Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

G`day Echidna,
Very informative as usual and thank you.
I was not aware of the acidic properties of loco smoke........realistically, it`s a good thing the steam age has gone I guess.?
Much better for it to live on in model form and also the odd heritage railway here and there. Our lungs and our health are the better for it.
I am also not aware of the image of the man that you refer to, however it does sound interesting considering the period in which it was taken.
Anyway......I have plodded some steps further forward today......I have to be content with little steps knowing a number of these will produce the result I am working towards.
Prior to grass being applied, I figured it was best to apply the wall capping around the tunnel area.
I have some thickish grey card recovered from some artists pads.....thank you SWMBO for the donation....and they seemed ideal to produce some wall caps.





I cut some 6mm wide strips.......the walls are 5mm so I though a slight overhang would look good......I`m making it up as I go along folks.





The strips were then scored across their width at 10mm intervals with my trusty dry ball point pen.





I then applied Grey pastel to colour the strip completely, followed by Black pastel directly on top of the Grey. The excess was then simply brushed off to give the random effect below. If this is not satisfactory, more can be applied until the desired effect is achieved. I was happy with this result.





The strips were then fixed to the wall tops with PVA and pinned.





The strips across the tops of the tunnel portals were cut wider at 8mm across to add a more decorative effect in those areas.




Then a printed section was added to some card and sealed. When dry, I scored the lettering with the pen again to give the impression that the lettering was cut into the stone by a stone mason.
An extra two layers of card were added to the back of this piece.





It was then permanently fitted to the plinth above the double tunnel portal




More as it happens
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Today I finally finished the tunnel portals. Some more embellishments were added to suggest a Victorian heritage, because the tunnels were built in 1893.




Then moved onto the grass......I started with the bank behind the retaining wall, but first here`s a before pic taken a few days ago




And now the after pic taken this afternoon. The glue still needs to dry, therefore the white patches here and there. We will not know the final result till tomorrow.
There is still a lot more to be added here.....Trees and bushes and maybe some dirt here and there plus some tone adjusting on the grass.....all in good time.
This just indicates the way we are heading at the moment.





Then I moved onto the hill behind the Engine Shed and didn`t quite finish today, but will have another go tomorrow probably..???




Anyhow, that`s where we are at end of play today.......managed to chalk up a few runs.
Gormo

 

Back into the shed tonight to finish off the grass.
It`s quite a big job actually because I do about an envelope sized area at a time, anyhow we`re done now.
So we once again have some White patches because the glue is still drying, so a better idea of the finished job won`t be visible for about 24 hours.......possibly longer because there is rain about every now and then. The moisture in the air lengthens the drying process.
A view from the turntable with Engine Shed removed





You can see the horizontal join where the removable hill meets the fixed slope behind the engine shed.
Pete suggested a fence and weeds / bushes along here to disguise the join and I think that will work really well.





With shed in place





I like this view because it captures the background from Bamford as well





The view from the top of the hill





And how it sits in the layout





The rest is detail........trees, bushes weeds etc. etc. etc.
Gormo

 

G`day Fellow Train Tragics,
At this stage, everything is going to plan. The grass has dried and I`ve vacuumed off the excess.
Just as a side note......I acquired a little hand held vac from Kmart recently ( $30 ). This one is a bit different to the common or garden variety because firstly, it is a corded version and secondly, it has a snap in handle and a floor head so that you can use it like an upright. For scenery I use it as a hand held with handle and floor head removed.
Set up in this way, it allows you to vacuum up the excess static grass and recover it for use once again on your scenery............no waste.
I have had battery versions of these vacuums over the years and basically they are a waste of space compared to this corded version.
Anyhow.....where was I....
Ah yes scenery.
I now need to make bushes, trees, undergrowth, weeds etc...and any other stuff that could be found in an area of wood that is left to it`s own devices.
First things first......I need some more flocking.....so I made up some batches this afternoon using my Coffee Grinder method.
It`s really quite simple and the results are good, but more importantly, the results are determined by me. I can get the colours I want without having to accept just what colours are available at the hobby shop, and sometimes they are limited at the hobby shop.
These are the three shades of Green that I have made so far. The colour added to the flock is artists acrylics and in very small amounts. I would estimate the retail value of this lot here is about 30 dollars, however the cost to make all this is only about five cents.......so that`s why I do it this way.

Going from left to right......Tub #1 is made from 1 drop of Boyles Leaf Green and 1 drop of Reno Art Yellow Ochre.......Tub#2 is made from 1 drop of Chromacryl Forest Green and 1 drop of Reno Art Yellow Ochre.... and Tub#3 is made from 1 drop of Chromacryl Forest Green......so by blending colours you can find the shade you want.





