4mm Monks: perhaps NOT a Classic Minories - for a grandchild.
- Thread starter jonte
- Start date
jonte
Western Thunderer
Hi Grahame and thank you for your interest, as always.
In all seriousness, I’d probably have paid up to a tenner for it as it has plenty of modelling interest apart from anything else, and it’s difficult to place a value on that
If I make a mess of it, well nothing much lost and I’ve plenty of plastic card and odds and ends lying around with which to get some practise, but hopefully I’ll get a tune out of it, one way or another.Glad to see that membership of the grand parenting club seems to be growing too, Grahame
Best,
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
I fabricated another couple of sets of rodding as promised in my last, fellow Westerners, but then curiosity somewhat killed the cat, so I reached for the razor saw and took it to the little station building:
There is a second interim piece, but when I placed them on the layout to gain an impression, I realised that one was more than sufficient to create the requisite length (apologies, one of the bulbs in my outside den has just popped and I thought auto flash was on
):
Hopefully, you get the idea.
I’ve decided not to extend the height after all. Simply not worth it for the smidgeon required. I’ll just take the simplest route (again) and live with the slightly higher than normal platform height, which hopefully this next dark shot will enlighten you to:
The moulded drain pipe just has to go, and 3D pipes attached. I think a set of doors will occupy the infill.
Now off to wash my hands of the dust that had accumulated inside the model over the years. Obviously there are more dirty lofts than just mine!
Cheers.
Jonte
There is a second interim piece, but when I placed them on the layout to gain an impression, I realised that one was more than sufficient to create the requisite length (apologies, one of the bulbs in my outside den has just popped and I thought auto flash was on
): Hopefully, you get the idea.
I’ve decided not to extend the height after all. Simply not worth it for the smidgeon required. I’ll just take the simplest route (again) and live with the slightly higher than normal platform height, which hopefully this next dark shot will enlighten you to:
The moulded drain pipe just has to go, and 3D pipes attached. I think a set of doors will occupy the infill.
Now off to wash my hands of the dust that had accumulated inside the model over the years. Obviously there are more dirty lofts than just mine!
Cheers.
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
So, the preliminaries have been addressed, fellow Westerners, including joining both halves of the original model using the fillet (formerly one side) as proposed. Thus I’m pleased to inform you that the platform facing side of the station - the only bit of the station building to be modelled, I’m afraid - is now one:
Not as easy as I thought as the lines of the building weren’t as true as anticipated, therefore much use of saw, files and ad hoc rubbing boards were the order of the day to achieve some sort of ‘vertical’ fit
The sole original door also had to go in order to match the ones I’m inserting into the gap in the fillet, and here there was much bating of breath lest I cut into the adjacent walls/lintel of soft plastic with the saw and knife (there is a wound to the right of the upright which should rub out, although not too much of an issue as the finish will be rather worn):
The spares box(es) was/were the subject of a thorough search, which revealed some Peco bits on sprues including a couple of doors, together with some Wills’ building fittings such as drainpipes and hoppers. I also discovered some plastic letters which I’m thinking of placing in the rectangles above the station entry/exit holes to create interest and which, I think I’m right in thinking, were a feature of older stations. I’ve decided ‘Goods’ above the left, and ‘Patrons’ above the right as I don’t have the room for ‘Passengers’ (a thesaurus helped here!). There are also a couple of ‘borders’ included on the sprues which should frame things nicely and add some interest(?).
I decided against the use of those ‘raised’ platforms in my previous post, after I realised that I could achieve the appropriate height of the girder beam support to match the existing ones on pillars, by just placing it on the top lip of the walls (a total height of 55.5mm, above a platform raised 30” scale above the rail head).
A test fit:
Now I need to find some suitable styrene sections to replicate those of the original model, to help disguise the infill (as best I can).
Cheers.
Jonte
Not as easy as I thought as the lines of the building weren’t as true as anticipated, therefore much use of saw, files and ad hoc rubbing boards were the order of the day to achieve some sort of ‘vertical’ fit
The sole original door also had to go in order to match the ones I’m inserting into the gap in the fillet, and here there was much bating of breath lest I cut into the adjacent walls/lintel of soft plastic with the saw and knife (there is a wound to the right of the upright which should rub out, although not too much of an issue as the finish will be rather worn):
The spares box(es) was/were the subject of a thorough search, which revealed some Peco bits on sprues including a couple of doors, together with some Wills’ building fittings such as drainpipes and hoppers. I also discovered some plastic letters which I’m thinking of placing in the rectangles above the station entry/exit holes to create interest and which, I think I’m right in thinking, were a feature of older stations. I’ve decided ‘Goods’ above the left, and ‘Patrons’ above the right as I don’t have the room for ‘Passengers’ (a thesaurus helped here!). There are also a couple of ‘borders’ included on the sprues which should frame things nicely and add some interest(?).
