Time to build a railway...but where?

[SimonWood]

Your pavements in the rain are virtually indistinguishable from 1:1 scale. Incredible. And marvellous.

[BorisSpencer]

I couldn't achieve that level of detail, realism and above all atmosphere if I were to go out and buy a genuine 12" to the foot Welsh village.

Absolutely fantastic.
But could you have done all that in 3 days whilst incorporating an old shoe and a lipstick container!

[Peter Butler]

I couldn't achieve that level of detail, realism and above all atmosphere if I were to go out and buy a genuine 12" to the foot Welsh village.

Absolutely fantastic.
But could you have done all that in 3 days whilst incorporating an old shoe and a lipstick container!

Answer..... no!... neither could the competitors, which makes the whole series a compete fiasco.

[philipy]

Amazing Peter, truly amazing. Some of those shots could easily be a 'real' village in the rain.

[Paul_A_C]

Currently waiting for more kits from Lineside Hut, an order for another coach sides and ends pack, also seating for 2x four compartment coaches. This time I will carry out my original plan to cut the sides in half and make two four wheelers. I'm also progressing well with the CRV and it looks great! I am not familiar with wooden kits, and have never seen the real van, so it has been learning curve for me to understand the instructions and put it into practise. The kit is designed so that the builder can make all doors to open, including side sliding doors, something I don't want, but no alternative instructions are given for such as me. However, I have worked round that issue and the main body is almost ready for primer, possibly tomorrow after the duckets have set in position.
I must say that every piece of the laser cut sections are incredibly crisp and tidy with no cleaning-up required and they fit perfectly in every case.
Meanwhile I have prepared and painted the outer overlays ready for gold lining which I will attempt this evening....
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I have found all the laser cut sections on the Lineside Hut WLLR Brake Van crisp and tidy. However, the instructions have left me pondering at times. I’ve resorted to building differently from the suggested sequence as it was illogical to my mind. There’s also a dimension typo as well when instructed to cut some copper wire. That said, writing, clear unambiguous instructions is not easy. I’ve written technical engineering manuals during my working life, and it taxes the brain to ensure it’s all in a logical order and the reader will be able to understand and follow what he has to do.

[Peter Butler]

Yes Paul, I agree about the instructions being a little vague, although originally I put it down to my own inexperience with making kits and my lack of knowledge when it comes to technical terms of the prototype. I have varied from the suggested sequence too as I didn't want any of the doors to open, neither did I want to fit the outer overlays in place until after painting. Today I have struggled to work out a section which described how to make parts from raw materials without any description of their final purpose or location. Eventually I resorted to the excellent drawing by Nigel Town, published in the 16mm Association Guide to the Ffestiniog Railway, which has helped me enormously.
I still rate the kit highly as it is well detailed and produced. To be able to manufacture something as intricate as that is a great skill in itself and requires much planning, so hats off to Lineside Hut for that.
Clearly there is still some way for me to go before it is finished as no bogies, wheels or buffers are supplied. There is no description of the wheel diameter or ride height so the 16mm drawings answer that. The handrail at the front/back (? not clarified), is very delicate and needs replacing with brass, which I'm in the process of doing now. The one supplied appears to be far too low anyway so it will be improved with a replacement, also I will add some bolt detail on the frame which is shown on the drawing.
I'm still undecided about colour as it will not be a true scale model of the prototype, as long as it looks well with my other stock I will be content.

[FWLR]

I am content when I do anything with our line Peter.

Love where you have placed those street light’s also, they all look just perfect….

(Having a bit of an issue with my eyes this morning) not checking on what I have written first……….

[ge_rik]

Just catching up after a few days away without internet. Those photos of the village after the rain shower are so realistic, Peter. The sheen on the pavement really adds to the atmosphere. The positioning of the buildings and colouring looks so natural. Hats off to you sir, not only for your modelling skills, but also for the vision needed to visualise the whole scene when you made that initial cut into the first piece of plasticard.

Rik

[Soar Valley Light]

Wow, Peter! I had to look twice to be sure of the scale Well domne indeed

Andrew

[Lonsdaler]

Congratulations on the village Peter, really well thought out and beautifully executed, and what better than a rainy day to photograph a Welsh village
I'm following your build for the Lineside Hut kits as well. I bought a couple of their wagon kits at Llanfair, but haven't started them yet.

[Peter Butler]

Meanwhile, back to the CRV kit which is progressing well. The roof is now complete with all strips carefully laid in accordance with the instructions, no problems encountered and everything in its place. It is essential that the cradle supplied is used to hold everything square while the glue sets. The cradle itself is very flimsy and light so I added an extra plywood base which helps.....

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After sanding the wooden strips, the material is now attached to the roof top to give the canvas appearance, although as the prototype has a white roof, black material is supplied! Instead I used white curtain lining, which is probably the same material anyway?
Additional detail has also been added following the 16mm Association drawing, this shows sturdy angle brackets supporting the truss rods which I made from brass angle, not the strip supplied in the kit, also bolt heads along the chassis frame and headstock....

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Tomorrow, a new balcony end with handrail more to scale and stronger than the original will be finished and fitted, then to the paint shop!

[BertieB]

Everybody else has already said it - but your 'Village in the rain' pictures are extraordinary.

I particularly like the fourth one, appearing to look up hill towards the 'weeping angel' in front of the clock tower (which is facing the other way this time. Spooky). The wet road, blokes in doorways checking the weather after the shower, drainpipe in foreground, lean-to with corrugated roof, patchy rendering, trees in background... totally convincing, especially without the cars, I think.

Wonderful.

[Peter Butler]

Everybody else has already said it - but your 'Village in the rain' pictures are extraordinary.

I particularly like the fourth one, appearing to look up hill towards the 'weeping angel' in front of the clock tower (which is facing the other way this time. Spooky). The wet road, blokes in doorways checking the weather after the shower, drainpipe in foreground, lean-to with corrugated roof, patchy rendering, trees in background... totally convincing, especially without the cars, I think.

Wonderful.

Many thanks for your kind remarks, I'm pleased you approve! I had to look back to see what you mean about the clock tower and agree that it looks as though it has turned, however, it is because of the angle of the pedestrianised road in conjunction with the High Street which makes it look that way. True, I did initially have it facing at 90 degrees to its present view but thought it would better serve the visitors and residents if it was showing to the shopping area. A minor detail but important to them no doubt!
Incidentally, the 'weeping angel' is in fact the 'Angel of the West', my homage to Antony Gormley, who I worked with many years ago before he became a superstar sculptor.

[FWLR]

I actually like Peter’s cars…..

[Peter Butler]

Tomorrow, a new balcony end with handrail more to scale and stronger than the original will be finished and fitted, then to the paint shop!

And here it is....

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Compare this with the original and there is a striking difference. However, I can understand why when the laser cut is so thin it needs to be as small as possible to have any chance of survival.....

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[LNR]

I've always admired this van, unfortunately nothing like it existed down here. Another great build Peter.
Grant.

[philipy]

Lovely work as always, Peter.

On a different subject, I hope you are OK in the awful weather your part of the world is having? (Now you'll find out just how good your village drains really are!)

[FWLR]

Thats a nice job and it does make the original look very flimsy.

We also had very strong winds and the rain was relentless…Anne put a couple of birdhouses on the line just to see how they looked….they were the only things that didn’t get blown away……

[Peter Butler]

I hope you are OK in the awful weather your part of the world is having? (Now you'll find out just how good your village drains really are!)

The weather has been wild over the past couple of days, torrential rain and winds to bring oak tree branches down. I had enough warning to put the village away inside a shed, otherwise it would be in bits by now! The volume of water in the streams shows how heavy the rain has been.....

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During the dry spell this waterfall had flow similar to a dripping tap.....

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As for the railway, I am delighted to say I am impressed with the drains which seem to be fully operational. Compare the village street with the adjacent footpath which has become a lake.....

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[FWLR]

Wow Peter, that’s a stream…….

The drains have really done their work here, they have diverted all the water to the path…..

Seriously Peter, they are a brilliant job….Worthy of “Build of the Year” for me….