Chuffnell Regis

[Graham T]

Into the final furlong with the Siphon O1 now, perhaps.  Second coat of stock brown applied, and Pressfix transfers added.  I really do like those, although I still find the numbers a bit of a challenge!  I haven't added any load and tare markings as I couldn't find any reliable info on either what they were, or were they were applied...

 

 

Still to do: 

• Some patching up around the corners of the bodywork - I'm thinking some thin paper strips wrapped around and then painted to match might work?
• Paint the roof, probably a dark dirty grey I think
• Paint the footboards a lighter colour to suggest worn wood
• A coat of matt varnish
• Weathering - quite heavy I think on this one?

 

[BWsTrains]

6 hours ago, Graham T said:

A little more progress with the antique Siphon O1 today.  All the running gear has been painted with a grimy looking mix of black and leather brown; the insets of the wheels with bauxite; and the vac pipes grey black.  The sides and ends have also had a first coat of Railmatch GW Stock Brown.  I'll probably pick out the footboards in a slightly lighter colour as well, as I'm assuming they would have been wood?

 

 

Given the original roughness of the 3D printed undersides as they started out, they scrub up very well. Near end result seen in following post looks very good, it was after all a very old wagon by your period.

 

Colin

[Graham T]

Thanks Colin, reasonably pleased with how this one has turned out.  I might try some more Diagram 3D kits in the future.

 

[Graham T]

Here we see a bunch of OAPs resting in the yard at Chuffnell Regis.  The waterslide transfers in the Ratio Iron Mink kit were not all that great, and did their best to disintegrate rather than give up their vice-like grip on their backing paper.  Hopefully a spray of matt varnish will improve the look of them.

 

[Andy Keane]

3 hours ago, Graham T said:

Here we see a bunch of OAPs resting in the yard at Chuffnell Regis.  The waterslide transfers in the Ratio Iron Mink kit were not all that great, and did their best to disintegrate rather than give up their vice-like grip on their backing paper.  Hopefully a spray of matt varnish will improve the look of them.

 

A lovely group, you must be pleased with them.

[Graham T]

Thanks Andy.  Pleased with them up to a point.  A few little snags I need to fix...

 

The waterslide transfers in the Ratio kit were awful.  Not sure why - I don't think they are all that old, as the kit was in the clear plastic box packaging.  Anyway, not only did matt varnish not hide the carrier film, but the transfers hadn't adhered completely either.  So they've had to come off.  I'll use Pressfix instead.

 

And I've made a slight boo-boo with the lead strip under the Siphon too.  It can come into contact with the backs of the wheels in a curve, and that's causing a short.  So I need to trim a little off the lead; luckily that's an easy fix.

 

The LSWR van seems ok!  But could, with hindsight, have perhaps done with a little more weight.  And I have a problem with propelling it through pointwork behind my Hornby pannier, sometimes the buffers lock.  Not sure of this is just down to size of the buffer heads, or my terrible trackwork, or a bit of both.

 

So all a bit irritating tbh.

 

 

That pannier is far too shiny as well...

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Graham T

[Andy Keane]

7 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Thanks Andy.  Pleased with them up to a point.  A few little snags I need to fix...

 

The waterslide transfers in the Ratio kit were awful.  Not sure why - I don't think they are all that old, as the kit was in the clear plastic box packaging.  Anyway, not only did matt varnish not hide the carrier film, but the transfers hadn't adhered completely either.  So they've had to come off.  I'll use Pressfix instead.

 

And I've made a slight boo-boo with the lead strip under the Siphon too.  It can come into contact with the backs of the wheels in a curve, and that's causing a short.  So I need to trim a little off the lead; luckily that's an easy fix.

 

The LSWR van seems ok!  But could, with hindsight, have perhaps done with a little more weight.  And I have a problem with propelling it through pointwork behind my Hornby pannier, sometimes the buffers lock.  Not sure of this is just down to size of the buffer heads, or my terrible trackwork, or a bit of both.

 

So all a bit irritating tbh.

 

 

That pannier is far too shiny as well...

 

 

 

The sun is glinting off the pannier’s dome :-)

[Kevin Johnson]

Hi Graham I think you have done a lovely job building those kits. I know you have mentioned a few areas where you are not happy but these can be easily rectified.👍

[Neal Ball]

47 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Thanks Andy.  Pleased with them up to a point.  A few little snags I need to fix...

 

The waterslide transfers in the Ratio kit were awful.  Not sure why - I don't think they are all that old, as the kit was in the clear plastic box packaging.  Anyway, not only did matt varnish not hide the carrier film, but the transfers hadn't adhered completely either.  So they've had to come off.  I'll use Pressfix instead.

 

And I've made a slight boo-boo with the lead strip under the Siphon too.  It can come into contact with the backs of the wheels in a curve, and that's causing a short.  So I need to trim a little off the lead; luckily that's an easy fix.

 

The LSWR van seems ok!  But could, with hindsight, have perhaps done with a little more weight.  And I have a problem with propelling it through pointwork behind my Hornby pannier, sometimes the buffers lock.  Not sure of this is just down to size of the buffer heads, or my terrible trackwork, or a bit of both.

 

So all a bit irritating tbh.

 

 

That pannier is far too shiny as well...

 

 

 

I wouldn’t worry about the Pannier Graham. You quite often see photos of locos in our era having a bit of a sheen… just off shed, having been wiped down with an oily rag.

[Graham T]

56 minutes ago, Kevin Johnson said:

Hi Graham I think you have done a lovely job building those kits. I know you have mentioned a few areas where you are not happy but these can be easily rectified.👍

 

Thanks Kevin, very kind of you.  I think I'm just feeling slightly down in the dumps, so probably getting more irritated than I really should be!

 

[Graham T]

In an attempt to buck myself up, I made a start on the land formers on the last bit of Chuffnell R that needs scenic work doing.  I'll probably reduce the height of all of them, and bring the barn down to be more or less at baseboard level; I think it's too high as it is.  The hatched area is intended to be a pond, and the dotted line will be a hedgerow.

 

Obviously I can still move the barn and pond about, so I'd be really interested to hear any thoughts and suggestions - thanks.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Graham T

[Kevin Johnson]

Where would we be without our go to modelling material cardboard. It looks fine to me nice start on the scenic structure.👍

[Harlequin]

The three features; barn, tree and pond, look like they have been lined up and spaced out along the railway boundary… Not very realistic.

 

I’m sure you can find a more natural, more balanced composition. The pond and the tree might be close together (there’s a pond and tree in the middle of a field near me that are in my mind’s eye.)

 

When the railway arrived it would probably have cut through the landscape at a different angle than the pre-existing features like the barn and hedgerows. So how about angling the barn differently and running some hedgerows at angles related to the barn. The barn could be in an overgrown corner, a track bypassing it and leading through a muddy gap in a hedge into the field where the pond and tree are?

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Harlequin

[Neal Ball]

As an alternative to @Harlequin suggestion, picture the scene at Pendon with the farm pond and barn together, perhaps the tree could be in the hedgerow, in the corner of the field?

 

But I do agree with Phil about changing the angles…. Swing the barn round and bring hedgerows down to it…. Then perhaps move the pond onto the higher level….. 

 

When the railway arrived, they levelled the land, hence why the field falls away, rather than the other way round.

 

Good luck, it will look great.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Neal Ball
Typo

[97406]

The beauty of using card is you can tweak and change things until it’s right.

 

I feel it is likely that the yard would be sunk into the surrounding landscape, so there would more likely be a cutting face transition to the higher ground rather than a gentle slope. Also I think the barn needs to be located further into the raised area at the front, rather than being perched on the edge. Finally, make sure that the scenery to the front still allows a good (photographic) view of the railway.

Edited April 6, 2023 by 97406

[Gopher]

I think the barn does need to be angled, or even rotated 90 degrees.   It is a standalone building as opposed to being one of a group of farm buildings.  So do you have a view on what the barn was used for e.g. livestock, storage of grain, potatoes, cart house  etc ?   For example (and as a lone building) if used for livestock back in the day, there would probably be room for a hay rick in the yard, which in turn dictates the size of the yard, allowing for cart access etc

 

How is the barn accessed ?  (I guess by some kind of green lane/cart track).  I think the yard would be  smallish - but able to cater for a horse and wagon/cart.    I think the pond needs to be on the lower level sunk into the base board, so no danger of overflowing into the barn 

 

Apologies if I am stating the obvious Graham 

 

Whatever you decide it will look great

[Graham T]

7 hours ago, Kevin Johnson said:

Where would we be without our go to modelling material cardboard. It looks fine to me nice start on the scenic structure.👍

 

Cardboard and a hot glue gun - my favourite modelling tools!  And thanks to Amazon I have a pretty good supply of card...

 

[Graham T]

6 hours ago, Harlequin said:

The three features; barn, tree and pond, look like they have been lined up and spaced out along the railway boundary… Not very realistic.

 

I’m sure you can find a more natural, more balanced composition. The pond and the tree might be close together (there’s a pond and tree in the middle of a field near me that are in my mind’s eye.)

 

When the railway arrived it would probably have cut through the landscape at a different angle than the pre-existing features like the barn and hedgerows. So how about angling the barn differently and running some hedgerows at angles related to the barn. The barn could be in an overgrown corner, a track bypassing it and leading through a muddy gap in a hedge into the field where the pond and tree are?

 

 

6 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

As an alternative to @Harlequin suggestion, picture the scene at Pendon with the farm pond and barn together, perhaps the tree could be in the hedgerow, in the corner of the field?

 

But I do agree with Phil about changing the angles…. Swing the barn round and bring hedgerows down to it…. Then perhaps move the pond onto the higher level….. 

 

When the railway arrived, they levelled the land, hence why the field falls away, rather than the other way round.

 

Good luck, it will look great.

 

3 hours ago, Gopher said:

I think the barn does need to be angled, or even rotated 90 degrees.   It is a standalone building as opposed to being one of a group of farm buildings.  So do you have a view on what the barn was used for e.g. livestock, storage of grain, potatoes, cart house  etc ?   For example (and as a lone building) if used for livestock back in the day, there would probably be room for a hay rick in the yard, which in turn dictates the size of the yard, allowing for cart access etc

 

How is the barn accessed ?  (I guess by some kind of green lane/cart track).  I think the yard would be  smallish - but able to cater for a horse and wagon/cart.    I think the pond needs to be on the lower level sunk into the base board, so no danger of overflowing into the barn 

 

Apologies if I am stating the obvious Graham 

 

Whatever you decide it will look great

 

Thank you for all the suggestions, I really appreciate them!  The tree was just plonked down unthinkingly, and will be re-positioned next to the pond, probably embedded in a hedge.  I've noticed in my paintings that I sometimes inadvertently space things out evenly, it's something I need to watch out for.  Strange, because if you saw my flat you'd realise that I don't exactly have a drive to keep things neat and orderly!

 

Good point too about railway in the scenery and making the landscape appear to have been cut away for the goods yard to go in.  I will change some of the levels, and skew the barn around a bit.  Perhaps an overgrown corner behind the barn, in the space between it and the cattle dock, with some abandoned junk or farm machinery gradually disappearing under the weeds.

 

I'll give it some more thought and post a picture of a revised idea later.

 

[97406]

1 minute ago, Graham T said:

 

 

 

Thank you for all the suggestions, I really appreciate them!  The tree was just plonked down unthinkingly, and will be re-positioned next to the pond, probably embedded in a hedge.  I've noticed in my paintings that I sometimes inadvertently space things out evenly, it's something I need to watch out for.  Strange, because if you saw my flat you'd realise that I don't exactly have a drive to keep things neat and orderly!

 

Good point too about railway in the scenery and making the landscape appear to have been cut away for the goods yard to go in.  I will change some of the levels, and skew the barn around a bit.  Perhaps an overgrown corner behind the barn, in the space between it and the cattle dock, with some abandoned junk or farm machinery gradually disappearing under the weeds.

 

I'll give it some more thought and post a picture of a revised idea later.

 

One thing I do is, rather than gluing the card formers directly to the baseboard, I glue them to a card base which makes it easier to make amendments until I’m happy with it, then the whole assembly gets glued down. 

[Graham T]

1 minute ago, 97406 said:

One thing I do is, rather than gluing the card formers directly to the baseboard, I glue them to a card base which makes it easier to make amendments until I’m happy with it, then the whole assembly gets glued down. 

 

Interesting idea, thanks for that.  I'll (try to) mentally file it away for CR Mk II 🙂

 

 

[57xx]

I'd be tempted to try the barn much closer to the edge of the baseboard.

[KNP]

Remember less is more, there was a lot more open space back then at the layout time period.

I would try and imagine the land before the railway arrived.

Can you lower the front so it slopes up as I did, this gives you a great camera angle...

 

If in doubt plant a potato field!!!!

[Andy Keane]

I guess you also need to sketch the disused track that ran to the barn doors. This might be worn into the landscape a bit?

[Graham T]

Yesterday's black mood seems to have passed, and I managed to have a rather more productive evening.  I treated the Iron Mink to some Pressfix transfers; they look so much better than the Ratio waterslides.  They would look better still if I'd managed to get the spacing on the wagon number right, and if part of the 8 in the tare weight hadn't broken off!  I'll try to cover those goofs with some weathering.

 

 

I also trimmed e little of the lead strip off the bottom of the Siphon, but it was still causing a short.  Slightly flummoxed, I wondered if it might be the Mansell wheels that came with the kit.  I swapped them out for the wheels that came with a spare Beetle van kit I have in the to-do box, and that cured the problem.  So that wagon can now also take its place on the layout.

 

 

And - how much more GW can you get?!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Graham T]

Thanks very much to everyone who chipped in with thoughts and suggestions for the foreground scenery.  Everything gets read, thought about, and considered - but no guarantees that I'll actually take any notice of course!  Here's the latest iteration of the "plan"...

 

 

The ground is all a bit lower now, and the eagle-eyed will have spotted that the barn has moved.  I think the hedgerow might stay more or less as originally intended, running from the end of the cattle dock, around the sweep of the nearest siding and the turntable road, and then falling off the edge of the baseboard at about where the right hand end of the photo is.

 

I still rather like the idea of having an overgrown area with bits of old farm machinery gradually rotting into the ground, in the little patch between the barn and the cattle dock.

 

The paper strip represents a cart track (!)  This will basically be just a pair of ruts leading across the field, slightly sunken in, to some harder bare earth in front of the barn (but now with grass and weeds breaking through it).

 

The pond will move forward so that it's closer to the cart track.  I'm thinking of using part of a CD case for the water, with the surface underneath it painted in some dark colours*.

 

Finally, the "oak" is in a better position now I think.  I'd also like to put some smaller trees or larger bushes in the hedge - randomly spaced if I can manage that!  Once again, comments and suggestions really welcome - thanks.

 

 

* I might not leave it square though...