Chuffnell Regis

[Schooner]

I disagree with recieved wisdom*, so season this to taste:

 

 

Barn perfect, pond perfect. They aren't aligned to the railway boundary, they dictated it when the farm sold off its land to the GW for the branch build. They are one scene, coherent and attractive, giving a lovely up-and-under for trains to be seen beyond and be hidden behind, framing scenes of the station and the throat which (with enough open space, which you have) makes the scene seem *larger* than if it was unobstructed.

 

See Little Muddle. It's super busy, but its exquisite use of depth makes it seem ludicrously spacious.

 

The tree, then, is superfluous to my eye and does indeed look placeholder. From the photo above, I'd suggest trying it front-left to break up a block of uniform wagons stood at the cattle dock...

 

...but...

 

a) your artist's eye is plenty good enough to work out where it grew and why it was allowed to stand so that it convinces and

b) without an 'operators eye view' pic, our suggestions are worth very little.

 

 

*I regret not having a building - a canal/road wagon transhipment shed - front and centre on Ingleford, which is an unusual position to be in, I understand. However, it is my experience so sharing here for balance.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Schooner
Language softened a little

[Graham T]

 

11 hours ago, Schooner said:

 

 

Barn perfect, pond perfect. They aren't aligned to the railway boundary, they dictated it when the farm sold off its land to the GW for the branch build. They are one scene, coherent and attractive, giving a lovely up-and-under for trains to be seen beyond and be hidden behind, framing scenes of the station and the throat which (with enough open space, which you have) makes the scene seem *larger* than if it was unobstructed.

 

See Little Muddle. It's super busy, but its exquisite use of depth makes it seem ludicrously spacious.

 

The tree, then, is superfluous to my eye and does indeed look placeholder. From the photo above, I'd suggest trying it front-left to break up a block of uniform wagons stood at the cattle dock...

 

...but...

 

a) your artist's eye is plenty good enough to work out where it grew and why it was allowed to stand so that it convinces and

b) without an 'operators eye view' pic, our suggestions are worth very little.

 

 

*I regret not having a building - a canal/road wagon transhipment shed - front and centre on Ingleford, and resent the effort it's taking to find a pleasing visual balance across the scene.

 

 Thanks very much for this input @Schooner, much appreciated 🙂

 

That's a very good point about the barn and pond determining where the railway boundary is, rather than the other way around.  Also your point ref Little Muddle (the gold standard, perhaps?)  As you say it all looks very spacious piece by piece, and it's only when you see the whole layout in its entirety that you realise how small it actually is.  I suspect that @KNP might make a rather good magician...

 

I'm still playing about with where to put the tree, and as mentioned will add a few others, probably a bit smaller though, both as view blockers and as objects intended to force you to look around them at particular views - hopefully that makes some sense!  I know what I mean anyway...

 

So, thanks again for your comments.  Looking at Ingleford it seems that you might know what you're talking about 😉  Latest version of the "plan" is that the barn will move back to being parallel to the cattle dock siding, with the cart track still leading up to it of course, and the pond will move slightly forward, still in line with where the oak is in the pics, just so that I can have some slightly elevated ground between it and the goods yard.  Here's some snaps to hopefully show what I'm blathering about.

 

 

 

 

[longchap]

Swift progress Graham with the terra forming. Looking forward to your next posts.

 

Regarding big trees, I suspect, just like now, that when an industrious enterprise acquires land for development, a first action is often site clearance, as part of site development works, so large isolated trees would not get in the way of future development. 

 

Crack on!

 

 

[Graham T]

A quick update for you.  I'm using the tried and tested method of card strips laid over the formers.  This time I have interweaved the strips*, which makes for a smoother surface I think, and far less gluing is needed - just a dab at each end of the strip.

 

*  Most of them, anyway...

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Graham T

[Graham T]

The latticework is now done, along with a makeshift fascia.  That will get replaced with a proper one when I've got all the messy (fun) stuff done.

 

 

[Kevin Johnson]

Graham the latticework looks very strong, I might have to use this technique next time.👍

[Graham T]

It’s strong once the top layer is added.  Previously I’ve used paper towels fixed with dilute PVA, and then a thin skim of polyfilla.  That’s strong.

 

But this time I’m going to try something different - all will be revealed shortly!

 

[Kevin Johnson]

7 minutes ago, Graham T said:

It’s strong once the top layer is added.  Previously I’ve used paper towels fixed with dilute PVA, and then a thin skim of polyfilla.  That’s strong.

