seen in future pics.

     

    'You get Kudos for driving your trains on the left,'

     

    Thank you, but isn't driving on the left a given? lol I am bi-cultural with as many times as I've been to the UK, (I'd love to live between the two countries,) and this really is my little bit of Britain. :)

     

    '...little cameos, a great way to attract interest at shows.'

     

    Thank you and so very true. I found, especially at the local show, that I was able to draw people into my layout  that were ready to walk on by when I suggested they look for things. They usually ended up viewing the whole layout as opposed to walking  by and not seeing any of it. I believe interaction with show goers  is essential and really does help promote our hobby.

     

    'The cameos are so typically English they make me homesick.'

     

    Thank you. That was exactly my goal. Maybe you should build your own, now and create your own little bit of Britain in Africa? ;)

     

    'exhibitions where apart from the trains the interest is held by so many cameos and great buildings'

     

    Thank you, and yes, that's what draws so many people into the hobby more then just the trains.

     

    'love all the little cameos, and the freelance element...A great layout for kids to look at...The trees are especially good as well.

    ... where is Allentown PA in the states?'

     

    I often see people post regarding which is better, modeling an actual place or freelancing. Obviously I'm in  the freelance camp. I have so much fun when kids see things they can relate to. Very important for drawing people into the hobby. All the trees are off the shelf from numerous manufacturers. I wanted to have so many different kinds, as well as tons of them, so it would look realistic. I think many layouts are way under treeed. (Is that a word? lol) If you look on line you will find that Allentown is the main city in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. As Adrian posted, it's an hour NW of Philly and 1.5 hours W of NYC and, as I posted before, 8 hours SE from Toronto. (That's drive time, by the way.) This area was home to the Lehigh Valley Railroad and W of here was the Reading Railroad. PA, was of course, home of the world class Pennsylvania Railroad. Oh, and the famous preserved Strasburg Railroad is about 1.5 hours SW from here. And, as Adrian said, the Billy Joel song is about my town.

     

    And, speaking of Adrian, his club's layout is fantastic and was one of two that were a major inspiration for how I wanted mine to look. I took many pics of it at the last three shows and studied them when making mine.

     

    'It's where they locked up Jo Stafford's lover for nicking her a diamond !'

     

    I  never heard that so I'm gonna have  to look into it.

     

    'you certainly have captured  a British feel'

     

    Thank you :)

     

    'Those viaducts don't half look like those at Chirk in the Welsh borders between Shrewsbury and Wrexham. Did you base it on that at all, or is that just a 'fluke'?'

     

    The Tovis Valley Aqueduct (1861) and Viaduct (1903) were, indeed, inspired by the Chirk aqueduct and viaduct near Llangollen. I saw pictures of them a few years ago and on my 2011 Royal Wedding Trip to the UK drove up to see them, as well as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Llangollen Railway. (I did take a boat trip across and back that aqueduct which was awesome!) I absolutely fell in love with that area of North Wales and went back to see them again in 2013 and drove over to the coast and saw even more railways. Anyway, after starting Tovis Valley I heard about the (Miss) Marple Aqueduct and Viaduct near Stockport and drove there in 2013 as well. Also fascinating and the locks going down to the aqueduct are different and really great. As far as I know  those are the only two places in the UK where there is an aqueduct and viaduct next to each other. I simply had to model a set  after seeing the set at Chirk, but mine are not intended to actually replicate them.

     

    'Where did you get the figures from? Or, how did you make them?'

     

    Some are off the shelf, some are simply repainted, some have been beheaded, and some even worse. lol I'll try and explain them all here but don't remember them all. Also, some were OO and some were HO. Personally, that makes no difference to me. Unless stated otherwise they are as they came in the pack. I search through all the possible figure out there to find any that looked like the people I wanted to have on the layout. That's the best way to do it. Simply look to find people in the figures that are available. There are very few that are actually the people I modeled.

     

    Dock workers at Hogsmeade Station... Preiser 590-28084

    Hikers... Woodland Scenics, I think

    HM the Queen and Prince Philip... Preiser 590-28132 I added a big hat made from an old buffer and

            repainted them both

    School boys trainspotting... Bachmann 36-401

    Landscape painter... Presier 590-28050

    Vicar and his wife sun bathing naked behind the vicarage... 15843Noch

    Riders on horseback... Presier riders w/horses 590-10501

    Teacher and school boys... Peco?

    Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in their Ford Anglia... car driving figures

    Sir Topham Hatt... a figure from 15577Noch that I removed a walking stick from,

            added a hat to and repainted.

    Man selling balloons... Preiser 590-29000

    Winston Churchill... figure repainted from 15577Noch. Looks just like him!

    Ivo Peters... a used photographer figure I found somewhere that I changed heads on and repainted

    Andy and Lou from ‘Little Britain’... Preiser figures repainted. 590-10479 I had to remove the breasts from the pusher before painting 'him' as Andy. The hair was perfect, though.

    Rev Geraldine Granger and Virger Alice Tinker from ‘The Vicar of Dibley’... Geraldine was the

            priest from 15577Noch. I simply changed the head to a woman with the right hairstyle

            from another figure. Alice Tinker was a Preiser priest in a cassock with the head changed to a

            blond woman. 590-28076

    Mr. Bean... some seated figure I had that I  thought looked like him. All I did was a repaint.

    Flower seller Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgens... Preiser flower seller 590-38206 repainted and a groom from a wedding pack 590-10058

    Austin Powers... I changed the head on a car driver and repainted it

    Stan Butler and Jack Harper from ‘On The Buses’... Preiser Conductor 590-28034 and

            Engineer 590-28038

    Miss Marple... Preiser church goers 590-10559

    Hercule Poirot... Preiser Standing Travelers 590-14044

    Captain Hastings and Miss Lemon... A seated figure with the head changed and another seated figure

            repainted

    Mothers with their babies... Mostly Preiser, I  think

    Cyclists... Preiser 590-10515

    Woman scolding trainspotter  on the footbridge at Hogsmeade... 15577Noch

    Woman hangout laundry... Preiser 590-28110

     

    Planned but not yet on the layout are:

     

    Abbey Road Zebra Crossing w/‘The Beatles’... white  metal figure that I forgot where I got them... or

            where I put them, at this moment. lol 

    Chief Inspector Japp driving to meet Poirot... will find an appropriate seated figure to put in the existing car

    Daffyd Thomas from ‘Little Britain’... Preiser bathers 590-12135

    Emily Howard from ‘Little Britain’... Preiser Victorian cyclists 590-12129

    Mary Poppins and Bert the Chimney Sweep from ‘Mary Poppins’... 590-12194

    Basil thrashing his Austin car from ‘Fawlty Towers’  ... Preiser 590-29006

    Inspector Morse and his Jaguar from ‘Inspector Morse’... I already have the Jaguar

    Daisy and Onslo’s terrace house w/junk car out fron and with visiting… gotta build the council houses

            from scratch. Saw them in 2013 and took lots of pics.

    Hyacinth and Richard  w/their Rover car from ‘Keeping Up Appearances’

    Dads Army was made in to a US version in the mid 70's iirc it was called the rear guard, they only made a pilot. Over the years MR has published the odd British article/layout but Im kind of hoping that the rumor that David Popp is forsaking his Naugatuck for a while and having a bash at a GWR layou may open some peoples eyes.

     

    Andy

    • Like 1

    Western Region 1980s freight - West of England Division, my photos

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted

    Thanks Kevin for all of your insider information on the freight in and around Bristol.

     

    I did think that the LPG workings may have been a bit later than your photos show ( the last one that I saw had a Class 58 in 1996/7)

     

    Regarding BR allocation of Class 25 the last one that I spotted behind Bath Road was from memory 25123 in 1984.

     

    I also vividly remember pairs of 20's on the flasks from Bridgwater (probably 1986) easing their way north through Lawrence Hill. I don't suppose that you have any pics of 20's in and around Bristol at that time or earlier ?

     

    Cheers,

     

    Matt.

    I regularly saw 25s on flasks around 84/86 when at college in Bristol.

     

    Andy

    Western Region 1980s freight - West of England Division, my photos

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted

    We now follow 46039 round the curve and make the short journey north to Lawrence Hill.

