PaternosterRow

12 hours ago, Mikkel said:

I keep coming back to your photos, Mike. Especially that first one. It really is extraordinary. Just noticed the 'sunshine' outside - very effective and a neat way of masking off the rest of the world.

 

I like the weathering on the ramp in the other shots. Looks just like paint that's slowly peeling off. 

Thanks very much for the flattering comments Mikkel.  That first pic is the best of about 20 - I just keep clicking away and count on finding a good one amongst them.  Love modern cameras for that.  The ramp fence was dead simple.  It’s a piece of 1mm plastikard that’s been scored with a Stanley knife first.  It was then painted in black acrylic and when dry scraped back with the tip of a scalpel blade.  It’s counter intuitive in a way because the white is really under the black but it looks like white paint peeling off wood!  It’s great what you can get away with in 4mm scale.  

Great plan, Pete.  Wow, those coaches and 37 are beautiful.  All of that must of cost a pretty penny.  

5 hours ago, bcnPete said:

More smashing stuff Mike

 

I particularly like the first shot looking at the station - has to do a double take that it wasn’t a real pic at first

 

How are the extensions bits to make it a roundy roundy coming on?

Cheers Pete.

Bit busy with work at the moment so haven’t got round to adding on the connections.  These need to be hinged so they can flip up from the ends that connect to the Carlisle module.  Not much in the scheme of things but it’s just a pain finding the time.  The Perry Barr and High Trees Junction layout are already in place and are linked so it’s nearly all there.  Thanks again for the kind comments.

Mike.

Neat and tidy job.  Great planning, great execution.

Lovely work.  Particularly liked the blue flowers which reminded me of the many happy holidays spent on the IOW in the 70’s.  2mmFS must be a real challenge and much respect due for the beautiful detail.  No wonder it has taken over a decade so far.

15 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Wow, again Mike. Not many lofts will be graced with something like that!

 

Would there perhaps be interest in Carlisle to exhibit it for a while, even as a static model? 

 

BTW, what's your position on weathering the locos? I have always preferred my locos clean. But the more I weather the rest of the stock and layout, the shinier they look.

 

Cheers Mikkel.

sorry for not replying sooner, but we took advantage of the beautiful day and easing of lockdown to go down to Dingle for the day.  Our short trips out remind us how lucky we are to live here in the South West of Ireland.

The exhibition circuit is almost non existent down here and I don’t really fancy lugging anything over the water to the UK although I’ve been invited a couple of times - I’m a little too old now for all that running around! But you never know, I mind change my mind at some point in the future.

As far as weathering goes, it’s all a bit subjective I think.  My general rule of thumb is that if it’s brand new and not factory weathered I don’t touch it out of fear of screwing it up.  Second hand stuff is different and I’ll use washes and powders - less is more though because you can definitely over do it.  On second hand blue diesels I tend to generously muck up the bogies, under-frame etc and lightly wash the body before scratching back with a glass fiber pen.  This is followed by a coat of Matt varnish to tone everything down.  Having said that, I think your locomotives are entirely appropriate to the period without weathering - crew and staff seemed to be much more enthusiastic about appearance of their machines in the old days.  Especially on God’s Wonderful Railway.   Given that they would probable use oily old rags then the locos would most likely shine.  Whatever, they look brilliant. 

Thanks again for the compliment.

Mike

7 hours ago, bcnPete said:

Absolutely superb Mike.

 

Amazing to think it’s a model

 

When you link with the loft run around assume you will have to remove the mirror?! 
 

Amazing modelling and photos too

 

Pete

Cheers Pete.  Having seen your entry and that brilliant header photo the same compliment extends to you.  Especially so given that Kyle is in 2mmFS.

The mirror (pinched from one our wardrobes!) neatly slides out.  I was thinking of taking it to a glazier to have appropriate sized holes nibbled out.  However, I don’t think this will go down well when I put it back on the wardrobe door!  Anyhow, it’s only the rear 4 tracks beyond the island platform that’ll be linked.  The front five tracks will only ever serve as a photographic display.

Thanks again for the kind compliment.  

Mike.

Holy Crap, just imagine if the petrol engine hadn’t been invented - we’d all be up to our necks in it by now!  Given that we are all experts on this subject in Ireland, and believe me it’s everywhere over here, the color and consistency of your version is exactly right.  

9 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Yes that made a big impression too. I wanted to see the recent follow-up when it came out, but forgot. It can't possible be better, but I'm curious all the same. 

 

Then of course there's also this...

 

 

 

Brilliant and way better than the sequel!

12 hours ago, robmcg said:

All I can say about that latest 2P photo is wow!   Superb!   

 

I love the LMS 4-6-2  photos too, always liked them in wartime black.

 

Brilliant stuff.

Many thanks for the kind compliment.  A lot of it is down to luck rather than judgement and also patience.  Thank the heavens for digital cameras because you can snap away indiscriminately until you get the right shot. 

15 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Good grief, those are astonishing photos Mike. The 2P shot is almost better than the prototype! 

