GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

[user=1814]Longchap[/user] wrote:

Wow, terrific and well organised modelling John, although time consuming, it's very much faster than in prototype scale!

I imagine such builds must be satisfying and I am looking forward to the time when I need to create similar and other infrastructure.

Best Loire Valley wishes,

Bill

Thanks Bill

Thats is a compliment…..that must be the first time anyone has suggested I am a well organised modeller.

Must show the post to Mrs D…..who keeps threatening to “ help” me tidy the train room :shock:


Cheers


John

 Chubber wrote:

John,

Re wall buttresses, have you considered gluing two layers of 4mm balsa together, cutting an 8mm x 8mm piece of the reqired length and then cutting it diagonally to get the required shape?
As my painful hands get worse, I have started using balsa strip and sheet for laminating as it cuts so much more easily than 2mm card.

Best wishes,

Doug

Thanks Doug

Thats a good tip which I hadnt thought of…….if I can get balsa to metric dimensions. 

We are metric in Canada……but because of our big neighbour to the south almost all building materials are “imperial”.

Same applies to paper and card.I have to be very careful trying to think ahead about the implications of using card that doesnt precisly match John’ spec.

The buttresses are a case in point. My heavy card is a little thicker than 2mm. Laminate 4 together and the front surface is 1 mm wider…….which means the scoremarks on the cover layer are out and one side isnt completely covered…….cunningly concealed but still tiresome.

I will check out balsa dimensions in the local model shop. I guess strips would also be good for all those narrow sills and ledges?

Cheers

I left you with a 3' retaining wall, to be bedded in and weathered, and a very blank canvas above




Scalescenes offer a low relief warehouse but I preferred to try and modify their standard Warehouse as I wanted to create a sense of depth despite the narrowness of the platform

Here are the main components:





Lots of cutting…..say two hours




Add windows, laminate the two 1mm boards together plus a third backing door.  Plus vertical columns, and horizontal plinths and ledges :









Its difficult to insert a building like this next to an established and rather dated back scene. These Townscene cutouts have been in place now for almost a decade. If I were to start from scratch I would, of course use the super  photographic back scenes that are now available.

I deliberately went for a heavily detailed building to complement the large Scalescene Warehouse at the entrance to the room and the low relief Workshop next to it  (the latter was scratch built from assorted Ratio kits)



Here is a before and after….. viewed from the Train room doorway :











Next job…….apart from running trains………two feet of terraced houses to fill the gap in front of the storage yard:




Regards from a damp and muggy Vancouver…..good growing weather though.

Great work John, in fact, it's looking very Granby. I reckon John Wiffen must be right proud with your innovative use of his kits.

Best wishes from a warm and sunny Western Loire, where we've spent the day gardening and preparing one of the cottages for our first guests of the season.

Bill

Hi John,

I'm just catching up with the scale of your changes. I can understand losing the Warehouse, "fine warehouse though it is", but I hadn't realised that the two tunnels would disappear as well. IMO they were a most realistic element of your setting, in fact can't think of an example that catches the faded glory of the railways better than them.

We won't be able to call you "Two tunnels Dew" any more!

We've an unseasonably warm late autumn here, sunny 20+C every day.

Regards

Colin

[user=1814]Longchap[/user] wrote:

Great work John, in fact, it's looking very Granby. I reckon John Wiffen must be right proud with your innovative use of his kits.

Best wishes from a warm and sunny Western Loire, where we've spent the day gardening and preparing one of the cottages for our first guests of the season.

Bill

Thanks Bill…..glad you like it. I have been a good customer of John over the years….I keep meaning to send him some photos. I will always be very grateful to Doug (Chubber) for convincing methat card was the way to go!

Best wishes

John

#CColin W wrote:

Hi John,

I'm just catching up with the scale of your changes. I can understand losing the Warehouse, "fine warehouse though it is", but I hadn't realised that the two tunnels would disappear as well. IMO they were a most realistic element of your setting, in fact can't think of an example that catches the faded glory of the railways better than them.

We won't be able to call you "Two tunnels Dew" any more!

We've an unseasonably warm late autumn here, sunny 20+C every day.

Regards

Colin

Thanks Colin……I am sorry about the tunnels I was rather fond of them as well. Sadly it was one of those occasions when operatioions took precedence over appearance. If its any consolation there are still four tunnel mouths left on the layout!
Best wishes

John

Hi John The white rooves will be dealt with in time, the coupling for coaches are the one's supplied in the box, the outer fitted one's will remain, Bachmann short couplers suitably modified to replace the old style Hornby plug in one's on the loco's which are easily broken.
Fingers crossed I will start working on the layout this week I've been your side of the pond in Cuba visiting the In Laws for 3 weeks.
Bob

Cuba maybe on our side of the pond but it is still a few miles away from the Pacific North West! Hope you had a good time there Bob.

We are only a few weeks away from travelling to your side for an extended trip to Europe. Mrs D has been making little piles of suitable clothing since February but even I have now started putting stuff on one side for the holiday……even lashed out and bought a Monty Don Jacket!

More card cutting I am afraid.

Its actually quite a pleasant activity on a hot sunny day ……..sitting outside, under a sun shade, with the occasional glass of Rose to quench ones thirst.


The storage yards are screened by a long row of Metcalfe low relief terraced housing. There are 4 self contained modules. Any unit can be lifted clear to give access to the yard




I needed to build another module to fill the gap created when I decided to move the factory that used to be there






The Metcalfe units were made 10-12 years ago and the design has changed. I used the Scalescene Terraced house kit to make some houses next to the Parcels depot. For a number of reasons, its not my favourite kit but it does have a half relief option.

