I am kinda regetting giving away my cheap blender...just remembered I had gifted it to a margarita fanatic... not much chance of getting it back...lol.
G`day Folks, Been kinda busy with family stuff the last few days, but managed to get a little bit more done. I made up a tree to see how it will look against a tree background. This is actually a half tree where the back of the tree is cut off so that it can sit closer to the background. The tree is made from hemp rope and the foliage is a home made flock spread over a covering of polyester fiber as used in cushions. Just trying it in various positions and trying to imagine how it all may look.? Also note the background in this shot where you can see part of the cottage. More hill scenery added butting up to the end of the retaining wall. Note the cottage has gone because I`ve added more tree background. I will be off to Office Works tomorrow to get some more tree backgrounds printed to populate the area right up to the top of the hill. So that`s where we are for the moment. Gormo
G`day Folks, A couple more coaches have just arrived to make up a nice little branch train. A Hornby GWR Collet Corridor 3rd and a GWR Collet Corridor Brake 3rd Nice detailing Gormo
G`day Folks, A bit more done today I decided to carry on with the back scenes......it`s gotta be done sometime.... I just have to fill an opening at the end here to join the two scenes together. It looks like it won`t work from this angle, but I`m confident the blending process will make sense in the end. The view from the yard at Bamford......it`s been just a blue wall for years. Now down the other end near the signal box. There will be a hill in front of this section, so you will only see the road where it narrows. Most of this scene is supplied as a free back scene from Railway Modeller a few months ago and the scene nearest the camera on the left was added in by me. The tree disguises the join......trees are handy... Anyhow......a running session is on the cards for tomorrow with my two little signalmen,....so that should be fun More as it happens Gormo
It is amazing what a difference a back scene can do to a layout. I look forward to watching the scenery grow. Cheers, Gary.
Yeah me too Gary.... Well today folks, the last piece of my special train arrived in the post.....yes another horse box. So this last box makes up a nice length of race day train that will fit my layout. The train consists of five horse boxes, which transport horses grooms and trainers, plus a passenger coach, in this case a brake coach, that would transport the owners. Prior to this form of transport, grooms would walk their horses to race courses, sometimes taking two days to get there, so it was difficult to have horses race at courses very far from home in those days. Then came the railways and the advent of the horse box. Most of the big railway companies had horse boxes, so it was not uncommon for a train to be made up of boxes from any or all of those companies, assembled at a logical point to then move on as one in a train to a race track. Of course these days there is road transport available to deal with moving horses all over the place and of course sometimes they even fly now to international race meets....so things have changed......but not on GCJ which is permanently locked in the past. On my railway, one of the destinations ( fiddle yard ) is Newmarket, home to the National Stud and various big races on the UK calendar, so it seems appropriate to have a horse box train traveling on race days........plus it`s something a little different. So here it is....a mixture of Hornby, Lima and Triang Hornby boxes and a Hornby brake coach. Maybe one or two of the boxes will be converted over to GWR with a paint job and some lettering, but there is no great rush to do that. There are a couple of ways that the train could operate. The horse boxes could arrive individually on various trains being dropped off at GCJ yard to be assembled into one train destined for Newmarket, or they could arrive into No. 4 Platform in the form of a ready assembled train, and wait for the road to be set for Newmarket. Either way would add a level of interest to the operation of the railway. Anyway this has been a nice little distraction today. Gormo
Always a great way to keep your interest from waning... if things seem to be getting a bit tedious, then bring on an enjoyable distraction, particularly on a grey and wet day like today. Cheers and happy modelling Richard
Hi Gormo. Sorry to read your sad news. He sounds like a lovely man, with a wonderful attitude to life. Despite the many "in law" jokes, my experience is that good in laws are to be treasured. Take care Steve
Dear Gormo, 1 / I am sorry to hear of the passing of your beloved father in law, my belated condolences to you and all of your family. 2 / Dark Olive Green was favoured by US&S / Union Switch & Signal, for their CTC panels, whilst GRS / General Railway Signal, favoured black; which, from what I have read, is a least one reason why American basement layouts appear to favour those colours. ( Westinghouse B&S went for bright blue ! ( similar to the Post Reply blue below ) for the CTC Panel at Sunshine, not a fan ! ) 3 / your fascias look marvellous, and I agree that the railway should be presented like a stage, so that the trains and the layout are observed, and not the extraneous stuff elsewhere in the space. 4 / I have not looked at this site for a while, otherwise I spend hours here, and not doing other minor things, like eating and sleeping ! Best wishes and regards, Echidna.
Thanks Echidna, If I had to choose another colour, I suppose it would be the Dark Olive Green, however I will stay with my Black as that is my preferred option. Now make sure you don`t forget to eat and get some sleep too...... Gormo
Well Folks, The White Cliffs of Great Chesterford have been dealt with and given a coat of plaster today. I started with the removable hill that sits atop the tunnel portals. I took it outside to minimize mess indoors and got stuck into it. This is a mixture of Plaster of Paris, water, a dollop of Burnt Sienna Artists acrylic and a dollop of PVA to help bind it all together. The mixture is mixed thoroughly in a shallow container and then applied with a paint brush. Then onto the fixed scenery. Baking paper was used extensively to protect the background and areas of track and scenery that were in the path of potential accidental drops of plaster. The tops of the walls were masked with masking tape, also to protect them and keep them clean. A towel was also placed on the floor directly below the front fascia because we don`t want plaster getting onto the carpet. Once the job was done, the masking was carefully removed before the plaster hardened. The plaster was brushed on overlapping the masked edges, so removing it once the plaster had hardened would cause cracking and unwanted damage along those edges. And the whole lot put back together to thoroughly dry. When completely dry, I will dribble on some watered down Black and Browns to further enhance the look of it. This area will be completely greened, but even so, if any of the soil areas show, they need to look darker than what we have here. More as it happens Gormo
G`day Sol, Yes oh well it`s just a base colour........more to be added and then it will disappear under grass, trees etc. Cheers Gormo
Back to the scenery again, I`ve had my two little signalmen on duty for the last two days, so not much progress while they were here, although I did teach them how to make trees this morning. I applied a couple of washes over the scenery this afternoon and once that is dry, it will be ready for static grass. It all looks a bit ordinary at the moment, although these random tones do make a good underlay for grass. Here is the large hill...........it looks like a piece of meat.... The hill behind the engine shed And the other hill Just to change the subject for a moment, here is a view of the engine shed inspection pits, not normally seen when the shed is in place. This is the start of my tree making program for this site.....these are purely background trees and consequently I`m not bothering with elaborate trunks as the view of same will be blocked by foreground undergrowth and trees. A little man to give them some scale........trees are big, yet commercial trees are generally small unless you have a good budget. I think they`ll do the job alright in the background Last one These trees are really easy to make.......don`t take much time and cost only a few cents to make.......so really worth the trouble for those of us on a tight budget. More as it happens Gormo