Metcalfe modelling - miscellaneous memories

[The White Rabbit]

Metcalfes have been a near neighbour of mine for around a generation now. When I first heard of them, in the early 1990s, the market leader for card kits was seen by many as Superquick. Metcalfes only offered several 'uncut' kits. But a Sunday evening telephone call with 'Mr P' of Peco started a seismic change in both Metcalfe's fortunes and card-modelling for model railways. I must confess, it was too late for me. I had tried Superquick and had not got on well with their kits, I had not found any decent alternative, so turned to Wills' plastic kits. I found these preferable to the card offerings of the time and these days, for my own modelling, I scratchbuild in plastic. But, with the benefit of hindsight, I suspect if I'd been born five years later, I would use card. 

 

In one of the minor ironies of history, I later worked for Metcalfes, both as an employee and freelance contractor. Before this, I had run a small shop which sold the Metcalfe kits and had had my arm twisted to build some for display and advertising purposes. One thing led to another and I was recruited to run their factory shop. I became their unofficial 'modeller in chief' and produced various dioramas for the business, both for advertising and face to face inspiration. Family issues (for both of us) led to some changes a couple of years later but I continued to build models for them until my partner's death and a job change meant I could not longer give them enough time to build dioramas on schedule. 

 

Anyway, I thought it time to post some pictures of what can be achieved using their kits. Life's been rather busy lately but finally I've been able to collect some photos and memories to share in this thread. Some photos you may have seen before, others are as far as I know, previously unpublished. I think one of Metcalfe kits' strengths is that they can appeal to modellers of differing abilities and experience. They can give newbies a good result for a modest expenditure of cash and effort. Experienced modellers can use them for kitbashing and scratchbuilding. Despite preferring plastic, I genuinely believe they have a good product and was always happy to recommend them. 

 

One thing to stress - I don't have any association with Metcalfes these days. I'm quite happy to try and answer any questions readers may have but if you have any issues or problems with the kits, you should speak to the team at Bell Busk, not myself. I won't be able to help with spare parts or commercial/consumer problems. 

 

Well, enough background - it's time for some modelling! 

 

 

The first few models I built were single kits in small dioramas. I built the Settle & Carlisle workers' cottages (now updated) on a piece of blockboard with the edges painted black: 

 

This is probably the best known view, as it was used on at least one catalogue cover. The kits were built more or less according to the instructions (which I found to be very good and much better than many I've encountered). The major exception was with the cottages on the left, instead of a separate garden block, I added two house extensions. A handful of their self-adhesive paving slabs provided a mini patio and some doorstep paving slabs. 'Lead' flashing on the roof was a minor refinement and was made using offcuts of the kit, from memory, the reverse of the sheet of chimney pots. 

 

The surrounding scenery is a mix of Woodland Scenics and GreenScene, the latter have a range of flower scatter which can be used for both ground cover plants and climbers. Langley provided the waterbutt and Preiser the figures. The washing line on the LHS is a minor piece of scratchbuilding - two plastic sections of rod, a painted piece of metal wire and some white card cut to represent sheets/towels, with tiny flecks of brown paint to represent the pegs holding it to the line. I modelled the 'scullery' door open - doors and windows being shown open or ajar adds life to a model and looks natural. Here, whether it's the woman hanging out the washing or doing some gardening, I thought an open door looked more natural. 

 

In a 'cunning plan', the patio was located near the baseboard edge so the diorama could be comfortably gripped between thumb and fingers without touching the 'green' scenery. OK, the lawn is Woodland Scenics fine turf rather than static grass but repeated handling could still have resulted in the scatter being worn away and bare patches appearing on Mrs Dixon's lawn. 

 

 

 

Many of the 'green' scenery bits were offcuts or remnants from bigger pieces. The small tree by the boundary wall was a piece snapped off one of Woodland's tree kit packs and the 'cabbages' came from the bottom of a pack of their clump foliage. (GreenScene scatter was used for the ivy and pea plants). The timber fencing was made from two pieces from my 'offcut' box, one of the Wills versions I think. 

 

 

And a view of the fronts... 

