Hi guys.
It's time for me to throw my hat in the ring! I've been thinking about this challenge since it's announcement. I even went so far as to do a matrix, rating all the projects I could think of under several different headings, until I ended up with five shortlisted projects. I then doubled the scores for the two most important categories and the South Tellynott wedge narrowly took out Thorndikes mill kitbash.
Photo 1 - Here is the area. Its exactly 288 square inches. It took some time to work this out! If you look closely you can see the big wedge has been broken up into lots of smaller pieces to measure. I laid the piece of paper on the layout top and creased the shape of the curved backdrop into it. Likewise, I ran my thumb around the track to mark the two tracks on it. I then drew an offset line on the inside of the track and worked out a 288inch area. I may move this area slightly to the left or right, re working out the area, if I end up with half a structure on one end.
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Photo 2 - This is the river to the left of the wedge. A rail road bridge will cross the river here and the road will then curve around in the same direction as the track, but closer to the backdrop, gaining in elevation. At some point it will need to curve back the other way and exit into the backdrop.
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Photo 3 - Here we see the Thorndike Mills kitbash mock-up. The South Tellynott wedge is behind this.
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Photo 4 - Shows the position of the wedge.
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Photo 5 - Here we see the scenery to the right of the wedge.
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Now you all know where the wedge will reside. The next part will be deciding what kits, bashes, scratches will be needed and where exactly the road will go. This may go smoothly or it may involve a lot of problem solving and many iterations before I come up with something I am happy with.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - One of my first mock up tools is some polystyrene formers for roading. I got these strips of around 3" square pieces from work several years ago. They are packing strips. You can see I have marked an angle on the side of these pieces and marked them into 2" chunks. I first cut the angle with my circular saw and then cut the 2" sections on my drop saw. Easy does it. Both saws did not quite cut all the way through - which I think was a good thing - as the strips stayed as long, although rather flexible, strips. I finished off the cuts with a sharp knife. The angled pieces were glued onto rectangular 2" blocks for greater height.
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Photo 2 - Here they are forming a curved road. I'm test fitting the bases from a Faller brewery kit here.
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Photo 3 - This photo (I'm afraid I don't know where I got this one) has been pinned to the benchwork in front of this corner for several years now. I've always seen it as the main inspiration for this area.
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Photo 4 - So when I saw this photo in an email update from a New Zealand based shop - and at an excellent sale price - I took a gamble and bought one.
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Photo 5 - I've built at least one Faller kit before, and they have multi layers parts that fit together. This makes them difficult to alter. However - I do intend to attempt to change up the height of this kit, and perhaps splay it around the curve of the road. The back of the kit will face the viewer. Here is a quick sketch of what I have in mind. I had a quick look online to see what I could find in the way of kitbashes for this brewery - but not only could I find nothing, I could not even find a photo of this kit where someone had painted the pieces a different colour than factory. I guess I'm going to be the first! (I seriously doubt this).
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This is a BIG project. The last few days I have felt like moving away from my track design/ road bed/ cork trip that I have been on. I still have a bit to do there, but I guess it's time for some juggling. I've been keen to get this area designed, imagineered into being, so even if I do not finish on time it will be a great section of the layout to have well underway.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
That's quite an ambitious project. I'll be following along, even looks like I managed a seat in the front row!
That's going to quite a structure Mark, looking forward to seeing you put it together..... :)
I love a good kitbash!
The local radio station had a raffle for a $15,000 travel gift card. If we win, we're coming to visit :-)
dave
Mark, Cheers,
I'll be in the group following this fantastic build. Great start.
Tom
Quote from: jerryrbeach on December 08, 2024, 08:49:34 AMMark,
That's quite an ambitious project. I'll be following along, even looks like I managed a seat in the front row!
Indeed you did, Jerry. Welcome, and thanks for coming!
Yes - it will keep me entertained for a while. I still need to juggle my layout construction and the large scratchbuild for behind Graves elevators - just to the left of the river shown above. I've been plodding away at this one. Each Thursday modelling session a seem to get one more subassembly done.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on December 08, 2024, 09:38:43 AMThat's going to quite a structure Mark, looking forward to seeing you put it together..... :)
Thanks, Gregory.
Yes. Pretty much no words in the instructions. It has one short paragraph in the beginning and then it is all pictures with part numbers. There are 657 parts so I figure the build could take up quite a bit of bench space!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on December 08, 2024, 11:21:28 AMI love a good kitbash!
