Progress (or otherwise) on Jeff's new layout

I like that lane Jeff.  :thumbs

Good luck with the gardening ……………how are you going to do the "muck hill" ?  :lol:

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

I like that lane Jeff.  :thumbs

Good luck with the gardening ……………how are you going to do the "muck hill" ?  :lol:

It'll be "off stage"!

 

The farm scene has been positioned in its back corner of Newton Broadway. While there are still a few minor tweaks I can do to improve it, quite a bit of the detail is hidden from normal view anyway … but I know it's there.


P_20200129_090238_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200129_094719_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200129_090226_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

The farm scene has been positioned in its back corner of Newton Broadway. While there are still a few minor tweaks I can do to improve it, quite a bit of the detail is hidden from normal view anyway … but I know it's there.


P_20200129_090238_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200129_094719_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200129_090226_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Hi Jeff Looking good .
Like you I do details nobody can see but I know they are there!

I have replaced the omewhat European-looking fencing around the lower verandah of the Tudor hotel with some stone and wrought iron style walling, which I think makes it look slightly more British. I intend to replace the diagonal tiles on the roof eventually too.
 

P_20200213_221059_vHDR_Cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200213_221151_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


And this is what it looked like before:
 

Corner Shop Improvements - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Yup, that looks good  :thumbs

Nice hotel, but I wouldn't want to stay there because of all the noise and fumes from the traffic  :lol:



Ed

That fencing looks so much better Jeff.  Not just the style but it's much finer so looks less overpowering.

A good move Sir.   :pathead

[user=1338]Ed[/user] wrote:

Yup, that looks good  :thumbs

Nice hotel, but I wouldn't want to stay there because of all the noise and fumes from the traffic  :lol:



Ed

It's a one-way system through the village, so the noise and fumes only come from one direction! 

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Thanks Peter. It has long been a source of dissatisfaction to me. I can't complain too much though, because I bought the whole building at a swapmeet for a very reasonable price, probably far less than it was worth. The original builder put a lot of effort into it.

Steps added at each end. None of this work ahs been painted yet, but it is taking shape. I also need to replace the pavement on the bank corner, after cutting away some of the polystyrene to match the slope past the hotel. I need to add a little infill at the sides of the steps at the right-hand end.


Must come up with a name for the hotel too. :)



P_20200214_123056_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200214_123106_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200214_123046_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

First go with a backscene. I tried a technique that seals the board as well as the paper, but it didn't entirely work, so there are a few ripples in the paper that I will try to deal with later. The whole lot needs to go a bit lower, but the overall effect is not bad. It certainly gives more depth to that end of the layout.


P_20200215_141711_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200215_141723_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Having worked out what was needed, I have lowered the backscene by 4cm. The bubbles in the paper still annoy me, but the effect is much better than before.


P_20200215_161857_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200215_161830_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

My theme for today is my Bratchell Models kits. All the 4-car units have been motorised using Replica Railways 64' motorised chassis with 12mm wheels. The 2-car class 456 is unpowered at present but will gain a Replica half-chassis - an idea put forward by Replica Railways themselves.

The units are, from back to front:
Class 455/8 5835 in Network South East (NSE) livery;
Class 319/1 319 174 in NSE livery;
Class 319/3 319 368 in Thameslink livery;
Class 455/9 5907 in South West Trains (SWT) livery;
Class 456 456007 in NSE livery.

The Thameslink 319 and SWT 455 are both unfinished as they have not yet had their underframe details fitted. 5907 is also still undergoing adjustments to its livery. This uses Electra Railway Graphics vinyl overlays but I have been painting the end 'swoops' and cab fronts by hand.

The unpowered class 456 usually runs attached to 5835.
 

P_20200315_111402_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200315_111334_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

For something a little different, I have started adding some of the lineside cabling so typical of London's underground railways. This is only the first bit, with lots still to go. The section that has dropped slightly on the right has been fixed - I only noticed it when I looked at the photo.

P_20200315_163411_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200315_163358_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I have been gluing down and blending some grass mats with various textures along the narrow bit of wasteland between the tracks at the front and the fiddle yard at the back. I will add a few low bushes and shrubs later, but I don't want anything too tall as that would impede access to trains when I am reaching across, and also for track cleaning purposes. The mats are from Modelscene, bought from Modellers Warehouse in Brisbane, and I have used some Woodland Scenics scatter material and bushes/foliage to fill gaps between mats and along the sides adjoining the tracks. The glue is still drying in the photos.

Also in the photos are the Ratio yard hut which was a freebie from Railway Modeller magazine (not its final position, but I still need to work on the engine shed area where it will end up if all goes to plan), and the workman's caravan from Oxford Diecast, which I have weathered and dulled down somewhat, but forgot to treat the steps!

As always (this is almost a mantra!) there is still much to do to complete the effects properly and get rid of bits of bare boards or cork sheeting showing through.
 

P_20200327_171140_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200327_171204_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

It's looking really good Jeff - like the little KR bubble care.


This shot is particularly good:

I'll second that  :thumbs



Ed

Thanks Peter and Ed.

I did have to put a driver in the Mescherschmidt, seeing as the canopy is so clear.

I have been doing a little further work on the London Transport lines on the lower level, mainly involving the cabling that is so prominent along LT's lines. I recently purchased a couple of the typical arches that carry cables over the lines from Shapeways. They aren't cheap but I have not been able to figure a way to scratchbuild them myself that isn't also incredibly labour intensive.

I also posted a video on YouTube showing a couple of the LT trains from the late 1950s and early 1960s period running. In this video the cable arches are unpainted, but in the photo that follows, I have started painting. They still need a little light weathering, and some minor variations in the cable colours to really bring them to life.

[yt]gj-OI-TXXAs[/yt]




P_20200401_110445_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I have been doing a little further work with the LT lineside cabling. This is also temporary in nature - the arch will remain in this position, but the ground cables are actually intended for wall mounting, and are there for show at present, until I set up the proper cable support posts (white metal items from Radley Models). Still, I think the overall effect is good, if a little rough.


P_20200404_161613_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


In the meantime, on the upper level, this is purely experimental at present, but I have decided to try a less labour-intensive method of adding third rail. I still have a heap of Peco code 75 rail salvaged from my old layout, where it was used with the Peco third rail insulator 'pots'. Those 'pots' are very fiddly to slide onto the rails, and tend to ping off into the distance or break just as one is trying to feed them into the pre-drilled holes and glue them in. For this experiment, I am dispensing with the 'pots' altogether, and gluing the code 75 rail directly to the sleeper ends. This meant clearing a little bit of stray ballast that had stuck to some of the sleeper ends. It also means bending the rail to match the line profile, and setting the distance out by eye, although if I adopt this method for the rest of the layout, I'll make up a spacer template. For the glue, I am trying out a Tiger Grip glue, which resembles a PVA but promises to bond all materials including plastics and metals. So far it seems to grip very well, but I'll have to see how it fares for durability over a longer term. The appearance is not too bad, as the lack of 'pots' is barely noticeable at normal viewing distances.
 

P_20200404_154721_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr