PaternosterRow

Thanks very much for your kind comments Brian and I'm glad you like the model.

Many thanks Job, Although I've not been active on RMweb much I have been popping in to your blog from time to time which I find inspirational and fascinating. As you know, I too am a big card building fan and find textures much more realistic than painted plasticard. Keep up the great work with your dioramas.

Waterloo Sunset. XP 64 Project. This is a Lima conversion done last year. It pulls into the station sporting its new livery. The other Class 47 is a Heljan model.

Gosh, it’s been well over a year since my last post. But it has been a crappy time and life has thrown my wife and I some right old spanners to contend with. The worst of it was when my dear old Mom passed away in mid November after an 18 month long battle with Bladder Cancer. Thankfully she was in a care home for the last 6 months so she was extremely well looked after and had little pain to put up with in the end. Marvellous places. Whilst all this went on modelling took a back seat, understandably, but I did manage to get a few hours in here and there. I’m thankful for the distraction it gave – immersing yourself in the unimportant is a great stress reliever. I really feel for those who have to juggle work and life with the needs of a very sick parent – it’s quite a strain. Watching her suffer from this dreadful disease was unbearable at times. It was around early June last year that the late Bob Barlow, another victim of this savage illness, contacted me about doing an article on my Shadow Box Roundhouse for his new magazine – Finescale Railway Modelling Review. It was just the right sort of ‘pick me up’ I needed at the time. In fact, Mom was so delighted that she insisted on showing her copy to all of the other residents when it arrived. She rallied just a little and it provided her a much welcome, although all too brief, distraction - for this alone I shall be ever grateful to Bob and the Greystar team. After her passing I threw myself back into modelling which helped enormously in the aftermath. So I thought I’d push the Shadow Box concept further and have a go at modest station scene. Here are the results. Waterloo Sunset. XP64 with its new livery pulls in to the station. The station scene rough covers the BR period and therefore reflects the dilapidation of these Victorian super structures at that time. The following shots are taken under the Shadow Box lighting rig. This has been simply placed over the top of the roof and uses 12 v Halogens as the light source. I wanted to create a Cathedral like atmosphere with shafts of sunlight beaming down through broken skylights. The following are shots of the construction methods used. The simple baseboard set up. The plasterboard jig for the arches. Once complete the arches were transfered to a board with a detailed plan of the wall and curve of the baseboard. Completed wire roof structure before the covering went on. The Mirror trick. This doubles the length of the scene - it was crucial to get this exactly square on the end of the model in order for it to work. Last train at Platform 5 - the magnificent Bachmann Peak. The Mirror really comes in to its own here and perfectly reflects the curving sweep of the layout. There really are only 3 coaches in this scene.

Another brilliant piece of modelling! The tea crates with the metal edging is so accurate an observation - I remember them well from childhood. You are also very generous in sharing your technique (as per usual) and also laying out a full and easy to follow explanation. Much in the spirit of RMweb. Always great to see a Farthing update when I pop in! Mike

Dave, This is what I love about this Layout - it's a complete unit and you just can't see the real world beyond. Really inspirational stuff and shows us that you can have it all - brilliantly observed and modelled roundy roundy. What a pleasure it must be just to watch the trains run and run and then do a bit of shunting whenever you like - all within the confines of an amazing model of a prototype. I really had to blink at the real photos of the Class 47 - just naturally thought it was one of yours on first sight. That's how good the layout is! Just keep those pics comming. Mike

Oh Ron, Just amazing. Brilliantly engineered and built. Incredible stuff. Mike

Very sad news. I was a great admirer of his layout. Many, many sympathies to his wife and family. Been away from the site because my own Mother passed away with cancer last November so am only catching up now. Terrible disease. Mike

Hi Alan, BRILLIANT! When are these gems going on sale to the rest of us? Really imaginative way of using the technology - those figures are going to put Preiser out of business! Regards, Mike

Well you've done it again, Mikkel. Just pure genius and what a profound imagination - a perfect example of the butterfly effect. Brilliantly entertaining and just fantastic modelling. Farthing shows us all how it should be done. Always a pleasure to click on and find an entry of yours - what a treat! Mike

Super duper detail, Alan Just love that pipe coupling/join halfway down. Can't wait to see this lovely model in situ in the works. Think progress on the print stuff is marvellous - you're going to turn out some spectacular work on the basis of what's already been produced so far. Happy New Year. Mike

