Garden Railway Forum

Well, rain certainly stopped play again this morning but I had some indoor modelling time to catch up with. The entrance to the village from the great uncharted expanse beyond crosses the line so a level crossing, with gates, is a must......
Before..... During..... After..... The wood effect is made from scribed and painted plasticard, the green plasticard is there to raise the outer sections almost flat and level with the rail.

Another addition today are sections of resin walling which I had in stock without any plans for. They have now found a home and I was able to paint them in advance before fixing them in position. This will be my colour scheme for the rest.....
I have a crossing gate but no posts, so that is currently on the worktable ready for me to attack tomorrow.

The last picture, looking down the street, is magical. You are going to get some amazing photo opportunities when you've got a bit further on.

That is a brilliant job on the crossing Derek…..err Peter..

Seriously Peter, I love the crossing. There is one in Formby, which is a Town not to far from me that had a crossing similar for the local farmer to cross and you could see the sleepers were worn down by his tractors, leaving indents by his wheels. You could do something similar with your plasticard couldn’t you Peter.

I love the colour scheme on the walls too. And like Phillipy, you will have some magical photos of the village, even more so when it snows.

Really looking forward to paying a visit soon, to see such a brilliant build.

The street scene is superb Peter.

Thanks for the comments, your support is always welcome. More concrete in place now, that completes the base coat of rough cement/gravel mix which will form a strong and permanent base for the roadway to be screeded on top. I am waiting for a good weather report to do this as it needs to be laid in one visit to prevent joins in the roadway.....
While I'm waiting I think of other things to enhance the village scene and it occurred to me that, with new regeneration schemes, a small percentage of the total investment is given over to 'public art' projects. This is usually in the form of sculpture. So I searched my workshop for items which I could cobble together to represent the location and history of the area. This is the result...... It is, of course...... 'The Angel of the West'
Made from a 'Doctor Who' Angel figure and an assortment of plastic animals, stuck to a plastikard plinth and painted to resemble a bronze cast. All is then raised on a stone effect plastikard base with painted stonework.
She represents the strong historical religious background of the Welsh, combined with the national passion for livestock.
Well, that's my opinion!
I have the perfect location for it on the approach to the village market, sited in the centre of the roadway where it diverges around the Market Hall.
If you look very carefully in the first photograph of the layout you can also see the crossing gate in the distance, which is now in place.

Very nice Peter,

Is the spaniel sculpted on one of yours?

Keep the inspiration coming please.

Andrew

Looks fantastic Peter. Really looking forward to seeing it with the roadway surfaced, drain covers, public art and all.

But, whatever you do, don't blink!

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:00 pm
Is the spaniel sculpted on one of yours?

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, glad you approve. I think the Spaniel is more of a Cocker than a Springer, nice resin casting though. One of a set I bought from doll house suppliers.

Presumably, the figure is Dr Wholittle?
I'll get my coat and shuffle apologetically out of the door......

Rik

Nice one Rik..... I might use that when explaining to visitors.

Wonderful stuff, I love it!

Very good Peter how did you ge5 the paint effect

Thats why you inspire us Peter. You think out of the box and it gives me anyway the inspiration to look at things differently.

jim@NAL wrote: ↑Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:06 am Very good Peter how did you ge5 the paint effect

Thanks Jim, the finish was achieved by first spraying with grey plastic primer....... Following this a covering with Humbrol acrylic metalic gold and highlights with Humbrol bronze acrylic and streaks of dark green in the recesses and folds to represent verdigris. All of these stages are done before the paint dries so that colours run into each other. After allowing this to dry I apply a generous coating of 'Agrax Earthshade' which is an acrylic dark colour wash available from 'Games Workshop. It is a wonderful medium for settling in all the recesses to give weathering effects. Again after allowing drying time, a spray of Matt Lacquer gives a perfect 'flat' finish.
At our 16mm Local Area Group Meeting yesterday I handed it to one of our members and he prepared himself for receiving a solid lump of metal.... the look on his face was one of shock and surprise when he found it was as light as a feather.

That is awesome Peter. As others have said your modelling is an inspiration to many of us of lesser ability.

Who are others………………..

Yesterday afternoon was the first opportunity to get outside to paint my new wall sections. Up until then we have had annoying rain, not heavy but enough to prevent me working. All of the walls are finished now which means I need another full dry day to lay the road surface...... The weather forecast here is for cooler weather but unsure about rain.

They look great Peter. How are the knees?
Rik

Amazing!
Knees are one thing, but how about the sanity?

philipy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:44 pm Amazing!
Knees are one thing, but how about the sanity?

I think if conditions are right, this sort of task can be very therapeutic, I find Physically, it tends to be my shoulders that suffer - I always seem to rest on one hand or the other whilst working, with the body weight up through my shoulder. A kneeling mat is also good for sitting on.