 

But this time I’m going to try something different - all will be revealed shortly!

 

I seem to use kitchen roll soaked in PVA which have always had good results.👍

[Schooner]

9 hours ago, Graham T said:

Looking at Ingleford it seems that you might know what you're talking about

🤣 Hardly! Where it's at so far is the result of an awful lot of mistakes even good thick coats of looking-on than I'd care to record!

 

The only 'advice' I can suggest is to identify what draws your eye when looking at the layout and then (assuming it's what you want of course!) make that the most important element in the scene. One focus, given context by the layout and the railway. For example, on Ingleford there's a gateway which I've had in mind as a viewpoint from the very first inception of the layout. It's just a gateway, a gap between features, but I've spent a looooong time driving wagons through it to make sure the geometry works, seeing how it weathers and beds in, changing the flanking and facing walls, and gates, lining up details to draw the eye to and through it etc etc etc etc. Just so that when you glance over to the end of the layout, you look along the depth of the wharf to it, making the whole scene seem larger than it is and suggesting a world beyond. 

 

Of course, shift position and look from another angle and something else grabs the attention, so then that needs to be made the star of its little show; lean a bit to the right and there another thing and and and...!

 

But I think, of anything, knowledge of this could have saved me time from the start, and now I have it in mind it stands out on layouts which employ a similar approach. I suspect, artist you are, you have a good headstart on me here!

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Schooner
Oh, just to say I edited the previous post to tone it down a little. No need to be so strident, a risk of giving the wrong impression

[Graham T]

13 hours ago, Schooner said:

🤣 Hardly! Where it's at so far is the result of an awful lot of mistakes even good thick coats of looking-on than I'd care to record!

 

The only 'advice' I can suggest is to identify what draws your eye when looking at the layout and then (assuming it's what you want of course!) make that the most important element in the scene. One focus, given context by the layout and the railway. For example, on Ingleford there's a gateway which I've had in mind as a viewpoint from the very first inception of the layout. It's just a gateway, a gap between features, but I've spent a looooong time driving wagons through it to make sure the geometry works, seeing how it weathers and beds in, changing the flanking and facing walls, and gates, lining up details to draw the eye to and through it etc etc etc etc. Just so that when you glance over to the end of the layout, you look along the depth of the wharf to it, making the whole scene seem larger than it is and suggesting a world beyond. 

 

Of course, shift position and look from another angle and something else grabs the attention, so then that needs to be made the star of its little show; lean a bit to the right and there another thing and and and...!

 

But I think, of anything, knowledge of this could have saved me time from the start, and now I have it in mind it stands out on layouts which employ a similar approach. I suspect, artist you are, you have a good headstart on me here!

 

 

 

 

I don't think I've really taken quite such a considered approach to the design of Chuffnell R, if I'm honest.  But I guess design is the right word to use, rather than just deciding on a track plan.  I did have a mental picture of what I wanted to achieve, strongly influenced by the scenery of where I grew up.  And I was more interested from the outset of achieving a scene that "looked right" even if it wasn't historically or prototypically accurate.  Rule 1 is rather useful there of course!

 

And this is my first layout, so it's been a steep learning curve to say the least.  The element of it I'm least satisfied with is the track-laying, which is, to be frank - cr@p!  That was down to a lack of two things - knowledge and patience.  When I build CR Mk II, of which more in a moment, I'm determined to make sure that the baseboards, track, and wiring are all spot on before I go any further.  I won't show you the underneath of my current baseboards - it's too embarrassing even for me!

 

I have of course got most of my knowledge - and inspiration - from other modellers here on RMweb.  There are too many people to list really, and I don't want to miss anyone out (which I'm bound to do).  But I'm sure you will be familiar with most of them, if not all.

 

Anyway, back to the current scenic works.  I'm going to make some more progress with those today, insh'allah.  When that patch is done the layout will be almost finished...

 

... Ha ha!  Apart from finishing off all the stock, a running in board and lamps for the station, loading gauge, the river surface, rebuilding the engine and goods sheds, etc etc etc.

 

But seriously, the intention is to get the current layout, which lives in the spare room of my flat, more or less complete, and then make a start on CR Mk II at one end of the open-plan living room.  That way I can continue to play trains on one layout whilst building the other, and once the new one is operational I can dismantle Mk I and return the spare room to its original use.  Hopefully I'll be able to salvage some of the buildings, but pretty much everything else will be going in a skip I imagine.