The local radio station had a raffle for a $15,000 travel gift card. If we win, we're coming to visit :-)
dave
Thanks, Dave.
Yes - Its been a while and I've been itching to do one! I've got many kits to choose from. I want to through in a few craftsman kitbashes here too - a few smaller wooded structures along with the larger cast concrete and brick. I pulled out Bar Mills Majestic hardware and feed, thinking about this project. I've had this kit for years, but never found a space that was right for it. The idea suddenly came to me that I could cut the kit in half and get two different half relief structures out of it. I'm not saying it will work - but it will get investigated. That's what this planning stage is all about. Sometimes the idea is fantastic, but it just doesn't fit the diorama. The sketches still get filed away as a possibility for a future project.
Let me know when you're on the plane and I'll start cleaning up the model room! Actually - when we came to the USA in 2015, my wife had won a teaching prize which was two weeks paid leave and $10,000 towards travel costs to travel to Australia and visit five different schools. She asked if instead of Australia she could visit USA and instead of visiting five different schools could attend a week of math conferences in Boston. We took the trip over the NZ school holidays, so she got another two weeks paid leave. This ended up paying for about half of our five week trip. In that trip I managed to fit in meeting George and Cathy and seeing the F&SM in the flesh and attending the Modelers Expo in Scranton. We also did some fantastic drives including a 12 day drive around the Colorado plateau.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on December 08, 2024, 11:28:10 AMMark, Cheers,
I'll be in the group following this fantastic build. Great start.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Great to have you along for the ride. There will be a lot of time spent planning in this one.
Cheers, Mark.
I've done several RDA kits as "cut in half, add the back panels to the front to make the mill twice as long"...
dave
Neat! Extremely ambitious too but you'll knock it out of park.
Quote from: ReadingBob on December 08, 2024, 05:28:15 PMNeat! Extremely ambitious too but you'll knock it out of park.
Thanks, Bob.
I'll give it a go. But everyone is along for the discovery stage as well. I can never predict how that will go. I've got to get things to the mock-up stage where I say 'YES! Now that works!' Hopefully I'll get there...
Cheers, Mark.
Well, it doesn't look like I won the $15k travel lottery. Bummer! So I'll just have to follow your build here.
dave
Hi guys.
So I got a quick mockup made yesterday. Still a bit of work - but very necessary. Its fairly crude - without any of the details in the kit.
Photo 1 - Shows a bit of an overall to see how the mass of the complex might fit in the scene.
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Photo 2 - A bit closer. I photographed things first with the windows drawn in pencil and with just polystyrene formers supporting the structure. When I uploaded things you couldn't make out the windows at all. I drew them on with a black marker. Adding the rock casting made a huge difference to the visualisation process. It seemed to go from unbelievable to quite logical in a flash!
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Photo 3 - Shows the view from the end. The rooftop details here are very different to my quick representation.
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Photo 4 - One of my concerns with this layout is that the kit is very wide, and it leaves very little room at the left end for structures on the other side of the road. Here I have mocked up the road to let me consider changing the shape of the left hand wing by angling the side facing the road. This would allow half relief structures behind. I think this idea has potential, so I will consider it further and look closely at what this will involve kitbash wise.
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Photo 5 - My potential colour scheme.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, from looking at your mockups, you have quite an ambitious project here. I am looking forward to your progress.
Quote from: nycjeff on December 10, 2024, 08:09:36 AMHello Mark, from looking at your mockups, you have quite an ambitious project here. I am looking forward to your progress.
Thanks, Jeff.
It should keep me out of trouble for a while!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
Those potential colors will look fantastic on the large structure.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on December 11, 2024, 03:38:24 PMMark, Cheers,
Those potential colors will look fantastic on the large structure.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
I went into the art shop to get a couple of spray paint cans on Friday. Hopefully I'll get some colour on this week.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - I managed to get most of the parts washed and primed on Sunday.
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Photo 2 - I took this snap shot from the other side of the peninsula and I think I've convinced myself that the brewery should remain a rectangle. I like the flow of the road from here.
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Photo 3 - I'm still mocking things up. As I thought, I really need to mock up this entire corner to make sure things flow well, that the overall shape works, the eye gets lead around the scene nicely, before I decide on whether there needs to be alterations to the diorama shape/ size. I am making progress. In this photo you can see my new Tellynott municipal council buildings. I'll post a bit more on this on my layout thread, as it will no doubt not be on this competition diorama.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
That's a lot of parts, Mark. I hope you have plenty of glue on hand.
Jeff
Mark count me in on this adventure!!
Jerry
Hi guys.
I've been pottering away between working on the layout and have a little more done. I also spent some time working on a plaster kitbash using Downtown Deco boneyard castings, but I don't think that will fit in the wedge.
Photo 1 - shows the brewery interior. The fit of these pieces was very good.
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Photo 2 - shows the paintwork as I start fitting the jigsaw together. I painted the brickwork with a sponge. I used model color cavalry brown and worked on a few small pieces at a time. Before dry I sponged on a few areas of mars black and blended.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Beautiful work. Now where's the beer?? ;D
Jerry
I'll definitely be following. It looks outstanding so far.
Wow! Nice work!
Looks good, Mark.
Mark, this is an ambitious project but you've shown in the past that you're up to the challenge.
I always like how you build mock ups and are very careful with laying things out.
I'll be here for the rest of your progress.
Quote from: Jerry on February 08, 2025, 01:10:20 PMBeautiful work. Now where's the beer?? ;D
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
While this one is under construction you'll find several other breweries, distilleries and bars in Tellynott. In fact, I just heard that two local characters - Mr. Stumble and Mr. Tripp are going into business together and Stumble and Tripp fine whisky distilleries will soon be joining the competition!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 08, 2025, 01:36:44 PMI'll definitely be following. It looks outstanding so far.
Thanks, Curt.
I've been busy working on the layout and so haven't got too far with this one yet. We have a modelling weekend next weekend so I'm hopping to make a bit of headway. The kit has over 700 pieces and pretty much no words in the instructions! The fit, so far, has been exquisite. I am having to sand any paintwork off the back of the pieces to get things nice and flush.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Philip on February 08, 2025, 05:30:04 PMWow! Nice work!
Thanks, Philip!
I've been working on benchwork, planning, cork laying, track laying and electrical work over the last few weeks. This hobby has so many different facets to it.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Michael Hohn on February 09, 2025, 10:13:01 AMLooks good, Mark.
Thanks, Michael.
Hopefully there will be a decent amount of progress photos soon...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on February 09, 2025, 10:26:08 AMMark, this is an ambitious project but you've shown in the past that you're up to the challenge.
I always like how you build mock ups and are very careful with laying things out.
I'll be here for the rest of your progress.
Thanks, Rick.
Yes - the laying things out was a major hold up. I had to at least get a feel for what would happen in the whole area - not just the wedge. As often happens when doing this I hit a bit of a brick wall. Fortunately, there is a good amount of time for this challenge, although it is still disappearing too quickly. Funny - the older I get the faster time seems to move...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Thursday saw me carrying on with my Faller brewery kitbash. I had primed and then painted the brick sections with Plastikote super primer, grey and then top coated by sponge painting using Vallejo model color acrylic RAL 3009 (cavalry brown). Next was to repaint/ touch up the window sills with a grey. Last week during our Thursday afternoon modelling session I had decanted some of the spray paint to use, but didn't like the nastys, so during the week I zipped into the hobby shop to try to match the primer grey. I came home with Tamiya color acrylic XF-54 (dark sea grey) and XF-83 (medium sea grey). Some experimentation showed that a 50:50 mix of these two colours gave a pretty close match for my primer colour. So this Thursday, while modelling at Trevor's, I started on my touch ups. I soon discovered that if I took too long - more than around a minute - the brick paint colour underneath softened and started coming off, creating a nasty mess. I told Trevor of my woes - him having spent half his life as a professional painter - and without looking he said "don't tell me, you are using Tamiya acrylic over the top of Vallejo acrylic. Tamiya isn't a true acrylic." Anyway, he came up with a number of different fixes, but the one I deemed easiest was to add a drop of isopropyl alcohol to my paint mix (around 3-4 drops of each colour and one drop of AI - using a pipette) and mix up. This helped the paint flow and gave me enough working time to paint the sills without problems. If you take too long the AI would evaporate and the aforementioned problems would begin again. A long winded tale - but perhaps some useful information.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
This weekend just gone was our 2fatpossums weekend where our modelling group gets together over the weekend for some laughs and a good dose of modelling. I took the opportunity to assembly a few of those 700+ parts! I made a base for my mock up so I had it in front of me as a reference and then got to it. Each piece had to be trimmed from the sprue. the tags cut and sanded off and then the paintwork touched up. I also sanded excess paint off the back of the pieces. I fitted, doing extra sanding/ trimming as required, and when happy, glued in place. I glued all the brick pieces on first - working on one wall at a time, then followed up with the grey detail pieces. The window sills and feature parapet wall cappings required the concrete sections to be painted grey first. I then glued the red windows in place.