[BR60103]

I have been "passing myself off as a craftsman" at our club shows for years by building card kits, lately almost exclusively Metcalfe.

My justification is that a) it is almost unknown in North America and b) it is a place where a younger modeller can get started (as soon as mummy will let him have a sharp knife). 

 

Your landscaping looks a lot more professional than mine.

 

[brossard]

Beautiful work, just shows what can be done with determination and skill.

 

I started more than 30 yrs ago by building Superquick kits and moved on to Metcalfe.  They both produce good looking structures and are a godsend to layout builders who want their scenery to take shape quickly.

 

I dabbled in Wills Craftsman kits but I think it was Scalescenes that were a game changer for me.  I'm doing 0 gauge now, but my buildings still use Scalescenes materials and techniques.

 

John

[The White Rabbit]

10 hours ago, BR60103 said:

I have been "passing myself off as a craftsman" at our club shows for years by building card kits, lately almost exclusively Metcalfe.

My justification is that a) it is almost unknown in North America and b) it is a place where a younger modeller can get started (as soon as mummy will let him have a sharp knife). 

 

Your landscaping looks a lot more professional than mine.

 

Yes, though it's not something I looked at properly, I did get the impression most North American modellers use plastic kits. Which need not be a bad thing, just different... random thought, I wonder if anyone has ever run an international survey as to what types of kit modellers use and whether we have any figures to illustrate national trends. 

 

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to newcomers (IMHO) is they often do not know what's available and what results various products give. I'm sure Nick Metcalfe would appreciate any ambassadorial publicity you can give. And if you want to use any of my photos from this thread, it's unlikely to be a problem - best to double-check first but almost certainly it'll be a case of 'go ahead'. 

 

Landscaping - thanks. There was a time when I was a professional model-maker, so I did aim to produce high quality work. 

 

[The White Rabbit]

11 hours ago, brossard said:

Beautiful work, just shows what can be done with determination and skill.

 

I started more than 30 yrs ago by building Superquick kits and moved on to Metcalfe.  They both produce good looking structures and are a godsend to layout builders who want their scenery to take shape quickly.

 

I dabbled in Wills Craftsman kits but I think it was Scalescenes that were a game changer for me.  I'm doing 0 gauge now, but my buildings still use Scalescenes materials and techniques.

 

John

 

Thanks John. Yes, the kits provide a great starting point and if you can add a bit of imagination, you can add a lot of 'value' to the kit as supplied. I use the Wills Craftsman kits myself, as well as their 'scenic' range. I may yet be reconverted though, as I have a Scalescenes (4mm) barn to build. It looks good and I already use some of their accessories parts for detailing. 

 

I think much of the strength of the Metcalfe kits is they reward care and attention. If you follow the instructions, you get a good result. A little thought and careful application and you can improve them. Yes, a scratchbuilt plastic model equivalent might look better - but only slightly - and would take a lot longer in time, money and/or skill. I think it's the advantage card kits have over plastic, they give modellers more shortcuts to a good result. 

 

[brossard]

11 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

Thanks John. Yes, the kits provide a great starting point and if you can add a bit of imagination, you can add a lot of 'value' to the kit as supplied. I use the Wills Craftsman kits myself, as well as their 'scenic' range. I may yet be reconverted though, as I have a Scalescenes (4mm) barn to build. It looks good and I already use some of their accessories parts for detailing. 

 

I think much of the strength of the Metcalfe kits is they reward care and attention. If you follow the instructions, you get a good result. A little thought and careful application and you can improve them. Yes, a scratchbuilt plastic model equivalent might look better - but only slightly - and would take a lot longer in time, money and/or skill. I think it's the advantage card kits have over plastic, they give modellers more shortcuts to a good result. 

 

 

I think of the structure building job as an evolutionary thing.  You get your eye in, as it were, by building precut kits and then you can move on to more complicated buildings such as Wills and Scalescenes, or even scratchbuilding.

 

I think the thing that bugs me (others too I believe) about Metcalfe (and Superquick) is the exposed card edges which can be jarring.  Adding colour with felt marker or paint helps a lot but this should be done before assembly.