 

I've also been fortunate in that @Harlequin has come up with a cracking plan for CR Mk II.  As you can see it looks pretty similar to Mk I, just given a bit more room to breathe, and moving the engine shed.  I haven't yet quite decided on the location; I still most like the GWR look, but also have a soft spot for a few LMS locos, and the Bulleid light pacifics.  So, as I already have a 7F waiting for a decoder, my thoughts sometimes turn to the S&DJR.  I wonder if I could come up with a convincing enough back story to justify occasionally running a holiday special or something similar into CR Mk II with a rebuilt Merchant Navy and four or five coaches...

 

 

[Graham T]

So, being able to resist anything except temptation, I couldn't wait until this morning to try out the fabled new scenic method, and gave it a blast late last night.  I'm pleased to say that it seems to have worked out ok.

 

I've used the card latticework base before, which has lots of plus points.  Cheap, quick, easy to do, strong when finished etc.  But this time I've coated it with plaster impregnated bandage, which I hadn't tried before.  This is just the first layer here, and has used one roll of the six that came in the pack - which cost 15 euros.  So, not as cheap as paper towel, but shouldn't break the bank either.  Although this has dried out with a pretty strong surface, I will need at least one more layer, probably two I think.  I've just plonked the barn, tree, wriggly tin hut and grounded horsebox in place to see how the scene works.  You can also see where the pond will be (an ex-CD case).

 

 

[Andy Keane]

1 hour ago, Graham T said:

 

I don't think I've really taken quite such a considered approach to the design of Chuffnell R, if I'm honest.  But I guess design is the right word to use, rather than just deciding on a track plan.  I did have a mental picture of what I wanted to achieve, strongly influenced by the scenery of where I grew up.  And I was more interested from the outset of achieving a scene that "looked right" even if it wasn't historically or prototypically accurate.  Rule 1 is rather useful there of course!

 

And this is my first layout, so it's been a steep learning curve to say the least.  The element of it I'm least satisfied with is the track-laying, which is, to be frank - cr@p!  That was down to a lack of two things - knowledge and patience.  When I build CR Mk II, of which more in a moment, I'm determined to make sure that the baseboards, track, and wiring are all spot on before I go any further.  I won't show you the underneath of my current baseboards - it's too embarrassing even for me!

 

I have of course got most of my knowledge - and inspiration - from other modellers here on RMweb.  There are too many people to list really, and I don't want to miss anyone out (which I'm bound to do).  But I'm sure you will be familiar with most of them, if not all.

 

Anyway, back to the current scenic works.  I'm going to make some more progress with those today, insh'allah.  When that patch is done the layout will be almost finished...

 

... Ha ha!  Apart from finishing off all the stock, a running in board and lamps for the station, loading gauge, the river surface, rebuilding the engine and goods sheds, etc etc etc.

 

But seriously, the intention is to get the current layout, which lives in the spare room of my flat, more or less complete, and then make a start on CR Mk II at one end of the open-plan living room.  That way I can continue to play trains on one layout whilst building the other, and once the new one is operational I can dismantle Mk I and return the spare room to its original use.  Hopefully I'll be able to salvage some of the buildings, but pretty much everything else will be going in a skip I imagine.

 

I've also been fortunate in that @Harlequin has come up with a cracking plan for CR Mk II.  As you can see it looks pretty similar to Mk I, just given a bit more room to breathe, and moving the engine shed.  I haven't yet quite decided on the location; I still most like the GWR look, but also have a soft spot for a few LMS locos, and the Bulleid light pacifics.  So, as I already have a 7F waiting for a decoder, my thoughts sometimes turn to the S&DJR.  I wonder if I could come up with a convincing enough back story to justify occasionally running a holiday special or something similar into CR Mk II with a rebuilt Merchant Navy and four or five coaches...

 

 

Graham, I see you have a one line carriage shed in the new layout. If it at all helps I have full plans, CAD model and laser cutting templates for the one at Helston that you are very welcome to. The original was wood-frame and planks on a dwarf concrete wall with a corrugated roof.

[Graham T]

Yes please Andy!

 

[Graham T]

How I have been making a pond, by Graham T (age 56 1/2)

 

Today has been mostly taken up with this magnum opus...

 

I started by painting the bed of the pond with a thick mix of black and yellow acrylic, and then sprinkled on a mix of chinchilla dust with a few lumps of Woodland Scenics coal mixed in while the paint was still wet.

