Shadowlands and Tellynott
"From the sea for as far inland as the eye can reach, nothing is to be seen but the summits of these rocky mountains which seem to lay so near to one another as to not admit any valleys between them." Captain James Cook describing Fiordland on his voyage of discovery in 1770.
Jacksons Bay was as far south as one could go along the West Coast of New Zealand before these sheer fjords made the terrain impassible. It was beautifully located, with the steep slopes of bush clad mountains falling to the coast and enclosed by the southern heads and northern bluffs falling right to the Tasman Sea. The brave men who attempted to make a life in these stunning but harsh lands were known as 'the far downers'.
As the gold rush of the 1860's gained momentum, the potential of Jacksons Bay as a future hub of the West coast grew. It was seen as the only real port on the west coast of the South Island and the nearest to Australia, as well as being close to Haast Pass, the lowest pass across the Southern Alps. The site was surveyed in 1874 and a report sent to the minister of immigration singing its praises, but also stressing that the wise choice of settlers and the construction of a jetty running into deep water were paramount to the settlements success.
Photo 1 - map showing the surveyed plan of Jacksons Bay (Arawata). A note was added to the map stating that roads may have to be altered slightly to accommodate changes in grade! https://polishhistorynewzealand.org/jacksons-bay/
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Investigations were undertaken into the surrounding area to ascertain the bounties available. From the sea blue cod, kingfish, tuna and crayfish were all found in abundance while the local rivers and streams produced beautiful trout and salmon along with a plentiful supply of whitebait. the native timber supply was diverse with matai, rimu, totora and kaihikatea all growing in the general area of Jacksons Bay. In the headlands to the south limestone was discovered while coal deposits were found between Smoothwater Bay and Homing Cove. South of Arawata clay of extremely high quality and suitable for brick-making was discovered and, with the abundant rainfall and rich loamy clay soil, there was potential for farming.
The government of the day circulated pamphlets describing a land of milk and honey, of chocolate brown soil and beaches littered with gold nuggets. Free passage was offered to any man who dared to be rich and land was offered at very reasonable rates. In 1875 the first settlers began to arrive, and the number quickly grew to 600 including 46 children. The beautiful picture painted by the government was in stark contrast to reality and the first settlers to Jacksons Bay found "a swamp infested with sandflies and mosquitoes, lashed by biblical rains and bordered by a sea of uncommon severity".
Despite the caution of the Superintendent of Westland and the Chief Surveyor, many of the settlers sent to Jacksons Bay had no experience in agriculture or fishing but were instead men unable to find work elsewhere. A timber mill was built under the assurance that a deep-water jetty would be built, but while the jetty was partially constructed, the pin was pulled and it was never completed. In fact, a jetty at Jacksons Bay was not built until the late 1930's. Through governmental neglect the settlement was destined for failure from its very beginnings and by 1927 only nine families and four single men remained in the area - the hardest of the hard - who toiled the land in harsh conditions until slowly, over the years, it relented.
Shadowlands and Tellynott is my story of what might have happened if the jetty at Jacksons Bay had been built when originally intended. Taking the surveyors plan as a rough guide, over the next 50 years a haphazard town was constructed clinging to the side of the steep hills surrounding the bay. A rail line was put in to tap into the local resources and bring their spoils to the wharf. Industries sprung up to process the raw materials when possible. The gold, of course, did not last, but while it did the town saw vast wealth and boomed. When it was gone there were enough natural resources in the area to keep things ticking over. By 1932, when our scene is set, Tellynott is in the midst of a deep depression.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Simply wonderful back story Mark.... And so looking forward to following along as you bring life to your version of the Shadowlands and Tellynott...
--Paul
Mark
Fantastic start. I can't wait to see where you go with this.
I like a good theme. Nice work.
John
This will be fun to follow along. Thanks for sharing! :)
Hi guys.
Thanks for the comments Paul, John, John and Bob - very much appreciated.
I've been meaning to start a fresh layout thread here for ages - I even thought I had! I hope to get things going in a bit of a sensible order before I start uploading photos of the various projects ongoing at the moment.
Reading up about the history of Jacksons Bay has been very interesting. There were some fantastic historical accounts...
...women carrying 25kg (55 pound) bags of flour 10 miles through the bush from the closest store in order to be able to make bread, a visiting dentist removing 96 teeth in a single day, a musterer taking a bottle of whisky and a knife into the bush to remove his own tooth, appendectomies taking place on kitchen tables
...any women who had a barrel to catch rain water from the roof was said by her neighbours to be living in luxury!
It sure makes you think we've got it easy!
Anyway - hoping to get a bit more on the progress of S&T (Shadowlands and Tellynott) uploaded over the weekend.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
This has really been fun to follow. I'm still reading the Polish History part and looking forward to your future updates.
Tom ;D
What a grand story and concept Mark.....I'll be looking in on this on. :)
Thanks very much Tom and Greg!
Tom - I put the link in mainly to reverence where the map came from - but if you are finding the history enjoyable...I have pasted my favourite link below.
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/spring-in-haast/
The information on the Jacksons Bay history is told by an account of fourth generation 'Far Downer' Neroli Nolan and starts part way down the page with the words 'I wake up' in bold. It is a colourful account filled with great stories and cold hard truth. Enjoy!
More - hopefully later today, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well I best begin with the site of the home of Shadowlands and Tellynott.
In August 2017 we moved to a rural address. 11 acres all up - about five in garden, four in paddocks and 2 in driveway and shelter belts. We have big plans to develop the garden slowly over the next 2 - 3 decades. The property came with a large barn - in pretty good nick and of pretty high quality for a barn - but which had been let go to the birds - literally! I worked around the barn over a period of a few months, wearing all the safety gear, permanently blocking up all the bird entry points and evicting my feathered friends as I went. The fact that I took a few months to do it seemed to help a lot, as most of the birds saw the end was near and relocated themselves. I spent many hours scrubbing down the droppings with hot water and disinfectant from all the studs and trusses, and clearing out all the old nests. I had to be very vigilant over this time, closing doors the instant I was through, or the birds would make a quick attempt to regain ground. Once cleaned and debirded, I started work on converting the two center bays into the future home of the S&T.
Pictured below are:
Photo 1 - The barn from the front
Photo 2 - a close up of the area to eventually be railway real estate
Photo 3 - the back of the barn
Photo 4 - a close up of the railway real estate.
Photo 5 - the plan of the two center rooms.
The interior door was moved closer to the wall and a beam installed at the opposite end to allow flow between the two rooms. The area under this beam has been temporarily framed and insulated while I concentrate on Tellynott. This will all become clearer as I work through the layouts development.
More soon, Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Fitting the existing partially completed layout into the new space and the new design has been a ongoing task. I'm still a long way from finished - but the basic concept of Shadowlands is pretty firm and Tellynott is mostly set in concrete.
I wanted several things in a layout. Firstly I wanted only one scene to be viewed at a time. This meant that although the barn has 3.4 meter (11'4") ceilings, that a double decker layout was not an option. I considered a mushroom style, but soon discovered that this didn't really gain any extra space but did create a whole heap of work. Paired with this was the fact that we have now experienced two major earthquakes in Canterbury and I wanted my entire layout to be both sectional and on wheels so that if we do get another event the whole thing can be transported without too much fuss. I also discovered that things on wheels and not attached to walls cope far better and obtain far less damage than those without these virtues. They seem to move with the shaking. Further, I wanted each section to be completely self contained, with its own attached backdrop and ceiling. This set up a few challenges which I had to address moving forwards.
With this one scene at a time idea in mind, I also wanted to split Tellynott and Shadowlands visually - both to keep the contrasting urban and mountain scenes separate and to help with the illusion of vast distance. I did my usual trick of cutting out a paper plan of my existing L-shaped layout and moving it around a plan of the model room(s). Again - this developed over time - but the purchase of a fantastic book of pencil sketches of Wellington city scenes - 'the Compleat cityscapes by David McGill and Grant Tilly' swayed my decision to add a peninsula filled with residential housing to Tellynott - the suburb of Inglletown (anagram of Wellington - Oh - Tellynott takes a lot of inspiration from the suburb of Lyttelton - of which Tellynott is an anagram). Having backdrops and ceilings on all the layout sections meant that I could use the layout backs as a room division wall without adding a wall, and this is what I chose to do.
With the layout room I started by gutting the interior of shelving, built in workbench, makeshift lining etc. I then cleaned and washed everything down. I put plywood on the division truss between the model rooms and the implement shed. I installed ceiling battens. I insulated all the walls (including the division wall - being aware that this was a long term project and it might be some time before I start work on Shadowlnds) and the ceiling. I lined all the walls and the ceiling with plaster board or structural plywood sheeting. I stopped the plasterboard, put strips of pine up the plywood seams, skirted and painted. PHEEW!
Photo 1 - shows the original L-shaped layout
Photo 2 - shows the expanded Tellynott layout. There were some slight changes to the shape as I moved forwards.
Photo 3 - shows Shadowlands and Tellynott. You can see how removing a section of the division wall will let me display the whole area of Shadowlands behind the back wall of Tellynott as one large vista.
Photo 4 - shows work on the room - here I am installing insulation.
Photo 5 - show the room nearing completion and the large removed section of division wall. Ceilings are lined.
Photo 6 - nearly done!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Very nice train room, if I weren't as far as I am with my layout I would probably break it down and start all over with the room.
Mark, I love the track plan, Very busy...Dennis
Good luck with the layout Mark. You have really been busy with the clear up. I've explored that coastline a couple of times and it is pretty awesome.
Mike
Looking forward to seeing it come together in it's new home Mark. Good looking train room and great planning. 8)
Hi guys, great to have you all following along!
Janbouli - I was very restrained when we moved in here and kept all my models and dioramas in their boxes until I had finished the room and the bench-work. This was extremely difficult for me - but I knew if I got things out I would just be double handling.
Dennis - yes - I love busy! Especially when it comes to urban scenes. That's one of the reasons I love modelling at grade - space is always at a premium and things get crammed in almost on top of each other.
Mike - yes - we have to remind ourselves that if it wasn't for all the earthquakes we wouldn't have that lovely mountain range falling to the Tasman Sea. There are several towns on the West Coast that sit right on top of the Alpine fault line.
Gregory - thanks. I enjoy the planning, and it was also nice to do the whole room myself.
Photo 1 - here I am trying some 1:1 scale modelling - checking out the views, feel and spaces between and around Tellynott.
Photos 2 and 3 - My father gave me a hand with this one. We used box section and plate section which he welded together and drilled holes in using a template to make 'shoes'. I then filed and painted the shoes and doctored the timber legs to a tight fit, hammered the shoes pictured in the first photo onto the legs and drilled and bolted these and then bolted the wheels to the 'shoes'. Two fixed at one end and two swivel at the other end of each layout section.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, I like that idea of the leg's...... Dennis
Very ingenious Mark.
Hey Mark:
beautiful job.
Karl
Thanks guys!
Curt and Dennis - The wheels worked very well. They also made moving the sections around while working on the backdrops and ceilings so much easier!
Karl - Thanks so much for the compliment.
The next step was to build the bench-work. I started by adding the backdrop and ceilings to the two sections which made up the original L-shaped Tellynott layout. I cantilevered the ceilings 8 inches past the layout edge to give good lighting at the front of the layout. I used 20mm clear pine and 2.75 and 4.5mm thick MDF. Once this was completed I built the two new layout benck-work sections and added the ceiling sections. I had to make up the corner sections as separate pieces because of the difficulty, complexity and weight involved. The corners, because of their construction, prevented sag at the front of the layout ceilings because to pull down on one end meant the opposite end had to lift up. Once all the sections were completed with their fascia and all bolted together they were very self supporting and apart from the ceiling over the peninsula (which I always intended to hang from the ceiling of the room) I deemed only one other part of the layout ceiling in need of extra support by way of a chain from the room ceiling.
Photo 1 - one of the corner sections. I built the ceiling and walls as one piece. Slots were cut in the layout bench top and the 2x1 pine studs slipped down these until the backdrop met with the bench top. There was a lot of careful cutting and measuring.
Photo 2 - one of the new bench-work sections completed.
Photo 3 - a view from above showing the corner section fitted.
Photo 4 - the peninsula ceiling section held at the right height with some makeshift props.
Photo 5 - the props removed and the ceiling section has been bolted to the division wall section and hung from the room ceiling by chains, D-bolts and turnbuckles. I beefed up the ceiling load points with extra timber work and brackets as required.
Photo 6 - a view of the hanging peninsula ceiling from the other direction.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Wow...beautiful bones for your layout. The woodwork on the "ceiling" is really great and I meant to comment on those wheels...very nicely conceived to be sturdy. Those look much more reliable than most bolt-on cabinet wheels. Well done!
Mark, Your moving along fast. Love the woodwork hanging.
Awesome woodworking.
Mark
Fantastic work and thread. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Thanks for the responses guys.
Thanks Cuse - no - no chance of those wheels coming off.
Dennis - I am cheating a bit regards the speed - it isn't all done in real time. I'm not John Siekirk!
Curt - thanks. I enjoy the woodwork - although I was pleased when this section came to an end!
Thanks John - you are my biggest motivation for getting things done. Every time I check in on your thread I feel lazy!
Well following on we have a couple of aerial shots. I must admit - I do like these shots. They do show well how much work was involved. All those 'fins' you see across the top are made up of 4.5mm MDF nailed and glued to 45 by 20mm pine studs in a big capital L shape (upside down). The studs go down behind the backdrop about 300mm past the layout bench-work where angled timber braces help keep them at 90 degrees. This paired with the self supporting corner sections kept things surprisingly rigid.
Photo 1&2 - the layout from above.
Photo 3 - the chains, D-bolts and shackles attached.
Photo 4 - this photo shows the space left over at the back of this room behind Tellynott. This will eventually be entirely filled with the mountain scenery of Shadowlands.
Photo 5&6 - these show the peninsula with extra framework installed underneath for a turnaround loop and hidden sidings. There was also quite a bit of extra timber needed here for the bench-work fascia. This under bench track-work came about with some changes in the design of Shadowlands - which I will go into more detail when I expand on the track plan.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Still impressive I like that walk in a lot. John is a great modeler and very helpful person to know. John does build fast though....Dennis
Thanks Dennis. I think the walk in works well. Viewed from above, with the ceiling fascia overhanging by 200mm (8"), the isle width looks much tighter than it actually is. I think, from memory, the tightest point is a touch over 3', and the layout opens out to 4' at the end of the walk in. I put in a lot of extra time and effort to keep the layout front flowing with nice curves. I had to remember when designing the bench-work that any internal curves would have a radius reduced by 8" on the ceiling fascia. I found I could bend the 2.75mm MDF around a 250mm (10") curve - so that put a limit on things.
Yes - John is a fantastic person to know. In 2015 when my wife and I did a five week trip to the USA John was good enough to liaise with George Sellios for me and make introductions. George was then kind enough to let me choose the Saturday of the month that suited our travel plans for his open house. It was great to meet George and to see the F&SM in the flesh - which exceeded all expectations. I was also lucky enough to meet some of the forum members (including John) at the Scranton expo. For me that was two things ticked off my bucket list. I took many photos of the F&SM and sent them all to John who then uploaded many of them to the F&SM thread. I also had a great time at the expo and came home armed with some great craftsman kits - including some that had been on my wish list for years. Oh - and Utah blew my mind!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
You guys are making me feel lazy - I'm sitting at my cabin in Northern Michigan tonight "relaxing" and doing some design work for the layout. I spent the day fishing with a dear friend - we did a lot of fishing but not much catching, today. I'm retired now so I spend my time doing what I choose to do and that is usually working on my layout. Correction "what my wife lets me do". ;D Mark a trip to your side of the world is on my bucket list - maybe when you have your layout further along. You sure are off to a wonderful start. It is amazing how many wonderful people I have met through this wonderful hobby. This forum is a great way to share what we are doing. Please keep us up-to-date with your progress. I really enjoy your work. Do you have any return trips to the States planned?
You lazy John?????????? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D NO WAY!!!!!!!! Dennis
Did you notice Dennis - even when John is relaxing in his cabin he is still working on the layout!
That sounds great, John. I will look forward to a future visit here. My wife and I have a good friend in Athens, Georgia whom we hope to visit in the not to distant future. We would also like to catch up with Tampa Jim in Tampa, Florida. Jim has visited us here twice now.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Yes he does. He's addicted for some unknown reason............ ;)
Dennis
Hi guys.
Moving forwards I wanted to clarify some of the overall planning and the changes that have so far come about. Right from the very beginning of the idea to expand Tellynott and add a mountain scene there has been a problem with height. The reason for this is that I wanted Tellynott to be viewed from almost eye level, whereas with Shadowlands I wanted to create a large height differential between the highest and lowest tracks. As Tellynott is set on the water it needs to be at the lowest point of the layout (which it isn't). As the track pierces the backdrop and enters Shadowlands it should enter at the lowest point of Shadowlands and then start to climb. Coupled with this was the desire to create the large height differential between lowest and highest tracks but not really having sufficient room (or time in my life!) to obtain this differential without that inevitable 'bowl of spaghetti'! I had decided on a helix to solve this problem some time ago, but because of space limitations at the old house, the position of the helix has always been set at the top right corner of the plans so far shown. In this position there were all sorts of problems (including hidden turnouts) that I had never been able to solve to my satisfaction. Its funny how you can't see the wood for the trees sometimes - but it wasn't until quite recently that it dawned on me that with the space now available to me the helix no longer has to go in this position!
The below plan shows the new design. As I am a pencil designer - and there are still a lot of decisions to make moving forwards - this is just a 'sketch'. I will create a much better, more colourful and easier to comprehend version in the near future, but for now, this plan should hopefully clarify the overall design somewhat. Tellynott is pictured on the bottom and right 2/3rds of the plan. The rest is Shadowlands. The helix is now on the other side of the division wall, next to the internal doorway. The main line leaves Tellynott through the backdrop after the first curved wall after leaving the yard. It runs along behind the backdrop where, just before the second curved wall, it encounters a double slip. By going straight through the double slip the track then makes a left turn and enters the helix by the division wall (all of this track work will be hidden, but easily accessible). The helix makes several revolutions clockwise and trains will exit from a tunnel at the lowest level of Shadowlands. There will also be a set of points near here whereby trains can pierce the division wall to the hidden sidings and return loop under the Tellynott peninsula (Inglletown).
The other advantage of this new design is that I can now build the layout in three stages. Stage one will be Tellynott, stage 2 will be the helix and the bench-work from here to the division wall at the top of the plan (including all the area behind the backdrop of Tellynott) and stage three will be the rest. In this way there will be far less of a rush to build a new two bay barn that will house the station wagon as I can complete stage two while the car still parks in the same space.
I will make an effort to print off the plan below, darken the lines, and add written explanations to help clarify.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey mark:
Looks like you are moving right along. Beautifully done so far.
Karl
Hi guys.
Thanks, Karl. Yep - trying to keep the motivation going.
That's definitely one of the reasons I like to post on a thread like this - it helps keep me motivated. Its also a great way to meet new friends, and even though I live on the other side of the world from most of you, I have still had the pleasure of meeting some of you, and I'm sure I will meet more in the future. I also do a lot of my modelling by myself so it is a great way to share one of my great passions with like minded people. Of course we all learn from each other. Everyone is an expert in something. Another important reason is that by having to explain your ideas to others you end up really analyzing what you are doing and this often leads to a greater understanding - often combined with a 'eureka!' moment.
I had quite a bit of fun following those little black lines around with a highlighter, and in the process discovered that it would be very easy to add a continuous run to the river return loop. I have drawn this in and will consider its uses in the different stages of construction. I does mean I will be able to run trains while I work on the layout without them getting in the way. I have named the high and low points Mountain and River to help make things clear. Even though I decided against looping around the room twice, there is still a lot of pink! (no bowl of spaghetti here, ah?)
Anyway, attached is a photo of a more colourful plan with some written explanations. Hopefully it makes a bit more sense. I have put in four heights for your reference. The largest height differential is 21". I'm sure in a mountain scene that will look like miles.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Great looking plan. As a point of reference - the lowest track on my S&S RR is 42 inches and the highest is 63 inches - 21 inches of difference. I found it interesting. ;)
Thanks, John. Yes - interesting that our height variations are the same. I'm kind of governed by the area to the left of River and Mountain. If I keep the first three bridges level leaving Mountain then I need a 3% grade to achieve an 18" height differential between River and Mountain. I can expand this area slightly, but at its present size it seems to fit well aesthetically and be in proportion. I also start to push the boundaries of what is easily accessible when reaching in to work on the scenery. Also, the bottom left corner of the room was set aside to house my Fault Lines layout. The more I think about it the more I think I will leave it as it is - although I will rotate the track-work a little to the left using the center of the top circle of track as the center of rotation in order to increase the isle width when entering Shadowlands. The other important height governor is the double slip. This will be somewhere between 58 1/2" and 60 1/2". I have made decisions regards the different viewing heights of Graves Elevators and my Tap and Die diorama and these are both situated on sidings off the Mountain loop (in yellow). This will dictate the track height the height of the track as it pierces the backdrop, and thus the double slip.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well I thought I should update my 'layout at a glance'. I also realise that some readers will not know about my other/ previous threads, so this should fill in a few blanks.
The layout at a glance.
Name: Shadowlands and Tellynott (S&T)
Scale: HO (1:87)
Prototype: Freelanced - influenced by Jacksons Bay and urban NZ - mainly Lyttelton and Wellington.
Locale: New Zealand
Period: 1932
Layout style: Freestanding walk around
Layout height: 39.5" - 60.5"
Benchwork: L-girder
Roadbed: Homasote on MDF
Track: Peco code 100
Length of mainline: 220 feet
Turnout minimum: No 4
Minimum curve radius: 17 inches
Maximum grade: 3%
Scenery construction: Plaster on polystyrene
Control: DCC
Below is some information about Lyttleton - my Tellynott layouts original inspiration. I'll try to write something up about Wellington as well.
Lyttelton is a steep port town (now a suburb of Christchurch) about 20 minutes drive from the center of the city. A single track mainline negotiates these hills via a rail tunnel 1.5 miles long. The tunnel was completed in 1867, and at the time, was one of the longest tunnels in the world, and the first to be driven through the side of an extinct volcano. A ferry service was introduced from Lyttelton to Wellington in 1895 (connecting the South Island to the North Island) and continued until 1976. This gave rise to the introduction of the boat train, which soon became a twice daily service. Passengers were picked up from Lyttelton wharf in the morning after their overnight sailing from Wellington and taken through the tunnel to Christchurch, while in the evening passengers bound for Wellington were dropped off. A road tunnel was also constructed, but not until 1964. For years rail was the primary source of transport for goods from the mainland to the port. Lyttelton became a popular destination for picnics and fishing off the wharf and in its hay day, 23 passenger trains traveled the 6.25-mile journey between Christchurch and Lyttelton daily.
The name Tellynott is an anagram of Lyttleton, and the port of Lyttelton has certainly been a major influence on the design of the Tellynott section of my layout. The steep site and small area demand complex and tight track-work in order to service as many wharves and industries as possible. This has also led to a large variety of industries in a very small space. Likewise, extremely small building sites have led to the structures being squeezed in, and the tendency to spread vertically rather than horizontally. I have exaggerated this vertical element and have looked to other New Zealand towns and cities for appropriate prototype buildings to either kit-bash or scratch-build.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I've been playing around with schematics. Below is the version that doesn't involve the building of a new barn (yet). This will be run as a point to point. Tellynott to River, River to Mountain, Mountain to Tellynott (via the high return cutoff). On their way to and from River trains can visit the low loop to be replaced. I'm not convinced that the return cutoff here is necessary.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
As Maori legend tells it, Wellington is the head of the great fish that Maui hooked and hauled from the sea (the North Island representing the fish, while the South Island is the canoe). She is a city of character and beauty, who grew over the decades, spreading up the Hutt river valley, around the shores of Cook Strait, and along the harbours and bays to the North.
I first fell in love with photographs of fantastic wharf scenes of the early 1900's - photos bustling with life, with pretty ships and Clydesdale horses and the wondrous shapes of a row of hydraulic cranes. Smoke and fog intermingled and clouded the sea air, but somehow through all that grime and grit I saw a romantic notion of life. I visited Christchurch's many libraries and checked out many books on the city and also purchased any good ones I found in second hand book shops, especially when visiting Wellington. I developed a shortlist of buildings I hoped to build one day, and many on that list were from Wellington. On one trip a few years ago I found a book entitled 'The Compleat Cityscapes' written David McGill and illustrated by Grant Tilly. It featured 244 heritage sketches of Wellington structures , many of them residential houses, and many located in some of Wellingtons steepest suburbs. It was one of those finds that I was so super excited by. When we moved to our new house with the extra modelling space the idea came to me to build an entire peninsula devoted to residential housing, using The Compleat Cityscapes almost solely as my inspiration. As the idea developed I decided to keep this area free from any visible railway.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well, after I had built my peninsula I spent some time playing with google earth and then with polystyrene. I picked some of my favourite scenes from the book and looked on google earth maps using both terrain and street view to navigate around. I found many of the houses were still standing, and many in very good condition. I also found that many of the scenes I wanted to recreate were in close proximity to others. I scaled up a map to the same scale as my layout plan and printed it off. I then cut out the parts of the map featuring these scenes and recreated a street design that would fit into and flow with my layout peninsula design.
Photo 1 shows the paper plan after I had moved the cutout streets and found a configuration I thought would work well. You can see I have referenced many pages from my book of scenes and structures I want to recreate.
I then drew the plan in HO scale on the peninsula and cut polystyrene into wedges. I cut these into sections about 2" long and used them to create curved roads at grade. Once this was complete I scanned all the structures from the book I wanted to build and enlarged until they were HO scale. I then printed all these images, cut them out and attached them to blocks of polystyrene. I arranged them on the layout until I was fairly happy. I then went about creating smallish dioramas that would fit together in a kind of jigsaw, and which I could work on at the modelling bench at a later date. I used expanding foam to fill any gaps.
Photos 2-6 show the process coming together. You can see in photo 5 one of the finished diorama bases and in photo 6 it is put in position.
More soon, cheers , Mark.
Wow...that's quite a process. Very impressive!
Your research and development of this layout concept is quite amazing to me. Keep going!
Jeff
Mark
This thread is fantastic! I'm really enjoying the detailed description of the design process.
Hi guys.
Thanks very much for the comments Cuse, Jeff and John! I was beginning to wonder if anyone was watching.
Well - here are a few more photos, some of which will fill in a few gaps in the process.
Photo 1 - I did this same process when designing the back wall of Tellynott, only I used a street map of Lyttelton. This photo shows the cut out street map being manipulated into a position that I thought would work on the layout plan. You can see I decided to crop the street map. With the peninsula the process was the same except I had several smaller pieces that I had to manipulate and connect rather like a jigsaw.
Photo 2 - shows the high edge of the peninsula. I intend to build a folding step here for viewers to stand on. I want to create views down those curving streets with the rest of Tellynott across the isle in the background. I'm hoping this will help make the layout appear much larger than it actually is. You can see the timber along the top of the edge. This is the top fixing for my facsia of MDF. Its one of those things that is way easier to do during this process, rather than as an afterthought.
Photo 3 - Here we have the diorama housing my scratch-build based on Graves Elevators. You can see all the flat head nails in the top and the side of the road sections. I glue these in place and foam the gaps while the nails are in place and remove them when everything is dry. I use Selleys quick grab in a caulking gun for gluing.
Photo 4 - this photo shows the Graves diorama in position. The track here is the only track that will be visible on the whole diorama and it is right up against the far wall.
Photo 5 - Here is another photo showing the dioramas coming together. I labeled them as I went to help show the process.
Photo 6 - Here is a shot showing all 12 dioramas in position.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Finally are some photos as I place my structures around the peninsula. Many have specific spots to live as dictated by the scene pictures in the book. This gives an overall impression of what I am trying to achieve in this area. As you will see there are many structures (over 100) so I'm talking years. We have the biannual NZAMRC convention in Christchurch in Easter of 2020 (it is held in Chch every 10 years) and my layout is on the tour list. I have various goals I hope to achieve by then, but doing much work on the peninsula is not one of them. I hope to be able to complete about a square foot so a finished scene across the peninsula and isle to the Tellynott corner diorama can be viewed.
Photo 1 shows the residential scene morphing into a more commercial and industrial one. You can see here my Graves structure and my P&D Duncan scratch-build, along with some shops.
Photo 2 shows a close up view. You can see Graves to the right. The two tall houses in the front - especially the 5-story one to the left - have been on my 'must build' list for ages. It was a butcher shop with housing above, although I think it is now a hair dresser.
Photo 3 shows the scene from further back.
Photo 4 shows a view from further back again.
Photo 5 - here we are angled the other way. The expandable foam canister is actually across the isle at the end of the yard. You can see how I will be able to create views this way with borrowed scenery from the layout behind.
Photo 6 - And lastly here is a view from the end of the peninsula.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
That is going to be one amazing scene. What a great way to visualize the plan. I will be following along as you implement it - thank you for sharing this with us.
Thanks very much for stopping by, John - and for your kind words.
This is my favourite part of the process. I would think I would spend maybe 10% of my time designing on paper, 10% of my time of building mock-ups and 10% on terrain mock-ups. Its no wonder it takes me so long to build anything!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on July 24, 2019, 03:41:29 PM
Thanks very much for stopping by, John - and for your kind words.
This is my favourite part of the process. I would think I would spend maybe 10% of my time designing on paper, 10% of my time of building mock-ups and 10% on terrain mock-ups. Its no wonder it takes me so long to build anything!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
I think that any time you spend in the design and mock-up stage is saved in the build stage by minimizing the "do overs". There is nothing worse than wasting time tearing out a section of layout and redoing it because it just doesn't look right. Your attention to elevation change makes the scene look much more realistic.
QuoteMark
I think that any time you spend in the design and mock-up stage is saved in the build stage by minimizing the "do overs". There is nothing worse than wasting time tearing out a section of layout and redoing it because it just doesn't look right. Your attention to elevation change makes the scene look much more realistic.
I agree, John.
I think added to this - as a mock-up I can take an expensive craftsman kit, cut it into pieces and spend hours shuffling those pieces around into an entirely new configuration and embedded into a mocked-up terrain at grade. At the end if I look at what I have created and say "Wow! That is going to look so cool!" it gives me the confidence to attack the expensive craftsman kit for real. This also gives you the luxury to be very creative and come up with something truly unique, without destroying that expensive kit. The next set of photos I will upload will show this.
Cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Just went through from the beginning. Lots of work and nice progress. Will be following along.
Karl
QuoteHey Mark:
Just went through from the beginning. Lots of work and nice progress. Will be following along.
Karl
Thanks very much, Karl. Its lots of fun!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well, below are a series of photos I took while playing with my only South River Modelworks kit. When I made it to the 2015 Scranton expo, a SRM kit was at the very top of my wish list. There were several to choose from and in the end I went with Thorndike Mills.
I copied and enlarged the plans from the kit and printed off several copies. I made up two stone mill mock-ups to try different arrangements. I discovered that when placed next to my other mill, Thorndike's was dwarfed, and so I felt I really needed to enlarge the kit while keeping it balanced. Many hours and attempts later I ended up with the configuration pictured below. There is no way I would attempt a bash like this without being confident of what the end result would look like. I find that a mock-up shows much of the drama that will eventually be achieved by the end result as well as how the complex will fit with the other structures and terrain around it. I also find that adding quick roofs really helps in defining the shape. You can see I pretty much doubled both the stone and timber parts of the kit to help keep the balance as well as changing heights on the two stone sections and tumbling part of the timber section down the slope of the terrain towards the water. The shape of the overall complex also encloses a nice intimate scene which will be naturally framed for viewing. Hours (days) of fussing later I was pretty happy with the scene.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
That is going to be a great scene. You sure have a lot of years worth of plans ready to be built. I'm going to really enjoy watching your progress.
A lot of the SRMW kits look too compressed to me. The brick mill is about 14"/35cm, the stone mill is just a bit shorter. And by New England mill standards, they're small buildings!
I'm really enjoying your design process, I have a large center blob that will hold a town, once I get to it.
dave
QuoteMark
That is going to be a great scene. You sure have a lot of years worth of plans ready to be built. I'm going to really enjoy watching your progress.
Thanks John. Yes - the projects are certainly stacked up! Unfortunately, my biggest modelling flaw is getting excited about a new project and leaving my last project unfinished. I hope getting things ready for the upcoming 2020 Easter convention will force me to both change this habit and to also finish many of those unfinished projects off!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteA lot of the SRMW kits look too compressed to me. The brick mill is about 14"/35cm, the stone mill is just a bit shorter. And by New England mill standards, they're small buildings!
I'm really enjoying your design process, I have a large center blob that will hold a town, once I get to it.
dave
Thanks Dave. My scratch-build of Delabarre Tap and Die Co. was built using the walls from a Walthers 'Greatland Sugar' kit. It may have therefore ended up larger than its inspiration. I remember making a mock-up of a low relief fertilizer factory that I designed based on an old article in MRR which had copies of actual plans. When I placed the mock-up in its position next to my kit-bash of a Heljan Brewery I found the brewery dwarfed the fertilizer factory. I ended up blowing up the size of the fertilizer factory by 25% until it 'looked' right. Sometimes you have to bend reality to make your impression of reality look real!
Below is a photo showing the track snaking back with the three industries on three different levels. Going down hill and from front to back is Graves Elevators, Dalebarre and Thorndike's.
Photo 2 shows the fertilizer factory (Edmond's baking) increased by 25% from the prototype to look 'right' next to the brewery.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
What have you been doing on the layout? Time for an update.
Hi guys.
Thanks for the nudge, John! As the back has been improving (its been a long recovery of two steps forward and one step back) I have enjoyed spending time working on some of our many landscaping and gardening projects (and catching up - well, attempting too - on all the stuff I didn't do earlier this year). Most of my modelling time has been spent working towards stage two of the new design.
Below is a quote from previously in this thread.
"The other advantage of this new design is that I can now build the layout in three stages. Stage one will be Tellynott, stage 2 will be the helix and the bench-work from here to the division wall at the top of the plan (including all the area behind the backdrop of Tellynott) and stage three will be the rest. In this way there will be far less of a rush to build a new two bay barn that will house the station wagon as I can complete stage two while the car still parks in the same space."
The statement is true - but - the station wagon needs to move from the left side of the second room (where the helix will go) to the right. This means the zero turn mower needs to bunk up with the tractor in the workshop and the animal feed and bedding needs to move also. Then there is the collection of large tools and tractor implements that a lifestyle block owner seems to slowly accumulate to contend with! So - I have put a large opening between the workshop and the storage room allowing items that won't fit through a single door to now be stored in there - along with work benches and shelving (shadow boards still to come). I also purchased a 11' x 6' shed with double doors and on Friday I poured the slab for this. The double doors mean I can back the tractor up into the shed and detach large rear implements (like the chipper). The shed is a fraction of the price of a two bay barn, and should keep me happy for a few years yet. I still need to assemble the shed (directions likely to be in a foreign language!) and move everything around.
Planning wise I can also cut stage two in half, connecting Tellynott via the helix to the high and low tracks, return cutoff's and hidden sidings/ fiddle yard. I can achieve this by building two more sections of bench-work with attached backdrop and ceilings - one large one and one long skinny one. The curved section in the upper right of the plan and the large section containing River and Mountain can be added later. I'm also revising the necessities of the plan, and trying to strip it back to its bare essentials.
I'll be sure and add some photos next weekend. I have a friend visiting from Australia this coming Friday, so I hope to find some time to mock up a few more of my intentions.
More soon, Cheers, Mark.
Mark
All that moving makes my sore back hurt. It sounds like you have a great plan - take it slow and don't mess up that back. I bought a tractor with a hydraulic lift and a trailer with a ramp to help with the lifting jobs. No more heavy lifting into the Jeep or trailer for me. It is working out very well. I'm looking forward to some pictures.
Hi guys.
Thanks John. Yep - I tend to try to do things a little at a time now, rather than working on one job until its finished. A little bit of this and a little bit of that.
Well - all that thinking about my design got me putting pencil to paper last night and roughing in the stripped back design (attached below). This plan only shows the main lines (in pink) and the return cutoff/ fiddle yard (in orange). You will note I have reversed the direction of the low return cutoff. I have also omitted the high return cutoff which in turn eliminated the need for the double slip. I have put a small loop between River and Mountain to show simply how the track loops from one to the other. I don't go dizzy now trying to work out how a journey through Shadowlands would go! The plan also shows the area needed to be built to get the track to the next stage (on the left and above the striped line). Trains will be able to leave Tellynott, pierce the backdrop, descend the helix and then enter the low return cutoff where they can be 'fiddled' or changed before returning in the reverse direction. There is also the added bonus of a continuous loop.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
I'm definitely looking forward to the "more soon".
Hi guys.
Thanks Jerry - so am I!
Ok - well, I have talked about 'chunking' several times in the past and this is certainly how I have worked mostly in the past. I find it far easier to work on a scene rather than a structure and I think this frees me up to consider the bigger picture. I have several ideas moving forwards with this thread.
One is to do a layout plan of Tellynott showing where all the 'chunks' or dioramas fit, and then visiting each diorama a bit more in depth, with the hope of finishing off the unfinished pieces as I go.
Another is to discuss mock-ups within composition and how important I find these within the big picture, and highlighting this with how the displaying of two large dioramas on a table for a visitor to show how they would look when placed together on the layout led to some major redesign work and the removal of several square feet of layout bench-work in order to make the scene appear bigger.
I want to talk about the difference framing a view well can have to a scene and how it can create a 'snap-shot' effect. When displaying my corner diorama at the local train show I saw just how strong this effect can be and how you can make people view from a particular position without any instruction.
I kit-bash and kit-mingle almost everything, hoping to disguise the kits origin. I find this approach combined with mocking in the land forms, roads, rivers, track etc demands that I fit my structures into the space remaining, just like the prototype. This means that most kits simply wont work, and need to be altered.
But firstly I think its worth mentioning 'composing from the outside in'.
On a hot summers day our second stage composition teacher took the class out to a patched piece of earth. He slowly poured a bucket of water onto the earth and we watched as it founds its way, sometimes in a slow trickle, sometimes as more of a torrent, across the earth. Sometimes is did what you might expect, sometimes not - but it was always the right way. This was a lesson about music - that we could caress it, shape it, but it should always have a natural flow. We had to let it speak for itself as well, and not force it where it did not want to go. John Cousins did lots of awesome lessons. We learnt about key modulations by riding an elevator up and down, getting off in the key of 'D-minor' walking around for a while doing a progression (maybe on the 7th floor) before returning to the the home key elevator. The patched earth lesson is something I always consider when designing a scene.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
I will be following along with great interest.
Quote from: FandSM Engineer on October 13, 2019, 08:40:17 PM
Mark
I will be following along with great interest.
Opps! I was adding more photographs to the F&SM thread and forgot to change over to my S&S RR account.
Hi guys.
Thanks, John. You are one of my great motivators!
Below is a link to Jonathan White's home page. Jonathan is my favourite NZ painter and he did a whole series of paintings over a period of six years, tramping into remote, secret hidden valleys and peaks in order to capture the essence of Southern Fiordland on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Many of the paintings here are of this area, in particular the one on the home screen.
http://www.jonathanwhite.co.nz/index.htm
This is what I picture the land in which Tellynott it set to look like, and certainly what I will attempt to make Shadowlands resemble. I try to keep this always in mind while I'm working on design.
The next level, and in conjunction with that image, is the lay of the land. Tellynott is supposed to sit on a steep hillside overlooking the water. I have found that if I create that hillside before starting structure construction, then I have to fit my structures into the spaces left behind rather than designing the terrain to suit my structures. I create my roads, rivers, water front, and track-work before adding structures. I have to deal with prototype problems of retaining walls, basements, access - both of people and vehicles, bridges and tunnels. I try to give the roads purpose, considering how they might join together on the area imagined as well as the area modeled. This entire process itself is mocked up, experimented with, chopped and changed, considering viewing angles and sight lines, before the terrain is firmed in.
Attached is a photo showing the very early stages of composing the corner diorama.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
That is some very beautiful and rugged country. I like your technique - it is very similar to what I'm doing with my layout. I built all the mountains and rivers, then I laid track through them. And now I'm fitting the structures into the landscape. I sure would like to find a way to visit your part of the world. I'm really enjoying your build thread.
Hi guys.
Thanks, John.
For my wife's 40th birthday we took an 24 hour overnight cruise on a small boat (only 8 passengers) on Doubtful Sound, Fiordland. It was absolutely amazing! We didn't see another living soul for the entire journey. And the scenery was incredible!
I hope you can make it for a visit in the future - it is an amazing part of the world. PM me when you get serious.
Below are a few more photos showing this technique coming together. I take a long time and make many changes along the way - sometimes quite significant changes.
Photo 1 is a closer shot of the diorama in place, roads and rivers highlighted with coloured paper.
Photos 2 and 3 show the diorama base. My big toe gives some scale!
Photo 4 shows some landscaping going in.
Photo 5 shows the diorama as the structures become more firmed up.
The use of layered pieces of polystyrene to build up the scenery means that it is rather easy to create flat (often stepped) building sites. If you have ever watched the prototype - this is what is done - either by using piles to create a flat floor, or by building retaining walls and breaking the site into flat platforms (split level). For ease in the modeling world the second approach is usually employed.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
As usual, I'll be following. I'm always amazed at how you manage to fit everything into such tight spaces at multiple elevations and make everything look so realistic.
Mark, Like the rest. I'll be watching. Thanks.........Dennis
Good progress Mark.....keep up the good work. 8)
Hi guys.
Thanks for the comments and your continued interest Greg, Dennis and Jerry.
QuoteI'm always amazed at how you manage to fit everything into such tight spaces at multiple elevations and make everything look so realistic
Thanks, Jerry!
In my last installment I wrote a bit of a blurb on what I wanted to share. Part of the reason for doing this was to map out a direction and order for this thread. The next step is this order is another plan showing the position of the different dioramas. As I went about constructing this new plan I thought an intermediate step showing the position of all the track, roads and water might be interesting. At this stage I am keeping the plan to the original L-shape part of the layout. There may still be a few alterations to come and potentially one or two more spur tracks.
Track is black, roads yellow and water blue.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Cheers Mark,
I've really enjoyed this thread and your compendiums of ideas of what you've planned and how to accomplish it.
I, like you, like to kit bash but haven't really followed through with the kit mingling idea to any great detail. Also, I admit my desire to build mock ups is severely lacking.
Your trip on Doubtful Sound sounds wonderful. I've made a note.
Fantastic work my friend.
Tom ;D
Mark
Like Tom - I also enjoy watching your designs take shape. Fantastic work!
Hey mark:
That's quite the little town you have going there. I'll be watching with interest.
karl
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by Tom, John and Karl, and for your encouraging words.
I hope to find time today to draw in the structures - although that could take some time!
Tom - here are a couple of photos from our trip to Doubtful Sound. The day we went out was beautiful and clear and we were able to do a bit of kayaking along the shores of one of the arms. The next morning the world was covered in mist and full of secrets.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
impressive layout
jaime
Hi guys.
Thanks, Jamie.
I've been thinking about the next section of the layout to be built and a different approach to viewing. After about an hour of hunting I found the MRR article I was looking for to take a bit of inspiration from - March 1997, The Dolly Varden Mines in HOn21/2. After a bit of studying and digesting I started doodling, thinking about ways I could gain the changes in elevation I need without a helix and framing different views. The attached plan shows my progress thus far. As you can see I have split this module into three scenes, the lime-works to your direct right as you walk through the doorway between the two rooms (from Tellynott to Shadowlands}, a long thin scene with tracks at almost 300mm of vertical separation, and a long valley with the track snaking its way along the riverbed in the valley. I think the division walls will largely have mountains to the module ceiling. The helix has been done away with and replaced by a staggered loop to gain height. At present the grade would be 3%. If I make the scenery hard shell I should be able to create access hatches from below. The radius of the inner track is peco setrack #3 (R=505mm, 19 7/8"). What do you think????
Cheers, Mark.
That's going to make for some very dramatic scenery Mark.....looking forward to seeing you build it. :)
Mark
It's great to see you planning the next section. I sure like the elevation change. Please keep posting, I'm watching with great interest.
QuoteThat's going to make for some very dramatic scenery Mark.....looking forward to seeing you build it
Thanks, Gregory.
I'm still very much throwing around ideas and will have to give this one a lot more thought - including making a model of the model so I can visualize how it might (or might not) work. I'm hoping that whatever I end up doing will have a lot of drama.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteIt's great to see you planning the next section. I sure like the elevation change. Please keep posting, I'm watching with great interest.
Thanks, John.
Yes - I do like this better without the helix. It really came down to - where am I aiming to get the most vertical distance between the tracks and working backwards from this point. The staging doesn't need to be as low as I have built it - I can easily raise it by putting down some polystyrene - and, since I have decided that Graves elevators, Thorndike mills, and my tap and die factory can all be switched from the existing visible rail on Tellynott (with elevation changes as originally designed), as soon as the main line pierces the backdrop of Tellynott it can start descending. All this equated to the helix feeling like a bit of an overkill and I started considering other ways to gain the considerably less elevation I now needed. The vertical displacement between River and Mountain stays the same, as this displacement is dictated by the elevation change I can obtain in the peninsula part of Shadowlands. I drew three different track plans of the layout, including schematics, a couple of weeks ago, and this made clear the reasons for reversing loops, wall piercings etc whereas before I had always got rather confused following my finger around the track plan. I'll post a picture of the winner soon but the most complicated track plan made the least sense. It also became clear that I only needed a reversing loop in one direction (to turn trains leaving Tellynott to create an out and back), and by sacrificing stage 2 continuous running I would not need to pierce the internal barn room walls at all. Those schematics really help make sense of a bowl of spaghetti!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
I think you are going about this in exactly the right way. I started out with two helix in my layout and eliminated them by creating another loop around the room. What really helped for me was to create the mountains and then cut the railway through them. Just like the prototypes did. I knew the height of the highest and lowest points I needed to reach with the rail and designed a track plan to achieve it. It takes three loops around the room for a train to get from the lowest to highest point on the railroad, but from any viewing point it looks like one continuous scene with multiple views of the railroad. I used clay models, I spent my working career in the automobile industry where every new vehicle starts with a clay model, to visualize each area of the layout. I have two more clay models that I will be making as I progress to new areas of the layout. Good luck with your design - I will be following along.
Mark,
Your designs are an inspiration. The HOn30 Dolly Varden is one of my all time favorite layout articles (I have it next to me). The artistry in the lines of sight and the unusual viewing angles and hidden track is so unusual and fantastic! I'm excited to see this next phase.
John
Thanks very much for taking the time to share your experiences, John. Its great to hear others have made the same or similar decisions and come out the other end happy with their choices.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteYour designs are an inspiration. The HOn30 Dolly Varden is one of my all time favorite layout articles (I have it next to me). The artistry in the lines of sight and the unusual viewing angles and hidden track is so unusual and fantastic! I'm excited to see this next phase.
Thanks you so much, John!
Yes - this layout design (and execution) always stood out to me as one of the few very unique approaches to this hobby - and one I felt worked brilliantly (at least aesthetically - I don't know if I would like that much hidden track to deal with). Its an article I have studied many times over the years, and one I was determine to find among my many boxes of magazines - still unsorted since the move! It was pretty much in the last place I looked!
At present I am using my modelling time to make a bit of a push on the cannery, but will be back at this section soon.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Isn't it modeling weather in your part of the world? Any progress on the layout?
Hi John.
Yes, it is. Highs of around 8 - 10 degrees Celsius at the moment (46 to 50 F). We have spent several $1000 on trees and shrubs, including 102 beech hedging trees. All of these need to be planted this winter. The area where they need to go needs about 80 cubic metres of soil moved to level and I am doing this with the rotary hoe and bucket on our 1 series tractor. Hence, not a lot of progress on my modeling empire lately. I'm hoping to change this soon!
I have started chipping away at finishing the second room in the barn. Nailing battens up and across the seams of the plywood sheets and filling all the knot and nail holes. These walls were never insulated, so I had to punch all the nails, remove the plywood sheeting, install insulation and then reattach the sheeting. I seem to do a lot of work like that - work that takes ages and looks exactly the same when you have finished as it did before you started! Its the plastering of the 3.4m ceilings that is holding me back. I've found the sort of bending over backwards that you do a lot of hard on my back post back surgery. I might price getting a stopper in to do this job. I must admit that stopping isn't my favourite job in the world!
OK - time to get back to leveling those gardens!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on July 09, 2020, 04:33:19 PM
Hi John.
Yes, it is. Highs of around 8 - 10 degrees Celsius at the moment (46 to 50 F). We have spent several $1000 on trees and shrubs, including 102 beech hedging trees. All of these need to be planted this winter. The area where they need to go needs about 80 cubic metres of soil moved to level and I am doing this with the rotary hoe and bucket on our 1 series tractor. Hence, not a lot of progress on my modeling empire lately. I'm hoping to change this soon!
I have started chipping away at finishing the second room in the barn. Nailing battens up and across the seams of the plywood sheets and filling all the knot and nail holes. These walls were never insulated, so I had to punch all the nails, remove the plywood sheeting, install insulation and then reattach the sheeting. I seem to do a lot of work like that - work that takes ages and looks exactly the same when you have finished as it did before you started! Its the plastering of the 3.4m ceilings that is holding me back. I've found the sort of bending over backwards that you do a lot of hard on my back post back surgery. I might price getting a stopper in to do this job. I must admit that stopping isn't my favourite job in the world!
OK - time to get back to leveling those gardens!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you for the update. I know about outside chores getting in the way of the modeling. I look forward to you getting back at the modeling and your next update.
Hi guys.
Well - I feel a bit like striving for perfection is getting in the way of progress with this thread. Every time I go and look at this thread I see I have set it up for a specific order and its stopping me from sharing the small progress I make. We all know there is no such thing as perfection anyway! So - I have decided to post updates as they happen, and go back to the bigger background information as set out when time and interest permits.
This weekend was my father's 85th birthday. We put on a party for him here (after he told my wife he had never had a party before!) All went very well, and of course there were several small tours of the garden, visits to the pigs and dogs, and the train room. In order to get ready for this I took my cannery out to the shed and set it up on the layout. With the new tower and walkover temporarily in position it is a very tight fit, and took some maneuvering to get it into position. My wife's faculty BBQ which we put on for the math departments staff and families here each year is in two weeks time, so considering the difficulty in setting up the cannery for viewing I decided to leave it there until after the BBQ.
This means I have two weeks with a bit of modelling time and my cannery (which is nearing completion) out of commission, and so it was time to begin a new project. There were plenty to choose from. I wanted something that would go together a little quicker than the cannery (now in its 10th month) but that would make a substantial impact. In the end I chose a kit-bash/ kit-mingle of DPM's M. T. Arms hotel and City Classic's art deco building. This is a multi storied structure surrounded by three curving roads at grade and different heights as well as a small alleyway. The front high road crosses the lower road twice, and will offer cameo shots under the bridges to the shop fronts below, while the fronts will tower above.
Photo 1 - shows a sketch of the plan, showing the number of levels of the different buildings and which ones will be used where. The four and three story sections at the side and back will be the same height as the six and seven story sections at the front, but with the lower stories as basements below road level.
Photo 2 - shows the mock-up from the right side. The former to which I have taped the paper photocopies of the buildings is made from stacked pieces of polystyrene. When building the structure I will add styrene stock to the bottom of the stepped walls to keep a flat bottom.
Photo 3 - shows the front of the mock-up from the left.
Photo 4 - shows the left side and back of the mock-up. This will be made from the back and side walls of the M. T. Arms kit. This kit comes with a street front side and front, and a back alleyway side and back. I like these sort of kits as by combining multiple kits and stacking the backs together and fronts together, you get two quite different feeling structures (or in my case - views).
Photo 5 - shows the mock-up in position on the layout. This should give you some idea of how the streets frame the building, and how their grades and curves will add a lot of drama.
Photo 6 - shows a view of the shop fronts under one of the two bridges.
Next is to get brave and start slashing these kits to pieces!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Great to see and update to your thread - the mockup looks great - I agree that it's the smaller projects that add up to the big overall layout theme that should be posted in your thread. I like to post daily or periodic updates on the individual smaller projects and then once or twice a year show how they fit into the bigger layout picture.
Hi guys.
Thanks, John - sounds like a good plan.
Well here is my progress on this two week kit-bash project (no - I won't get it finished in two weeks!)
Photo 1 - shows the City Classics art deco part of the structure coming together. I forgot to take photos of the cutting and splicing. As you can see, the bottom half of each section is a used structure. I bought these fronts off 'trade me' and had to then strip the window dressing and glazing off. A coat of primer should hide the mess pretty well.
Photo 2 - shows the cuts I made to the M. T. Arms hotel front. Close inspection showed that the thickness of the edge pillars are wider than the central pillars, and so I had to stack like on top of like. For this part of the kit-bash I will be using two fronts, three front street sides, one back and two alleyway backs.
Photo 3 - shows the pieces reassembled into a 7-story front. After filling and check fitting I glued together on a flat table on lunch paper and against a straight edge. Cutting was done with a small tenon saw, a scriber and a knife.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Really glad to see you "back at it". Your creativity and visualization skills are second to none. Looking forward to continued progress.
Quote from: jerryrbeach on October 20, 2020, 09:08:16 AM
Mark,
Really glad to see you "back at it". Your creativity and visualization skills are second to none. Looking forward to continued progress.
I'll echo that sentiment! I do love the City Classics kits and can't wait to see what you do with them Mark. :D
Hey Mark:
The walls look just beautiful. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
Karl
QuoteReally glad to see you "back at it". Your creativity and visualization skills are second to none. Looking forward to continued progress.
Thanks so much, Jerry.
Its nice to be working on something that will move along a little quicker!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteI'll echo that sentiment! I do love the City Classics kits and can't wait to see what you do with them Mark
Thanks, Bob.
It should be a bit of fun. I'm looking forward to creating the 'glimpses' under the two bridges. As I move forwards I find myself considering things such as a pedestrian set of stairs leading from the high road to the low road. There is a fair bit of work getting the pavement heights of each building right for their doors. I have opted to move one of the doors from the right to the left side of the building front to match with the others and keep the step in height of the structures similar.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteThe walls look just beautiful. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
Thanks so much, Karl.
Although I think there is a long way to go to get to 'beautiful'. It does look beautiful in my minds eye!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well, after taking what I had done out to the barn and seeing how it fitted, I decided to add the second central pillar to the art deco buildings. I had glued the walls together with the two buildings sharing the middle pillar. Anyway - it snapped apart fairly easily and cleaned up with a knife and file. I then glued the pillar to the left of the right structure, splicing a piece below which I cut of the side of one of the left over wall tops. I also had to cut the small addition to the right pillar of the left building off and splice the cap back on the top. The pillars have a slight bevel on their outside edges and I found these were fairly close to the angle I needed, so gluing them together at the required angle was pretty straight forward. No special tools, just a flat table, lunch paper, super glue and fingers.
Photo 1 - shows the art deco walls re-glued.
Photo 2 - shows the styrene foundations I have added. This is to create a flat bottom for the whole complex. The exception is the very front M. T. Arms hotel section - the lowest one - which will hang down below the rest by about 10mm - just at the lower street front.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Very nice Mark.
Hi guys.
Thanks, Curt.
So below are a few more shots of progress.
Photo 1 - shows the three M. T. Arms hotel fronts spliced together vertically, but not yet horizontally. I used two front walls from the kits, stacking the right and left ends and cutting the centers out, and two front street sides stacked. This means the pillars all line up. Photos were taken before I started adding foundations.
Photo 2 - shows the five fronts lined up with their vertical steps. This may have been take before adding the second central pillar - if only preview showed the pictures.
Photo 3 - shows the front corner. This is the third front street side of the DPM kit(s). As the plan on the last page shows, this part of the structure has street fronts at two different heights. I will add styrene to make a basement at the same depth as the other buildings.
Photo 4 - shows the back of the M. T. Arms hotel cut to fit the site.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I have now glued all the fronts together. I spent some time cutting and fitting a base in styrene. It is a big stretch over to this part of my layout and it is a huge job to take all the mock-ups down and pull out the back wall diorama, so fitting was done by standing on a two step ladder and reaching over. As well as honing my styrene base I also had to cut and file away at my plaster roading and polystyrene base, vacuuming away the debris. Once I was happy with the fit I glued the bottom of the walls to the base and then glued the sides together. For where the art deco building meet the M. T. Arms hotel, I made up a series of plastic angle braces and glued these between every floor. For the other two seams I tacked together with C A and then glued a styrene rod into the wedge at the back of the walls. The rod fits in nice and snug and will adhere to both walls.
Next is to address the problem of lining up the bottom of the shop front doors with the road/ footpath.
Photo 1 - shows the complex in position of the layout, taking shape.
Photo 2 - shows a close up of the shop fronts against the walls. Note - the base was sitting up a smidge in this photo.
Photo 3 - shows how I addressed the vertical distance between the M.T. Arms hotel and the road by adding styrene steps inside the recess. By doing this I can gain 6mm between the bottom of the door and the top of the footpath. At a pinch I could make the steps narrower and gain 8mm, and I can easily take out steps or lessen the rise by using thinner styrene.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looks great Mark.
Hi guys.
Thanks, Curt. Much appreciated.
For the next set of stairs I did U-shaped steps. Where this doorway meets the footpath the road is very steep, so this was a way to create a narrower meeting point.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Clever solution to the grade change. It certainly takes some extra effort as well as lots pf problem solving skills to build on a steep grade the way you do. Your results speak for themselves and I am always impressed by the way the elevation changes and curving streets and walkways draw the viewer's eyes into the scene.
Pittsburgh, where I grew up, has a lot of hills. Your approach looks right to me.
dave
Hey Mark:
Well done coming along nicely.
Karl
Cheers Mark,
Wow, I love all the kit bashing on the various structures. The elevation changes are drastic but well done all remind me of some area of Baltimore, MD. My wife is from there and on my first visit, I spent hours just walking and looking at the buildings.
Well done Mark.
Tom ;D
That is one busy scene Mark.....well done. 8)
QuoteClever solution to the grade change. It certainly takes some extra effort as well as lots pf problem solving skills to build on a steep grade the way you do. Your results speak for themselves and I am always impressed by the way the elevation changes and curving streets and walkways draw the viewer's eyes into the scene.
Thanks so much, Jerry!
The shots under the bridges will be best. They naturally frame the scene and really make it feel like you have shrunk down to 1:87 scale. It might be nice to put a hobo here with a swag over his shoulder, and it will be so easy for the viewer to imagine they are this fellow and can go exploring the city for the day.
While in the barn the other day I took a couple of shots from the peninsula across to the city scene beyond. I cropped these right down to try to show the effect I am shooting for.
Cheers, Mark.
Thanks very much for your comments and for following along Dave, Karl and Greg!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote
Wow, I love all the kit bashing on the various structures. The elevation changes are drastic but well done all remind me of some area of Baltimore, MD. My wife is from there and on my first visit, I spent hours just walking and looking at the buildings.
Thanks so much, Tom.
You discover so much about a steep town while wandering around with modeling on your mind. All those little tricks with foundations and basement windows and doorways on steep grades. There are ways of getting around all those problems. On the hill we used to live on there was a house on a narrow site with a turntable on the driveway so that you could get the car into the garage!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Attached are a new set of photos showing progress so far. We had my wife's staff BBQ last weekend so I'll be getting back to the cannery soon. It would be nice to get this one a little further ahead first. It has dawned on me that I am going to have to make this model in two sections, paint and weather, glaze and dress the windows and doors, and then join the two sections together. My hands are way to big to fit in between the front and the back to add glazing and blinds etc. from above!
Photo 1 - shows the back walls spliced together. You can see where I added a thin strip at the left. It is nicely lined up at the top and out by two full brick courses at the bottom. I don't know what went wrong there but it wasn't me! Fortunately this should mostly be under ground.
Photo 2 - shows the back section with the styrene wall which sits against the back wall of the layout.
Photo 3 - shows the back side of the back with the base cut to fit inside and on top of the fronts base. (confused?)
Photo 4 - shows the back of the front. I have finished adding steps to the four M. T. Arms hotel fronts.
Photos 5 and 6 - show the back of the back inside the back of the front. I found adding a piece of styrene rod to the inside angle of the wall joints a good way of getting good fixing.
At my fathers 85th birthday (which we hosted here) I took several tours of our developing garden and, of course, the train room. There was one group in particular who were genuinely very interested and stayed for ages taking pictures and asking questions. You can always tell by their questions if they really understand just how much work is involved.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
WOW!! That is one impressive building!
Jerry
I agree with Jerry...WOW.
Mark
Very nice - that is a lot of windows.
Excited to be finding this thread.
I'm very impressed, Mark. Your time spent planning is inspiring.
Hi guys.
Thanks Jerry, Curt, John and RR. Much appreciated.
Rusty Robot - planning is my favourite part.
A quick update while I'm here.
I'm trying to get the bulk of the fitting problems worked out before I move back to the cannery. There is lots of internal plastic cutting and fitting to be done to keep the large odd shaped structure rigid and true. Below is a photo of the roof and internal floors (every second level) for the city classics end of the structure. The half section will fit on top of the main roof piece with a small wing wall visible.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
(https://modelersforum.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4484.0;attach=62488;image)
Mark, these structures, will they all be scratch built or do you have kits in mind?
Hi Rusty Robot.
These structures will be almost all scratchbuilt. There are one or two kits I own that I may be able to use, but everything else... I will use Grandt line and Tichy Train Group doors and windows when I can - as long as they are close and in style. I've looked at some of the Scale Structures doors and windows - but they are sooo expensive! Like 4 times the price of the others.
Photo 1 - shows my first scratchbuild for the peninsula - sitting next to the artists sketch I based it on.
Photo 2 - shows the second one - still not finished!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Below are some photos showing the internal floors glued into position along with the parapet walls between the buildings. This has firmed up this end of the structure very nicely.
Photo 1 - shows the internal floors from the back of the front. I measured and drew lines on the inside of the walls for the internal floors and then glued them into position with CA. For the roof I added some square strip plastic to the internal walls first to make sure things were nice and flat.
Photos 2-4 - show the structure from the top and side. I am just holding the back in position to show the fit.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - I've managed to whittle away a bit more styrene.
Photos 1 & 2 - show the inside of the front and back with all the strengthening added.
Photos 3 & 4 - show the roof templates glued into position. These are not glued to the back so it still pulls apart into two sections. You can see I added an internal roof height change. This was necessary as I decided to keep the back wall of the M. T. Arms hotel all at one height without the step opposite the front.
I used clamps to hold the two pieces together nice and tight and true when fitting the last roof sections. After the roof sections were cut and sanded and fitted snugly I took the two sections apart and measured down from the top of the walls and marked the position of the roof bracing with pencil. I then glued in square timber stock along those lines with CA. The two sections were then put back together and re-clamped and then I glued the roof pieces into position, only to the front and sides. I edge glued and glued to the stock below. The side parapet walls also helped to keep things square and add strength and stability. I have one shop front window to address, where I swapped the position of the door and window openings to match the other walls and keep the steps in building fronts more consistent. After that little job this feels like a nice place to put this one aside and get back to the cannery. After spending almost the entire year working on the cannery its nice to get another major structure well underway. I've enjoyed the wharf and cannery immensely, but boy has it taken some time!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
WOW, amazing modeling.
Continually impressed, Mark. Can't wait to see it painted!
You've made me want to pull my DPM kits out of the Rubbermaids!
Hey Mark:
That's coming along very nicely.
Karl
Hi guys.
Thanks very much for your comments and for following along, Curt, RR and Karl - much appreciated.
Well - Thursday morning came about, which is when I get my travelling project ready for the afternoon (every second week - we take turn about doing the travelling. It used to be 2 minutes drive until we moved, not it is half an hour). My plan was to get the cannery inside and see if I could find a sub assembly to take to Neil's to do - but it was raining and I didn't want to bring the cannery from the barn to the garage in the rain. The kit-bash I have been working on is up to puttying and as we model on Neil's dining room table I didn't want to stink their house out. So - I picked a couple of smaller projects to get underway.
I started with a Magnuson Fountain Brewery kit-bash.
Photo 1 - shows my mock-up. It has three gable walls, one front wall and a side wall that will be visible. The remaining walls I will build from stock. Again, it is enclosed by two roads, one in front and one behind, both curving and at grade.
Photo 2 - shows the mock-up from above. I intend to cut a section off the back of the central flat roof following the pencil line I have drawn.
Photo 3 - shows two of the same walls from two different kits. I bought a second kit recently, being a big fan of this kit. Every wall is different and it also lends itself to smaller structures. It is also quite different to most other kits out there. I had thought I would use one of the gable walls twice to keep a similar look on this structure, but when I put the two walls together they were incredibly different in size. So far out there was no way I could use them together. Maybe someone can explain this difference to me? We are talking 1/4" or more. I'll just have to use one of the other gable walls from the same kit - no biggy.
Photo 4 - shows where I have got to. I tried gluing with CA - after sanding the backs - but it didn't even think about holding. I then tried super glue with kicker - again, nothing. At this stage I put this kit-bash down and started on my second project (lucky I took two!) When I got home I made up a 12 degree template to hold the gable walls at the right angle for the curved front and glued together using two part epoxy. I was able to glue the resin walls to my plastic base using CA. I also had to repair a chip out of the top corner of the gable by searching the box for two small chips that had come off during shipping. Apparently my parcel was opened by customs and repacked very poorly. As a consequence it arrived with two chipped walls and one broken one.
Photo 5 - shows my Thursday modeling buddy and very good friend, Neil, between two of his scratch-built Kauri trees in 1:34 scale. Neil's motto is 'every shop is a model shop'. Much of his mind blowing scenery comes from all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Everything looks fantastic Mark.
Mark
You are making some nice progress, looks great - tell Neil those are some great looking trees, too.
Hi guys.
Thanks very much, Curt and John.
My other project was a two shop block which sits in front of the large City Classics and DPM kit-bash. It will be good one to get underway as it will let me see exactly what will be visible behind it and so which windows can be left simple without added details. I forgot to take a before photo, but I had one front main wall left from a DPM Seymour kit. For the left side I will use a side wall from a DPM M. T. Arms hotel kit and the other side and back wall will be unseen so I will use stock.
Photo 1 - shows the mock-up. The red line is the curving graded road.
Photo 2 - shows the mock-up from the top. Another odd shape. I will likely add some exterior steps from the lower road level up to a door on the M.T. Arms side wall. The front of these shops sits on the same road as the front end of the larger kit-bash, while the sides and back will have a two story basement and sit on the lower road, opposite the main larger kit-bash frontage.
Photo 3 - shows a shot of the wall as it was before I started. I cut the central section out, cut the 45 degree bevel off the right end, and cut and filed out one of the panels and windows out to create a second door.
Photo 4 - shows the walls sitting in their correct orientation (swapped left to right) and heights with styrene bases added to give the same height as the M. T. Arms hotel side wall.
I do love these Thursday sessions. We model for about 3 hours and I usually carry on a bit after we have finished. Yesterday, when I got home, I got the two part epoxy out and made my 12 degree template. Sometimes its the only modeling I get done for the week - so at least during these times there is some progress!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looking good Mark.
Hey Mark:
It's coming along nicely. Can't wait to see more.
Karl
Mark this is getting better with each addition.
Jerry
Hi guys.
Thanks very much Curt, Karl and Jerry!
I've carried on plodding away with the Magnuson kit-bash. The two part epoxy is working, but I need to clamp everything and the glue takes 16 hours to cure. as many of the resin walls are a bit warped, I thought I'd use internal styrene bracing to straighten things out. I figured I could glue timber bracing to the back of the resin walls and then CA to glue the styrene internal walls to the timber bracing and the styrene base. I'd figured two hours of curing should be enough for the epoxy (having long since lost the card that came with the glue giving this information). I glued the styrene in position and held the resin wall nice and straight while the CA went off. I then let go. 'Perfect' I said. I then watched as over the next 5 minutes the pressure of the resin wall wanting to resume its warp slowly prized the timber brace from the back of the resin wall. Bug**r! Lesson learnt. Next time I'll try and straighten them out before I start. I re-glued the timber brace, weighted it down, and left it for 16 hours to cure (after using google to find this important information). My next attempt this morning was successful.
Photo 1 - shows the three front walls glued to the base and braces holding my corner timber brace in position while it glues.
Photo 2 - shows the three front walls, side wall and back gable wall glued together along with the two internal styrene walls keeping the structure rigid, true, and de-warped. I'm finding this kit pretty awful to be fair. I glued the side wall into position, holding it down firm on a flat surface while the CA glued to the base, thus keeping the bottom walls nicely lined up (I've found that the CA will hold a resin/ styrene join, if there is no undue pressure, but I follow this up with a timber brace glued to both surfaces with epoxy). I noticed a bit later that the top of the walls did not line up. Furthermore, and far more problematically, I noticed that the windows on the side and front wall did not line up by some margin. So - out with the knife, cut along the seams, disassemble and clean up ready for a next attempt. Firstly I cut and entire line of bricks off the bottom of the side wall - and these are some pretty large bricks. I've struck these sort of problems before, but along with the warpage, the gluing issues and the extremely hard and brittle nature of the medium, it makes adjustments a bit of a pain. My second attempt went much better!
Photo 3 - shows the structure from above.
Photo 4 - shows a view showing the back gable wall.
Photo 5 - shows the structure from the front and side.
I'm using City Classics side walls to fabricate the forth gable walls and the other two walls. When I kit-bash I often seem to end up with a lot of side walls left over, so they just get treated as scrap.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
I think this must be the brewery kit. My heart goes out to you as I have built this kit. Warpage on resin walls is usually solved by plunging the parts in boiling water and then putting them under weights. I am sure you have tried this already though.
Mike
Hi guys.
Thanks for the tip, Mike. Yes - it is the Fountain Brewery kit. I believe this is my first attempt at a resin kit??? I have used the odd resin wall here and there as part of a larger kit-bash, but in conjunction with styrene walls. I have a good number of Magnuson kits to deal with - so will have to sort out how to best deal with these problems. I'll be sure to try the 'plunge' method moving forward. How long do you plunge for?
Well - a bit of cutting and filing and fitting and I have the three back walls fitting nicely. I have glued the gable wall and the large back wall together at the correct angle. The structure is now feeling very strong and is almost completely square and true. I think the large flat roof section will get the last little bit, and if not it is so minimal that it will never be seen. I have put the roof timbers attached to the interior of the kit walls at the right height so that the styrene roof is the correct height for the central flat roof. Once this is glued into position I can then add internal dummy walls for the two gable roofs.
Photo 1 - shows the back sitting in position. It was made from side walls from City Classics kit. It shouldn't be visible when viewing the layout, but just in case someone shows up with a selfie stick...
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark I usually use a kettle of boiling water. Pour it over the part in a bowl and then place it flat on a surface. Usually my wife's granite kitchen top.Then put a plank of wood on the part weighted down. Overnight it should be perfectly flat. I have used this on a ton of M kits to good effect,
Mike
A suggestion I've tried on warped resin castings is to put them on a flat (stone) tile in a warm (150 degree F) oven, and let them sit there for 20 minutes or so. The stone holds the heat and provides a flat surface for the casting to relax onto.
dave
Hey Mark:
It's coming along nicely. Keep the pics coming.
Karl
Hi guys.
Thanks Mike, Dave and Karl, and thanks for the suggestions Mike and Dave, I'll be sure to try one of them next time I tackle a warped kit.
Today I got the mullions in all the windows. The instructions suggest gluing the mullions to the window material. I couldn't see this working very well - but after my solution I might try their suggestion next time. Firstly - all the windows are not the same size - even the ones that are supposed to be. Secondly, the distance between very slightly too long and too short is not much!
Photo 1 - I cut myself a rectangular piece of scrap styrene that would fit between the bracing behind the walls and taped lunch paper to one side of it to stop accidentally gluing it to the back of the wall. I then measured the different windows and cut spacers half the height of each different window - four in all.
Photo 2 - I then used my chopper to cut strips of square styrene slightly longer than the window I was working on.
Using reversible tweezers I held the mullion in position and eyeballed it, and then trimmed it to the right length. Sometimes it needed a bit more off, sometimes I had to start again. I was aiming for a nice tight fit, but not so tight the mullion would bend. I then held the scrap styrene behind the window, put the spacer in place, and then added the mullion, pushing it down hard against the scrap piece of styrene to get the correct depth, and the spacer to get the correct height. I then carefully removed the styrene and spacer and added CA from the back, pulling it along the mullion a little ways to get a nice hold. Surplus CA was cleaned up with cotton buds. I let the glue set, but the lunch paper backing meant I could move a little faster.
Photos 3&4 - show the mullions glued in place.
I looked at pictures on line trying to find information on how others tackled these mullions. The most common answer was that they didn't. The majority of pictures I found had no mullions. I did also find a picture of the original structure this kit was based on which will be a good reference.
Photo 5 - shows Neil's completed Kauri tree. It stands almost 3 feet tall!
Photo 6 - shows his ingenious transport method - the trunk is wired to the upper hand hold in the car and the tree hung upside down.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Beautiful modeling Mark. Love the tree.
Hey Mark:
Structure is looking really great. Like the tree also.
Karl
Great looking tree!
Jeff
Hi guys.
Thanks very much Curt, Karl and Jeff. Yes - Neil's layout is adorned with native trees of that size and quality.
Photo 1 - Well - I got the magnuson kit scrubbed with water and dish washing liquid (being very careful around those delicate mullions), rinsed and dried, and seconds before the rain came, sprayed with a grey primer.
Photo 2 - I had added a small piece of strip styrene to a break in one of the window sills and puttied a couple of large air bubbles in two other window sills.
Photo 3 - these little castings were truly awful! They were more like parallelograms than squares! There was a lot of filing to try to make them acceptable. I tried to pier the best matched top with each bottom and orient them with the best (closest to a right angle) two faces forwards. They were glued together using 2-part epoxy.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
Whilst the paint cures I went back to the other small kit-bash.
Photo 1 - I marked and cut a styrene base to fit my kit-bash. I then went about splicing together scrap offcuts of City Classics side walls to create the right end side and back (these should not be seen). I then trimmed the base to fit all my walls by holding them in position and marking the back of the wall on the base with a clutch pencil. Before I do this I always sand the styrene to give it some tooth for better gluing, painting and pencil marking. After I have done this I use the base as a template and mark a second piece on a scrap piece of styrene for internal floors/ roof. The edges of the walls were cut and filed to angles to give a better gluing surface. This photo is taken from above.
Photo 2 - shows the M. T. Arms side wall attached to the shop fronts. I first glued the left front wall to the base using CA. I put the pieces on a flat surface covered in lunch paper and held the side wall in position to line up. I make sure to hold the base flat on the table and the wall hard against the base as the glue cures - about 45 seconds. I then added the M. T. Arms wall, gluing the bottom of the wall to the base and the side up about the first 2 inches. Once cured I added a bead of CA to the inside of the meeting angle of the two walls and then held together nice and tight and lined up. Capillary action takes the glue into the join. I work up the wall join, about 2 inches at a time. If I try to tackle too much its easy to get out of alignment.
Photo 3 - shows the fronts. I glued the second front in position as in photo 2. There was a bit of extra filing needed here to get a perfect fit.
Photo 4 - shows the right end wall attached to the front. I worked as in photo 2, gluing the wall to the base and then joining the sides. I often find as i work around the base that the walls need a little more material off before gluing. This is due to the compounding of slight errors in marking. Depending on how much this is I tackle with either a sharp builders knife or a file.
Photo 5 - shows the back walls and the right end wall. The back wall is a trapezium when looking down from above, and so needs to be slid into position from above. It is just sitting in position in these photos. I'll need access to the interior for floors, roof, shop front doors, glazing, blinds etc. I will paint these two pieces separately and then join together. The parapet wall between the two structures will be added to the roof.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Very impressive...Dennis
Agree with Dennis.
Love the staggered design and can't wait to see it painted and weathered.
Hey Mark:
It's coming along just great.
Karl
Hi guys.
Thanks very much Dennis, Rusty and Karl - very much appreciated.
A bit more progress today. For whatever reason, I found the top of the front two walls were leaning inwards. Typically I would cut a roof piece and place it in position forcing the walls out to the correct position. I tried this and it worked, except because of the change in height the roof piece needed to sit across the right side buildings windows when at the correct height for a flat roof on the left hand side front. I thought about this for a while and came up with the solution I will show in pictures below.
Photo 1 - shows the view from above. You can see I put a floor in place, at the floor height of the left building front. The cutouts are around windows.
Photo 2 - shows the angled piece I glued in place with a slope on it so that it was not across any windows. This holds the two front walls at the same angle as the base and the bottom floor.
Photo 3 - shows the central wall. This wall has been cut to fit hard down of the bottom floor piece. I have spliced some scrap styrene to a City Classics side wall, and checked out so it will sit on top of the left buildings back wall and around the angled front piece.
Photo 4 shows the vertical wall half way into position.
Photo 5 - shows the wall in position.
Photo 6 - shows the view from above.
The only incident was that I accidentally broke a window mullion while test fitting against the pressure of the walls. Fortunately I've been practicing mullion gluing!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Nice job fixing the lean.
Hi guys.
Thanks for following along and your many comments, Curt.
Next up was the roof pieces. I started by doctoring the side of the back by taking a slither more material off one of the edges of the back wall. Because of the way the central wall is checked over the back wall, the trapezium shaped back wall will need to slide in from below once the roof pieces are glued in place, and my back wall was a tad out of parallel.
Photo 1 - shows the back wall half slid into place from below. We are a bit further on here with the roof pieces glued in place.
I assembled the structure (main piece, central wall and back wall) and marked the inside central floor with a pencil. I then removed the back wall and glued the central division wall into place. I then measured down from the top and marked the thickness of my plastic roofs (1.5mm) lower than the finished roof heights and then glued some square stock timber to the front and side walls of the two buildings. I slid the back wall back into position before gluing the roof pieces on to make sure the fit was good. Marking the base template on a spare piece of stock styrene previously came in handy here, and I only needed to cut out a 3mm section for the parapet wall and tweak slightly.
Photo 2 - shows a view from the top showing the left building's roof supports.
Photo 3 - shows the two roofs glued in position. I will likely add a piece of strip styrene on top of the back wall and add scuppers and downpipes - although I'm considering other options.
It was then on to the front shop doors. This was the only wall left over from a previous kit-bash and I believe I used both doors on the last one, along with turning a window into a door on this kit-bash, so the two entrance ways had to be fabricated. I decided that the City Classics art deco left over bottom story pieces had doors that wood look good in this DPM build. Using a saw I cut the door sections out vertically and then sanded them down taking of any remaining brickwork/ columns. I then spliced together some 1mm and .75mm strip styrene and spliced these to the edge of the door (this gave me the same thickness as the door jambs). I added some .4mm strip styrene on top of this, going over the door jambs. Once this was done I added some .75mmx4.8mm strip on its edge at the same width as the opening in the structure. The top was trimmed and sanded and then a roof/ ceiling piece added. I then cut some 1mmx4.8mm strip and added two steps to the bottom of the doorway - thus lifting the interior floor of the structure by a scale 7". I gave the steps the correct tread so that the original shop floor will be the same tread width as the other two steps.
Photo 4 - shows the two door sections cut out and one of them being assembled.
Photo 5 - shows the entrance way completed.
Photo 6 - shows the entrance way glued into position. One more still to do. Its amazing how much work there is in these little features - and of course you have to nut it out as well as build it.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
It's progressing right along and looks just great.
Karl
Thanks very much, Karl. The weather has meant I have been able to find a bit more time than usual.
I got the second entrance way made up and installed yesterday afternoon. As this one was put in a window opening it was a different width that the other so I used different material, but basically did it the same way. I also added some 2mm plastic wedges on the downward side of the doors for foundations, sanded for some tooth and then dabbed on textured gel to look like stucco.
Photo 1 - shows the new entrance way in the right hand building and the foundations.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
This is coming along very nice. It's good to see you get some modeling time in. I will be following along.
Hi guys.
Thanks very much, John. I'm enjoying making a bit of speedy (for me) progress.
Well, yesterday I got a bit of paint on the Fountain Brewery. I put the paint mixture on with a largish brush and then sponged and smeared on black while the base colour was still wet. If I went too far I brought it back with some more of the brown colour mix. I wanted to get away from the typical brick colours, and found a picture in a book of old Australian towns I have that I liked and tried to get close to that. After I was happy with my swirling mess, I picked out a few bricks in a more classic brick colour. I may add a few in the darker brown/ black in some of the lighter areas. The chalk mortar lines should blend and bring it together.
Photo 1 - shows the colours I used. Burnt umber, burnt umber (but quite a different shade) Naples yellow and mars black.
Photo 2 - shows the paint going on.
Photo 3 - shows the side wall.
I then trialed a few different colours and went with primer for the concrete work, and foundation for the windows, both from Floquil.
Photo 4 - shows the colours picked out on one of the gable walls. Its fiddly time consuming work, and I will need to do some touch ups in the brown.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Really liking the look of that brick. Great work.
Hey Mark:
That's coming along really well. The walls look just great.
Karl
That came out looking great. It definitely makes me think of dirty old brick buildings in a city.
Yes, indeed. Really love the smudgy blackness. Good look.
Hi guys.
Thanks very much Rusty, Karl, Curt and Vince. I find these walls always look so different after the grout goes on. I tend to tell myself 'I think it will look OK'. Its nice to have some encouragement.
The DPM kit-bash got a small amount of puttying and a coat of primer. My friend, Neil was impressed by how tight the fit is on the sliding back. There really is no need to glue this in place.
Photos 1-3 show the structure ready for painting.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Beautiful job Mark!!!!...Dennis
mark,
I find your planning, scene composition and your problem solving approach to the elevation changes fascinating. Thanks for the pics.
Mark beautiful coloring on the walls.
Jerry
It gets more impressive with every post Mark.....great job. 8)
Mark, what DPM kit is that — the half painted one above?
QuoteI find your planning, scene composition and your problem solving approach to the elevation changes fascinating. Thanks for the pics.
Thanks very much, Jerry.
This is definitely one of my favourite parts of the hobby. I always have a great time walking around in any steep city/ town. Here in New Zealand, I have taken a lot of inspirations from Lyttelton, Wellington and Dunedin. I find it fascinating to see how designers and builders deal with setting a level floor against a steep slope. I also find you also learn a lot from looking at the back of the buildings.
Cheers, Mark.
Thanks very much Dennis, Jerry, Gregory and Rusty - your comments and continued support is much appreciated.
I'm thinking my wife must be watching you all comment. Yesterday she said 'nice brickwork - that's a different colour to what you usually use'. Most observant of her!
Rusty - I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'half painted'. They are kind of both half painted. The brown brick structure is out of production and was made by Magnuson. It is called the Fountain Brewery. The DPM kit is the main wall from the Seymour building.
I've continued to potter away and picking out the details on the Fountain Brewery and yesterday made up a sign for the side wall. Where this structure sits it will have a kit-bash of FOS boxing gym in front, so only the top half of the wall will be fully seen. I also always intended to have an aerial walkway from the back of this structure going across the road and joining into the Edmonds Bakery timber low relief structure against the back wall. Hence the nature of the sign. 'Sure to rise' is a famous phrase in NZ synonymous with Edmonds. The sign still needs a spray of Dullcote, grouting and some weathering. I will also make up a sign to go over the Fountain Brewery sign.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
The brick and the sign look great. Very nice work.
Everything looks great.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on December 05, 2020, 01:29:47 PM
Rusty - I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'half painted'. They are kind of both half painted. The brown brick structure is out of production and was made by Magnuson. It is called the Fountain Brewery. The DPM kit is the main wall from the Seymour building.
Ah, yes. The brewery kit! That's the one. Thanks Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - after a hour or so of picking out details on the brewery kit, I felt like a break. So I thought I might go back and carry on with one of those parts of the hobby I feel I might have something to contribute. From the brief list I made back on page 5 I chose this one to tackle:
QuoteAnother is to discuss mock-ups within composition and how important I find these within the big picture, and highlighting this with how the displaying of two large dioramas on a table for a visitor to show how they would look when placed together on the layout led to some major redesign work and the removal of several square feet of layout bench-work in order to make the scene appear bigger.
So - one of the things I always try to do is to know what will be going next to the diorama I am working on. This is why I try to have things mocked-up, at least with 3-D shapes.
Photo 1 - After finishing this structure at the front corner of my corner diorama I discovered that the leading line created by the zigzagging roof-line of Roslyn's Manufacturing was too strong to be hidden from view by a raised gridded city block with underground station as first intended. This is the sort of thing that I struggle to see on paper, but was blatantly obvious to me in 3-D.
Photo 2 - the next big chunk takes shape - using Lyttelton as inspiration including a section of roading photocopied and cut from a map (see page 2) I designed and created a new section to work in harmony with the corner diorama.
Photo 3 - making sure the leading lines aren't blocked. The new road and river are placed as to keep the new vista open. The road curves out towards the viewer to give a wider vista.
Photo 4 - If you plan well, many elements of design can improve the finished product. Alleyways create a 'glimpses' and increase the depth of field. Buildings at the front of the scene are deliberately kept low. Favourite scenes are then still visible but greater texture is achieved. You can also see here how photocopied buildings and even crude MDF mock-ups enable visualization of the entire scene. Leading lines take your eyes deeper into the scene via chimneys and stacks, roof lines, trees etc. as well as track, roads and rivers. Its good at this stage to spend time trying to note how your eye moves around the scene. In this way you can find dead spots where your eye needs to jump a long way and make changes to help smooth things out. Its also good to frame a square box with your fingers to view through.
Photo 5 - The two dioramas were set up on a table in the garage for a visitor from Australia (Mario) to best display both what I had been working on and what my intent was. During this process I noted the incredible depth of field when looking at the scene longways from right to left. It also dawned on me that this view would not be possible with my current design. I felt this depth of field was so powerful that another drastic redesign including cutting away several square feet of my layout was imperative. Again - setting these two chunks up complete with 3-D mock-ups lets you see what you can't see on paper. This change was pretty major, including adding a whole new main L-girder bearer to support the new layout shape, but I consider the work minor when compared to the improvement it has made.
Photo 6 - A gap for the view. Several changes have been made to the original plan. The engine facilities were moved and one yard track has been omitted to give room for a gap big enough to stand in and view the longitudinal scene. The overall width was also reduced to give better access to trackwork and the car ferry has been eliminated. The trackwork has also been simplified. I really do feel that this reduction of several square feet of real estate made the layout appear much bigger.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Thanks John and Curt.
OK - today I finished off picking out all the details and then went back around cleaning up and slips with the brown mix. I then started on the grouting with white soft pastel chalk.
Photo's 1&2 - show he side and back gable walls of the structure with the trim painted and the walls grouted.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
I love that top photo. What A beautiful scene. The structures are just gorgeous.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on December 10, 2020, 02:52:51 AM
Hey Mark:
I love that top photo. What A beautiful scene. The structures are just gorgeous.
Karl
Mark,
I agree with Karl. This scene is both wonderful and inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
Matt
Good looking building.
Excellent work Mark. The paint job on that Magnuson is inspiring.
Hi guys.
QuoteI love that top photo. What A beautiful scene. The structures are just gorgeous.
Thanks so much for your lovely compliment, Karl!
Thanks you also to Matt, Bob and Rusty, I'm pleased you like the walls of the Magnuson kit. The larger brick takes the chalk very nicely, and, as hoped, blended everything together.
I got the last of the mortar on this morning.
Photo 1 - shows one of the gable walls as I apply the chalk. I scrape the chalk straight on to the wall (bottom half) and work it in with a soft round brush (top half). I then use the oils on my fingers to further work it in and use a small brush to remove excess. I then spray lightly with a pastel fixative. I sometimes go over certain areas repeating this process.
Photos 2&3 - show a front and angled view.
As an aside, I noticed that the bottom far right window on the central front wall had no window frame on the left side. I cut a piece of strip styrene and glued into position before adding the mullion. I'm guessing this was an error in the master and I wonder just how many models there are on peoples layouts with this window frame missing!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looks awesome Mark.
Hey Mark:
Looks just great so far.
Karl
You sure knowhow to put a scene together. Beautiful work.
Jerry
Hi guys.
Thanks very much, Curt, Karl and Jerry!
Jerry - I get a lot of satisfaction from designing my scenes. I do also always put a lot of work into this stage.
As I've been working on my design for my Tickner's watchworks (hopefully in the mail from the states) I wanted to get the structure next to this a bit more firmed in. It had been my intention to scratch-build something out of timber. I'd gone as far as to cut out some basic shapes in extruded polystyrene and pin them together with nails. I liked the shapes I had created and wanted to keep the design fairly close to this.
Photo 1 - shows the site shape. There is a rail line in front of the pencil outline, a road to the back starting at 4 3/4" to the left and rising to 6 1/2" to the right. Another road crosses the railway track at left and rises from rail height to 1/2" at the left end of the pencil outline. This road then goes under the other road, curves around past my City Classics/ M T Arms kitbash, passes back under the other road, and then passes the side of the building site going off shot on my drawing in the top right corner on about a 45degree angle from left to right (passed the '90' - my metric measurement). At this point that road is approximately 3 1/2" in height.
Photo 2 - shows the extruded polystyrene mock-up in all its white glory.
I was having trouble with window placement, trying a few sketches (like the one on the plan), when I suddenly had a thought to try one of the brewery walls against the poly mock-up. Both my Scale Structures and Magnuson boxes were sitting on the table next to me. I held a gable wall in place and found it to be the right height, the right pitch and only slightly narrower. Further consideration led me to the realization that because I had indevoured to keep a 'likeness' to the front walls of my last kit-bash with this kit, I had left myself mainly with the square topped windows, which have a very different feel to the arch topped windows I used in the previous bash.
So - I collected together the walls, headed upstairs to the scanner, scanned them off and then printed off a couple of copies of each. Next I went on a scrap cardboard search and then sat down for the morning designing using the kit walls and building a new 3-D mock-up.
Photo 3 shows an aerial view of the new cardboard mock-up coming together. I did get a question from my wife in the kitchen at this stage "what happened to your cereal box?"
As I worked through this process I wondered about incorporating in my design the top right section on the plan facing the street that has curved past the City Classics/ M T Arms hotel kit-bash. I had mocked up a City Classsic's iron front for this position, but thought if I could make it look right, an addition to this kit-bash would be more logical. I tried a version with and without the walkover between the two protruding sections of the wall. In the end I decided I liked it better in, as it helped change up the look of the structure from my previous kit-bash, and it helped disguise that the two walls were identical.
Photo 4 - shows the mock-up without the walk over. You can see my angled addition in the top right corner. I might look at cutting a section out between the bottom windows and the freight door to get road access for loading here. This should also give you an idea of the lay of the land I envisage.
Photo 5 - shows the mock-up with the walkover.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Great looking mockup.
Hi again. Continuing on...
Below are a series of photos showing the new upcoming kit-bash in position. I added the other kit-bashes in their various stages of completion to the scene.
Photo 1 - looking slightly right to left. I considered raising the central section by half a story to accentuate the gables when looking from the left, but I think the raised roof line will hide too much of the Seymour kit-bash behind.
Photo 2 - A look down the curved road behind. I think there is some nice interest here. This is where I think that raised gable would work nicely. I might still mock it up to access its pros and cons. You can see there will be a lot of retaining walls to build here!
Photo 3 - shows the view from left to right. Again, I think a little added height to that gable might be worth investigating. I think the one story gable will work nicely as a shop front - perhaps out of a different medium?
Photo 4 - a view from right to left from a bit further back. Here is where you see how the raising of that gable will obscure more of the view of the Seymour shop fronts behind. In the end it will be a matter of weighing up what is most important. You can see the previous Magnuson brewery to the far left. It blends into the scene nicely. I seems to go almost grey.
Photo 5 - here is an aerial view. Its a nice example of how all my structures have to be built to fit their sites. Out of the box kits just don't work for me!
Photo 6 - shows my pencil drawing of Tickner's watchworks. There will still be a bit of design work to do when it arrives.
More soon, cheers, mark.
QuoteGreat looking mockup.
Thanks, Curt.
It was a fun day.
I found my plan of Sheepscot's coaling tower yesterday. I cut out a piece of MDF, attached it to a piece of 1"x2" and sellotape the plan to the MDF. I then put it into position on the layout. As I imagined the coal tower completely dominated the scene. I just found my eye repeated drawn back to it. Furthermore, the height of the tower meant it bisected the longways view down the layout. So my original design for a 25T coaling tower will go ahead.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Do you need plans for a 25t tower? There's a set in Model Railroader (that was used for the 25t kit I just built.) But frankly the 25t tower looks a little too small. 40t might be a better size, and it's not that much bigger.... I think Walthers has a 40t kit, but it's not that hard to scratchbuild, I think.
dave
I think ITLA's Albany Tower could find itself a home here too ;)
QuoteDo you need plans for a 25t tower?
Hi Dave - no, but thanks for the offer. I am part way through a build using parts from a Campbell kit and a set of plans from MRR with a few minor adjustments. I'm happy with the size and it suits my yard size. Its just that the Sheepscot kit came up on trade me a few years ago at a pretty reasonable price and I just had to have it!
Photo 1 - I added a close up of my coal tower mock-up with the plans taped on.
Photos 2-5 - show two views with the 25T coal tower compared to two views with the 150T coal tower. You have to imagine the width on the 150T coal tower - but even though the foot print is quite small, it is a huge structure. It just kind of screams 'look at me! Here I am!' and everything else seems to just fade into the background. I had the same issue with the Sylvan freighter. It looked like a cool kit but I always thought it would over power the scene and give true scale against my compressed city. I saw one made up at our train show and it was huge! I'm so pleased I never bought one! I think that's the thing with selective compression - you have to apply it to almost everything, or at least everything of any great size. Either that or not apply it at all. One makes the layout appear huge, the other makes the trains appear tiny. Both have their merits, but I think you mix the two at your own peril.
Cheers, Mark
Hi Rusty.
Maybe the Southside hotel?
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
The way you use mockups is fantastic. You sure have a lot of modeling planed for your future. The scene looks great.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on December 13, 2020, 09:27:27 PM
Hi Rusty.
Maybe the Southside hotel?
Cheers, Mark.
Another excellent choice
Quotethe way you use mockups is fantastic. You sure have a lot of modeling planed for your future. The scene looks great.
Thanks, John!
I think the coal tower(s) are a great example of how a simple mock-up can let you see very easily whether something will work or not. When standing at the end of the layout I can see the entire scene of the back wall diorama and the corner diorama over the top of the 25T coal tower. This is certainly not the case with the 150T coal tower! And of course this would be much worse with the 4" width added to it. I always think it is very important when looking at adding a new structure to consider whether the overall scene looks better without it.
Yes - I, too, have a lifetime of modeling ahead of me! I'm hoping that once we have this major landscaping chunk out of the way I will be able to put more time into my layout. I already have timber fillet stacked and stropped (should be very dry and very straight by now) ready for the commencement of stage 2!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A bit of progress. I got some paint on the DPM Seymour kit-bash.
Photo 1 - shows the two paint colours I used for the brickwork and the picture in the book I was aiming for.
Photo 2 - shows the colours I used for the trim. I was a little concerned with the brightness of the light green but hoped a dusting with chalk would tone it down enough.
Photo 3 - shows the front before grouting.
More in a sec, cheers, Mark.
continuing...
And here the kit-bash is after grouting with white chalk.
Photo 1 - shows the right front.
Photo 2 - shows the left front.
Photo 3 - The two shop fronts together.
Photo 4 - The left side.
Photo 5 - the left side and front.
I grouted the back and right side as well, but don't think these will be seen when on the layout.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Very nice Mark.
Great coloring on those. You sure can pick some good combo's!
Jerry
Love seeing those DPM kits put to good use like this. You're proving that they can be turned into some really nice looking structures. The coloring is spot on. :)
Thanks Curt, Jerry and Bob. I'm pleased you like my colour schemes.
Bob - Yes - I think a good number of these kits can be turned into lovely structures. Some of them I find the ornate details on the front walls a bit clunky and crude, but I think the Seymour block has some nice features. I also think it helps tremendously to change them up significantly into a one of a kind design.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I've been doing a bit of planning for a tricky spot on my layout. It started with me going through some kits, pulling out Campbell's Norm's boathouse, and then playing around with a three story kit-bash. I copied off walls from the elevations, made a mock-up, and put it into position. It didn't matter what I did, so much of the structure was completely hidden from view it was almost a waste of time. It also looked pretty crammed in. Eventually (after a lot of contemplation) I decided to try moving my Chippy Hollow mock-up to the far side of the track, and liked that a lot more. It opened up some nice views, and framed snapshots and gave a more natural open view by leaving a lot more open space in the form of a yard in the foreground. I added a road going across the track to serve the left end of the structure, and decided it might be nice to add a road tunnel suggesting the one lane road popped up on the far side of the hospital. I have found a lovely structure front of a New Zealand farmers dairy union which I plan to add to the right end. Access to this end will be via a shared rail road bridge crossing the river. I tried a few different stacks until I found a Crow River one I liked. The white plaster structure I think I will make a cabinet makers, and plan on adding an open aerial walkway over the river to the front plaster shop front, which will be a retail shop for the business. I recently bought a small Scale Structures kit, and I think the back wall of this will make a nice low office with scratch-built sides and back, keeping the view of Chippy Hollow open behind. I'll look at adding either a timber rack or a 3-story lean-to with stack at the back of the main cabinet makers workshop. Lots of details still to work out, but I feel this area is now working much better.
Photo 1 - shows an aerial shot of the area. The plaster structure was made up from Downtown Deco boneyard castings. I hand carved the stonework on the river side. This shot also shows the two-storied cabinet makers shop front which will connect to the main factory workshop by an aerial walkway across the river, shown here as a plaster wall and a piece of 3"x2".
Photo 2 - A better shot of the hand carved plaster wall. Directly to the right of the stack, on the other side of the track, is the cardboard front representing the Farmers union shown in photo 6. The small cardboard lean-to next to the stone bridge is a mock-up of the small shop to the right of the farmers union in photo 6. The row of shop fronts angling down to the bottom of the frame end with what will be the two-story shop front for the cabinet makers connected by and open aerial walkway over the river. I'm feeling like I'm leaning more towards a timber rack behind the main plaster structure and the omission of the stack. I feel the stack obscures a bit too much of the view behind. I can add a sluice gate to power the factory.
Photo 3 - The green building behind is to be replaced. Again, it is too tall and obscures too much of the view of the low relief structure. I'm thinking that the fronts of the Scale Structures small kit might work. I've also been looking at a couple of Mainstreet Heritage kits that might work here. This shot also shows the yard area along with the one lane road and road tunnel. I bought an N-scale tunnel mouth yesterday to replace the one I have in place as a prop. There will also need to be some retaining walls in this area, and I also bought some more hydrocal yesterday with this in mind.
Photo 4 - shows how Sam Cahoon's fishing pier frames the view nicely, creating a lovely snap shot.
Photo 5 - gives a good view of the road, the SS office and Chippy Hollows behind. This will leave me a further side wall of Chipp'y for a further kit-bash, and perhaps a gable wall. There may be a bit of further shuffling of Chippy's, as well as the addition of a small wedged shape connection between Chippy's and the NZ Farmers Union structure. Chippy's was bought as the wall and window/ door castings only.