 

John

Edited August 29, 2022 by brossard

[The White Rabbit]

Edit: Yes, my mind was running along the same lines! I think it's an inherent weakness of card kits - I've suggested a solution here:

 

 

Today - just as an example of little extra touches which make a difference, one thing I forgot to mention in the OP: using paint to disguise the grey card edges. With the cottages shown above, the white bargeboards benefit from a touch of white paint on their sides and bottoms. It's probably best seem in the third picture above - nothing fancy, just a flat brush and some matt white acrylic, Humbrol or Revell, to cover the grey edge. And yes, a steady hand and good light help too! These cottages's stonework is close to the grey card visible on the corners, so I didn't paint those. However, for red brick kits (to come later) then the grey card does show up. I use low-tech to fix this. A child's red crayon, cut into a wedge shape (to enable it to get into the corners more easily) and run down the groove. 

 

Today's kit is the coaching inn - https://www.metcalfemodels.com/product/po228-00-h0-coaching-inn/ 

It was one of the first kits I did for Metcalfes and the pictures of it are still being used to advertise it, more than 15 years later. The black quoins down the corner edges did highlight the grey card a bit - so I used a flat brush and some matt black to overcoat the card. Likewise the bargeboards, bay windows and A frame noticeboard. The tops of the chimneypots also got a touch of black paint to hide the glimmer of white edges from the paper used. The brick chimneystacks got the treatment with my red pencil. 

 

A few Hornby figures were glued onto the internal base so they are half visible through the windows. Again, just a little touch to provide some life to a model. Ill health has now forced an early retirement but pre-Covid, I had a small exhibition business selling scenery and accessories at Yorkshire exhibitions and via mail order - our informal company motto was 'bringing your layout to life'. 

 

Metcalfe provide various names and signboards for pubs - I chose the KIngs Arms after the local for a friend of mine, who worked for Peco. 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by The White Rabbit
trans-continental telepathy...

[BR60103]

The North American problem with card kits is that there are pretty well none for North American buildings.  In the 50s and 60s the magazines Toy Trains and Railroad Model Craftsman printed some kits on their back covers but that was just glossy paper. They may have collected them in book form.

You can often get paper cutout buildings from museums/pioneer villages but these have limited range.

 

(Apologies if I'm sidetracking your thread.)

 

My wife thinks that card buildings look better than plastic ones.

 

[The White Rabbit]

7 hours ago, BR60103 said:

The North American problem with card kits is that there are pretty well none for North American buildings.  In the 50s and 60s the magazines Toy Trains and Railroad Model Craftsman printed some kits on their back covers but that was just glossy paper. They may have collected them in book form.

You can often get paper cutout buildings from museums/pioneer villages but these have limited range.

 

(Apologies if I'm sidetracking your thread.)

 

My wife thinks that card buildings look better than plastic ones.

 

No worries, it's interesting to hear about other countries and their modelling scene. I started the thread as a ramble through some memories but it's good to have a chat about others' experiences & thoughts. I'd much sooner the thread is a discussion rather than a monologue.  

 

Do you have a  particularly diverse architecture? Is that why manufacturers might struggle to strike a balance between providing a respectable range of buildings and making the range commercially viable? So far I have only modelled British areas, so I haven't really looked at ranges of 'overseas' (to me!) kits. I wonder why there are few card kits for NA modellers, whether it's due to a 'good' reason or just inertia / a chicken and egg issue. 

 

Opinions vary in the UK as well about card versus plastic. I haven't looked but I would imagine it's been debated on here as well. Something I've found the hard way, plastic kits do need good painting to produce a nice model. It doesn't bother me but it is a lot of extra work and I can understand why it's not for everyone. Whereas with card kits, you only have to worry about putting the pieces together. I reckon I'll sit on the fence and say I see both points of view! 

 

I'll show another kit later - when I've woken up - this time, a kitbash of the coaching inn. 

[brossard]

I think UK architecture is as diverse as anywhere but that doesn't stop people from making buildings.  The late Allan Downes was magician when it came to building construction.

 

I haven't checked I must admit, but I wonder if there is a North American version of Scalescenes.  My impression is that most buildings are RTP or plastic kits.  I suppose the market is large enough to support the tooling costs.

