PaternosterRow

Beautiful model - can't wait to see the roof go on.

That wiring is really neat - I wouldn't dare post a pic of my efforts! That's also the best wire in the tube demo I've seen - feel a copycat coming on there. Ever considered doing a little video for us all to show us how the layout folds up into the box files etc?

Hi Pete, Should have entered this into the pic competition. I love the way sunlight is coming down from a break in the clouds to illuminate the front of the loco. It really evokes the whole feel of Scotland. Spent a summer up there in my youth and it really was like that. Still can't believe I'm only looking at 2mm scale!!

Progressing nicely, Pete. Like the idea of a sliding stick for the decoupling magnet you used on Kyle - will they be permanently fixed for this one? Man flu - now that's a coincidence - been suffering with that for more than a week here. I'm hoping that at least you haven't been flooded or burned in your neck of the woods. Love Spain - mainly a mountains in Mallorca man myself, but we hired a car one year and did a few of the Paradores on the mainland, ended up in Toledo (magnificent place). Lovely people, lovely place so it's quite sad with what they're having to put up with at the moment. Mike

Brilliant pic of the master himself, Mikkel! Thanks again guys and I'll try that upload trick later.

Hi Jonte, thank you for the kind words. Regards, Mike

Many thanks, Dave.

Many, many thanks Mikkel. However, I'm a bit of a fraud as it is only a free CGI Texture that's been sized accordingly and pasted to a bit of 3mm ply as a backscene I cut out the uprights and glued them on some mounting board to give a bit of relief to the boarded up shop fronts then glued on a few re-sized INGSOC posters found on the internet. So it's not modelling, but illusion. I use this photo-realistic technique in a lot of my layouts - even for the windows in my buildings. There are many fine modelers of buildings here on RMweb (including yourself), but I wouldn't have the patience to do that so it's a bit of a cheat really. The girders under the bridge deck are modeled though and I caught the light perfectly so it has created a great looking photo. I've included a pic of a previous model - The Scrapyard - that I made a couple of years ago. You can see that I've used real photos of run down buildings as a backscene. Even the windows are sized photos that fit into the openings of my buildings. With the current standard of RTR it really adds that extra dimension and enhances the reality of a scene. Regards Mike PS: how do you insert pics into the comments boxes - I couldn't do it so had to upload the image to the gallery section and then clicked on share?

I'd love to include a troop of junior spies, as in the film version. I have to watch the cost though - Preiser figures are very expensive and I'm already in trouble with the credit card Police for spending the house keeping money!!!

Many thanks Tim, most of his novels contain this kind of gritty realism. I loved the film, but would like to see the original 1950's televised version. Thanks for the link by the way. The only other film adaptation of one of his novels was Keep the Aspidistra Flying, which I hated because of its romantic view of 30's London. Mike

Thanks Pete, yes, it's a must read. Orwell might be famous for 1984, but his other novels and non-fiction works are also worth a read. In my opinion he is one of the most important writers of the 20th Century.

The arch infills and girder bridge are now completed. There are no station names in 1984, only Newspeak abbreviations. The station is known only as INTSEC 3/19 (Intersection of Main Line 3 and tube station 19) - you can make your own mind up as to which North London Station it represents! Winston stands alone on the platform and watches a B set pull in amid the smoke and steam - I must get around to giving him a pair of eyes! I figured that seeing how Orwell wrote this in 1948/9 BR would have already come into existence. Praries and Mark 1 coaches would have therefore been used and continued to have been used in his alternative future. The Prole area - Old London, although bombed and derelict, still exists under the concrete monoliths of Big Brother. Under the official party posters Winston could make out various prole advertisements. As long as they remained dormant, the majority of the population were allowed their cheap thrills and entertainment. Party members were strictly forbidden from attending these events, but if offered a glimpse of how the world was before INGSOC. Winston had met Parsons on the way in. He had a low level job at the Ministry of the Truth and was therefore Winston's colleague. He also lived on the same floor of his apartment block so it was difficult to avoid the man. Short and rotund, Parsons was full of boyish enthusiasm and was endlessly attending meetings, community hikes, demonstrations and the like. He was a leading member of the INGSOC Sports committee and cut a ridiculous figure especially when bounding about in his jogging shorts. It was Parson's sort of unquestioning devotion, along with thousands of others just like him, that the party depended on. A blind faith that was more important to its survival than the Thought Police. He and his ilk irritated Winston with their slogans and doubleplusgood mindset. Parsons had been discussing some or other droll event with a couple of members of the anti-sex league in the subway entrance. The tall blond women, with a scarlet sash wound tightly round her waist, the vile symbol of self imposed purity, reminded Winston of his own wife, another empty-headed party devotee. The memory of her chilled him and he'd been relieved when they had decided to part ten years earlier. Their type had survived the endless purges of the last 30 years until they now dominated the ranks of the outer party; any chance of a counter revolution had therefore long since vanished. Winston was dead, he'd known that the minute he'd committed his first thought crime, but Parsons and his type would thrive and the party would endure for a thousand years because of it.

Hi Ray Had another look at your site - those electrical boards are seriously neat - probably the neatest DIY electrics I've ever seen. What patience! By the way - where is the quiet place you live? I live by a little village called Gneeveguilla, County Kerry and the silence can be deafening sometimes. I grew up in Birmingham and it took me an awful long time to adjust to how quiet it is around here. Regards Mike

Hi Ray My hat's off to anyone who has planned a full layout then committed themselves to building it. I haven't the patience and get easily bored with projects. Probably why I stick to small layouts like Cheslyn. Your project looks superb and you are obviously getting a lot of fun out of building it. You're going to achieve some brilliant scenery and detail with your steadfast approach. Great work - keep posting - could you do an overall shot of the layout so far? I see from your website that it has some lovely, generous curves. The carpentry work is absolutely superb by the way. Regards Mike

Fully endorse this method - there's nothing like the real thing when it comes to scatter/ballast. I've used real crushed coal in my bunkers on Cheslyn - can't get a better effect than that. Regards Mike

Beautifully framed and lit (I can feel an IKEA display case coming on!) To think this all fits into just 3 box files - excellent planning and design. I can see this being sold en mass as a flat pack layout in a box - it would certainly appeal to IKEA lovers :-)

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I've waiting for this for some time. That's seriously good modelling - very neat work. How long has it taken so far in hours and what scale is it? Keep this blog going Martin as at some point in the future I'd love to have a crack at something like this. Regards Mike

Hi Jonte - thanks for the encouragement. The modelling is a bit smoke and mirrors really - the backs of the buildings are never finished off and I tend to use photo realistic images for back scene areas etc. Mike

Hi David. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. Parsons, Syme and many others may appear - I've got to watch the cash though, those Preiser figures are expensive!!! Mike

Thanks for the comments Scots Region. I'd love a Q1, but money is tight and I've already exceeded my allowance for this year!!! Mike

Hi Mikkel - many thanks. Those buildings are dead easy and quick to knock up. Just 3mm ply, some coffee stirrer sticks, a bit of PVA and a shake of fine sand for the concrete look. Most of the work had already been done - the station throat had been made a few years ago, but I was never quite happy with it. Although I've cannibalized bits (the point motors for Cheslyn) I never had the heart to break it up entirely. It just goes to show you that you should never throw anything away! Winston got a black wash and varnish this morning!

Hi Pete Thanks. The follow up - maybe that dream runaround layout I'm always thinking about!

Winston Smith arrived this morning courtesy of Gaugemaster. I've trawled the net looking for a suitable figure, but could only find one from the Preiser Mechanics set. Although you can tell that H0 figures are slightly underscale for 4mm, Preiser still have the best range of rendered figures. They are so well painted and detailed that I personally can't resist them. Winston looks lost under the claustrophobic concrete roof. I've also bought some East German guards (which have yet to arrive), the German POW set and the Refugee set (these will need painting) - all from the Preiser Range. A shot of the whole model with all of the concrete structures in place. Just the arch infills, roadway and pavement to do plus the backscene and old shop fronts under the bridge. This is a shot of my Dapol Prarie. It is just a plastic kit, but it is well detailed and I'm going to build a few more I think - any suggestions as to which I should buy will be well received. I've an old Lima Shunter that's going to be converted to an armoured train - I absolutely refuse to mess about with any of my other stock.

Those huts look fine - all yards next to large industrial units are always full of smaller ancilory buildings. I agree with Mikkel and I wouldn't have them so orderley though. As far as the wagons, stock and weathering - well, as always, in awe of how it can all be done so realistically in 2mm scale.

That's put a smile on me face. Know what you mean about Redditch. I used to go with a lass from there (many, many years ago now) and I could never find her house no matter how many times I'd go. All the ring roads and the houses look the same! Mike