Chuffnell Regis

[Mikkel]

Very impressed with these views. Really crisp modelling, and photos too. 

 

That tree is so beautifully modelled and really add visual interest and depth. It might not have been spared in real life, but the way it looks to have been cut on one side makes it plausible in my view.

[Graham T]

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

Very impressed with these views. Really crisp modelling, and photos too. 

 

That tree is so beautifully modelled and really add visual interest and depth. It might not have been spared in real life, but the way it looks to have been cut on one side makes it plausible in my view.

 

Thanks Mikkel, that's very kind of you.  It wasn't modelled intentionally, but as I was playing around with positioning of the tree it did occur to me that one side had far fewer branches, and so that would be better facing the railway.

 

[John Besley]

On 10/04/2023 at 21:23, drmditch said:

Question.

Would the Railway Co. have been happy with such a tree overhanging tracks?

 

Along side the run round loop at Paignton is a row of Horse Chesnut trees, these form a boundary to Paignton Rugby club they are planted on the lower side of the wall in the Rugby ground field 

 

Of note the ones nearest to the ashpit alway loose there leaves first on the railway side as they get an additional cooking from hot engines sat under them ... so depending what time of year you are modelling I'd say the same wood happen

 

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by John Besley

[Graham T]

Another day slaving over a hot keyboard, but I did get an hour on the layout this evening.  So some more static grassing ensued.  Until the battery on the hand-held vacuum gave up the ghost, anyway...

 

Here's the barn sitting in place with its attendant lumps of foam rubber, all looking very much like lumps of foam rubber.  

 

 

However!  Some faffing around with static grass...  I used a mix of the same colours, and 2.5, 4, and 6 mm lengths.  The applicator has a new battery, which I think might have helped a bit - although I'm not 100% certain to be honest.  A lot of the grass still seems to be lying on the deck, rather than standing proud and tall.  There are still some bare patches of green turf mix, as you can see.  I can't use hairspray on those, as they are too small, so will brush on WWS basing glue there.  I'll also do that at the edges of the dirt track, and to add the strip of grass running down the centre of it (hopefully).

 

 

And the customary view along the layout to round things off.  All still looking a bit bland and uniform still, but with luck the addition of hedges and weeds will sort that out.  I also need to remember to add some assorted junk at the left hand end of the barn before I do much else, as I want that to be pretty much disappearing in the weeds and long grass.

 

[Andy Keane]

Maybe sum extra mud in the tracks?

[Graham T]

Quite possibly Andy.  It will all depend on getting a balanced look as I add new elements.  Right now it all looks too similar but I’m putting together a mix of various flocks and other stuff to make things seem more disorderly!

 

[Graham T]

Hold on to your seats!  Some more adventures with static grass have unfolded.  I've added some 12mm fibres this evening, a mix of green and beige.  The idea is that there is some longer growth around the pond, and also along the hedge lines.  It's come out reasonably ok, but I might go at it with a pair of tweezers tomorrow to thin it out here and there.

 

The next thing is to start building some hedges - I'm planning to use some rubberised horsehair, some sea foam, and also some postiche.  What could possibly go wrong...

 

 

 

 

[Graham T]

Here's a couple of close-ups.  I'm looking forward to seeing how these are once some hedging and weeds etc. have been added.

 

 

 

[Andy Keane]

I have mixed feelings about 12mm static grass as obviously it’s scale three feet long and I am not sure what natural vegetation it is representing? Maybe reeds by the pond but I am not sure what else unless you decorate it in some way to represent other sorts of large plants.

[Graham T]

I should have added that, as well as thinning some of it out, I'll also be trimming a lot of it away.  And it will be mostly covered in hedgerows at the end (apart from around the pond - where I do plan to add some reeds as well).  The idea is to replicate the longer grass around the edges of the field...  As to whether that works or not, well!

 

[Graham T]

The barn has now grown a wee bit of ivy.  This is from Mini Natur.  I think getting some different textures and colours into the scene is already making a difference.  I'll add some more ivy, but don't want to overdo it...  You can still see a little bit of wet PVA in this pic too.

 

 

[Andy Keane]

How about this

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Derelict_barn_-_geograph.org.uk_-_141724.jpg

[Graham T]

I've also done a bit of experimenting with postiche (synthetic hair) to make weed cover.  At first I couldn't get it to work for me; when I tried to tease the strands apart they just wanted to bundle together again.  After pulling out some of my own (real) hair, and giving the head a good scratch, I figured out that the postiche was too straight.

