Little Muddle

[KNP]

Please don't think this was a criticism but just thought you might like to know. Production started in November 1951 although it was 1952 before many became available. In 1958 the Power Major was introduced, same body shape but a bit more power and a few other refinements, to be followed by the Super Majors with again similar body style but headlights set in the radiator grill. That's the fascination with this hobby it leads you down some unexpected avenues!! 

 

Where you have it positioned it could be mistaken for an International tractor so no need to be in a hurry to replace it 

 

Many thanks and non taken, I would just rather know.

So I will keep it parked this way until I can get a replacement.

[KNP]

Just need to moor up behind the fishing boat, by the ladder will do.....

 

 

 

[Stubby47]

If the water's at high tide (evidenced by the line of seaweed), then the quay is a long way above the deck level.

 

Assuming the quay was there long before the railway came, would there be any evidence of a lower quay which had been raised to match the track bed level  ? 

 

(Or is that taking things too far ??? )

 

Stu

[Worsdell forever]

Perhaps the older, probably timber, quay was further back as well as lower and the railway of course needed more space. 

[Limpley Stoker]

Funny how the water only comes halfway up the boat......

[Worsdell forever]

Funny how the water only comes halfway up the boat......

It it went above the boat, you'd be in trouble.

[KNP]

If the water's at high tide (evidenced by the line of seaweed), then the quay is a long way above the deck level.

 

Assuming the quay was there long before the railway came, would there be any evidence of a lower quay which had been raised to match the track bed level  ? 

 

(Or is that taking things too far ??? )

 

Stu

 

Initially when the layout was designed it was based on Shipton-on-Stour which had a gasworks along the line where the harbour is

But, when laying it out with some mock structures it became to much of a scenic blocker plus a gasometer is very large and the only I could get one to fit was to cut it in half in line with the profile board.

All began to look a little bit overpowering so I came up with the idea of the harbour instead.

The stonework is actually covering the old profile board so the design concept was that the harbour wall was raised when the railway arrived in town to give more room for the siding by building a taller wall in front of the original one.

I have never sat down and worked out the tidal range for Little Middle so I ought to give it some thought.....

Yes, it was designed to be a high quayside and I have moored against many like this which resulted in quite a climbing act to get onto terra firma.

 

I have no problem at all with people pointing things out it gets the old grey cells working to come up with a logical explanation!!!!

 

Keep them coming, it adds to the fun.

Perhaps the older, probably timber, quay was further back as well as lower and the railway of course needed more space. 

 

Agreed, see my reply to Stubby47.

 

Thanks

Edited July 10, 2017 by KNP

[KNP]

Funny how the water only comes halfway up the boat......

 

She's been unloaded..........!!!!

Edited July 10, 2017 by KNP

[Andrew P]

I love that shot from the water level, real atmosphere Kevin.

[KNP]

I love that shot from the water level, real atmosphere Kevin.

 

Thanks, it's another one I took using the focus merge program.

Misty has now left and sailed to the workshop to have the remaining rigging done so the harbour is now empty and bare........I took this shot just before she cast off.

 

One annoying thing, if you look carefully under the stern overhang you can see a white dot. Well it's where I knocked the rudder post off when setting up for the photo shoot.....a few very nautical words where said at the time!!!!!!

[KNP]

I thought I would blantently copy a train formation I saw on ANTB as I rather liked it so here is my version using my old toad....

 

 

 

So apologies Rob but that simple formation caught my imagination.

 

Focus merge used to get the depth of field and I have airbrushed out the tear in the backscene on the top picture.

 

Next couple ordinary focus mode of F8

 

 

plus this is how my trains are moved as I can't always be bothered for Railmaster to load!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Andrew P]

Nice pics again Kevin, AY was raving about LM and your scenics at the Stafford do last Sat. And that's how I moved most of my stock for many of my Photo Shoots on Pencarne.

[The Johnster]

Initially when the layout was designed it was based on Shipton-on-Stour which had a gasworks along the line where the harbour is

But, when laying it out with some mock structures it became to much of a scenic blocker plus a gasometer is very large and the only I could get one to fit was to cut it in half in line with the profile board.

All began to look a little bit overpowering so I came up with the idea of the harbour instead.