Each set of two houses is separated from the next by an exterior dividing wall……a feature which I dont find very convincing. The plan was to modify the kit and build 9 houses in a continuous row. The joins to be disguised at the end with drain pipes

Other than that a standard Scalescene start. Glue template to 2mm card base. Cut out windows and doors on base and printed cover sheet. Glue cover sheet to base





Fit Doors, windows and curtains





Fit sills to window

Cut out base and side walls. The two walls on the right will be end walls and are direct from the Scalescene half relief template. The four on the left are narrower and will be the interior support walls





Glue side walls to base

Cut out street base and pave individually with Metcalfe Pavers. Time consuming but so much better than a printed sheet……best done with a glass of Rose.








Glue unit to street base and add door steps






Next tiling!




The Metcalfe rooves are not individually tiled (although I have thought about it!). So I could have applied the printed sheets direct but because of the long continuous row there would have been two very obvious joins

So it was back to individual tiling strips……..blacken leading edge,carefully cut each strip, glue and place on template.

 I think it looks quite effective but is extremely time consuming…….more than one glass of Rose was required during this process.





Down to the train room :




Given hindsight  I should, of course, have modified the Scalescene end walls and cut them back to the same depth as the existing Metcalfe units.

If I had thought of it at the time it would have been so easy…….to make the change now will be more than a little complicated.

One of the pitfalls of modelling in the sunshine with the occasional glass of Rose I am afraid

However here is a shot from a more flattering angle





I think that I need look at this from a glass half full perspective!
Regards from Vancouver …..where it should shortly be sunny again.


John

Nice work John.  I think that the different depth of the new row adds a certain "texture" to the scene and avoids all the houses looking the same.

Barry

Thanks Barry....you are too kind!:lol:

With the small gap between the two terraces, it looks like the new houses were built at a slightly later date.  The sort of thing where I would say to myself, how does he think of these things?!  Terraces here in Faversham vary quite a bit in blocks too, so it looks like something I recognise.

Michael

Very nice work. I agree with Michael that the end result gives a sense of coming from later era, perhaps even a rebuild post WWII 20+ years on. I was struck by how tiny was my Grandfather's terrace house back in 1911.

Colin

Hi Colin,

That makes you 108 years old (at least). And still modeling!

My grandparent's cottage was pretty small as well. Two up, two down. The pigs at the top of the garden had more space.

Nigel

Ha!

The benefit of access to the UK 1911 census data is I found his address at the time and that terraced housing still stands today, Quick Google via "Street View" and "Voila!". Even my Dad was not born back then.

Colin

Brilliant work as ever John.

I'm amazed at the difference in size between the two "kits" but, as has been said, it was common to see such a mix when later additions were made.  Maybe Scalescenes modelled "later" terraces with more space and Metcalf modelled the older "worker's cottages" ……………

I remember thinking how tiny the Victorian terraced houses were in Fulham - especially when you calculated how many bricks you got for your money …………………………  They were "worker's" terraces but not sure where "work" was in Fulham.

 I love the way you adapt John Wiffen's kits to suit your own requirements and indeed, they are far more adaptable than Metcalf kits.  Also, I agree with you about those, as designed, party walls separating each pair - although prototypical, they do have the effect of breaking the terrace up into segments.

The tiling is masterful - absolutely no joins visible.  Presumably you staggered them in which case, I'm not at all surprised you needed to keep cool with the pink plonk - after all, 'tis the season for pink !!
 
On another subject - I read you are coming over to Europe again shortly - are you by any chance, visiting SW France this trip ?

Thanks for all the re-assuring comments guys…… much appreciated.
John

I know if it were me, John, I would be kicking myself that it doesn't match and berating myself for not thinking about the differences.  But honestly, the more I look at it (and I've viewed it a few times now!) the more I like it.  It really does give the impression that new building has taken place.  In fact, I like it so much I am going to incorporate the idea into the Faversham town end of the layout!  It actually adds a bit more life to the scene…. a sense of change.  Accident?  Error? Co** up?  Or maybe just one of those accidents that turns out to be just the right thing and starts a new trend!

If you ever find yourself in the South East of England, Debra ( that's the wife) and I would be delighted to welcome you with a lunch somewhere. The very least I could do to say thank you for the inspiration and wisdom.

Regards
Michael

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

I know if it were me, John, I would be kicking myself that it doesn't match and berating myself for not thinking about the differences.  But honestly, the more I look at it (and I've viewed it a few times now!) the more I like it.  It really does give the impression that new building has taken place.  In fact, I like it so much I am going to incorporate the idea into the Faversham town end of the layout!  It actually adds a bit more life to the scene…. a sense of change.  Accident?  Error? Co** up?  Or maybe just one of those accidents that turns out to be just the right thing and starts a new trend!

If you ever find yourself in the South East of England, Debra ( that's the wife) and I would be delighted to welcome you with a lunch somewhere. The very least I could do to say thank you for the inspiration and wisdom.

Regards
Michael

Its definitely more by accident than design…..and yes I was annoyed with myself but now after all the positive feedback I feel quite relaxed about it !

Thank you so much for the invitation…….I am afraid our trip to the UK is fairly brief and on the opposite side. After landing at Heathrow we travel,via the Welsh Marches, to spend a few days with Doreen’s family in Rochdale before flying to Prague. Perhaps next time we are in the UK……I dont believe I have ever been to Kent!

Best wishes

John