 

So, I crumpled the strands into a really tight ball, so they were more crinkly, and then teased the fibres apart with a pair of tweezers.  A squirt of hairspray onto a piece of card, and then the fibres were gently placed on top.  Then another application of hairspray (but allow the first lot to dry first!  Otherwise the fibres will just take flight across the room) and some mixed flock sprinkled on top.

 

The results aren't too bad, I think, but would probably be better with a bit less scatter.  I'll trim off some of the stray ends as well.

 

 

[Graham T]

5 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

How about this

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Derelict_barn_-_geograph.org.uk_-_141724.jpg

 

Nice pic Andy, thanks.  That's the sort of look I'm aiming for with the vegetation around the barn.  That would make a great building for a layout as well, but a bit on the large side for the space I have (luckily!)

 

[Andy Keane]

10 minutes ago, Graham T said:

 

Nice pic Andy, thanks.  That's the sort of look I'm aiming for with the vegetation around the barn.  That would make a great building for a layout as well, but a bit on the large side for the space I have (luckily!)

 

It was the tall pale vegetation I thought might be relevant. I think your barn stands up extremely well against the picture.

[Graham T]

11 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

It was the tall pale vegetation I thought might be relevant. I think your barn stands up extremely well against the picture.

 

Yes I thought that too - I might try adding some of the beige static grass on its own, and then plucking and trimming some away, see if I can get that effect.

[Graham T]

In his book on landscaping Gordon Gravett puts the postiche in place on the layout, and then adds the scatter material.  That's the method I was going to follow, and then I wondered about transferring the test piece I'd made onto the layout...

 

It was easy enough to separate the weeds (or whatever they are supposed to be) from the cardboard sheet, and then to just pop them in place next to the barn with some tweezers.  They haven't been fixed down, but I think a touch of hairspray would do it, of maybe just a dab of PVA under the weeds - but there isn't much surface area for that to grab onto of course.  The advantage I can see with this method is that I can make a batch of them up off the baseboard, and not have extra scatter getting where I don't want it to.

 

I think I will use some darker scatter material on the next ones as well.

 

[MrWolf]

It's very interesting to see you sharing how you are doing this, as it's not always immediately obvious how some of these simple effects are achieved.

I've got lots of undergrowth and assorted weeds to create for my layout. I have some postiche in the stash, duly noted for when I have finished wading through the rolling stock projects, so thanks for the pictures.

[NHY 581]

Some great tips on the flora, Graham. 

 

I've not used pastiche or fibres as long as 12mm. Can I ask, what applicator are you using ? I've probably missed this along the way. 

 

Rob.

 

 

[Graham T]

19 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

Some great tips on the flora, Graham. 

 

I've not used pastiche or fibres as long as 12mm. Can I ask, what applicator are you using ? I've probably missed this along the way. 

 

Rob.

 

 

 

Thanks very much Rob.  I've got a lot of inspiration from your layout(s), and Gordon Gravett's book is an excellent source too.  I'm using the War World Scenics pro grass applicator.

 

[NHY 581]

1 hour ago, Graham T said:

 

Thanks very much Rob.  I've got a lot of inspiration from your layout(s), and Gordon Gravett's book is an excellent source too.  I'm using the War World Scenics pro grass applicator.

 

 

 

That's kind of you Graham. I too use the pro grass applicator. I'll have to give these 12mm fibres a go, as well as the postiche. 

 

I want to do a bit more to Sheep Dip and Ewe ahead of their trips out this year. 

 

Thank you. 

 

Rob

 

[Andy Keane]

I notice Gordon Gravett’s layout modelling books are for 7mm. Do his scenic approaches owe more to 7mm than 4mm do you think?

[Graham T]

59 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

 

 

That's kind of you Graham. I too use the pro grass applicator. I'll have to give these 12mm fibres a go, as well as the postiche. 

 

I want to do a bit more to Sheep Dip and Ewe ahead of their trips out this year. 

 

Thank you. 

 

Rob

 

 

The postiche has been a bit of a revelation to be honest.  I can see there being an infestation of it at Chuffnell R!

 

[Graham T]

14 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

I notice Gordon Gravett’s layout modelling books are for 7mm. Do his scenic approaches owe more to 7mm than 4mm do you think?

 

I don't think so really.  He certainly offers many examples of both scales, and points out the size of fibres that he uses for each.  Most, if not all, of the techniques are transferable I'd have thought.

 

[Andy Keane]

1 minute ago, Graham T said:

 

I don't think so really.  He certainly offers many examples of both scales, and points out the size of fibres that he uses for each.  Most, if not all, of the techniques are transferable I'd have thought.

 

Which title is the one you have please?