Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Yes absolutely right Ed, however the supervisor is looking on.........no slacking off until he`s gone back to the office.

I`ve been looking at my station building kit and I am still working on a method to improve the look of it. It`s a Metcalfe kit which looks good enough however I would like to add some bits here and there to bring it up to scratch. Strips of roof tiles for a start......that`s easy enough. It`s the wall and window detail that I`m still tossing around in my mind. Anyway I`ll think it through and we`ll see what happens.........nothing ventured, nothing gained.

http://www.clickGormo

 

G`day Ian,

Thank you for your comments.

My eyes aren`t really up to sweat on the brows of the little people......doing their eyelashes nearly did me in not to mention the double knots on their shoelaces.

Ah the penalty of aging.???

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Paul O,

Yes I have to agree about the cameos. It`s the suggestion they make sometimes, like a bicycle leaning against a wall near an open doorway. Who`s inside the building and what are they doing etc.

I am very much in favour of cameos and I guess once my railway is deemed as " finished " , it never really will be, as one could be planning little cameo scenes for ages.

http://www.clickGormo

 

G`day Folks,

You may remember there were some suggestions regarding improving the paving that was being removed from the platform by the work crew.

Good suggestions indeed and worth persuing to put that area to bed and move on. So I decided to make some pavers from a plaster mix so I made a mould of sorts from iced lolly sticks / craft sticks. That gave me roughly the right depth and the width was set to match the majority of paving on the platforms. I used Superglue to join the sticks.



I then gave the mould a good spray with WD40 so that in theory the plaster wouldn`t stick to the mould.?



Then filled it with my plaster mixture and left it for 24 hours to set.



Once the plaster had set, it was easy enough to ease the plaster strip out of the mould. The WD40 worked. I then used a mini drill with a cutting disk to cut the pavers to length. I saved any bits that broke off and also broke some of them deliberately. They were then coloured with pastels....dirtied up in effect and planted into the work area.











And so ends the saga of the pavers

I have now turned my attention to the station building. I have a Metcalfe country station kit which seemed good to me some time ago, however nowadays I feel I would like something a little better and a little bit different to what`s commercially available.

The Metcalfe kit is being given a new skin of Scalescenes paper and I am trying to create something with a look something like Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway.

Below is a comparison between the old and the new. I decided to dive in and have a go today.



The method I`m using involves dividing some of the modules so that they can be built more easily. They will be rejoined and appropriate bracing will be added.



Gary suggested that I do the window arches in card to show a bit more relief. Doing a bit of testing below. I think he`s right.... I am going to use a similar method with the window sills.



Borrowed some of my Grandsons building blocks for corner supports. Lego on steroids.!!!





So there you go folks........in for a penny.....in for a pound. A much more difficult build but I think the end result will be worth the effort.

More as it happens.

http://www.clickGormo

 

G`day Folks,

Thanks Paul & Toto.

I won`t interfere with the little fella`s blocks, I`ll just use them as they are. I can always make a jig if I want.

Forgot to chuck this pic in yesterday .......just showing off I guess.....typical look of the paving.

It`s taken a long time to get through it, for one reason or another, however I do like the look of it.

And now it`s good to be moving on.



http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Paul,

You are very kind my friend..

And also Gary, Ian, Pete & Ed.

Pete.....go for it mate!!.....you wouldn`t necessarily have to use WD40 to grease the mould ........but it worked for me first time....Oh??...and another thing.....the pavers are quite fragile so be carefull handling them.

Ed.....we haven`t had one of Gormo`s Gizmo`s for a while , until now, have we?????.....better get my finger out and start inventing once again.........

http://www.clickGormo...( Dr. of Gizmology and Inventor of the Coal Fired Steam Watch)

 

G`day Folks,

Moving right along.

I have gone back to paper for my window arches. After checking the pics of Bewdley station once again, It appears that the real thing is actually flush with the brick walls. The individual pieces of cut stone that form the arches are barely noticeable as they have been painted over.

So that makes my job a little easier. The arches below have been marked out and cut with scissors. I have made a template from a section cut out of a tap washer and this method allows me to easily cut out arches of consistant size and shape. I have also cut a template for the door arches and the narrow side windows.





The window sills were drawn up in my drawing program and printed out. I then add a strip of cereal box card to the outer part of the sill to give it some depth like the original.



I have added glazing to the first half of the module but I given up for the day, so the rest will have to wait.



I am quite pleased with how it`s going so far and the pics below give some idea of how it will be in it`s location.





Well it`s not going to be perfect but I think the makeover will suit the location better than the original red brick version of the kit. I will give it some weathering.....it`s a bit too clean at the moment.....and that will also aid with the transformation of this building.

More as it happens.

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Chaps,

Got along a bit further today. The first module ( The Station Masters House) is done. I might have to fit some curtains to the upper level. There are none in the kit so I`ll have to make some.

These are some of the bits I`m using. The arch templates cut out of tap fitting washers. In the background a sheet of window sills.





And I made up some Quoins for the corners of the buildings



So this is how we stand at the moment.....actually bracing was added after these pics were taken. This is the front of the building.



The right hand side



The left hand side where the booking hall joins on.



And the rear



This rear wall above was separated from the original kit, papered and rejoined. It required only minimal bracing, as you can see below, to put it right again ,as all the joints could be glued to give a satisfactory fit.



I`ve given up for the day as my eyes are going gah gah from all the close work today and actually I will pack it in on the computer too.........time for a cuppa.!!!

http://www.click Gormo