Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Thanks Toto, Richard and Gary,
Yes I have a number of these kits plus Metcalfe as well and they will all be modified eventually. The advantage of taking the trouble to modify is the fact that the models firstly, are improved overall from the original and secondly, that they can be unique to my railway in that they may be coloured different to the original or physically altered in some way.
The reason I have adopted this method is that I`ve had these kits for a good while and I don`t want to just discard them. Scalescenes in my opinion are far better looking, however by using Scalescenes papers and some of my own making, I feel I can lift these kits up to a standard that now satisfies me.
So more work involved compared to the standard build, but the improved look is worth the effort I feel.
Gormo

 

Thanks Pete,
I hope I can do it justice.......mind you it doesn`t look half bad as it is in normal kit form once it`s sat upon the railway.........but a little way down the track I would be looking at it and thinking..........I should have modified that kit........

Gormo

 

Thanks Toto........
Gormo

 

Errr......No.......I don`t believe that will ever happen.......never mind though, I will carry the banner and never spoil a good whisky with coke.
Gormo

 

OK Folks,
We`re a little further along with the Elizabethan cottage build.
Here`s Gormo beavering away slaving over a hot work bench

The back wall of the building being prepared. Additional detail won`t be done here as it won`t be seen.....what`s the point..???

And here are some pics showing how it`s coming along. The corners of the walls are treated as the building is being assembled. A double width piece of Oak is cut to length after being lightly scored down the middle along it`s length. The piece is then folded in half length ways. PVA is added to the corner where the walls meet and the Oak is the added to cover the corner.

The bottom wall is only push fitted at the moment.

Front wall

I now have to detail the bay sections that fit on the front and also work on the roof. All in good time.......babysitting duties tomorrow, so no more building for a day or two.

Gormo

 

That`s right Richard,
Better get my finger out !!!!
It`s getting there........I`m on the home stretch.
I am currently working on the roof which will be followed by a little extension on one side. The pic below shows the building mostly assembled . This is the rear view which won`t be seen so I have not bothered to detail the back walls. The roof will receive some attention though, similar to the front.

The pic below shows the front complete except for the roof. I have downloaded a pic of medieval roof tiles and printed it out so that I can add strips to the roof. I also glued some random strips of paper to the roof prior to the tiles going on. When the tiles are glued over the top of the paper, you get slight irregularities in the roof profile consistent with it`s supposed age and condition.

As I said when I started this build, these kits give us a good foundation on which to add detail and improve the look of them. It is time consuming however and they go from being Superquick to super slow, but nothing good or different is ever easy........so perseverance and patience is the key to a good result.
Gormo

 

Thanks Gary,
You can increase floor space that way. Generally the streets were narrow, affecting the ground floor footprint of the building, however space could be gained on the upper level by protruding out from the base.
The design of the buildings was sometimes a form of protest after the dissolution of the monasteries. Some were designed with subtle crucifixes in the woodwork and sometimes the crucifix style was even translated into the floor plan.
The Elizabethan period also saw the advent of cheaper glass and more use of chimneys. Wealthy merchants in towns who wished to flaunt their wealth would have their buildings built with large areas of glass, especially at the front, and also elaborate chimneys were included as well to show the world how affluent they were.
Gormo

 

Thanks Toto,
Cheers
Gormo

 

.....well Toto.....we continue to learn as we progress through this life and for me it makes more sense of things sometimes.??
Generally there is always a reason for things being done in a certain way. Us modern day folk think we know it all because our technology is so advanced, however our intellect is probably no further advanced than our ancestors.
Thank God our Victorian counterparts were not as hampered by all the tiny little bi-laws, safety regulations, environmental concerns, standards associations, etc. etc. etc. that we have now, otherwise nothing would have got invented or built.
They just created things in the name of progress and fixed the faults later.....when it was too late.!!!....
What was the question...????...Oh yes there was no question.....more coffee....more coffee.......wake up..!!!!!
Gormo