 

John

[The White Rabbit]

Yes, Allan was very skilled and very inventive. I learnt quite a bit from him, though more re plasticard than cardboard.  

 

I never got involved much on the factory side but in terms of machinery/tooling Metcalfes use/used, it's cheaper than the tooling required for a range of locos and stock. (Obviously) there are printing presses, the die-cut kits have some tooling for those and there are several laser cutters. I'm rather out of touch now, it's been several years since I was up there but I know they were looking at various bits of kit. There was a Railway Modeller CD special in 2010 featuring Metcalfes which included time looking at the factory.  

 

Perhaps it's just one of those things? If there isn't a NA version of Scalescenes, maybe there's a gap in the market? Or Scalescenes could be encouraged to diversify? 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by The White Rabbit
Add RM issue reference.

[friscopete]

Team Track Models make some downloadables to Scalescenes standard, in fact is it a US offshoot ? The depot looks good     https://www.teamtrackmodels.com

[The White Rabbit]

Anyway, one kitbash. Sorry about the quality of the picture, it was just a quick snap I took before going off to it's new home:

 

 

Following on from the coaching inn built as intended, a few years later I was asked about a thatched cottage by a local railway modelling group. OK, other people do kits and RTP versions but they weren't keen on those. So plan B. I knew someone who did a white-walled two storey building... and I had experimented with thatch previously. 

 

It's actually the front of the inn, reversed, so in the photo above, we're looking at what would normally face into the courtyard. The rear was adapted to patch the holes normally left for the bay windows. A brick chimneystack was made (I think from scratch and from a sheet of redbrick paper). They liked the idea of a timber framed house, either using wattle and daub or cob/witchert building techniques to fill in the walls. So strips of 'timber' were drawn on the computer and printed off onto 160gsm card and 100gsm paper. They are actually very dark grey rather than black and had their edges painted with acrylic (mainly black with a dash of white) using a flat brush. This added a bit of depth to the walls and was one of those 'little things' which can make a big difference. As usual, I painted up the card edges for windows and doors before the glazing and doors were glued in. 

 

The thatch is from GreenScene, their 'rough grass', which when laid out flat, reminded a friend of mine of cat fur. Which led to some comments when it was laid over the armrest of a sofa! I had added the original roof to the kit as a base, though fortunately I had remembered to take the dimensions from it so I could cut out the rectangle of 'rough grass' needed. This would then fold over the slate roof and (a bit later) be glued to it. I used a beard trimmer to reduce the length of the fur and an unused comb to 'groom' it. (This does lead to some strange looks if you have unexpected visitors...). I'd found out earlier that just painting the thatch leads to poor results, the paint just matts the fibres together. Instead, I stained the fibres, working small quantities of grey paint in with my fingers. Messy but I was a lot happier with the results. Once the staining was complete, I fitted the thatch, with some trimming and tweaking and a bit of drybrushing with a flat brush. 

 

Edit: Below are two pictures of the cottage before the timberwork was added. Firstly, the 'thatch' in its natural state, then after combing/trimming and before staining. (There were quite a few test fits). 

 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by The White Rabbit
Two more pictures added.

[BR60103]

There are a few N. A. companies that produce downloadable paper buildings; offhand I think 3DK and Clever Models.

 

Architecture here is varied but possibly less regional. Areas with lots of Scots settlement have stone buildings. 

 

There is a building called the Ontario Cottage.  The government over a century ago produced free plans for a small house. There's nothing an Ontarian likes better than free from the government.  This was a small house, one or (usually) two stories, with a central front door and a gable over it and window each side of the door. Some were kitbashed into T- or L-shapes.  What would be frustrating for the poor kit manufacturer is that there is no longer a standard siding. There is wood, brick, stone  and anything else that was handy.  I know where there is a row of three, all different.

[brossard]

12 minutes ago, BR60103 said:

There are a few N. A. companies that produce downloadable paper buildings; offhand I think 3DK and Clever Models.

3DK is Canadian but the buildings are British.  I tried the free kit and it came out OK, I had trouble with the corners.  I might have another go at some point.

