7mm Mike Sheardown's Workbench

Rob Pulham

Rob Pulham

Western Thunderer
Mike Sheardown said:
Hi Rob,

Thanks for your positive comments.

Chris's wet palette sounds very similar to mine, except instead of a grid under the parchment paper, I'm using several layers of plain white kitchen towel to hold the water.

Do you know if Chris has found a source of 'bleached' baking parchment paper Rob, as the only stuff I can find down the supermarket is the 'unbleached' kind. I know it works the same, but being brown in colour, it doesn't make as good a palette as the white stuff sold by the local art shop i.e. I find it better to mix colours on a plain white ground, but, the art shop stuff is a bit pricey!! :eek:

Cheers

Mike
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Hi Mike,

Sorry I don't know anywhere that sells it - Chris uses the brown stuff.

What you need is someone that works in the food industry - preferably in baking. back when I was in the trade we used sheets of silicone paper and a quick browse of the Amazon brings up some in smaller quantities

For cooking pies/breadcakes etc. you can use it many times and it's much tougher stuff than that which Chris uses.
 
Mike Sheardown

Mike Sheardown

Western Thunderer
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the info

I might try the un-bleached stuff and see how I get on with it, and thinking about it, I guess the issues are similar to an artist using a traditional wooden palette to mix paints, so perhaps just something to get used to?? :thumbs:

Thanks again

Mike
 
oldravendale

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Sorry to crash this thread, Mike, but I thought I saw on here details of a very fine brush for detail work. I thought it might be useful for lining work and was going to buy one and saved it, but it's got lorst.

I must have the wrong thread, but can anyone point me in the right direction?

Brian
 
Mike Sheardown

Mike Sheardown

Western Thunderer
Hi Brian,

Another source of good brushes is just about any art shop.

I use 'Javis' pure sable 00 and 000 size brushes for very fine detail, and I'm sure that these would be good for lining work as well. A good art shop will stock several different ranges of brushes, at various quality and price levels, so you can choose what best suits.

I always like to choose new brushes myself, as even reputable makes can vary in quality. My old art master used to say that the way to tell a good brush, is to put it in your mouth and roll it round. Then, if it comes to a fine sharp point on pulling it out, it's a good one!!

He added that it was best not to let anyone see you doing this, as you could get thrown out of the shop - I didn't ask him how he knew :)

Hope that's helpful

Cheers

Mike
 
Dog Star

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Mike Sheardown said:
... My old art master used to say that the way to tell a good brush, is to put it in your mouth and roll it round. Then, if it comes to a fine sharp point on pulling it out, it's a good one!!
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When I was buying model painting brushes in the 1970s, if an art shop did not offer clean water and some tissue to test any brush then that shop was probably not one for good advice on choosing brushes. How times have changed... there is no longer an art shop within 20 miles of home and the only local supplier of brushes worth considering is Hobbycraft (excepting Games Workshop and accepting the limited range).

regards, Graham
 
oldravendale

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Dog Star said:
When I was buying model painting brushes in the 1970s, if an art shop did not offer clean water and some tissue to test any brush then that shop was probably not one for good advice on choosing brushes. How times have changed... there is no longer an art shop within 20 miles of home and the only local supplier of brushes worth considering is Hobbycraft (excepting Games Workshop and accepting the limited range).

regards, Graham
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Just goes to show how lucky we are.... In Berkhamsted there's a first class art shop which also stocks modelling bits and pieces - wire, common brass profiles etc and modelling enamels. I bought Frisket Film (I think that's the right name) for masking there and too many other bits and pieces to even remember. Fortunately this shop is exceptionally busy and looks as though it's pretty secure.