    A number of my photos of Lawrence Hill have already appeared on other threads,

    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70626-goods-yards-and-freight-handling/page-4

    but I will add some fresh views.

     

    Before we go into the yard I will have a look at traffic passing on the main line.

    The route from Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Junction had been four tracks until 1984 when it was reduced to two tracks.

    At Lawrence Hill it was the Up Filton Relief and Down Filton Relief that remained in use as they served the two remaining platforms there.

    attachicon.gifscan0001a.jpg

    Heading south past Lawrence Hill on the Down Filton Main, which would be lifted in 1984, is one of Bath Roads class 31s 31258, a regular snow plough wearer.

    It is working local trip no.16 and is en-route from Stoke Gifford to Dr Days with a stone set of MSVs and MTVs . 

    These will be for Barton Hill Shops for Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) and would be shunted into the PPM shed that night. 6/5/80

     

    The following year 31258 still with ploughs is again on local trip work and passes Lawrence Hill heading up Filton Bank.

    attachicon.gifscan0002a.jpg

    31258 this time with a rake of empty OBAs for Avonmouth Dock passes Lawrence Hill having departed Kingsland Road at 14.00, 2/6/81

     

    Nearly all of the freight traffic to and from Avonmouth went via the Henbury Route but in 1981 there was one booked Speedlink working

    that went via Clifton Down. 6C36 12.10 Swindon Transfer - Severn Tunnel Junction which was booked to convey empty steel carriers from the Pressed Steel plant at Swindon as well as enparts VCAs for various depots. It called at Kingsland Road and then via Clifton down to attach traffic from the Avonmouth area.

    attachicon.gifscan0003a.jpg

    An Immingham 31 this time, 31127 is working 6C36 12.10 Swindon - Severn Tunnel Junction through Lawrence Hill, the 2nd - 5th vehicles look like VCAs so will be enparts vans, behind that are probably discharged fuel tanks from Bath Road and St Phillips Marsh returning to Fawley, 2/6/81

     

    cheers 

    I believe the row of shops behind this train contain Max Williams model shop, where I spent a good portion of my money over the years.

     

    Andy

    Oops! - learning photography by making mistakes

    in Photography

    Posted

    The first few weeks of trade training was go out and make mistakes, the instructors insisted we did so we could learn. We then had to process and print our own films again to learn from our mistakes. But the biggest mistake I made was trying to get a shot out of a Wessex and not get the hot exhaust gases I had to hold the camera at arms length and fire away, at which point sir Isaac Newton tapped me on the shoulder to move from the doorway. Hassleblad 500cm say hello to gravity, so now I use a neck or wrist strap.

     

    Andy

    • Like 1

    Things that make you :)

    in Wheeltappers

    Posted · Edited by lakeview770

    Ive lived here in the US a while now and it still scares the crap out of me that electricity and water is allowed in such close proximity. Yes it's only 110V but 110V can still kill as they say "Only in America"

    Still its funny

     

    Oh and Andy Y you need to change the title of this thread, every time I see it I burst in to songThings that make you go Hmm by C+C music factory 

    • Like 2

    BITTON

    in Layout topics

    Posted

    I've been a busy boy this morning.

     

    Dee has had to go into Hospital this morning for a Minor Ladies Opp and so her Daughter has taken her, she knows my phobia of Needles / Hospitals / operations etc so she insisted that I keep well out of the way.

     

    I have cut and fitted an extra 4 roof cross trusses to support the ceiling and also bought another £75 worth of roof insulation, I know its a bit OTT but I will never (I hope) be going up in there once its finished and so I want to retain as much heat in the winter, and keep out as much summer heat as I can.

     

    attachicon.gifRoof Beams 001.JPG

    attachicon.gifRoof Beams 003.JPG

    attachicon.gifRoof Beams 002.JPG

     

    More jobs tomorrow but that's it for me in there today, rest now this afternoon ready for Lee to arrive in the morning, I've also charged up all the power tool batteries in readiness.

    Cant have enough insulation, my last shed layout I had in England I heavily insulated and it was kept comfortable in the winter by 8 ceramic greenhouse heaters which cost peanuts to run. I think the best investment I made on my shed was security screws on all the hinges.

     

    Andy

    • Like 2
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