The stonework is actually covering the old profile board so the design concept was that the harbour wall was raised when the railway arrived in town to give more room for the siding by building a taller wall in front of the original one.

Yes, it was designed to be a high quayside and I have moored against many like this which resulted in quite a climbing act to get onto terra firma.

 

I have no problem at all with people pointing things out it gets the old grey cells working to come up with a logical explanation!!!!

 

Keep them coming, it adds to the fun.

 

Agreed, see my reply to Stubby47.

 

Thanks

 

 

Tidal range will depend on geography, and as far as the GW is concerned you have 4 basic options; a harbour on the English Channel in Dorset, South Devon, or Cornwall, one on the Bristol Channel in Cornwall, North Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire, or South Wales, or one on Cardigan Bay, or one on the Dee estuary.  Including of course any estuary draining into those bodies of water.  Tidal ranges are fairly high all over the British Isles, but are particularly so in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary, where they may be over 50 feet and even more on spring tides at places such as Chepstow and Sharpness.  It is a very dynamic marine environment, in which a harbour may be full to a depth of 20 feet or more and then completely empty with nary a drop of water to be seen 6 hours later.  This makes it a challenge to model, as you have to choose a state of tide and live with that being fixed permanently.  High water looks best, and is superb here, but mid tide is more common and many harbours spend most of their time 'empty' (Minehead, Porthcawl, Ilfracombe, Tenby).  Some have floating areas, such as Padstow, and this is probably the best option for modelling with water in (Padstow, Charlestown).  Ships trading to harbours that dry out at low water have to be able to 'take the hard', to sit on a sandy or muddy bottom without damage even when laden, and this sort of coastal trade, still carried on to some extent, was common in your period.  I would go with the idea that your harbour has an inner 'sea pound' which is replenished by tidal water, and given the colour of your water and the fact that it has not mudstained further up the quay wall than the level it is currently at, I can't help coming to the conclusion that we are looking at a harbour on an estuary, such as the Exe, Taw, Torridge, Severn, or Dee; I am excluding the Welsh examples as your setup has a generally English feel to it.

 

So, if I were you, well, firstly I'd be a much better scenic modeller than I am, but, more to the point, I wouldn't worry to much about tides and their ranges!

Edited July 12, 2017 by The Johnster

[kopite]

I thought I would blantently copy a train formation I saw on ANTB as I rather liked it so here is my version using my old toad....

 

14xx 1.jpg

 

14xx 3.jpg

 

So apologies Rob but that simple formation caught my imagination.

 

Focus merge used to get the depth of field and I have airbrushed out the tear in the backscene on the top picture.

 

Next couple ordinary focus mode of F8

 

P1050136.JPG

 

plus this is how my trains are moved as I can't always be bothered for Railmaster to load!!!!!

 

P1050142.JPG

 

I really like the way you did the arm with the hand on the end of it in the last photo. That's excellent modelling, especially the hairs on the arm and the finger nail, it's even got the right amount of fingers, very realistic. 

Edited July 13, 2017 by kopite

[St Enodoc]

I really like the way you did the arm with the hand on the end of it in the last photo. That's excellent modelling, especially the hairs on the arm and the finger nail, it's even got the right amount of fingers, very realistic. 

So it's not the boy in the old Hornby-Dublo adverts then?

[kopite]

So it's not the boy in the old Hornby-Dublo adverts then?

I think it's actually modelled after King Kong.

[Andy Y]

I'm just working through photos taken at Kevin's and this one small shot I have just 'processed' and which probably isn't even 0.01% of the layout area sums up to me why it's so good.

 

• Excellent details with meticulous painting and weathering.
• Beautiful tones of vegetation.
• Really well-positioned backscene that extends the eye from a 3" deep scene to miles in the distance.
• Trains are not as important as the environment.

[Andrew P]

I'm just working through photos taken at Kevin's and this one small shot I have just 'processed' and which probably isn't even 0.01% of the layout area sums up to me why it's so good.

 

• Excellent details with meticulous painting and weathering.
• Beautiful tones of vegetation.
• Really well-positioned backscene that extends the eye from a 3" deep scene to miles in the distance.
• Trains are not as important as the environment.

