Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Hello Echidna,
Below are some pics as close as possible to a driver`s eye view and also a video.
The video quality is not great but you will get the idea.























Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I made some foreground trees today and put down some more undergrowth.
The trees were made from twigs I had found on a day out recently, however just a twig is really not much use on it`s own. I cut them up and re-arranged them into little tree armatures. I find a part that I think would make a suitable trunk and then build upon that by adding more cut down twigs. I use a hot glue gun for this purpose and it works quite well.
The armature is then covered carefully with polyfiber and then the fiber is sprayed brown which attaches it to the armature. Of course the internal part of the armature picks up the brown paint as well, but when the flocking is added, you can`t see it anyway.
For these trees I add a fine sprinkle of static grass to the tree before the flocking goes on. It adds a bit more character, but don`t add too much.
I rubbed a little white chalk into the trunks as well to add some more character.
I`ve only done four trees with exposed trunks, however it does suggest to my eye that the trees in the background must have them as well, even though they do not.





More ground cover added too......I mentioned way back that this area is intended to be overgrown, so there is still more to go.
A couple of trees were added to the back of the hill too. More work needed there too as it forms part of Bamford`s scenery, although not easy to see.








I needed to walk away from the scenery this afternoon.....basically to let stuff dry and let the fumes out of the room......it smells like a ladies hair salon in there with all that hairspray holding all the trees together.
So I started on the gaping hole in Bamford. I`ve cut a section of 6mm ply to fit this section. It will need a coat or two of Blue paint before it gets fitted. This is going to make a big difference to how this section looks.
Once the infill panel goes in, I will them move my attention to a rather large lift out section that will butt up to the background, mostly to the left in this pic. On top of that section will be another hill and scenery of some description.......I`m still working on that in my head.




More as it happens
Gormo

 

Thanks Gary.....still a lot more to do though...
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
The shed is a mess, but I have given the last insert panel two coats of Sky Blue paint today.
Whilst the paint was drying and in between coats, I raided my supply of 3mm ply to try and find a suitable piece for use as a base for the lift off scenery on Bamford.
Well folks , the numbers just weren`t working out, so I had to change my game plan and create three sections instead, due to having sheets of ply that were not big enough to cover the whole area
On reflection, one big piece is probably not a good idea.......it would be difficult to handle in the limited space I have.....so we`ll do it sections like Little Bardfield.
To accommodate the lift off panels, I had to remove some of the original plaster scenery that was fitted parallel to the tracks. The bases need a flat base to rest on so it was a job that had to be done.Hopefully the scenery that will follow will make up for the loss.
So this is where we`re are at end of play today........infill panel fitted and lift off bases waiting for scenery.




Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
The background has been added to the new panel.
This is actually a combination of two separate images where one overlays the other to attempt to blend them together.





From the signal box to the right, the lower part of the background is laid over the one behind.
Any obvious mismatches or joins can be covered with trees or buildings.




More as it happens
Gormo

 

Some background trees now in place. I need to balance out the middle group of trees, but will have to print some before I can do that.
Jumping ahead to this stage has been a welcome break from making trees, however I will go back to GCJ once more and make an effort to get the scene finished.












And short video



Gormo

 

Just changing the subject for a moment, I`ve had a couple of wins on the Bay recently.
These are older models, however I don`t have any problems with that......this Hornby Royal Mail coach is in near perfect condition and at 30 dollars was a good deal.




And that was followed up by a Hornby GWR Brake van.......again an older model, but at 5 dollars 50 cents, was a steal. It`s nice to have the little tail lamp as well





Needless to say, both models run very well, and when eventually fitted with the small Bachmaan couplings, they will look reasonably up to date.

Gormo

 

Thanks Phil,
Yes the mail cars are really good to have operating, however my one didn`t come with the gear.......just the coach.
But the way they ( Hornby ) have them worked out to operate is terrific......clever stuff.
I have one more in stock, but it`s an older Triang version and needs restoration.
If anyone knows where I can get some Royal Mail decals in Australia....please let me know
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I`m mentally planning the overall set up for Bamford.
In other words where will the town be, if any ? and how does that progress towards countryside ?, plus I want to scratch build a ruined castle or tower up near the hill area.
I have a town background which is from my reject pile, as the print is too dark, so I thought I would cut it out and stick it on with BluTac and see how it looks.
It`s much better for me to get a visual on these ideas and I think once I get a start point, the rest will flow...( I hope )

I think I like this idea........I have some low relief kits that would better suit here, plus some full sized kits that could be converted to low relief












This little exercise has given me the confidence to pursue this idea......I think....

Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Time for some more scenic items.
I decided to start on some fences around the tunnel area, one in particular will follow up on Pete`s suggestion for the area where the lift off scenery meets the fixed scenery to hide the join.
But first we have to make said fences.......I`ve gone through this process before when I did the scenic treatment on Little Bardfield, and if you`re interested, the link is below
https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/inde...rford-junction-part-two.6/page-115#post-92998
I had some left over from Little Bardfield, so at this stage no need to print out any more, although I will have to at some stage as scenery progresses.
So we cut out the white areas between the rails and in doing so, we cut past the the ends of the print and retain the ends so we can keep it all together prior to adding the posts. Once the posts are added the ends can be trimmed to suit.





Then the posts are cut 2mm wide from approx. 2mm grey card ( courtesy of SWMBO from one of her artists pads )





To cut the posts to length ( 20mm ) I just clamp a block,as a stopper, onto my cutting mat on the bench.





The posts can then be cut consistently, although absolute accuracy is not a priority because we are planting them into the ground / scenery.





I`ve cut a whole bunch here which should be more than I need. The next stage is to glue them into position with PVA and then paint the fence sections.




I must say that if you don`t want to produce your own, that Scale Model Scenery do a good kit using laser cut card. I have used their product before and can recommend it. The great benefit of this type of fencing is that it is able to be bent to follow the contours of the ground, which is something you can`t do with plastic or 3D printed fencing.
https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk...st--rail-lineside-fencing-oo4mm176-7980-p.asp
I do not have any affiliation with Scale Model Scenery other than being a satisfied customer.
More as it happens
Gormo

 

Glued and drying overnight.....900mm total length




Gormo

 

Thanks Phil, that`s very good of you to offer.
I`m out tomorrow, so maybe I`ll get back to you tomorrow night......
Gormo

 

G`day Phil,
I`m back on board...
This is the coach I want to restore, or convert would be more correct. I have partially dismantled it before moving onto other more urgent things.
The coach was donated by Chris M some little while back and I feel it could come up rather well with a bit of time and work.
It`s already been set up to take some Bachmann bogies, yet to be purchased, so it should eventually run sweet as a nut with more up to date stock.
The intention is to remove the current paint job and re-coat it in GWR colours.




Re-painting of course affects the Royal Mail lettering and coat of arms etc......so basically it`s a strip it back and start again project.
I must point out that I may be able to get the appropriate decals from my local model shop, but I have not asked them at this stage, I`ve only looked on the Bay.
So if you want to hang back until I check with the model shop, that`s fine, or if you want to have a crack at it yourself , that`s fine too.
Anyhow....this is the look I`m going for.





You will note the Gold colour on the lettering is quite dark so it stands out better against the cream background.
We have a George V coat of arms, GWR in smaller lettering and the GWR coat of arms as well




I have images of the coats of arms in PNG format ( The George V is not exactly the same but I rather like it ) with transparent backgrounds that I can send through to you via PM, due to copyright issues.
Best not to publish them in the open forum.
To give you an idea of the size of the lettering.........the word " ROYAL " would need to be 3.5mm high and the overall width of the word is 20mm. That`s the size of the lettering on the coach to be converted, so if you can get somewhere near that, it would be good. GWR is considerably smaller, but you could just make an educated guess on that one.......if it looks right, it will be right and of course the coats of arms just use the same method.
So if you can manage that Phil, it would be great, but if it becomes a problem.....don`t worry about it.....I don`t wish to tie you down with my project, there is no urgency to it and it can wait if it has to.
Gormo
PS....check your PM for the coats of arms.

 

Thanks mate,
My fingers were crossed and then I crossed my eyes, but my missus started giving me that " Don`t be stupid look " so I crawled back into my hole.....
Gormo