QuoteGreat start Mark.....this will be a great addition to your layout. 

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.

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.

Really nice looking crane, Curt.

I like the stain colour and all the brackets really bring it to life.

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.


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.


Photo 3 - a view from the front. A scratchbuilt freight door will be added to the second story.


Photo 4 - shows the left end.


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.


More soon, 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.

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.

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.


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.


And here is the extension and chipping shed.


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.

Really nice work - and quick, too.

I'd definitely cut off the bar codes, though.

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'.


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.


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.


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.


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.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Photo 1 - I drew a bit of a plan to get my head around what I was trying to achieve.


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.


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.


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


photo 5 - A better look at the little enclosed courtyard area created with the small extension this way around.


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.


  More soon, cheers, Mark.

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.

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.


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.


Photo 3 - I briefly flirted with the idea of a switchback, but it quickly became obvious that this gobbled way too much space.


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.


Photo 5 - And so finally I settled on this as the best way of getting trackage to my pulp mill.


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.

Really nice, Jeff.

Those awnings look terrific.  Its quite the eye catcher with its steel beam supports and those delicate stairways all the way to the third floor. 

Cheers, Mark.

Thanks, Greg.

Its not finished yet.  I got carried away with benchwork and bridges.  Back to it soon.

Cheers, Mark.

Thanks, Darryl.

Hopefully the glue on masking tape has improved - but we will see - or not, eventually.  I did use good quality, high tack tape from a good art supply store...

Yep - it sure is a statement of a structure.  Those flotation tanks look very cool at the different levels, too.

Thanks for checking in, cheers, Mark.