Photo 6 - What a gorgeous photo! You can see why I felt I needed to incorporate a scratch-build of this scene somewhere on my layout. I had to separate the cute little shop and turn it 90 degrees to fit it into the scene. There is also a small water tower to add.
Well, I hope this has given you a bit more insight into my working process. It all started with a dead end mock-up of Norm's boathouse. I often hit dead ends in my design process, but they often lead to a realization of what you need to do.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
All looks just great. Where did you get the Chippy Hollow walls. Did you bust up your F&SM kit?
Karl
Hi Karl.
Thanks.
I bought the Chippy Hollow walls and window/ door castings off Jimmy of railroad kits on Ebay earlier this year.
He bought the spin molds off George, but didn't have the rights to produce entire kits. He has since sold them again (I think to Bill at Microlumina).
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on December 24, 2020, 10:42:07 PM
Hi Karl.
Thanks.
I bought the Chippy Hollow walls and window/ door castings off Jimmy of railroad kits on Ebay earlier this year.
He bought the spin molds off George, but didn't have the rights to produce entire kits. He has since sold them again (I think to Bruce Nickerson of Seaport Model works).
Cheers, Mark.
Bill at Microlumina bought the molds.
Thanks Craig.
I changed my above post to this. I'd listened to it on a podcast recently, but couldn't remember which episode. Bill sounded like he had a lot of projects on the go. He seemed a little overwhelmed.
Cheers, mark.
He really does.
He's been helping my locate something I think you all might be interested in from
George's molds.
Soon as he gets set up, I'll make a thread about it.
Hi guys.
Well, in the process of constructing my latest project - my second Fountain Brewery kitbash - I went off on a bit of a tangent when trying to decide what industry the kitbash would be. It dawned on me that I didn't know what all the industries on Tellynott were and so it was time to start a proper structure plan. I say start, because I still don't know what or where every structure will be/ go.
Below are a version without names, and a version with names. I'll fill in and update as I move forwards. There are actually very few gaps left in this area of Tellynott. I need to fill in the area in front of Goodrich Footware co. I'm thinking three small one story structures here, including a corner structure with a door on an angle. The next area is the back wall section between the pumping station and the Tellynott department store. Next is the loop to the right of the department store, and then the back right corner. The engine facilities are floating around in my head, but I have a scratchbuild of a 25T coal tower underway, and am hoping to also add a sand house, water tower, ash pit and outdoor inspection pit. The position of the coal tower is shown without colour. There will also be three hydraulic cranes to add to the length of track behind the three boats. There are, of course, lots of unfinished buildings, but I have for the first time since 2012, made up a list of what I want to achieve in 2021. I am trying to keep it logical and will be working on the section which includes the back wall diorama and the corner diorama. Basically from the Tellynott Hospital around to the unfinished loop and including Zealandia bicycles, Burkes railway station, the Palmolive factory, and everything behind the road which goes from behind the Palmolive factory around to the hospital.
This should hopefully provide enough variation to keep me motivated, with some design work, kitbashing, kit mingling, scratchbuilding and finishing work. It would be nice to finish the scenery as I go as well.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Love this, Mark.
Great selection of companies and names.
That is really cool looking.
Jerry
That will be outstanding Mark.
That is one heck of a business and manufacturing area Mark.....looking good. 8)
Thanks very much Craig, Jerry, Curt and Gregory.
I do enjoy a bit of planning for a change. Being my wife's school holidays until this coming week, we have had a number of visitors lately, and most have wanted a tour of our garden and a detour into the layout room. When people get excited about what I am doing I find it really motivates me. There was a lot of genuine interest, which was nice. One friend even made a second visit bringing her mother to see - who was most enthusiastic! Of course, our 2020 Easter convention has been postponed to Easter 2022, and so this is also in the back of my mind. Every time I walk into the layout room I'm looking to see what I think would make the most impact to the layout in the short term. Of course some form of logic has to be considered, and so working from the back walls to the track first makes a lot of sense.
Moving forwards I will make a list of the structures with the kits they are derived from (when applicable). I'll try to also create a plausible fictional history based on my 'what if' scenario. I'll also load some photos of my previous structure builds as we move through the dioramas.
Cheers, Mark.
Cheers, Mark,
I also like the names and locations of the structures. And, I also find that new visitors to my layout gives me a certain motivation.
What is the size of the entire layout diorama? Maybe I missed it. I went back and didn't see any demensions.
Tom ;D
QuoteI also like the names and locations of the structures. And, I also find that new visitors to my layout gives me a certain motivation.
What is the size of the entire layout diorama? Maybe I missed it. I went back and didn't see any dimensions.
Hi Tom.
Thanks for following along. I figured you must be wrong, but going back through my thread I couldn't find any measurements either! Sorry about that! Firstly, I've added some measurements to the plan I'm working on. A rough estimate gives me around 50 square feet of real estate. I would estimate that this would be about half of Tellynott, making Tellynott around 100 square feet, and that Tellynott would be a little less than half the total layout area - around 220 square feet all up. I'll get this closer moving forwards.
The two rooms combined as one give dimensions of 5.9m x 10m (19'4"x32'10"). Total area is 59m2 (635'squared).
The dimensions of Tellynott are 4.9mx3.75m (16'1"x12'3 1/2"). Total area (including isles) is 18.375m2 (198' squared).
The dimensions of Shadowlands and Tellynott are 8.5mx5.75m (28'x19'). Total area (including isles) is 48.875m (526' squared). Note - all these layout area measurements measure to the backdrops, but do not include layout framing or tolerances between layout walls and room walls, except when these are within overall measurements.
The photo below shows the measurements in metric (purple) and imperial (red). The area I hope to finish up this year is approximately 2.9mx.45m (9'6 1/2"x1'6"). Total area is 1.3m2 (14' squared). For me this will be a mammoth task and if I finish it I will be most pleased!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Getting caught up on this thread. I especially like the town map with the industries called out. IMO the types and number of industries and commercial shops sets the scene for both era and locale. Having that planned out in advance, even if it changes somewhat, helps keep you focused on your goal. Thanks for giving us the area measurements, it really helps put the photos into perspective. I really enjoy getting to follow along with your progress.
Mark
Wow - you have been busy with the planning since I last visited your build thread. I really like the plan view graphic with the names and types of businesses. I'm going to borrow that idea, as I take the plan for my large town of Vansel on the S&S RR to the next level. All the elevation changes are really going to make this a great scene. Your work is definitely motivating me to work on my layout.
QuoteGetting caught up on this thread. I especially like the town map with the industries called out. IMO the types and number of industries and commercial shops sets the scene for both era and locale. Having that planned out in advance, even if it changes somewhat, helps keep you focused on your goal. Thanks for giving us the area measurements, it really helps put the photos into perspective. I really enjoy getting to follow along with your progress.
Thanks very much, Jerry.
I found a lot of great information on a New Zealand online historical site. Among many other things it listed the sort of shops you would find in a small rural town through to a city. I thought this might be of interest to some of my followers so...
Small rural town - general store - which typically offered goods on credit to local farmers.
Village type rows of shops centered on the main road, typically on bus or tram routes...
grocer, pharmacy, stationer/ newsagent, butcher, hairdresser, post office, green grocer, baker.
Larger rows might also include...
real estate agent, confectioner, bank(s), draper, hardware store, jeweler, service station.
The city center had more variety with...
specialized small shops, chain stores, large emporiums, department stores.
You can see how this information would be very helpful. Not only for small village row shops like I will likely put in the peninsula of Ingelltown, but also for the original rows in Tellynott around which the larger city grew. It also shows me any obvious gaps I might have.
In regards to the measurements I find it really puts things in perspective too. For example, Zealandia bicycles, the kitbash I am working on now, is rather large, but within the plan of Tellynott it is quite tiny. Even the huge hospital doesn't look that big!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteWow - you have been busy with the planning since I last visited your build thread. I really like the plan view graphic with the names and types of businesses. I'm going to borrow that idea, as I take the plan for my large town of Vansel on the S&S RR to the next level. All the elevation changes are really going to make this a great scene. Your work is definitely motivating me to work on my layout.
Thanks, John.
I'm very pleased to help keep one of my main motivators motivated! I was undecided on whether it would be better to number and then list the industries or just use arrows. I'm sure if you were good with a computer it would be easy to change this around on a whim.
Yes - the elevation changes really bring the scene to life. They also make it possible to cram a lot more believably into the scene. It does, however, make it difficult to display this visually on a plan. I might look at adding some elevations to the roads.
Cheers, Mark.
I read the history and the back story of your layout Mark. The layout plan makes much more sense to me now Mark. Cheers.
Hey Mark:
Thanks for the info.
Karl
Hey Mark, I'm really enjoying watching your city scene come together, what a lot of work. I appreciate the effort on the track plan illustration, it makes it much easier to see what your overall idea is for your layout. You're doing some great work and I like your detailed explanations of your thought and building processes. Jeff
QuoteHey Mark, I'm really enjoying watching your city scene come together, what a lot of work. I appreciate the effort on the track plan illustration, it makes it much easier to see what your overall idea is for your layout. You're doing some great work and I like your detailed explanations of your thought and building processes.
Thanks so much Jeff.
Its great to get feedback like this. I enjoy all the planning and it often helps me get my head around what I am trying to achieve.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
QuoteHey Mark:
Thanks for the info.
You are very welcome, Karl.
So following on in the planning tangent.
Photo 1 - I found a plan I had done a few years back when I first thought of the potential for using Jacksons Bay with a rewritten history as the setting for my fictional layout. I did this before I started working on a track plan design for Shadowlands to get my head around where the track might go and for what purposes. I also used a geological map showing what minerals were where and then tried to think like a railway engineer, using the contour lines to help guide where the track might need to cross rivers valleys, spiral and pierce ridges to gain the height required. If you look carefully in the top left I have pit in a scale and a small map of New Zealand showing where the area I am modeling is.
Photo 2 - shows a schematic diagram of the layout as I have it planned so far. If we ignore the limeworks and the staging and return loop on out first pass, we can also think of this as a point to point between Tellynott and the staging (more schematic plans to come). Indeed we could do a full revolution and a bit to the return loop and then a full revolution and a bit back to Tellynott. I'd have to do some calculations but I believe that is around 17scale km (10.5scale miles) of track. With geared locos that should take some time to do. Exciting!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looking good Mark.
Thanks very much, Curt.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well I have some LBP to take to my friend, Neil's house tomorrow for modeling Thursday, and I felt like a bit of a change today. Last month my Tickner's Watchworks arrived from Scale Structures and I've been itching to see how it will kitbash to fit my spot. As with most of my kitbashes it is a bit of an exercise in selective compression. So I started by scanning the walls, enhancing the image a bit, and printing them off - 2 copies just in case. I then started cutting and pasting. Every time I cut a wall into pieces I photographed it. In this way I have a record of what I did when it comes time to kitbash for real. This will be a bit of a homage to George Sellios. My space dictates that it can't be quite the same, but it will certainly take its inspiration from George's bash of this kit. In fact, until recently, I didn't realize what kit is was. This has always been one of my very favouritee structures on the F&SM, and the spot on my layout was almost perfect for this kitbash.
Below are three photos of the walls and how I cut them.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Continuing...
So - the front wall I used stock standard. The left side wall also had several scale feet cut off the bottom. The back wall I cut several scale feet off the bottom and cut a section of the wall off including the door to the right. This will leave me the 45 degree bevel at the left end. The right end wall has been cut to give the left end of the structure along with the left return of the three story section. I will step the structure back at this point to allow room for a loading dock, approximately 5 1/2 scale feet. Between the back wall and the left wall I put a 12 degree angle in to align with the Peco turnouts.
Photo 1 - shows the mock-up from in front.
Photo 2 - shows it from the right.
Photo 3 - shows it from the left.
Photo 4 - shows the mock-up from above on an angle.
Photo 5 - shows it from above. You can see how it is designed to fit against the retaining walls supporting the roads.
Photo 6 - shows a close up. I put the stack at the right end.
I also put the left end wall at a slightly acute angle (around 80 degrees) to allow room for vehicle access to Zealandia cycle work's service center.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Coming along nicely. You did a great job with that brick building.
Karl
QuoteHey Mark:
Coming along nicely. You did a great job with that brick building.
Thanks, Karl.
I still have a few things to add to Zealandia cycle works. I was preparing some LBP for the loading docks and also for Burton Brewing company which I am starting to finish off. More on that soon.
I was quite pleased with the mock-up of Tickner's Watchworks. Even with only the scanned and printed walls you really get a feel for how the finished structure will look. It has such a unique look, being cast concrete cladding.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
The scene is going to look, fantastic. Your mock-ups really help visualize what's needed for the scene and the mechanics of the track work. Very well done.
Mark,
See your SS LTD kit of the Tickner's Watchworks arrived and you started planning how it will fit in on your S & T RR.
Remember the resin walls of the original Magnuson kit were very tacky before they were primed. Like the look of the concrete poured walls too.
Will follow along...
Tommy
QuoteThe scene is going to look, fantastic. Your mock-ups really help visualize what's needed for the scene and the mechanics of the track work. Very well done.
Thanks so much, John.
I think in this case, in particular, the mock-up really brought the structure to life. I'm really looking forward to building this one - even though I don't particularly enjoy working with resin (or at least this resin).
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteI see your SS LTD kit of the Tickner's Watchworks arrived and you started planning how it will fit in on your S & T RR.
Remember the resin walls of the original Magnuson kit were very tacky before they were primed. Like the look of the concrete poured walls too.
Will follow along...
Thanks, Tommy.
The kit was bought direct from Scale Structures, so the resin shouldn't be extremely tacky like the old Magnuson, stuff. It will, however, get a nice bath in dish washing liquid and water before priming.
Pleased to have you following along with my progress. I hope to get this one done in 2021 - but I do tend to jump around a bit.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
We have our annual modeling weekend at Arthurs pass (a beautiful spot in the mountains, on the east side of the Otira tunnel) coming up soon. Its a great weekend, but I need a project that will keep me busy all weekend, with lots of variety, and without horrid smelly glues. I decided it was time to tackle my sail makers structure. This is a mock-up that has been on my layout for years, largely influenced by James Powell's structure on his old layout. I get the feeling that James was influenced somewhat by Mainline and Sidings 'paper merchant' kit, which, in turn, was reproduced with a bit of a twist by Bar Mills. James's version is quite different to the other two, so different that I am really just guessing it was influenced by the paper merchant kit. Anyway, my version will be largely based on James, with my own take on things, and with a bit of inspiration from the paper merchant.
In order to tackle this project I decided it would be invaluable to have a decent set of plans to follow. I reserve the right to make amendments at any time during construction without council consent!
Photo 1 - shows the MDF mock-up.
Photo 2 - Is a plan showing the exterior walls with ground floor doors and windows, decks, soffit lines, stacks and rooftop water tower.
Photos 3 - 6 - show the different elevations, front, right, left and back. These are all marked at the bottom.
The main view will be of the front and right side. The central quad will not have any lower windows or doors, as this will not be visible. I am going to use Campbell windows for this one, and I will scratchbuild the freight doors.
Next is to prep the walls, windows and trim ready for the 26th - 28th of March.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark this is going to be another impressive addition!!
Jerry
Arthur's Pass is where my wife befriended a Kea... After we got into our car, the bird hopped up on the windshield wiper and I had a heckuva time getting it to leave.
dave
QuoteMark this is going to be another impressive addition!!
Thanks, Jerry.
It should be a fun project.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteArthur's Pass is where my wife befriended a Kea... After we got into our car, the bird hopped up on the windshield wiper and I had a heckuva time getting it to leave.
They are pretty good at dismantling cars too, Dave.
They are very intelligent. My sister used to live in the little township at the foot of Aoraki Mt Cook, and some of the workman kept noticing their hardware going missing. One day they discovered a kea in action. he had been stealing the shiny nails and screws and making a nice little collection on one of the flat roofs. Everything was neatly sorted into correct sizes and types in separate piles.
Cheers, Mark.
Very interesting.
That is going to be one impressive structure Mark.....looking forward to your build. :)
Hi guys.
Thanks very much, Karl and Greg.
Well the weekend away modeling is drawing close so I have been getting things organized.
Photo 1 - shows my different sidings weathered and 9 bags of stripwood all weathered and re-bagged along with some bracing. A bath of leather dye and alcohol and then run through a rag of titan buff for the stripwood, siding was painted with titan buff and then some grey splodged on and rubbed in, then the A&I applied.
Photo 2 - shows the windows and doors which were sanded, cleaned with dish washing liquid and water and primed with grey primer.
Like many of you I always find colour selection challenging. To help with this I made up a series of swatches in colours I thought might work. I also did a bit of a study into colour schemes I liked.
Photo 3 - shows all the swatches.
Photo 4 - shows my selection narrowed down a bit.
Photo 5 - shows my final selection. I'm giving a little history to the structure. I'm surmising that the two buildings were built to the left and the two buildings to the right as separate industries. At a later date one person acquired both sets of buildings and joined them together with the central structure. My intention is to paint the left two structures in French blue, the right to in Italian sage, and the joining structure in cool grey. Trim colours for all structures will be antique white.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
You are quite welcome. Look like you are moving right along.
Karl S
Great workmanship and fantastic tips. I will be following along and catching up on this great story.
Jim D
Hi guys.
Thanks, Jim. Great to have you following along on my journey.
Well I'm back from my trip away to Arthurs Pass so I guess I had better fill you in on my progress.
Firstly, on Saturday I started modeling at 5.40am and stopped just after 10pm. We stopped for a walk into town, lunch, and dinner out, but otherwise modeled all day. We also modeled from after lunch on Friday until bed time and from breakfast until lunch on Sunday.
I started by painting all my windows and door antique white. I did this with a piece of gym sock attached to a pair of reversible tweezers and dabbing with a fine brush with the bristles cut shorter.
I then painted some 6"x1" and some 3"x1" with antique white, again dry dabbing, and then scratchbuilt a set od freight doors.
Next it was out with my pre weathered siding. I had printed off a second set of my plans and cut out the walls. These I sorted into their various sidings and arranged to get the least wastage. I carefully marked and cut out the walls. As I cut out each wall piece I also marked and cut out all the openings. I consulted my set of plans many times, as well as making references to my mockup.
Photo 1 - shows the scratchbuilt freight doors.
Photo 2 - shows the scribed siding walls arranged for least wastage.
Photos 3 & 4 - show some of the walls.
More in a sec, cheers, Mark.
Hi again. (part 2 of two posts)
Of course, when cutting out the walls I had to deduct the width of the 6"x6" corner trim. This changes on whether it is an internal or external wall, so you have to keep your wits about you.
For the board and batten walls I really didn't have enough material so had to splice in a couple of places. I also saved some material by framing out the bottom story of the recessed wall with 6"x6" and 6"x2". I glued these to a piece of thin styrene and painted the area behind the freight doors black.
Photo 1 - shows the recessed wall.
I painted under all the underside of the clapboard siding (both plain and random clapboard was used) in my chosen colour(s) using a very fine brush. A bit of a tedious exercise when doing this many walls, but one I believe to be necessary when painting using a dry dabbing technique. (Under the laps of the board above is where the paint stays on the longest.) I then followed up with dry dabbing with a inside out gym sock. I added nail holes and board joins to all the scribed siding and clapboard walls (the board and batten I didn't as the battens should hide the nailing, and I've found if I try to add nailing to the battens I cause damage). I then followed up with and ink wash to accentuate.
Photo 2 - shows the majority of the walls (four are missing) laid out.
I then started work on the styrene base. Again, there was a lot of referencing the plans and different elevations, checking measurements with the actual walls, and deduction of the wall thickness.
Photo 3 - shows the styrene base.
Once I was happy with this (slight modifications can be made, often necessary on a structure this complex by compounding small errors, by gluing strips of styrene to the edge of the base, or cutting further material off) I started on construction.
Photo 4 shows assembly beginning.
As I went I glazed the windows, glued them into the structure and added blinds.
Photo 5 - shows the first structure glued together.
One wall was extra tricky, as it was easiest to splice three walls together, the left and right walls facing the back and the middle wall facing the front. I started with this wall so I could tweak as necessary and get the most difficult one done first.
Photo 6 - shows the large 3-in-1 wall glued in position.
Well - that's it. I really feel like I got my teeth sunk into this project. It was very nice to make such a concentrated effort and see heaps of progress in a short amount of time.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Nice progress Mark. I think you build faster than I can type! ;)
Jerry
QuoteNice progress Mark. I think you build faster than I can type!
Thanks, Jerry!
I found with a big concentrated effort that I didn't have to keep trying to remember what stage I was up to, so I think things went a bit quicker. I wish I could put that much time into my hobby every week!
Cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Coming along very nicely.
Karl
Thanks, Karl.
Here is a photo of the modeling crew at Arthurs Pass. I'm near the center wearing the black T-shirt. the left half of the table is my modeling space. You can see how much mess I can get into in just one weekend! Mind you - it was a fairly big project.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Great progress on the build Mark.....and quite the "crew". 8)
Hi guys.
Thanks Gregory - it was a lot of fun.
Well - a bit more progress. We are down from 23 walls to 10, so its getting easier to find what I need next. I've put in a fair bit of internal bracing. The clapboard needs vertical bracing, while the scribed siding needs horizontal bracing. I've also put bracing up and down the rakes of the gable walls. My usual procedure is to glue the 6"x6" corner trim on first, with the wall upside down so the 6"x6" sits a little proud of the siding (like the prototype). I always glue my trim to the gable ends so I get a nice angled cut in line with the gable. Once the glue is set I trim the 6"x6" with the bottom and top of the wall. I then flip the wall over and add bracing. A piece up each side in line with the meeting of the wall and the trim, pieces up the rake of any gable, and bracing to stop the wall from cupping, direction depending on the grain of the siding. Next glazing the windows, gluing the windows into the wall, and adding blinds. I then use canopy glue to glue each wall to its neighbour, and CA to glue the bottom of each wall to the base.
Photo 1 - view from the back left.
Photo 2 - view from the front right.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
It looks like there was a lot of modeling going on at your outing. It is really nice to get to share the hobby with friends. Nice progress on the wall sections - I can't wait to see them on the layout.
QuoteIt looks like there was a lot of modeling going on at your outing. It is really nice to get to share the hobby with friends. Nice progress on the wall sections - I can't wait to see them on the layout.
Thanks, John.
It was a great weekend. I had such a great time that I have already organized another modeling weekend here.
Continuing on...
I am down to 4 walls left to assemble on my Arthurs Pass project. There are a number of freight doors to scratchbuild for these. I was looking for signage today and have found what I think is a really good extension idea - downwards! More on that later. I was advised on my weekend away that my structure didn't have any rooms big enough to be a sail makers. Apparently, the sail shapes were marked out on the floor in chalk and then the sails cut to these lines. As this is a collection of smaller buildings, there is only enough room to make small sails. I've been rethinking this structures purpose and I think a ships chandler to the right and a boat builder/ repair shop to the left. Again, there will only be enough room for small boats, but perhaps small sails could be made upstairs. Offices and sales will be to the rear, where there will be road access.
In other news - after standing and staring at my layout for some time I finally got brave and made some mess. As I have mentioned earlier, my backwall diorama has grown so much in mass that it has become obvious that it now needs to be cut into smaller sections. I cut out the first of these today. I will now be able to work on this section at the workbench.
Photo 1 - shows the new hole in the layout.
Photo 2 - shows the new smaller 'chunk' or diorama. It is approximately 500mm by 400mm which is just over 2 square feet. It will be occupied by my City Classics/ DPM M. T. Arms hotel kitbash, my block of 2 shops, Zealandia cycle works, and one more City Classics kitbash, yet to be started. There are two bridges to build and numerous retaining walls. It should be fun to create some landscape in 1:87 instead of (well - as well as) 1:1.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Cheers Mark,
Wow, two months since I was here. Time just goes by to fast these days.
Thanks for the dimensions on the layout/diorama. You've done a fantastic job getting the structures. In place. I'm amazed at how much you've accomplished in the past couple of months. I hope to get back on the fast track as well in the coming weeks.
Again, great job and extremely well done!
Tom ;D
Hey Mark:
Looking good.
Karl
QuoteCheers Mark,
Wow, two months since I was here. Time just goes by to fast these days.
Thanks for the dimensions on the layout/diorama. You've done a fantastic job getting the structures. In place. I'm amazed at how much you've accomplished in the past couple of months. I hope to get back on the fast track as well in the coming weeks.
Again, great job and extremely well done!
Thanks so much, Tom.
It feels a bit odd to be being called fast by you! Pleased to see you indulging in a week of modeling. Well deserved! Yes - the older we get the fasted time seems to go. Maybe its a percentage thing. When you are five, a year is a fifth of your life - when you are 60... Having said that, March last year lasted for a full year - I'm sure!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteHey Mark:
Looking good.
Thanks, Karl.
It will be nice to work on some scenery for a change.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I thought I'd mock-up this diorama so you can get a feel for what it will look like when done. There was a lot of consideration (and procrastination) put into where was best to cut this diorama. As I got into the cutting process there was also some revising to make things easier or even possible.
Photo 1 - shows an aerial view from the right.
Photo 2 - shows and aerial view from above.
Photo 3 - shows and aerial view from the left.
Photo 4 - shows a view from the front.
Photo 5 - shows a view from the right.
Photo 6 - shows a view from the left.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
The mockup looks great. Are any of the roadways I see in the mockup going to be rail lines?
QuoteThe mockup looks great. Are any of the roadways I see in the mockup going to be rail lines?
Thanks, John.
No. I have thought about tram lines, but I think if I do that I will put them over to the peninsula where there are no railway lines (visible - there will be staging and a reverse cutoff underneath Ingelltown).
Cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
All I can say is WOWIE???
Karl
QuoteHey Mark:
All I can say is WOWIE???
Thanks, Karl.
Hi guys.
Well - a bit more standing and trying to decide where to cut the rest of the back wall diorama to create two dioramas. I tried to cut where made the most sense. I came up with two different solutions so went and did some 1:1 scale fencing. Before cooking dinner I made a decision, got out my various saws, and made some more mess. After hoovering up the sawdust I took some photos of my new dioramas. There was still a small piece left on the layout to cut out that will be attached to the middle diorama when I took these photos. I have now done this and it is presently gluing to the rest of the middle diorama.
Photo 1 - shows an aerial shot of the three dioramas with a slight gap between them to show the cut lines.
Photo 2 - shows the left diorama. This diorama sits next to the corner diorama.
Photo 3 - shows the middle diorama - without the small front addition added.
Photo 4 - shows the right diorama, as shown previously.
I'll try to find time to mock up the left and middle diorama tomorrow. You can see why I needed to cut this back wall diorama up! There is still a small piece left of it to the right of the right diorama. I will probably create 2 more dioramas between here and the right end wall. These new chunks will be so much easier to handle.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Looks like the scenery is started.
Karl
QuoteHey Mark:
Looks like the scenery is started.
Sure has, Karl.
It might be a nice project to have one of these dioramas ready to work on for the upcoming modeling weekend next month.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well I got the middle diorama mocked up in my break this morning. This is the one that had a small piece to be attached. This supports the track at the left end. You can see how I stepped my cut to fit around the Palmolive factory. this will need to have a piece routered out of the base to bring the track down to the level of the surrounding track. I will have to refer to earlier photos to get placement of the structures finalized - but its pretty close. The low relief structures against the backdrop my be revised. The station and signal box is based on Burkes - a NZ station that I have always loved. It should be a fun scratchbuild.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Here is the left diorama mocked up.
The stream will come out of a pipe in a retaining wall opposite the Magnuson water works kitbash and cascade down the hill behind the block of shops, under the bridge and in front of the Boxing gym. The wooden structure is FOS Hollender's boxing gym. My intention is to put a slight angle in the center.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Very nice, Mark. The overall layout is very dynamic and, again, I must applaud your planning efforts. Looking forward to seeing more.
QuoteVery nice, Mark. The overall layout is very dynamic and, again, I must applaud your planning efforts. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks, Craig.
It was one of those jobs that I knew I needed to do, but had been putting off. Its nice to have it done. Now I just have to decide which chunk to start on...
Cheers, Mark.
hey mark:
coming along very nicely. Can't wait to see more of this .
Karl
Quotecoming along very nicely. Can't wait to see more of this .
Thanks, Karl.
Great to have you following along.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - I've made a bit more progress with the diorama. Some rock castings, most of the first road bridge, some footpaths. I've also kitbashed the last structure for the right back corner of the diorama and started painting it.
This last weekend I hosted a modeling weekend in my garage. Four friends and me. Lots of laughs, good music and some great modeling. I provided lunch on both days and my wife did some home baking for us, and we all went out for dinner on the Saturday night at our local - 2 fat possums. I'm hoping to make this a 6 monthly thing.
On the Sunday I'd got tired of trying to cut in paint around the windows of my new City Classics kitbash, so I went back to working on the Ships Chandlers, sailmakers and boat builders that I started at Arthurs Pass. After my last trip to Dunedin to see our son I'd come up with an idea for an extension to the complex. On the Saturday we went to Moeraki where we stayed the night and had dinner and brunch at Fleurs Place, the famous seafood restaurant. the restaurant is housed in a cool old structure with many add ons that used to be a whaling station site. There is also the ruminants of rails coming out of the sea (where the boats used to be pulled up for repairs - I'm guessing, although perhaps it was for pulling whales up). Anyway - those rails coming out of the sea set a seed in my mind.
I'd already decided that the complex was two businesses that had been taken over by one company and joined together by the central lean to. So it made sense that the two structures to the left had been built first. To these two structures I added a retaining sea wall following their perimeter. In this way I could extend the building downwards, making it a small boat repair shop. The floor above seems big enough for a corresponding small boat sail makers. This sea wall I built out of Wills plasticard dressed stonework. The corners were mitered and glued together with CA. I then primed with dullcote and painted using the leopard spot method using Woodland Scenics paints - full strength. Using 6x1" and 2x1" stripwood I scratchbuilt the boat works doors. I then framed these with 6x2" and glued to the wall. Tracks will sit on the top of the timber attached to the front of the sea wall, coming out of the water. As you can see I have also made up my other doors and assembled the last of the structure. The remainder of the structure will be on a wharf. The two buildings to the right will house the ships chandlers. I'll probably open those two sets of doors a bit more and add some action just within. Again - I'm pleased with my decision to paint the complex in three different colours with white trim, and I think the grey/ brown of the sea wall helps bring it all together.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Great modeling, it really looks nice.
Wonderful! Wonderful modeling once again!!
Jerry
Hey Mark:
Wow!!!!! That is really starting to look just great. Can't wait to see more.
Karl
QuoteGreat modeling, it really looks nice.
Thanks, John. I think its the first time I've added an extension downwards.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteWonderful! Wonderful modeling once again!!
Thanks, Jerry!
I'm getting better at these scratchbuilt doors. I've already run out of 6x1" and 3x1" lumber. Another order to Northeastern scale lumber soon...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteWow!!!!! That is really starting to look just great. Can't wait to see more.
Thanks, Karl.
More to come soon...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
These wharfs sure swallow up the timber!
I bought Campbell's Norms fishing pier off trade me a while ago for a pretty reasonable price - with the intention of repurposing it for the wharf for my sailmakers, boat builders and ships chandlers. To start with I studied the plans closely and using spans and structural elements as a guide, drew up my own plan for my wharf. I mocked up the wharf and structure atop with boats docked at this wharf and the wharf opposite. I decided that two boats in this small harbour looked too congested, so decided to add a small floating dock to the side of the Ships chandlers wharf in place of a second boat. I now have too many boats! I also tried moving the structure and wharf back by half an inch to make room for a slightly larger boat in front, as well as trying adding a quarter inch in height. Both these adjustments, although small, changed the visual dynamic of the scene and so the positioning and height will remain as they are.
I cut a piece of 2mm MDF to the shape of half the inlet. It would have been good to do the whole inlet in one go, but I wanted to keep the size of the diorama manageable. I cut the 12 degree cut with a drop saw, as well as cutting a second piece for the other diorama base - so I should get a good, tight join. I painted the base with burnt umber, oxide green and smeared in unbleached titanium. I'm not sure if I'm happy with my colour yet. I taped the plan on top of the MDF and marked the center of all the piles using a compass. I then removed the plan and drilled the pile holes with a 5mm drill bit. I figured this would be the best way of insuring the piles were installed plumb.
A large amount of scale lumber - piles, bearers, joists, decking and braces, as well as timber for the small upper decks and stairway were weathered and stained. Weathering was done with a fine razor saw and 180 grit sandpaper. It took four baths in my leather dye and alcohol bath to stain it all. This did give slightly different strengths due to the different bath durations. To allow for this I stained a small amount of all the different sizes of timber in each bath. The Campbell kit provides sheets of decking, which I will use under the structures. I managed to get together enough stripwood from other sources to do the visible deck in individual boards. I used decking the same thickness as the sheet decking. I may pull some of the stripwood through a paper towel soaked in titan buff for some variation.
Photo 1 - shows my plan. I spent ages getting my spacings right. I have also designed the subfloor so that I can run the decking in two directions joining with a stagger pattern at the 45.
Photo 2 - shows the 2mm MDF with the holes drilled for the piles.
Photo 3 - shows the four bath loads of timber.
Photo 4 - is a close up showing the razor saw grain in the piles.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
The wharf is really going to be a great focal point. I like how you plan your dioramas so they are manageable for give you the best possible viewing.
Looking forward to more on this.
Cheers, Tom
Hey Mark:
You are quite welcome.
Karl
Impressive dock plan.....looking forward to seeing your build Mark. :)
Mark
Looks like a great project. I love projects that require lots of strip wood.
QuoteThe wharf is really going to be a great focal point. I like how you plan your dioramas so they are manageable for give you the best possible viewing.
Looking forward to more on this.
Thanks, Tom.
Yes. Again, there is a lot of work in this one - but also a lot of fun. It was funny how such slight changes to the positioning and height of the wharf and structure seemed to have such a big impact. I was really keen to make room for another boat - but not at the sacrifice of what looked right. I couldn't imagine building a structure and then trying to fit it on the layout. I've done it once and it took me 7 years to place it!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteImpressive dock plan.....looking forward to seeing your build Mark.
Thanks, Gregory.
I've started putting together the bents...
Cheers, Mark
QuoteLooks like a great project. I love projects that require lots of strip wood.
Thanks, John.
Yes - I feel another Northeastern scale lumber order coming on. Shipping times are rather random at present. I was talking to a chap who waited 9 months for an order. Ordered last May, arrived this February. He tracked it and it bounced all over the world. Even arrived in Auckland, NZ, then went to Sydney before coming to Christchurch! I'm at 5 weeks for my replacement Scale structures wall - so guess I can't complain yet...
Cheers, Mark.
One of Campbells finest plans. I'm sure positively you'll make this into a masterpiece when done.
Jerry
QuoteOne of Campbells finest plans. I'm sure positively you'll make this into a masterpiece when done.
Thanks very much, Jerry.
And I'll have fun trying!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I thought I'd give a quick update this rainy Sunday morning. We've had 80mm (3 1/4") since 3pm yesterday and there is still another 100mm (4") to come. That's a lot of rain for Canterbury. We have a red weather alert, and rivers will no doubt burst their banks today and tomorrow.
Photo 1 - I cut out a polystyrene base to sit under the part of the structure on tera firma, and to attach the retaining wall to. I glued this to my 2mm MDF base. I glued all my bearer piles to the bottom of the bearers and test fitted them into my 5mm holes.
Photo 2 - I taped a piece of lunch paper over my plan and cut and spot glued my joists to the plan. I cut the pieces of decking board which sit under the structure to size and glued these in position. There will be some of this visible in the central quad of the structure and behind the structure, but all the highly visible decking will be individual boards. I'm about to start on these individual boards now.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Wow- you are moving right along - it looks good Mark. Stay safe that is a lot of water all at once.
QuoteWow- you are moving right along - it looks good Mark. Stay safe that is a lot of water all at once.
Thanks, John.
It was a great day for a job like this!
Fortunately, I put the pig house in the high corner of their paddock. It is now the only corner not under water! It is certainly the most rain we have seen since we moved here nearly four years ago. The city of Christchurch will struggle tonight and in the morning with the tidal parts of the two rivers - especially as we have king tides at present. So far we have had 120mm (nearly 5") of rain here according to our rain gauge.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - here is todays efforts.
Photo 1 - shows the decking going on.
Photo 2 - shows the decking completed.
Photo 3 - shows a close up of the 45 degree meeting plane. We used this technique on a 1:1 scale deck at work a few years ago and I thought it looked very smart. Now I have a 1:87 scale one too!
Timber was worked out exactly right - I had no decking timber left over - until I picked up my ruler and found one length...
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Wow, the deck looks really great. I love the angled deck boards and how the all fit together. It will look perfect when the structures are in place.
Tom ;D
Mark
Beautiful work, my friend. It is really nice to see a good plan come together. I can't wait to see it installed on your layout.
QuoteWow, the deck looks really great. I love the angled deck boards and how the all fit together. It will look perfect when the structures are in place.
Thanks so much, Tom.
I'm pleased you like the interlocking look. It was quite a bit of extra effort in the design and construction stage. I've been working on a 1:1 scale pergola - 24'x10'. I'm not sure which has been more work!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteBeautiful work, my friend. It is really nice to see a good plan come together. I can't wait to see it installed on your layout.
Thank you for your kind words, John.
I'm on to the nail holes now - which I do with a compass. I do enjoy the planning stage - especially drawing up a full set of plans. It really makes it feel like scratchbuilding.
Rain continues to fall here - although it eased off through the night and our free draining land swallowed up most of the flooding. The pigs hadn't floated away over night and were their usual vocal selves at breakfast time! More rain expected until around 6pm tonight. several farmers moving stock to higher ground got stranded when a river burst its stock banks and had to be heli-lifted out, and one man was washed down a river in his car - now in a serious condition in hospital. Lots of road closures, wash outs, slips and evacuations. Funny - we were crying out for rain through summer and early autumn. it seems we got it all in one hit and when it is too cold for anything to grow. Its the first day of winter tomorrow!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on May 30, 2021, 05:21:26 PM
QuoteBeautiful work, my friend. It is really nice to see a good plan come together. I can't wait to see it installed on your layout.
Thank you for your kind words, John.
I'm on to the nail holes now - which I do with a compass. I do enjoy the planning stage - especially drawing up a full set of plans. It really makes it feel like scratchbuilding.
Rain continues to fall here - although it eased off through the night and our free draining land swallowed up most of the flooding. The pigs hadn't floated away over night and were their usual vocal selves at breakfast time! More rain expected until around 6pm tonight. several farmers moving stock to higher ground got stranded when a river burst its stock banks and had to be heli-lifted out, and one man was washed down a river in his car - now in a serious condition in hospital. Lots of road closures, wash outs, slips and evacuations. Funny - we were crying out for rain through summer and early autumn. it seems we got it all in one hit and when it is too cold for anything to grow. Its the first day of winter tomorrow!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Your comment about making the nail holes with a compass prompted me to take a couple pictures of one of the most used tools on my workbench. This Monster Nailer is a tool that Jimmy used to hand out at train shows to promote his Monster Modelworks business. It has a single needle mounted on one end and a double perfect for the nail holes in a 2x8 on the other. I have been going to make a couple more because I'm always looking for the one I have. The color does help me find it. Jimmy really did some nice Engineering on this little tool. I would take a few minutes and make yourself one for this job - I know you will keep using it on the many jobs you have to come. I have never seen them for sale but if I ever did I would buy a half dozen.
Stay safe, all that water is scary. We have had flooding like that here in Michigan from big storms like you are having. We lost some dams last summer that really did a lot of damage.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300521183146-49301762.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300521183146-49333351.jpeg)
hey John:
Looks just great as always.
Karl
Hi guys.
Thanks John and Karl.
John - It looks like a cool little tool. I'll give one a go. Interestingly, after putting all the nailholes in the deck I gave things a wash with my alcohol and dye mix and when it dried they all disappeared. I've never had that happen before - must be something to do with the grain of the sugar pine versus bass wood. I gave it a stronger mix to try to bring them out but only darkened the timber. I might have to lighten it yet - still undecided. Oh - and we have the same granite bench tops.
OK.
Photo 1 - shows the stone retaining sea wall painted, mortared and glued to the polystyrene base. The sea wall under the structure butts up against the sea wall shown at left. I used Selley's quick grab to glue.
Photo 2 - shows the structure being glued to the deck. I used Aleene's tacky glue for this to give me a bit of time to get things lined up. I clamped the two clamps to both a piece of flat glass and the table.
Photo 3 - shows my construction method for my smaller decks. Pretty simple. A plan drawn showing joists and bearers, taped to the cutting mat, a piece of baking paper cut and taped over the top, spots of canopy glue added for the bearers and away you go.
Photo 4 - shows the deck almost completed from underneath. I still have the post braces to add - and the spots of glue on the bearers to remove. Somehow, one of the bearers moved while constructing and I didn't notice. I'll have to fix this too.
Photo 5 - shows the other small lower deck built and sitting in position. I have purposely left a small gap between the deck and the wall, as the sliding door on the wall at 90 degrees to this one will need to slide down here.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
I have had the same problem with the sugar pine strip wood from campbell kits. My solution was to use black soft pastel chalk and alcohol and I applied it right on the nail hole with a toothpick. I can not explain what happens to the ink but it disappeared for me, too.
Hey Mark:
Looking just great.
Karl
QuoteI have had the same problem with the sugar pine strip wood from campbell kits. My solution was to use black soft pastel chalk and alcohol and I applied it right on the nail hole with a toothpick. I can not explain what happens to the ink but it disappeared for me, too.
Thanks, John.
I'll probably just leave it as is.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteHey Mark:
Looking just great.
Thanks, Karl - much appreciated.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A little more progress.
Photo 1 - shows the deck at the right, back corner of the structure along with the sliding door added.
Photo 2 - shows my sailmakers sign. I framed it in 4x2" timber painted antique white.
Photo 3 - shows the deck at the front right corner and the other sliding door added. I made overhead runners for the sliding doors from strip plastic and added Vector Cut hinges to represent some metal flat hooks which run on the bracket under the pelmet (or perhaps they have wheels attached at the top). You can also see the boat builders sign.
Photo 4 - shows me gluing the piles in position and adding cross bracing. I made up some spacers to keep the height equal.
Photo 5 - Here is my modeling buddy, Neil, working on a weeping willow in 1:32 scale. He has been working on this tree for three weeks now. He still has a way to go.
Photo 6 - Here is a close up of the tree.
I'm also well on the way with the roofing.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Great work Mark! Nice coloring and sign!
And your friend is doing a fine job with the tree!
Jerry
Mark
Beautiful work, once again. The deck looks great - I stored a couple of your pictures in my waterfront project file. ;) Inspirational work, thank you for sharing it with us. That weeping willow tree is amazing.
QuoteGreat work Mark! Nice coloring and sign!
And your friend is doing a fine job with the tree!
Thanks for the kind words, Jerry.
I am always drawn more to colour than anything else when searching for signs. I felt the red on the Norton boatbuilders sign really popped, especially when framed with the antique white trim.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteBeautiful work, once again. The deck looks great - I stored a couple of your pictures in my waterfront project file. ;) Inspirational work, thank you for sharing it with us. That weeping willow tree is amazing.
Thanks so much, John.
I decided to build it as two separate pieces (bearers and piles/ joists and decking with structure attached) to allow me to scenic under the wharf. I'm hoping I'll find room to get tools in there and do what I need. Time will tell...
Neil does some great work on his scenery. I must take a couple of overall photos next time I'm in his basement.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I thought I'd stop by and upload a couple of photos with the roofs on and the last of the cross braces attached to the piles. I thought I had allowed heaps of 8x2" timber for those cross braces - there isn't much left over! The lengths worked out will for my stock - 6 pieces cut on the chopper per stick and there was an offcut about 3mm long. We like that! I'll add some nut-bolt-washer castings to the outside braces, and maybe the next row in (depending on how difficult it is). Beyond that I don't think you'll be able to see. I may add some dots of rust further back in the right position.
The roof pieces still need their ridging added before painting. The small lean-to roof will also be clad in corrugated metal and the central lean-to roof will be clad in rolled roofing. Fly rafters and rafter tails will be added in antique white from 6x2" timber. I always put my fly rafters at the very extremity of the roof. Many modelers seem to put them hard up against the gable walls, and leave the 2' soffits unsupported. The gable wall behind the cladding supports the roof and so rafters added to the side of the cladding are nothing more than expensive and unnecessary trim. I'll try and remember to draw a diagram of how we used to usually attach fly rafters when building houses.
Photo 1 - shows the bearers and piles with the cross bracing completed. You can see I have long thin rectangles in which to get my fat fingers and tools in for landscaping/ seascaping...hopefully!
Photo 2 - shows the deck and structure slotted in position.
Photo 3 - shows the structure from above showing the different roofing materials.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
he Mark:
looking just great so far.
Karl
The wharf looks great Mark..... 8)
Nice work. And a great looking wharf scene!!
Jerry
Hi guys.
Thanks so much for looking in and the nice comments, Karl, Gregory and Jerry.
I've been playing around with some lighting - something I haven't tried before. Still a bit more playing to be done, but I'm liking the effects. The light shining through hose partially opened doors is pretty cool. I'm pleased I did them with 6x1" rather than 6x2".
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
This wharf project is looking fantastic. I really like how you have the building and roofs at different angles. Makes the entire diorama look very natural for the setting.
Great job on your first attempt at lighting. I'm assuming you are using LEDs as you didn't specify otherwise.
Very nice on all of it.
Tom ;D
QuoteThis wharf project is looking fantastic. I really like how you have the building and roofs at different angles. Makes the entire diorama look very natural for the setting.
Great job on your first attempt at lighting. I'm assuming you are using LEDs as you didn't specify otherwise.
Very nice on all of it.
Thanks, Tom.
Yes - LED's. I was given a Woodland Scenics transformer, light hub and a couple of stick on LED's. I bought a few other accessories to add to it and see what I thought.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Here is a couple of shots with some details added to the interior of the boat shop. I added decking to the floor, added a suitable interior division wall image, attached to some card, and painted and added some details - drums, crates and shelving. A figure or two still to add.
Photo 1 - shows the view from above with the roof removed.
Photo 2 - shows the view through the doors.
Photo 3 - shows the same view at night.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Looks great. Love the light over the sign.
Karl
That working gooseneck lamp is AWESOME!
Mark
This really looks great. I love the peak inside the door with all the details and the lighting is fantastic.
Excellent job with Norton's Mark..... 8)
Hi guys.
Thanks very much, Karl, Craig, John and Greg - I'm pleased you all like my first attempt at lighting. More to come!
Well - a slight change in tac today. We have a modeling weekend coming up in a couple of weeks at my friend, Barry's house in Timaru. I don't like to take anything too fragile to such occasions as they often seem to suffer damage in transit. Typically I try to be organised with a new project to get underway so I started working on preparations for this. I chose my passenger station for the weekend away, and this will be based on the station at Burkes. The link below has a photo of the station and signal tower, along with a partial set of plans. Just click on them to enlarge. as you can see she is a real little honey, and a perfect fit for my limited space. I will still have to do a little compression - but not much. Interestingly, I drew my own set of plans based on the photo (that I had in a book), before finding these plans. I was quite impressed with how close I got the dimensions to the prototype by just using a standard door height as a starting point.
https://www.nzmrg.org.nz/product-mainmenu-0/product-650/burkes-station-and-signal-box
Luckily, I recently made use of the Tichy Train roof sale, and so had a lot of windows to choose from. I still, of course, did not have what I needed, and so had to fabricate some windows fit for purpose.
Photo 1 - shows the starting point. These will be the gable end windows on the signal box. This is where I will have to compress the structure slightly, and so a Tichy 8070 was used giving a double sash instead of a triple.
Photo 2 - shows how I cut the window. I carefully sanded both parts of the window.
Photo 3 - shows the two sections being glued together with CA. I found my steel rule very helpful here. The window is upside down.
Photo 4 - shows the newly fabricated window. The glue residue should be hidden by the primer.
Photo 5 - I did the same thing with a Tichy 8065.
I also used Tichy 8068 windows for the three windows in the bottom story of the signal tower and cut the vertical mullions out. I also chose to use a Tichy 8071 for the front and side window on the station building. This is a 8/8, but is the right size. A Tichy 8217 6/6 would have been perfect - but, of course, I don't have any of those!
Next up will be prepping the windows , siding, stripwood and other details required.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - a great weekend away in Timaru and a fair bit to show for it. We arrived around 4.30pm on the Friday and modeled into the evening. Saturday we modeled from around 8am to 11pm, with a trip to the local train show in the morning and dinner out. Sunday we modeled from 8am to 4.30pm before making our way home. We also got to see Barry's progress on his layout on Sunday, which is looking fabulous.
I had my windows and doors fabricated and primed, my stripwood and siding weathered and my plans sized. I had also made a mockup which I had test fitted on the layout. My paint colours were chosen and I was ready to go.
First up was cutting the walls out and then cutting the openings. I shortened the sides of the signal tower to suit my fabricated window - about a scale foot shorter than the plans. The sides were cut the thickness of two pieces of 6"x6" shorter to allow for the corner trim. After this was done I painted the walls in buff titanium and the trim in heritage red. The walls required two coats. I then added some corner trim on the gable walls and cut some bases from 1.5mm styrene. The walls were assembled using canopy glue and CA on the corner trim. The windows were glazed and glued in place. I added a second story floor to the signal tower before adding the back wall and painted some of the interiors (those I couldn't get to later) black.
Next was to draw up a plan of the decking - bearers, joists and the outside perimeter. I taped this plan to the cutting board and taped some lunch paper over the plan. Bearers were then spot glued to the lunch paper and joists to the bearers. I ran three joists along the length of the platform and five at the ends where they will be seen. I cut my 8"x2" decking on my chopper, varying the length slightly for variation. I glued down the decking with the structures in position to get a nice tight fit. the decking will get flipped and short piles added to raise it slightly. Lastly I made up the stairs to the signal tower and the small deck for the signal tower veranda.
