Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

G`day Marty,

Just PVA mate......that`s what I`ve used all along with other scenery I`ve done......seems to do the job...

I got a bit more done today.........managed to plaster the embankment. I put some baking paper behind and also between it and the bridge to prevent any plaster getting on the backscene or the bridge.



Then it was just a matter of colouring it up with some watered down acrylic.



When that dried it was time to get out the static grass applicator and start covering it up and blending it with the backscene. I stuck some trees in too.





Then finished off the embankment on the opposite side with some grass



And as you can see, it`s greened right through to the other side.



It all looks a bit hairy and sameish at the moment, but that will change when bushes and weeds etc. are added.



A drivers eye view from the branch platform



And a panorama taken on the phone.



I have also started changing the background pic on the other side of the bridge. The original scene was sitting a bit low and it was looking a bit too dark so I`ve started placing another one over the top of it. To compliment the new scene and balance it out Downton Abbey will be covered over as well. So the signature look of GCJ is about to change. I have no pics of the new scene just yet but they will follow shortly.

A productive day gentlemen...!!!!

More as it happens

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Well thank you gentlemen,

I`m glad you like it.

I`m still not 100% sure about covering up Downton Abbey / Highclare Castle when I look at those pics again..??????.......it really is the thing that identifies the layout in my opinion.????

I have a cut out sitting over it at the moment and not fixed down, so I will ponder it a while longer before I commit.

http://www.clickGormo

 

Yes I agree Toto,

But there`s always the other holiday home in the south of France and the resort in Bermuda so I won`t be too put out.....Oh...and our London apartment in Kensington.

However I am getting some semi hostile reactions here from the little lady. She does love to walk the Corgis around the estate.......that`s more important than the towns people......let them eat cake.!!!!



http://www.clickGormo

 

G`day Steam Buffs,

Firstly I will deal with the correspondence.!!!

Thanks gents for your comments and remarks.......tah muchly!!!!

Ed....the overlay for Downtown is still up in the air.....not literally....but undecided. I have a little farm house with trees behind it background, courtesy of Wordsworth Model Railway. It looks good but the colour of the trees is not quite right. It looks good though.???. I am also contemplating using / adapting one of the sheets from the new backscene and laying that over instead. Both solutions actually make quite a lot of difference to the feel of the railway believe it or not. They make it feel like a complete country railway whereas throwing Downtown in there changes it to semi rural in my opinion. For me this is a big call to make, a six inch section of backscene can change the whole feel of that section of the railway, however the proposed changes I mentioned above create a nicer flow to the whole length of the backscene.....so at the moment I am between a rock and a hard place.....but the solution will pop up eventually.....I`m sure of that.!!!

My Way I Did It.....the backscenes are all created at home via the computer manipulating downloaded images from the net. Your vote to keep the country pile is taken onboard for consideration...thank you..

No back at the ranch......I promised some pics of the new backscene.

Well it`s hard to show it off very well at the moment. I have the second embankment drying off in front of it, but the following pics will give you some idea.



You can see the old backscene underneath at the bottom.....the darker green....just to the right of the polystyrene in the pic above.



And at track level it is considerably higher up the wall than the previous backscene, which is better I feel.



Anyway you may get a better look at things in the video below

GCJ Layout Update



More as it happens

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Pete,

I took on board what you were saying about starting the town further out from the station, so I`ve been looking at Google maps at Great Chesterford and Haworth to start with........both areas I know at least, and the impression I get from the air and the street scene is that those towns almost start pretty much at the station and or so far off in the distance that it doesn`t matter.

You have made me reconsider the scene more carefully though and I`m considering doing what you say. I just have to see it in my minds eye.........I still feel Downton should go and be replaced by a farm or industrial building. I think mock ups will be the answer.

Thanks for your opinion...

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Ed,

Even more food for thought which actually cements my decision to keep Downton. I decided finally this afternoon to leave it be.

The reason being that it leads nicely up to the latest building on the scene. An English country house just off the roadway near the bridge. The house is slightly under scale to achieve a bit of perspective giving the illusion of distance......but how to place it.????

I taped my terraces together to do a mock up and see how the two work together.

Doesn`t look right at this stage.



I studied it for a while and came to the conclusion that maybe it needed to be partially obscured by trees...????



So I placed some trees in there and it still doesn`t look right to me.



Then the penny dropped.....bring it up to road level and add some bushes etc. to disguise the changing ground level.



The roof line is about the same height as the terraces and the chimneys rise above the backscene which gives it more presence. A tree to disguise the low relief terrace butt up to the backscene and we`re away.



It has acquired a rather 3D effect.



And the view across the bridge sealed it for me......it`s supposed to be there.



http://www.clickGormo