Hi Pete, superb, just superb. It's the crisp neatness that gets me everytime about your layouts. Only an architect could make them this way. Mike

Hi Alan, Thanks for the info bud. I've also replied via the email. Mike

Hi Alan, just been flicking through the illustrator prep work and am wondering about cost. How much does all this work out at and how expensive is the laser cutting etc. Just want to know because I'd love to get into this. Also, how do you go about painting these walls? The layout looks brilliant laid out like this and clearly makes construction easier. What attracts me most is the relief in the brickwork and how precise it all looks - given me plenty of ideas! Mike

Hi Alan, The pics are brilliant and the action would make for great little cameos within the shed. But those sketchup plans are just fantastic and my mouth is watering at the prospect of seeing the actual build comming together now. What absolute dedication to detail and planning and I only wish I could use these type of programmes for layout building. I think you've hit the nail on the head with the actual amount of the works that you are going to build - not to little and not too much; love the idea that you are going to include a bit of the outside yard so it all makes sense. I agree with the above comment about how everytime I visit the blog that it becomes more and more fascinating. Very much hope that you can now find the time to get on with this - there's an awful lot of people on here that want to see this progress. You'll get the light and shadow effect with this scheme that's for sure and the finished pics are just going to be a real treat. Thanks for the link to the sounds - I've already downloaded and listenend - given me some ideas! Great progress and keep blogging! Mike

Hi Mikkel, what a tonic - just the little lift I needed (very worrying time with my very poorly Mom at the moment). Haven't been on RMweb for a wee while so it was great to see another Farthing episode. That first picture is just pure 'X' Factor! The other favorite is the clear blue sky with the bird through the skylight. It's a wonderful world - Farthing - and it just gets better with every episode. It's certainly worth the wait between postings although I wish the intervening periods weren't so long! Just keep them coming Mikkel. Great stuff from the master modeller and story teller as per usual. Mike

Hi Mikkel, What a tonic that video demo was! The music was, as usual, great. Love this type of innovative tinkering of yours and it has certainly got a lot of people thinking about the problem. As all of your blogs usually do. Think Alan Buttler's idea about a track underneath with a magnet on a bullant motor was good, but the gravity option sounds simpler and much more like the real thing. In reality the gradient would be quite miniscule as the weight of these wagons would make them roll quite easily plus the fact that there would be no where near the amount of friction in their bearings compared to the model 'hole and spike' bearings. Now that would be a real challenge; an accurate and machined 4mm scale model of a wagon bearing, and you're just the man to do it! Mike

Magnificent, just magnificent. Like a Shepherd painting. Very artistic approach and when photo editing is done to this standard it proves just how good a tool it is to the modeller. More please.

Hi Gwrrob, I have to ask how you created that magnificent backscene. Is it a commercial product or your own creation? I think how you've managed to integrate it so seamlessly is brilliant!

Spot on there David. Unbelievable standard considering the materials available to modellers back then. Just goes to show that there really is nothing new under the Sun! No matter how a high a standard we ourselves achieve there's always someone that has beat us to it! Brilliant model - particularly like the view down the main road. More pics please. Mike

Hi Job, now that's what I call proper modelling - not just the representation of a thing to scale, but combining it with a story to bring it to life and make it interesting. Always a pleasure to read your blogs. Mike

See the Argentinians getting filthy. Whoaaa, German just scored - poetic justice!

Seemless integration with that fantastic backscene. Lovely, very convincing shot. Brilliant work.

Good riddance!

You know I've just watched the highlights again on SKY. Still can't believe it!! The German forwards were like a Panzer Division in a Blitzkrieg - their combined attack was so perfectly precise (forgive me if this sounds politically incorrect, but it was just so impressive to watch it's the only way I can describe it). An old guy in my local also once told me that the Germans play football as if they were building cars - tight tolerances at all times - this rings quite true after last nights performance. I think that the 2014 World Cup should not be remembered for Brazil's humiliation, but for how football should be played - by teams and not individuals. If only our guys had an ounce of the national pride the Germans have! Much respect for the Germans not going over the top with the celebration of each goal and loads of respect for the Brazilian crowd who responded admirably and with great courtesy.