allan downes Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 And as the homebound traffic out of Cleethorpes gridlocks Grimsby leaving the council to clear up 1,000,000 abandoned half eaten fish and chip and mushie peas trays strewn along the length of the promenade and beyond, Downes carries on regardless !l No glamourous tools and squeeky clean work shop here - what you see is all it takes ! Cheers. Allan. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 It's Bank holiday.The traffic's backed up solid from Outer Mongolia to Cleethorpes,60 ft high waves, a regular sandstorm of Sahara proportions, a mile and a half long line of sagging bellies outside every chippy and doughnut stand , so what do you do ? Stay at home and built four bays and a Tudor pub front instead ! Cheers. Allan. TUDOR PUB FRONT 2 001.JPGTUDOR PUB FRONT 2 002.JPGTUDOR PUB FRONT 2 003.JPGTUDOR PUB FRONT 2 004.JPGTUDOR PUB FRONT 2 005.JPG Unless of course it's Weymouth, we have a really popular kite festival at this time every year. Usually they launch kites straight into fog and they disappear, today it was sunny but very little wind! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) allan downes, on 05 May 2014 - 20:12, said:allan downes, on 05 May 2014 - 20:12, said: Highlandman, that is absolutely incredible !!!!! Thanks a million mate, the missus thinks you're wonderful !! Cheers. Allan Glad you and the wife like it Allan. It took some doing to find the right picture and get the lighting and perspective right. The rest was all up to good ol' Photoshop. Does look the part though. Don't it. All the best Andy Edited May 5, 2014 by Highlandman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythocentric Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 And as the homebound traffic out of Cleethorpes gridlocks Grimsby leaving the council to clear up 1,000,000 abandoned half eaten fish and chip and mushie peas trays strewn along the length of the promenade and beyond, Downes carries on regardless !l No glamourous tools and squeeky clean work shop here - what you see is all it takes ! Cheers. Allan.TUDOR PUB 3 001.JPGTUDOR PUB 3 004.JPGTUDOR PUB 3 005.JPG One of the things that amazes me is the way you produce such beautiful, delicate work with the sort of tools I normally use for building baseboards. Definitely a touch of the Master there! Regards Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 (edited) One of the things that amazes me is the way you produce such beautiful, delicate work with the sort of tools I normally use for building baseboards. Definitely a touch of the Master there! Regards Bill Hi Bill. Take modeling knives for example. A heavy duty Stanley knife blade, a scapel - a point is a point, a blade is a blade and all cut equally and even if you honed a point on one corner of a shovel a surgeon could carry out heart surgery with it - if he could lift it ! Now, you hack away all day every day cutting up 2mm thick card and plastic for a living with a knife as slim as a scapel and your wrist would shatter and fall off by the end of just a few hours But with a stanley knife (not necessaraly their blades, they're crap ! ) it affords a comfortable grip, will cut through most materials without snapping, even 12mm MDF !! - and you can flip it end over and use it as a hammer ! One knife cuts as well as a dozen apart from which you can only use one at a time so what's the purpose of a fine collection of modeling knives sat in a beatifully lined case when a good ol' Stanley will do the same job as all of them put together? I'ts like Exacto saws and Track cutters - what's wrong with a hacksaw, or a pair of heavy duty side cutters - or bolt croppers !!! - and you wanna see my file, you could shoe a horse with it !! Cheers. Allan. Edited May 6, 2014 by allan downes 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 allan downes, on 06 May 2014 - 11:02, said: Hi Bill. Take modeling knives for example. A heavy duty Stanley knife blade, a scapel - a point is a point, a blade is a blade and all cut equally............ But with a stanley knife (not necessaraly their blades, they're crap ! )............ Which suppliers blades would you recommend to use in a Stanley knife if you regards their own make as crap? How do YOU determine a good blade? And finally.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 (edited) Which suppliers blades would you recommend to use in a Stanley knife if you regards their own make as crap? How do YOU determine a good blade? And finally.......... knives i have known allan downes.jpg Well essentially, one that cuts !! Seriously though, Stanley blades are the dearest and worst blades on the market. One good cut and you loose the point. Those el cheapo's from Wicks ( WITH carbon tip no less!!! - and there name's on it, or so they keep telling you - I bought 10 ft of 9inch shelving, four brackets and a packet of filler - 43 quid !!!!!!! - THE builders choice - yeah, right !!! ) Wilkinson's etc, etc, are not much better iether but - Draper blades are where you need to be . They just go on, and on, and on, and why ? Sheffield steel and not pressed out of recycled soup cans in some 'engineering' company based under the railway arches!!! Buy 'em on Amazon, £5 for 100 !! Do so and you'll never use anything else. Cheers. Allan. BTW. I had a look at photoshop - well Gimp actually - with the intentions of photoshoping my own pics - well, I've never seen anything as complicated in my life so after just two minutes of subscribing, I uninstalled it !! what a nightmare of instructions.... and guys on tutorials trying to look clever by telling you how easy it is all in computer speak. Edited May 6, 2014 by allan downes 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted May 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2014 I know it's free and all that, but I'm afraid I never got to grips with Gimp, it took me long enough to learn Photoshop. There are others that might help such as Photoshop Elements (commercial) and Paint.net (Free - http://www.getpaint.net/). I might be wrong, but I think Al has mentioned Paint.Net a couple of times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Think I'll stick with the wifey's pink camera and the garden hedge ! ( and the carport when it rains) If you wanna know how, "click here, you're three easy steps away that will only take seconds, DOWNLOAD NOW, ITS FREE - make your cheque out to....... And how many times have you read that and three hours later you're still no further on than when you started - then, the invasion begins. Continual harassment as they throw their neon lit ad in your face, day after day, week after week, splattered across the entire screen screaming for money every time you go to google something !!! A computer expert once told me "Al' never click on ANYTHING - especially if it's free " Cheers. Allan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted May 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2014 Or, you could take them down to the beach and get an uninterrupted view of the sky. No compositing necessary. That is unless you have a load of wind turbines just off the coast like they do in Skegness. I hope you don't mind, but I'd change your quote to "Al' never click on ANYTHING - especially if they're making promises!". Programs that claim to make your computer faster are the worst. :-/ Back on topic(ish), since reading your posts about your fantastic latest builds I've manage to lose about three hours looking at photos of half timbered buildings on the internet. I also came across this website that shows a lot of buildings that have been lost from London, http://spitalfieldslife.com/2010/12/26/the-ghosts-of-old-london/ a number of them are half timbered, but the timber fronts have been covered up. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adams442T Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Jane & I went for a walk from Cley to Blakeney Point yesterday and found a bit of sky........ 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted May 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2014 Nice! All you need is a table and the model or diorama of your choice, and then all you have to do is work out what time of day you need to be there. That's a good looking visitor's centre / lifeboat station you have there. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 IMG_0140 (575x1024).jpg Jane & I went for a walk from Cley to Blakeney Point yesterday and found a bit of sky........ Funny, we have lots of sky here too! This is the view from just up the road though this is as much beach and sea: I love Norfolk too and my layout is set on the Cambridgeshire/ Norfolk border. I don't spend ages editing photos I'm afraid, crop it, look at the balance of the composition and either use it or bin it. I simply don't have the time and I'd rather modelling if I'm not working or doing family stuff. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 And what's wrong with my garden hedge and carport roof may I ask ? .Folk travel hundreds of miles just to look at them, some even bring a pic-nic and make a day of it while others make a long weekend of it photographing both, going for long walks around Immingham docks then go home and sell the pictures to ITV.. Check both out here, signed copies available. Cheers. Backdrop Of Distinction - And me. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted May 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2014 To be fair, they look lovely, but I don't see any signs for a gift shoppe. Where would I buy tiny jars of jam from? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 And what's wrong with my garden hedge and carport roof may I ask ? .Folk travel hundreds of miles just to look at them, some even bring a pic-nic and make a day of it while others make a long weekend of it photographing both, going for long walks around Immingham docks then go home and sell the pictures to ITV.. Check both out here, signed copies available. Cheers. Backdrop Of Distinction - And me. ROOF AND HEDGE 002.JPGROOF AND HEDGE 003.JPG No chance of half timbering those hedges in a Tudor style? And exactly what shape are those bushes? Love the weathering on the wood in your car port. Did you use Maskol to get that effect! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythocentric Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 You're right about the sky. There's a lot of it about these days. We've even got it in Morecambe now! I can vouch for that because I've seen it when it hasn't been raining. This is the view from the end of my road. You can probably explain the colours by the fact that Sellafield is directly in line on the other side! Anyhow, never mind the hedges! I'm impressed by the way Allan's added ivy to those houses across the road to blend in with his model's! Regards Bill P.S. Photoshop was not involved in any shape or form! We get sunsets like this nearly everyday! See! Sellafield again innit! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium The White Rabbit Posted May 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 7, 2014 Speaking of sky... This is from last winter, when we'd done a day's volunteering, lost the light and were heading into the car-park, to be met by this dramatic sky. (Again, no editing or Photoshop trickery). 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) Last building going together in this half timbered epic with a brick infill for a change. But there's three roofs to tile and chimney's to build yet before I can call it quits and give you guys a well earned break from Tudor this, Tudor That and the garden hedge ! Cheers. Allan. Edited May 7, 2014 by allan downes 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Any chance you could half timber the hedge? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Popplewell Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Hi Allan. The curved supports for the wider upper stories look really nice are they made from wooden beading or the beading that hides the gap around laminate flooring?Or is it some other clever dodge.Think the brick really sets the building of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Hi Allan. The curved supports for the wider upper stories look really nice are they made from wooden beading or the beading that hides the gap around laminate flooring?Or is it some other clever dodge.Think the brick really sets the building of. It's scotia moulding from B & Q but picture frame moulding is even better and finer for the smaller scales. What I do, is paint the moulding white then glue thin strips of black paper around the form with PVA at even spacing Cheers. Allan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Top of Portland I presume, think I have been on that very spot a few years back when on holiday For some reason the quote feature is not working for me I was referring to Mullies picture. Edited May 8, 2014 by Campaman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Top of Portland I presume, think I have been on that very spot a few years back when on holiday For some reason the quote feature is not working for me I was referring to Mullies picture. Is top of Portland looking straight up Chesil Beach. At that point around 500 ft above sea level. After 10 years I never tire of this view. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythocentric Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Last building going together in this half timbered epic with a brick infill for a change. But there's three roofs to tile and chimney's to build yet before I can call it quits and give you guys a well earned break from Tudor this, Tudor That and the garden hedge ! Cheers. Allan. TUDOR IN BRICK 001.JPGTUDOR IN BRICK 002.JPGTUDOR IN BRICK 005.JPGTUDOR IN BRICK 006.JPGTUDOR IN BRICK 003.JPG Quite simply! STUNNING! All that gorgeous Tudor and he still remembers how to do brick! Honestly though. I'm beginning to think that MR should follow the supplement up with Allan Downes - The Tour! Which reminds me! The mags out now and I forgot to go and pick it up. I hope all those screaming young ladies haven't got there first like they did for Iain's signal box in RM! Regards Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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