 

 

Once that had dried I hoovered off the excess, then splashed on a watery mix using the same colours. 

 

 

I was concerned that some of the white plaster might show through under the perspex sheet I'm using for the lake, so I also painted around the border of the lake, just using black acrylic this time.

 

 

It then dawned on me that some of the land around the pond was lower than the perspex sheet, so my idea wouldn't hold water, never mind the pond.  That needed fixing before I added the next layer of plaster bandage to seal in the sheet.  After pondering for a while (sorry...) I decided to build up the offending lowlands with some crumpled up tissue, that could then be fixed in place by the wet plaster bandage.  So, the perspex sheet was super glued into place - checking that it was level - and I began adding the plaster around the edges of the pond.

 

 

I cleaned up the inevitable spillages on the surface with a paper towel as I went along, but annoyingly some of it has managed to seep underneath the perspex as well.  That's a shame as I was quite pleased with how the texture and colours at the bottom of the pond are visible through the "water".  Obviously I can't get at the marks where they are, so I'll see how things look tomorrow.  If necessary I think that I can hide the areas where the leaks have been with some weeds and algae and so on.  Unless somebody has a better idea?

 

 

After that I just had to add the next layer of plaster bandage to the rest of the field, which was much simpler!

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Graham T

[BWsTrains]

3 hours ago, Graham T said:

Unless somebody has a better idea?

Dried plaster is quite porous. It's possible that capillary action through the plaster could get some dilute acrylic wash (dark with a drop of detergent as wetter) to follow the errant plaster routes under the perspex. It might not be perfect but could help mask the worst of it. Put the wash at the edge and see if it creeps under. Might take a while.

 

water has a usually annoying habit of getting into any tiny nook or crevice, possibly turned to your advantage this time.

[Neal Ball]

Morning Graham - pond life eh! 

 

Do you have to use the CD case? I realise it's nicely broken up etc. but I think you might be happier with several coats of varnish over your mucky water / base. 

 

That way, you could also extend the "water" into any lower areas where water might naturally go.

 

I would probably start by painting all the plaster brown to hide any "white bits" and then liberally paint on gloss varnish - the household - Leroy Merlin - type, rather than acrylics. It will take a while to go off, which means you can build up layers with weeds laying half way up and/or scratch the surface for ripples etc. as its curing.

 

Woodland scenics do a range of "Water" which might also be suitable - but that depends where the nearest stockist is.... I doubt you could import it.... Leroy Merlin varnish will be easier.

 

Good luck!

Edited April 9, 2023 by Neal Ball

[Graham T]

9 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

Dried plaster is quite porous. It's possible that capillary action through the plaster could get some dilute acrylic wash (dark with a drop of detergent as wetter) to follow the errant plaster routes under the perspex. It might not be perfect but could help mask the worst of it. Put the wash at the edge and see if it creeps under. Might take a while.

 

water has a usually annoying habit of getting into any tiny nook or crevice, possibly turned to your advantage this time.

 

A very good suggestion Colin, thanks.  Plaster is indeed a tad porous, as I've found when trying to paint the stuff this AM.  More of that in a bit.  The marks underneath the perspex didn't look too bad in the cold light of day, so I've proceeded with Plan A...

 

[Graham T]

4 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Morning Graham - pond life eh! 

 

Do you have to use the CD case? I realise it's nicely broken up etc. but I think you might be happier with several coats of varnish over your mucky water / base. 

 

That way, you could also extend the "water" into any lower areas where water might naturally go.

 

I would probably start by painting all the plaster brown to hide any "white bits" and then liberally paint on gloss varnish - the household - Leroy Merlin - type, rather than acrylics. It will take a while to go off, which means you can build up layers with weeds laying half way up and/or scratch the surface for ripples etc. as its curing.

 

Woodland scenics do a range of "Water" which might also be suitable - but that depends where the nearest stockist is.... I doubt you could import it.... Leroy Merlin varnish will be easier.

 

Good luck!

 

Morning Neal, and Happy Easter.  The ex-CD case is already embedded in the plaster, so I'm rather committed to that route now.  I could dig it back out of course, but...

 

However I will experiment with varnish, lacquers, and so on using some scrap perspex, as the pond actually looks a bit too clear at the moment I think.  See the next post!

 

[Graham T]

Herewith a record of this morning's shenanigans.  In true Blue Peter style, first I assembled my materials.  No sticky-back plastic was harmed in the making of this field (not so far, anyway).