 

 

The thing about converting buildings from 4mm to 7mm is that windows usually need to be scratch built.  I really don't like that corner on the left.

 

https://www.3dk.ca/

 

The buildings on my layout are all in the Scalescenes style so these kits would clash.  Perhaps the next layout?

 

Another option somewhere in the price spectrum between card and laser cut wood are Lcut. 

 

http://lcut.co.uk/index.php?page=pages/main&title=Main

 

These are laser cut from a type of card (not the super expensive ply) and make into quite good buildings.  I've done a number of these in 7mm scale and had fun embellishing them.

 

John

 

 

[The White Rabbit]

The brickwork colours look good to me. Did you add the guttering yourself? In the UK, Peco and Ratio/Wills (amongst others) produce 2mm and 4mm scale plastic guttering, downpipes and various other bits of 'external plumbing' pieces. I tended not to use these for my Metcalfe modelling (though many do) but did use them for my own modelling in plastic. Anyway, I wondered if you could use the downpipe to hide the join?  

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by The White Rabbit
add scales

[brossard]

Yes, like Scalescenes the brick rendering is excellent.  It is why I ignore the lack of texture because I doubt I can do as good a job with paint.  Yes, I usually make my own guttering and downspouts.  Half round Evergreen plastic works for gutters.  A few strips of self adhesive paper labels represent the brackets.  Downspouts are brass rod (not tube because that crumples when bent) with brackets soldered on.

 

Had I been thinking ahead I could have put the downspout over the join. 🙄

 

John

[The White Rabbit]

Two more singles today, then next time it'll be a bigger scene. When I first started, I just did some small scenes and built-up models, then moved to bigger dioramas. Unfortunately I didn't get many photos of the smaller scenes, I was too busy building - both the models and the shop business. Stick with me (!) and there'll be more and better pictures to come.  

 

The second scene I did was of the church. (My apologies for the poor picture but it's the only one I have). 

 

The kit was built more or less according to the instructions, with some self-adhesive paving slabs for the paths. I did 'plant' three trees next to the hedgerow, these were from the Woodland Scenics ready-made threepacks. These have removable bases, which I glued to the blockboard base, so when the diorama was in the shop, they were inserted and looked like they provided some graveyard/pavement shade, but when we wanted to take some pictures, they could be removed so the church itself was in clear view. 

 

The hedgerow was made from GreenScene horsehair and scatter - the latter illustrates why you should always try and pick your scatters/static grass in similar light to what you model in. I made that mistake and wasn't best pleased with the result! Lesson learned. 

 

The gravestones are from Harburn Hamlet (pack A I think) and I modelled a bus-stop (just to the right of the tree). 

 

 

The other single kit diorama I did was the old viaduct, now discontinued but some dealers appear to have stock, maybe second-hand. 

 

I don't have any photos of this at all but atm Hattons had one second-hand and the picture of the pack still shows in searches - https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=kpC9vyPq&id=B7348E94854A23B3B0E816A154469D0CBCDDA583&thid=OIP.kpC9vyPq0kx6OnbiboiAVQHaE7&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fhattonsimages.blob.core.windows.net%2fproducts%2fPO209-LN01_3360554_Qty1_1.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.9290bdbf23ead24c7a3a76e26e888055%3frik%3dg6XdvAydRlShFg%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=533&expw=800&q=metcalfe+po209+viaduct&simid=608020000651951024&FORM=IRPRST&ck=89EFB5D7DF4D261A8332365A1C6F56DD&selectedIndex=3&qpvt=metcalfe+po209+viaduct&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0 

Metcalfes did go through a stage of picturing their kits built up and in dioramas as part of the artwork for the pack. 

 

There's not much to say about this one, it's a bit of a cliche, with steep embankments and a stream going through the centre span. But it was another diorama I could do fairly quickly and we could use for display and advertising. I used GreenScene water for the stream and painted in the foam and froth for the rapids. I did cut the height of the viaduct down quite a bit. 

 

 

[The White Rabbit]

I then moved on to larger dioramas which could be displayed in the front window. We had hefty timber planks about 5' x 1' which I used as a base for two dioramas. The first was an engine shed scene, pictured here with some of the shop stock 'dressing' it. Again, apologies for the poor resolution, it's the only frame I have. 

