Waton

[trisonic]

Don't forget to model the loonies living above the "Drinks Direct" store!

 

Best, Pete.

[eldavo]

Pritt stick tip duly noted and adopted.

The parade of shops has progressed a fair way in the last couple of days. All the shop fronts and windows have been added plus roof textures. In addition the chinese restaurant on the end has been completed. I need to tidy up a few bits, sort the wobbly windowsills and give it a blast of matt varnish to seal things then I can get out the paintbrushes. Just to confuse things this building is named "Station Building"!





Cheers
Dave

Edited September 5, 2017 by eldavo

[eldavo]

The site for the parade of shops has been modified to make it fit better and I've had the paintbrushes out on the building itself. It needs a few details and some toning down with weathering powders in places but it's almost good enough. Here it is plonked in place temporarily.



It's a tight squeeze as is evidenced by the rear view. There's also a lack of detail from this angle but as nobody will ever see it...



This simple building seems to have taken a lot of hours to get to this state so I am questioning my sanity in taking on this challenge. Maybe I should have done a bit more of that planning stuff other more organised folks seem to so.

Cheers
Dave

Edited September 5, 2017 by eldavo

[bcnPete]

Dave - are the roads that steep or has the camera exagerated them a bit?

 

I think the building nestles in the space quite nice with the undergowth between the line and it - I like the fact that trains will momentarily disappear behind the building too to break up the frontage.

[eldavo]

Dave - are the roads that steep or has the camera exagerated them a bit? ...

 

On the prototype the roads are not overly steep but due to lack of width the model does have a horribly steep angle. The viewing angle doesn't help here but I'll still have my work cutout to disguise it. I guess I needed a challenge.

 

Cheers

Dave

[Pete Harvey]

Dave

 

It's looking very good the station building is coming on well too.

 

Pete

[Revolution Ben]

Looking very good.

 

I have been playing with some Scalscenes models for N, and found that A4 self adhesive labels (from Staples) are a useful way of saving time. I print the parts out and then just peel them off and glue them - especially good with the "wrap around" bits and saves a bit of mess - though completed parts (buttresses, parapets etc) still need to be glued with PVA.

 

I like what you've done with the building - and glad to see ugly, utilitarian structures depicted, rather than the picture postcard stuff.

 

I appreciate it may be too late on your model, but could putting a more gentle slope into the road all along the front - raising it up toward the middle of the layout - reduce the amount of slope needed on the perpendicular bit leading up to the bridge?

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[skipepsi]

I hate to be critical of someone who has done much more than me but Ben is right if you started the hill by the second shop along it would look better and still be believable.

[Pete Harvey]

Another way around this little problem would be to raise the road and the shops by 20mm this will lessen the slop of the road and will put the street level above the railway level with out the slope at the far end of the shops as at WO the road is level as it moves away from the shops and the junction.

 

 

Pete

[eldavo]

All good suggestions chaps. Currently mulling over what to do on the road front....

 

Cheers

Dave

[bcnPete]

All good suggestions chaps. Currently mulling over what to do on the road front....

 

oops....sorry Dave...it wasn't meant as a criticism...it's just everything you have done so far looks cracking and pitched just right, that's why I questioned the road - Pete

[eldavo]

oops....sorry Dave...it wasn't meant as a criticism...

 

Get outta here, I'm OK with criticism especially when you are highlighting something that doesn't look right. I would far rather have something pointed out on here now than realise months down the road and have to rip up half the layout. It does currently look a bit cr*p.

 

Looking at extending the slope I think that would mean that either the parade of shops would look a bit odd, with the road at a higher level for much of the length, or I would have to move them further away from the bridge and that would mean the central building complex would encroach into the righthand scenic space. This latter would make the whole thing look shorter and less well balanced I think.

 

Pete's suggestion of raising the road would make it a better match to the prototype but I think that would mess up the view from the front. I want the shop buildings to slightly obscure the view of the trains but if they are raised this would become more pronounced and mask some of the trackwork and really mess up the view for shorter folks/wheelchair users.

 

I think, today that is, that the road will have to stay as it is and I will have to somehow disguise the steepness. Not exactly sure how I will accomplish this but I'm working on it...

 

Cheers

Dave

[Pete Harvey]

Dave

 

What ever you do in the end I'm sure that it will look good.

 

Pete

[mudmagnet]

These things are sent to test us Dave, I'm sure as well that you will find a good solution.

 

The buildings do look good though, very utilitarian like to write, but an important part to set the scene.