 

The Duchess photos made me think "Jules Verne", not sure why. But there's more to it than that, they're almost dystopian. So maybe Gotham City also  

 

I'm glad you didn't photoshop steam into the photos, it would be wrong I think. The photos you have taken show real scenes that were actually in front of you when you took the photos.

Thanks Mikkel.   It never occurred to me to liken it to that world of Jules Verne or HG Wells, but as soon as I read it I instantly got it.  The shape reminds you of all those flying blimps, futuristic cars and submarines seen in contemporary drawings of their time.   The designers would have undoubtedly been influenced by what they had read themselves in their youth and it clearly shows through.  This made me think about the influences on me and the way I love playing about with light, dark and shade.  Also that grubby industrial background that appeals so much.  This is undoubtedly down to films like Blade Runner, an all time favorite, in which Ridley Scott manipulated light so brilliantly.  I remember seeing it my late teens and being totally blown away by it - who could have failed to have been dazed by those opening scenes of the big eye and nighttime flight over a futuristic LA?  Of course, only a storyteller like yourself could have seen these hidden associations.  Brilliant observation and it has provided me with plenty of food for thought.  

Many thanks again, Mike

Just a couple of update pictures.  A slighty alternative view of the Fowler showing a stronger sunlight streaming effect and one of the front of the North Screen taken from the overbridge.

9 hours ago, Dave John said:

I came back for another look. 

 

I also play about with lighting, so I know how hard it is to get it right.  You have got that very close to the images of the real thing, the tracery of the station roof looks superb in those pics . 

 

I look forward to more. 

 

 

 

 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your glowing comment.  Yes it’s hard going trying to get the conditions just right but worth it in the end.  I had no idea about your work until I clicked on your profile - those shots of your station at night are absolutely brilliant.  

Regards, Mike

Brilliant little tale and great use of the Airfix soldiers.  That brought back memories when me and my two best friends played war games using Airfix 1/76th kits in our early teens (gosh - what a long time ago that was now).  We each had a very eclectic collection of figures and tanks and it seemed not to matter if we had US Paratroopers fighting alongside German units etc.  However, to distinguish each other’s armies we’d have our own paint scheme and my friend, Roy, painted his stuff up in white and black to represent snow troops.  Simply because his favorite was the German Mountain Troop pack.  So Thank you for that pleasant trip down memory lane, Mikkel.  

Beautifully done and very useful account about the techniques used.  Absolutely love that last photo.

4 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

Just a minor comment on the Duchess, and in no way intended to detract from the marvellous modelling on display - when I reworked my own Margate-era Duchess, I came to the conclusion that the original model has a design error in that the footplate slopes down from back to front. I think you can see this in the way the parallels on the tender don't line up with those on the loco. Every Margate Duchess I've seen in photos seems to have this slope, but I've not seen it otherwise commented on. For mine (which is now back in pieces) I cut away a portion of the cab floor so that the back end could sit a bit lower.

Cheers for the advice, Barry.  Know exactly what you mean.  I’ve got a later early BR version that looks much better and that’ll appear in later pics once the layout is finished.  In the meantime, I’ve merely used a black piece of card behind the Margate version for taking pics - this helps hide the hideous gap between rear bogie and the incorrect footplate profile.  It just shows how far the manufacturers have come over the last few decades.  I doubt we’d put up with now what was available then - even Hornby’s Railroad Range is superior to the early stuff.  Many thanks again.  Mike.  

29 minutes ago, Alex Duckworth said:

Hello Mike,

 

I've been coming back to your latest photos for a couple of days now and I have to say that I think  your "Starry Night" long exposure shot without the train is the most realistic model photo that I've ever seen. The screen is really well done but the roof with it's dirty glass and missing panes is perfect, as is the placement of the single figure at middle distance. I rather like the sunlight shot too - in fact I like all of them.

Gosh, Alex, that’s a real compliment. Thank you and it provides plenty of encouragement for me.  Making these roofs, and I’ve done a few now, has been a long learning process.  I guess, because I made this, then I’m aware of the wobbly bits so having others appreciate the work is very gratifying.  I understand that bits of wire and cornflake box card is not everyone’s idea of proper modeling, but it is surprising what you can achieve using humble materials.  Necessity is the mother of all invention, so they say, but if I had the cash I’d certainly would use brass and have things laser printed etc.  Many thanks again, Mike.

Just a few pics showing how the wire roof was constructed for anyone interested.  These roof structure may look very complicated but they are relatively easy to make once you break it all down into its respective components etc.  As a builder, I've a bit of understanding of how they are constructed in real life - this knowledge has helped enormously.

The bundles of wire are seperated into seperate strands.  These are then G clamped to either end of a furniture clamp - the clamp is turned in reverse to stretch the wire straight and introduce a little tension.  I've already ruined one furniture clamp (on previous schemes) as they are obviously not designed to work in reverse.  It took about 230 x 3ft lengths of wire to make this structure and a lot was used up by the circular Truss design.

I studied a lot of pictures of the prototype and carefully drew out the Truss design onto a piece of plaster board.  This holds the wire firmly in place during soldering.  For such a large 3ft by 3ft structure I needed 78 of these.  Soldering them all up in the same jig ensures repitition.