I decided against the use of those ‘raised’ platforms in my previous post, after I realised that I could achieve the appropriate height of the girder beam support to match the existing ones on pillars, by just placing it on the top lip of the walls (a total height of 55.5mm, above a platform raised 30” scale above the rail head).
A test fit:
Now I need to find some suitable styrene sections to replicate those of the original model, to help disguise the infill (as best I can).
Cheers.
Jonte
Last edited:
Roger Pound
Western Thunderer
Isn't it great when a plan comes together ? 
Really good stuff Jon and a tribute to your fastidious planning and workmanship.
Cheers,
Roger
.
Really good stuff Jon and a tribute to your fastidious planning and workmanship.Cheers,
Roger
.
jonte
Western Thunderer
Isn't it great when a plan comes together ?
Cheers,
Roger
Oh, if only it were so, Roger, but thank you for your kind compliments and uplifting words of encouragement as always
I really wish I could work faster and that it would all just go right first time, for once. I seem to spend the lion’s share of my modelling time correcting decisions based on hedged bets….
Still, all good fun Roger, and pleased that I find you well enough to post. Indeed, I hope and trust that your health hasn’t come between you and Whatborough (and, of course, your tiny 009 project
). Best,
Jon
jonte
Western Thunderer
I’m pleased that all the interim beams for the roof are ready, fellow Westerners (will leave the front and rear fascias until last to ensure no gaps etc.), at least in terms of jig construction of plastic parts. I just need to finish drilling the holes in the apex of each of them for the upright ‘rods’ to be glued into, and then that jig can be disposed of.
However, after a dry run of offering up the wire rodding to the beams, I realised that the vertical wire uprights - apart from one - are too short, causing the rods to bend transversally along their lengths. This, believe it or not, was intentional - the length not the bent rods - in case deeply drilled holes beneath the apexes split the sides of each apart, although in reality, this wasn’t the case. So now it will be back out with soldering iron and replacing the uprights with longer sections. While, the iron’s out - and the jig - I’ve decided to replace the first two I made as forcing them to become straight and true might just place too much strain on the fragile styrene beams, so it’s back to the model shop to purchase more brass wire…. Feels like I’m going backwards in my modelling once again.
On the subject of the roof, much cogitation has been done in relation to the type and construction of a suitable jig for linking all the beams together. In fact, much of the afternoon has been given over to ‘messing about’ with a handful of beams, graph paper and blu-tac, and I’m still not sure how I’m going to go about the task. Never mind; it will give me something to think about while I return to the production line of rod forming….
On another front, I had a bash at fabricating the legend ‘Patrons’ above the right hand ‘gap’ as alluded to in yesterday’s post. Before doing so, I needed to fill the gap previously occupied by the Triang awning supports running across the middle of the panel. The best way, I found, was to select a piece of styrene section of the right length and slightly wider than the gap, and proceed to slide it backwards and forwards so that the hard plastic either side of the gap shaved off the excess. This way, it provided a nice snug fit. Then it was bag to marking out the panel and fitting the letters to suit. It looks straight enough; it’ll have to do.
Then I lost the plot: I thought it rather a splendid idea to frame each panel with some ‘framing’ that formed part of the sprues to which the letters were attached. And what a bind; but you know when you’ve started something……..
The main problem was that they seemed to fracture with even the lightest of pressure, which made the business of removing tags and even just cutting them to size an ordeal. To be fair, I’ve had them so long in the spares box that they’ve probably perished. When the sprue was caught in the lamplight, I noticed they were manufactured by Coopercraft, which I believe ceased trading quite some time ago. Anyway, I’ve done me damndest, and if nothing else, it will contribute to the decrepitude I’m seeking:
Still lots to do and no real end in sight.
Cheers for now.
Jonte
However, after a dry run of offering up the wire rodding to the beams, I realised that the vertical wire uprights - apart from one - are too short, causing the rods to bend transversally along their lengths. This, believe it or not, was intentional - the length not the bent rods - in case deeply drilled holes beneath the apexes split the sides of each apart, although in reality, this wasn’t the case. So now it will be back out with soldering iron and replacing the uprights with longer sections. While, the iron’s out - and the jig - I’ve decided to replace the first two I made as forcing them to become straight and true might just place too much strain on the fragile styrene beams, so it’s back to the model shop to purchase more brass wire…. Feels like I’m going backwards in my modelling once again.
On the subject of the roof, much cogitation has been done in relation to the type and construction of a suitable jig for linking all the beams together. In fact, much of the afternoon has been given over to ‘messing about’ with a handful of beams, graph paper and blu-tac, and I’m still not sure how I’m going to go about the task. Never mind; it will give me something to think about while I return to the production line of rod forming….
On another front, I had a bash at fabricating the legend ‘Patrons’ above the right hand ‘gap’ as alluded to in yesterday’s post. Before doing so, I needed to fill the gap previously occupied by the Triang awning supports running across the middle of the panel. The best way, I found, was to select a piece of styrene section of the right length and slightly wider than the gap, and proceed to slide it backwards and forwards so that the hard plastic either side of the gap shaved off the excess. This way, it provided a nice snug fit. Then it was bag to marking out the panel and fitting the letters to suit. It looks straight enough; it’ll have to do.
Then I lost the plot: I thought it rather a splendid idea to frame each panel with some ‘framing’ that formed part of the sprues to which the letters were attached. And what a bind; but you know when you’ve started something……..
The main problem was that they seemed to fracture with even the lightest of pressure, which made the business of removing tags and even just cutting them to size an ordeal. To be fair, I’ve had them so long in the spares box that they’ve probably perished. When the sprue was caught in the lamplight, I noticed they were manufactured by Coopercraft, which I believe ceased trading quite some time ago. Anyway, I’ve done me damndest, and if nothing else, it will contribute to the decrepitude I’m seeking:
Still lots to do and no real end in sight.
Cheers for now.
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
Today, I’ve been mostly making a mess, fellow Westerners.
You see, I’ve been much taken by the sort of styling in the next couple of photos which (please forgive my ignorance) I think were a feature of late Georgian/early Victorian architecture, and featured on many early railway stations:
These were sourced over the years from the Internet - I forget which sites - which I file away for inspiration and reference now and again and which I reproduce here for reference, which I trust nobody minds (the first is an example found on the founding Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830; the second, a building in Liverpool city centre).
I refer in particular to the concave(?) moulding which sits between the intermittent stone cubes and parapet in the photographs; alternately, it also featured as I think quarter round. However, it was the former style I wished to reproduce to give my humble Triang station some sort of credibility, if all else failing, I’d just have to make do with the latter which is readily obtainable. So I set the single brain cell to work and came up with this humble contraption of offcuts of timber and old screws:
Somebody somewhere in the Universe has probably already done this sort of thing, a technique you are all probably well familiar with, so please forgive me for being late to the party…….
Essentially, it’s just a scraper that ‘scrapes’ on the styrene section as it’s pulled through, held roughly in the vertical by a wooden fence behind, formed of ply screwed to the ply deck. The blade (part of a set gifted me one Christmas by my brother in law and which has until now lain unused) is simply screwed to another block of softwood, itself screwed to the ply deck. A trench was sawn in the ‘fence’ to allow the blade to penetrate to the required radius by sliding it along the slit in its body which is crewed to the wood:
About a dozen or so passes later, and this is what I got:
Looks okay, with a lip at the top and slight radius below.
But I’d noticed that when the machine was in use, the blade rose steadily onto the piece as work progressed, which I reckoned was simply narrowing the lip without increasing the radius beneath. Although I’m probably barking up the wrong tree, I wondered how I could prevent this and concentrate the blade action on the area below. The solution I opted for was to take the thing apart and add another saw cut to the ‘deck’ to allow the blade to be held at angle which would prevent the blade from rising with the torque produced (I suppose it just had somewhere to go, in layman’s terms (mine)):
Any difference?
I think so - at least the blade didn’t rise anymore :
Not very good close ups, I’m afraid fellow Westerners, but I think they’ll do.
I suppose if nothing else, the fact it cost nothing to attempt is rather continuing in the same vein as the building itself, economically wise.
Cheers.
Jonte
You see, I’ve been much taken by the sort of styling in the next couple of photos which (please forgive my ignorance) I think were a feature of late Georgian/early Victorian architecture, and featured on many early railway stations:
These were sourced over the years from the Internet - I forget which sites - which I file away for inspiration and reference now and again and which I reproduce here for reference, which I trust nobody minds (the first is an example found on the founding Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830; the second, a building in Liverpool city centre).