 

Do you have any more photos for the station building?

 

Richard

[Shadow]

Dave,

 

Why not have the bridge at the same level from front to back, and then the road along thefront could pass underneath?

 

A lot of work to change around, and it takes it away from the original idea. Just a different idea.

 

You could make it a single lane width, with lights to control traffic flow.

 

Dave

 

[edit] http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/877858 (link to bridge photo)

[eldavo]

Attention has turned to the station building now. This is a rather distinctive element and the prototype is in a shameful state of disrepair. I'm aiming to emulate that somehow. The basic white plastic box has now had facades added and all has been covered with Scalescenes dark brown brick paper. Getting the details right on this is going to be tricky and a little time consuming I suspect.

Here's a view of the basic building in place on the layout. Some fencing and greenery has been thrown at the area surrounding the bridge to start to pull things together (hopefully).



The view from the car park.



Onward.

Cheers
Dave

Edited September 5, 2017 by eldavo

[eldavo]

More work on the station building today has resulted in a fair amount of progress. It's still a bit rough and ready but the main part of the building is now textured which is a big step forward. I took a trip up to Water Orton a few months back and took some photos of the buildings etc. Here's some of the ones I've been using today to create textures for the building.







I'm no photographer so these shots are a bit on the slant and the exposures are a bit uneven. I managed, with several hours of tinkering, to create the necessary textures from these using my favourite image manipulation tools. So here's a repeat of the earlier shots of the building plonked on the layout.





Looks a bit different!

Cheers
Dave

Edited September 5, 2017 by eldavo

[Kris]

The station building is looking very good, you've made great use of the photos.

[Pete Harvey]

Dave

 

That looks great the Camo by the road does the job and the station building looks great as well nice one.

 

Pete

[Will Vale]

I have been playing with some Scalscenes models for N, and found that A4 self adhesive labels (from Staples) are a useful way of saving time.  I print the parts out and then just peel them off and glue them - especially good with the "wrap around" bits and saves a bit of mess - though completed parts (buttresses, parapets etc) still need to be glued with PVA.

Not wishing to derail Dave's thread, but thanks so much for this tip - following this and a mention from John Teal of printing on labels I got some for a try. It makes what was a chore quite fun, rather like making those Grafar foam + sticker buildings from the '80s 

 

Dave, the buildings look really good - great mix of physical and trompe-l'oeil relief. I also like the balance of the building and scenery colours, which must have been difficult to arrange given that they come from totally different sources. I agree with Pete that the bushes do a good job of disguising the steepness road and make it make more sense, I suspect a more drastic fix is now unnecessary?

 

Cheers,

 

Will

[eldavo]

If you are fed up with pictures of models of decrepit station buildings now is the time to hit the back button! It's nearly done, honest. I've boxed in under the stairway and added the framing to it. This is all just plasticard and paint.



Here's a shot of the entrance to the station on the bridge. The information sign board is actually modelled in 3D and not just part of the station front texture! Can't really tell in this photo. I need to get on and finish off the bridge including adding the curved wing walls that connect the station building to it.



In a mad moment today I decided I wanted to build some kind of representation of the platform shelter at Water Orton. This is a very modern affair and replaced an ageing canopy that covered most of the platform.



The model is a rather crude affair knocked up from some brass wire and plasticard. It's on the platform now and I'll take a look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow and decide if it's good enough. Taking pictures of something this small takes my photographic skills just beyond my limits with an autofocusing camera. Perhaps I should read the manual!



Doh, taking these shots has highlighted another problem I need to resolve or disguise!

Cheers
Dave

Edited September 5, 2017 by eldavo

[mudmagnet]

I have found that taking photos of new parts added (sometimes temporarily) is a good way to see how things look and if they look right and blend in. Also useful for finding errors or things that need to be sorted! You are not alone there!

 

Good mix of modern and old.

 

Richard

[Pete Harvey]

This layout just gets better and better very nice Dave.

 

Pete

[eldavo]

More tinkering though no great strides made. Three platform lights knocked together from wire and plasticard, name boards added and a bunch of greenery planted along the backscene. A 170 waits to depart for Derby.



Overall the platform area now looks like this.



Found a wiring fault with one of my pairs of pont motors which needs sorting and the control panel needs wiring to the Western 2 boards. Lots to do.

Cheers
Dave

Edited September 5, 2017 by eldavo

[Kris]

I love the small bit of fencing at the end of the platform Dave, it really adds to the scene.