Photos below show my weekend's achievement.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Very nice work.
Mark very nice indeed!
Jerry
Hey Mark:
Looks just beautiful.
Karl
Lots of lumber in the sidewalk.....it looks great. 8)
Hi guys.
Thanks very much for all your encouragement John, Jerry, Karl and Gregory - it is much appreciated.
Well, after the weekend away I didn't find any time to model until Thursday.
Photos 1 & 2 - I finished off the construction of the second story porch for the signal tower, adding a floor made from stripwood and attaching the stairs. The deck still needs its legs, so at the moment the stairs may appear to be floating slightly. I painted the inside of the ticket office black and the back wall of the signal tower. My friend, Neil, had a signal tower interior for me, but hadn't managed to find it by yesterday. I measured and cut out sub-roofs for the three structures, scratchbuilt some seating for the waiting room, and added corrugated iron to the waiting room roof (not shown).
Photo 3 - For the ticket office chimney I tried to get as close as possible to the original. I found two white metal castings, drilled a hole in the top of the chimney and glued in place the vent. I then laminated some wood and styrene together to get the correct thickness and attached some thin sheet embossed brickwork. I added strips to the side using CA and carved the mortar lines on the corners using a sharp knife.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
That is a great looking signal tower complex. You got quite a lot done on the modeling weekend.
I love the outside chimney. Excellent way to make it all come together. Very well done.
Tom ;D
QuoteThat is a great looking signal tower complex. You got quite a lot done on the modeling weekend.
I love the outside chimney. Excellent way to make it all come together. Very well done.
Thanks so much, Tom. It was a great weekend and I was happy with my efforts. Its nice to have a dead ringer of a New Zealand prototype on my layout, too. We have our yearly Trainz weekend coming up in two weeks, so I hope to get some good modeling time in then, too. I have also booked in another weekend here in October/ November. We have called ourselves the 2fatpossums modeling group - as when I host we always go out for dinner at 2fatpossums on the Saturday night. It does mean that if 1:1 activities take over your life, you still get a nice extended period of modeling time in which you can make some real progress and get your mojo going again.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - there has been a bit more progress on Burkes station, but I am waiting for my friend, Neil, to find the signal tower interior he has for me, so can't finish off the roof.
Rain hit yesterday (35mm) so my outside irrigation project took a break. I decided a nice project to get back to would be my Scale Structures Tickner's watch works. My replacement front wall arrived a few weeks ago (along with a $20 voucher), and so I've been itching to get my teeth stuck into it.
There are a few problems with these kits that have to be dealt with. Air bubbles is one (the reason for the replacement wall). There are still a number of air bubbles I had to (or still have to) address. Unfortunately, these seem to often be on the edges of the window and door frames, which I find a particularly nasty place to get filler. There is also some warped walls to be dealt with. This is particularly problematic when a warped wall has had a 45degree bevel put on the corner, as when the wall is straightened out the corner (vertical building wall) is no longer straight. My solution to this problem was to CA a piece of straight styrene the height of the wall (minus base and roof) and about 20mm wide to the rear of the wall at right angles to straighten (you can see this in photo one) and then re-sand the 45degree miter on the edge until the edge of the wall was straight and square. Of course, when building the kit as per instructions, you would likely run into problems with the walls being different lengths and things not fitting together as they should. A further problem was one of the vertical window mullions in the replacement wall had a large warp side to side, in it. The pressure to straighten this was significant, and so I knew my horizontal mullions would never hold it. I solved this problem by cutting and fitting a window fan, thus pushing the vertical mullion to vertical. I then added the horizontal mullions.
Photo 1 - shows the structure coming together from above.
Photo 2 - shows the structure coming together from in front. You can see my mock up behind as a reminder of what I am doing. I used this many times when building to check positioning and measurements.
Photo 3 - shows a close up of the interior wall joints. I strengthen any where I end up with a V-joint (as when using factory walls with a mitered edge) by adding a piece of styrene rod and then a thick bead of CA.
Photo 4 - shows the basic outer shell of the structure completed from above.
Photo 5 - and from in front.
The structure is 17" (430mm) long, and, I think, far more impressive than the original design. I also have only one very small section of 2-storied wall left over (which I only cut out to fit into my site - you could easily use the entire structure). The offcuts from the walls I cut some off the base (two left end front walls) will be cut to use as the front of the loading dock (leaving only slithers remaining) and the concrete loading dock floor I will use most of here, too. Only the back is made from styrene, so it is a very economical kitbash.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Very nice work - I really like the changes you have made. As you said, more impressive. I really like hearing about your modeling group - I sure wish something like that could be organized in my part of the world.
What is the weather like there, now. I know you are on the winter side of the globe but in your area do you get a lot of snow?
QuoteVery nice work - I really like the changes you have made. As you said, more impressive. I really like hearing about your modeling group - I sure wish something like that could be organized in my part of the world.
Thanks, John.
Pleased to tell you about our modeling group. Barry's work is pretty extraordinary (where we stayed and modeled when I built the station). Below is a video of him playing around with lighting. You can see how seamlessly the foreground blends into his hand painted backdrop. The modeling is S-scale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01x22mzotQs
And here are some photos of one of his dioramas. Notice how the figures have all been sculpted to look like the guys in the photo. There is a whole backstory that goes along with all his dioramas, many being based on his own family history. You can tell by the comments he makes ripples in multiple modeling disciplines - military, aircraft and railroading.
https://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/29166/barry-fitzgeralds-gloria-lyons-diorama?page=1
QuoteWhat is the weather like there, now. I know you are on the winter side of the globe but in your area do you get a lot of snow?
We are at about 80 - 100m above sea level here. Most snow that falls in Canterbury falls above 300 - 400m, so we don't often get any. Maybe a storm or two a year with a few inches. We have been getting a number of good frosts (down to -7C I think was the coldest so far this year). Frosts generally mean a nice sunny day to follow. I generally do inside stuff until 10ish, when it is starting to warm up outside. Fairly dry, although we had a very big rainfall last month which caused quite a bit of damage in the area. Highs for the upcoming week range between 8 and 13C, lows from 1 - 4C. Where we are our overnight lows are often a few degrees lower. Today my car told me it was 12C while out, but after all the rain and cold yesterday it felt like 25C!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark that is coming along nicely. Beautiful work as usual!
Thanks for the video on Barry's layout.
Jerry
hey mark:
Very well done so far.
Karl
Everything looks great Mark.
Hi guys.
Thanks for your encouragement, Jerry, Karl and Curt. It is always great to hear.
Well I got a bit more done yesterday being modeling Thursday, and then followed on with a bit more between watching the Olympics on TV last night.
Photo 1 - shows the loading docks. I ripped the bottom offcuts of the two left front walls down to the correct height. I cut the concrete paving down to the correct width and mitered the 12degree join. I filed the back of the paving to custom fit it to the wall and then attached the rippings to the underside of the paving at the front, leaving a small quirk. I cut and added styrene the same height as the rippings to the back. The rippings were then cut/ sanded to length and a short piece mitered onto the left end. It seems nice, and fitting, to have a concrete loading dock and is in keeping with the rest of the structure.
Photos 2 & 3 - show the roofs in place. I traced the base onto a spare piece of 1.5mm styrene before adding walls and so was able to cut this out and start with a pretty close fit. I added stripwood strips to the interior walls of the structure, measuring down 3.5 or 5.5mm from the top of each wall (depending on whether the wall had trim on it or not. I will add trim - 4.8mmx2mm - to those walls that don't have it factory). The roof pieces were then sanded, or small slithers added, to get a good fit. When adding slithers I glue a larger piece of styrene to the edge, sanding both surfaces to get a good seam. I CA one edge and press the pieces together on a flat surface on top of lunch paper. I then trim the additional piece of styrene with a sharp knife leaving a slither and sand to fit. The roof pieces are all still removable at this stage.
Photo 4 - Here we have one of those nasty problems I sometimes run into - especially when doing a longer kitbash. For whatever reason (maybe compounding error, maybe one of the factory edges being slightly off square) my structure ended up with a rise off the ground at each end. Photos 3 & 4 show this slightly - but is actually a stray offcut of styrene underneath that I didn't notice - the structure sits nice and flat now. After living with the problem for a day I decided the only solution was to either live with it (which I couldn't) or run a knife down the front and back join of where the sloping front wall meets the 3-storied wall and prize apart. I did this and then added wedges to the gap and rejoined. I will strengthen this from behind, tape and putty, and then come up with a nice detail to hide. I'm thinking some outside sewer pipework to suggest there is a toilet in the top corner of the 3-story section of the building. There will be a roof over the loading dock, and so that will disguise a little, and then I can add some details in the corner of the loading dock.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Another great weekend of modeling was had at our annual Trainz weekend. There were a few talks on various topics which you could choose to sit in on or otherwise work away quietly at your project(s). There were around 30 attending.
I spent the week leading up to the weekend using my modeling time to come up with a project for the weekend. I figured I needed one more structure to the right of Tickner's watchworks, and so I tried various ideas in the small spot. The area is basically a reversed capital L shape, approximately 270mm long and 70mm wide at the left end with a 50mm step out about half way along. The right end has the back of the reversed L cut off where the one lane road curves down towards the track. I tried a kitbash of Magnuson models powerhouse, but it just didn't look right, especially at the left end where the end wall just looked too small between the track and the single lane road. I scanned, sized and printed walls and made a cardboard mockup after designing. Next I tried a bash of Bar Mills shipyard brewing co. Again the left end looked wrong - especially with the triangle shaped wall not ending against the backdrop. Again, walls were scanned, sized and printed and a mockup built - actually two different iterations were built. I had almost resigned myself to a small structure - and was playing around with ideas for a flipped (left to right) version of Fos Scale models Mathias spring and wire co when I remembered Steam era models layflatte linoleum works. This was an O-scale kit I found pictures of online recently after watching a scratchbuild of the organ works. Finding that structure was one of those 'holly hell! I've got to scratchbuild that!' moments. I did some playing around with sizing from the two pictures I could find of it, and decided that with some tweaking I could make it work. I decided I could have a cast concrete skyway crossing the one lane road to the structure behind, and have some of the chimneys (I guess that is what they are?) running along the top of this. I started on this mockup and got it far along enough to convince myself that it would work. By then it was the weekend and so I had to scramble to find things to do!
Firstly - here is a link to a photo of the kit.
https://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/steamera/index.html
The tower at the left end really helps to disguise the thinness of the site. I was able to find room to allow the ridge of the weatherboard section to the right of the tower to be back from the one lane road by approximately 20mm - allowing enough room for the two copulas. There was also room for a loading platform in front of this weatherboard section and the step forwards fitted perfectly with my track design.
Photo 1 - shows the plan.
Photo 2 - shows a close up of the mockup. I spent a few hours over the weekend finishing off this mockup.
Photos 3-5 - show the mockup from further back.
More in a sec, cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
I also spent a bit of time working on Burkes station scratchbuild doing various small projects. Neil had found the signal tower interior kit, and so I assembled the signal levers and painted them, I painted the chimney and roofed the ticket office.
The rest of my modeling time I spent painting my Tickner's Watchworks kitbash. I painted the walls with two coats of Woodland Scenics concrete and followed up with a light wash of AI. Windows were painted moss green and doors were earth, both from Ammo by Mig Jimenez. It is my first time using these paints and I found they flowed very well - more like enamels. I still have touch ups to do, and a lot of weathering.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looks great Mark.
Mark
Great work - and it sounds like you had a great time.
hey Mark:
What can I say. Looks just beautiful so far. Following along with much interest.
Mark, Cheers,
I've always liked the Magnuson Tinker's Watchworks. I have two of them and really like how you kit bashed the structure. I'm not sure how I'll kit bash mine but I do plan on using them both on the A&S RR.
Wonderful job on the coloring of the concrete. I'm going to copy that. :-X
Tom ;D
Thanks you very much Curt, John, Karl and Tom for following along and commenting.
Curt - Thanks for being my number 1 fan! It means a lot to have you stopping by so frequently, and applauding from the sidelines.
John - it was a great weekend and very timely, because as of midnight last night the whole country has gone into stage 4 lockdown for only the second time since the pandemic started, after a single case of the delta variant was found in the community. Being a small island nation we have managed to exist very normally throughout the pandemic by 'going hard and going early'. This strategy continues, especially after watching our Australian neighbours taking a more laid back approach recently which has backfired. This new variant is a different animal, and we will have to wait to see if we can successfully stamp it out quickly. The first time we went into lockdown (March 2020) we had two days notice and I was able to stock up on building supplies. This time the announcement was made at 6pm and lockdown began at midnight. I'm sure I will be able to find plenty to do if it should last awhile! The county is not far through the vaccine program, but my wife and I are due for our second jabs next week.
Karl - I'm pleased to be keeping you interested. I like to flesh out my mockups and working process to let people know that that big city look is often preceded by a good number of failures. The linoleum company was no exception. By the way - I love the 'Layflatte' name - there will have to be a big sign somewhere!
Tom - I did find this one hard work - with many problems that I believe shouldn't have been there - especially the air bubbles. That first front wall was so bad that I don't think it was possible that it was examined before being put in the box. When you compare it with the likes of Kibri, Walthers Cornerstone, City Classics and others... Their saving grace is their uniqueness. George Sellios has tons of these kits on the S&FM - but if you look closely almost every corner join has been hidden or disguised in some fashion. I certainly had to do a lot of putty work to get the corners acceptable. I still keep finding blemishes, but I kind of reached saturation point and said 'that's good enough'. The colouring on Tichner's Watchworks was something I have found very good on plaster. On plaster I used the Woodland Scenics concrete wash - on this resin structure I used full strength concrete over grey primer.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well I thought I'd move on to a bit of historical research. I always try to find an establishment in new Zealand within the time frame I'm modeling to base my structures on. This helps with realism, but also gives a nice backstory to my structures, the people who own it or work there, and hints at interactions which may have taken place in Tellynott. In short it helps to give Tellynott personality. I was quite keen to keep this structure as a watchmaker or jeweler, and so went about searching for New Zealand Jewelers, historical, on Google. Now a name is everything and as many of you will know we have for many years had Bullmastiffs. Their kennel name is Little Ridge. Paired with this my son has a sharpei called John. So when I found a New Zealand jeweler in the correct time frame called 'Littlejohn and Son' I was over the moon! Some of the information I could find out about this company also worked well, and helps with signage, details, shop layout and wider tangents within the community. Littlejohn and Son was established in 1879 and is a maker of jewellery, chronometers, clocks, watches, instruments and optical goods. Machinery includes lathes and planing machines. The optical department is kept separate and has contrivances for lens grinding, drilling and other needs. The building is three stories high and employs 16 staff. Littlejohn and Son is responsible for many of the recognisible clocks seen around New Zealand, particularly many of the turret clocks seen on post office buildings. Lots of cool ideas here!
I made up a veranda using black card, high tack tape and 6"x2" stripwood. I attached three LED's over the freight doors which I had trimmed from a line of 100 and attached to a 51K resister and a 9V battery. I think this gives off a nice mellow light. I will make up a few boxes to put around some of the windows and add interior details and light. Its the two Woodland Scenics nano lights for $18NZ which has forced me to do this. I think their lampposts etc aren't bad value and most are pretty nice looking details, but if I were to put just three lights in every structure in Tellynott that would cost $5400NZ for the nano lights alone! I bought 2500 resisters for $10NZ and 100 tiny LED's for $7NZ.
Photo 1 - shows the three LED's over the loading dock.
I have also preped and primed a good number of Rusty Rails castings for detailing. I'm in the process of painting these. I recently watch a Jason Jensen video on painting castings. Jason spent 3 full days painting his castings. I asked him how many hours he spent. His answer was that he didn't count the hours, but it was three long days. I understand that Jason often stays up into the wee small hours working on such things so I might expect 12 hour days, but even if it was 10 that's still 30 hours of painting detailing castings. If I was to only paint on my modeling Thursday afternoons, I might expect to take between 10 and 12 weeks to accomplish the same results! Its a nice way of putting things in perspective when you feel like you aren't making a lot of progress.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Beautiful work!
Jerry
Mark is the expert at making urban scenes look "organic," with all of the buildings looking like they fit into the urban space.
dave
QuoteBeautiful work!
Thanks very much, Jerry.
Still painting castings...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteMark is the expert at making urban scenes look "organic," with all of the buildings looking like they fit into the urban space.
Thanks for the lovely comment, Dave.
And remember my motto, if things feel like they are getting too cramped, jamb more in!
Cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Looks just great so far. Can't wait I see this finished.
Karl
QuoteHey Mark:
Looks just great so far. Can't wait I see this finished.
Thanks, Karl.
I'm chipping away at it, but spring has sprung and the grass is riz. Trying to find time among the chores.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well, a couple of pics to show where I am up to.
Here is some of the Rusty Rail details painted up and glued in position. You can see I made a small box lit with an LED and have put in a man working at the saw. He is making a casing for the new commission for one of the neighbouring towns post office clock. The two staff members are having a quick smoko break.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
That really looks nice. It is starting to get a little cooler here, fall will soon be in the air.
Mark,
Nice job on this. I really like the night shot with the interior light and break time on the dock. Reminds me of too many third shifts from my past. But on the other hand, there is something very satisfying about taking a break outside at 3 am on a warm evening, when the rest of the countryside is slumbering and few bosses are lurking about. You captured that well.
--Opa George
Hi guys.
Thanks very much John and George, much appreciated.
Well - I had some casting and mold making resin that was nearing its used by date, so I thought I'd better use it. This, of course, led to me buying more and casting more. You may remember my South River Modelwork's 'Thorndike Mills' kitbash mock up that I designed and built? Well - I wrote to Bob and asked if I could make some molds and cast some walls for this kitbash. As long as it was for my own use he was fine with this - and he put me on his email list so now I get emails telling me of new progress on his layout.
Photo 1 - shows a reminder of my kitbashing intensions.
Photo 2 - I cast 3 end walls. I will only need two of these, but did an extra in case I decide to use one of them on one of the side faces.
Photo 3 - I cast two of the paired side walls. I did this so that I have the correct edges with the stonework on them. I took the wall with the two freight doors on it out of the wrapper and found it was broken right through the centre of the doors. I used CA to glue the two pieces back together and then made a mold and a casting. The fracture was still visible on the plaster wall after the repair, but not on the resin casting. I need to bash this wall, and didn't like my chances with a repaired plaster wall. One of the side walls castings caused the cutting mat under it to warp as the chemical reaction took place. It kind of bulged up in the centre. Of course this left me with a warped casting. I cast the rest of the castings on an area without a cutting mat underneath. Lesson learnt.
Photo 4 - I also cast two castings of one of the stone retaining walls. This I have used to bash a foundation for my clapboard addition to the kit. Here I am holding my weatherboard side wall in position after checking it out to fit with the foundation.
Photo 5 - shows the weatherboard walls all cut out. I have found some Tichy Train windows which are pretty close to those used on the timber wing of the SRM kit.
Photo 6 - I thought I'd have a go at making one of the cool ducting units which attach to the side of the mill. I used rectangular styrene tube. I cut myself a 22.5 degree piece of styrene to fit in my mitre box. By holding the styrene tube on this angle I can then cut an accurate 22.5 degree cut, and join this to make a 45 degree bend. I cut high tack tape into narrow slithers and wrapped this around the joins of these angles after gluing, and at even distances along the straight lengths of ducting. I'm confident now that I can fairly easily make such ducting units to fit any structure. The photo shows one of the metal castings from the kit next to my scratchbuilt one. I might try narrower slithers of tape next time.
I also made a mold and castings of the bricked up window in-fills for the mill.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Very nice Mark.
Hi guys.
Thanks very much, Curt. I would like to be getting more done, but of course, it is spring here in NZ and there is lot to do in our five acre garden. I am also helping some friends look for a new house. The property market has gone crazy in NZ over the last year with lots of expats returning to NZ with money to burn. I went to an auction today where the house sold for 60% over the government valuation set in 2018. This is becoming more the norm rather than the exception. My wife and I are very pleased to be settled and happy here on our 11 acres! BTW we have a new kune kune piglet arriving on the petbus later this month. We recently lost one of our two 3-year-old girls and so need some company for Dorthey.
Well, along with my mold making and resin casting I have cut all the door and window openings out of the timber extension to my Thorndike's kitbash. The windows and doors are from Tichy Train Group. I used 4/4 which closely match the metal windows in the kit, but only had 9 of these so I used 2/1 windows for the top story, along with a couple of smaller 4-pane windows. the kit has a few of these, too, so they will compliment nicely.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
It's great to see you making some progress on your layout even during the busy spring planting season.
Hello Mark,
Nice looking walls in that last shot for Thorndike's. Good looking proportions with lots of interest. Also, I really like those duct units you produces. Very clever and very convincing.
Sorry it took me so long to check in!
--Opa George
Hey Mark:
This is coming along very nicely. Keep the pics flowing.
Karl
QuoteIt's great to see you making some progress on your layout even during the busy spring planting season.
Thanks, John.
I do enjoy a lot of the outside stuff. Our woodland area where I put in about 150m of curving paths and planted around 25 maples along with some other trees and heaps of rhododendrons is really starting to come on. Its nice to be starting to 'feel' the plan fleshing out and the new bones of the garden developing.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteHello Mark,
Nice looking walls in that last shot for Thorndike's. Good looking proportions with lots of interest. Also, I really like those duct units you produces. Very clever and very convincing.
Sorry it took me so long to check in!
Thanks, George.
I've put Thorndikes away for the not too distant future (always my plan - just wanted to get those walls cast, and figured while my head was in it I would cut and fit the timber walls and get the windows and doors ready). We have our postponed Easter modeling convention in 2022. I just got the latest update and it will only be going ahead if we are in level 1. This is very much dependent on how much of the population get vaccinated and outbreaks of COVID19 moving forwards. We still, at present, have no cases in the South Island (fingers crossed - I have another modeling weekend scheduled here for the first weekend in November). My plan was to concentrate on the original L-shaped part of Tellynott until Easter 2022, and then maybe have a go at my first SRM kit(bash).
The duct was pretty easy to make. I've always thought they looked cool. In the future it should be a pinch to custom fit them around obstacles on structure walls.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
I haven't checked in lately and just now getting caught up. Even with the spring grass "riz", you've been busy.
I'm looking forward to your Thorndike kit bash. You always have such great vision for your builds and I enjoy watching it all come together.
Tom ;D
QuoteHey Mark:
This is coming along very nicely. Keep the pics flowing.
Thanks, Karl.
I'll try to keep up the momentum.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteMark, Cheers,
I haven't checked in lately and just now getting caught up. Even with the spring grass "riz", you've been busy.
I'm looking forward to your Thorndike kit bash. You always have such great vision for your builds and I enjoy watching it all come together.
Thanks, Tom.
I did the design work and made the mock-up while recovering from my back surgery a while back. I was pretty restricted in what I was allowed to do in the beginning so this was a good project to keep me busy and entertained as well as making me feel like I was making progress. All the best for your upcoming procedure. I trust you have a few 'easy' projects lined up?
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A bit of progress on the Littlejohn & Son. I found a nice set of rub on letters, spaced out the positioning on low tack tape I added just below the letters and rubbed on. I then discovered that the letters were shiny. I held some paper below the lettering and hit with a blast of dullcote. Unfortunately, when dry, the wall above and below the lettering were two different colours. The dullcote had darkened the part of the wall above where I held the paper. I've never had this happen before. To remedy this I cut out pieces of card to cover all the openings and sprayed the entire concrete parts of the structure with dullcote. This caused incident number two. While spraying with dullcote one of the window cards blew off and the window got sprayed. Of course it had to be the window with the interior detail! I sprinted upstairs, grabbed a cotton bud, and sprinted back. I quickly wiped the window. When dry, it looked like some very grubby windows had been wiped from the inside to clear.
I also made up another interior room. This one has a man working on a large clock for one of the clock towers that Littlejohn & Son are well known for building.
Photo 1 shows the building ready for spraying and the signage.
Photo 2 shows the new interior detail.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looks very good Mark
Great scene, Mark.
Also, great back story to go with it. It's reassuring to know that stuff happens to others, too.
Vince
Hi guys.
Thanks very much Curt and Vince for following along and commenting.
Well - I got excited over planning again over the last couple of weeks.
Attached is my latest design for Shadowlands. A few things have happened to change my thinking on the use of the space in the second room of the barn.
* Reserving space for my 'Fault Lines' layout. With COVID19 potentially here to stay, large gatherings of people in one space may still be some time away. I'm also feeling pretty motivated about my T&S layout at present and have been for some time so I have decided that as I move forwards my Fault Lines layout will have to go.
* Reserving space for access to the loft. We have lived here for over four years now and the only time I have been in that loft has been to clean out all the nests, crap and dead birds, to install gutter wiskers in order to future bird-proof the loft, and to install insulation to the walls and ceilings where they we part of the division between the loft and my Shadowlands layout room. I'm sure I can find a way to get up there in case of emergency maintenance, but keeping the area clear for a permanent ladder is no longer necessary.
* I guess I am now feeling pretty settled here. This is the first year when this place has felt like a home (sometimes I find that can take a while). My landscaping plans have now developed ( several areas are well underway, and many plants and trees are getting well established) to the point that enough 'bones' are there to give me visual evidence that my plans will work. I can see my wife has big dreams in the garden and talks about our son making enough money to be able to afford a full time gardener to maintain this place in our old age (she half jests - but its pretty long term thinking.) I hopefully see use here for another 25 or more years.
* I felt my current plan for Tellynott did not achieve the vertical displacement that I wanted to play with when designing. As you all know, I love changes in height, tight curves, complexity - basically making the impossible seem plausible. And so with Shadowlands I want to follow on in this vain. I am alos really excited by the borrowed scenery views I can see through my mock ups when viewing across the Inglletown peninsula to Tellynott in the background. Taking this idea and trying to apply it in a mountain scene sounds fascinating and exciting.
And so, I have had a go at rethinking Shadowlands. I tried several different ideas but settled comprehensively on the version attached. Several influences are obvious and I will make no effort to hide these. In particular are the influences of John Allen and Malcolm Furlow. I spent severel evenings in bed pouring over track plans and diagrams of my most dog eared copy of the G&D (I even suggested to my wife if she was ever wondering what to get my for a birthday or Christmas present, a new hard back copy of the G&D would certainly be appreciated.) In particular, I have designed a curving river with tracks on each side, the one in front lower, and the one behind approximately 5" higher in order to model my own version of Squawbottom river. The second area where direct influence is readily apparent is in the peninsula area. The trackage in this area is largely based on the left wing of Malcolm Furlow's Denver and Rio Chama Western. It is also, however, a somewhat compressed version of New Zealand's Raurimu spiral.
https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/7588
One of the great features of Malcolm's layout is the scene with bridges basically stacked on top of each other (shown on the cover and page 53 of the December 1978 railroad model craftsman), and again I intend to create my own version of this scene. Bridges will be everywhere, and will make up the main structure building of this part of the layout. The peninsula gives borrowed viewing in two directions, and I'm especially excited by the long view from the left end alcove across the peninsula and all the way to the logging industry at the far end of Shadowlands, tucked in behind Tellynott. I have managed to eradicate all spirals with the added length of the mainline (although we are now making a feature out of the stacked loops on the peninsula). Using John Allen's scale miles (smiles) one loop around Shadowlands is now 42.3 smiles, and one journey from Tellynott, right around the Shadowlands loop, onwards to the reversing loop under Tellynott and then back to Tellynott will take a geared loco approximately 1 hour in real time to complete. One problem area was getting the track displacement on each side of the curving river right. I finally worked out a way of doing this by having the track on the far side of the river being a branch line to the logging industry, while the main line will be high above in the background. I have tried to keep the viewing and operating areas reasonable, and the minimum isle distance is 700mm (28") which is a standard small door size. In several places the isle is wider, giving breathing space and comfortable passing. I have drawn a man in the room in the corner by the peninsula for reference. With this new plan, the track now goes from a low point of around 78cm (30 3/4") to a high point of 155cm (61"). It also dawned on me yesterday that the G&D was built in a space roughly 32' x 24'. My space - which is now pretty much filled up with this latest plan - is in a space of 32' x 19'. I guess I better get cracking!
I am hosting a modeling weekend here this weekend for the 2fatpossums modeling group, and my project for the weekend is to make a 3-D model of the new plan.
Any suggestions are more than welcome.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
The design direction sounds fascinating. I will be following along. Do you have all the John Allen layout photographs that were found after the fire and floated around the internet. This all took place a few years back. Let me know if you didn't - lots of photographs that didn't make the book.
QuoteThe design direction sounds fascinating. I will be following along. Do you have all the John Allen layout photographs that were found after the fire and floated around the internet. This all took place a few years back. Let me know if you didn't - lots of photographs that didn't make the book.
Thanks, John.
I'm looking forwards to getting a long way through the 3-D mock-up this weekend. I found with the other one I built, that I could put the model on a table, bend down so that the scenery was at eye level, close one eye and the scale just dropped away. You really feel like you are 'in' the model and looking at fast distances. Its a brilliant devise (as you know) for helping with design and suring up ideas.
No - I don't have all the John Allen photos from after the fire. Only ones that would have been published in MRR magazine.
Cheers, Mark.
This is some impressive design. Looks very fascinating!
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on November 05, 2021, 02:12:23 PM
QuoteThe design direction sounds fascinating. I will be following along. Do you have all the John Allen layout photographs that were found after the fire and floated around the internet. This all took place a few years back. Let me know if you didn't - lots of photographs that didn't make the book.
Thanks, John.
I'm looking forwards to getting a long way through the 3-D mock-up this weekend. I found with the other one I built, that I could put the model on a table, bend down so that the scenery was at eye level, close one eye and the scale just dropped away. You really feel like you are 'in' the model and looking at fast distances. Its a brilliant devise (as you know) for helping with design and suring up ideas.
No - I don't have all the John Allen photos from after the fire. Only ones that would have been published in MRR magazine.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
I sent you and email to followup on the John Allen Photos - let me know if you get it. I did a lot of 3D scale modeling with my layout design, as you know - it is a great way to go.
QuoteThis is some impressive design. Looks very fascinating!
Thanks very much, Steve.
Attached are two photos of the mock up coming together. I blew up my plan to twice the size of the original and printed off several copies. One copy I attached to a piece of foam with glue. I then collected some different sizes of flat headed nails (I used old gun nails) I worked out a vertical scale and used a marker to mark the heights out of the foam on the individual nails and then pocked them into the foam plan at the correct places until my mark was flush with the top of the foam. I then cut out track lines from the other plans, glued these to a cereal card backing, and then glued these to the nail tops.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
That Magnuson / SS Ltd kit bash came out great.
Tommy
QuoteMark,
That Magnuson / SS Ltd kit bash came out great.
Thanks very much, Tommy.
I assume you are referring to Littlejohn & son - the kitbash I did prior to that was also a Magnuson kit. I still have a few things to do on that one - a couple more rooms with lighting and interior details and then roofs and rooftop detail and some weathering. I'll be back at it soon - I have some expanding foam on my model of a model to deal with first. I tried very hard to go easy by it kind of just kept on expanding! I've had enough experience with the stuff now to know not to touch until it has fully cured. Hopefully I'll find some time to tackle that 'oops' this week.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Nice track plan, Mark. I can really see the influence of John Allen and Malcolm Furlow in the peninsulas. Both are my icons with regard to layout design, albeit in a much smaller space.
When I redesigned my Twin Mountains layout, I deliberately scaled back the overall dimensions in order to get much wider aisles. Just personal choice in the trade-off. I couldn't tell from your plan--what are your aisle widths?
Nice job so far!
--Opa George
QuoteNice track plan, Mark. I can really see the influence of John Allen and Malcolm Furlow in the peninsulas. Both are my icons with regard to layout design, albeit in a much smaller space.
When I redesigned my Twin Mountains layout, I deliberately scaled back the overall dimensions in order to get much wider aisles. Just personal choice in the trade-off. I couldn't tell from your plan--what are your aisle widths?
Nice job so far!
Thanks for following along, George.
I have been a huge fan of John Allan since finding a December 1981 model railroader magazine in the hobby shop at the age of 12.
I did a little bit of scaling back myself and have made a couple of the sections against the wall thinner than I would have liked in order to keep the isles to a 700mm (27.5") minimum. This is the size of a standard small door. I have also tried to open the layout out in a couple of places to give some breathing and passing space. If you look closely at the plan you can see a rather faded man standing at the right hand corner of the peninsula. I stood against the wall with a tape measure and measured myself to get the size about right.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Great stuff as always...you had me at "Furlow".
John
QuoteGreat stuff as always...you had me at "Furlow".
Thanks, John.
Yes, I'm a huge fan of a lot of Furlow's work. I loved the stories that went with the various layouts as much as the scenery. Malcolm had a knack of drawing you into his world of make believe as if it were real. John Allan was the same. This is something I always try to do myself.
Cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
All looks just great so far. Can't wait to see more.
Karl
Hi guys.
Thanks, Karl. I'm pleased you are following along.
The modeling weekend once again proved very fruitful and a lot of fun. As always I come away super motivated!
Photo 1 - The model of the model nearing completion of stage 1.
Photo 2 - After I had finished gluing my track plan to my flat headed nails I added walls to the model. These are the back boards of the layout modules, and the height is the ceiling height of these modules - the same height as I have built in Tellynott. The module ceilings are about 8 inches thick, and the top of these just fits under the bottom of the beam between the two rooms. This is so the modules can be unbolted and rolled out (in a very specific order) from the layout rooms if need should arise. I have carefully considered this process in my planning. I'm not sure what the floor height is yet. I just added some height to the track to allow for river valleys. I'll work this out moving forwards. The layout will not go all the way to the floor, but it will go quite low in places.
Photo 3 - I included this photo as it shows pretty well how big the area of Shadowlands is. If you were to square off the area to the bottom right - that is the entire Tellynott area. I haven't worked out the square feet yet, but a glance says Shadowlands takes up about twice the area of Tellynott!
Photo 4 - Ooops! I tried to go gently with the expanding foam, but it just kept growing!
Photo 5 - I had already thought I would need to cut the model into sections so I could view different areas like I was standing in the layout room. The 'oops' meant I just did this step a bit sooner. It will now be far easier to trim and sculpt the foam. You can see I have started this process. Experience whit using this medium has taught me never to try to clean up foam 'oopses' before the foam has cured.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
I have never tried using foam for landform mockups. How easy is it to carve to the shape you want? I have been using modeling clay for my mockups in the past. I'm very interested in your process - lots of details please.
Mark,
Incredible discipline to plan with this level of rigor. Truly inspiring.
Hey Mark:
You are quite welcome. Thanks for the new photos. Have fun.
Karl
Love where you're going with your layout.
Hi guys.
QuoteLove where you're going with your layout
Thanks very much, Lynn. I'm quite excited myself.
I got a little more done on the model of a model. I printed off another set of plans and cut out the layout edges. I held these plans over the expanded foam and marked with a marker (you can still see some of the blue marker in the photos). I then used a retractable knife blade (without the knife holder) to cut the layout edge into the foam. I kind of worked a little at a time, cutting pieces away. I lost my vertical in a few places and will have to amend. I then started finding the track and carving in the shapes of the landform. This foam seemed to have a lot of large air bubbles in it. Its the first time I have used a disposable 'one off' can of this stuff and it was more difficult to control and seemed to have more air bubbles than the proper gun. The problem with the proper gun is it is quite expensive and no matter how well you clean it between uses it seems to get clogged up within a few uses - and impossible to then clear.
Below are three photos showing progress. I'm thinking some thinner width retractable blades would be good for carving out the sharp curves.
I'm thinking that after I have finished carving out my landforms I will use sculptamold to cover the foam. This should cover any bubble holes and give a good surface for painting.
John - the expanding foam is very easy to carve - once dry - and a sharp knife is all you need.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
Well done so far. Can't wait to see more.
Kark
Hi guys.
QuoteWell done so far. Can't wait to see more.
Thanks, Karl.
Here are a few more photos as this project slowly develops. It is a subtraction method - as you have to cut away material rather than add it to create the landscape.
The photos below illustrate how scale kind of disappears. I find it quite easy to see this as a finished layout, or even a 1:1 scale scene.
By removing one of the pieces of the model you can get right down to eye level. If you then make a square box with your fingers to view through you really feel like you are in the scene. This is the real beauty of this model of a model method. It also shows much more clearly how you might need to address benchwork, and what other problems (like track accessibility) you might have to solve. I'm rehashing the peninsula at present, as I have found my view through under the bridge(s) will not be possible with the current configuration. This will likely result only in some tweaking. I find my A3 LED light box amazingly useful for this. I can easily and quickly put a piece of paper on top of my plan and trace out the basics, and then make changes to see if they will work. Of course I can do this multiple times and compare results - all without altering my original plan at all. I'm pretty old school in this way, and the idea of using a computer and software to work through this process really doesn't appeal.
I was disappointed with how many air bubbles I got, but I can always add more foam. Still a long way to go...
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Great visualization tool. Is the backdrop going to be sky only or are the mountains and scenery going to continue on to the walls? You sure do have a lot of caves in those mountains. ;) ;) I would fill the air bubbles with modeling clay.
QuoteGreat visualization tool. Is the backdrop going to be sky only or are the mountains and scenery going to continue on to the walls? You sure do have a lot of caves in those mountains. ;) ;) I would fill the air bubbles with modeling clay.
Hi John.
You may remember me mentioning Jonathan White - a New Zealand artist famous for his wonderful landscape paintings - many in South Westland? Well I hope to try my hand at something (obviously nowhere near his quality!!!) similar. Below is a link to remind you. If you scroll through you should find plenty of paintings similar to shadowlands.
https://www.jonathanwhite.co.nz/landscapes1.htm
I intend to put some black card or paper around as fascia - that should hide a few of the 'caves'. I've been busy playing with anagrams during my coffee breaks today - rearranging letters in NZ places of influence of locations on which Shadowlands is based. Your question has brought up the name Jonathan White, and as he is a major influence I should give him an anagram on Shadowlands. I've come up with a few I am quite happy with. I'm cheating a little with letters if needed - but trying not to.
Stafford river = Fastford river
Smoothwater point = Sawtooth point
Interestingly, this exercise, which I rather enjoy, has thrown up a few landform ideas - especially Sawtooth point! Although Fastford river definitely screams out to have a ford through some rapids somewhere!
I'm trying to place these names in the order in which they come on my plotted fictional railroad line on a geographical map of the locale. I've decided to have the fiddle yard/ return loop as an unmodeled town, which in my fictional history has sprung up at the head of a river valley beside a small lake. The lake is called Lake Hamer, but my fictional town will be Armhe (Army), built on the shores of Armhe lake. In this way I will be able to move more goods around Shadowlands and create better operating possibilities.
Cheers, Mark.
Great work Mark...That's pretty amazing to help REALLY visualize the layout "experience". I've spent many many hours working on scale track plans (or, really, layout plans as track is the least important part for me) and never ever followed one to a great extent once I got in motion and better felt the spacing and scenic possibilities for real...I have done some sketches from a viewer's perspective that were very helpful...I think you're really onto something...and a fun little project on its own!
John
QuoteGreat work Mark...That's pretty amazing to help REALLY visualize the layout "experience". I've spent many many hours working on scale track plans (or, really, layout plans as track is the least important part for me) and never ever followed one to a great extent once I got in motion and better felt the spacing and scenic possibilities for real...I have done some sketches from a viewer's perspective that were very helpful...I think you're really onto something...and a fun little project on its own!
Thanks, John.
I remember building the framework and track bed for a switchback layout from 101 track plans decades ago. By the time I got to that stage I could see that the track was ridiculously close, and it would be impossible to make things look even slightly plausible, along with there being no room for scenery. What looks good as lines on paper...I have made models of my layout plans ever since.
I, too, am far more interested in the scenery than the trains. At present I am trying some new 'tweaks' to my paper plan to try to create the views I want deep into the layout, after my mock-up was showing that these wouldn't be possible. I may have to remake one of the sections of the mock-up - but this will be far less work(!!!) than getting to the framework and trackbed stage in 1:1 scale before discovering the problem.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on November 21, 2021, 04:15:18 PM
QuoteGreat work Mark...That's pretty amazing to help REALLY visualize the layout "experience". I've spent many many hours working on scale track plans (or, really, layout plans as track is the least important part for me) and never ever followed one to a great extent once I got in motion and better felt the spacing and scenic possibilities for real...I have done some sketches from a viewer's perspective that were very helpful...I think you're really onto something...and a fun little project on its own!
Thanks, John.
I remember building the framework and track bed for a switchback layout from 101 track plans decades ago. By the time I got to that stage I could see that the track was ridiculously close, and it would be impossible to make things look even slightly plausible, along with there being no room for scenery. What looks good as lines on paper...I have made models of my layout plans ever since.
I, too, am far more interested in the scenery than the trains. At present I am trying some new 'tweaks' to my paper plan to try to create the views I want deep into the layout, after my mock-up was showing that these wouldn't be possible. I may have to remake one of the sections of the mock-up - but this will be far less work(!!!) than getting to the framework and trackbed stage in 1:1 scale before discovering the problem.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Mock-ups have saved many hours of tear outs and start overs on the S&S RR. In many areas I built the mountains and scenery I wanted and then added the track. Just like the prototype railroads had to do. Tunnels into mountains are easy, and bridges and fills are easy. Moving mountains and track work to make room for mountains is very difficult. Keep working with your mockups until you are sure you have what you want.
Hi guys.
Thanks for following along, John.
QuoteIn many areas I built the mountains and scenery I wanted and then added the track.
This is the approach I have always used with roads and structures.
OK - some plan tweaks.
Attached are the two slightly different alternatives to try, along with the original track plan for reference.
Firstly, you can see in the first plan I have made alterations to the area in the bottom left. The small town(?) now comes off the main line just past the loop while the original point to this area now feeds a mine. I think this works much better, and even though there is no less track, it simplifies things. It shouldn't be too difficult to make these changes to the model. I have removed the spur at the top left of the original plan, which was to be a mine, and this one will replace it.
The other area I needed to work on was the view under the two high bridges on the top track. As I discovered while doing the model, this view was too narrow. On the first image below, I have put slightly more kink in the curved track between the two bridges, widening the view to the arrows as shown. This will make viewing of the area along the back wall deep into the alcove behind Tellynott possible, but only a limited view of the mountains on the back side of the Tellynott backdrop will be available. In the second plan there has been a bit of shuffling of the track work on the lower levels, and the kink on both sides of the longer bridge has been exaggerated to bring the two bridges closer to parallel As show by the arrows, this gives a wider view encompassing both sides of the alcove completely. I like this view better, but on paper the track configuration seems more contrived and less aesthetically pleasing.
On both plans I have moved the position of the river through the second gorge and viewing area (approximately central on the peninsula) shown by the second set of arrows, a few inches closer to the track. I have also put the mine on the other side of the track to where I had originally planned. I think this will make a nice little 'snap shot' view in the gorge, a nice little surprise. I'm picturing the FSM rock bunker in here. I have also added another bridge - this time a curved trestle - which will make a lovely scene at the end of the peninsula. as you can see, I am trying to create a combination of long views with borrowed scenery and some isolated cameo shots.
I hope you get something out of me trying to go through a bit of the nitty, gritty development of the track plan. Its not pretty, but in my world I find during this process a lot of new ideas and tangents arise as I work. Some of these, I find, end up being the best and most unique ideas.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark:
You are quite welcome. Can't wait to see more of the finished product.
Karl
Mark
I enjoyed running trains in my head through your drawings. Are you designing to a minimum track radius? I found this to be the most challenging design criteria. Especially, moving from paper to the layout. I'm looking forward to watching the plan come together.
Hi guys.
QuoteI enjoyed running trains in my head through your drawings. Are you designing to a minimum track radius? I found this to be the most challenging design criteria. Especially, moving from paper to the layout. I'm looking forward to watching the plan come together.
Thanks again for following along, John.
I've debated track for some time. I own a fair amount of Peco code 100 rail. I have seen a layout almost completed which used peco code 100 rail, ballasted and heavily weathered. I was on the tour with a group of 'fine scale' modellers. I quietly confirmed with the owner that the track was indeed code 100. After we left the layout I asked my friends what code the track was. They were all adamant that it must have been code 70. This was a nice little experiment. I took particular notice as it was an issue I had been toying with. If ballasted and heavily weathered the code of track seems to shrink.
Another thing to consider is that peco code 100 track produces setrack, with four different radii curved tracks. They do not do this in code 75 (more is the shame). I love the way these snap together so easily and there are no problems with 'kinks' where the ends meet. The rails are ridgid, and so they keep their shape if you need to cut them shorter. So with this and the far smaller cost of not having to replace all the code 100 track I currently own (there are many sets of points in Tellynott - including a double slip and two three way turnouts), I'm leaning towards this plan of attack. If we come into a heap of cash soon, that may change.
Peco track is used by most New Zealand 'S' scalers, along with many who work in OO and HO. As such, there are several importers and if you know where to shop, the price is pretty reasonable.
I have drawn my plans using the #2 radius as my smallest radius, which is 438mm (17 1/4"). The #3 is 505mm (20") and the #4 is 572mm (22 1/2"). Their #4 turnouts have a radius of 610mm (24").
I recently discovered several Australian model companies manufacturing high quality RTR models for the Australian market. These models appear to be of very high quality and there are many 4 wheels wagons which are in keeping with the type of rolling stock used in New Zealand. As Australia uses broad gauge, these models are in HO scale. Before that I had been looking at using British OO scale models, but was not happy with the scale difference. New Zealand manufactures are mainly aimed at S scale, as NZ runs on 3'6" track. My fictional locale decided to run broad gauge. I'm a bit of an odd ball in New Zealand - modelling NZ in HO scale - but this was done to give me access to the many structure models that I love to 'bash'. These Australian models give me a plausible 'in scale' option.
I decided to buy a few wagons to have a look at, and my first package arrived yesterday.
Below are some photos.
Photo 1 and 2 - show the new 'Austrains" wagons, an MV meat van and a LV louvred van
Photos 3-5 - show the comparison between a OO scale Bachmann branch line fruit van and one of the HO scale Austrains vans.
My wife thinks the difference is barely noticeable, I think it is huge!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on November 25, 2021, 04:34:10 PM
Hi guys.
QuoteI enjoyed running trains in my head through your drawings. Are you designing to a minimum track radius? I found this to be the most challenging design criteria. Especially, moving from paper to the layout. I'm looking forward to watching the plan come together.
Thanks again for following along, John.
I've debated track for some time. I own a fair amount of Peco code 100 rail. I have seen a layout almost completed which used peco code 100 rail, ballasted and heavily weathered. I was on the tour with a group of 'fine scale' modellers. I quietly confirmed with the owner that the track was indeed code 100. After we left the layout I asked my friends what code the track was. They were all adamant that it must have been code 70. This was a nice little experiment. I took particular notice as it was an issue I had been toying with. If ballasted and heavily weathered the code of track seems to shrink.
Another thing to consider is that peco code 100 track produces setrack, with four different radii curved tracks. They do not do this in code 75 (more is the shame). I love the way these snap together so easily and there are no problems with 'kinks' where the ends meet. The rails are ridgid, and so they keep their shape if you need to cut them shorter. So with this and the far smaller cost of not having to replace all the code 100 track I currently own (there are many sets of points in Tellynott - including a double slip and two three way turnouts), I'm leaning towards this plan of attack. If we come into a heap of cash soon, that may change.
Peco track is used by most New Zealand 'S' scalers, along with many who work in OO and HO. As such, there are several importers and if you know where to shop, the price is pretty reasonable.
I have drawn my plans using the #2 radius as my smallest radius, which is 438mm (17 1/4"). The #3 is 505mm (20") and the #4 is 572mm (22 1/2"). Their #4 turnouts have a radius of 610mm (24").
I recently discovered several Australian model companies manufacturing high quality RTR models for the Australian market. These models appear to be of very high quality and there are many 4 wheels wagons which are in keeping with the type of rolling stock used in New Zealand. As Australia uses broad gauge, these models are in HO scale. Before that I had been looking at using British OO scale models, but was not happy with the scale difference. New Zealand manufactures are mainly aimed at S scale, as NZ runs on 3'6" track. My fictional locale decided to run broad gauge. I'm a bit of an odd ball in New Zealand - modelling NZ in HO scale - but this was done to give me access to the many structure models that I love to 'bash'. These Australian models give me a plausible 'in scale' option.
I decided to buy a few wagons to have a look at, and my first package arrived yesterday.
Below are some photos.
Photo 1 and 2 - show the new 'Austrains" wagons, an MV meat van and a LV louvred van
Photos 3-5 - show the comparison between a OO scale Bachmann branch line fruit van and one of the HO scale Austrains vans.
My wife thinks the difference is barely noticeable, I think it is huge!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
I used all of my code 100 Peco track for the track that was in the back of the layout or in tunnels. For the areas that are close to the viewer I used code 83 Peco or code 70 Micro Engineering flex track. I agree with your comments about seeing the difference in gauge viewing the layout. I notice the difference in photographs, especially when you have figures in the photograph. Changing from one gauge to another is very easy with couplers that take up the difference in height to align the top of the track. Peco turnouts are available in code 83 here in the US. Micro Engineering track and turnouts are made in the US.
Mark, Cheers,
I've been following along but haven't posted in some time now. I'm really impressed with your patience and due diligence in the planning/mock up stages. I don't have the patience for doing it. My entire layout was "plan as you go with what looks like you want it to look". So far, I've had little to no changes with the exception of adding a turnout here and there.
My three previous layouts have been all code 100 but this one is all code 83.
I'm looking forward to your next few updates. Love it all my friend.