I refer in particular to the concave(?) moulding which sits between the intermittent stone cubes and parapet in the photographs; alternately, it also featured as I think quarter round. However, it was the former style I wished to reproduce to give my humble Triang station some sort of credibility, if all else failing, I’d just have to make do with the latter which is readily obtainable. So I set the single brain cell to work and came up with this humble contraption of offcuts of timber and old screws:
Somebody somewhere in the Universe has probably already done this sort of thing, a technique you are all probably well familiar with, so please forgive me for being late to the party…….
Essentially, it’s just a scraper that ‘scrapes’ on the styrene section as it’s pulled through, held roughly in the vertical by a wooden fence behind, formed of ply screwed to the ply deck. The blade (part of a set gifted me one Christmas by my brother in law and which has until now lain unused) is simply screwed to another block of softwood, itself screwed to the ply deck. A trench was sawn in the ‘fence’ to allow the blade to penetrate to the required radius by sliding it along the slit in its body which is crewed to the wood:
About a dozen or so passes later, and this is what I got:
Looks okay, with a lip at the top and slight radius below.
But I’d noticed that when the machine was in use, the blade rose steadily onto the piece as work progressed, which I reckoned was simply narrowing the lip without increasing the radius beneath. Although I’m probably barking up the wrong tree, I wondered how I could prevent this and concentrate the blade action on the area below. The solution I opted for was to take the thing apart and add another saw cut to the ‘deck’ to allow the blade to be held at angle which would prevent the blade from rising with the torque produced (I suppose it just had somewhere to go, in layman’s terms (mine)):
Any difference?
I think so - at least the blade didn’t rise anymore :
Not very good close ups, I’m afraid fellow Westerners, but I think they’ll do.
I suppose if nothing else, the fact it cost nothing to attempt is rather continuing in the same vein as the building itself, economically wise.
Cheers.
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
Put aside an hour or so this morning, fellow Westerners, and did a bit more on the station building.
Essentially, I added a little more detail to the parapet in the form of some more styrene section to create some interest, and then fixed the concave section I ‘shaved’ to shape in my last instalment. It will receive an overhang as a parapet to mimic those in the earlier photos, although I’m going to forego adding the plethora of cubic sections below; it’s just too much detail in a small space, I feel, making it feel top heavy.
Elsewhere, I managed to remove the moulded drain pipe at the expense of just the far edge of the sill of the furthermost window. A chisel shaped blade found in the aforementioned knife set came in especially handy here. I also managed to replace the vertical ‘pillar’ that was damaged when removing the architraving from the end of one side, using some section I found stashed away, although guess who forgot to add the bevelled edge prior to fitting
Still to be tidied and some more features added.
Incidentally, I won’t be adding drainpipes as I’ve noticed that early stations of this style, such as Liverpool Road station in Manchester, seemed to leave them off the design - must have rerouted it somehow behind the raised parapet
Again, I suppose it will prevent it looking too cluttered bearing in mind there are still fixtures and fittings such as notice boards, signs and advertising boards to fit.
Anyway, some pix:
This one is supposed to represent (token) decay/damage to the cornice(?), but in truth, I ran out of material
I hope I’ve managed to capture a look of those early railway stations.
And now to clear the table to prepare for a family gathering tomorrow - which will probably take all night
Cheers,
Jonte
Essentially, I added a little more detail to the parapet in the form of some more styrene section to create some interest, and then fixed the concave section I ‘shaved’ to shape in my last instalment. It will receive an overhang as a parapet to mimic those in the earlier photos, although I’m going to forego adding the plethora of cubic sections below; it’s just too much detail in a small space, I feel, making it feel top heavy.
Elsewhere, I managed to remove the moulded drain pipe at the expense of just the far edge of the sill of the furthermost window. A chisel shaped blade found in the aforementioned knife set came in especially handy here. I also managed to replace the vertical ‘pillar’ that was damaged when removing the architraving from the end of one side, using some section I found stashed away, although guess who forgot to add the bevelled edge prior to fitting
Still to be tidied and some more features added.Incidentally, I won’t be adding drainpipes as I’ve noticed that early stations of this style, such as Liverpool Road station in Manchester, seemed to leave them off the design - must have rerouted it somehow behind the raised parapet
Again, I suppose it will prevent it looking too cluttered bearing in mind there are still fixtures and fittings such as notice boards, signs and advertising boards to fit.Anyway, some pix:
This one is supposed to represent (token) decay/damage to the cornice(?), but in truth, I ran out of material
I hope I’ve managed to capture a look of those early railway stations.