Detail_16.jpg

Stunning shot Andy, of a wonderful little masterpiece, such superb detail.

 

Well done Kevin, I look forward to seeing the Article and any other jems of photos that Andy has taken.

[Alister_G]

Wow!.

 

That is just superb.

 

I'm struggling to see where the boundary between model and backscene begins.

 

Al.

[KNP]

Tidal range will depend on geography, and as far as the GW is concerned you have 4 basic options; a harbour on the English Channel in Dorset, South Devon, or Cornwall, one on the Bristol Channel in Cornwall, North Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire, or South Wales, or one on Cardigan Bay, or one on the Dee estuary.  Including of course any estuary draining into those bodies of water.  Tidal ranges are fairly high all over the British Isles, but are particularly so in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary, where they may be over 50 feet and even more on spring tides at places such as Chepstow and Sharpness.  It is a very dynamic marine environment, in which a harbour may be full to a depth of 20 feet or more and then completely empty with nary a drop of water to be seen 6 hours later.  This makes it a challenge to model, as you have to choose a state of tide and live with that being fixed permanently.  High water looks best, and is superb here, but mid tide is more common and many harbours spend most of their time 'empty' (Minehead, Porthcawl, Ilfracombe, Tenby).  Some have floating areas, such as Padstow, and this is probably the best option for modelling with water in (Padstow, Charlestown).  Ships trading to harbours that dry out at low water have to be able to 'take the hard', to sit on a sandy or muddy bottom without damage even when laden, and this sort of coastal trade, still carried on to some extent, was common in your period.  I would go with the idea that your harbour has an inner 'sea pound' which is replenished by tidal water, and given the colour of your water and the fact that it has not mudstained further up the quay wall than the level it is currently at, I can't help coming to the conclusion that we are looking at a harbour on an estuary, such as the Exe, Taw, Torridge, Severn, or Dee; I am excluding the Welsh examples as your setup has a generally English feel to it.

 

So, if I were you, well, firstly I'd be a much better scenic modeller than I am, but, more to the point, I wouldn't worry to much about tides and their ranges!

 

Many thanks for this detailed explanation.

Little Muddle harbour, as I have mentioned was an afterthought, was never meant to be coastal but upstream like Barnstaple (approx. 3m range) or Bideford (around 6m range) so falls in line with your reasoning.

I like the idea of a 'sea pound' so that is what it will be, I might add a bit of loose weed growth to indicate a greater range but that's for another day.

 

When at Paignton a few weeks ago I took a picture of the harbour wall a nearly low tide to get some idea of the weed growth/colour and noted that when at high tide there was very little growth or staining. 

 

 

The red arrow indicates approx. high tide so very little growth at the top bit because of the water movement between tides, I expect more at the base because it is under water longer with less sunlight.

 

Thanks again for your effort

[KNP]

I really like the way you did the arm with the hand on the end of it in the last photo. That's excellent modelling, especially the hairs on the arm and the finger nail, it's even got the right amount of fingers, very realistic. 

 

Years of work went into getting that arm correct and in proportion with the rest of the body...!!!!!......????

[KNP]

So it's not the boy in the old Hornby-Dublo adverts then?

 

Definitely not.....

[KNP]

Stunning shot Andy, of a wonderful little masterpiece, such superb detail.

 

Well done Kevin, I look forward to seeing the Article and any other jems of photos that Andy has taken.

 

Thanks and I can't wait to see the rest either......I saw him setting up the camera for that shot but never expected it to look that good.

Lovely picture AY.

[KNP]

Wow!.

 

That is just superb.

 

I'm struggling to see where the boundary between model and backscene begins.

 

Al.

 

Thank you but the picture makes it look even better and it's just a small area between the permanent way sheds.

 

I deliberately kept the scenery of the back scene low as I wanted to try to blend my landscape into the distance, plus I spent a while mixing the static grass to give the colour to blend in.

The backscene went up first and then I built the ground up to it and tried to follow the contours of the printed land. All in reverse of what is usually done.

In most places it worked.

Edited July 13, 2017 by KNP

[Dbr1295]

That scene is unbelievably outstanding. Fantastic work.

 

Cheers, Les