Photo 1 - Shows a wall with the parts glued into position. There were 10 of these walls to do.
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Photo 2 - Shows the grouting process. I use a soft brush to add white soft pastel chalk. I gently work this into the brickwork.
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Photo 3 - I then use the natural oils on my fingers to work the chalk into the grout lines. I use a couple of soft brushes to remove excess along with gentle blowing. Once happy I give the wall a light spray of pastel/ pencil fixative.
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Photo 4 - Shows on of the central main walls once grouted.
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Photo 5 - And the side wall at the right end.
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On Sunday afternoon I got some assembly done, but haven't taken photos yet. It was a great weekend, lots of fun and good company. We are also doing a group purchase of some Modelu figures which Trevor can then print in 1:87, 1:64 and 1:35, which was a nice distraction.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
The brick work looks great. The structure is one large one but coming along nicely.
Tom
Brick color and grout are very convincing.
Looks like another winner Mark..... 8)
Quote from: Jerry on February 08, 2025, 01:10:20 PMBeautiful work. Now where's the beer?? ;D
Jerry
Ditto here. Where does the line form?
Glad to have found your posts on this forum after the demise of RRL. I've always been impressed with your thorough planning.
Fifth Dave to the right
Mark great work on the brick work.
Jerry
I really like this build Mark. Excellent brick and mortar modeling.
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 17, 2025, 07:15:48 AMMark, Cheers,
The brick work looks great. The structure is one large one but coming along nicely.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Yes - there is a lot of work in putting it all together. The fit is pretty good. I'm having to sand off excess paint and I had to trim a number of windows to get them to fit into their rebates, but generally things fit together like a glove. The lack of words makes things confusing at times. There is a thin card section that folds and glues to the inside of the walls. This is shown assembled with the walls assembled but how one goes about doing this is a mystery. If I had my chance again I would try a different approach. I guess the manufacturer assumes the builder would have cut their teeth on a few small Faller kits first. But I like to leap in the deep end!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on February 17, 2025, 07:41:33 AMBrick color and grout are very convincing.
Thanks, Rick.
I use the pastel/ pencil fixative as I find dullcote dissolves most of the chalk. I still have to go easy with the spray can.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on February 17, 2025, 09:16:07 AMLooks like another winner Mark..... 8)
Thanks, Gregory.
I'm hoping it will set off the scene nicely.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on February 17, 2025, 09:34:41 AMQuote from: Jerry on February 08, 2025, 01:10:20 PMBeautiful work. Now where's the beer?? ;D
Jerry
Ditto here. Where does the line form?
Glad to have found your posts on this forum after the demise of RRL. I've always been impressed with your thorough planning.
Fifth Dave to the right
Thanks, Dave.
I'm please to have you following along. There are plenty of bars and breweries in Tellynott - we shouldn't run out of beer...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jerry on February 17, 2025, 09:59:06 AMMark great work on the brick work.
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry.
Its a lot of extra effort, but I think its well worth it. As of yet I haven't found one other example of this kit which has been painted different colours to factory. That, alone, will make it unique! Of course there are the different elevations of the three main assemblies and the kinks to make the kit bend around following my track work, still to do.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 17, 2025, 12:04:01 PMI really like this build Mark. Excellent brick and mortar modeling.
Thanks, Curt.
New Zealand has a quite eclectic mix of architectural styles - including some rather ornate structures with fancy brickwork. Parapet walls killed several people in our 2011 Christchurch earthquake. There is not many left in Christchurch now, and those that are are now heavily strengthened.
Here is a snap I took a few years back in Dunedin. You can definitely see a European influence in this one...
Wains hotel, small comp.JPG
Cheers, Mark.
Howdy Mark,
The brewery looks terrific. I bet the beer will be top shelf, too.
Have fun,
mike
Quote from: friscomike on February 17, 2025, 06:23:01 PMHowdy Mark,
The brewery looks terrific. I bet the beer will be top shelf, too.