And now to clear the table to prepare for a family gathering tomorrow - which will probably take all night
Cheers,
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
Good evening, fellow Westerners.
Having cleared away most of my modelling materials and tools prior to the weekend, it took a lot of gumption to make several dashes to my den down the garden to retrieve them, due tothe torrential rain and high winds that have blighted the northwest over the last day or so. So, looking like I’d been dragged through a hedge backwards, I reluctantly - why is it so easy to get out of the swing of things, even after the briefest of lay-offs? - picked up the tools and had a good ‘thunk’ about where to start.
It seemed logical to cut and glue the parapet above the mouldings, as I think that was where I’d left proceedings. I learned that this was best done in stages as with these long lengths - especially where it involves applying glue to both surfaces to be joined - the glue has gone off before you can offer them up
That done, I moved on to fitting the moulding above the new doorway, which had to be narrowed in width and then sanded/filed thinner as I had no suitable styrene section in stock. This and other areas will need filling before priming, but this could wait as there were other matters to address first: one being another legend I wanted to hang above the new doorway, in the form of the abbreviations of the founding railway company (Chester and Birkenhead Railway) to enhance (?) the air of vintage-ness I’m so, desperately seeking for the place, in order to try and give it an ounce of credibility
Why the C.&B.R.? Well it was the builder and owner of the original Monks Ferry station on which it’s remotely based, so there was some other rather far fetched parallel with my own humble offering.
Here’s where I’m up to:
It took a whole afternoon ‘crafting’ that Ampersand-ey looking ‘and’, using sections of cut up letters from the Coopercraft sprues I’ve been using. I suppose somebody somewhere manufactures them, but hey, I’m not being that precise to warrant halting the build. Like everything else here, near enough will have to do, if you can call it ‘near enough’
It was supposed to have had the framing fitted this evening to match the previous incarnations of ‘Goods’ and ‘Patrons’, but I took time out to watch my boyhood club instead, and once again wished I’d just got on with this instead
With work (slowly) progressing on the station building fascia, thoughts have once again turned to how the overall train shed roof will be mounted, especially at this end, so I’ve decided to run with my initial idea of just continuing the steel beam across the parapet (to give you an idea):
Now I look at it, it’s less than ideal - I think the builders probably would have had the beam arranged to sit behind the ‘dressed’ parapet, but if I was going to do this, I should have cut off the top underneath the uppermost moulding as asserted a few posts back, in order to accommodate it. Never mind; too late now. I think it should be alright when painted and it will make the siting and un-siting of the roof for cleaning purposes a whole lot simpler - and after all, ease of use is my priority
So there we go; not a lot of progress,,but at least I’m back in the swing. The next task will be to build some door frames for the new doors and replacement door, then I’m thinking of adding some simple relief to the window frames to make them look a little more realistic. Once done,I can prime and then return to the pressing matter of joining up the roof beams
Cheers for now.
Jonte
Having cleared away most of my modelling materials and tools prior to the weekend, it took a lot of gumption to make several dashes to my den down the garden to retrieve them, due tothe torrential rain and high winds that have blighted the northwest over the last day or so. So, looking like I’d been dragged through a hedge backwards, I reluctantly - why is it so easy to get out of the swing of things, even after the briefest of lay-offs? - picked up the tools and had a good ‘thunk’ about where to start.
It seemed logical to cut and glue the parapet above the mouldings, as I think that was where I’d left proceedings. I learned that this was best done in stages as with these long lengths - especially where it involves applying glue to both surfaces to be joined - the glue has gone off before you can offer them up
That done, I moved on to fitting the moulding above the new doorway, which had to be narrowed in width and then sanded/filed thinner as I had no suitable styrene section in stock. This and other areas will need filling before priming, but this could wait as there were other matters to address first: one being another legend I wanted to hang above the new doorway, in the form of the abbreviations of the founding railway company (Chester and Birkenhead Railway) to enhance (?) the air of vintage-ness I’m so, desperately seeking for the place, in order to try and give it an ounce of credibility
Why the C.&B.R.? Well it was the builder and owner of the original Monks Ferry station on which it’s remotely based, so there was some other rather far fetched parallel with my own humble offering.