This is what they have to match roughly. I already have an Olive Green commercial flocking that will help match some of these trees, but I will have to make up a Dark Green to help the blending process as well.......but hey!!!!!.....it`s all part of the fun...




The flocking that I made today is almost ready to use once it`s made, however if I let it dry for a day or two and then put it through a kitchen strainer, you can get a nice batch of fine ground foam which is ideal for bushes or to add some contrast to trees or just use it as ground foam. Whatever doesn`t pass through the strainer is used for trees.
So this method has the bonus of ground foam being created when the grinder is trying to blend and chop the foam rubber and the paint.
Lots to do...
Gormo

 

Hello everybody,
I`ve knocked up some background trees and installed them today.
We start with the overall view showing these trees right up against the background. I still need a couple more on the lower level along the bank.




This is the bank where I need a couple more smaller trees in here to fill the gap





Most of these trees are actually half trees so I can get them closer to the background. They are split vertically.





You`ve probably noticed that you can`t see the tree trunks. This is because there will be more vegetation and trees added in front of these trees which would obscure the trunks anyway, so no need to bother at this stage. The trees that will eventually finish up in the foreground will be given trunks.





From here on, the additional trees and their placement will be carefully considered. I probably need to think on this for a while and not just rush in willy nilly putting trees all over the joint.









This is probably the most common angle that the scene will be viewed from. Also of note in this shot, is that the hole in the wall where the track for Bamford enters the room is already pretty much obscured. So by the time we populate this area with some more trees, it will disappear.




So....more trees to make etc. etc. etc. but I`m happy with how it`s going.
A short running session below to show off the area.



Gormo

 

Thank you Brian...
Gormo

 

Thanks Phil,
With the trees on the background behind the half trees, you don`t get any sky or anything else showing through, so in the end, they look like part of the background which has now become 3D.
Gormo

 

A little bit more done today......had to do some other stuff......but that`s how it goes sometimes.......
I thought I would show you some trees being made.
Now these look pretty ordinary.
They are made by inserting short lengths of hemp string between a piece of wire that is folded in half. I use a home made jig to do this. The two ends of wire are inserted in a drill chuck and the wire twists around the string when the drill is started. Think bottle brush. The string is then parted into finer fibers by dragging a wire brush across it. The string is then worked into the desired positions and trimmed to shape if necessary. The fibers that accumulate in the wire brush can be removed and then lightly spread across the string to give a better base for the flocking to adhere to.
The tree is then sprayed brown with a rattle can. The paint actually glues the loose fibers to the tree and when the whole lot is dry, it becomes stiff.





I spray the tree structure with cheap hairspray and start adding the flocking. I then spray over what I have added before going to the next colour and I repeat the process, usually through three colours, although that is a personal choice......could be more or less.
Anyway, they turn out like this.
If you want a nice looking trunk, you can scour your garden or local area for twigs that look right for the job. Cut the twig to size and drill a hole down into it to accept the wire. Glue the wire into the hole and you`re done.





I have made another large tree on the right and I`m starting to adjust the colour a bit now to suit the Bamford background.
I`ve also added a small tree just near the top of the double portal





Also made a couple of small trees for the gap on the bank





More obvious in this pic I think





The overall shot to show how it`s evolving.
I think now I will extend the tree line along the ridge top to the right towards Bamford station, however I will be dropping the height of the trees as it moves along.
This should go some way towards fooling the eye when comparing upper and lower backgrounds.




The scene is like doing a landscape painting.....things need to make sense and everything needs to be in the right place, especially when viewed from different angles.
Gormo

 

Thanks Pete.......it`s getting there
Gormo

 

More progress today,
I started making more trees for the top of the hill and starting creeping to the right.




Then got to this point.....this is the zoomed in view from the end of Bamford and what you can`t see is the hole in the wall.......job done.
This is where the hole could be visible, but it`s covered now





I needed a break from trees so started applying undergrowth instead.












I have a day off tomorrow looking after Grandkids, so time away from scenery to reset and reflect and consider the way forward artistically.
Obviously more trees and undergrowth required, but the time off to think about it will be good.
Anyhow......more as it happens
Gormo

 

Thanks Pete...

 

Certainly Echidna,
I will do some still shots and an onboard video.....have not done one of those for a long time.
My onboard camera is on charge at the moment, so I`ll be back in a few hours.
Gormo