Newton Broadway

The etched name plates and shields for 33 207 arrived from Fox Transfers. I forgot to order the depot plates as well, so those will have to await another order (I usually try to buy more than one item to share the postal costs a bit).

I found that the etched plates were slightly shorter than the printed ones, so had to scrape off a little from the ends of the printed plates, which also removed a few small chips of paint. I found that a Humbrol grey #64 from the standard paint range was a very close match to the light grey, but unfortunately glossy against the satin finish, so had to matt varnish the touched up patches afterwards. I will eventually do a little light weathering on this locomotive too, so that will hide any very slight mismatches.


P_20191210_171648_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20191210_171728_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

On the industrial front, I have numbered and named the B2 Peckett 0-6-0ST, after removing the NCB lettering using T-cut. Unfortunately, th T-cut also removed some of the blue paint, but I will be weathering this locomotive in due course, and its new name plates hide some of the black areas, so the effect will not be too obvious. She is now No. 18, Amarantha.

The new No. 19 has also just arrived, a Hornby Ruston DS48 diesel, which will not be named for the present. I want to repaint the Army green to a blue livery but retain the wasp strips on the ends, hence my choice of this model (it saves me having to paint the wasp stripes in the first place!). Installing a Bachmann (Zimo) 36-568 6-pin decoder was a breeze (after noting any areas of concern referred to in the model rail forums) and works perfectly.


P_20200103_143232_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200103_143308_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200103_143240_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Note that the Leyland Atlantean bus in the background does not belong in the goods yard. I have been rearranging some of my storage for both trains and road vehicles, and this was placed there temporarily.

 

A quick dab of thinned Network South East darker (later) blue, then a thin wash of black over the blue patches has given this result. Once weathered lightly, I think it will all blend in nicely.

The black wash is still wet in the photos.


P_20200104_143037_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200104_143056_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

Just about finishing the Ruston saga, I have painted it Network South East dark blue, added a wash of black, then given it a coat of satin varnish. The cab roof was painted light grey then given a black wash (which fortunately dried with a matt finish), and added a driver (one of Hatton's 3D printed figures intended for the Hornby Peckett and Hatton's own Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST steam locos). As can be seen, the blue ends up very close to the shade used on Hornby's 0-6-0ST Peckett, which is what I was aiming for. The final touch was to add the Number 19 etched plates from Narrow Planet. She could still do with a spot more weathering, but there's no hurry for this.


P_20200106_161134_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200106_161209_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


p.s. As can be seen, I got the driver to shift that Leyland Atlantean that was spoiling the background in the previous shots!

 

I was thinking something like this J94 I did earlier. This one was only weathered using powders, so it could be cleaned off a bit if I changed my mind or didn't like the result.


J94 DJM Model Named Annabelle - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

I have been continuing work on the farm scene, which will sit in the back corner of my layout. The curved concrete retaining wall at the front will adjoin the railway. There are some more details and patches to go: I had to pull the fence out again (which seems a retrograde step, but in the longer term it will all come together) to fill the gaps behind the wall, which will then be painted when dry, and more vegetation added, including some rougher shrubs, weeds, ferns and vines. I haven't decided what fence style (or hedge) to use for the separation of the field at far right from the railway.


P_20200107_145513_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200107_145529_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200107_145538_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200107_145542_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200107_145551_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200107_151225_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

Farm scene progress: things are happening more slowly as I get into the detail work.

The gaps under the pig sty walls have been covered with a little thicker glue and scatter material.


P_20200113_181938_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


I have added some rough turf along the embankment and at the end of the Long Field. A couple of Noch turnips have been planted in the farmer's vegetable garden, and ferns along the fence line on the embankment, as well as a couple of "escaped" turnips. Some ferns have also gone into the rough at the end of the Long Field. I have a couple more packs of the laser-cut ferns, so will add a few more to the scene later. There are nine ferns per pack.


P_20200113_181953_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200113_181948_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Long Field cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

The farm scene has been positioned in its back corner of Newton Broadway. While there are still a few minor tweaks I can do to improve it, quite a bit of the detail is hidden from normal view anyway ... but I know it's there.


P_20200129_090238_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200129_094719_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200129_090226_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

I have replaced the somewhat European-looking fencing around the lower verandah of the Tudor hotel with some stone and wrought iron style walling, which I think makes it look slightly more British. I intend to replace the diagonal tiles on the roof eventually too.


P_20200213_221059_vHDR_Cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200213_221151_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


And this is what it looked like before:


Corner Shop Improvements - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

Steps added at each end. None of this work has been painted yet, but it is taking shape. I also need to replace the pavement on the bank corner, after cutting away some of the polystyrene to match the slope past the hotel. I need to add a little infill at the sides of the steps at the right-hand end.

Must come up with a name for the hotel too.


P_20200214_123056_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200214_123106_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200214_123046_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

First go with a backscene. I tried a technique that seals the board as well as the paper, but it didn't entirely work, so there are a few ripples in the paper that I will try to deal with later. The whole lot needs to go a bit lower, but the overall effect is not bad. It certainly gives more depth to that end of the layout.


P_20200215_141711_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200215_141723_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

Having worked out what was needed, I have lowered the backscene by 4cm. The bubbles in the paper still annoy me, but the effect is much better than before.


P_20200215_161857_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200215_161830_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

My theme for today is my Bratchell Models kits. All the 4-car units have been motorised using Replica Railways 64' motorised chassis with 12mm wheels. The 2-car class 456 is unpowered at present but will gain a Replica half-chassis - an idea put forward by Replica Railways themselves.

The units are, from back to front:
Class 455/8 5835 in Network South East (NSE) livery;
Class 319/1 319 174 in NSE livery;
Class 319/3 319 368 in Thameslink livery;
Class 455/9 5907 in South West Trains (SWT) livery;
Class 456 456007 in NSE livery.

The Thameslink 319 and SWT 455 are both unfinished as they have not yet had their underframe details fitted. 5907 is also still undergoing adjustments to its livery. This uses Electra Railway Graphics vinyl overlays but I have been painting the end 'swoops' and cab fronts by hand.

The unpowered class 456 usually runs attached to 5835.


P_20200315_111402_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200315_111334_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

For something a little different, I have started adding some of the lineside cabling so typical of London's underground railways. This is only the first bit, with lots still to go. The section that has dropped slightly on the right has been fixed - I only noticed it when I looked at the photo.


P_20200315_163411_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200315_163358_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

 

I have been gluing down and blending some grass mats with various textures along the narrow bit of wasteland between the tracks at the front and the fiddle yard at the back. I will add a few low bushes and shrubs later, but I don't want anything too tall as that would impede access to trains when I am reaching across, and also for track cleaning purposes. The mats are from Modelscene, bought from Modellers Warehouse in Brisbane, and I have used some Woodland Scenics scatter material and bushes/foliage to fill gaps between mats and along the sides adjoining the tracks. The glue is still drying in the photos.

Also in the photos are the Ratio yard hut which was a freebie from Railway Modeller magazine (not its final position, but I still need to work on the engine shed area where it will end up if all goes to plan), and the workman's caravan from Oxford Diecast, which I have weathered and dulled down somewhat, but forgot to treat the steps!

As always (this is almost a mantra!) there is still much to do to complete the effects properly and get rid of bits of bare boards or cork sheeting showing through.


P_20200327_171140_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


P_20200327_171204_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr