Shadowlands and Tellynott

[Mark Dalrymple]

I only see a fine Camelback locomotive! Nice work!

Thanks, Philip.

She's a little cutie!  I do have to point out that there is also a Rivarossi heisler on the stone viaduct below in that photo!

Cheers, Mark.

[PRR Modeler]

Dave your woodworking skills are amazing but the trestle truly steals the show.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

A new year so time to update.  Sorry for the gap!

We will start by the progress on the sawmill.

Photo 1 - shows the mock-up of the timber mill for Wilmot.  After hours of playing with track layouts I came up with this solution.  This places the timber mill right by the layout edge and at an angle that displays it well and works with the scenery behind. 


Photo 2 - Here is a view from the side.  You can see how up front and personal viewing the sawmill will be.


Photo 3 - Shows the wharf area and log ramp.  Very few native species of native NZ timber floats, so there were almost no log ponds in NZ.  The area behind lake Wilmot has a lot of good native trees to harvest, so barges are towed across the lake and logs are offloaded onto the wharf and then loaded onto the log ramp to go up to the mill.  This process was used at Lake Brunner.


Photo 4 - I decided to build the mill using board on framing.  I managed to buy a second hand O-scale kit with 150 lengths of 10x1 at a very cheap price.  I made up a jig and laid 5 pieces of stripwood on my cutting mat and carefully ripped these in half with a sharp blade.  I repeated this process another 30 times!  This gave me 300 lengths of 10x2 in HO scale (I have almost used them all!) The photo shows me working with a tray on my knee in the car while at a dog show.


Photo 5 - Here is the diorama taking shape.


Photo 6 - A close in view.  I had to do the scenery under the extensive decking for the mill before adding the decking.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Photo 1 - Here I am making up the bents.  These are the tweezers I use and the grip I employ when installing the NBW castings.  I have a pretty good success rate using these, with very few flying around the room.


Photo 2 - Here is the lower level and decking coming together.  I used my ripped 10x2's for all the decking as well as the cladding.  The cladding was painted using Model Color 70.982 cavalry brown.  Trim will be Josonja's unbleached titanium.


Photo 3 - A side view.  I made up a styrene base and clad the visible sides in brick embossed styrene.


Photo 4 - A shot from the end.  I will build the upper levels so that the cladding extends over the base where visible.  Track is code 75 Peco painted with Mig rust tracks.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Pennman]

Mark,

Nice, amazing modeling as always. That surely takes a lot of time
getting everything in perspective as well as finishing, especially
the colors you used blend everything together. Nice update.

Rich

[PRR Modeler]

Mark all that decking is superb and I really like the color. Well worth the wait..as long as you don't do it again!

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark,

Nice, amazing modeling as always. That surely takes a lot of time
getting everything in perspective as well as finishing, especially
the colors you used blend everything together. Nice update.

Rich

Thanks, Rich.

I figure I take about 10% of the modelling time in the design phase.  So if a project is going to take 200 hours to complete that's around 20 hours.  It may seem like a lot, but, for me at least, I feel it pays dividends - and I enjoy it.  In fact it is probably my favourite part of the process.  Cutting 150 lengths of stripwood in half longways and then graining and sanding for staining is not!  But id did save me some serious money!  I don't think you can go wrong with an oxide red - even if they call it a brown.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark all that decking is superb and I really like the color. Well worth the wait..as long as you don't do it again!

Thanks, Curt.

The decking took some time.  For the cladding the boards didn't need to all be the same size, but for the joists this was pretty important to keep the deck level.  I started off with a selection process and made a bundle of consistent width boards for the joists.  As there were so many boards they were stained in several batches.  I vary the length of time the boards stay in the bath with the different batches and this varies the colouring.  I then cut the boards to 21' lengths or shorter and join on a joist.  This process gets a nice variation in colour change where the boards meet.  Laying all the boards right across a deck and then cutting in the joins with a razor blade does not achieve the same result.

I'll try had not to make you all wait so long between posts - ever again!

Cheers, Mark.

[elwoodblues]

Mark,

Just found this thread, your modeling is fantastic.  All those hours spent building the decking was well worth as the decking looks great.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark,

Just found this thread, your modeling is fantastic.  All those hours spent building the decking was well worth as the decking looks great.

Thanks very much, Ron.

It's great to have you along for the ride.  It's a neat deck with all those different levels.  I had to add some shims to get things to be even with the boards I laid down the centre between the tracks.  It will look great when all the handrails are added, but I'm holding off on that until I have the majority of the rest of the build completed.  Those handrails are mighty fragile!  And my two 0-5-0's can be somewhat clumsy!

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

So here is some of my inspiration.

Photo 1 - This is the Port Craig Sawmill, Southland, New Zealand.  I'm taking influence from the long log/ timber ramp, the way the mill is tettering on the side of the hill, and the wharf at the bottom.


Photo 2 - These images were created by Dan Quinn.  It is my understanding that they were created for gaming.  I'm not sure if they were based on a prototype or not, but I think they are way cool!  The smaller footprint and multistory nature suited my needs better than the Port Craig mill.


Photo 3 - The other side.  This will be the side to the front of the layout.


Photo 4 - Here is my inspiration for the logging ramp engineering.


Photo 5 - A close-up shot.


Photo 6 - The barge used for transporting logs across Lake Brunner, Westland, New Zealand.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Pennman]

Mark,

The red buildings in photo 2 & photo 3 are very nice.
If you decide to build this as you say, I believe you have a lot of work to accomplish.
Just a small portion of this build would be an over achievement for myself. Good luck.

Rich

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark,

The red buildings in photo 2 & photo 3 are very nice.
If you decide to build this as you say, I believe you have a lot of work to accomplish.
Just a small portion of this build would be an over achievement for myself. Good luck.

Rich

Hi Rich.

Yep.  She's a big project.  A lot of prep work was done while at dog confirmation shows, usually with a modelling tray on my lap.  Its a great way of sharing some time with my wife, our dog, and making progress on my empire.  Win, win, win!

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Photo 1 - I made cardboard template walls, drawing in all the door and window openings, and making sure to allow for the thickness of the walls on the corners. I glued on 8x8" framing by adding a few spots of canopy glue, using a toothpick. I trimmed around all the openings and added plenty of horizontal fixing for the vertical cladding.


Photo 2 - The sawmill has three different pitches, 12 degrees, 20 degrees and 29 degrees. When scratchbuilding a structure like this I make up a simple jig by screwing two pieces of 19x45mm together and using my drop saw to cut the different angles – both left and right. I can then used my razor saw to cut accurate angles.
 

Photo 3 - Here is the back wall of the mill ready for trimming.


Photo 4 - Here I am test fitting the front left corner. I left the boards here a little longer at the bottom to fall over the basement. The other walls were cut flush, as they are hidden by the upper decking. Again, just test fitting here.


Photo 5 - There comes a time when you must start gluing things together. I always forget something, but usually it is just awkward, not impossible. It is an impressive looking structure. It sits right at the forefront of the layout.


Photo 6 - A view from further around to the left. You can see the first bent for the log ramp in place.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

[ACL1504]

Mark, Cheers,

Wow, I have missed so much since my last visit.

The trestle, the logging diorama and the entire layout is fantastic looking. The faded/\weathered red exterior wall boards looks very realistic. Great job and it is great seeing it all coming together.

Tom