Here’s where I’m up to:
It took a whole afternoon ‘crafting’ that Ampersand-ey looking ‘and’, using sections of cut up letters from the Coopercraft sprues I’ve been using. I suppose somebody somewhere manufactures them, but hey, I’m not being that precise to warrant halting the build. Like everything else here, near enough will have to do, if you can call it ‘near enough’
It was supposed to have had the framing fitted this evening to match the previous incarnations of ‘Goods’ and ‘Patrons’, but I took time out to watch my boyhood club instead, and once again wished I’d just got on with this instead With work (slowly) progressing on the station building fascia, thoughts have once again turned to how the overall train shed roof will be mounted, especially at this end, so I’ve decided to run with my initial idea of just continuing the steel beam across the parapet (to give you an idea):
Now I look at it, it’s less than ideal - I think the builders probably would have had the beam arranged to sit behind the ‘dressed’ parapet, but if I was going to do this, I should have cut off the top underneath the uppermost moulding as asserted a few posts back, in order to accommodate it. Never mind; too late now. I think it should be alright when painted and it will make the siting and un-siting of the roof for cleaning purposes a whole lot simpler - and after all, ease of use is my priority
So there we go; not a lot of progress,,but at least I’m back in the swing. The next task will be to build some door frames for the new doors and replacement door, then I’m thinking of adding some simple relief to the window frames to make them look a little more realistic. Once done,I can prime and then return to the pressing matter of joining up the roof beams
Cheers for now.
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
Just thought I’d submit this interim result, fellow Westerners, if for nothing else, just to show the glacial pace at which this layout is progressing (?):
A slot - with the odd ten minute or so blow - of a good 3 hours modelling time yesterday afternoon, saw me adding the decorative border (I think eight cuts in total to form, all the while trying not to fracture the fragile parts like before as this was the last in the set) and tidying up the ‘and’ in an attempt to make it look a little more like it should (well as much as I could using a couple of esses, tees and gees from the Coopercraft letter set ). I swear I can see the surface of the moon more clearly than any part of the area/parts worked on .
Oh, and I also slimmed down the added (white) vertical moulding on the right to match that of the left. This again was delicate work I found; at the risk of boring you, I adopted the following method which saw it come away pretty much as it should: pair of dividers to gauge the width of that on the left, placed against the piece to be altered and pressed lightly to leave a mark (points of divider weren’t sharp enough to run a line down the length). A brass lace pin was then used to run a line from top to bottom as straight as I could. The feint line was made more visible by rubbing the lead of a pencil against a file and smearing with finger over the entire length of the line working down from side to side. Able to see more clearly, the blade was used to cut through carefully to the base of the model. The blade was then coerced under the waste and lifted from the material below. A fibreglass pen/brush was used to tidy up the base where the waste material had been fixed. The glue stain however is still visible but will cover with primer and paint.
As you can see from the close up, there’s an awful lot of filling to do round and about. Think I’ll give it a good soak in Fairy then fill with either Polyfilla or ready made grout, which I find easier to work with than plastic filler, before priming.
Thanks for looking.
Jonte
A slot - with the odd ten minute or so blow - of a good 3 hours modelling time yesterday afternoon, saw me adding the decorative border (I think eight cuts in total to form, all the while trying not to fracture the fragile parts like before as this was the last in the set
) and tidying up the ‘and’ in an attempt to make it look a little more like it should (well as much as I could using a couple of esses, tees and gees from the Coopercraft letter set ). I swear I can see the surface of the moon more clearly than any part of the area/parts worked on .Oh, and I also slimmed down the added (white) vertical moulding on the right to match that of the left. This again was delicate work I found; at the risk of boring you, I adopted the following method which saw it come away pretty much as it should: pair of dividers to gauge the width of that on the left, placed against the piece to be altered and pressed lightly to leave a mark (points of divider weren’t sharp enough to run a line down the length). A brass lace pin was then used to run a line from top to bottom as straight as I could. The feint line was made more visible by rubbing the lead of a pencil against a file and smearing with finger over the entire length of the line working down from side to side. Able to see more clearly, the blade was used to cut through carefully to the base of the model. The blade was then coerced under the waste and lifted from the material below. A fibreglass pen/brush was used to tidy up the base where the waste material had been fixed. The glue stain however is still visible but will cover with primer and paint.
As you can see from the close up, there’s an awful lot of filling to do round and about. Think I’ll give it a good soak in Fairy then fill with either Polyfilla or ready made grout, which I find easier to work with than plastic filler, before priming.
Thanks for looking.
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
Apart from adding the odd detail such as telegraph insulators, fellow Westerners, I think I’m going to call this finished
Think I’ve gone about as far as I can without over-egging the pudding and getting out of my depth in modelling terms.