Brian
 
Mike Sheardown

Mike Sheardown

Western Thunderer
It's been quite a few months now since I did any railway modelling, but this years's Great Sheardown Family Christmas Bake Off, gave me the opportunity to get my hand in again:

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Not entirely 'Finescale' as such, but I do feel that some of the mods I carried out on this kit, have resulted in some stock I'd be proud (surprised !!! :eek: ) to see running on my layout. :)

As for the competition:

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......well, suffice to say that I didn't win, despite putting my heart and soul into this one. :( The Judge (Janice - my wife), said that there wasn't enough 'fun' in my effort, and that next time, I should include more jellies, sparkly bits, and curly whirly white icing, if I was to be in with a chance. :rolleyes:

Happy New Year to all

Gutted of Sheffield

Mike
 

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Mike Sheardown

Mike Sheardown

Western Thunderer
Thanks for your kind words of support chaps :thumbs:

Jon, I raised your very well made point with Mrs S this evening, in a final bid to try and get her to reconsider her decision. However, after she'd stopped beating me around the head with her newspaper, the 'fun' word came up again, and so I beat a hasty retreat to my study and shut the door.

I can't help but feel that someone, somewhere, really has missed the point on this one big time !! :D

Heh, ho

Mike
 
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Jon Fitness

Jon Fitness

Western Thunderer
Mike Sheardown said:
Thanks for your kind words of support chaps :thumbs:

Jon, I raised your very well made point with Mrs S this evening, in a final bid to try and get her to reconsider her decision. However, after she'd stopped beating me around the head with her newspaper, the 'fun' word came up again, and so I beat a hasty retreat to my study and shut the door.

I can't help but feel that someone, somewhere, really has missed the point on this one big time !! :D

Heh, ho

Mike
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Maybe She meant that you should have lined it out.....possibly full SECR livery may tip the balance next time..with an edible gold leaf coating on the dome cover...;)
 
Mike Sheardown

Mike Sheardown

Western Thunderer
I've not done any railway stuff for over a year now.

However, I've just finished re-modelling this LSWR driver, circa 1900 (rear figure), from a 'Heroes of the Footplate' 1950's BR driver.

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............and here's one of the research pics I used:

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I found that the best tools for reshaping white metal, were a reasonably blunt Stanley knife, an old file and some wet and dry.

Cheers

Mike
 

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Mike Sheardown

Mike Sheardown

Western Thunderer
H
dibateg said:
How about getting yourself dressed up and scanned in Mike? :-

http://www.modelu3d.co.uk/
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Hi Tony,

Yes, I think that's a really interesting development. Not so much for the novelty self portrait bit, but more for the interesting and life-like poses you could create, that would really add to the believability of whatever figures you were modelling.

I think that's why I particularly like Pete Armstrong's Heroes of the Footplate range (now bought and marketed by Invertrain), as Pete seems to have taken a lot of trouble to get his figures to look natural. Many of them aren't in the traditional bolt upright 'robot' type pose, but in various 'leaning / slouching' poses, which is just what real engine crew do ?? !! :)

Cheers

Mike
 
Yorkshire Dave

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
Hi Mike

What research material do you have loco driver/fireman uniforms. I've noted a lot of railway related web sites pay a great deal of attention to locos and rolling stock (naturally) but scant information regarding the colour of staff uniforms (and other ancillary items for that matter).

All I've come up with is that post-nationalisation loco crew are usually in blue as your crew at the top of this thread show and pre-nationalisation/pre-group crew tend to have black or dark grey uniforms. The latter extrapolated from black and white photos knowing orthochcrome black & white film was not red sensitive.

Now to repaint my SR loco crew from blue to black uniforms....:rant:.
 
Herr Flick

Herr Flick

Member
Dave

Are you painting a driver and fireman for Nick D?
Overalls for driver and fireman post nationalisation steam era started life as dark blue.
However - and I was told that this was a matter of great pride amongst the East Coast
top Link men - after about 100 times washing some of these overalls morphed into a light grey.
colour. The lighter the colour the better!
There is abundant evidence of this in publications like the Irwell Press series on the LNER
Pacific classes and V2's. Colour slides also are a useful source with the driver leaning out of the cab
window.
Jackets were very dark blue almost black - serge type material.
Another point to note in the interest of accuracy is that the colours of the cap badges
were different depending on the driver/fireman's own Region.
Eastern dark blue; North Eastern tangerine; Scottish light blue etc.
Evidence can be supplied ...

DG
Herr Flick
 
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