 

Most of the field will eventually be covered in static grass, but I wanted some texture underneath it, so mixed up some chinchilla dust, Woodland Scenics fine brown ballast (I knew I'd find a use for that eventually), and again a few lumps of coal.  Note the plaster splashes everywhere - big clean-up in the spare railway room required once the field has been planted...

 

 

Next ingredients - earth brown acrylic paint, lots of PVA, and a little water.  I painted this on quite thickly, only covering a small area at a time, as I needed to sprinkle on the chinchilla dust mixture before the paint began to dry - also the plaster absorbs it pretty quickly.  Just a few square inches at a time.  I didn't sprinkle the texture mix all the way to the edges of the wet paint, as I would add fresh paint onto those when I began the adjacent section.

 

 

That sounds tedious but didn't actually take all that long to get done.  This entire area took about an hour all told.

 

 

As you might be able to tell, I carried the paint slightly over the edges of the pond and onto the surface, in an attempt to cover the wet plaster that had seeped underneath in a few places.  Once I'd covered the whole field I went back to the pond, and carefully hoovered the dust and ballast off the top surface.  It came out okay, but might be a bit too clear if anything.  Thinking cap on about how to remedy that.  @Neal Ball's idea of using varnish sounds promising; a few small ripples on the surface might help.

 

 

Once the paint and PVA mix has dried I'll hoover up the excess texture mix, and then go over the whole thing with some watery brown paint to tie it all together.  I wonder if the field looks a tad lumpy, but with luck the static grass will make it look a bit smoother...

 

I will also need to do some work with a smaller brush to blend the earth colour into the cess and ballast where the railway boundary is.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by Graham T

[KNP]

13 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Herewith a record of this morning's shenanigans.  In true Blue Peter style, first I assembled my materials.  No sticky-back plastic was harmed in the making of this field (not so far, anyway).

 

Most of the field will eventually be covered in static grass, but I wanted some texture underneath it, so mixed up some chinchilla dust, Woodland Scenics fine brown ballast (I knew I'd find a use for that eventually), and again a few lumps of coal.  Note the plaster splashes everywhere - big clean-up in the spare railway room required once the field has been planted...

 

 

Next ingredients - earth brown acrylic paint, lots of PVA, and a little water.  I painted this on quite thickly, only covering a small area at a time, as I needed to sprinkle on the chinchilla dust mixture before the paint began to dry - also the plaster absorbs it pretty quickly.  Just a few square inches at a time.  I didn't sprinkle the texture mix all the way to the edges of the wet paint, as I would add fresh paint onto those when I began the adjacent section.

 

 

That sounds tedious but didn't actually take all that long to get done.  This entire area took about an hour all told.

 

 

As you might be able to tell, I carried the paint slightly over the edges of the pond and onto the surface, in an attempt to cover the wet plaster that had seeped underneath in a few places.  Once I'd covered the whole field I went back to the pond, and carefully hoovered the dust and ballast off the top surface.  It came out okay, but might be a bit too clear if anything.  Thinking cap on about how to remedy that.  @Neal Ball's idea of using varnish sounds promising; a few small ripples on the surface might help.

 

 

Once the paint and PVA mix has dried I'll hoover up the excess texture mix, and then go over the whole thing with some watery brown paint to tie it all together.  I wonder if the field looks a tad lumpy, but with luck the static grass will make it look a bit smoother...

 

I will also need to do some work with a smaller brush to blend the earth colour into the cess and ballast where the railway boundary is.

 

 

 

 

Very nice.

If you mix various lengths of static grass poorly together in clump form then the lumps will disappear even more!

[Graham T]

Thanks Kevin.  I'll dip into Gordon Gravett's book on landscaping again before I do any more.

 

[Graham T]

The excess ground texture has now been vacuumed up; pleased that quite a lot of it actually stayed glued to the layout! 

 

 

Here are the few scenic bits and bobs plonked back in place to give a feel for how things might turn out...

 

 

 

I've also given the ground cover another thin coat of earth brown.  Once that's dried I can start with the static grass 🙂

 

 

[chuffinghell]

Fantastic! The speedy progress is very impressive as is the build itself

 

hats off to you sir

[Graham T]

Thanks Chris.  It might look quick, but you don't get to see the hours I spend pondering and procrastinating!

 

 

[chuffinghell]

6 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Thanks Chris.  It might look quick, but you don't get to see the hours I spend pondering and procrastinating!

 

 

I spend days and weeks procrastinating which is why I never get anything done