So into a warm bath with Fairy in the washing up bowl it’s heading, after which the odd hole will be filled and perhaps some marks made around the ‘Goods’ entrance where some careless negotiating with trolleys and such like have left their marks over the years.
Then out with the primer.
I’ll leave you with a reminder of what I started with:
Jonte
Think I’ve gone about as far as I can without over-egging the pudding and getting out of my depth in modelling terms.
So into a warm bath with Fairy in the washing up bowl it’s heading, after which the odd hole will be filled and perhaps some marks made around the ‘Goods’ entrance where some careless negotiating with trolleys and such like have left their marks over the years.
Then out with the primer.
I’ll leave you with a reminder of what I started with:
Jonte
jonte
Western Thunderer
Modelling has taken somewhat of a back seat of late, fellow Westerners, as amongst other things I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to remove the brass wire uprights from the rodding constructs and replace them with longer sections as mentioned earlier. However, during a quiet spell this afternoon, I bit the bullet and am now pleased to inform you that the task is complete and they’re ready to be glued to their respective beams. I’ve also devised a way to connect each to its neighbour in order to fabricate a (hopefully) square-ish roof.
Elsewhere, I’ve slapped a bit of paint on the low relief station building fascia:
Not too much thought gone into this ‘undercoat’, but it’s haphazard application rather reflects the air of neglect it’s appearance will eventually convey.
Thus far, I’ve dotted/brushed/stippled a random assortment of ancient enamel paints - you know the type that are found in the bottom of the paint box, and whose components are thoroughly separated out, consisting of more crust and air than medium - from cream, mid-brown and some sort of military dark green colours. This assortment was applied to a pre-washed (with thinners) surface; itself covering a thinly applied undercoat of more enamels (blue/grey and mid-grey). It might well have been reds, oranges and yellows for all the relevance it will have to the final finish; the colours just coming first to hand with me thinking ‘they’ll do’, their method of application merely to pique my interest.
Actually, I’m looking forward to the next stages which will see the use of acrylics and oils to create a series of top coats, washes and filters to create even more interest, whilst featuring the odd ‘chipped’ area, using either fluid, salt, hairspray or glue - or perhaps a combination of all of them.
That’s all for now.
Thanks for looking.
Jonte
PS: still picking out bits of detritus from the finish, such as hair and carpet fibres, after the model pinged to the floor while I was applying the undercoat the other day, outside in my den (still to hoover the floor after all the recent woodwork). One of the parts I was using to clamp between my spread fingers decided to part company just as I was completing the job, and in trying to catch both whilst still holding the paint brush, all I managed to do was deflect the wet-coated model into my new jogging bottoms I should have just left it to the inevitable.
Elsewhere, I’ve slapped a bit of paint on the low relief station building fascia:
Not too much thought gone into this ‘undercoat’, but it’s haphazard application rather reflects the air of neglect it’s appearance will eventually convey.
Thus far, I’ve dotted/brushed/stippled a random assortment of ancient enamel paints - you know the type that are found in the bottom of the paint box, and whose components are thoroughly separated out, consisting of more crust and air than medium - from cream, mid-brown and some sort of military dark green colours. This assortment was applied to a pre-washed (with thinners) surface; itself covering a thinly applied undercoat of more enamels (blue/grey and mid-grey). It might well have been reds, oranges and yellows for all the relevance it will have to the final finish; the colours just coming first to hand with me thinking ‘they’ll do’, their method of application merely to pique my interest.
Actually, I’m looking forward to the next stages which will see the use of acrylics and oils to create a series of top coats, washes and filters to create even more interest, whilst featuring the odd ‘chipped’ area, using either fluid, salt, hairspray or glue - or perhaps a combination of all of them.
That’s all for now.
Thanks for looking.
Jonte
PS: still picking out bits of detritus from the finish, such as hair and carpet fibres, after the model pinged to the floor while I was applying the undercoat the other day, outside in my den (still to hoover the floor after all the recent woodwork). One of the parts I was using to clamp between my spread fingers decided to part company just as I was completing the job, and in trying to catch both whilst still holding the paint brush, all I managed to do was deflect the wet-coated model into my new jogging bottoms
I should have just left it to the inevitable.
John57sharp
Western Thunderer
We’ll its good to know it’s not just me….I like your approach Jonte, and the subject, very much my kind of thing.
Looking forward to more progress.
John
Looking forward to more progress.
John
jonte
Western Thunderer
Hi John.
Ditto: I’m also glad to read I’m not alone here
Problem is, I never seem to learn as my wife’s tired of finding my ‘modelling-marked’ items of clothing in the laundry basket!