Tom ;D
QuoteI used all of my code 100 Peco track for the track that was in the back of the layout or in tunnels. For the areas that are close to the viewer I used code 83 Peco or code 70 Micro Engineering flex track. I agree with your comments about seeing the difference in gauge viewing the layout. I notice the difference in photographs, especially when you have figures in the photograph. Changing from one gauge to another is very easy with couplers that take up the difference in height to align the top of the track. Peco turnouts are available in code 83 here in the US. Micro Engineering track and turnouts are made in the US.
Thanks, John.
Peco have code 70 turnouts and flextrack readily available here in NZ. I'll check out Micro engineering. Of course, New Zealand is on the USPS temporary postal suspension at the moment. Who knows how long that will last...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteI've been following along but haven't posted in some time now. I'm really impressed with your patience and due diligence in the planning/mock up stages. I don't have the patience for doing it. My entire layout was "plan as you go with what looks like you want it to look". So far, I've had little to no changes with the exception of adding a turnout here and there.
My three previous layouts have been all code 100 but this one is all code 83.
I'm looking forward to your next few updates. Love it all my friend.
Great to hear from you, Tom! And to know you are following my progress - even if I don't hear from you.
I'm pretty good at visualizing in 3-D - but the scenes I'm wanting to create with all the different heights of track and borrowed scenery behind are well above my abilities to recreate in my head from a 2-D plan. The model of the layout has already got me redesigning one area. I'm sure there will be another iteration or two before we are through!
I thought I might get myself a couple of lengths of code 70 flextrack and try spiking a nice tight curve to see how it goes.
Hoping to get a bit more done today.
Cheers, Mark.
ME Code 70 Flex is kinda tough to bend. I remember reading somewhere some tips on how to do it, maybe someone can comment. I muddled through on the trackwork, but I'm not the right person to tell anyone else how to do it. One of the things I found really useful was a RibbonRail or FastTracks "between the rails" track gauge in my minimum radius.
Two things I did on my (1890s era) layout to ME flextrack were (a) randomly clipping the ends of ties so they weren't all the exact same length and (b) cutting the connectors underneath the rail, so I could skew the ties and make the spacing more random. That was A Lot of work, but I think the results are worth it.
dave
Thanks for your input, Dave.
QuoteME Code 70 Flex is kinda tough to bend. I remember reading somewhere some tips on how to do it, maybe someone can comment. I muddled through on the trackwork, but I'm not the right person to tell anyone else how to do it. One of the things I found really useful was a RibbonRail or FastTracks "between the rails" track gauge in my minimum radius.
I'm pretty sure I will go with Peco. Its really just whether I go with code 100 where I can use the ridged setrack at the various tight radii, or whether I opt for the code 70 with the finer more prototypical sized track.
QuoteTwo things I did on my (1890s era) layout to ME flextrack were (a) randomly clipping the ends of ties so they weren't all the exact same length and (b) cutting the connectors underneath the rail, so I could skew the ties and make the spacing more random. That was A Lot of work, but I think the results are worth it.
I'll keep these two ideas in mind. I can see how they would add a great deal of realism.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on November 26, 2021, 04:50:02 PM
QuoteI've been following along but haven't posted in some time now. I'm really impressed with your patience and due diligence in the planning/mock up stages. I don't have the patience for doing it. My entire layout was "plan as you go with what looks like you want it to look". So far, I've had little to no changes with the exception of adding a turnout here and there.
My three previous layouts have been all code 100 but this one is all code 83.
I'm looking forward to your next few updates. Love it all my friend.
Great to hear from you, Tom! And to know you are following my progress - even if I don't hear from you.
I'm pretty good at visualizing in 3-D - but the scenes I'm wanting to create with all the different heights of track and borrowed scenery behind are well above my abilities to recreate in my head from a 2-D plan. The model of the layout has already got me redesigning one area. I'm sure there will be another iteration or two before we are through!
I thought I might get myself a couple of lengths of code 70 flextrack and try spiking a nice tight curve to see how it goes.
Hoping to get a bit more done today.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
One of my lessons learned about putting flex track down is "don't use spikes or nails of any kind". I recommend you get a couple lengths of code 70 or 83 Peco track and get it where you want by gluing it and holding it down with weights. I use white glue so if I ever want to adjust it I just have to get it wet. I always bend it with it laying flat on the roadbed. The is especially important with Micro Engineering track because it does bend into shape a little harder than Peco (as Dave mentioned above). I posted many pictures of the process on my build thread when I was building the Superior Yard a couple years ago if you want to reference it.
I almost forgot the why no spikes - First, they look very non prototypical - especially in videos shot from rolling stock running on the layout. Second, they will cause kinks in your track work before you get it glued down with ballast. As the rail expands and contracts it is held at points spikes rather than continuously with glue. It will expand and contract and kink between the spikes. Since my layout is in a temperature and humidity controlled house it wasn't a problem until I decided to go Arizona for a month in the winter for some sun. We let the house get down to 45 degrees F and I returned to 3 places on the layout where the track work had kinked. They were all on curves inside the mountains where I never added ballast and glue. I'm sure you will have temperature variations in your layout room since it is in a building that you are not heating and or air conditioning all the time. Third, once you see how easy track goes down using the gluing and weights you will never want to use spikes again.
Thanks for that info, John.
Much appreciated.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - a bit of progress so I will upload a few more photos. I wish I could photograph this better. Some of the views look great in reality, but are quite hard to see in the photos.
Photo 1 - shows the back wall of the room in which Tellynott is. This is a scene loosely based on Squawbottom river on the G&D. Sometimes those blobs of expanding foam lead to some interesting ideas. The big rock overhanging the middle track (logging branchline) was one such blob. I have put a short tunnel through it to break up the shape of things. I tried putting the river through a cave here, too, but took that out. I may revisit that idea when I get to building things. There is 680mm (26 3/4") between the top track and the bottom track (passing siding) here.
Next we have some views of the remade peninsula.
Photo 2 - here is a close up looking under the two high bridges. These are the ones I brought closer to parallel and further into the peninsula in order to be able to see the view over, under and through them. I have made some quick mock-up bridges to help with the imagination. The big bridge in the background is over 1100mm long. I have plans for a large kitbashing project here using a faller bridge. It is a double track bridge which I intend to bash into a single track. It looks like a lot of work! The middle lower bridge will be a curved trestle.
Photo 3 - and here is the same view from a little further back. You can see how this technique helps you to design with an eye for viewing different scenes within the layout. Here I was very conscious about leaving the cliff faces in the gorge back far enough to be able to see the curving track following the river. There are two lower tracks near the front of this scene that will be hidden under the riverbed. The river will fall in a serious of rapids/ waterfalls to negotiate the tracks below. as the scenery does not go all the way to the floor, there will still be access to these tracks for maintenance and emergencies.
Photo 4 - and here is the same scene from further back again, showing more of the overall view.
More in a sec, cheers, Mark.
Part 2.
Photo 1 - Here we are on the other side of the gorge. I turned my kitbashed bridge around for you. You can more clearly see where the curved trestle will go in this shot. Maybe I need to mock that up... You also get the feeling for what a train snaking along on the bottom track with the gorge behind will look like.
Photo 2 - And here we have a shot of the whole peninsula. This shows the second gorge with the spur to the mine. It also shows the tall curved trestle at the end of the peninsula. You can see I am trying to create cameo shots to help the layout seem more plausible, but framing them with the terrain and visually blocking them from competing with other scenes.
Photo 3 - An eagle's eye view. Although there is still a lot of track, I have hidden quite a lot under the scene and visually separated more with the steep mountains. This shot clearly shows the spur to the mine, and the flat area to the left of the spur where the mine will be situated.
Photo 4 - This shot shows the Fastford River area with the peninsula behind. You can see the depth of the view. Very exciting!
Photo 5 - And another eagle's eye view, this time showing more of the big picture. You can see a few foam blobs in the background. Sorry about that - in a rush to share...
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Time for a quick update.
Firstly, I had a major shuffle around the other day to see what I could fit in the workshop. After taking all the tractor attachments out and cleaning up I discovered I could fit my station wagon, the tractor (with rotary hoe and forks on) and the ride on mower all in the workshop with room enough to get around, in, on and off things. There is just a bit of storage to create and a few things to move. I intend to now build a lean-to shed attached to the side of the barn to house the tractor implements and a few other things. This will be a big savings over the single garage I was thinking of building. This will, of course, free up the second modeling room in the barn. With the fraction of the cash injection required I should be able to get permission for this small extension much sooner!
Second - my second purchase of rolling stock arrived from Australia. This was a 10 pack of coal hoppers from Phoenix reproductions.
Photo 1 - shows the enormous size difference between one of the new arrivals and the Bachmann OO scale hopper. I'm so happy to have found these little cuties. I have a short train set up on the hutch and I keep looking over and admiring it. The hoppers are only about 70mm long. I worked out I can have 20 hoppers, a break van and loco and it will only be around 1620mm (63 3/4") long. Perfect for making the trains appear long and substantial without taking up so much space as to ruin the illusion of vast distances.
Lastly, I took my design work out to the barn for some 1:1 modeling.
Photo 2 - shows some progress. You can see I have used an extension chord to mark the layout edge. This is the first piece of Shadowlands I will build. I have the main ideas penciled in and mocked up, but still need to flesh out the finer details. The section is about 3.45m (11' 3") long, and about 1200mm (4') wide at the ight end. I hope to keep the middle down to a width of not much more than 600mm (2') to help keep things within reach, and also to open up better viewing possibilities.
Photo 3 - shows me playing around trying to get nice flowing turnouts to the lime works (at right) and wharf (out of picture at left). You can see I like using curved turnouts!
Photo 4 - I wasn't happy having two sets of points leaving the main line for the same industry. This works much better. You will have to mentally draw in the track between the set of points under the straight track, past the pencil, and onto the big curve at right. The straight track will cross the points below about 130mm (5 1/8") above. This track will feed an raised dock over a river harbour. The lime works is a Sheepscot kit. You can see I have tried to angle the lime works as much as possible to allow more of the model to be viewed. This is a big reason for trying to keep the centre width of this section of layout as small as possible.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
It sounds like you are making great progress. Great to see track starting to get laid out and with a plan for more space.
Hey Mark:
Looks just great. Keep the pics flowing.
Karl
Hi guys.
This is a bit of an experiment to see if these photos arrive as intended.
Here is a geographical map of my fictional layout. This is south Westland and north Fiordland.
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And here I have attempted to give a pictorial interpretation of my track plan.
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Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Now that the forum is back, I can't wait to see your progress on your layout. I have see some photos in the Narrow Gauge Mag, but now your updates can be more frequent. It looks like a wonderful project. Looking forward to your next post.
Frank / Erieman
What Frank said.....and don't forget, we love pictures. ;D
Quote from: Erieman on November 14, 2023, 09:08:26 PMMark,
Now that the forum is back, I can't wait to see your progress on your layout. I have see some photos in the Narrow Gauge Mag, but now your updates can be more frequent. It looks like a wonderful project. Looking forward to your next post.
Frank / Erieman
Thanks, Frank.
I'll have to catch those up who haven't seen that progress, but I'll intersperse it with my current progress. Lots to do... I have a couple of major structure builds on the go - one just in the design stage, one a bit further on. We have a modelling weekend next weekend so I hope to make some good progress.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on November 15, 2023, 07:02:42 AMWhat Frank said.....and don't forget, we love pictures. ;D
Thanks, Greg.
Yep - there will be loads of photos. I'll try and show all that messy trial and error stuff in my design stage that I feel is so important in getting the scenes right.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
There is lots to catch up on, but I thought I'd start with the beginnings of a new project. So - I have always wanted to build the Hyde pulp mill, but don't own the kit, and have spent enough time with Master Creations kits to know I'd rather scratch-build it anyway. I also wanted to change it up significantly. Now as you all know by now - I spend a lot of time in the design phase. So I'm going to try and walk you through some of that process. Just a glimpse of some of the mess I create on the way to the glossy end picture (I hope).
Firstly, with a pretty good idea of building sizes and shapes, and some idea about what I might be able to do with these shapes, I started looking at track arrangements.
Photo 1 - The cork roadbed to the right is the main line. A downwards gradient starts on the main line about where the word 'goldfoam' is written. A curved set of points leave the main line just out of shot leading to the straight track and then the short wye. I also tried curved and straight turnouts in place of the wye.
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Photo 2 - This led to various structure configurations such as pictured here. Things felt rather congested and teetering on the edge of the world. You can see I have built cardboard mock-ups of the main structures. the main mill I built as two separate parts, as I always intended to create some sort of angle in the middle.
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Photo 3 - I briefly flirted with the idea of a switchback, but it quickly became obvious that this gobbled way too much space.
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Photo 4 - After - and I'm not going to lie or sugar coat this - days of trial and error and taking photos and looking at them on the computer and mulling things over - it finally dawned on me that there might be room on the main line for two sets of curved points to service the mill. Now I know for many of you this would be a no no, but my trains are just an excuse for me to build a miniature world - and that miniature world looking cool is my number one priority. So here we see two Peco curved turnouts on the main line. Aesthetically they look lovely, and they both fit in easily before the gradient starts.
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Photo 5 - And so finally I settled on this as the best way of getting trackage to my pulp mill.
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This was just the first problem - now I moved on to final tweaking of the track, the positioning of those structures, playing with that angle, potentially adding changes in height, and adding additional buildings to the complex.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
I like the idea of the curved turnout off the mainline.
The first photo of the mockup buildings looks better to me. But then it's your railroad.
Tom
QuoteI like the idea of the curved turnout off the mainline.
The first photo of the mockup buildings looks better to me. But then it's your railroad.
Thanks, Tom.
Its turnouts, plural. By putting in two curved turnouts in a row, both on the main line, I was able to get a bit of separation between the two tracks feeding the mill and also get a bit more of a curve kind of following the curve of the main line. This meant I could get a bit more spread between the various mill structures and keep things back a bit more from the layout edge. Regards the buildings - we have a long way in the design phase to go yet. I'm waiting for that eureka moment when I say - ohh, that works! I certainly hadn't got there by this stage. I'm just really checking to see if things will fit.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - I drew a bit of a plan to get my head around what I was trying to achieve.
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Photo 2 - I stole some pre made moch-ups from my Thorndike mills kitbash mock-up. This was to help me visualize the mill extension. The walkover to the left will not be included. I tried adding the smaller part of the Thorndike structure to create a U-shape. I was also playing with different heights here.
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Photo 3 - Here we are looking from the front. In my usual fashion, when things are looking a bit too cluttered - add more. Here I am trying the idea of a river running through the mill.
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photo 4 - Her is a view back the other way. You can see the tunnel porthole here. I tried the small Thorndike extension back the other way
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photo 5 - A better look at the little enclosed courtyard area created with the small extension this way around.
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Photo 6 - An aerial view. I was still very uncomfortable with how close these structures were to the front of the layout. I'm liking the river idea.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi again. Part 2.
Photo 7 - Here I am addressing the closeness of the structures to the layout edge. I added a kink in the trackwork back the other way following the main line around. This added a bit of length to the two spurs and pulled the structures back from the edge. I also made the tracks parallel. The angle between the two tracks and the main mill and storage/ shipping building had been bothering me. I also took out the 45 degree angle between the two halves of the main mill structure and replaced it with a 90 degree angle. This pulled the building right back from the edge. I then took out the main part of the Thorndike structure and put the extension in its place, doing away with the extra right angle. Also the height difference has been removed. This was my eureka moment. This simplification and reduction in the size of the complex seemed to pull the structure together. This is the moment where I said out loud 'now THAT works'.
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photo 8 - The side view showing the reduction in the size of the extension. Note the small extension is on slightly elevated land - a small variation in height.
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photo 9 - A view back the other way. I like the main mill and shipping/ storage shed parallel. These two structures will be joined by an aerial walkway.
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photo 10 - Finally I tried adding some height to the hopper. I'm a little undecided - but I think the added height differentiates the various roof lines enough to merit the extra height.
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photo 11 - A view from above and in front showing the entire complex. The chipping shed at right feeds the hopper with an aerial angled covered conveyor.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I cut out a foundation out of a piece of 16mm MDF and glued for block courses of Wills plasticard to the side. These were mitred on the corners, taped and puttied.
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The walls were marked out on clapboard siding and openings cut. I then weathered my wood using Golden 'Titan buff' dirtied up with a bit of Woodland Scenics slate grey and stone grey, dabbed on and smeared and then lightly wiped off with a paper towel. Finally I gave them an A&I wash and weighted them down to dry. Here they are with windows and doors in place. I will be scratchbuilding a few doors and I also kitbashed a couple of doors. adding frames from L-shaped Evergreen strip styrene and thresholds from strip 10x2's along with a few other small alterations.
First the main mill.
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And here is the extension and chipping shed.
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I still have the shipping/ storage building, boiler house, pumphouse and hopper walls to do. I likely already have enough ready for my modelling weekend. Stripwood is stained and ready and the doors shown in these photos are now primed and ready for a top coat.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
I've always liked that kit, looking forward to see how this looks when you get finished Mark. :)
I will definitely be following along again.
QuoteI've always liked that kit, looking forward to see how this looks when you get finished Mark. :)
Thanks, Gregory.
Yep - its a pretty neat kit with all the different smaller structures, and the overhang makes it pretty unique. I hope my changes, additions and setting enhance it's good points.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteI will definitely be following along again.
Thanks, Kurt.
Its feels like the forum might take a little while to get going. Thanks for following along!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well, I'm back from our 2fatpossums modelling weekend away. A bit of social goings on and catching up with our Blenheim friends, but still some good progress made - and a great time had by all - which is the most important thing!
So as this scratchbuild is BIG, rather than paint everything at once I did things a little at a time. I started off with the bottom story. Walls were first painted antique green, running a detail brush along under the laps of the weatherboards, bouncing to get an uneven line. Once done an inside out gym sock was used to dry dab on some more colour. This is my way of trying to get the paint where it should be on the structure. Dry sponging or gym socking alone leaves the structure with paint mostly missing from under the laps, which is exactly where the most paint should be. After drying I added nail holes and a few joins and lifted boards and then gave each wall a wash with my alcohol and black leather dye mix. The corner trim was painted in the same way using unbleached titanium. I don't wash with A&I when using white. Windows were painted while still attached to the painters tape using a brush with short stumpy bristles, kind of jabbing north, south, west and east. Windows were glazed and blinds added. I braced the centre of the walls and added the corner trim to the gable walls. I then added bracing right next to the corner trim. I was gifted this siding and it was thicker than the Northeastern walls that I usually use. This meant the 6x6's that I normally use would have required rebates to be cut out of the back of every second wall. This sounded like a pain so I went with 8x8's instead. This is still prototypical, and several kit manufacturers use 8x8 corner trim - including Master Creations (although Master Creations actually use two pieces of 8x1 or 8x2 glued over the clapboard which is but jointed).
Photo 1 - shows the first story complete.
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Photo 2 - Here we are with the second story added. I cut a base from some 1.5mm styrene and glued three walls around it. This sub assembly was then glued to the second story gable shown in photo 1. The same thing was done again with a second sub assembly and this was glued in place with the left hand wall glued to the gable corner trim shown in photo 1. Finally I cut, fitted and added the last gable wall. There was a bit of time spent on this bit it all went pretty smoothly.
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Photo 3 - a view from the front. A scratchbuilt freight door will be added to the second story.
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Photo 4 - shows the left end.
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Photo 5 - shows a close up of the Tichy Train Group corbels. I think these add a great deal of interest. I still have lots more of these to go.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
That looks great Mark. I love the detailing along with the wall covering and coloring.
Great start Mark.....this will be a great addition to your layout. 8)
QuoteThat looks great Mark. I love the detailing along with the wall covering and coloring.
Thanks, Curt.
The Tichy Train Group corbels are a bit more ornate than those on the original kit. I was a little worried they might look too much, but on the contrary, I think they make the structure 'pop'. the fans were Alexander castings that I filed to fit within the frame of Tichy work car windows. There is a cupola that runs the length of the taller of the two storied sections and I have 24 of these windows painted up for here. I may only need 22 or 20. I will add 6x6 trim between each window. the scratchbuilt doors will use 6x1 and 2x1 timber and probably 8x2 and 6x2 for the frames.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteGreat start Mark.....this will be a great addition to your layout. 8)
Thanks, Greg.
Yep - it should look good there. Originally I intended to build a concrete complex based on Wilsons cement works in Warkworth, New Zealand. It is a fantastic structure, but in making a mock-up for it, it soon became obvious that I would need to compress the complex so much that it lost its proportions and much of the wow factor would need to be omitted. It's another example of always seeming to have 10% less space than you want. I've added a link which should take you to a short article and a great picture of the complex. So cool!
https://discover.stqry.app/en/story/9364
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
You can see I have now built the annex and the shipping/ storage facility.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
I am impressed with how you once again managed to design and construct a complex structure; one that looks eminently like a building that would exist in the real world. Kudos for not only the design, but also the execution. The fit and finish is exceptional, too. I'm definitely following along and looking forward to your continued progress.
Thanks for taking the time to share your modeling.
Great progress Mark..... 8)
QuoteI am impressed with how you once again managed to design and construct a complex structure; one that looks eminently like a building that would exist in the real world. Kudos for not only the design, but also the execution. The fit and finish is exceptional, too. I'm definitely following along and looking forward to your continued progress.
Thanks for taking the time to share your modeling.
Thanks very much, Jerry.
At present, this newly opened site doesn't seem to have much traffic, and so I was not in a rush to post an update. Comments like yours certainly help motivate me! I always try hard to think about the terrain that was there before the buildings came. It makes such a difference if you can make the structures look like they were built into the existing landscape. When working on the diorama last night I got out the instructions from my one and only South River Modelworks kit - Thorndike Mills - and was reading about their philosophy on siting kits and see it is exactly the same as mine. Maybe that is why I always liked Bob's designs so much!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteGreat progress Mark.....
Thanks so much, Gregory.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well I spent yesterday playing around with plaster castings for the canal walls. I also decided my canal wasn't quite deep enough to allow a drop in height for the sluice gates and allow a bridge across the river on the main line which is a little lower than the pulp mill trackage. Firstly I attacked the base again with my skill saw - cutting 6mm out of the 16mm MDF and then attached with a hammer and chisel. I then measured and cut a small piece of 16mm MDF to raise the canal height for the sluice gate.
Photo 1 - Show an overall view of the canal. You can see I will have to create some suspended walkways for those doors. The main mill and hopper share part of the canal retaining walls as foundations. I'm thinking the right front of this photo is where the outlet pipe will go. I will put another drop in canal bed height before here.
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Photo 2 - shows a view down the canal. I cut a couple of double track bridge abutments in half, to height and then reduced their thickness. These became my bridge abutments for the two mill tracks. I wanted to create some negative and positive detail. The double abutments had been cast some months ago and so were nicely cured.
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Photo 3 - shows the sluice gate and the start of the sluice gate wall. The sluice gate was a wills kit. The kit comes with two sluice gates in parallel that operate as one - I cut the kit in half. I immediately snapped the plastic shaft in half by looking at it and so used a pin as a replacement shaft. You can see I glued in a piece of 16mm MDF to get some change in riverbed height. This scales out to about 4' 8".
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Photo 4 - shows the grooves I cut into the top of the abutments for the timber beams that will support the trackage.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
I was reading about Wilson Portland Cement, and then looked at North Island geology. I wondered where they got the limestone. There seems to be a patch of limestone near Warkworth, which I guess makes sense. Some of the other deposits in the area are ash-rich, the same as the famous Pozzuoli stuff that makes Roman Concrete, which can cure under water and is much stronger than "regular" concrete. It's fun to put to use what I learned from the geology courses I've taken the last couple of years.
The start of the canal, including the sluice gate, looks great! I had some custom NE Brownstone castings for a curved canal wall on my previous layout. (I still have that section of layout, but I couldn't find a way to use it in the current layout.)
dave
QuoteI was reading about Wilson Portland Cement, and then looked at North Island geology. I wondered where they got the limestone. There seems to be a patch of limestone near Warkworth, which I guess makes sense. Some of the other deposits in the area are ash-rich, the same as the famous Pozzuoli stuff that makes Roman Concrete, which can cure under water and is much stronger than "regular" concrete. It's fun to put to use what I learned from the geology courses I've taken the last couple of years.
The start of the canal, including the sluice gate, looks great! I had some custom NE Brownstone castings for a curved canal wall on my previous layout. (I still have that section of layout, but I couldn't find a way to use it in the current layout.)
Thanks so much, Dave.
I used to spend summers staying with relations on a farm in Warkworth as a kid. Happy days. It sounds like you're getting a lot out of your course. I also did a workshop with Russ in Scranton, 2015 modelers expo. Using those plaster caving techniques you can get some pretty realistic results - its just time consuming.
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, cheers, Mark.
Looking great , love the colors and detailing and the way the structures are going to be planted with the canal running through , can't wait to see it finished.
QuoteLooking great , love the colors and detailing and the way the structures are going to be planted with the canal running through , can't wait to see it finished.
Thanks, Jan.
I'm having fun. Hoping to get a bit more done today.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I had a play with a railroadkits wall for the boiler house. These walls are very rustic! What do you think? Please tell me. If you think it sucks - say so (My wife does). I have the timber walls all cut out and painted ready to go if needed...
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Cheers, Mark.
I like it and it looks very much like a dilapidated brick foundation
Mark,
First of all, I really like the canal. The way it is laid out so part of the canal serves as the concrete foundation for one of the buildings looks very prototypical to me. The use of the stone for walls away from the structures looks great and adds a lot of interest to the canal itself.
It may be the white balance on your camera, but the mortar in the brick wall looks too white for a wall in that condition. I'd suggest darkening the mortar until it looks as old as the bricks themselves. It seems to me some moss would also be growing in the mortar joints, at least in the northern US where I reside. Might be different in your climate?
I read a long time ago where Scott Mason said that the black bricks were more or less rejects. I know you have a few in the wall, maybe if you added some black to a few more of the broken ones it would help explain the condition of the wall. Bottom line, I'd say use the brick walls, unless you think the entire boiler house is too old for the rest of the factory buildings.
Hi Mark.....if the term rustic is defined as very old, not maintained well or generally falling apart, I'll have to agree with Jerry.
If that is the look you are going for, the mortar joints and general appearance of the brick faces needs to be weathered to reflect an old and decrepit appearance . Lots of mold, algae, dirt, grime and crud would help give it look you may be going for. At this stage, it may be a little too pristine.
In looking at the missing and uneven spacing of the bricks, I would assume it to have been originally done by a poorly trained or incompetent mason using an inferior mortar mix and more mortar patches where there are missing bricks may help a bit also. :-\
QuoteI like it and it looks very much like a dilapidated brick foundation
Thanks, Rodney.
I was think foundations might work well for this brickwork. Each sheet is made up of ten horizontal repetitions. I think these would become very hard to hide on a larger brick wall, but on a foundation they wouldn't show.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteFirst of all, I really like the canal. The way it is laid out so part of the canal serves as the concrete foundation for one of the buildings looks very prototypical to me. The use of the stone for walls away from the structures looks great and adds a lot of interest to the canal itself.
Thanks for your comments on the canal, Jerry. I tried to vary the materials to create extra interest - but with a bit of engineering logic (I hope). I have another type of wall to use at the front of the diorama yet The concrete retaining walls are cast from my own master.
QuoteIt may be the white balance on your camera, but the mortar in the brick wall looks too white for a wall in that condition. I'd suggest darkening the mortar until it looks as old as the bricks themselves. It seems to me some moss would also be growing in the mortar joints, at least in the northern US where I reside. Might be different in your climate?
No - not the colour balance - I used white chalk. I was going for efflorescence (leaching of white mineral salts). It is actually a fairly common aging sign, I believe. I could try brushing on some grey or black. I'll likely add some moss. On the west coast where the rainfall is very high there is plenty of moss growing.
QuoteI read a long time ago where Scott Mason said that the black bricks were more or less rejects. I know you have a few in the wall, maybe if you added some black to a few more of the broken ones it would help explain the condition of the wall. Bottom line, I'd say use the brick walls, unless you think the entire boiler house is too old for the rest of the factory buildings.
I don't know how much truth there is in this. My understanding is that the black bricks are made using a different process from fly ash which is a byproduct from coal burning powerplants. They absorb more moisture than clay bricks - and so are more prone to efflorescence if left unsealed. In this case your idea of adding more black to the rotten areas makes sense.
Thanks for all your input here, Jerry! Cheers, Mark.
QuoteHi Mark.....if the term rustic is defined as very old, not maintained well or generally falling apart, I'll have to agree with Jerry.
If that is the look you are going for, the mortar joints and general appearance of the brick faces needs to be weathered to reflect an old and decrepit appearance . Lots of mold, algae, dirt, grime and crud would help give it look you may be going for. At this stage, it may be a little too pristine.
In looking at the missing and uneven spacing of the bricks, I would assume it to have been originally done by a poorly trained or incompetent mason using an inferior mortar mix and more mortar patches where there are missing bricks may help a bit also. :-\
Thanks, Gregory.
I'll have a play with my next modelling slot and see what I can do. Black mold, algae, moss, more mortar, more dirt and crud and weathering. Tone down the efflorescence. Fire the brick layer - goes without saying!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Just getting caught up on the S&T RR thread. The storage and annex structure is wonderful. The canal and spill way will really catch the visitors eye. What a great scene and very well thought out and a masterpiece in progress.
Tom
QuoteMark, Cheers,
Just getting caught up on the S&T RR thread. The storage and annex structure is wonderful. The canal and spill way will really catch the visitors eye. What a great scene and very well thought out and a masterpiece in progress.
Thanks, Tom.
You are too kind! Having a great time. I was up too late again last night... Its rather addictive... The hopper had been pushed behind other simpler builds because I knew it would be a bit of work. It will be good to sink my teeth into.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I've been working on the hopper for the wood chip storage.
Photo 1 - so here is where I'm up to. Colours are Army painter oak brown and Vallejo343 shadows flesh mixed 3:1.
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Photo 2 - shows the housing for the auger which moves the wood chips across the canal to the main mill. I used the motor off a lathe casting to drive the auger. I made a former on my drop saw for the housing and then cut and filed slots to fit around the hopper floor supports. I glued this in place and then cut and fitted and glued in 8x2 to cover.
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Photo 3 - on the other side is the pipe in which the auger spins and moves the woodchips to the mill. I drilled a 5mm hole in the end of the former and attached a short piece of 5mm plastic tube. I piece of 6mm tube will fit snugly around this and span the river, perforating the end wall of the mill.
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Photo 4 - shows and angled view. I have added NBW castings to the large outer timbers. At this stage I wasn't happy with the size of the roof, but the chunky timbers were in the way for a larger soffit.
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Photo 5 - to address this I added some 8x2 trim up the rake of the gable end walls.
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Photo 6 - and also cut a beveled piece out of some 12x4 to add on top of the front and back wall.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Very nice modeling Mark.
Mark,
That's really a nice job on the wood chip hopper. IMO the bracing is spot on. I really like the way you designed and built the auger, using the lathe motor for the auger drive is well done. that's the kind of detail a viewer who looks closely really appreciates.
Jerry
QuoteGreat looking progress Mark.
Thanks, Curt.
Just slowly chipping away at things. I should get a bit more done on Thursday.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteThat's really a nice job on the wood chip hopper. IMO the bracing is spot on. I really like the way you designed and built the auger, using the lathe motor for the auger drive is well done. that's the kind of detail a viewer who looks closely really appreciates.
Thanks, Jerry.
I'm pleased you like it. I had to talk myself into cutting that lathe casting in half! I do agree, though. Its an important detail that helps add believability.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - After adding the 8x2 trim I cut a new roof from some thick black card. I glued some 1.5mm sheet styrene to the interior underside to give it some extra strength and to make sure the building platform for the aerial covered conveyor intake (yet to be built) is solid and flat. Here we see the rafter tails along the front.
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Photo 2 - shows an end view with the fly rafters. I used 4x2's for the rafters.
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Photo 3 - shows the hopper at an angle. I'm much happier with the proportions of the new roof and the wider soffits. Well worth the effort, me thinks.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A quick update.
Photo 1 - So I have made up black card roofs to be covered in various roofing types. The shipping/ storage building still needs its piles. That's the tool house in the front. I liked it on an angle to the canal. There is a porch to be added to the canal side.
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Photo 2 - here is the other side of the tool house. Also some tiny dormers to build and add. My different retaining walls have been added to the front along with some rockwork. The canal walls have all been stained/ painted. I painted the canal bottom dark brown, but after consideration, went for black instead. I read in my Thorndike Mills instructions that's what Bob did. I've also found some pretty realistic photos of model canals where black was used online. The roofing iron on the hopper is almost complete. I've also built the chip conveyor belt intake.
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Photo 3 - Lastly, an end view of the hopper. This also shows the stack I am planning to use.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Coming together nicely Mark..... 8)
Looks very good Mark.
QuoteComing together nicely Mark..... 8)
QuoteLooks very good Mark.
Thanks very much, Gregory and Curt, and thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I thought I'd update my plan and schematic.
Photo 1 - You can see the pulp mill near the centre of the layout. It kind of puts the scope of the whole project in perspective!
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Photo 2 - Schematic drawings. The bottom schematic enlarges the horizontal distance axis to allow me to fit in all the bridges and tunnels. Sorry about the misspelling in the title. I thought it had an 'h' in it, but copied it without the 'h' from a model railroader mag! I have corrected it on my master... Unless there is an American spelling?
More soon, cheers, Mark.
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Cheers, Mark.
Looks great Mark. That will be a wonderful layout to operate.
Jerry
Wow...what a great design.
That peninsula to the left is going to be amazing. Makes me think of Dick Patterson's HOn30 Dolly Varden, which was featured in MR many many years ago...just lots of complexity of bridges, controlled viewing angles in and out of a deep canyon and track coming and going unexpectedly popping out of tunnels.
QuoteLooks great Mark. That will be a wonderful layout to operate.
`
Thanks, Jerry.
The trains will no doubt be a little shorter than I would like because of the 4% ruling grades, but I just couldn't get the drama I wanted with vertical displacement between tracks on a smaller grade. For that I would have needed a significantly bigger room. Its all about trade offs and deciding what you want most. I've tried hard to put together something that will work and be interesting to operate and hopefully be able to keep five people busy. I studied lots of my favourite designs, but I also wanted to design the layout myself. I'm looking forward to winter when the weeds stop growing and getting back into the layout room for some extended periods. Only 3 1/2 months to go...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteWow...what a great design.
That peninsula to the left is going to be amazing. Makes me think of Dick Patterson's HOn30 Dolly Varden, which was featured in MR many many years ago...just lots of complexity of bridges, controlled viewing angles in and out of a deep canyon and track coming and going unexpectedly popping out of tunnels.
Thanks, Cuse!
I'm pleased you like it! There were a few trade offs that had to be made - largely because the layout grew from the original urban layout into the specific space I found at my disposal. I agree - that peninsula should be exciting to build. I sacrificed the width of the trackwork along the left wall in order to keep the peninsula larger. I did the same thing in the area behind Tellynott - keeping the layout against the back wall wide at the cost of the layout width on the flip side of the back wall of Tellynott. This was to keep the longitudinal scene under those high bridges and all the way down to the tall timber trestle nice and wide. I am a big fan of the Dick Patterson's design you mention. I love the longways view in from the end of the layout. The ore dock is also a big influence on my own (high wharf). I also own the book 'Steel rails and Silver Dreams' by Darryl E. Muralt - which is a history of the Dolly Varden mines and narrow gauge railway. One can easily see from the prototype photos why it was such a popular area to model! So many great scenes in such a small area! I think the wharf and smelter would have also been interesting to model and made a great scene.
Cheers, Mark.
I love that "into the canyon" view. I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like it - particularly as (kind of) the basis of the whole layout design- so creative and 'out of the box' thinking...I have studied and studied the two profiles I have found and saved (Narrow Gauge & Shoreline Gazette NOV/DEC 1991 & MR MAR 1997). I know the issues because both are out and on my desk. In fact, I was poring over it and I keep coming back to the "Alice Arm" wharf scene (I think you also referred to) as a potentially perfect solution to my present track planning conundrum...I was honestly looking for Ore Bunker designs like he used.
I wonder what happened to that great O scale Dolley Varden layout that was at Seacoast when Seacoast Modeling Center closed.... I remember seeing that at an NG Convention, it was incredibly well done.
Mark, looking more closely at the track plan: No way to turn a locomotive at Wilmot?
dave
You attention to detail in drawing up the plans is incredible. The finished product is going to be awesome.
Jeff
Quotethe two profiles I have found and saved (Narrow Gauge & Shoreline Gazette NOV/DEC 1991 & MR MAR 1997).
I don't know that I have seen the NG&SG article, Cuse. I have these on disc so will look that one out. I, too, have the MRR issue out in my layout room as inspiration - along with some Malcolm Furlow and John Allen articles. I agree that the layout is quite groundbreaking and really shook my modelling world.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteMark, looking more closely at the track plan: No way to turn a locomotive at Wilmot?
Thanks, Dave.
I'll consider this issue.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteYou attention to detail in drawing up the plans is incredible. The finished product is going to be awesome.
Thanks so much, Jeff.
I just spent the weekend with the possums modelling group down in Timaru and have come back nicely motivated. All I need now is some spare time...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Time for an update. I'll get a bit more uploaded over lunch. Firstly is my walkover between the main mill and the shipping/ storage building. I chose to do an open walkover. A lot more work but I think it will add a lot to the scene. I also decided to raise the centre of the walkover to clear my locos. Straight, the walkover would clear wagons - which would have been fine, but it just looked a little low to my eye. I used steel girders to make up the base framing as I didn't want to add support posts on the loading dock by the main mill.
Photo 1 - shows the steel framework with joists in position and some decking on,
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Photo 2 - shows my framing being assembled on painters tape, sticky side out.
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Photo 3 - The first open framed wall being test fitted. I cut out access for the posts in the decking, and so careful measuring was necessary to get things to fit correctly.
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Photo 4 - Here is the completed walkover with the black card roof glued in place. I think I will roof this aerial walkover in rolled roofing. Unlike most kits I've used almost no rolled roofing in this complex.
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Photo 5 - a side view.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
...Part 2
OK - on to some roofing.
Photo 1 - So I made a styrene sub roof for the little tool shed to add some guts to the roof and glued that in position. I then added the black card roof. I'd marked straight lines across the roof for placement of the shingles first. Once this was glued in place I made up the tiny dormers. I elected to add three. I then added the double sided tape. I always make sure that the tape spans across the ridgeline to the other side. This gives my styrene rod which is part of the ridge capping something to adhere to.
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Photo 2 - Campbells corrugated iron was added piece by piece, cutting to fit as necessary. I added my lead headed nails as per usual. I made up flashings out of tin foil and double sided tape and added these to the sides of the dormers. Ridge capping was made up in the same way and a length of styrene rod attached down the centre. Next will be to add the fly rafters and rafter ends. Also there is a porch to build and attach.
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Photo 3 - Here I am roofing the annex. You can see I have roofed the lower story. I added a flashing out of some brown paper, but later removed this as I thought it looked better without it.
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Photo 4 - A close up as I shingle the roof. You can see the bead of canopy glue I have run along the the top of the last row of shingles. I use the double sided tape to initially position the shingles, pressing the string into position every inch or so, but the addition of the glue holds the shinglerows to each other better.
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Photo 5 - The shingles have been painted with a diluted blackish brown.
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Photo 6 - Once dry a series of dry brushes in paynes grey, tans, light browns and off whites finish things off. This is a method I learnt from Troels Kirk.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
...Part 3
Photo 1 - A quick pic of the colours I used for the shingles.
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Photo 2 - I found this stack in Oamaru a couple of weekends ago when we were there for dog shows. Brick on the top section, block/ stone on the lower section. It also has angle iron running up the top edges of the stack and bands every few feet. Pretty cool and unusual and a must scratchbuilt for Tellynott!
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Photo 3 - And this cool little engine shed down by the quay. Very humble and would suit my little logging/ mining town very well.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
I love how you did the top of the corrugated roof Mark using tinfoil.
Nice work on the roofing. I picked up an idea to try so thanks for that too. That's an interesting structure you're modeling. The photos of the stack and structure are great too!
Nice bunch of photos, Mark, including the engine shed. Looking forward to seeing how you use those paints on the shingles. Any particular brush you use?
dave
QuoteI love how you did the top of the corrugated roof Mark using tinfoil.
Thanks, Janbouli.
Its a bit fiddly, but not too bad - and well worth the effort. Its important to leave the corrugated sheets down just a little from the ridge line so that you have some double sided tape there to stick the styrene rod to. Give it a try...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteNice work on the roofing. I picked up an idea to try so thanks for that too. That's an interesting structure you're modeling. The photos of the stack and structure are great too!
Thanks, Bob.
No problems. I am really not a fan of white glue and black paint used for a flashing. It just seems such a crude method to use on an otherwise beautifully built model. Flashings and ridge cappings take some time and effort - but I think make a big difference. I have documented my construction of ridge cappings and hips in more depth earlier in this thread. Let me know if you need me to find a page reference. Its a great complex and I'm really enjoying myself. I saw someone buy the kit in O scale recently on facebook and do a box opening video. Very interesting to see. I feel like a few of my smaller structures - the repair shed and pump house - are considerably smaller than those in the kit. Having said that - they wouldn't have fitted my site without a reduction in size. That is the reason the repair shed has only three dormers rather than four.
Yes - I could have spent days looking around Oamaru. Not many places in the world where a man riding a penny farthing passes by while you are dining in a Thai restaurant! There are some beautiful buildings clad in ornate Oamaru stone. Its a beautiful product.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteNice bunch of photos, Mark, including the engine shed. Looking forward to seeing how you use those paints on the shingles. Any particular brush you use?
Thanks, Dave.
I hate to disappoint, but the photo previous to that of all my paints shows what the roof looks like after dry brushing.
Nothing special with the paint brushes. With the diluted blackish brown you need to get some paint under any shingles that are sticking up - so soft and flexible. Likewise something soft for the dry brushing - but lots of passes slowly building up the colours.
Yep - that engine shed is a goodie. I also have a book - 'logging railroads of Skagit county' which has a picture of the coolest little engine shelter. Its a tough competition!
Cheers, Mark.
Cheers, Mark.
Tinfoil on the cap. I'm stealing that idea. 8)
Jeff
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on March 15, 2024, 02:09:05 PMTinfoil on the cap. I'm stealing that idea. 8)
Jeff
It keeps the aliens out, too :-)
dave
Mark,
That's quite an update. Ever since you explained how you do the metal ridge peak flashing I have been impressed with how realistic it looks. Taking the time to do it in a way that duplicated the prototype makes such a difference in the impact of your modeling. I really like how the shingled roof came out. I've never been quite satisfied with how my roofs with the Campbell shingles look, I'll have to try your method.
Beautiful progress Mark.
QuoteTinfoil on the cap. I'm stealing that idea. 8)
Thanks, Jeff.
Don't forget the rod.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteThat's quite an update. Ever since you explained how you do the metal ridge peak flashing I have been impressed with how realistic it looks. Taking the time to do it in a way that duplicated the prototype makes such a difference in the impact of your modeling. I really like how the shingled roof came out. I've never been quite satisfied with how my roofs with the Campbell shingles look, I'll have to try your method.
Thanks, Jerry.
I use a toothpick to meld the tin foil into the undulations of the iron.
I find the combination of double sided tape and canopy glue makes getting the shingles straight easy. Troels Kirk's painting method is pretty foolproof. If you go too far you can always bring things back with some more blackish brown.
Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, I'm very impressed with all of the progress you are making on this very interesting complex. I realy liked the walkovers- some fine modeling there
Great modeling here, my friend. I agree, the ridge cap is perfect.
QuoteHello Mark, I'm very impressed with all of the progress you are making on this very interesting complex. I realy liked the walkovers- some fine modeling there
Thanks Jeff!
The roofing takes ages - as I'm sure you know - and although I've been pottering away at it progress is slow, especially at this time of year (autumn). I've also been spending time getting into the track laying. There is a lot to do! I have now bought 5 boxes of Peco code 75 flextrack. So far I have laid one box. The point work really slows me down!
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteGreat modeling here, my friend. I agree, the ridge cap is perfect.
Thanks, John.
It is fiddly. On my third corrugated roof for this complex I had to have two attempts as my first one went a bit skew whiff! There is no rescuing those kind of fragile double sided tape pieces and I had to make up a new ridge capping. All went well the second time around.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
So I bought some more Australian, New South Wales rolling stock. These are about ten years too modern for my period, but 'oh well'. They come in four packs and these sets are always limited runs and always seem to sell out. I bought two 10 packs of coal hoppers and was planning to get one more ten pack with hungry boards and they all sold out. Such a shame as I really wanted that random look of a few here and there with hungry boards. So I got five cattle wagons, four sheep wagons and three dairy wagons. Here are three pictures of the train in the passing siding at Ellery. I have laid the track work and installed the turnouts through here now. All curved track is cantilevered. The photos should show a nice flowing curve - I tried hard to get one!
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Here is the second bridge for Shadowlands. This is the one I had to partially rebuild after Wilbur escaped from his crate in the middle of the night and among other antics, knocked over the table on which my bridge was being built. My original plan was to have a micro Engineering tall steel viaduct with height extensions, but when I got to the track bed stage I discovered I didn't have anywhere near enough height. I lowered the baseboard as much as I could and the river bed is now directly fixed to the module bearers. I have plans for the tall steel viaduct elsewhere, but without the height extensions.
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More in a sec, cheers, Mark.
Hi again...
Photo 5 - shows a heisler and two of the hoppers mocked up on the bridge. I used Micro Engineering code 70 bridge track.
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Photo 6 - shows the view through the bridge to the Builders in Scale Silverado mine.
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Photo 7 - is looking down on this section of the layout. There will be a tunnel mouth just to the left of the bridge, and at the right the gradient flattens for the passing loop at Malcolm.
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Photo 8 - shows the view through the bridge to the track snaking its way to the Silverado mine. This track is now laid too.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, what great progress you are making on your empire. You have a lot of mountain building to do, can't wait to see it.
Beautiful work on the trestle Mark...that's going to be quite a scene. The complexity of the benchwork is certainly intriguing as I try to envision the dramatic scenery to follow.
Great looking trestle, Mark. Can that tiny Rio Grande engine really pull all those wagons?
Jeff
QuoteHello Mark, what great progress you are making on your empire. You have a lot of mountain building to do, can't wait to see it.
Thanks, Jeff.
Yes - it will be nice to get into forming up the mountain scenery. Hopefully I will get to some of that later this year.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteBeautiful work on the trestle Mark...that's going to be quite a scene. The complexity of the benchwork is certainly intriguing as I try to envision the dramatic scenery to follow.
Thanks, Cuse.
I'm planning on having the river split into two streams coming under the trestle. The river that flows to this point will have to be lowered. At the moment I have 16mm MDF screwed (but not glued) to the top of the joists for the riverbed. In order to allow enough height for the Micro Engineering tall towers to fit under the higher track (just past the spur to the snowy river battery) I need to lower the MDF to be flush with the top of the joists. A bit more cutting and fitting to do yet. The river then falls about 3 inches to the lowered section that the trestle sits on. I carefully plotted out the position of all the piles and set my plunge router to the correct depth and routed slightly larger holes for the piles to fit into. It was a mare to get the piles into all those holes (40, I think) and so I have attached the track to the bridge at both ends and will try to scenic around the bridge in position. We will see how that goes. It was a super elevated bridge on a 28" radius curve at a 3% grade. You can't build them much more difficult that that! To be honest I'm amazed it fitted as well as it did...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteGreat looking trestle, Mark. Can that tiny Rio Grande engine really pull all those wagons?
Thanks, Jeff.
To be honest I don't know yet. Probably on the flat. The wagons are quite light and extremely free running. I would imagine the 4% grade might be a little taxing. I was looking at how I could do away with the loop, make the layout point to return loop, and lower the gradient to around 2.5%. It is possible (although a hell of a lot of messy, double handling work) but it kind of creates as many problems as it fixes. It also means there would be about 6" less vertical displacement. In the end I decided to carry on with the 4% grade. Geared locos, shorter trains. Perhaps trains will need to be pushed up hill and pulled downhill to stop runaway derailed wagons. I can tell you from testing my trackwork with a short rake of cars - they sure do get up some serious speed!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, just catching up on the forum, really impressive bridge, quite the project.
Jim
Mark, Cheers,
The trestle is amazing and looks great. With the addition of scenery, it will certainly be an eye catcher.
The mockup behind the trestle looks good, on paper anyway. ;D
Tom
QuoteMark, just catching up on the forum, really impressive bridge, quite the project.
Thanks, Jim.
We have a modelling weekend this weekend so I'm planning to get stuck into the next major bridge. This one is a Micro Engineering 150' tall steel viaduct. There are a lot of parts so I'm guessing it might take quite a while to put together. I have various other projects to work on as well, so if I need a break I'm spoiled for choice...
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteThe trestle is amazing and looks great. With the addition of scenery, it will certainly be an eye catcher.
The mockup behind the trestle looks good, on paper anyway. ;D
Thanks, Tom.
The mock-up is of Builders in Scale Silverado mine. It is a quaint little mine and will fit well into my limited space here. I'm looking forward to starting on some scenery, but at present I'm working on getting bridges constructed so that the main line can keep progressing. The plan is to get all the way from Hope to Alabaster, just leaving the three large bridges across the summit line to complete.
Cheers, Mark.
Beautiful trestle! With scenery it's going to really be a scent to behold.
Jerry
QuoteBeautiful trestle! With scenery it's going to really be a scent to behold.
Thanks, Jerry.
Yes - I'm really looking forward to the scenery stage. I made good progress on the Micro Engineering bridge bents last night. Hoping to get more done today. I might have opted for the more delicate wire and turnbuckle cross braces if I had have known before being told part way through the instructions. Unfortunately, here in New Zealand, you can't just walk into your local hobby shop and buy Grandt Line turnbuckles. I would need to order these from the USA and then wait at least two weeks (perhaps 6 weeks) for them to arrive. I also found a short Youtube video which answered a lot of my questions about building the bridge at grade.