The circles were easy to make by using a broom handle.  This was for the smaller outer circles - the big central one was made by using an old postal tube in a similar fashion.

The six beams were the next job.  They required two sides a piece - this differs from the prototype in as much as the bottom plate is a single 2 inch thick piece of flat steel.  I had to double up because they would been far too wobbly to work with and they needed to be as ridgid as possible.

The next job was to tie the structure together.  An exact plan of the roof was drawn out onto a piece of flat ply and the beams placed precisely into the positions determined by the walls.

The Trusses were soldered together - note how they line up with the beam positions.

The trusses were then soldered to the beams.  I used a Dremel to cut the top of the beams and slid the trusses down into place.

Once everything was throughly washed down it was onto the cardboard ridge and valley sections.  Note how the metal bars used to join the trusses have been covered over with card spacers.  These were cut to the same pattern and they nicely hide the join.  Once I was happy, the whole thing was sprayed Matt Black from rattle cans.   Unfortunately, no matter how accurate you try to be you will always get deviation from perfect true so there has been a lot of McGuyvering since - cutting out a wire here and cutting or adding cardboard there etc.  The test photographs have helped me identify areas where things look a little lumpy etc - still a bit of fiddling to go yet.

11 hours ago, bcnPete said:

Blown away again by this  

 

Stunning modelling and photography. The mirror works so well and if you clipped the second photo down it would just take out the loco.

 

Am quite liking the lighting myself - your wife is a tough critique! If that was her only comment then it’s testament to the rest of the modelling as that roof structure is superb.

 

Really liking the detailing including the various shades of grime on the glass and the broken panes.

 

As Mikkel says the shot without even a train in sight is stunning.

 

Look forward to the next instalment...

Thanks for the glowing praise, Pete.  However, if you were employed as a 4mm scale consultant engineer then you’d condemn the structure immediately.  There’s loads of wonky bits and if you were able to put your eye along the beams you’d see just how out of true parts of the roof is.  I’m also not totally happy with the screen, it’s all down to rushing a bit and the choice of materials out of economy.  Believe me, if I had the cash I’d have the roof parts etched separately before assembly and the screen laser cut or printed.  That was if I could use CAD or the like!  Thanks again for the comment.  Mike.

17 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Extraordinary views and modelling, Mike.

 

I especially like the shot with the lone individual in the great railway cathedral, damaged glazing and all, very nicely done.

 

For me the only immediate give-away is the cleanliness of the loco, but that just shows how effective your colouring of the rest is.

 

And I now understand how you achieve this excellence. It's all driven by your wife's high standards! 

Thanks, Mikkel.

Well she holds the purse strings so all consultation starts with her first!  Joking aside,  I actually respect her view on most things as she’s not given to false flattery and also has quite a fair and balanced opinion of things in general.  Whilst initially taking umbrage, as always, I did actually see her point after pondering for a while. She’s actually the better photographer in reality and I always encourage her take charge of the camera on holiday.  With my layouts, however, that’s a different matter and so she’s only allowed to critique!  

Brilliant and unique.  Those lithographs are a fantastic source.  You can tell from them that Broad Gauge really was broad!  There aren’t many modelers that have tried to tackle this period of railway history simply because, I suppose, that absolutely everything has to be made from scratch.  This nicely mirrors the difficulty those first railways pioneers, like Brunel, had in as much as that they also had to invent from scratch for the new technology.  Standing at that station in 1842, a passenger must have felt like how it is for us getting on Concorde etc. (not that I ever had the privilege of flying on that beautiful piece of engineering, but you know what I mean).   It’s such an important period of railwayana that I wonder why Hornby and the like have never produced much of it except a rather crude version of the ‘Rocket’ etc.  A great blog for anyone interested in railway history.    

Wow, Pete.  This is coming along nicely.  I’ve always admired your attention to precision and I can see why 0 gauge appeals to you now - the level of detail is outstanding and made maximum by your weathering and building techniques.  The subtle weathering on the buildings is superbly done.  Those long shots are a joy.  Using a mirror is a great trick and I see how you have made sure that it butts up precisely, ensuring that everything is absolutely straight so that the illusion is convincing.  Mind you, I wouldn’t expect anything else from the master of straight lines and angles.  Brilliant piece of work.  

Beautiful modelling.

2 hours ago, Ben B said:

I've a soft-spot for Carlisle station having worked there for a bit in the mid 2000's.  That is stunning- I love the lighting of those shots, and the complexity of the roof! 

Thank you for the kind comment Ben.  Large Victorian Stations are often referred to as Cathedrals of Steam, but I think Carlisle takes top billing here.  Those screens and the much larger roof must have been an impressive sight when first erected in 1880.  It’s a shame they were lost.  Thanks again, Mike.

4 hours ago, AY Mod said:

Sigh; you've done it again Mike. Absolutely brilliant!

Thanks very much, Andy.

I’ll keep posting on progress etc.  It’s been a bit of a slog this one!