C. L. Innes Aerated Water Manufacturer

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks for your comments Tom, John and Janbouli - much appreciated!  I'm quite excited about this new diorama.  As I try to mark things out it is becoming pretty obvious that even at only 600mm wide precise work at the back of the layout would be at the least a huge pain if not impossible.  And so this diorama was inevitable.  That makes the cutting out a large piece of the layout much easier to start!  This whole city section of the layout is all built on 40mm polystyrene and 18mm ceiling tiles on top of 16mm MDF.  Which means I just have to get a hand saw in horizontally and cut the polystyrene off the MDF.  Sounds easy when you say it, right?  Mmmm!

OK - so I have to make sure the track all lines up and doesn't foul on the building supports. There is also a curved turnout to contend with which shoots a track off to my future hidden cassette. I then had to place all the buildings (including the ones in front of this diorama) to make sure clearances were sufficient and that things looked visually good. I then cut up some thin road widths of polystyrene and 'eyed' a nice curve in the road. This is a technique I learned in my cobblestone laying days. I decided to move the main part of Skeeters fly dope to the right allowing room for vehicles to get to the loading door. This also gave a better view of the clapboard building behind (yes - another George Sellios inspired structure - with a Foscale twist). Once happy I marked out the cut line and took some photos.

Photo one shows the diorama in its entirety.

Photo 2 shows the left end. We are about 16 inches wide here.

Photo 3 shows the view from the left end. Maybe if you drink a bottle of bourbon you'll see it better?!! Even with all my leaning mock--ups, I can still see this great mass of roof lines and angles.

Photo 4 shows the left end from higher up.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[martin.ojaste]

Mark, this diorama has lots of promise!!! Can't wait ....

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks, Martin!  I'm hoping to keep the pace up.

OK. After several hours on Monday night of blood (twice), sweat (quite a bit) and NO tears (yay!) I had safely sawn the polystyrene/ceiling tile sandwich from the MDF base. I have decided to leave a small jut out at the right end as it has a curved turnout there. This increases the total length to 1200mm.

Here is a view looking down on the safely removed section.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.  Progress report.

I have built a box to house the diorama. It's 1120 by 550 by 700 high and fits easily in the boot of my car. I have lit it with three cool daylight fluorescent tubes - a three foot at the front and two one foots on the side. I've painted the ceiling and back light blue. I have also been wiring up and installing point motors, making sure things line up and trimming the diorama a little shorter for the car boot. I've also done a little more on the heljan brewery kit-bash.

Photo 1 - The box, painted blue and lit up. The corner post and left hand end piece will be removed for display. They are just there for protection whilst building and for travelling. I bet it will be the only model at the convention with its own lighting. And the lighting was so bad in the competition room last time that people who went to look in the evening (myself included) walked straight back out the door and came back in the morning when it was daylight!

Photo 2 - Looking straight down on the diorama base to show the shape of the track. I just need to sort out the river and rail bridge and then I can glue the track down. Point motors are wired up and installed along with feeder wires.

Photo 3 - The diorama mocked up.  I'm casting up my plaster road pieces also.  Still quite a few to go.

Photo 4 - The diorama from a different angle.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Well - time for a progress report.

I've done a lot of plaster casting - cobbled roads, concrete and cut stone retaining walls, bridge abutments and the like.  I have cleaned up all the flash off the windows and doors for the Jon H. Olson Chemical co.  And I have made some progress on the Heljan brewery kit-bash.  This one is quite tricky - as there are changes in height at both the top and bottom of the structure,  internal and external corners to contend with, and the whole thing meets the backdrop on an angle.  It also straddles the curved track-work and sits on top of plaster retaining walls where it surrounds the river.

Photo 1 - the kit-bash sitting in position.  It is still in 3 sub-assemblies at this stage.

Photo 2 - a view showing it within the whole diorama.

Photo 3 - a view from higher up.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[martin.ojaste]

You are really moving along. That's a years worth of work for me.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Thanks, Martin.  Although I remember how quickly you can work!

Cheers, Mark.

[S&S RR]

Mark


You are making great progress - getting all the pieces ready takes more time than the build. Looking great!

[Vilius]

Mark,

I love such heavy urban settings. Can't wait to see the final result. It only seems French fries and modeling don't go well together 

Vilius

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks John and Vilius - very much appreciated!

Well a little more progress over the weekend.

Photo 1 - Here is the structure viewed from the back. I had a bit of down time while waiting for the first of two brass square tube lengths to glue. These are to add strength and keep the structure true and square where the negative detail leaves the front of the structure only about 10mm off the backdrop.

Photo 2 - The front of the structure from the right.

Photo 3 - And from the left.

Photo 4 - And here is a view from the top. This picture shows how thin the structure gets.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Back from our holiday in the south west of the South Island of NZ.  Lovely and quiet with very few people!

Back into the modelling today.  Making sure things will line up between the different dioramas when they meet again!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[martin.ojaste]

Mark, I love the density of the buildings. It does express a busy city story.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks Martin, much appreciated - and a lot of fun to build!

OK - the LBP have been very busy so I better get you up to date with their progress!  The lure of triple time was pretty successful, and so a lot of work was accomplished in the weekend evenings and today's double time and a day in loo saw most of the workers working on the public holiday!

First up is a photo from the front of the whole diorama.  The 'Creamoata' diorama has been put back on the layout and the table folded up so that my wife can put her car away in the garage over night!

Second photo shows the diorama from a higher angle.

Third is a photo showing the last road bridge to be built.  It shows the problems with curved steep roads, severe selective compression and high density building.  The road is angled across the railway line and both rail and road are on a gradient (in opposite directions).  The building bases are also at different heights to suit the road but they all have to straddle the railway line and give both vertical and horizontal clearance.  Oh - and there is a set of points going through the backdrop to a cassette to contend with as well!

Forth is a photo showing a kit-bashed Hornby bridge.  I cut the bridge length-ways twice and staggered when re-gluing to give the correct skew.  I strengthened with sheet styrene both underneath and on top and added four styrene I-beams underneath.  The bridge was fitted onto plaster bridge abutment castings which I doctored to fit the I-beams.

And finally the fifth photo shows a view under the new wooden road bridge (a bit blurry, sorry) over the track at the left end of the diorama.  I think this will be a nice view.  Although the diorama is sitting in its box with the left end on it, hiding this view - this is only for temporary strength and will be replaced with a metal L-bracket screwed to the side to keep the lid from sagging.  This view will then be available.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[GPdemayo]

Looking good Mark.....are you going to do a thread for the Jon H. Olson Chemical Company when you build it? 

[jbvb]

I continue to watch your progress with interest...