 

 

The three Metcalfe kits here (water tower and sandhouse, coaling stage and shed) were built without much alteration. I applied my usual refinements of colouring edges and corners, both for the red brick sections and on bargeboards. The retaining wall for the coaling stage ramp was a simple scratchbuild from red brickpaper. I used quite a bit of GreenScene's textured paints for groundcover, Concrete and then a 'mucky mix' of Yard Filth and General Muck. With some ballast and Woodland green fine turf scattered in. 

 

Various accessories were added, Peco watercranes, pits and the backscene, Harburn bricks and Ratio pallets & oildrums. Dare I mention Coopercraft? They provided the barrow and some tools. Behind the shed, Wills provided some fencing and a bicycle. The Metcalfe bus garage kit was built as an industrial unit behind a wide stretch of cobbles. Frank Spencer and Son... 

 

I'm not sure what happened to this diorama. I heard a rumour suggesting that after the shop was sold, the new owner sold it to a private individual. I know most of the smaller dioramas went to the Metcalfe office at their factory with at least two of the larger ones. One went to Bachmann, one to Buckfastleigh's display section at the Ratio-Wills factory and one (the farm) to FMR in Baildon. One problem we did have was despite being north facing, the UV light did fade the red brick kits we put in the shop windows. 

[The White Rabbit]

The second 5' x 1' diorama was a farm scene. Partly as a counterweight to the urban red-brick scene above and partly because Metcalfes had just brought out their third farm kit in OO (the 'farm buildings' - aka cow shed/shippon and hen huts) and wanted to advertise them. The long and thin site did make for some design compromises but I think what I came up with worked. Below is one of the test snaps for an advert, so it's a little 'busy': we wanted to sell some accessories as well as kits. The vehicles were mostly of Wiking (1:87 scale) farm equipment, with (I think) a Cararama LWB land-rover at the back of the farmhouse. The trees nearby were from the Bachmann [RTP] range - we sold these in the shop at the time and it was a good opportunity to put a handful in a suitable setting to show them off. 

 

The road and some of the drive was from Metcalfe's tarmac sheets, with cobbles in front of the [old] barn and round the back of the farmhouse. The expanse of concrete was modelled using GreenScene's textured paint. Harburn provided various 'piles' and I recognise Hornby, Modelscene and Preiser accessories and figures. Peco provided some 'flexible field fencing' and gates. I'm afraid the photo isn't sharp enough for a good view but the walls along the road were Hornby Skaledale 'Cotswold' walls; they also provided a couple of road signs. 'Green' scenery was my usual mix of GreenScene and Woodland. Of the various cameos, the one which I will always associate with this diorama is a dog outside the old barn (behind the milk churns) staring at a cat (returning it's stare (glare?)) just outside the farm cottage (unfortunately not visible below). I've included animal cameos in other dioramas (some still to come) and it's become something of a trademark. Not intentionally - in each case it just 'felt' right. 

 

 

Below is a closer view of the left-hand side, showing the rear of the farmhouse, with 'clutter' and a cameo based on Preiser hens and the smaller of the hen-huts. Centre left is a partially visible Harburn pig shelter and two porkers. A hare is sheltering by the hedge/fence centre left. 

 

 

As of a few months ago, this diorama was displayed at FMR in their stairwell, though probably with fewer/different accessories. 

 

Again, apologies for the poor photos - next time we step up a gear. 

 

 

[The White Rabbit]

Back to red bricks... 'Delamere Road'. 

 

The design brief was straightforward and trusting - show our red brick station in a space 4' x 2'. The station is based on a 'Cheshire Lines' design so the name Delamere, after the old forest, almost chose itself. I could have made it more urban but that would have taken more time and also reduced the space in the station approach and goods yard. We wanted to provide some space - or a 'set' - for photographing model vehicles, so having the station as a 'Something Road', some distance from the population centre it's supposed to serve was a natural choice. Aligning the track diagonally across the scene drew some favourable comment and helped enlarge the space available for photographing vehicles, though my explanation drew some funny looks from other Metcalfe staff. (I explained I had drawn inspiration from the way flight decks on aircraft carriers are often aligned on a diagonal. OK, I didn't have to worry about wind speed/direction over decks but the extra space either side of the running lines/flight deck was useful). 

 

The photo above was taken when the diorama was almost finished. Some readers may think the picture's familar - as well as the Metcalfe adverts, I wrote an article for the Hornby Magazine and this appeared in the May 2010/no. 35 issue. 

 

There's not much to say about the construction, I used the same techniques as before for building the kits. The diorama base is MDF mounted on 2x1 framing. Contours come from polystyrene carved to shape and coated in plaster/filler. 

Both Peco’s Flexible Field Fencing and Ratio’s LMS platform fencing were painted a brown acrylic to roughly coat the white base colour, followed up by a more careful coat of white. Any gaps show through as brown – a natural timber colour. Using this technique, depending how you apply the second coat, you can obtain anything from a neat, freshly painted fence, to a flaking, neglected one in need of some attention.

 

The lamps on the platform are from Langley’s whitemetal kits - an LNWR design. They were painted with a coat of matt black with a touch of metallic silver to give a slight metal sheen. The Modelscene lamps on the station forecourt also had this treatment, with the centre of the lampshade area receiving a coat of silver paint. I cut off the bases of the Modelscene lamps and drilled vertically into the post. A small piece of wire was glued into the hole and the other end of this fitted into another small hole drilled in the pavement.

 

'Green' scenery was also fairly conventional, with static grass covering a lot of space and my usual mix of GreenScene and Woodland for flowers and larger vegetation. The foxgloves are made mostly from GreenScene material – ‘plant stems’ and flower scatter. Small bushes and ornamental trees were made from small pieces of horsehair, seamoss and Woodland’s foliage. Climbing plants are from GreenScene’s garden kit. 

 

The advertising signs around the station are from Gaugemaster’s Tiny Signs range. I made the trackside signs myself, on the computer and using some scrap pieces of plastic. The figures are from Hornby and Preiser, with most of the accessories coming from the Peco, Modelscene and Hornby ranges. By now I had also started producing my own range of accessories (see my blog/link in the signature) either producing these from first principles or painting and/or improving others' materials and the barrows and flowertubs shown are from these. 

 

This diorama saw me start taking more photographs of my work and using more floodlights to get better lighting, so if anyone would like a closer look at something or a different angle, please ask - I may well have a photo available. 

 

 

Either an imminent thunderstorm or an urgent need for another floodlight! 

 

 

 

 

I used a generous quantity of 'goods' to illustrate the parcels/goods side of traffic: 

 

 

 

I took some photos using late BR steam stock and accessories and others using BR blue-grey. Conspiracy theorists may speculate but the way things turned out, the latter provided more of the better photos! 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

That really is some nice modelling (I have a bit of a soft spot for model buildings and modelling buildings).

 

I’ve always thought Metcalfe have had some excellent designs, Frequently more realistic than some of plastic kits on the market (some of which have quite implausible dimensions)

 

Although the bare cardboard edges are a bit of a drawback you can work around them. Other things (like chimney pots, downspouts, etc) are easily sourced but what I’ve always wondered is why Metcalfe didn’t/doesn’t include suitably sized and printed strips that could be cut out and placed in to the corners where the bare cardboard is revealed.
 

Perhaps even better, would be printed paper that could be cut out and glued onto two sides of a square plastic rod of suitable dimensions and thus provide a nice sharp corner that will fit in with the rest of the brickwork (or stonework as the case may be).

 

 

[The White Rabbit]

20 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

That really is some nice modelling (I have a bit of a soft spot for model buildings and modelling buildings).

 

I’ve always thought Metcalfe have had some excellent designs, Frequently more realistic than some of plastic kits on the market (some of which have quite implausible dimensions)

 

Although the bare cardboard edges are a bit of a drawback you can work around them. Other things (like chimney pots, downspouts, etc) are easily sourced but what I’ve always wondered is why Metcalfe didn’t/doesn’t include suitably sized and printed strips that could be cut out and placed in to the corners where the bare cardboard is revealed.
 