Cheers, Mark.
Impressive trestle Mark, look forward to seeing it with scenery..... 8)
QuoteImpressive trestle Mark, look forward to seeing it with scenery..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
The possums all went out to have a look at my progress in the train room yesterday afternoon. Nice to get some feedback and to be reminded that I am making progress. We talked through scenery around the snowy river battery where I am second guessing myself and have a couple of totally different ideas floating around in my head. I think my plan is to 'throw up' some fascia and cut in the land profile to see what I think. This will show how I can frame different views, hide some elements from one side of the peninsula and have others as major views with borrowed scenery behind. Also rediscovered my MRR with Malcolm Furlow's article on the Silverton and Telluride layout he worked on - one of my all time favourite layouts. One of the things I noticed was his extremely vertical trestle bents. I think I will mock a couple of these up and try them in place of the Howe through truss bridge. I'll lose the 'see through' element of the Howe truss, but may gain more with the drama of those tall, fragile bents.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A nice weekend was had by all the possums. We even had our honourary member, Mark Andrews, turn up for the last part of the afternoon on Sunday. I made some good progress with the Micro Engineering bridge, but found it necessary to make a few jigs to help things go smoothly. I'll describe these in an upcoming post. Since the weekend I have been working on, and thinking about, fascia. Fascia can really define a scene, or in my case, several scenes. In order to make these work in a mountain scene each needs careful consideration, and even then, at least in my case, further changes are common. So my intent is to show the direction I am heading, but also to ask your opinions. I have two different scenarios, both with their own advantages and disadvantages. It is, however, extremely difficult to see how one will look without first destroying the other one.
Photo 1 - shows the south side of the peninsula. This section of fascia is glued and nailed in position. I can alter the shape of the profile on top, and the taller bits are presently held in place with clamps.
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Photo 2 - shows the east end of the peninsula. You can see this really frames the river and trestle well.
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Photo 3 - shows the north side of the peninsula. This section is clamped in position at present. I'm pretty happy with the shape and have a good idea about what I will do with the scenery.
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Photo 4 - is a reminder of what I have set the scene up for. My original idea was to have a small mine down low by the river. I then kind of fell in love with the Snowy River battery and made a mock-up of this complex. I loved the view of the battery up close from the south side with the borrowed scenery behind - the view down the gorge, to the pulp mill and to the limeworks. I also kind of leapt into this new idea without proper consideration of the original scene, and as I said, this is now hard to mock up - although I have given it a good try.
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Photo 5 - shows earlier photo before I had built the battery mock-up. Here we see the view down the river gorge.
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Photo 6 - Shows the view with the limeworks in the background.
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More soon...
Hi again.
So the next series of photos will try to show the original idea mocked up. You will have to imagine out the upper curved set of points and the MDF baseboard whenever they get in the way. This will be mountain side. The main disadvantage I see of the battery is that it is quite large (https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22679057?search%5Bi%5D%5Bname_authority_id%5D=-262901&search%5Bpath%5D=items) and I fear it will make the vastness of the mountain scenery look less vast and it will kind of look out of proportion. I was also never a fan of the almost circle of track that the spur to the battery creates. I do intend to enclose some of this in a tunnel, but the mind can be good at filling in the blanks.
Photo 7 - So here we have an overall view of the valley. The stream will meander its way down the mountainside via a series of small waterfalls. The left bent will need to be modified to suite the terrain. At present I have allowed for 30' spans throughout, but I might try a 50' span between the two bents. The mine is shown here with a picture of John Allen's mine from Sims loop. That's about the size I am going for.
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Photo 8 - Here we are a little closer. The passing loop at Malcolm is shown in the foreground - I still need to lay track here.
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Photo 9 - and closer still...
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Photo 10 - Here we are looking back the other way - looking down from the south side. The clamp in the foreground is holding the curved bridge mock-up in place. You can see the picture of the mine in the right of the photo.
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Photo 11 - shows the cameo view through the underpass. As the curved points widen through the underpass, the bridge will need to be 'splayed' and this will allow for a wider view. The radius of the curve I used is almost identical to that of the outer radius of the Walthers curved turnout. Unfortunately it is the opposite direction to the one presently in place for the battery.
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More soon...
Hi again...
Photo 12 - a view of the river leading to the trestle. In order to give enough height for the Micro Engineering bents to fit under the track I had to cut all the MDF for the riverbed so that it fit in between the joists. I marked the joists while the MDF was screwed in place and then cut it to size on the drop saw. I was able to get a nice tight fit and so just tapped the pieces into position with lots of glue put on the joists first and then just let them bond - no 45x19 supports needed. The glue which oozed out the bottom will make a nice ledge for the MDF to sit on. I wont go walking on it, but I think it would hold if I forgot...
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Photo 13 - a close up of the the tall steel bridge. I have replaced the picture of the mine with a small timber mock-up that I had lying around here.
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Photo 14 - Here is the left bent. I would cut the left side down to just below the first horizontal member.
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Photo 15 - Here is a view through the bent to the picture of the mine behind.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Wow , lots of work done , lots of work cut out to do . Thanks for sharing Mark
Watching you flesh out your plans is quite interesting. This will look fantastic when done.
Jeff
This going to be just outstanding when done. I can image the scenery in place just WOW!!
Jerry
QuoteWow , lots of work done , lots of work cut out to do . Thanks for sharing Mark
Thanks, Jan.
I'm enjoying working on the fascia - but it does require a lot of forward though about how the terrain will work. I've been adding 45x19mm droppers which sit flush with the bottom of the bearers as a starting height for my fascia. In this way the bulk of the framework will be hidden from sight and I have something to clamp the fascia to. I can the take the fascia down, cut with my jigsaw and reinstate, as many times as needed until I am happy. Indeed, I could even try two entirely different profiles and trial each, photographing each one. I could then compare photos of the different scenarios on my computer. It helps that I only paid 50c a sheet for the 2.5mm MDF. I do have to splice the higher sections on.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteWatching you flesh out your plans is quite interesting. This will look fantastic when done.
Thanks, Jeff.
Yes - its an interesting process. The blue paper is a very cheap and useful mock-up tool for rivers. These really define the shape of the terrain and are great focal points and sight lines. For a few dollars you get quite a bundle of colouerd paper. Stacking the offcuts of polystyrene and putting folds in the paper was also quick and painless, but really lets you see how things will look.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteThis going to be just outstanding when done. I can image the scenery in place just WOW!!
Thanks, Jerry!
Yes - I think I'm sold on this configuration. All four of the possums liked the other set up better. I didn't have the fascia on or the mock-up in place for them last weekend so it was much harder for them to imagine what I was explaining. The battery at the higher elevation had been bothering me for months. Mostly how it's size will make the mountain range seem smaller. The next step will be to remove the baseboard for the battery - hopefully in a manner that will cause little to no damage, and will also allow reinstatement if necessary. I can then mock-up a mine and some mountains.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I cut the track for the new Walthers curved turnout to fit into. This is to get the spur under the passing siding at Malcolm to the mine underneath the tall steel viaduct.
Photo 1 - An aerial shot showing the new turnout sitting in position. All I had to do was mark and cut the old track, file the ends, cut the glue bond of the existing track with a sharp knife and remove, and the turnout fit straight into the gap, perfectly!
IMG20240624214340comp.jpg
Photo 2 - A view showing how well the turnout fitted into the gap. Both ends are like this. As it is a unifrog, I can use metal fish plates on all connections. This is still to be done. They need tweaking, as the turnouts are code 83 and the flextrack is code 75. There is also a difference in the sleeper thickness.
IMG20240624214331comp.jpg
Photo 3 - Shows my track laying plan of attack. I have laid most of the main line in yellow, and most of the yard at left in pink. The green section(s) will be the last to be laid. The summit line has three large bridges to scratchbuild and these will be major, time consuming undertakings. The other small strip of green is the high ore dock. My intention is to lay the track from Alabaster to Hope, including the mining/ logging town at Wilmot. I should then be able to run some trains and try some operations. I found a formula on line for yard capacity versus switching spots. By my calculations I am pretty close, both with the yard at Hope and the switching spots in Shadowlands, and with the yard in Tellynott (not shown on this plan) and the switching spots in Tellynott. The switching spots in Tellynott are a bit top heavy, but I'm considering using one of the tracks at Neil's Crossing/ Jamestown as an overflow track. There is also still the option of adding a small yard behind Neil's Crossing/ Jamestown. Some sort of closed circuit TV might be needed for operators to see what they are doing.
IMG20240619131633comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Ambitious track plan and so many bridges. Operations should be fun.
Jeff
That will be something to see when you get it done.....looking forward to more of the journey Mark. 8)
The United Airlines inflight magazine for July (our flight got an early release, apparently) had an entry in their long running series "Three Perfect Days" where they visit a city and do upscale things that highlight food, drinks, activities, etc, in the city. It's been fun when they've done a city I know (Vancouver, Boston, Pittsburgh, etc.)
Anyway this month's location was Christchurch. And to my amazement, your layout was NOT featured! ;D
dave
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on June 30, 2024, 07:56:08 AMAmbitious track plan and so many bridges. Operations should be fun.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff.
Yep - all those bridges should be fun! Although time consuming. The beginning of the pink section in the peninsula is where I am concentration my bridge building adventures at present. I have the tall steel viaduct, Furlow's Folly (based on one of my favourite of Malcolm's bridges - where the pink line crosses the yellow line the first time), either a timber howe truss bridge, or the arch as pictured (held in place with a thumb tack), a 50' Micro Engineering open deck bridge, and (probably) a curved stone arch bridge - before I can join it to Hope, Wilmot and the yard. Phew! And none of those are 'THE BIG ONES'.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on June 30, 2024, 08:32:42 AMThat will be something to see when you get it done.....looking forward to more of the journey Mark. 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
You'll have to live as long as I plan to! Still - making steady progress. I got a bit more done between feeding the animals and cooking dinner. Every little bit helps...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on June 30, 2024, 06:45:59 PMAnyway this month's location was Christchurch. And to my amazement, your layout was NOT featured! ;D
dave
Staggering! Who do I call to complain?
Actually - if it had have been Dunedin you may well have seen my son and his world famous Shar pei (John) at Maggies cafe and bar. It's a bit of a go to destination in Dunedin. I was holding John on a lead about 100km away from Dunedin and I was approached by someone asking "excuse me, is that John?" He's even famous in Japan because of all the selfies taken with him. At one stage he had to wear a sign around his neck saying "don't feed me. I'm fat."
Cheers, Mark.
Mark just a remarkable undertaking. I look forward to each post as you get closer to finishing this monster!! ;D
Jerry
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on July 01, 2024, 03:11:35 AMQuote from: deemery on June 30, 2024, 06:45:59 PMAnyway this month's location was Christchurch. And to my amazement, your layout was NOT featured! ;D
dave
Staggering! Who do I call to complain?
Actually - if it had have been Dunedin you may well have seen my son and his world famous Shar pei (John) at Maggies cafe and bar. It's a bit of a go to destination in Dunedin. I was holding John on a lead about 100km away from Dunedin and I was approached by someone asking "excuse me, is that John?" He's even famous in Japan because of all the selfies taken with him. At one stage he had to wear a sign around his neck saying "don't feed me. I'm fat."
Cheers, Mark.
Hope John doesn't have the vision problems that tend to plague Shar Peis... There was one I "knew" through owner posts that had an obvious great personality, even after he lost his eyes.
dave
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on June 30, 2024, 07:56:08 AMAmbitious track plan and so many bridges. Operations should be fun.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff.
I got a bit more track laid last night. I have the whole area in pink at left laid now. I still have the mining/ logging town and mine to go, but all of the yard, sawmill, main line and spur to the Wilmot is now laid. I'll take a couple of photos today after I clean the area off.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
So here are some photos of progress. This is the yard and sawmill at Hope and the main line passing through from left to right. It then doubles back on itself at a 4% grade and continues back towards the summit and those three large bridges. Before it reaches them we have the spur track leading to Wilmot (four wagons are sitting here). As the main line is running downhill from right to left, the spur to Wilmot leaves the main at grade, levels off (where the wagons are sitting) and then starts an upward grade in order to cross over the main further along. I have the curve turnout for the mine in place and the small radius turnout which splits the mine track into two is sitting in place in it's box.
Photos 1 & 2 - show an overall view of the yard, main line and spur leading to the mining/ logging town.
IMG20240702111345comp.jpg
IMG20240702111334comp.jpg
Photo 3 - shows a view of the end of module 9 from above.
IMG20240702111012comp.jpg
Photo 4 - shows a view directly above the sawmill. The two tracks either side of the large gap are the sawmill tracks. The track behind the sawmill is raise 16mm (which can be seen in photos 1 and 20. The track behing the raised track is the backshunt (yard feed).
IMG20240702111043comp.jpg
Photo 5 - shows the runaround and yard turnouts. I had planned to cut a little off two sets of points here to get in the small curve and keep the spacing of the three yard tracks even, but decided to instead widen the spacing between the two outside yard tracks. I still have to retrim the cork and cut and glue a small strip on the near side. The short piece of curved track between the last two sets of points on the ladder was necessary. Try as I might in the design stage, I couldn't find a way of fitting things in without it. I tried using Atlas code 83 curved track here (which is rigid) to help with the difficulty of getting a nice flowing curve with such a short piece of flextrack, but with all the problems of code 83 versus code 75, and variations in sleeper thickness, I decided it was easier to stick with the code 75. I also put the turnout for the runaround directly next to the last yard track turnout. There was supposed to be a short space between them, but by the time I noticed my mistake I was already elbow deep in glue. I didn't panic, but instead took five minutes to weigh up the pros and cons and decide whether it was worth undoing, cleaning up the mess, and redoing. I decided there were as many advantages as disadvantages, that it looked fine, and carried on. I still have to trim cork and add a small strip here too. The runaround holds approximately 6 of my short wheel base cars.
IMG20240702111417comp.jpg
Photo 6 - Lastly, we have a view from above of the station area - that large long eye shape. Room for a platform, small station and water tower, I hope. I'm not sure how I will disguise the proximity of the higher track yet - but I have a few ideas. Perhaps putting the closest part in a tunnel with a cliff overhanging the passing siding might be best. Sounds counter intuitive, I know, but I think it may work. Perhaps a small dirt road leading into a tunnel to give access to the station? This area was always going to be difficult. It's all about sacrifices. I never had much room here, so decided to make the best use of the space by adding a yard to make operations better, at the cost of scenery difficulties. I also didn't want to encroach on my aisle width minimum, 700mm (28"), or eat into the peninsula width. I did decrease the peninsula width slightly to give room for a three track yard.
IMG20240702111513comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looks great Mark..... 8)
Mark,
Looks like you have been very busy working on the railroad. Progress in amazing. Can't wait for more bridges and scenery placement in the near future to be added to your empire.
Tommy
Quote from: GPdemayo on July 02, 2024, 02:34:51 PMLooks great Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
It's nice to get a section finished. I'll have to save up a bit before I launch into the hidden sidings. I'll potter away and get Wilmot done. I only needed another four turnouts for there... Up until now I've been trying to buy motors as I go. It gets expensive - around $80NZ per turnout. I think my last count was 78 turnouts.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on July 02, 2024, 07:16:30 PMMark,
Looks like you have been very busy working on the railroad. Progress in amazing. Can't wait for more bridges and scenery placement in the near future to be added to your empire.
Tommy
Thanks, Tommy.
I'm looking forward to some scenery. In the overhead photos you can clearly see the plastic strips I have been using to super-elevate the track. I saw this done on a layout at our local train show last year and really liked the look. I have been a little more subtle, using thinner plastic - ranging between 0.2mm - 0.8mm.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Wow, you have track and then more track. I love it! Great progress my friend.
Nothing satisfies me more than seeing track on the layout and how it will all work.
The elevated track will give the trains some very prototypical looks. Fantastic looking Mark.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on July 03, 2024, 02:07:08 PMMark, Cheers,
Wow, you have track and then more track. I love it! Great progress my friend.
Nothing satisfies me more than seeing track on the layout and how it will all work.
The elevated track will give the trains some very prototypical looks. Fantastic looking Mark.
Tom
Thanks, Tom!
I'm busy looking into operations when it's too cold for the layout room. That's a rabbit hole and a half!
Until I build that dummy wall and get a heat pump in there, 2 or 3 cold days in a row and it really does cool down in there. Probably around 40F or so. BRRRR! When my nose is running out there I usually don't last too long! I'm looking forward to scratchbuilding a sawmill, too. I figured that 16mm (about 5/8') will make a big difference to the look. My limeworks has the same and it looks fabulous in all the Sheepscot photos.
Cheers, Mark.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A couple of photos of todays progress.
Photo 1 - shows the enclosed aerial conveyor taking shape. You can see the camelback clears easily.
IMG20240704164559comp.jpg
Photo 2 - a little closer and angled. I used 3x1's for the cleats of the sloped walkway. I will add timber work to the hopper intake and the rooftop connection to the conveyor.
IMG20240704164614comp.jpg
I also got a small timber bridge repaired that had taken a tumble.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, thanks for the update and the great pictures. Be careful when taking those overhead shots- it looks like you are standing on the top of a ladder, the fllor looks to be a long way down.
Thanks, Jeff.
I'll do my best to be careful.
Cheers, Mark.
Looks great Mark..... 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on November 03, 2024, 08:23:22 AMLooks great Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory!
I had a fun weekend away in Timaru with our 2fatpossums modelling group and made some good progress on a structure inspired by Foscale's Rust Rock Falls that I have been working on. It combines a kitbashed Bar Mills Shipyard Brewery into the mix as well.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Since I last updated I have done some major work on the ceilings for the various modules.
Photo 1 shows ceiling unit 8a in position, attached to the studs, and resting on a temporary scaffolding.
IMG20240802101312comp.jpg
Photo 2 shows the two big ceiling pieces for module 9, as well as ceiling piece 8a.
IMG20240802101134comp.jpg
Skipping forwards a bit, photo 3 shows the curved 16mm MDF being glued to the ceiling unit 8c. 8b is now in position and bolted to piece 8a.
IMG20240825183830comp.jpg
Photo4 shows ceiling piece 8c as the various 'fins' are added. These are 4.75mm MDF and 19x45mm kiln dried planed and gauged pine.
IMG20240827215630comp.jpg
Photo 5 shows the ceiling unit finished and awaiting the next Thursday when Trevor will give me a lift onto the scaffolding with this beastie. I was able to get many of these pieces up by myself, but a few were too big and I needed assistance.
IMG20240828231252comp.jpg
Photo 6 shows ceiling piece 8c bolted to piece 8b and resting on my scaffolding.
IMG20240830130222comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
That is truly impressive...
I may have said this before, but you've elevated benchwork to an art form. Can't wait to see what's on top
John
Quote from: cuse on November 03, 2024, 07:33:27 PMThat is truly impressive...
I may have said this before, but you've elevated benchwork to an art form. Can't wait to see what's on top
John
Thanks, John - you are too kind.
The timberwork is quickly running to an end. I still have all the fascia to do, but that's pretty much it.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - I built little boxes for strength at my hanging points.
IMG20240923102021comp.jpg
Photo 2 - Where necessary, the ceiling units were hung from the barn ceiling using chain and shade sail items. The swivels make height adjustments a breeze. I went up into the barn roof space and glued and screwed 4x2's to the side of the ceiling battens and into the trusses for extra support. The heaviest of these units is around 25kg, so each hanging point only holds a few kgs.
IMG20240923102051comp.jpg
Photo 3 - Pelmets were added using glue and 19mm finishing nails. I needed many clamps for this job. The curviest parts were tricky. In one very sharp section I used two pieces of 1.5mm styrene, laminated together. The pelmet hangs 80mm proud of the module ceilings to allow for two strips of LED lighting.
IMG20240923102133comp.jpg
Photo 4 - clamps! I used clamps to line things up and pull the 3mm MDF into the curve. I then started nailing at one end and removed the clamps as I went. I generally worked from left to right.
IMG20240929165955comp.jpg
Photo 5 - The peninsula ceiling. Each module is bolted to the next one using between five and seven 12mm coach bolts - Two or three in the benchwork, one in the stud and two or three in the ceiling. Over the peninsula, where the module ceiling has no wall and things needed to be fully supported by hanging, each unit is held to the next with four coach bolts.
IMG20240910182633comp.jpg
Photo 6 - The peninsula at left, module 11 at right, module 10 in the forefront and module 7 at the rear.
IMG20240910182640comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
I never cease to be amazed by your layout design and execution. It is so cool to watch your progress.
Quote from: jerryrbeach on November 05, 2024, 12:51:36 PMMark,
I never cease to be amazed by your layout design and execution. It is so cool to watch your progress.
Thank you very much, Jerry.
Your words mean a lot. Sometimes - especially here, there are so few comments that I wonder whether it is worth while. Its great to know someone is watching, end enjoying, maybe even getting inspiration, from my postings!
Cheers, Mark.
Your benchwork is a work of art. So neat and symmetric.
Jeff
I agree, WOW!
Jim
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on November 05, 2024, 03:24:46 PMYour benchwork is a work of art. So neat and symmetric.
Jeff
Thank you very much, Jeff and Jim.
I'm pleased to be through the vast majority of this, although, I'm sure there will come a time in the future when I will be itching to do some more benchwork and there will be non left to do.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
After some changes made to Hope here is an updated plan. The insert at left shows the new hidden fiddle yard underneath the new mountain town of Hope, with a one loop helix between the two. The sawmill has been moved to Wilmot and a conveyor takes the timber down to a wharf where Dolly the horse pulls a wagon loaded with timber around the tram line for loading. Geographically, this is Big Bay. The sawmill is inspired by the Port Craig sawmill.
scan_drd_2024-11-08-07-10-12comp.jpeg
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Thanks for taking time to scan and post your layout diagram with the recent changes. I downloaded a copy so I can print it out and have it handy to refer to as you describe your progress. Love the changes, by the way!
Quote from: jerryrbeach on November 08, 2024, 08:39:59 AMMark,
Thanks for taking time to scan and post your layout diagram with the recent changes. I downloaded a copy so I can print it out and have it handy to refer to as you describe your progress. Love the changes, by the way!
Great to hear, Jerry!
Here is a link with a image of the Port Craig sawmill. I'll change things up a fair bit, so lets call it inspiration. My tall timber viaduct was inspired by the Percy Burn viaduct. Just arrow across on the images to see the sawmill.
https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/9234/Port%20Craig%20Sawmill%20and%20Settlement
A shipment of Peco points is on its way across the Tasman sea and I got some cork roadbed laid last night. I buy my cork in pieces around 32"x24" from a flooring specialist at a fraction (I worked out a sixth) of the cost of buying from the craft shops. It pays to shop around. I use 3mm (1/8") cork.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
That sawmill looks like a rather large building to have hanging on the side of a cliff. And, "rather large" is definitely an understatement. I'll be watching to see the scene on your layout inspired by this image. You must be getting excited to be this close to finishing up the carpentry part of the layout. The fun stuff comes next as you start the structures and develop the scenery on the layout. I'm excited, and it isn't even my layout!
Quote from: jerryrbeach on November 08, 2024, 06:26:26 PMMark,
That sawmill looks like a rather large building to have hanging on the side of a cliff. And, "rather large" is definitely an understatement. I'll be watching to see the scene on your layout inspired by this image. You must be getting excited to be this close to finishing up the carpentry part of the layout. The fun stuff comes next as you start the structures and develop the scenery on the layout. I'm excited, and it isn't even my layout!
Hi Jerry.
Its a great looking structure. I'd certainly have to reduce its size somewhat, although I may go up instead of out. Log ponds and log hauls were generally not used in New Zealand, as NZ timbers tend to sink. So having a conveyor to transport logs down to the wharf is a real bonus! I also like the way the mill is built into the side of the hill. I have a book called 'Viaducts against the sky' which is all about the Port Craig story and has a great deal of information on the mill, the viaducts and the tiny mill township. There was also a great timber wharf tower for aerial loading of tramp steamers which couldn't dock at the wharf. I would love to build this (it reminds me of Sheepscot's Arcadia granite) but there just isn't room. Indeed, I think the port Craig tramway would be a fascinating subject to model and could easily occupy my entire model room! If I was starting again I may well choose to do this. However - I try to keep blinders on when I model! Maybe in another lifetime...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A little progress so I thought I would update.
Photo 1 - I got the track plan plotted on the 16mm MDF and cut and glued the 3mm cork roadbed in place. The pieces across the join are fitted but not glued. The MDF is screwed to the joists below, but not glued, so can be removed.
IMG20241110185938comp.jpg
Photo 2 - The summit line from the Edith Cavell parabolic arch bridge has been redone to fit with the change in elevation of the new mountain town of Hope. This trackbed was not glued in place, so after some careful measuring and marking of new riser heights, it was removed. I used my skill saw to cut the rises in place. I had to also remove a couple of braces and then reinstate. Things worked out well and I ended up with a 2.4% gradient with easements at each end.
IMG20241110185949comp.jpg
Photo 3 - here is a photo looking across the two high bridges (the MDF in the foreground is the new high trestle to be built). I like the new gradient here. I will mock up the trestle soon and compare with the through Howe truss bridge.
IMG20241110190114comp.jpg
Photo 4 - Here I am mocking up the helix. I was able to cut, unscrew and then tap the roadbed off the rises. I cleaned both sides of this off with a chisel and paint scraper and when flipped it fitted well. The bottom piece will need a new piece cut and a slightly bigger radius to come closer to the new wharf area. All this track will be hidden, as it will be at or below water level. Access is good, with an access hole cut in the helix. The hardest part is working up the courage to send in the demo crew!
IMG20241110185758comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
What's the radius and slope on the helix, Mark?
dave
QuoteWhat's the radius and slope on the helix, Mark?
Hi Dave.
Image 1 - shows the spiral/ helix coming down. It starts at 4% at Hope, then changes to 3.1% at the top of the image. After completing a circle it changes back to 4%. There are easements at each end. The Helix has a radius of 438mm (17 5/8") and is based on Peco #2 sectional track. I figure any locos that have 18" as their tightest radius will do 17 5/8".
IMG20241030081359comp.jpg
Image 2 - shows my tallest loco in the helix. Things are tight so I need to get things accurate as I build. I'm thinking I may use code 100 sectional track to help make things bullet proof here. I will super elevate as well. I may also rebate the 2mm galv supports into the bottom of the 16mm MDF to give a little more clarence. With a lot of work I could lower the height of the North Hope yard to increase the clarence in the helix, but I still don't think I would get my fingers over a train in the case of a derailment. Besides, it would increase the helix gradient.
IMG20241030081415comp.jpg
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, that's definitely "ruling grade" :) Curvature adds to train drag, both on the prototype and in models. The easements will help, but there'll still be resistance as you pull cars/wagons around the circle. You might want to test-run trains on that grade AND curvature to see if the results are acceptable, are you in a position to slap down some flextrack and try it?
dave
Quote from: deemery on November 10, 2024, 01:15:54 PMMark, that's definitely "ruling grade" :) Curvature adds to train drag, both on the prototype and in models. The easements will help, but there'll still be resistance as you pull cars/wagons around the circle. You might want to test-run trains on that grade AND curvature to see if the results are acceptable, are you in a position to slap down some flextrack and try it?
dave
I can give it a try. The alternative is 5/8 of a circle at 4%...
Cheers, Mark.
If you happen to have a ~36"/800mm square piece of MDF, you could lay a circle on that, and try various grades to see how many cars your loco could haul around that circle. That would be a pretty easy testbed to lay down, I think.
dave
Quote from: deemery on November 10, 2024, 02:00:53 PMIf you happen to have a ~36"/800mm square piece of MDF, you could lay a circle on that, and try various grades to see how many cars your loco could haul around that circle. That would be a pretty easy testbed to lay down, I think.
dave
It shouldn't be too hard, Dave.
I had a wee peek this morning. I have found 8 pieces of #2 peco track and have the MDF cut to that radius already. The rises are currently set to 4%, but I can either screw jack rises to the side of these or add blocks to change the grade. Spaces can be added between the two pieces of MDF to support the top piece - one each side. Then I can add the sectional track, wire in a controller, set up a train and test. My little 0-6-0 camelback will pull 20 wagons around a 600mm radius at 4%. Only a half circle. If trains have to 'double the hill' so be it. I've already decided that locos will always be on the downward side of trains at grade. A string of wagons on a 4% grade quickly gets up to an impressive speed!
While walking the dog I had a thought that maybe I could take the trackwork across into module 10 under Wilmot and turn back there. This would add enough distance to lower the grade. But on measuring there is insufficient room. The whole point behind the helix is so I can gain a dedicated arrival/ departure track for the North Hope yard. Without the helix I have to continue the grade right through on the main line. This means trains would need to be backed into the arrival/ departure track and then run around, or driven in and then run around. If I do this I calculated this morning that I could get the grade down to around 3.2%. The curve at 438mm at the south east corner of module 9 would still have to go through 225 degrees (which translates to 1720mm). That's one loco and 21 wagons - which is already at my maximum train length - so I'm not sure if I would gain anything anyway.
Cheers, Mark.
Cheers, Mark.
Well, if you've measured the performance and are happy, go for it!
dave
Hi guys.
I tested a train on the mocked up helix. My 0-6-0 camelback pulled 16 wagons around the loop. There was some wheel spin towards the end where the grade increased to around 4%. After rethinking things (again) I have decided to shorten the track to the mine (and perhaps curve it towards the centre of the loop somewhat) so that it does not cross the helix. This will mean the first track to cross the helix will be the line to Wilmot. This track is a further 250mm along the helixes decent. I drew another spiral, carefully working out my heights, and at a grade of 3.1% I can make this work. I will have to cut a 6mm rebate in the bottom of the trackbed to Wilmot to give my 85mm clearance and add another riser for extra support. The 3.1% grade will continue right through to the North Hope yard - with easements at both ends.
I did discover another problem - my coal wagon's buffers clash on this radius curve. All my other wagons are fine. I guess I will have to change out the couplers for ones with long shanks.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Here is the mocked up helix.
IMG20241111234325comp.jpg
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
I'm glad you did some testing and lessened the grade. Your helix, like everything you do, looks very well designed and executed. FWIW, I ordered a 24 pack of long shank couplers recently. I was assembling a resin kit and knew just from how close the coupler knuckle was to the end sill it would not make it around my curves. I'm sure I'll find similar problems with other cars as I complete them, hence buying extra couplers with the longer shank.
I'm glad you discovered the issues before you built the helix!
dave
Looking good Mark..... 8)
Mark, Cheers,
Greg it, but I'll add "Tommy likes it!" ;D
Tommy
Quote from: jerryrbeach on November 12, 2024, 02:07:40 PMMark,
I'm glad you did some testing and lessened the grade. Your helix, like everything you do, looks very well designed and executed. FWIW, I ordered a 24 pack of long shank couplers recently. I was assembling a resin kit and knew just from how close the coupler knuckle was to the end sill it would not make it around my curves. I'm sure I'll find similar problems with other cars as I complete them, hence buying extra couplers with the longer shank.
Thanks, Jerry.
Good to know.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on November 12, 2024, 04:37:46 PMI'm glad you discovered the issues before you built the helix!
dave
Thanks, Dave.
Yep. Better to do what I can now...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on November 15, 2024, 09:10:44 AMLooking good Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Greg.
Lots of progress - although a lot of it has been many, many iterations of designs for my yards/ staging.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on November 15, 2024, 12:24:19 PMMark, Cheers,
Greg it, but I'll add "Tommy likes it!" ;D
Tommy
Thanks Tommy.
Chipping away at things...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Here is my latest version for the storage/ fiddle yard under Tellynott. A number of changes here after trying to balance my layout between industry spots and yard space. This is iteration number 15??? There were many. I spent most of yesterday trying different designs. This one gives me a small yard - within reach (!!!) for making up trains at Jamestown/ Neil's Crossing. The curved turnout at the end of the peninsula was the catalyst. I had it around the other way, but noticed the code 100 right hand one I was using was quite flat and so my curved track wasn't staying on the baseboard. I laid a left hand one on top and the difference was noticeable. So I thought I'd put the wrong one in to mark the curve on the baseboard. Suddenly, the idea in the plan came to me... The curved turnout allows enough room for a yard lead and I can fit three decent sized sorting tracks in. The fourth gives me a run around and caboose track. I've altered the return cutoff to give room for this design. I've turned the back track of the four tracks in the front into a staging track and added two more staging tracks in the hidden trackwork under Skippers mine in Shadowlands. Each track holds 16 wagons - which is a pretty good train length. The other thing I have done is eliminate the triangle. The triangle is all laid ATM, but I really can't see when I would use it.
So in a journey from Tellynott to Shadowlands a train will come in from the north, travel through Neil's Crossing and then leave heading south. At the end of its journey it will again enter from the North and then terminate at Jamestown. Trains heading from Jamestown to Tellynott will do things in reverse. A train coming from Tellynott with wagons to interchange with the South Island main trunk line will terminate at Neil's Crossing and then return to Tellynott. The only reason the triangle would be used is if trains want to bypass Neil's Crossing. Like I say - the trackwork is in so we will see what happens. (Remember - Neil's Crossing and Jamestown share the same space/ trackage on the layout.)
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Balance wise, the layout currently has these figures:
Tellynott industry spots = 52
Ellery and Malcolm industry spots = 16
Hope and Wilmot industry spots = 24
Jamestown industry spots = 29
Total industry spots = 121
Tellynott yard = 45 wagons
North Hope yard = 50 wagons
Jamestown yard = 50 wagons
Total yard spots = 145
Staging = 48 wagons (three trains, each 16 wagons in length)
Note: All spots are counted as 3" (75mm) which is the length of the majority of my rolling stock.
The towns mentioned service the nearby industries - so Jamestown, for example, services Skippers mine, Truth flotation mill, the ore wharf, the lime works and the pulp mill. This is just a convenient way of counting.
PS - my track has passed through customs, so should arrive in the next day or two. I also finally managed to track down 4 pieces of code 70 Micro Engineering flex track wooden sleeper bridge track, and that, too, is on its way from Australia.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A quick post before bed. I'll no doubt add a second one in the morning and perhaps do some editing on this one...
Well - best laid plans on paper never quite work out in reality. I got close, but made a few further changes when I started the 1:1 scale design work with the points. I tried hard, very hard, to get a second track between the staging at Neil's Crossing/ Jamestown and the Jamestown yard as to not 'foul the main', but I just lost too much staging length in order to achieve this. I also needed to add several more sets of points, and when you add motors and auxiliary switches that's $80 a throw. I really didn't feel like I was gaining much anyway - its all tucked within the return loop. It did make me think that keeping those two turnouts that join the main line to the triangle might be worth keeping. I'll keep pondering this. In this way any rail traffic between Tellynott and other parts of the layout that do not need to pass through Neil's Crossing - thus adding to the potential congestion, can bypass it.
Photo 1 - So here we are under the peninsula in Tellynott (Inglletown - with all the residential house pictures pinned to polystyrene formers above). We are starting at the base of the peninsula, against the wall by the door between the two layout rooms. The inside track is the return cutoff, the outside two tracks are heading into the tracks for Neil's crossing and Jamestown.
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Photo 2 - Here we are around the corner. Two tracks become four. The back track (fourth track) is staging. Trains made up in the yard must be pulled past this track on one of the mains and then pushed into the staging track. I can get a much longer train by extending this way, but it can be done the other way instead - as shown in the last plan. One of the front two tracks will be staging, and the other two tracks are through tracks representing Neil's Crossing and Jamestown.
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Photo 3 - Here we are heading into the corner at the end of the peninsula. You can see the back staging track going right through as far as it can. The other three tracks join together just to the left of this shot. You can just see how the track splits into two at the top right of this image. The right track is the start of the yard lead, the left is the main line return cutoff.
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Photo 4 - Shows the two tracks leaving the curved turnout. There was only room for one turnout here. I had to also avoid the table legs. The leg by the main line had to have a little manipulating with a saw, hammer and chisel to give sufficient clearance.
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Photo 5 - Ok - I tried! Really I did! But I still glued some cork down and changed my mind the next day. You can see in this photo how the return cutoff track goes nice and straight diagonally across the benchwork. This ended up meaning that the break van track - the second track from the left - was pretty short and would only hold three break vans. I decided that the work involved in redoing the return cutoff track to make room for a longer break van track was worth the reward.
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Photo 6 - And so here we see the return cutoff track turning further to the left and then returning back to meet the existing cork roadbed. The break van track will now hold five vans. This view also shows the yard throat. The break van track comes off the yard lead - which was a recommended place for it to come of in the ten yard commandments.
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In the morning I'll add the rest of the photos and draw up a revised yard/ storage plan with numbers based on actual measurements!
More in the morning, cheers, Mark.
Morning all...
Photo 7 - This is what the yard looks like while sitting on a computer chair on the far side of the peninsula. I'm figuring operating the Jamestown yard and staging at Neil's Crossing/ Jamestown will be done from a chair - maybe a small stool. There shouldn't really be any interference with an operator working Tellynott, as there is no trackwork above the Jamestown yard and staging for Neil's Crossing and Jamestown - with the exception of the spur to Graves elevators and the timber complex I am working on at present.
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Photo 8 - The yard throat a little closer. You can see here how the changes to the return cutoff have allowed the lengthening of the break van track. The runaround is fairly short, too. I had it a little longer, but was about to glue down cork when I noticed the turnout was right through the middle of a module joint. This led to some redesigning and I ended up putting in a curved turnout just to the yard throat side of the join. The runaround will still hold a few wagons - which is all that is required.
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Photo 9 - The yard tracks from the inside of the peninsula. There is pretty good access for sorting wagons, including a good amount of height.
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Photo 10 - Looking from the yard back towards the throat. It looks a bit up and down - but its actually pretty good. It's a bit of an optical illusion with my small angled pieces of cork and changes of mind. I'll give things a sand to be sure.
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So - commandments 1-7 of yard design are not really breached, with the exception of commandment 1 being breached when moving a train from the yard to the arrival/ departure tracks. But like I said earlier - to make this happen in my limited space with unmovable obstacles such as table legs in the way - created more problems than it fixed. Maybe there is a better solution, but this is the best I could figure out - and I tried, hard!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Looks like you have plenty of vertical clearance if the 0-5-0 is required to fix a derail.
dave
Mark, Cheers,
You have some serious cork and future track work here. I do like the design and even though you are changing it as you go, it still works for me.
My track work on paper, never really fit when I started to put the design on the benchwork. Just part of the hobby I guess.
Great work and ides here my friend.
Cheers, Tom
Mark,
I have found that planning as I go works best for me. As Tom said, what I draw on paper never fits no matter how hard I try to draw to scale. I also like the plan to operate a specific part of the layout while sitting in a chair. I think that helps make a multi level layout like yours much more operator friendly.
Quote from: deemery on December 01, 2024, 03:24:26 PMLooks like you have plenty of vertical clearance if the 0-5-0 is required to fix a derail.
dave
Hi Dave.
There are a few obstacles in the way, but generally there is plenty of room for my 0-5-0's.
Cheers, Mark.
QuoteMark, Cheers,
You have some serious cork and future track work here. I do like the design and even though you are changing it as you go, it still works for me.
My track work on paper, never really fit when I started to put the design on the benchwork. Just part of the hobby I guess.
Great work and ides here my friend.
Cheers, Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Yes - the trackwork under here will not be nice as, in places, visibility is not good. There are areas where I can't physically get my head in to obtain a line of sight. Some of the benchwork underneath here was put in some time ago, and as the layout developed this has ended up being too low. I fixed this issue by adding 50mm extruded polystyrene. In these areas the point motors will have to be fixed directly to the underside of the track. Peco point motors are designed to do this, but I think I prefer attaching them under the track bed. We will see when I have done a few. Track here does not need to be glued or ballasted, so repair work shouldn't be too difficult.
Yes - I've kind of given up on expecting what I have drawn on paper to work perfectly on track. The 1:1 scale planning is just another stage in the planning process. I usually get close enough so that with a bit of careful tweaking things will still work as intended.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: jerryrbeach on December 02, 2024, 09:14:26 AMMark,
I have found that planning as I go works best for me. As Tom said, what I draw on paper never fits no matter how hard I try to draw to scale. I also like the plan to operate a specific part of the layout while sitting in a chair. I think that helps make a multi level layout like yours much more operator friendly.
Thanks, Jerry.
I guess that's me trying to satisfy commandments 7 and 10 - 'Thou shalt be able to reach everything' and 'thou shalt make it easy to run'. I think this is the only part of the layout where sitting will be appropriate.
I'm still working on the return loop and triangle area. I've come up with another solution that I think may satisfy all requirements and be far simpler electrically.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
So here is the updated hidden staging, yard and return cutoff plan as promised. You will see I have done away with the triangle. I have added a turnout coming off the track running diagonally through the middle of the benchwork. The upper line here is the continuous run while the lower track is the return cutoff. The return cutoff is well over my longest train length. I have extended the break van track - when I discovered there was room to do so. This will make a good storage track, with break vans at the head. The runaround is short - only three wagons - but still useful. The drill track is 1125mm long - a loco and 11 wagons. Yard tracks 1 and 2 are 1350 long and will hold 18 wagons. Yard track three is 1200mm long and will hold 16 wagons. Yard track 4 is 800mm long and will hold 8 wagons and leave enough room for a loco to run around the loop. I'm undecided as yet about on which way around I will join the fourth staging track, so I have left it in pencil. Doing away with the triangle makes a lot more sense to me. Things are far more simple.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.IMG20241207093601comp.jpg
Mark, Cheers,
I like the new plan. Flows much better.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on December 07, 2024, 07:47:34 AMMark, Cheers,
I like the new plan. Flows much better.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Its been a bit of a battle. A combination of trying to make things work with an existing layout, room/ wall constraints, and trying to understand how operations might work - having never operated. Then there were the finer points like trying to design a good yard/ yards. I asked several times online on three different forums about various things. Sometimes I got a good response and excellent, professional advice, other times I got nothing and had to try to work out my problems on my own. I did really want to do the design work myself. At this stage I'm pretty happy with what I have. The triangle and original return cutoff had bothered me. It seemed overly complicated and some elements seemed unnecessary. Now that I have my head far more 'in' how the operations might work, this design seems to satisfy the operational goals in a fairly simplistic manner.
Thanks for checking in on my progress. I'm enjoying watching your challenge build. The 'slipped lamination' does bring up the dilemma we face today with the new technology about. I, too, like to do things old school - but I have several friends with gear and abilities (and generous natures) who can laser, 3D print, cast complex resin castings, even 3D scan. Trevor, who is part of our possums group, can do all of these. And try as hard as I might, I can't cut and laminate parts as accurately as they can be printed. Then there is the whole repeatability issue - or the way the drawings can be so easily 'tweaked' to create subtle changes. Mark, our honourary possum member, had drawn up and printed off some beautiful, ornate storefronts based on a Dunedin prototype, and he had designed it so the various layers could be easily spliced together, with tab and slots, allowing the modeller to easily paint multiple colours. The sides and back also interlocked making assembly - getting things square and true - impossible to get wrong. There is certainly the option to make the most of these new technologies - and we don't all have to buy the gear or learn the software.
Cheers, Mark.
As ever enjoying your journey Mark, very impressive layout and work..... 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on December 08, 2024, 09:41:38 AMAs ever enjoying your journey Mark, very impressive layout and work..... 8)
Thanks very much, Gregory.
I've started my challenge for a change of pace. I've gone for the entire 288 square inches. The planning/ mock up process can take a long while. I'm also thinking I might have to mock up the area between where the South Tellynott wedge will go (my challenge diorama) and the structures to the right. There is a gap here that I have been calling 'the rat hole' - as my intention is to have a spur going under the road and servicing an industry behind. There is a great Dunedin prototype for inspiration. Anyway - I feel I will need to continuity to make sure everything flows. It will be nice to get a couple more 'chunks' mapped out.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I've been off on a bit of a tangent designing and mocking up an urban scene for South Tellynott. For my challenge I have been working on what I have called the south Tellynott wedge, but the area is bigger than the 2 square foot wedge and I've found it necessary to mock the whole corner up.
Photo 1 - Here is the area coming together. I've been working on the building represented here by a cardboard mock-up, just to the left of the red brick wall standing in front of the MDF former, and behind the cannery tower on the low wharf.
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Photo 2 - here are the two front walls. These were part of a box of plaster boneyard castings I bought off Randy from Downtown Deco many years ago. The walls had a number of problems, the worst of which was them being a long way off square. I started by cutting a piece of 3mm MDF to the correct wall size on my drop saw - with nice square corners. I then used my belt sander and carefully sanded the sides, top and bottom straight and square, using my template as a guide. This, of course, sanded off the brick engraving on the edge of the wall - but I really didn't see any other option (They were a LONG way off square!). I had three of these particular walls, so I cut the cornice off one and cut the third story off and cornice off another, and spliced the third story onto the three story wall and spliced the cornice on top, thus creating a four story wall.
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Photo 3 - Here are the remaining pieces. I also used a side wall from Addam's ave pt3, which was also part of the boneyard castings, for the side walls.
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Photo 4 - Here is the edge of the four storied wall, with the brickwork sanded off.
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Photo 5 - Using a small square and a knife I carefully re-scribed the brickwork.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, always look forward to updates on your RR. The scribe lines you added on those walls are spot on...Tommy
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on January 03, 2025, 09:48:25 AMMark, always look forward to updates on your RR. The scribe lines you added on those walls are spot on...Tommy
Thanks, Tommy.
Its great to hear you look forward to my updates. The scribing of the brickwork wasn't difficult to do - but it was time consuming...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Firstly - I didn't really intend to start a new build. I was playing with mock-ups, trying various kit walls in position and not really liking anything I tried, when I pulled out my box of boneyard castings. After deciding that I thought these walls would work I decided I needed to see IF I could square them up for use before building a mock-up. It kind of all just took off from that success!
Photo 1 - All the openings had flash around them. The door and large wall pictured here will be modified somehow - as yet still to be decided.
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Photo 2 - Here are the openings with the flash filed off with a nail file on the sides and smaller metal file on the top and bottoms.
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Photo 3 - I cut up side walls from the left over front and the Addams Ave side wall and glued these to the two front walls before carving the brickwork. I used two part epoxy for this and added some wooden bracing. I also added a piece of styrene to keep the joint at right angles.
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Photo 4 - I cut up a styrene base and glued the taller front and side wall to this. I marked where the other front wall meet the tall side wall and sanded the texture smooth until the fit was good. I then glued the second three story section to the taller section and base. I also made up a right hand side wall out of 1.5mm styrene and glued this to the front wall and base.
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Photo 5 - I made up a central wall, splicing a piece of styrene to a piece of plaster wall. I cut this from the left over front wall, using the two windows. I measured up from the base and marked the rooftop height. I added bracing for this.
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Photo 6 - Two roof pieces were cut from 1.5mm styrene and glued into position. This shored everything up nicely.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
Photo 1 - I decided a hip roof would look nice on the larger roof. This is pretty typical. Many of these tall buildings actually have hip or gable roofs up there rather than flat roofs.
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Photo 2 - Here is the roof from a lower angle. You can see I put a small edge around the roof. The roof section was made to leave a 4mm gap around the outside for an internal gutter. I will attach double sided tape and corrugated iron to the roof. I will overhang the corrugated iron a fraction. I will add butanol roofing to the gutters which I will make from high tack painters tape painted black.
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Photo 3 - Here is the roof with the 1.5mm styrene cut and glued in position and sitting on the flat roof.
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Photo 4 - Another angle.
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Photo 5 - I cut caps for the parapet walls from 6.3x1mm styrene and glued into position. I spliced some styrene together for the side of the wall made with 1.5mm styrene to give the correct thickness. I added some timber bracing underneath the flat roofs to both support the removable back pieces I will make and to keep the flat roofs flat. I then made up parapet walls for the back which I glued to the back of the flat roof tops and the ends of the side parapet walls.
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Photo 6 - Lastly, I trimmed the ends of the side capping at the appropriate angle and then cut and glued cappings to the back. In this way the back will be able to be removed without interfering with the visible roof section.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, on my Lamson build, I compared two approaches to the window openings in the SRMW plaster castings. I couldn't see the difference between 'window well painted black' and 'window well opened, with black construction paper inside the structure.' But I did note that Bob VanGelder's approach for opening the windows, slightly dampening the corners then engraving with a needle to carve away the plaster along the edges, worked very well.
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 03, 2025, 06:03:36 PMMark, on my Lamson build, I compared two approaches to the window openings in the SRMW plaster castings. I couldn't see the difference between 'window well painted black' and 'window well opened, with black construction paper inside the structure.' But I did note that Bob VanGelder's approach for opening the windows, slightly dampening the corners then engraving with a needle to carve away the plaster along the edges, worked very well.
Thanks, Dave.
I saw this on your build thread. I have been watching. Most of the windows in the DD walls were at least partially broken through, so leaving them intact wasn't really an option. When I get around to my SRM kitbash I'll take your findings into consideration with my approach.
Cheers, Mark.
dave
Looking good Mark..... 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on January 04, 2025, 08:27:33 AMLooking good Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
Hopefully I'll get a little more done today.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I taped up and filled the cracks with Selleys gap filler.
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Photo 2 - While this dried I worked on the roof. I covered the styrene with double sided tape. I measured scale purlin spacings, trimmed my Campbells corrugated iron to correct length, and applied indentations every second undulation along the purlin lines. When flipped these look like lead headed nails. I try to vary the sheet length slightly, while keeping the nails lined up. This is done by varying the position of the sheets when putting the indentations in. The sheets were than cut to 10mm widths. I applied these to the long face, trimming the sheets back about 1mm from the hip.
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Photo 3 - By cutting the hip sheets in two goes I was able to get the correct angle.
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Photo 4 - Here is the first side trimmed.
