Gedward

Hush now child And don't you cry Your folks might understand you By and by Just move on up Towards the Muddle Destination Though you may find, from time to time Transportation

Hi Jeff Just discovered this amazing thread. And so taking my time walking through the many pages here. I was fascinated to see the how you're producing the stone walls. I used a similar method on Bovey Tor. As a lot of the landscape was meant to look like Dartmoor. I experimented with a number of clays. Starting with Das but later trying out various oil based clays. In the end using Chavant NSP hard, a professional oil based clay used by sculptors. You can soften it by warming in the oven, which makes it rather easy to cut and shape.

Well modelling on Bovey Quay has ground to a bit of a halt. But thankfully my mojo is firmly still in place. Right now, all my attention has turned to getting this house ready to market next month. Lots still till do, not least, clearing out 24 years of ’stuff’ in the loft. Then will need to splash some paint here and there. And generally get this place ship shape for the photographer.

Controversial I know, but I do love to see non 'railway' scenes like this. It just highlights the fact that somewhere outside of this little diorama is a railway. And while you're here, you might even hear it, but you can't actually see it. Perfect.

I've always had a massive issue when photographing my paintings. Which were mostly oil on canvas. The weave in the canvas can create weird patterns. Sometimes known as a moiré effect. Without Photoshop or Infinity it would be near impossible to achieve satisfactory results.

It really can be quite frustrating when life gets in the way of modelling. I'm going through pretty much the same this end. As I'm getting this house ready to put up for sale next month. So spending much time clearing out 24 years of stuff we decided not to throw, but instead keep in the loft. Then I'll need to splash a bit more paint around before the photographer arrives. Still can't believe I'm finally going to leave the big smoke after 66 years.

Atmospheric or what?

Riders on the storm Riders on the storm Into this world we’re thrown There’s a twig without a home Like my hair without a comb Into Muddle world, we're thrown A red tractor out on loan Riders on the storm

Yes of course, that's the only reason I posted this very old painting which I almost forgot about. Mind you it was 42 years ago.

I just remembered painting this back in 1980. During my year abroad, working in Saudi Arabia. Just a little scene in the grounds of my villa. But posting here today as it seemed so poignant and meaningful.

Having spent my entire career, working in the art studio of a blue chip ad agency. One of the first things I learnt as a young 18 yr old was, "Use your artistic licence".

"Hey, what drops on the floor, stays on the floor".

I only wanted to see you Laughing in 'Lil Muddle rain 'Lil Muddle rain, 'Lil Muddle rain 'Lil Muddle rain, 'Lil Muddle rain

I posted this yesterday on another thread and it seemed relevant here. I think sometimes we get a bit too concerned with trying to match real world prototypes exactly. And unless you have the space of Heaton Lodge, it will always rely on compromises. You may get the dimensions down exactly right and it still looks wrong. For me, the simple answer is go with what looks right on your layout, over what is right on the prototype. At the end of the day we're building a diorama, a small snapshot, of a small piece of the world. Hence why we all need to hang on firmly to rule 1.

This works really well, very bucolic. In some earlier pics I noticed the acid green fields in the back scene. They seemed overly bright and were coming forward too much rather than receding. I was going to suggest you spray/paint a thin wash over them to lessen the luminosity. However, in this shot they seem OK. Maybe it depends on the light in the room.

Ahh, the good old days! When we moved to Pimlico in 1969, the flat had one of those old ivory coloured affairs with a proper dial. I recall the phone number was printed onto a small card in the middle of the dial. The code for that area was 828 which in letters was TAT. My dear old mum would answer the phone with "Tate 3170, can I help you?"

Said the actress to the...

He of the flock wallpaper no doubt.

In a word. Genius!

I think sometimes we get a bit too concerned with trying to match real world prototypes exactly. And unless you have the space of Heaton Lodge, it will always depend on compromises. You may get the dimensions down exactly right and it still looks wrong. For me, the simple answer is go with what looks right on your layout, over what is right on the prototype. At the end of the day we're building a diorama, a small snapshot, of a small piece of the world.

Superb modelling. All looking great.

I could, or I could get back to Winchley Central.

Along with B@ll@sting.

That's for sure. Was definitely one of the reasons for the move. It was also a big inspiration for Bovey Tor. I used Crowcombe station and Williton box as prototypes.

I don't think that would be too challenging to scratch build. You've got excellent reference in the Minehead shot. (Which will be my new home, one of these days).