I suspect my somewhat cavalier ‘approach’ and even choice of scale/theme may not be every members cup of tea - which I respect btw - but my thinking is that as long as the working bits ‘work’ and there are one or two novelties such as lights here and there to engage my young audience, I feel the rest is purely incidental. Painting buildings and such is just my own indulgence
Sincerest thanks for taking time to drop by, John, and for your most welcome support. I just hope I can maintain your interest.
Best,
Jonte
Roger Pound
Western Thunderer
PS: still picking out bits of detritus from the finish, such as hair and carpet fibres, after the model pinged to the floor while I was applying the undercoat the other day, outside in my den (still to hoover the floor after all the recent woodwork). One of the parts I was using to clamp between my spread fingers decided to part company just as I was completing the job, and in trying to catch both whilst still holding the paint brush, all I managed to do was deflect the wet-coated model into my new jogging bottoms
Glad to see Sod's Law is still up and running, Jon. Must have spread down to you from the Fylde where my current projects have been rather swamped by it last week
! Keep your chin up, my friend - the job looks to be a good 'un as they say and I know I am not alone in looking forward to seeing the next stage. In the meantime I shall disappear into the world of 009 once more...........!Roger
.
jonte
Western Thunderer
Glad to see Sod's Law is still up and running, Jon. Must have spread down to you from the Fylde where my current projects have been rather swamped by it last week
Roger
Well, if it happens to you too, Roger, then I’m in esteemed company
Many thanks for your kind words of support, Roger, and pleased to read that matters oo9 related are progressing well, despite that spoilsport, Sod
Best,
Jon
jonte
Western Thunderer
During my recent spell of inactivity, fellow Westerners, I dug out a couple of old books and did a spot of reading for a change.
Prompted by this particularly nostalgic source of reference:
and the discovery of these:
an idea came to mind about how to continue the theme of an old station without having to use acres of space, which a layout of these minuscule proportions simply won’t allow.
In particular, this image of Brighton from the early 1880s offered a possible solution:
I refer especially to the named elliptical beams spanning the platform entries, atop a pair of supports decorated with finials of sorts, replete with iron railings/gates, and the rather ornately decorated kiosk so typical of many termini in the good ol’ days. In fact, the nearby Mersey ferry termini were similarly adorned, so I suppose there is some validity to my humble proposal.
However, my attempt won’t be as grand. Just an opportunity to use up some more tubing, Modelu signal finials still in their packets, and lengths of Ratio station fencing with their ‘Z’ bar gates to provide a frame for the spear head type railings. The Gaugemaster ones for just north of three quid could provide a possible solution when joined height-wise to make them taller, stuck to the aforementioned Ratio specimens. And the remnants of an old Dapol station forecourt kit, languishing somewhere outside in all those boxes, could serve as the basis for the kiosk, with its curved ends ‘dressed’ in similar fashion to the top of the station building. All in all, a continuance of the low-cost, using up ol’ stuff approach as used with the station thus far.
Well, that’s the idea. Might just be a go-er? Perhaps.
Now, to learn how to draw an ellipse !
Jonte
Prompted by this particularly nostalgic source of reference:
and the discovery of these:
an idea came to mind about how to continue the theme of an old station without having to use acres of space, which a layout of these minuscule proportions simply won’t allow.
In particular, this image of Brighton from the early 1880s offered a possible solution:
I refer especially to the named elliptical beams spanning the platform entries, atop a pair of supports decorated with finials of sorts, replete with iron railings/gates, and the rather ornately decorated kiosk so typical of many termini in the good ol’ days. In fact, the nearby Mersey ferry termini were similarly adorned, so I suppose there is some validity to my humble proposal.
However, my attempt won’t be as grand. Just an opportunity to use up some more tubing, Modelu signal finials still in their packets, and lengths of Ratio station fencing with their ‘Z’ bar gates to provide a frame for the spear head type railings. The Gaugemaster ones for just north of three quid could provide a possible solution when joined height-wise to make them taller, stuck to the aforementioned Ratio specimens. And the remnants of an old Dapol station forecourt kit, languishing somewhere outside in all those boxes, could serve as the basis for the kiosk, with its curved ends ‘dressed’ in similar fashion to the top of the station building. All in all, a continuance of the low-cost, using up ol’ stuff approach as used with the station thus far.
Well, that’s the idea. Might just be a go-er? Perhaps.
Now, to learn how to draw an ellipse !
Jonte