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Photo 5 - Shows the four roof planes with iron attached and cut to the ridge and hips. I used CA on the smallest pieces along with the double sided tape.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - I attached aluminium foil to double sided tape. I cut these into 4.5mm strips. This photo shows a strip of .88mm rod laid in the centre of the sticky side of the tape. I use painters tape to hold the strips straight and in position.
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Photo 2 - The styrene rod fits between the iron along the hips and ridges. I then use my finger nail to work the tinfoil around the rod and then a toothpick to work it into the corrugated iron undulations. I leave the tape a little long to fold over the end of the rods.
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Photo 3 - Here is the roof with all the hips and the ridge done. This process also helps hold all the small cuts together.
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Photo 4 - The roof in position on the building.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
VERY nice job on the roof! I like your seams. What did you use to cut the corrugated material?
dave
Mark, Cheers,
Excellent job on the construction of the roof. Looks fantastic and I'm sure the weathering will be just as fantastic.
Tom
Quote from: deemery on January 05, 2025, 10:05:31 AMVERY nice job on the roof! I like your seams. What did you use to cut the corrugated material?
dave
Thanks, Dave.
I just used a knife with a new blade in it. If the blade is a little blunt, the foil will tear. For cutting to length I use a single edged razor blade and just push and wiggle. For the ends I cut corners off - two small squares - so there is not too much material to bend over the end of the rod.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 05, 2025, 11:43:12 AMMark, Cheers,
Excellent job on the construction of the roof. Looks fantastic and I'm sure the weathering will be just as fantastic.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Yes - there will be a few stages to the painting and weathering. Because the roof section is independent to the building it will be easy to spray. If it is attached to the building I usually prime with Dullcote. I have a new Tamiya product to try. Dullcote is no longer available in New Zealand. I still have a couple of cans left, but it will run out one day soon. After the pandemic it just stopped coming into the country. Reindeer moss is another product which is no longer available here. It no longer makes it passed our biosecurity. No more super tree kits!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
So after a bit more carving of the new plaster after it had cured I started work on adding the window mullions.
Photo 1 - I cut a square piece of styrene the same size as half the height of the window minus the thickness of mullion I am using (9mm square) The mullions are cut from .75mm square styrene. I glued the 9mm square to a styrene backer, a little bigger than the window openings. I also glued a piece of scrap plastic on the back for a holder for my long reversable tweezers. With the side walls in place some of those windows are a bit of a reach for my big hands.
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Photo 2 - I measured and cut some mullions on my chopper. I cut these a little longer than needed (about .25 - .5mm longer) and then sanded the ends to get a tight fit.
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Photo 3 - The square piece of styrene on the backer is put in position (using the tweezers if necessary) and while holding it there with my left hand I use smaller tweezers to put the .75mm mullion in position with my right hand. This often takes two or three goes, as it my need further sanding. You want the fit to be tight so that when you remove the styrene backing the mullion will stay put, but not so tight that the mullion will bend with the pressure.
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Photo 4 - The styrene backer with the square spacer is carefully removed and I then add drops of CA using a toothpick or bamboo skewer, each side of the mullion on the interior of the building. I go back with a second drop and kind of pull the glue across the intersection of the plaster wall and the styrene mullion. Capillary action takes over.
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Photo 5 - Shows the mullion glued in position.
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Photo 6 - Shows the building with all the mullions glued into position.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Great roofing and window work Mark..... 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on January 08, 2025, 07:56:50 AMGreat roofing and window work Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
The building and the roof have now been primed with grey spray paint.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on January 05, 2025, 10:05:31 AMVERY nice job on the roof! I like your seams. What did you use to cut the corrugated material?
dave
Sorry, Dave - I misread this when I first answered.
When answering before I was referring to the foil flashings. The answer is still the same, however - a sharp knife. For cutting the strips to length I run the knife over them lightly, multiple times. When cutting to width I run the knife down the corrugations lightly, once, and then wiggle backwards and forward to snap. The same for cutting individual sheets at an angle. When cutting them in situ on the roof its back to a number of light passes.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I've been back working on the helix over the weekend. I made some good progress. The tolerances are very tight on this as I have a 17 5/8" radius circle (peco #2 code 100 setrack) at 3.1% gradient. This is the minimum gradient I could have to give sufficient clearance with this radius. I will use setrack on the helix to make sure my curves are flawless, and for ease of construction. Trying to manipulate 900mm lengths of flextrack and solder jointers while keeping the joint straight would be nigh on impossible. I also think it is worth the 1mm height increase to use code 100 track here, rather than code 75. To work on this I needed a new tool.
Photos 1 and 2 show the new right angled attachment for my drill and impact driver. I bought a 3mm drill bit with a hex fitting. This enabled me to get into some very tight areas.
Photo 1 shows the attachment with the 3mm drill bit.
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Photo 2 shows the attachment with a square drive bit tightening a screw.
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Photos 3 and 4 show close ups of how I went about supporting the upper tier. I rebated the 2mm brackets into my MDF. I drilled out the end screw holes to 6mm and used 6mm threaded rod to space the brackets.
Photo 3 from above in front.
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Photo 4 from underneath.
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Photos 5 and 6 show a wider view. I rebated where the top tier passes under the track to the mine - I had to take off around 6mm to the underside of the mine track baseboard to give sufficient clearance.
Photo 5.
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Photo 6 shows the overall helix. This takes the track from the North Hope yard on the bottom level (which will all be hidden) to Hope above. The top track running across the helix is the branch line to Wilmot and the spur to the Pyke mine. The branch line did not need rebating.
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Everything is only screwed at this stage and so it can all be undone if needed. I want to get all the benchwork completely finished in this area before I add glue.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Diabolical roofing and wall-bashing work, here. Educational and inspirational.
Quote from: Mr. Critter on January 19, 2025, 08:24:30 PMDiabolical roofing and wall-bashing work, here. Educational and inspirational.
Thanks. That roof was a bit of a devil to build with the different angle at the back...
Hoping to get back to this one soon. Thanks for looking in.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Great Helix design. I like how you made the brackets adjustable. Well done Mark.
Is there a reason you didn't lay the track as the Helix went up? Inquiring minds and all that. Perhaps it has something to do with what you referred to as "setrack". Never hears the term.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 20, 2025, 10:56:30 AMMark, Cheers,
Great Helix design. I like how you made the brackets adjustable. Well done Mark.
Is there a reason you didn't lay the track as the Helix went up? Inquiring minds and all that. Perhaps it has something to do with what you referred to as "setrack". Never hears the term.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
OK. Firstly - I'm getting everything finished before adding glue - just to be sure it all works as it should and I have got all my measurements right. I can then undo and build it up again from the bottom, adding glue, and can lay my cork and track at that point. I had a starting point at the top of the helix - actually just after the last turnout at Hope - but did not know exactly where the bottom of the grade would finish, so I had to kind of build the helix backwards anyway. Peco does setrack (sectional track) in code 100. Their setrack uses tighter, fixed radii. This track is rigid and true. As my layout uses very short rolling stock and is set in a mountainous area I was OK with using their #2 radius as my minimum (17 5/8" or 438mm). With my track laying I have been joining my track with soldered jointers on all the curves and leaving gapped expansion joints where these end - usually every 2, or at most, every 2 and a bit lengths of fleitrack (some 6 - 7 feet). The curve in the helix is far greater than this - which I saw as a problem. It is also hidden from view, so I have opted to use setrack. The curves are all very consistent and will be joined eight times a circuit. I will gap each joint slightly for expansion and will add droppers to every piece of track - while laying. I hope this answers all your questions.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Okay, that makes sense now. I didn't know PECO made sectional track. You are correct that they will give you the perfect curved radius in the Helix.
Thanks for the information and explanation.
Tom
Mark, do you have eased curves leading into that 17 5/8 Peco fixed radius track? Or is there a tangent straight into the sharp radius?
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 20, 2025, 06:15:42 PMMark, do you have eased curves leading into that 17 5/8 Peco fixed radius track? Or is there a tangent straight into the sharp radius?
dave
Hi Dave.
At the bottom I have #2 (438mm) curve going to a #3 (505mm)curve and will then probably add a special curve (R = 880mm?) before adding a transition straight (code 100 to code 75). On the top I'll go straight from #2 to a special curve and then straight. You have to bare in mind that the vast majority of my rolling stock is only 3" long. My passenger cars are 4". My locos are 0-4-0's, 0-6-0's, small shays, climaxes and heislers. Even without transition curves stock that short looks fine going from a 438mm curve to a straight, and suffers no problems. Compare that to a 80' car on a 40" radius curve. As an example, a 3" wagon scales out to 21.5' in HO scale traveling around a 17 5/8" radius curve. So even looking at a 40' car a comparative radius would be 40". An 80' car would need an 80" radius to look as good. I will also super elevate all my helix track.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
So one of the indoor things I have been working on is plotting my fictional journey on a geographical map of south Westland. This journey joins together the towns of Jacksons bay (Tellynott) to Jamestown. Of course, to fit the track plan along with the vertical discrepancy required to give me scope to create the mountain scenery I want along with towering rail bridges and deep gorges, my track doubles back on itself and crosses over itself several times. To help me consider the various stops without the spaghetti getting in the way, I have been looking at them in isolation. I also worked out a scale and plotted distances from Tellynott to Jamestown, and between water vats. Here are three examples.
Photo 1 shows the Station at Ellery.
IMG20250117134038comp5.jpg
Photo 2 shows the station of Malcolm.
IMG20250117134027comp.jpg
Photo 3 shows the water vat tucked in beside the bridge by the Gorge river.
IMG20250117134027comp4.jpg
This process gives some advantages. It is much easier to mentally map the actual journey, ignoring tracks that shouldn't really be in the scene, but need to be there to make the model work. It is much easier to locate and plot various scenic features on the model. Some of these can even be thought of as two different scenic locations (when tracks at different heights pass the same geographical feature, but are actually a number of scale miles apart). It is easy to draw in different possibilities without messing up my old school entire layout plan.
I used John Allen's scale miles (Smiles), and found these worked pretty well for both the geographical terrain navigated and for the distance between water vats. This works out to 5 actual feet = 1 scale mile (Smile). The distance from Tellynott to Jamestown is 62.5 smiles, and the distance from the start of the Tellynott yard to where the return cutoff rejoins the main line is 68 smiles. I also intend to us 12:1 scale time.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on January 20, 2025, 11:15:50 PMHi guys.
So one of the indoor things I have been working on is plotting my fictional journey on a geographical map of south Westland. This journey joins together the towns of Jacksons bay (Tellynott) to Jamestown. Of course, to fit the track plan along with the vertical discrepancy required to give me scope to create the mountain scenery I want along with towering rail bridges and deep gorges, my track doubles back on itself and crosses over itself several times. To help me consider the various stops without the spaghetti getting in the way, I have been looking at them in isolation. I also worked out a scale and plotted distances from Tellynott to Jamestown, and between water vats. Here are three examples.
Photo 1 shows the Station at Ellery.
IMG20250117134038comp5.jpg
Photo 2 shows the station of Malcolm.
IMG20250117134027comp.jpg
Photo 3 shows the water vat tucked in beside the bridge by the Gorge river.
IMG20250117134027comp4.jpg
This process gives some advantages. It is much easier to mentally map the actual journey, ignoring tracks that shouldn't really be in the scene, but need to be there to make the model work. It is much easier to locate and plot various scenic features on the model. Some of these can even be thought of as two different scenic locations (when tracks at different heights pass the same geographical feature, but are actually a number of scale miles apart). It is easy to draw in different possibilities without messing up my old school entire layout plan.
I used John Allen's scale miles (Smiles), and found these worked pretty well for both the geographical terrain navigated and for the distance between water vats. This works out to 5 actual feet = 1 scale mile (Smile). The distance from Tellynott to Jamestown is 62.5 smiles, and the distance from the start of the Tellynott yard to where the return cutoff rejoins the main line is 68 smiles. I also intend to us 12:1 scale time.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Fantastic...I have found that having a "story" helps quite a bit in achieving realism and simulating a "functional" model railroad...even though I have no interest in operating, a plausible model is a good-looking model empire.
Nice work as always.
John
QuoteFantastic...I have found that having a "story" helps quite a bit in achieving realism and simulating a "functional" model railroad...even though I have no interest in operating, a plausible model is a good-looking model empire.
Nice work as always.
John
Thanks, John.
It helps that I like this part of the hobby. The article I wrote for the October issue of Narrow gauge down under was all about writing a backstory for my empire. It was a fun article to write.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
With the closure of railroad-line.com I have decided to full in the blank pages between Dec 7th of 2021 and Nov 1st 2023. I'd like a record of what I have done somewhere out there, and I always intended to 'fill in the blanks' on this thread anyway. I'll chip away at this as time permits. My last post before the modelers forum went down was the start of design work for Shadowlands. I had been playing around with benchwork shapes for the first module I built for the extension to the urban part of my layout - Tellynott.
I got all excited about my new adventure into Shadowlands, so tracked down some plans and went to work on a mining project for the empire. Progress has been slow, as the plans were a bit sketchy in places - that and its one behemoth of a project with a lot of complexities.
For this I will be attempting to build a model based on an article in the Jan and Feb issues of the 1964 railroad Model Craftsman. You can find a heap of info here, including a link to the plans and a small picture on the cover of the Feb 1964 magazine. Thank you so much for all that helped with this.
http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=6163.0
I did a build thread on this mill as part of the 2022 challenge. My last post before the forum shut down there was Jan31st 2022. I'll give you the gist of what it was all about below, and if it's of interest please follow the link below.
https://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=6179.0
My model will also be based on two photos that appeared a decade later (I'll put up the magazine issue when I locate it - I have photocopies in a folder to work from) from when Jock Oliphant built his own version of the mine from these plans. Jock's version differed in several ways, most notably with the addition of a barn over the lower tracks.
The plans were pretty good, but quite complex. They did not feature a floor plan - which they really needed! It took quite a bit of study and head scratching to work on exactly what was going on in places. I drew my own floor plan, blew the elevations up to 200% and then went about building a mock-up. For this model I felt this was REALY necessary. I would have made several mistakes on expensive modeling materials (rather than cereal boxes) otherwise - I still might! This mock-up took some considerable time to build and so I would estimate it will take in excess of 150 hours to build the actual model - not including the headframe.
I used plastic irrigation pipe I found lying under our pine hedge to cut the circles for the three flotation baths. This pipe was exactly the same diameter as that used in the plans (nice fluke). I used my hand mitre saw to make the cuts. If you check out the photo on the cover of the magazine in the link above you will see these baths are suspended on frames of differing heights and there are decks protruding half way across them from the small gables rooms. These make quite a dramatic scene.
Next up will be to mock in a bit of scenery and add a couple more details - a copula and two stacks. Then I will need to choose cladding materials, doors and windows, roofing materials, stripwood and colours.
IMG20211230121035comp.jpg
IMG20211230121052comp.jpg
IMG20211230121126comp.jpg
IMG20211230121107comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
That mine looks like it's big enough to justify the rail service. Too often our industrial buildings are too small. But I'm trying to remember the name of the guy who built the Argo Tunnel in either Sn3 or On3.... https://argomilltour.com
Screen Shot 2025-02-02 at 5.41.22 PM.jpg
It took up the whole wall!
dave
Hi Dave.
Harry Brunk did it in HOn3 as part of his Clear Creek layout. I have his book 'up Clear Creek on the narrow gauge' which is made up from all the articles he did for the Narrow gauge and short line gazette. A fantastic book and layout and a great inspiration to me. It is now preserved in Cheyenne, reconfigured and named the Union Central and Northern Railroad at the Depot Museum.
I'm definitely guilty of making some of my structures too small to be served by rail. I do try to do things like add aerial walkovers to low relief structures behind to give the illusion of there being more off scene.
Cheers, Mark.
I forgot Harry Brunk did that, too. Idaho Springs, by the way, has come a long way from the first time I visited back around 1990. Then it was a dump of a dying mining town, that decided to not sell its soul (like Central City and Blackhawk) for a casino. But we stopped by there last June, and I was very pleasantly surprised this is reborn into a cool mountain town, with many buildings being refurbished/repainted. We had a great lunch in a brewpub, and there were a couple other restaurants that also looked quite good.
The "Up Clear Creek" series of articles/books are a great inspiration about doing the historical research and then capturing it in high quality models. My set of books is on my 'inspiration' bookshelf of stuff I grab when I want to get re-motivated.
dave
Jock Oliphant's (sp?) flotation plant. I remember I was going to send you the plans in MR or was it RMC, IIRC.
Great, I get to see tis all over again.
Bernd
Hi guys.
The info below is from March 2022. This was the first module I worked on in Shadowlands, but has come to be known as module 11. My modules go from 1 - 11. Module 11 is at one end of my continuous loop in Shadowlands, module 10 at the other. Modules 1, 2A , 3A and 4 make up Tellynott. Modules 2 and 3 have an A and B part, depending on which side of the backdrop we are working on/ talking about - the A parts are in Tellynott, the B parts in Shadowlands.
Well - my friend Neil and I have taken a little break from our Thursday modelling afternoons and I've taken the opportunity to start on the benchwork for Shadowlands.
Firstly - I had intended to take out the large roller door and replace with a large ranch slider/ set of bifolds/ French doors. These needed to be well insulated (double glazed) and over height. I needed an opening of 1800mm wide and 2380 high to be able to roll my layout modules out the door in the future. I had been keeping an eye out on the second hand market and it soon became obvious that these criteria did not come up that often (actually, in the time I was looking, not at all) and even second hand they were very expensive. I estimated $6,000 at a minimum, by the time I included framing, cladding and new flashings. Alternatively, I could leave the roller door on, build a dummy wall on the inside with a removable section, insulate and line for under $1,000. The downside is that I would lose 150mm (6") to the length of the room - approximately 8' squared. That's $625 a square foot. I spent a Thursday afternoon at Neil's redrawing my plan with the new tighter tolerances to see if my goals for Shadowlands were still possible and they were - so I'm going with the dummy wall and an extra $5,000.
I started work on the section on the flipside of the room division wall from the tail of the peninsula in Tellynott (module 3A). This is the flipside from where my Graves elevators, tap and die and Thorndike mills are. This new section will feature my Sheepscot limeworks kit, a tall wooden wharf and a scratchbuild based on New Zealand's Wilson's cement works (Note: This idea was later replaced with my pulpworks). The main line then goes around the corner back into the room housing Tellynott where it will join up to the benchwork on the back of the Tellynott part of the layout. This is the skinny section I recently uploaded a plan of and elevation, and will feature the flotation mill and Freda mine.
Photo 1 - shows a view from the right corner. The track bed is at a 4% downhill grade from the curved track at back around to the first straight section from where the main line is level. It will start its decent about 250mm before the end of what is installed so far. The Sheepscot lime works is designed (optional) to be built with a 19mm (3/4") step between the front two tracks and the back track. I mocked up the limeworks both ways and decided the change in level - even of only this small amount - added so much interest, that I had to do it that way. There will be two sets of peco right hand curved turnouts to the limeworks, one leaving the main line and then one splitting into the high track and low tracks. Both tracks have a grade, the high track about 8mm up, the low track about 11mm down. On the decent to the low tracks there will be a short straight section to avoid an S-curve, and then a set of Peco's, as yet unreleased, unifrog left hand curved turnouts which have a #2 and #3 radius curve (438mm and 495mm {17 1/4" and 19 1/2"}) (Note: I ended up buying a Walthers curved turnout in code 83, 20" and 24" radius curves. Actually, I have ended up buying four.). This new unifrog set of points will be part of the streamline trackwork, but only come in code 100. I played around endlessly with track designs but could not achieve all that I wanted in a way I found aesthetically pleasing without the use of one of these turnouts. I fear I will also encounter this dilemma in other areas of Shadowlands as well. The alternative is to only have one lower track, shorten the limeworks barn, and use code 75 track. I have used Peco setrack to design the curves. I do so wish Peco would release their setrack in code 75!
IMG20220306234858comp.jpg
Photo 2 - shows a view from the left end. My farther made me up another 5 sets of 'feet' for my module legs and I bought wheels for them all. I now have 6 sets of both left, enough to put wheels on all the rest of my modules. Timber is 90mmx19mm kiln dried untreated pine, $3.63 NZ per lineal metre (Note: I love my small local timber supplier - Baier group - with all the inflation of the past two years, this timber is still less than $4 a lineal metre. Our big stores - Bunnings and Mitre 10 mega sell the same product for almost $12 a lineal metre!). I rip this in half for the 90mmx45mm. The legs are 70mmx45mm. Usually I just buy purlins, but because of the timber shortage I couldn't source any, so I bought a piece of 6"x2" and ripped it in half. I used 16mm MDF for the track bed and intend to cover this with thin cork.
IMG20220306234848comp.jpg
Photo 3 - And a view from the other end. I'm thinking the ceiling and pelmet to this module will have to be hung from the ceiling of the room, as I really want a view of the limeworks from the right end and so the supporting end wall will be quite short.
IMG20220306234909comp.jpg
Thanks for checking in on my progress - its been a few years since I've worked on benchwork and I'm really enjoying myself. I was out there 'till midnight last night! Just as well it's a couple of hundred metres to the nearest house - I'm sure I'd be getting complaints about the noise from the neighbours if we were still living in the city!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Bernd on February 03, 2025, 11:32:55 AMJock Oliphant's (sp?) flotation plant. I remember I was going to send you the plans in MR or was it RMC, IIRC.
Great, I get to see tis all over again.
Bernd
Thanks, Bernd.
I wasn't going to redo the section on the flotation mill all over again, just update and fill in the gaps. You can follow the link and read through the thread again if you're interested.
https://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=6179.0
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I thought I would share a little trick that I find helps tremendously in getting the riser heights right. Its pretty simple so many of you may have already thought of it. Regardless, I took a series of photos to help explain.
I measure the height of my rises from the bottom of the joist to which they are to be attached. as I set may benchwork up with two L-girders and then a series of factory cut joists, this starting point is constant. I am very careful to choose the straightest timber for my L-girders. I mark out where my track bed is to go and what the height of each riser is to be and cut them as accurately as possible on my drop saw.
Photo 1 - Firstly, I take a piece of scrap timber and add a couple of screws.
IMG20220307123656comp.jpg
Photos 2 & 3 - I then attach this to the bottom of the joist under where the riser is to go using my 12v impact driver, making sure it is pulled in nice and tight.
IMG20220307123738comp.jpg
IMG20220307123803comp.jpg
Photo 4 - I the add glue and place the riser in position. I drill my pilot hole on a downward angle. I clamp the two pieces of timber together with my hand while doing this, making sure not to drill through my hand!
IMG20220307123858comp.jpg
Photo 5 - I then add the screw. As the timber is pulled in tight with the impact driver, the downward angle makes sure the riser is pulled down exactly flush with the bottom of the joist. It also helps when you put your joists fairly close together!
IMG20220307123928comp.jpg
Photo 6 - I remove the scrap piece of timber. I then check the square and swivel on the one screw if needed. A second piolet hole is drilled on an angle upward near the bottom of the riser and a second screw put in diagonally opposite. Hey presto! I find this way more accurate and easier than trying to use a clamp. In all the bench work I have done so far I have only had to add tiny packers to two risers.
IMG20220307123955comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A bit more progress. I've been spending a lot of time playing with curves trying to get an atheistically pleasing shape to the module which fits within my restrictions and allows enough room for my various views. I started by moving the module into its position against the wall and then mocked up my flotation mill in the next room. I added some extensions to the benchwork there to support and used my plan and eyeometer to line up the correct angle for best viewing. I temporarily extended the two curved track beds into the next room and made sure things would fit and clearances were sufficient. I also checked the distance from the back wall to make absolutely certain that I wasn't stealing too much space. All this involved lots of crawling through the hole in the wall - as I haven't yet dismantled my temporary wall, I've just peeled back the building paper and removed the insulation. Once happy with all this I went about designing my curve fascia.
Photo 1 - shows the right hand end with the lime works mocked up. What looks like a lower track bed is the curve of the fascia.
IMG20220310095852comp.jpg
Photo 2 - After a lot more designing I settled on the shape of the fascia for the rest of the module. I mocked up the ore wharf and placed a tramp steamer to the side of it. I allowed 110mm from the edge of the dock to the layout edge here, and so can adjust the length of the dock to suit a bigger or smaller tramp steamer. As much as I would love to build a 2' steamer, I think smaller will prove better, as it will help with the scale of Shadowlands.
IMG20220311224920comp.jpg
For the mock up of the wharf area in the last set of photos I marked things out on a piece of 2.5mm MDF. Once I had sorted out the shape that worked I cut the 2.5mm MDF to the correct shape with the jig saw. I then used this as a template on the 16mm MDF. I lightly marked out the shape on the 16mm MDF and then used a large compass (a piece of long timber with a screw at one end and a series of holes into which I can insert a pencil at the other). I found centres, tangent etc and marked these nice and visibly and then carefully cut out the curves with my jigsaw. I then put the piece in position and marked all the joists for cutting. I removed and cut the 90x19mm joists with a hand saw. I then added some pine ripped to 43x19mm on top of the joists, glued and screwed, as well as a couple fanned out at the end for fixing. I then replaced the piece of 16mm MDF and marked the fanned pieces, removed and cut these. Finally the 16mm MDF was glued and screwed into position.
Photo 3 - shows the module in position with the mocked up flotation mill in next door. This is at the correct height. I allowed a little tolerance for the modules, as the floor is not quite even. I will lift and add slithers under the wheels to adjust. I had to remove one of the temporary wall studs as the layout edge went right through its centre. I have decided to remove the jamb from the wall as well to give me a little extra room (white piece of timber).
IMG20220311224742comp.jpg
Photo 4 - a close up showing the fanned timber supports.
IMG20220314181803comp.jpg
Photo 5 - Show the nice flowing curve. The internal curve is 880mm, then a short straight, then 670mm flowing into 1524mm then back to 670mm at the wall. I wanted the flowing curve around the lime works to protrude further. I felt aesthetically this worked better, and gave this a higher priority than the cement works site. It also means the isle width will be a little wider here.
IMG20220311224703comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Fantastic tip on the risers. I'm all finished with bench work but I'm sure others will find your tip very useful.
Wow, the layout is really starting to look "John Allen" like and I love all your elevations.
If I ever got to New Zealand, your place is my first stop. After landing of course. 8)
Great stuff Mark.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 07, 2025, 04:32:27 PMMark, Cheers,
Fantastic tip on the risers. I'm all finished with bench work but I'm sure others will find your tip very useful.
Wow, the layout is really starting to look "John Allen" like and I love all your elevations.
If I ever got to New Zealand, your place is my first stop. After landing of course. 8)
Great stuff Mark.
Tom
Hey - thanks, Tom - much appreciated!
Don't worry - if you ever make it here I'll look after you. There are some great layouts to visit.
I used the benchwork tip throughout the layout building. I changed to a piece of 45x19mm timber and one screw - so long as it is done up nice and tight. I found with clamps it was trickier to get them flush with the underside of the joists when doing up, and they were inclined to slip within the drilling/ screwing process. I also found my technique quicker.
I have a lot of John Allen and Malcolm Furlow pictures out in the barn as inspirations. I find whenever I feel like I'm pushing the vertical boundaries too far all I have to do is look at almost any photo from those two masters and I see straight away that they have pushed things way more than I am!
Cheers, Mark.
Howdy Mark,
It looks like the eyeometer did you proud. The curves look terrific.
If I may ask, what is the diameter of the loop at https://modelersforum.com/index.php?msg=179731 (https://modelersforum.com/index.php?msg=179731)? I'm trying to get a feel for the number of buildings I can put in my loop.
Have fun,
mike
Mark, your layout design with the flowing curves and elevations is amazing.
Not to mention your woodworking skills building the benchwork.
Quote from: friscomike on February 07, 2025, 07:14:41 PMHowdy Mark,
It looks like the eyeometer did you proud. The curves look terrific.
If I may ask, what is the diameter of the loop at https://modelersforum.com/index.php?msg=179731 (https://modelersforum.com/index.php?msg=179731)? I'm trying to get a feel for the number of buildings I can put in my loop.
Have fun,
mike
Thanks, Mike.
Yes - that eyeoneter1969 was a good model. Starting to wear out a bit now, though...
The inside curve (remembering the outside curve is fixing for my fascia) was done using peco #4 radius curves, although I laid it in code 75 flextrack. So that is 572mm (22 1/2") Allowing for clearance should give you a circle with a diameter of around 1100mm (43 1/3").
Cheers, Mark.
Your doing some great woodworking and creating an exciting scenic layout! OM gosh!
Philip
Quote from: Rick on February 07, 2025, 07:38:00 PMMark, your layout design with the flowing curves and elevations is amazing.
Not to mention your woodworking skills building the benchwork.
Thanks, Rick!
I enjoy the benchwork. I also find it a task that is very easy to do in 15 minute increments - which is often perfect for fitting in with other household tasks. I can zip out while the potatoes are boiling and cut and fit a couple of risers and be back in time to put on the peas and corn! The more complex stuff you need a longer period...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Philip on February 07, 2025, 09:04:55 PMYour doing some great woodworking and creating an exciting scenic layout! OM gosh!
Philip
Thanks, Philip!
I'm pretty happy with how things are going. There has been a bit of thinking and a couple of redos along the way - but generally I think it will work well. Perhaps the hardest thing is how long everything takes on a layout of this size. I have to keep the blinders on and not go too far down any of those little rabbit holes that invariably pop up. And I have to keep chipping away at things and finding things that keep me motivated. This thread/ forum (and responses such as yours) is one of those things! Hiding the fact that there is so much track in places and turning what is quite complex and over the top into a series of believable scenes is perhaps the challenge I enjoy the most. Sometimes it takes a lot of headwork and many different mock-ups to come up with the right solution. Along the way I have found ways to mock scenes up using different mediums - 3mm MDF fascia, rock castings, tiered stacks of polystyrene and blue paper. There is usually a way to help you visualise a scene, at least well enough to be able to tell whether it will work or not. And then by photographing you have a record and can try and compare different scenarios.
Thanks for following along on my journey, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I've been playing with track designs around the flotation mill. To start with I finished off the module joint. I added two rises to get to the height of the joist of the module through into the other room. I added some 140x19mm pieces of timber with square cuts to keep these rises sturdy and plumb. I added a splice to the joist in the other room to bring it out flush with the edge of the module made from 80x19 and a 7mm ply packer. Things were lined up, four screws added, and then holes drilled and 12mm coach bolts installed. I then turned to the positioning of the flotation mill. I had three options, rotated slightly to the right as shown here, parallel to the layout edge, or rotated to the left.
Below is a close up of the mill. It was at about this stage that I went and got the actual model to help with visualization. I quickly decided that I didn't like parallel - too boring. There were pros and cons to the other two rotations. When rotated to the right there was more scope for a nice sigmoid curve leading into to the mill. When rotated to the left the mill made more of an impact visually. After walking around the layout room and viewing these two configurations from various viewing positions I decided that the structure had to rule and needed to be rotated to the left. This places the structure at more of an angle to both the backdrop and layout edge.
So moving on from here I saw only so many possibilities - a straight turnout, a large radius curved turnout, a small radius curved turnout and a small radius Y-turnout. Freda mine starts approximately 300mm into the third module, and the main line will need to go underneath it. This means the track needs to be near the backdrop and the turnout to the flotation mill needs to leave the mainline at either the right hand end of module three or the left hand end of module two.
Photo 1 - shows the actual model positioned in the rotation I intend to keep it. The tower behind is in the approximate position of the poppet head.
IMG20220314184411comp.jpg
Photo 2 - First up is the straight turnout. The angle of divergence of this, and both curved turnouts is 12 degrees, while the small Y-turnout is 24 degrees. The two studs side by side at the left end of the photo are where module two and three meet. The main line will enter a tunnel just after the spur leaves to the flotation mill. The main line will actually go under (or very nearly) the poppet head. The problem is trying to get a nice flowing curve to the spur (which this configuration achieves) and giving enough room for the poppet head while trying to disguise the fact that the mainline goes underneath it.
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Photo 3 - Shows the configuration with the small Y-turnout. The 24 degree angle gives better clearance of the poppet head, but the curve to the flotation mill is too straight for my liking.
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Photo 4 - here we are trying a small radius curved turnout from the right hand end of module three. It was after 11pm at this stage and I was running out of ideas, when it suddenly dawned on my to try using a left hand curved turnout. You can see I made a quick tunnel entrance to help me visualize. This configuration has several advantages. The main line enters the tunnel entrance appearing to go in an entirely different direction to the poppet head and it creates a nice flowing curve to the flotation mill.
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Photo 5 - and here is a similar configuration using a short Y-turnout. This configuration also has the main line entering the tunnel entrance in an entirely different direction to the poppet head, gives a nice wide clarence at the front of the poppet head, and creates a lovely flowing curve at the front. I especially like the way the curve of the track opposes the curve of the layout frontage. I think I'm sold. What do you guys think?
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Photo 6 - and finally a view from the right hand end showing the nice curved trackage. I wanted to show how even this far through I'm doing hours of design to try to get the best possible viewing angles and leading lines. I probably spent 2 hours last night being stumped - trying different configurations, photographing them and not really being happy with any of them. I got to the point where I said to myself "what haven't I tried?" That's when the idea of adding the curved turnout the 'wrong way' came to me. I didn't think it would work, but thought I'd give it a try. That lead to the configuration with the small Y-turnout and I went to bed very happy!
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
That flotation plant is coming along nice. Quite a large structure in HO.
Bernd
Quote from: Bernd on February 08, 2025, 10:34:15 AMMark,
That flotation plant is coming along nice. Quite a large structure in HO.
Bernd
Thanks, Bernd.
Yes - its quite sizable, but not so big as to make the layout appear out of scale. A lot of its size is vertical - which helps. Sierra West's twin mills has just come up for sale on NZ'z 'trade me'. I'm tempted, but have just made cardboard cutouts of the building footprints to test on the layout. I fear it will overpower everything and ruin the illusion of great distance. This is an easy way of checking such issues before handing over what is still a significant hunk of $$$. I also don't know if I'd have the patients for that much board on board construction. I'm quite OK with Northeastern siding - board and batten, scribed or clapboard.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Carrying on around the corner...
So here I am working on the section on the flipside of the long module of Tellynott. On the other side of this wall you will find my Creamoata diorama, my aerated water diorama. Tellynott milling is at the left end and my sail makers is at the right end. On the Shadowlands side of this module is around 2.4m (6') long and between 10" and 18" wide. This was a good exercise in keeping my priorities in order. I really wanted more width for my mine here, but this would have been at the detriment of isle space. I stayed strong and will just have to alter my mine to fit the space.
Photo's 1 and 2 - show my mocking things up to get a feel for how this would look and where the track would need to go. It shows the distance that there appears to be between Freda mine and the flotation mill. On paper these seem quite close together. You can see I made up a mock up of Freda mine to help me compose my scene.
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Photo 3 - here I have gone a step further and am playing with track designs. The 2.5mm board on which all my working 'mess' is sitting has been cut to fit snugly against the existing 16mm MDF. I then went about designing a nice curving frontage for the fascia. If you look closely you can see the curve drawn in pencil for the layout frontage. You can see the line just to the right of the eraser and the tape measure. I wasn't happy with this track arrangement - too many curves and too consistent. To draw those big curves I made up a compass from a piece of timber, a screw at one end and a pencil pushed tightly through a hole drilled in the timber at the other end. I then drew the 3.1m arc (10' 4") on a piece of paper, cut this out and used it as a template. I find if I use a builders pencil with the wide part of the lead parallel with the curve of the paper I do pretty well at transferring the arc onto the MDF.
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Photo 4 - a couple hours later and lots of fiddling and photographing different arrangements later and I was happy! You will note I ended up rotating the mine so it sits opposing the flotation mill. This let me take one of those wiggles out of the trackwork. I have used a large radius curved turnout to keep the curve flowing nicely and get the spur track to the mine. The hole in the backdrop is where the track joins Tellynott. The mainline trackbed is not yet glued into place. I will need to splice it to the rest of the trackbed in this area as I move forwards. There is a whole new problem to be worked through when I start on the corner module. I was considering this as I got closer with the benchwork.
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Photo 5 - a view from the other end. You can see the hidden trackwork through the hole making its way underneath my J. H. Olson Chemical Works. You might remember that great quote on the side of the brickwork "no soap, so he died".
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Photo 6 - and one more showing the two structures with the new rotation of Freda mine.
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Next up will be building the benchwork and trackbed for this module.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Great structure...Love the verticality of it - it will certainly serve the look you're after for the scene.
Love everything you're doing
John
Quote from: cuse on February 09, 2025, 09:53:55 AMGreat structure...Love the verticality of it - it will certainly serve the look you're after for the scene.
Love everything you're doing
John
Thanks, John.
You are right - it really suits what I am trying to create. Thanks for following along and all your comments.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
While I'm uploading progress from module 3B and 2B I though I would pop in a few shots from my track changes underneath here that I have been working on over the last couple of evenings.
Photo 1 - My new track arrangement for the loop (also on page 39, but rotated 180 degrees to help orient you). This plan shows the staging, fiddle yard and return cutoff at Neil's Crossing/ Jamestown. The black line running across the bottom of the picture is the backdrop which splits modules 3A and 3B, and 2A and 2B (and also divides the room into Tellynott and Shadowlands). The area we have just been looking at (with the two mines) is the area below this black line on the plan (but physically above the track work on the layout shown in the photos in this post). Module 2B is to the left, module 3B to the right.
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Photo 2 - shows the view underneath the two mines where the tracks turn to head into Neil's Crossing and Jamestown. To the right you can see where I have lifted the track that used to run straight through.
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Photo 3 - Here is the track to the right running into module 11.
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Photo 4 - Shows a view from down past Freda mine looking back towards module 11. Hopefully this will give you your bearings.
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Photo 5 - And here is a shot looking straight down the line as it heads into the hidden staging and fiddle yard. Track laying under here is rather challenging! Especially getting that eyeometre1969 into position! Fortunately, my camera is a much smaller tool!
IMG20250210190624comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
What sensors do you intent to use to show the position of rolling stock in the hidden underneath sidings. I'm assuming it will not be directly visible.
Fifth Dave on the right, (about 12000 miles to the right, and north several thousand more)
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on February 10, 2025, 11:37:47 PMWhat sensors do you intent to use to show the position of rolling stock in the sidings. I'm assuming it will not be directly visible.
Fifth Dave on the right, (about 12000 miles to the right, and north several thousand more)
Hi Dave.
I did a fair bit of the 1:1 scale planning, benchwork and cork road bed, while sitting on a computer chair. At this height everything is pretty visible. I might have a chair each side of the peninsula - one for the fiddle yard, one for the staging, and see how this goes first.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Right - some benchwork.
Photo 1 - So using 3 small brads I nailed my 2.5mm MDF to the edge of a 16mm board and cut to shape with my jigsaw. The square is lining the end up with the previous module. I put this in position and then redid my trackwork carefully and marked it all with a pencil. I marked where I wanted pieces of the board low to have scenery below the track height and also marked where I needed the trackbed cut for where the gradients changed.
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Photo 2 - after cutting out the various sections I spliced the back piece of roadbed to the front piece. I added another piece of 16mm MDF underneath and everything was screwed and glued. Here we have everything in position and the spacers have been replaced with risers. I also used the layout baseboard frontage to cut a duplicate piece which you can see in position with jack studs attached between this and the baseboard. I will add droppers to the existing layout and then joists between for the lower trackbed.
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Photo 3 - This one shows where the gradient changes and where I spliced the two baseboards together. The back section is not yet glued and screwed (nor the rises) as I am waiting for my cork roadbed to arrive to check my heights between Shadowlands and Tellynott. I like the drama set up by having the track curve in the opposite direction to the layout frontage.
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Photo 4 - This shows the two modules side by side. Where there is a step in the bottom of the layout is where these two sections meet. The section to the left is module 2(B) and to the right is 3(B). You can see I am a lot further on here. The lower layer of supporting benchwork and track bed has been completed.
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Photo 5 - here we are to the left of the mine, almost at the join of module 2 and module 5. The mainline will go into a tunnel about midway between the two studs nearest the mine. The turnout to Tellynott will be just to the left of the tunnel entrance (the hole in the backdrop goes through to Tellynott).
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
So moving back to the future...
I had stored some of my assemblies for my large scratchbuild inspired by the FOS scale kit 'Rust rock falls' in a plastic snap lock box. It must have had a perfect combination of moisture, sun and mold spores, and so when I took it out to work on it a few weeks ago, it was growing! I tried washing it down multiple times with isopropyl alcohol and then a strong bleach solution, but I could still smell the mold. I talked to my friend, Craig, who works at the university in the microbiology department and it was decided that the plastic parts could be saved, and I could try putting the wooden parts in the oven for an hour at 121 degrees C. After cutting out the windows and cutting off the plastic parts and removing any trace of wooden bracing, I washed and scrubbed everything in a strong bleach solution. I decided to bin the rest of the wooden walls and rebuild. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I just didn't trust that all those spores would be killed in the oven. The last thing I wanted was them spread to other parts of my layout. This weekend we had a modelling weekend at a trampers house at Arthurs Pass. We stacked all the furniture from the lounge in the carport, and brought in the modelling tables. Modelling started at lunch time on Friday and went through to lunch time on Sunday. In that time I managed to cut all the walls, cut all the openings, paint all the walls and trim, assemble the two main structures and add the doors and windows. I also built and added the subassembly to the side of one of the two structures, and built two of the three cupolas that are needed for the complex.
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Photo 1 - shows the two main structures rebuilt with the cupolas sitting on top. These little sub assemblies were very time consuming and fiddly to scratchbuild! I still have to trim the clapboard on the side of the longer one (after the glue had cured, which it had not when I took this photo).
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Photo 2 - the longer cupola. I made little plastic templates to use as a guide and get the pitch right. I used 6x6's between the windows. Corner trim was added to the sides of the gable walls and trimmed to the pitch when dry. I made two plastic sub floors and glued a gable and side wall to the base one, and the other gable and side wall to the ceiling one. I painted the interior black and then glued the two sub assemblies together. I used canopy glue so I had a bit of time to line things up.
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Photo 3 - This little square cupola wasn't really any easier. I used the same process, but without the plastic ceiling piece.
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Photo 4 - Here is the paint brush I used for painting the random lines under each clapboard. The longer bristles hold a lot of paint but the point still allows for fine detail. Worth the extra $$$.
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Photo 5 - While there, I made the trek to the Devil's Punchbowl Falls. This photo doesn't do them justice.
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Photo 6 - And finally, one of the moss covered beech trees. The amount of different shades of green in the alpine forest is staggering!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Beautiful work on the structures. The mold must have been very frustrating. The 1:1 scenery is gorgeous.
Mark great work on those structures. Sorry to hear about the mold problem.
Great 1:1 pictures.
Jerry
Mark, good job on those structures.
I was in Northern California last week and I'm currently in Oregon and the rain for the last 10 days has been almost non stop.
With all the rain here almost everything is covered in moss.
Mark, looks like you have been busy, keep the photos coming...Tommy
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 02, 2025, 08:11:06 AMBeautiful work on the structures. The mold must have been very frustrating. The 1:1 scenery is gorgeous.
Thanks, Curt.
Yes - it had got me down a bit. I feel much better now that I'm back where I started + a bit extra. It was a great weekend away in a beautiful part of the country. Attached is a link to some local history and a video celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the opening of the Otira tunnel (from two years ago). We stayed, and modelled, in a railway workers cottage just like the ones they show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovhcucN73Lw&ab_channel=davidlipscombe
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on April 02, 2025, 09:50:37 AMMark great work on those structures. Sorry to hear about the mold problem.
Great 1:1 pictures.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
I bought some silica gel packets to go in all my modelling boxes, just in case. Hopefully that will stop any future mold! I'm getting near the end of this one, so I think the next step will be to cut out a diorama base. The structures sit against the backdrop and will be quite hard to reach when in position.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on April 02, 2025, 05:49:56 PMMark, good job on those structures.
I was in Northern California last week and I'm currently in Oregon and the rain for the last 10 days has been almost non stop.
With all the rain here almost everything is covered in moss.
Thanks, Rick.
Arthurs Pass has an average rainfall of 2783mm (109.5"), while Otira, at the other end of the tunnel on the West Coast, has an average rainfall of 5105mm (201"). That's certainly moss weather!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on April 02, 2025, 07:44:53 PMMark, looks like you have been busy, keep the photos coming...Tommy
Thanks, Tommy.
Will do. I'll get back to in filling the layout progress from when the modelers forum was down, too. I'm almost up to one of my greatest/ funniest modelling stories...
Cheers, Mark.
Great history Mark.
Hi guys.
Back to the past...
Photo 1 - In the meantime a carried on with the decluttering of the room. I sold a couple of my diorama boxes for $1 a box (somebody got a bargain, but they went) and moved a whole heap of stuff - a lot to the trash. My Fault lines layout will just roll out of the area, which makes things easy. I took the rest of the temporary wall down, although I still need to cut back the plywood. Here is the back corner of the room cleared out.
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Photo 2 - I drew up a framing plan for this module and then went about constructing it. I had my Triton rip saw bench set up and so ripped the legs to the exact dimensions I wanted, which made fitting the shoes for the wheels easy. To save a trip to the timber merchant (where they probably wouldn't have what I wanted anyway) I ripped down some 4x2" from the temporary wall. The module is quite squat, and I rechecked my measurements several times. The lower track keeps descending from right to left and then there is a river behind this. I allowed another 50mm (2") for this, and then when you add on the 16mm for the track/ river bed and the 45x19mm on their edge... I'm thinking this whole module will have to be built in situ because of its shape and the way it fixes to the existing Tellynott module. I think it will be one of the last modules to roll out of the room when the time comes.
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Photo 3 - And here is a view from above (standing on a saw horse). Next its out with the jigsaw and cutting a whole heap of curves!
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Photo 4 - I have outlined the modules shape. You can see the front of the layout curve in place, glued and screwed, and the back piece temporarily screwed in position. This piece will actually be used as the top of the backdrop but I have it in position to mark both the joists and the position of the studs on the wall top plate as well as to define the modules shape. I have the lower trackbed screwed in position - still descending from right to left, while the high track is shown by the three very tall raisers. This is the point at which it reaches its maximum height of 1550mm (61"). I also have the front jack stud attached to the previous module (right bottom of photo).
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Photo 5 - Shows the ceiling of the end module. You can see the bracing elements marked on it. This will be a tricky piece to get into position. My plan is to assemble the left side and back before moving into position and then assemble the right side in situ. I intend to make up a bit of a scaffold to hold it in position while I glue and screw. I'm thinking I will need a hand at this stage.
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Photo 6 - Here it is with a number of the bracing elements added (rotated 180 degrees). Once I have got the rest of the bracing elements made up and attached, including the inner half circle, I will lift this piece and position it in the right orientation through in the other room on top of my Fault lines layout top. I will then attach the studs (from where my impact driver is around to the start of the second curve at bottom left). I will then hopefully be able to attach a sheet of 3mm MDF around this curve. If all this goes ok, once the glue has set then the section will be lifted into position and the last studs added. I have blocks screwed to the underside of all my joists for the studs to sit on. There are four different length studs - so there is a lot that can go wrong. I have spent a lot of time trying to think through this procedure, so fingers crossed I have everything right. Its still a few days away from the lifting in stage.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Wow, great wood working Mark. Is that module low to the ground or does it look that way because of camera angle?
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 04, 2025, 05:11:57 PMWow, great wood working Mark. Is that module low to the ground or does it look that way because of camera angle?
Thanks, Curt.
Here is my explanation from photo caption 2.
\
"The module is quite squat, and I rechecked my measurements several times. The lower track keeps descending from right to left and then there is a river behind this. I allowed another 50mm (2") for this, and then when you add on the 16mm for the track/ river bed and the 45x19mm on their edge..."
Just for you, I went out to the layout room and had a measure. This module (module 5) is 620mm (24 1/2") from the concrete floor to the bottom of the bearers. Module 8 - which is the lowest module - is 570mm (22 3/4"). Remember, I need to allow for track bed for the lowest trackage on the module, scenery below that (i.e. riverbed) and then a little wiggle room for risers, joists and bearers. When I was also having to allow 125mm (5") for wheels and 'feet' the legs seemed VERY short - hence why I remeasured everything to check.
Cheers, Mark.
Thanks Mark, sorry to cause you extra work.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 04, 2025, 06:26:46 PMThanks Mark, sorry to cause you extra work.
No problems, Curt.
Happy to help/ explain further. Thanks for following along and all your comments and interest. It is very much appreciated.
Cheers, Mark.
Preserve the mold and make scenery out of it! ;D ::)
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on April 04, 2025, 07:26:13 PMPreserve the mold and make scenery out of it! ;D ::)
Mmmmm. Oddly enough, I didn't think of this...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well today (being modelling Sunday - or at least modelling Sunday afternoon...), I started work on the diorama base for my background half relief diorama which splices together ideas from FOS Rust rock falls, and a Bar Mills shipyard Brewery kit.
Photo 1 - So here is my sandwich weighted down and gluing.
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Photo 2 - Here it is the next day viewed from the front. I used my paper template to mark out the base, including marking out the S-curve for the track. The track goes in front of this diorama and will be on 16mm MDF.
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Photo 3 - Here we have the buildings set up on the diorama base. You can see I have cut out the canal.
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Photo 4 - A view from above. I marked and cut out the top two layers - 6mm cork and 30mm extruded polystyrene. The glue between the two layers of polystyrene was still soft enough to make lifting off the canal area easy.
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Photo 5 - The remaining building base and the canal. I marked the building bases 1.5mm smaller to allow for styrene canal walls. These will later be plastered. I also marked and cut out a piece of 3mm MDF to act as the upper canal base. This was glued into position.
