4mm & 7mm Llanfair ....

oldravendale

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
We're going down a rabbit hole here, Larry, so apologies for diverting the thread. Your question about vintage coaches we may have ridden reminded me about the time Kodak, for whom I worked at the time, moved their head office from Kingsway in London to Hemel Hempstead in 1971. Transport was provided from Harrow to Hemel for those of us involved in the transfer and the contract was won by Premier Albanian of Watford. I always went for the old AEC coach - I guess it was probably mid to late 1950s vintage. I've looked for photos on line but regrettably no such luck, so I can't confirm the model. I think the second vehicle was a Duple bodied Bedford - far too modern given the alternative.

Brian
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Brian, no diversion at all, afterall I invited comments to do with the project in hand. Your coach was likely a Regal III. The AEC's had a lovely gearbox wine. I passed my PSV on an AEC from Oxford. It went to preservation when we had done with it.
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I imagine that many 1930s coaches and buses were fitted with preselector gearboxes. The whine from them can be pervasive but in the Welsh foothills the gear change must have been a blessing. My recent experience of driving my 1935 Kestrel with Armstrong Whitworth box has been great fun on the roller coaster South Downs roads. Belt down a hill at 40mph while preselecting 3rd and then just as the next uphill begins to take its toll, stamp the “clutch” pedal and an instant down change maintains the momentum. It does get a bit embarrassing when second is also required and an impatient Porsche Boxter is inside the rear view mirror!
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
I got a Halfords rattle can of Rover Russett Brown for GWR brown. It's paler than Precision Paints GWR coach brown but it will do for the weathered W.Region building colour. A close match is acrylic Tamiya XF-9 Hull Brown, which I used in a lining pen for the window frame surrounds....
WEB 7mm Station 7A.jpg

The main parts of the building were sprayed with my light red brick colour and my roof grey. The latter will darken at weathering time....
WEB 7mm Station 7B.jpg
 
Geoff

Geoff

Western Thunderer
Both buildings look great Larry, but I would paint and weather the station building to match your goods shed, which to my eye is a good match for brickwork along and around the borders. But before going any further I would check how the buildings look under your layouts lighting.

Geoff
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Geoff said:
Both buildings look great Larry, but I would paint and weather the station building to match your goods shed, which to my eye is a good match for brickwork along and around the borders. But before going any further I would check how the buildings look under your layouts lighting.
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I welcome your feedback and was supposedly editing but somehow deleted the image. The goods shed would get plastered with smoke from locos standing in the station platform. Anyway it is food for thought. I didn't weather the 4mm buildings.
 
3 LINK

3 LINK

Western Thunderer
Hi Larry, not trying to teach granny to suck eggs, but have you tried using Polyfiller to fill the mortar gaps? The one fill Pollyfilla is great for that type of job because it doesn’t shrink back and you can point a building in minutes..

3 LINK said:
Now that the staircase and bannister rails are in place I thought I would get on with applying the mortar coat. Rather than applying a coat of diluted paint, my method is to use a synthetic filler and literally spread it into all the gaps with an old credit card of similar. It took me less than 20 minutes to apply the mortar coat and once it hardens off I will make a start on weathering the brickwork.



View attachment 135775

View attachment 135776

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Cheers,

Martyn.
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Just a thought,

Martyn.
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Hi Martyn, The deeply cut grooves used to concern me seeing as I was so used to building with embossed brick plastikard. But I learned to deal with them. That said, I rarely use white mortar now, preferring to use PPC 'dirty black' for mortar and weathering.
 
adrian

adrian

Flying Squad
LarryG said:
Hi Martyn, The deeply cut grooves used to concern me seeing as I was so used to building with embossed brick plastikard. But I learned to deal with them. That said, I rarely use white mortar now, preferring to use PPC 'dirty black' for mortar and weathering.
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I seem to remember one of the scenic suppliers producing a "mortar filler" - after a little googling

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although I suspect a suitable dirty weathering wash mixed with a concrete weathering powder might produce a dirty mortar filler.
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
When painting building, I tend to treat them in much the same way as I did locomotives in that if something is barely visible from a few feet away, then make sure it doesn't overwhelm. White mortar can be garish and grey mortar barely worth the effort. Our cameras pick up detail, but I no longer look at thing from 3 inches away at my age...:p

The station building has just been weathered all over so it is in the sprayshop drying while I get the stink of turps out of the house. No kits left to build so I need to stock up again before Christmas...
 
michael mott

michael mott

Western Thunderer
LarryG said:
When painting building, I tend to treat them in much the same way as I did locomotives in that if something is barely visible from a few feet away, then make sure it doesn't overwhelm. White mortar can be garish and grey mortar barely worth the effort. Our cameras pick up detail, but I no longer look at thing from 3 inches away at my age...:p

The station building has just been weathered all over so it is in the sprayshop drying while I get the stink of turps out of the house. No kits left to build so I need to stock up again before Christmas...
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I am often thinking along the same lines regarding the visual intensity of my own work, and it reminds me of the same issues involved in painting landscapes. A botanical illustration shows the intricate details of a plant, whereas a group of plants and trees in a garden are more likely to be impressions of the plants our minds perceive the details. We rarely look at art from 3 inches either. As much as I admire the incredible fidelity to the originals that are often depicted by the talented model makers here, I also am inspired by the sense of place depicted in many layouts that are spare with detail.

Michael
 
simond

simond

Western Thunderer
Two coach lengths…

I reckon that’s about the right distance to look at stuff from. particularly details and people.

I’ve taken to building 70 footers, the GW didn’t do them longer than that…
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Weathered same as the goods shed now. The grey used for lead flashing dried glossy despite loads of stirring of the 'putty' in the bottom. Had I mistakenly bought gloss paint? No, its satin. I very rarely buy Humbrol and for good reason!

WEB 7mm Station 9A.jpg

Guttering and drainpipes painted. and model matt varnished ready for glazing and window frames...
WEB 7mm Station 9B.jpg
 
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LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Mallard60022 said:
Now that is a cracking building Larry. Good to have 'found' you 'over here'. I have missed your Coach excellence.
Phil
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Thanks Phil, and welcome. I used to bang on a bit about coaches ha ha. I've got a GWR K42 parcels to build in 0 gauge if I can find a kit.
 
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