Perhaps even better, would be printed paper that could be cut out and glued onto two sides of a square plastic rod of suitable dimensions and thus provide a nice sharp corner that will fit in with the rest of the brickwork (or stonework as the case may be).

 

Yes, I have gravitated towards buildings and scenery through my modelling 'career'. It's just felt 'right'. 

 

Nick Metcalfe is a printer by trade but it's clear he has an eye for buildings and architecture. Even though I don't use the kits for my own layouts, I do like them and never had any qualms about recommending them. They are a good short-cut for those who don't want to scratchbuild. 

 

I never asked at the time but thinking about it, one possibility for disguising the edges a manufacturer could take would be to use coloured card. However, I suspect this would add quite a lot to the price and may even make commercial reproduction impractical. (Anyone want to make a guess at how many tonnes of card Metcalfe get through a year?) I have a scale model scenery barn to build and this uses laser cut timber formers, with paper stonework to wrap around. Even before this thread started, I did wonder how well this would work at avoiding the 'edges' issue. Their advertising photography suggests rather well... hopefully I'll see for myself soon. 

 

In terms of paper strips, if it's a building with quoins, then producing supplementary paper prints (or even self adhesive strips, like the platform edges?) would presumably be straightforward. And I wouldn't have thought some red brick 'overlay quoins' from coloured paper would be a technical issue, though I can see it adding to costs and the alignment being fiddly for some modellers. With the kit-bash of the Tudor style house above I produced my own L section corner pieces and this did eliminate that problem. Though unless you use coloured card/paper for any quoins prints (whether printed as quoins or as a plain overlay), you only reduce and move the problem, as you still have to colour the edges of the quoins prints to avoid a white/grey 'glimmer'. 

 

Maybe careful selection of design and prototype could actually enhance a kit, as some designs did use more complex brickwork and overlays could represent the 3D effect. I took some photos of the Tal y Llyn Railway's stations a few years ago, including Wharf/Kings, which had more complex brickwork than many buildings I've seen. 

 

 

[The White Rabbit]

When in the shop, I was asked all sorts of questions about the kits. A common query was 'what can I use for retaining walls'? (This was before https://www.metcalfemodels.com/product/po244-00-h0-scale-retaining-wall-in-red-brick/ was introduced). I normally suggested trying an adaptation of the PO240/241 viaduct kits. After a while, I thought I'd have a go at this myself. 

 

I used the PO240 viaduct kit, together with a pack of brick paper. The full story was told in the April 2007 edition of the Railway Modeller and we did keep the variations in the shop to show anyone who asked. A little later, PO244 & PO245 kits were introduced but I'll remember building these as an effort to encourage kit-bashing and how modellers could adapt the kits. 

 

The first style was a low relief version of the viaduct, full height. The pillar walls under the arches fold back at 90 degrees to be glued against formers located inside the pillars. Here, instead of cutting them down, I did some measuring and a bit of maths, then scored the flaps so they would fold round to produce square sections I could glue to the outside of the pillars. This provided a firm base and a solid anchoring point for the sheet of brickpaper behind. Even before I started, I expected to try other styles in an effort to obtain a more realistic model but did this one partly to act as a 'control', to gauge other styles against and partly 'to get my eye in' - I hadn't built this kit before. 

 

The next step was a cut down version, with angled buttresses:

 

 

Better, but I wanted to keep working, to see if I could do better.

 

 

Better, not batter... 

 

It was different but not particularly realistic from an engineering point of view. So I tried a combination of styles:

 

 

 

I was a lot happier with this style, it was similar to what I'd seen on the national network and looked more interesting than the second version. Contrary to original expectations, it wasn't as complex as I'd feared. I did have to use a protractor (for the first time since school!) but the flaps cut back cleanly and I used scrap 'grey' card to brace them. The underside of the arches were cut to shape freehand - easier than it sounds - and fitted snugly. 

 

I used this design in another diorama I constructed a few years later. This time, because the retaining wall was on a curve, I scored and folded the two arch sections in the middle to avoid too many acute angles. (The track is third radius Setrack). 

 

[BR60103]

I've wondered about carving/sanding a 45 degree angle inside the wall ends so that they fit together.