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Photo 6 - The 1.5mm styrene canal walls were cut to the correct height then filed, cut and glued together using CA. Finally, they were glued to the sandwich sides using Selleys quick grab. This glue is safe to use on extruded polystyrene.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys. Part 2.
Photo 7 - Here is a view from the front.
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Photo 8 - I cut down a Wills bridge kit and added some strip styrene to the ends. Here it is sitting in position. It still needs internal beams and timber decking added.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Always a pleasure to see your progress, and how scenes are developed.
Thank you for sharing!
Fifth Dave to the right
Great looking progress Mark. One of the things that I really enjoy about your layout is all the different elevation features.
Agreed. I enjoy how Mark thinks in all three directions. Elevation changes make scenes more interesting.
Mark, it's exciting to see how the layout is all coming together.
That Willis iron bridge is nice! I had one over a canal on my previous layout.
dave
I keeps on getting better and better Mark..... 8)
Great all around modeling going on Mark!
Mark, Cheers,
You have certainly been busy. Sorry to hear you had to start over on the two structures but it was well worth the effort. Not only do the new ones look fantastic, but your health is more important than saving the other ones.
I love the look of all the building lined up and the bridge across the expanse is just wonderful. A real \eye catcher.
Tom
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on April 06, 2025, 07:41:17 AMAlways a pleasure to see your progress, and how scenes are developed.
Thank you for sharing!
Fifth Dave to the right
Thanks fifth Dave to the right!
This one takes up quite a bit of back wall real estate. I always enjoy fitting in another river!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 06, 2025, 08:09:33 AMGreat looking progress Mark. One of the things that I really enjoy about your layout is all the different elevation features.
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on April 06, 2025, 08:14:45 AMAgreed. I enjoy how Mark thinks in all three directions. Elevation changes make scenes more interesting.
Thanks Curt, and thanks again, Dave.
I enjoy using the vertical direction. Mountain scenery and dense urban scenery both lend themselves to this. Added to this, my dense urban scenery is built on some very steep terrain. Of course, Doug's Rust Rock Falls has a heavy influence on this design...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on April 06, 2025, 08:41:55 AMMark, it's exciting to see how the layout is all coming together.
Thanks, Rick.
If I could keep this motivation going non stop! Of course the 1:1 world often interrupts. I was looking at this diorama last night wondering how far I would have got with a weeks worth of 10 hour days. Still - I'm lucky to be able to spend the time I can on my 3-D world. Pouring my creative juices into this life long project is what makes me tick.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on April 06, 2025, 09:35:44 AMThat Wills iron bridge is nice! I had one over a canal on my previous layout.
dave
Hi Dave.
Yes - It's a nice bridge. It was a shame to have to cut so much off the ends, but I think it still looks neat. Wills have some nice products, and although 1:76 scale, a lot of them still work in HO.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on April 06, 2025, 11:24:42 AMI keeps on getting better and better Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
Slowly but surely! Usually, I spend my Sundays working in the layout room, but our dog has a sore on his ankle that I didn't want him to worry at while not being watched. So I set up the trestle table in the garage and Wilbur Montgomery joined me for the afternoon.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Philip on April 06, 2025, 11:27:00 AMGreat all around modeling going on Mark!
Thanks, Philip.
There are certainly plenty of different projects on the go to suit my fancies!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on April 06, 2025, 03:25:33 PMMark, Cheers,
You have certainly been busy. Sorry to hear you had to start over on the two structures but it was well worth the effort. Not only do the new ones look fantastic, but your health is more important than saving the other ones.
I love the look of all the building lined up and the bridge across the expanse is just wonderful. A real \eye catcher.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Talking to Craig (from the 2fatpossums modelling group) about the mold spores I feel a bit better about my health. My real worry was that the mold would start growing again and then spread to other structures. I know I'm modelling an area with one of the highest annual rainfalls in the world, but I'd rather model the various shades of green another way!
Yes - I, too like that longways view into the diorama. The bridge will add a lot to the scene - it had to be pretty!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - The last thing I got do on the diorama was to add some polystyrene formers for the road and then to cut some plaster cobble castings into wedges to fit around the curve. I glued these into position using Selleys quick grab. The small structure sitting beside the rock casting is to go on the end of the last structure where I have no bothered to paint.
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Photo 2 - Here is a view from above showing the shape I have to play with for the river. You can see it gets pretty thin between the road and the backdrop against the wall, but being directly behind the road this shouldn't be a problem.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark great update. Like everyone said it's nice to see you bring this all together. Just some outstanding work.
Jerry
Quote from: Jerry on April 06, 2025, 07:01:19 PMMark great update. Like everyone said it's nice to see you bring this all together. Just some outstanding work.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
There are still a few fiddly little sub assemblies to add to the structures, along with significant decking and all the rafters tails, fly rafters and roofing. It's then a matter of personalising it. I bought a few sheep and cattle wagons a little while back and it would be nice to have somewhere in Tellynott for those wagons to go. I'm thinking about whether Graves Elevators could be added to to make it into an abattoir and this complex on the other side of the tracks might make a good tannery. I'll have a study of a few historical NZ prototypes and see what comes of it.
Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, you've been very busy with your layout. Things are progressing along nicely. I like the way you incorporate the verticality into all of your scenes.
Quote from: nycjeff on April 08, 2025, 06:58:35 PMHello Mark, you've been very busy with your layout. Things are progressing along nicely. I like the way you incorporate the verticality into all of your scenes.
Thanks, Jeff.
I always enjoy those changes in height. We are half way through autumn here. Winter is on it's way, and hopefully with it lots more modelling time! We have our next 2fatpossums meet scheduled here towards the end of may.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - shows the diorama with the river in place, made up of rock castings - Woodlands Scenics, Bragdon, and some others.
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Photo 2 - shows the timber work built and in place to support the overhanging end wall extension. I will add 12x12's covered in plaster to represent posts in concrete foundations, tapped into the rockwork.
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Photo 3 - here I am looking at the diorama in front of the one that sits against the back wall. I have decided to repurpose Graves elevators and turn it into a abattoir. The structures against the back wall will be a tannery and probably some shoe and boot manufacturing, maybe some animal glue manufacturing. I'm still researching...
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Photo 4 - here is a view from the end. There are a lot of different levels to consider and a few extra sub assemblies to be built...
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Photo 5 - and lastly, I made up some polystyrene walkways for the cattle, pigs and sheep. These I will do from wood. I'll also likely add some vented windows to the side wall here. The yellow card has been put in place to draw in the outline of all the buildings so I can then use it for planning.
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The plan is that all the buildings will interconnect. I'm also considering an elevated walkway between the abattoir across the little road that leads to the bridge to a small block of structures on the other side - perhaps a cafe/ delicatessen, butchery and a powerhouse. Again - still mulling things over...
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, this will be an interesting scene when you're done with it.
Great job Mark that will really be a neat scene when done.
Jerry
Howdy Mark, the scene is coming together well. The animal walkways add an interesting feature. I'm looking forward to what's next. Have fun, mike
Quote from: Jerry on April 21, 2025, 07:52:26 AMGreat job Mark that will really be a neat scene when done.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
It should be fun. Still a ways to go...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on April 21, 2025, 07:19:52 AMMark, this will be an interesting scene when you're done with it.
Thanks, Rick.
The research has thrown up a few great pictures, as well.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: friscomike on April 21, 2025, 08:31:44 AMHowdy Mark, the scene is coming together well. The animal walkways add an interesting feature. I'm looking forward to what's next. Have fun, mike
Thanks, Mike.
The walkways will add a lot of character to the scene. They should be a fun build to do. I'm planning on something fairly rustic. Of course, there will be stockyards and unloading races as well.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - Here is a closer view of the rockwork. You can see I have opted to do the falls in two tiers.
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Photo 2 - and here is an aerial shot showing the cobbled street covered in tar seal. I still have compression cuts and cracks to carve in...
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OK - on to some planning.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, wow, the cobblestone and overlay look terrific. Of course, the rock work is fantastic, too. Have fun, mike
Quote from: friscomike on April 21, 2025, 06:39:15 PMMark, wow, the cobblestone and overlay look terrific. Of course, the rock work is fantastic, too. Have fun, mike
Thanks, Mike!
I'm glad you like it. It's pretty easy to do. The Selleys spackle is fairly soft, so its easy to sand after application. I just use a small spatula and a pallet knife along with a soft brush to add a bit of water as I go.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Time to put on your Imagineering hats!!!
I did a bit of mocking up today. Things went pretty well for a change. I was looking for something not too tall, so as not to block too much of the tannery (and all my hard work) from the viewer. I also wanted another structure to add to the abattoir. I felt it was a little too little. The Model Masterpieces Cimarron supply was one of those kits I really liked, but had tried in many different positions around Tellynott, and hadn't really found a good fit. Today, helped by the fluke of my wall leaning support, it found a home. I think the simple sides of the kit work well in this position, and the cool front fits with the look I want for the town and will be visible when looking down the street. The whole building, especially with the addition of a cupola, resembles the sort of structures I have been looking at while investigating New Zealand abattoirs online. The Magnuson Merchants Row 2 back wall was tried in several positions. Finally, it dawned on me, that the front of the kit looked very similar to the picture I had pinned to a polystyrene block for here. I think, with a few additions, I can capture the NZ flavour of this picture from my Compleat cityscapes book.
Photo 1 - shows the Magnuson kit Merchants row 2, from the front. The three shops will be connected to the industrial complex behind in nature - maybe a delicatessen, a leather goods shop and a butcher? Perhaps a saddlery upstairs?
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Photo 2 - shows it from the corner. There is a turret to go on the corner and the shops will need to be cut into three and changes made to the back in order to follow the curve of the road. The three buildings will also need to be reassembled at slightly different heights to work with the grade of the road.
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Photo 3 - shows it from the end. As I move further into my preliminary planning I will investigate shortening this end wall. There is room for it full size, but I'm wondering what it will look like cut down. It could also make room for another small shop around the corner. To the left we see the Model Masterpieces Cimarron supply kit. I used a carboard mock-up as a support for the two walls, and so stumbled upon this design. I really like both the small copula running along the top, and the shape of a gable roof at the back - which also helps keep the structures behind visible.
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Photo 4 -shows the view down the track. I pulled one of my polystyrene pieces with sketch of a building out of the scene on the peninsula here, and really liked the new views it opened up. I also cut a couple of quick tanks from a wooden handle which I added next to the tracks. I also added a couple of tanks to the roof of the abattoir.
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Photo 5 - shows an angled view across the peninsula. You can see the front of the Model Masterpieces kit will be visible looking down the road. The witches hat on the turret should also pop out of the skyline.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
It's a joy to watch you "imagineer" the structures and scenery, Mark.
dave
I think you're right about the brick structure Mark. I look forward to seeing what you do with the plaster castings.
Hello Mark, thanks for posting the long shot pictures. They really give us a better idea of your overall vision. It's going to be spectacular.
Quote from: deemery on April 22, 2025, 08:25:27 AMIt's a joy to watch you "imagineer" the structures and scenery, Mark.
dave
Thanks, Dave.
It's certainly a joy to do. Probably mt favourite part of the hobby.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 22, 2025, 01:47:14 PMI think you're right about the brick structure Mark. I look forward to seeing what you do with the plaster castings.
Thanks, Curt.
We will see as I move forward with this part of Tellynott.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: nycjeff on April 22, 2025, 06:19:52 PMHello Mark, thanks for posting the long shot pictures. They really give us a better idea of your overall vision. It's going to be spectacular.
Thanks for your lovely compliment, Jeff.
I've taken a few more photos today. I also went back and dug out some relevant photos from my 'Compleat Cityscapes' book. Ones where there are relevant shop details. When I look at those photos I get a real urge to scratchbuild rather than kitbash. Especially when I look at how warped the front wall of that Magnuson kit is... I might go to the effort to mock up a few more details to add to the mock up I have built to see how I feel. Overall, I'm feeling really positive about the whole area. It seems to work from all angles. The sloping streets means that you can put foreground structures in without blocking the view behind, although I have to be strategic in this exercise. And I get a real thrill when I look down the curving streets from above - its such a seldomly modelled view.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - So here is the scene with my Magnuson merchants row 2 mocked up in position. I have sized and cut a 15mm MDF base and cut and added a 6mm piece of cork under building two, and two pieces under building three. Building two has also been cut down at the back to create a trapezium. This is the easiest way to get a group of three buildings to curve around a bend.
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Photo 2 - From a bit closer. I have used my little house as a mockup to fill two places and so you will see it move into two different sites. At present it doesn't have a home, and I really like it here. It will make a nice little shop. It is pictured in a group of two quite similar buildings, and I'm thinking the second one would work well next to the railway lines. I really like the flow curving up the street. I also like the huge difference in sizes of the tiny weatherboard gable building (I'm thinking a butchery) and the much larger gable of the model masterpieces structure.
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Photo 3 - Here we are looking up the other road. The size of the little two storied structure works well here, not blocking the view behind at all. I placed a couple of wagons on the track to get an idea of what it will look like with some shunting in the background. I think it will be important to the thickness of the bridge over the road to a minimum to keep the view through as wide as possible.
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Photo 4 - Here is a view from further back to show a bit more context.
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Photo 5 - And finally we have a view down the street from above. I'm considering an open walkover joining the Graves building with the Model masterpiece building.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
A few more...
Photo 6 - Here is a view from behind a picture from the Compleat Cityscapes book of what I intend to build and place at the back of the peninsula here.
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Photo 7 - The removal of another structure here led to this view down the street. Sometimes it is a matter of pulling out a two storied structure and replacing it with a one storied structure. The key is to get things looking good when looking up, looking down and looking lengthways.
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Photo 8 - Here is a photo from the Compleat Cityscapes, by David McGill and Grant Tilly, of the two structures side by side. You can see I have built the one on the left. I'm thinking the one on the right would look good against the tracks.
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Photo 9 - Finally, here is the photo from the Compleat Cityscapes that I had in the position that I have put the Magnuson kit. I'm thinking the rolled roof design on the structure to the right would look good on the far Magnuson building. I'm also thinking shop front verandas would look good, although I would make then considerably narrower. Tellynott is rather strapped for space.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
You have a lot of good ideas and things going on in Tellynott.
Mark, cheers,
WOW, spectacular all the way.
I like the idea of the connected buildings over the track if you can match them. It looks like the one in the rear is already set. Maybe a redo of a portion of that building.
Tom
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 23, 2025, 10:54:32 AMYou have a lot of good ideas and things going on in Tellynott.
Thank you, Curt.
I'm happy with how this area is coming together. Its got me quite motivated.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on April 23, 2025, 11:30:56 AMMark, cheers,
WOW, spectacular all the way.
I like the idea of the connected buildings over the track if you can match them. It looks like the one in the rear is already set. Maybe a redo of a portion of that building.
Tom
Thank you for the kind words, Tom.
Yes - I think the heights of the two structures are set, with graves set up for the loading dock height for the rails and the Cimarron supply needing to be at a height that works for the road. I can, of course, have the walkover on a slope, or add stairs at one (or both) ends. We will see. It may just block too much of the animal ramps that I plan on adding to the side of Graves.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, that looks like a very realistic looking town/city.
Well done.
Looking back a few pictures, I really like the small angle you've added to "Merchant's Row II".
As I said to Tom, you can change the look of the store windows by adding a styrene strip to bisect the window, or maybe even add more divisions.
(We're currently watching a NZ mystery set in Queenstown. Nice scenery! And earlier today, I was a judge for student posters for the university's Earth Science department. One presentation was on measuring fish that migrate from a lake north of Aukland into the ocean to spawn.)
dave
That is going to be a really nice looking town!!
I like the way you work through how its going to look.
Jerry
Quote from: Rick on April 23, 2025, 07:37:19 PMMark, that looks like a very realistic looking town/city.
Well done.
Thanks, Rick.
I feel as though progress to the left along the peninsula will be easier now that I have this start. I made a start on cleaning up the flash on the merchants row II kit. Also tried to straighten them out somewhat.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on April 23, 2025, 08:02:04 PMLooking back a few pictures, I really like the small angle you've added to "Merchant's Row II".
As I said to Tom, you can change the look of the store windows by adding a styrene strip to bisect the window, or maybe even add more divisions.
(We're currently watching a NZ mystery set in Queenstown. Nice scenery! And earlier today, I was a judge for student posters for the university's Earth Science department. One presentation was on measuring fish that migrate from a lake north of Aukland into the ocean to spawn.)
dave
Thanks, Dave.
Yes - I think the angle works well. The subtle changes in height will really help set the buildings into the scene, too. I'll use many of the details in the picture of the shops I uploaded, along with a couple of other pictures I have. The rolled roof as shown in the picture will be something quite unique.
The scenery around lake Wakatipu is lovely. Jacksons bay (where Tellynott is set) is only 75km (46 1/2 miles) north of Queenstown, but on the other side of the Southern Alps. The southern tip of my layout, when it first turns west to lake McKerrow, is only 25km to Glenorchy, the northern tip of lake Wakatipu. Just past Glenorchy is Paradise, a very appropriately named part of New Zealand.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on April 23, 2025, 11:18:47 PMThat is going to be a really nice looking town!!
I like the way you work through how its going to look.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
I like to have a really good idea of how an area will look, and how it will work with the areas each side, behind and in front, and within the overall scene, before I begin cutting up my kits. Small changes can often mean a lot more work, so its easier in the long run to get things right with mock-ups first.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I cur the front and back walls of the kit into the various shops. My front wall castings were very warped around the very delicate shop front windows. I heated them by waving them over a heat gun, and then held them flat on a cold metal surface. Gently did it - not too close to the gun, and not for too long. I had a couple of attempts at one or two walls.
Photo 1 - As per usual for Magnuson/ Scale structure kits - things are a long way from perfect. The angle the white metal castings were sanded/ filed to did not match the base template and also run off considerably at the top. This will have to be repaired with putty. To address this problem I decided making a base, floor and ceiling disc would make things easier. Using the turret template I marked and cut out three 1.5mm styrene discs. I then glued the left and centre white metal casting together using CA, lining up the sill of the top windows, and while setting, held the disc in position to check the angle was correct. I glued the three discs in position and filled the back of the seam between the two white metal castings with CA (if the angles had been done correctly, there would have been no seam). I then glued the right hand white metal casting to the centre casting (the discs made lining this up easier. The top of the turret was good, but the bottom splayed out about 3mm on one side (that's almost a scale foot!).
After allowing the CA ample time to harden, I used a pair of flat nosed pliers to straighten the casting, holding the glued seem against the pressure. The centre piece also did not match with the two outer pieces horizontally. I decided to match the bottom of sill of the top windows and put up with the discrepancy above and below. I guess you could have cut the casting in half and spliced back together to try to move a bit of material and get things better, but it felt like a lot of effort that might actually make things worse.
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Photo 2 - After cleaning out the flash from the resin windows I glued the side, end and front wall to a styrene base, and marked and glued the doorway (with shim added underneath from 1mm styrene), together. Before doing this I marked and cut two more styrene bases. I cut the front and back walls on the kit into the various shops as this is necessary for the changes in height. I glued the other two styrene pieces in place, one between the ground floor and floor 2, and one on an angle for the roof. I placed the centre floor so that the bottom floor of the turret would fit tightly underneath it for extra gluing.
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Photo 3 - I had to do a good amount of filing to get the turret to fit into the gap. One white metal side piece was factory filed on an angle vertically, with the top window having about a 4x2 facing against the resin wall and the bottom window with a 8x2 facing. After sanding off the extra 4 scale inches, the turret slotted into position. I did some checking on the turret roof casting using a small square and ruler to check the top was central. It was slightly off, so I found the most consistent quadrant and marked to use at the front. I glued this in place using 2 part epoxy.
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Photo 4 - and here it is on an angle. I opted to have my main roof lower than the turret. We had a turret in our last house, and this is how it was done, with a small wall down to the flat roof. I still have to glue the side wall on - but want to leave access to the structure's interior at this stage.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Cutting 'floors' for the tower is a great way to help assembly. Since I reworked some of the angles in mine, I couldn't lean on symmetry like you are doing. Hopefully the tower parts will come together into that symmetrical arrangement, but don't be surprised if you end up with an irregular polygon to get the best fit of the parts...
dave
Great how to and thinking outside of the box getting this together Mark. We'll done.
Mark,
I like the apparent depth of the scenes you are creating. And, I've remarked before how much I like your use of the vertical dimension.
Mike
Quote from: deemery on April 28, 2025, 07:37:38 AMCutting 'floors' for the tower is a great way to help assembly. Since I reworked some of the angles in mine, I couldn't lean on symmetry like you are doing. Hopefully the tower parts will come together into that symmetrical arrangement, but don't be surprised if you end up with an irregular polygon to get the best fit of the parts...
dave
Thanks, Dave.
Of course, an irregular polygon would not fit well with the roof casting. It would also irk me putting together a sub assembly incorrectly to get the best fit. Magnuson kits can be rather challenging in this regard. I spent considerable time just holding, test fitting and looking at the castings closely before deciding which way to progress. Considering just how far out they were to start with I'm pretty happy with the result - and I haven't added putty yet.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 28, 2025, 08:48:33 AMGreat how to and thinking outside of the box getting this together Mark. We'll done.
Thanks, Curt.
There is always a solution. Sometimes that solution is to throw things away and scratchbuild! I managed to not do that this time...
During the last Scale Structures sale I bought the grain exchange, hoping to do something with the side walls. One of those side walls had been held on their sanding machine so long that it was paper thin at one end and all the details had been sanded off the interior of the windows. The wall was basically useless. The mind boggles over how this could possibly have got past quality control. There is no way you could sand a wall this badly and not know... I emailed, but heard nothing back.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Michael Hohn on April 28, 2025, 06:46:55 PMMark,
I like the apparent depth of the scenes you are creating. And, I've remarked before how much I like your use of the vertical dimension.
Mike
Thanks, Mike.
As I said earlier, the vertical allows stacking of kits/ scratches without the front structures obscuring the structures behind. If the scene can be viewed in two or more directions this is true when viewing from the back (and side) as well. Although this is challenging, it also allows for some very exciting and unique viewing angles, often with a lot of depth.
Cheers, Mark.
Well done Mark. And boy you do have patience!
Jerry
Quote from: Jerry on April 29, 2025, 09:07:49 AMWell done Mark. And boy you do have patience!
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
P&P. Patience and procrastination. Sometimes it is hard to know witches which!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Back to the past...
Photo 1 - So here we are waiting for the glue to dry. The last fins for the inner curve are in place and the curved internal wall for the pelmet is done. I'll probably add a couple of short internal walls to keep things rigid during the move
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Typically I am able to make a whole corner section with curved backdrop, curved pelmet and ceiling, and lift it all in as one piece. This is the first time I have had to try to do it in two pieces - or more precisely - a half finished piece lifted in and the rest finished in situ. There has been a lot of thinking along side the work you see in the photos. I managed to lift the whole ceiling piece onto the lid of my Fault Lines layout on my own. I then stood back and realised I had it rotated 180 degrees out! Because the diagonals are longer than the module's length, there is insufficient room to spin the ceiling section without first lifting it above the ceiling height of my existing layout - which I could not do on my own! A couple of deep breaths and expletives and I lifted it off, rotated and lifted it back on. I make that job sound easy, too. It wasn't!
Well, I'm almost ready for the big lift.
Photo 2 - Underneath and behind this module is my Fault lines layout on which it is sitting. If you look closely you can see the red framework in the bottom right of the photo. I worked like this, putting on the curved sheet of 3mm MDF and attaching the studs behind it. Everything was glued and screwed or nailed or clamped. You can see I still have some more studs to add. I used a sheet offcut wedged between the backdrop and the layout benchwork to stop the bottom of the backdrop flaring out.
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Photo 3 - After I had attached the rest of the studs I added the other longest one at the front left and added two extensions temporarily to another two studs to make four legs. No glue was used here as I will need to take these off again. I then lifted the module slightly and added chocks under the four legs. The Fault lines layout was then rolled out from underneath.
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Photo 5 - and here is a photo showing the 'lid' in the room. The plan is to remove all the studs around the 600mm high backdrop at this end, lift it and move it back towards the far wall. Once it is in the narrowest section (where the benchwork is only 250mm wide) it will be rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise. The 600mm section will rotate over the existing Tellynott layout at right, and once rotated the full 90 degrees it will then be able to be lowered into position with 40mm tolerance. That is the plan. Although I have tried very hard to get things perfect, I'm almost certain there will need to be a bit of 'fudging' to get the two pieces to splice together. Just hopefully not too much fudging! I will then add the remaining studs - although this may get done during the process. I'm thinking of purchasing a plasterboard lifter which I can use for this process and other such upcoming exercises, and then sell it again when done. I have done some calculations and I believe the whole assembly weighs about 45kg (99 pounds). Gib lifters are generally rated to lift 68kgs. The problem, of course, is that the benchwork will get in the way of the lifter, and so the 'lid' will still need to be slid into position. If all of my studs were the same length things would be easier, but I have four different lengths of stud, depending on which bit of the benchwork they are being attached to.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Continuing...
I'm itching to get this piece installed, but I'll certainly need some help - so I'll have to wait. It gives me time to think through the process many times over and (hopefully) think of every possible problem and have a solution ready to go. I've just thought of another thing writing this!
What the hell is that? I hear you ask... Well - I didn't have enough saw horses so I asked one of my friends to bring a couple along. Being a newly retired builder - the two he brought had had a long, hard life. They were handed over accompanied with the assurance "they might look rough, but they are plenty strong - they wont break". We'd set up two planks resting on four saw horses, had lifted and moved the ceiling piece back towards the corner of the room, rotated it through about 45 degrees and lowered it so the 600mm backdrop was only just above the existing Tellynott ceiling when 'BANG!' The saw horse under the owner of the saw horse neatly snapped into two large and one small piece. This is the small piece. Fortunately that side of the sub assembly fell less than 50mm to rest on the Tellynott ceiling. Richard and I came down in a rush, but no one was injured and the sub assembly remained intact. A step ladder was quickly shuffled into position, the plank reinstated and the move continued. Better work stories everyone!
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Photo 2 - shows the ceiling of Tellynott at right and the new Shadowlands ceiling at left. You can see I achieved my 10mm tolerance pretty well.
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We had 7 of us in all. This was a couple more than I thought I needed, but the more the merrier! Unfortunately our photographer was late, and so most of the action was missed. I decided the a drywall lifter would just get in the way so didn't hire one. We had one person on each of the four corners and two extra people to swap out with me when I needed to 'tweak' things and to pass things. This was especially necessary when the studs need to be caressed into position - and of course, no one quite understood my plan as well as me. Things fitted together pretty well. There were a couple of places where I added a shim of MDF between a stud and a joist, but otherwise it all worked very well. Screwing the scrap pieces up to the bottom of the joists for the studs to rest on was a fantastic idea!. Within an hour we were all inside having tea, coffee and freshly baked date cake, curtesy of my wife. I went back out to the barn around 9:30 and by 11:30 had all the studs around the right side of the splice glued and screwed in position. I had fitted all these to the lid before the move so everything was pre drilled and pre countersunk.
Photo 3 - a wider shot of the two ceilings.
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Photo 4 - the 30mm tolerance against the side wall.
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Photo 5 - So here is a photo of the lift in action - just as the piece had been lowered into position. This was when my photographer turned up. You can see the step ladder has replaced the broken saw horse. Notice the safety footwear. Actually, both builders wore jandles for the occasion. I'm in the centre in the high vis T-shirt.
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Photo 6 - Here we are with the splice done. This is before I added the studs to the right.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
A lot of incredible woodworking Mark.
Howdy Mark,
I see you are continuing with your amazing carpentry skills. The benchwork is a showpiece in itself.
Have fun,
mike
My Oh My!! That is just great teamwork.
Nice carpentry work Mark.
Jerry
It must be nice to have minions to help. :) Your benchwork is in itself a work of art.
Jeff
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 30, 2025, 08:53:51 AMA lot of incredible woodworking Mark.
Thanks, Curt.
This was the most difficult lift of the whole empire. Later, all the ceiling lifts were either done just by myself, or with the aid of my friend, Trevor. Trevor is the only one wearing long pants in the photo above.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: friscomike on April 30, 2025, 09:02:09 AMHowdy Mark,
I see you are continuing with your amazing carpentry skills. The benchwork is a showpiece in itself.
Have fun,
mike
Thanks, Mike.
Its all but done, now. Still the fascia to do, framing for control boards and scenery props. And best not to forget the redoing of the benchwork in Tellynott. And, of course, there is still all the painting to do...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on April 30, 2025, 09:26:39 AMMy Oh My!! That is just great teamwork.
Nice carpentry work Mark.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry!
I was hoping to get some more documentation of the lifting process, but my photographer was late. Good help is hard to find... Actually, I haven't needed assistance like this before, but I found myself with no shortage of volunteers, which was nice. I think, after people saw what I was trying to do, they were pretty impressed with how well it all came together. I know I was!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on April 30, 2025, 11:43:34 AMIt must be nice to have minions to help. :) Your benchwork is in itself a work of art.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff.
It was indeed fortunate that so many of my modelling friends were keen to help. I intend to frame that piece of sawhorse!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Back to the future.
Today saw me draw up plans for the stock ramps I will build to add to the side of Tellynott's new abattoir - my repurposed Graves elevators. This one should be a challenging scratchbuild.
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Cheers, Mark.
Are they 2 level or are you showing both sides?
I can't wait to see this scratch built!!
Jerry
I wouldn't want to walk along the lower ramp when it's raining :-)
dave
Quote from: PRR Modeler on May 01, 2025, 08:08:25 AMAre they 2 level or are you showing both sides?
They are two leveled, Curt.
Ground floor to first floor, second floor to third floor. We'll have to assume that there is an internal ramp from the first floor to the second floor. I mocked this up, but it didn't look anywhere near as cool.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on May 01, 2025, 09:54:02 AMI can't wait to see this scratch built!!
Jerry
It should be fun, Jerry.
Like I say, the wood is all stained. I just took the extra 6x6's out of my staining bath. I also did some 6x1's for a water tank or two. I may take it with me to work on in Dunedin - but I'm not expecting a lot of downtime...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on May 01, 2025, 10:07:49 AMI wouldn't want to walk along the lower ramp when it's raining :-)
dave
No, Dave - you are quite right!
Cleaning out the holding pens for the cows before milking with the high pressure hose was my favourite job when I was a kid. I could barely hold that hose! We stayed on my cousins farm in Warkworth most Christmas holidays.
Cheers, Mark.
Team work on that section! grunt!
Nice drawing!
Quote from: Philip on May 04, 2025, 09:41:16 AMTeam work on that section! grunt!
Nice drawing!
Thanks, Philip.
It was good fun. I caught up with a few of the helpers on our recent modelling weekend at Arthurs Pass.
I enjoyed doing the drawing. I have two copies and two horizontally flipped copies ready to use as templates. I had no time over the weekend to model (as expected) but should make a start on the timber construction this Thursday.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Fantastic progress. I like how you added the floor braces in the turret. Wish I had though to do it on mine. The cattle stock ramps look like it will be a great looking, eye catching area. Well done.
It is also good to have helping friends.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on May 05, 2025, 09:59:14 AMMark, Cheers,
Fantastic progress. I like how you added the floor braces in the turret. Wish I had though to do it on mine. The cattle stock ramps look like it will be a great looking, eye catching area. Well done.
It is also good to have helping friends.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Yes, if your turret was anything like mine you well know it was challenging to put together and retain the required shape. If I had of just glued it together using the angles provided on the walls at would have been a LONG way out from the template. My styrene discs certainly helped keep things as intended.
I'm looking forward to building those stock ramps.
Cheers, Mark.
The stock ramps look like they will be a challenge to build, and for the cattle to climb.
Jeff
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on May 05, 2025, 08:27:22 PMThe stock ramps look like they will be a challenge to build, and for the cattle to climb.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff.
Yep - it should be a hoot! I'll either do it with lunch paper over the plan and tiny spots of glue, or with thin strips of painters tape attached sticky side up.
We have a small sheep ramp and I would think it is a similar gradient to my drawings. I'm sure the vast majority of land on my cousins farm near Warkworth that I mentioned earlier was far steeper than this and the cows had no trouble getting around. In the end, when you have to selectively compress structures, you have to work with what you have created.
Thanks for looking in, cheers, mark.
Hi guys.
A bit of progress so time to update.
Photo 1 - So I printed off six copies of my plan, three the right way around and three flipped horizontally. I cut out one of each and taped them to a glass chopping board. I attached strips of double sided tape to adhere the timberwork to. I found the double sided tape left glue residue to the back of the timberwork which I had to remove with a razor blade. I think next time I will add medium tack painters tape to the double sided tape.
IMG20250509105012comp.jpg
Photo 2 - I then cut and placed in position all the posts. I decided to make things easy and use 6x6's for all the posts. I also decided that the rails should be on the inside of the ramps (as in the prototype photos I found). This adds an extra level of difficulty to the project.
IMG20250509113858comp.jpg
Photo 3 - Next, I used a toothpick to add tiny dots of canopy glue to the posts, using the plan as a guide. I used a second copy of the plans as a template for cutting. The third copy was a spare...
IMG20250509120525comp.jpg
Photo 4 - I slowly added the 6x2 beams, 4x2 rails, 6x2 kick board, and 8x2 joists.
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Photo 5 - I carefully marked and cut openings for the two double doors and vent into the side of my Graves Elevators scratchbuild. I had used matt board for the back and side walls of this, so once through the roughcast it cut fairly easily. I cut some 6x1's and scratchbuilt some double doors. I glued these into the openings and added framing and a threshold. I painted the vent white and glued this in place, framing with 6x1's
IMG20250510175840comp.jpg
Photo 6 - Here I am test fitting the side of the stock ramp that sits against the roughcast wall. The back wall of Graves is not perfectly plumb, as you can see (it is at a slight angle in the photo, so looks a little worse than it actually is). I'll have to 'do a thing' here to disguise. I have elected to glue this wall to the side of Graves, and it is weighted and gluing as I write this. It may be challenging to add bearers, flooring and rafters. We will see...
IMG20250510180054comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A couple of mock-ups to give you an idea.
IMG20250510192252comp.jpg
IMG20250510192242comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
The mock up looks great. Very unusual to see a double decker cattle ramp.
Tom
Outstanding modeling Mark. Putting in the flooring could indeed be fiddly especially on the lower ramp.
Wow, that's coming together quickly, after seeing the design evolve...
dave
Mark, I missed a couple of updates. :-\
Glad no one got hurt installing that last piece of benchwork.
I'm in constant awe in your wood working skills.
This ramp you're working on now is another example of outstanding craftsmanship.
Mark outstanding work as usual.
Jerry
Quote from: ACL1504 on May 10, 2025, 06:36:56 AMMark, Cheers,
The mock up looks great. Very unusual to see a double decker cattle ramp.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Yes - unusual, for sure. I did find one example with a stock ramp going from level one to level four. I'm all about the impact over the prototypical. Cherry picking to the max! We had Lance Mindheim as a guest speaker at one of our conventions. He is all about modelling the mundane and ordinary. I get that, but I don't want to spend my valuable modelling time building models of the ordinary. I'd far rather bend reality a bit and model the exceptional. I have this philosophical theory that if you cherry pick everything then nothing should look out of place...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on May 10, 2025, 08:05:51 AMOutstanding modeling Mark. Putting in the flooring could indeed be fiddly especially on the lower ramp.
Thanks, Curt.
I have a plan. I should find time today to give it a go.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on May 10, 2025, 08:50:50 AMWow, that's coming together quickly, after seeing the design evolve...
dave
Thanks, Dave.
I got the second wall done in one hit. This was a good thing, as that wall needed to be flipped around 180 degrees, meaning the double sided tape residue is facing out (on the wall against the roughcast any tape residue is not visible). Because it had only had a few hours to affix to the timber it was easier to remove. Like I say, next time I will add painters tape, sticky side up, to the double sided tape. I'll probably also add a couple of strips to the back side of the plan to help keep it flat against the glass chopping board. I like this method much more than adding drops of glue. The idea behind the double sided tape was to keep all the plan visible underneath. I wonder if they make clear painters tape? Or low tack double sided tape?
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on May 10, 2025, 09:12:04 AMMark, I missed a couple of updates. :-\
Glad no one got hurt installing that last piece of benchwork.
I'm in constant awe in your wood working skills.
This ramp you're working on now is another example of outstanding craftsmanship.
Thanks, Rick.
I have fond memories of that lifting evening. It was extra good the way things fitted together so well. Trevor and Richard, who do a lot of woodworking, were very impressed.
The ramp should add a real BANG to the abattoir. I'm thinking another ramp connecting the roughcast building to the building down the hill might work well, although I'll have to mock it up first to check - it may obscure too much of the ones I am building now. The yards might prove challenging - there really isn't enough room... I guess that's a pretty common problem with model railroads - we do love to attempt to fit a mountain empire into the prototypical footprint of an average sized rollercoaster!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on May 10, 2025, 09:54:37 AMMark outstanding work as usual.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
Time to walk the dog, and then roll up my sleeves and get into it! We have our next 2fatpossums modelling weekend here later this month, which I am really looking forward to. We have brought the starting time forward to Friday lunchtime and this seems to be working well. The extra half day of modelling time is great for those that can make it.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Excellent modeling.
Mike
Quote from: Michael Hohn on May 11, 2025, 02:00:32 PMMark,
Excellent modeling.
Mike
Thanks, Mike.
I got a bit more done yesterday. I think my plan will work. I forgot about the door at the back of level two, but noticed when test fitting. I have cut out the opening but need to scratch another set of double doors. These will be visible when looking across the peninsula. There will be some trick gluing in of bearers and rafters, and a few handrails.
Cheers, Mark.
Howdy Mark,
The livestock ramps look fantastic. The Fort Worth, Texas stockyards had rams similar, and it's nice to see the ramps duplicated on a model. Well done!
Have fun,
mike
Quote from: friscomike on May 11, 2025, 08:04:23 PMHowdy Mark,
The livestock ramps look fantastic. The Fort Worth, Texas stockyards had rams similar, and it's nice to see the ramps duplicated on a model. Well done!
Have fun,
mike
Thanks, Mike.
Good to know. I had a search for 'Fort Worth, Texas, stock ramps' under images but didn't find anything. Lots of images of the yards and the whole complex (its a little bigger than my model!!!), but nothing of the ramps. Not that it matters, I was just curious to have a peek...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - So I used high tack painters tape, sticky side up, for making the decking pieces. I made this up in six pieces - a flat piece for the bottom and top of the lower ramp, two long pieces for the slope, and two flat pieces for the top ramp. The top flat section for the higher ramp was made as an L. Here I am placing the joists for the ramp. If you look closely you can see they are cut with angled ends.
IMG20250511113847comp.jpg
Photo 2 - I used my exacto mitre saw upside down as a stop for the decking.
IMG20250511115534comp.jpg
Photo 3 - I used the end elevations to make up two pieces for the back. I used high tack painters tape adhered to double sided tape this time. It worked pretty well - but, again, I wouldn't like to leave it like this for more than a couple of days. The edge of the joists do adhere to this level of tackiness pretty well.
IMG20250511143715comp.jpg
Photo 4 - I glued the decking in position - two the joist and glued each piece to the next piece. I glued all the decking in place except the top L-shaped piece. I will have to fit this in later, after gluing the smaller of the two elevation pieces in place. Once the five decking sections were glued in place I test fitted and then glued in place the outer side framed wall.
IMG20250511171839comp.jpg
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
Photo 1 - So here it is after the outside framing being glued into position. Now comes all the tricky stuff!
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Photo 2 - I started framing things in - still a ways to go. I have built the small end walls and attached the rafters for the top level along with some of the bearers. I'm not sure whether to add a roof to the lower level or leave it open. It will be tricky to roof...
IMG20250515175528comp.jpg
Photo 3 - from in front.
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Photo 4 - from the other end.
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Photo 5 - from above.
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Photo 6 - a view from below.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark that is truly outstanding modeling.
Excellent!
Mark, WOW. That's some beautiful modeling. ~mike
I wouldn't add a roof to the lower level, not only would that be painful, I doubt the cows would really appreciate it. :P
But if you decide to do that, you could pre-assemble the lower roof using the upper roof as a template, and just glue the assembly into position.
dave
Are you planning to put any livestock on the ramp? It will be difficult with the roofs on. I can't wait to see the cow poop weathering.
Jeff
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on May 15, 2025, 03:56:30 PMAre you planning to put any livestock on the ramp? It will be difficult with the roofs on. I can't wait to see the cow poop weathering.
Jeff
"cow poop weathering" Spoken like a true son of Iowa! ;D
dave
Perfection!!!!!
Jerry
Quote from: PRR Modeler on May 15, 2025, 08:29:10 AMMark that is truly outstanding modeling.
Thanks very much, Curt.
It has been a little challenging, especially when trying to work on things after mowing the lawns when the hands are twitching all over the place!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on May 15, 2025, 09:12:15 AMExcellent!
Thanks, Rick.
The 2fatpossums weekend kicks off next Friday lunchtime. I'm hoping to get through some good work then.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: friscomike on May 15, 2025, 10:17:11 AMMark, WOW. That's some beautiful modeling. ~mike
Thanks, Mike. You are too kind.
It's the sort of addition that will really make the building a standout. I'm quite excited to get this whole area completed. Its a large section and sort of sets things up for moving forward across the peninsula of Inglletown (an anagram of Wellington).
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on May 15, 2025, 10:44:00 AMI wouldn't add a roof to the lower level, not only would that be painful, I doubt the cows would really appreciate it. :P
But if you decide to do that, you could pre-assemble the lower roof using the upper roof as a template, and just glue the assembly into position.
dave
Thanks, Dave.
I think I agree - but for the reason that it would hide too much of the timberwork below. Considering that, I might add a few less rafters to the bottom ramp.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on May 15, 2025, 03:56:30 PMAre you planning to put any livestock on the ramp? It will be difficult with the roofs on. I can't wait to see the cow poop weathering.
Jeff
Hi Jeff.
No - I don't think so. I have modelled all the double doors closed so it wouldn't make sense to have cattle heading up the ramps. I still have the yards to build, so there will be plenty of scope to add livestock there.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on May 15, 2025, 11:27:06 PMPerfection!!!!!
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
I do like working with timber like this.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - a change of tack. So, some years ago, when I decided to take over the second of the central two rooms in the barn, I looked at replacing the roller door with an over height slider. The gap when the slider was fully open needed to be wide and tall enough to allow all my modules to roll out the door - some 2.36m tall and 2.15m wide (7'9"x 7'1/2"). It soon became obvious that these simply did not show up second hand and to buy and install a new one I was looking at around $7,000. I decided I could simply build a wall on the inside of the roller door for a little over $1,000, while leaving the roller door in place for the next caretakers of our little slice of paradise (besides, $6,000 buys a lot of trains!). The problem is, I carried on with the layout modules instead of building this important wall midway through the module construction - when I would have had, at least some, good access! Anyway - with the cold of the New Zealand winter fast approaching again, I decided it was time to finally get this job ticked off my 'to do' list.
Photo 1 - shows the wall from the outside with the roller door open as high as it will go. I moved the stops up a little so that my modules will clear to top of the door when fully open. Room was very limited, so I opted to use ceiling battens as framing. These are only 70mm (2 3/4") thick. Here I am part way through the job. The section without building paper (still to be added) is removable, held in place by two screws into the top and bottom plates, and four into the opening studs. I ripped 1/2" battens to contain the insulation. Dan band strapping would not have been strong enough to stop them swelling out and interfering with the roller door going up and down. It was tricky getting fixing for the building paper down behind the wing walls. I had to combine two drill extensions to get over two feet of length in order to reach the screws which held vertical ripping's, which in turn held the horizontal ripping's which held the building paper which held the insulation batts, in place! The bottom plate is in the door rebate and pretty much flush with the interior concrete floor. The black you can see at the bottom of the wall in the photo is a damp proof course, which is attached to the underside the bottom plate and then turned up the front and held in place with staples.
IMG20250606135150comp.jpg
Photo 2 - Inside, I started by adding 4.75mm MDF sheet to the wall. Again, because my modules were right up against the inside of the wall, I had to come up with sneaky ways of holding the MDF in place until the glue set. I made sure to cut the sheets vertically so that the removable section would still be able to be removed. I cut this wallboard so that it was 4.75mm below the top plate. I then had to build a bulkhead around the roller door mechanism, big enough so that it would house the door when rolled up (i.e. fully open). There was very limited room between the bottom of the roller door and the top of my modules, so I used the 70x35mm battens on their flat for the horizontal section. There was also no room for fixing, so I had to build the section up near the ceiling (If I built it outside I would not have been able to get the finished piece up onto the top of the modules), working on a couple of planks, and then flipped it and slid it into position. This section sat on top of the small lip created by the vertical wall board. I ripped the long outer two battens for this section in half lengthways, and so was then able to screw the inside one of these into the top plate of the wall shown in photo 1.
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Photo 3 - Here is the other end of the bulkhead. The thin section under the roller door mechanism sits about 1/2" above the ceiling units - not a lot of clearance! If I was starting again, I would allow a little more. Indeed, legs that screwed up to lower the height of the modules would be ideal - but they were so expensive, and with 11 modules that's 44 units! Because this section was so thin, I insulated with 40mm high density foam.
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Photo 4 - A view from by the attic door. Next came the worst bit of all. After framing up the front wall of the bulkhead, I needed to insulate it. I had bought a bale of bats for this job and so needed to retain these from falling into the cavity and getting tangled up in the door when opening and closing. I had to kind of shuffle along on top of the door, stappling building paper, dan band and screwing ripping's of batten as an extra safeguard to make sure things would remain where they were intended. I felt a bit like a chimney sweep! Usually, when doing a job, there are a few awkward bits - this job was awkward from start to finish! And, of course, all this work on the bulkhead is done from a couple of planks laid on top of my modules! BTW, I propped my modules underneath at the loading points, and you can see I also screwed a piece of 90x19mm to support the planks in the middle - one end screwed into the module stud, and the other end screwed into a jack stud which is propped underneath.
IMG20250609171559comp.jpg
Photo 5 - A view looking up at the end. I used 50mm foam for insulation here. That is the pipe for the roller door sticking out. That end piece of wallboard was rather tricky to get right. I got pretty close, but the 1/4 round trim hides any gaps.
IMG20250609171231comp.jpg
Photo 6 - The view of the end from by the attic door. Lastly, I added 1/4 round trim and 12x35mm vertical battens down the joins. After seeing the price of these at the hardware store, I ripped my own from the left over ceiling batten - yes, just one. When the weather warms up a bit I'll get a lick of paint on my work. Very frustrating work and darn good to finally have it done!
IMG20250609171620comp.jpg
More soon - from a warmer and far less drafty model room(!), cheers, Mark.
Great wood working skills Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on June 10, 2025, 06:26:44 AMGreat wood working skills Mark.
That's the first think I think when I see one of Mark's posts.
Are there any earthquake-proofing considerations for this?
dave
Mark your just amazing at carpentry work and fixing things. Well done!!
Jerry
Mark, Cheers,
Your thought process in solving the roller door is masterful as well as the fix itself. I'm very impressed with how you see an issue and then proceed to make it work.
I probably would have sealed off the door long prior to it getting this far.
Great work all the same.
Tom
Quote from: Rick on June 10, 2025, 07:05:50 AMQuote from: PRR Modeler on June 10, 2025, 06:26:44 AMGreat wood working skills Mark.
That's the first think I think when I see one of Mark's posts.
Thanks, Curt and Rick.
I'm pleased to have this job done.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on June 10, 2025, 08:43:41 AMAre there any earthquake-proofing considerations for this?
dave
Hi, Dave.
Well - the whole thing is really an earthquake consideration. If the Alpine fault line goes in a big way, with the epicentre close, then the whole barn may fall down - and there is really nothing I can do about that without spending a hell of a lot of $$$ that I don't have! That being said, the barn is light weight cladding on timber framing and the concrete floor is thicker than typical and hopefully reinforced with mesh (I know there were a pile of mesh offcuts over under the hedge that I have slowly used for various projects since we moved here). The whole idea of building the layout in modular form, on wheels, and with backdrops and cloud ceilings all incorporated into the design, is to let the layout move independently from the ground in an event. It was my experience when living through our 2011 earthquake that my one module on wheels and with built in backdrop and ceiling and detached from the garage suffered almost no damage. Meanwhile, the module attached to the back wall of the garage suffered much damage. The removable wall section is also an earthquake consideration, as well as future proofing. If we suffer another event, and repairs are need to be undertaken on the barn, the whole layout can be dismantled and rolled out the hole in the wall, transported and stored while the work is done. When completed, it can then be reinstated. This will be no easy task, but possible. This removal of the layout in 11 modules also means that if I get this empire to a state where others might want to preserve it, this can be done. I'm hoping to get another 30 years or so to achieve this.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on June 10, 2025, 10:15:02 AMMark your just amazing at carpentry work and fixing things. Well done!!
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
Although earthquake proofing was a large consideration, keeping the the room warmer through the winter and cooler through the summer was my main goal. That roller door is thin and has significant, drafty gaps - especially when a cold front was moving in from the south west. Also, in summer, the afternoon sun would heat it up to the point that it was too hot to touch. This, in turn, heated up the layout room.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on June 10, 2025, 01:23:01 PMMark, Cheers,
Your thought process in solving the roller door is masterful as well as the fix itself. I'm very impressed with how you see an issue and then proceed to make it work.
I probably would have sealed off the door long prior to it getting this far.
Great work all the same.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Yes - there were some challenges to overcome when doing this job!
I had intended to to get this job done much earlier - in fact long before laying any track, even before completing modules 9 and 10 and hanging the ceilings over module 8. If this had have been the case, I would have been able to roll module 8 a couple of feet away from the door making the majority of the work far simpler. However, I was enjoying myself working on the layout so much I decided to carry on and just deal with the problems this created later. In the end, I got the job done.
Cheers, Mark.