Have fun,
mike
Thanks, Mike.
Absolutely!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A smidge more progress this afternoon.
Photo 1 - Shows the front of the brewery facing the street, but actually not seen (except with a selfie stick). I needed all the back of the parapet walls and spires to be visible so figured it was easier to just build the three subassemblies complete and bash as needed. I then couldn't bring myself to not paint and weather what is the front of the building. At least I knew I was doing it! This photo shows the bashing that will be needed to address those wedges.
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Photo 2 - Shows a view from above from the track side.
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Photo 3 - Is a view up hill trackside. There is a second story still to add to the single storied section at left.
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Photo 4 - The view downhill trackside. I really like this view.
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Some paint experimentation showed me that a mixture of 4 parts Tamiya XF-63 German Grey and 2 parts XF-54 Dark sea grey and a drop of isopropyl alcohol produced a pretty good match for my chalk wood colour. I think I'll try it without properly mixing it next time to try and get some variation.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Excellent modeling Mark.
What (or who) is that at the near corner of the building in the last photo?
dave
Very nice!
Looks great!!
Jerry
Howdy Mark,
Great job matching the paint. I'm looking forward to the bash to cover the front gaps.
Have fun,
mike
Thanks for looking in, Curt, Dave, Rick, Jerry and Mike.
We have dog shows tomorrow - and its not really a good travelling project!
Dave - I feel you might be seeing things that aren't there??? Maybe the plastic lugs on the wall pieces and reflection from the dark thin card behind?
Cheers, Mark.
G'day Mark. Just catching up on your build here.
Looks superb. I've always liked they way your streets and structures are on varying levels. make it quite dramatic.
The brewery looks a really nice kit, and your brickwork is excellent. Adding the grout was well worth it.
This little wedge section will be a great addition to the layout.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on February 20, 2025, 10:58:17 PMThanks for looking in, Curt, Dave, Rick, Jerry and Mike.
We have dog shows tomorrow - and its not really a good travelling project!
Dave - I feel you might be seeing things that aren't there??? Maybe the plastic lugs on the wall pieces and reflection from the dark thin card behind?
Cheers, Mark.
This reminded me of the Saints we'd often see on the corners of buildings in Europe:
Screen Shot 2025-02-21 at 9.06.31 AM.jpg
But maybe it's not what I think it was.... :P
Many saints to choose from for a brewery: https://catholicexchange.com/5-patron-saints-beer/
dave
Very impressive complex Mark, well done..... 8)
Yee doggies! Nice build Mark!
Thanks, Robert, Dave, Gregory and Philip.
Robert - I enjoy the challenge of building on the hill and fitting my structures to the sites created. I knew when I bit off this wedge for the challenge that it would likely prove a bit much. The design work, mock ups and shuffling of structures to create a scene that works from all angles is a complex and time consuming exercise. It is, however, great to get this area underway, and I always enjoy the work - even when I go several hours down a certain path and then decide its not the right one.
Dave - I'm pleased your seeing extra things in my work. I must confess that I can't... There is more brickwork to go on these corner sections. They go on after the main structure has been assembled.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
That is one large building but looks like a natural fit.
The Wains Hotel picture is wonderful. I've never seen fire escapes on the front, very unique, love it
Tom
Quote from: deemery on February 21, 2025, 09:07:54 AMQuote from: Mark Dalrymple on February 20, 2025, 10:58:17 PMThanks for looking in, Curt, Dave, Rick, Jerry and Mike.
We have dog shows tomorrow - and its not really a good travelling project!
Dave - I feel you might be seeing things that aren't there??? Maybe the plastic lugs on the wall pieces and reflection from the dark thin card behind?
Cheers, Mark.
This reminded me of the Saints we'd often see on the corners of buildings in Europe:
Screen Shot 2025-02-21 at 9.06.31 AM.jpg
But maybe it's not what I think it was.... :P
Many saints to choose from for a brewery: https://catholicexchange.com/5-patron-saints-beer/
dave
OK, now that I look VERY CLOSELY at this, I see what I thought was a statue was just how I was interpreting the hole and the stuff behind it. If I were -artificially intelligent-, that would be called a "hallucination". 8)
Did anyone else look at this and think there was something there?
dave
Mark great work on your build and the brickwork looks amazing.
I agree amazing brickwork and overall impressive.
Jim