This, that and the other

Modelling activities have been a bit hit and miss of late but now I've recovered from a few health issues, none of which are serious I hasten to add, I'm firing on all cylinders.  As usual my workbench has been sagging under the strain of various projects, the most important job was to spray both sets of crossing gates whilst we enjoyed a brief spell of warm weather, if you blinked you probably missed it!  I've never had the luxury of an airbrush so I just gave them a few passes of white acrylic primer from an aerosol can, left them to harden and turned my attention to adding some slates to the half timbered cottage roof.

Freshly sprayed in white primer and in pristine condition the gates will need to be distressed and heavily weathered to capture the neglected look of the fifties railway scene. To the right is a piece of fine protective netting as provided in the MSE kit.

For a good few years I've been happy to use the Wills roof slates which don't look too bad once all the visible edges have been thinned down but for the cottage I decided to try these from York Modelmaking who are now producing some really interesting and useful modelling components, I was also impressed with their mail order service which is second to none.  The slates are nicely coloured and textured and once you get the knack of applying them they are a joy to use.  I also decided to try some ornate ridge tiles to set the building off which proved a little more difficult to use and are perhaps a tad too flimsy if not reinforced with a light application of PVA along the folds.

My first attempt at using the York Modelmaking slates and ridge tiles, as you can see I started off fine and then somehow lost my way, so I ended up having to remove the ridge tiles and a few rows of slates before trying again.  The actual slates were built up on 10 thou styrene bases which when complete were trimmed to shape and then glued to the main roof.

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Over the next couple of weeks I plan to complete the scenery around the Llanbister Road end of the layout, so with plenty of trees and hedgerows needed I had to stock up on some scenic materials.  I was rather surprised to find that my preferred make of foliage was in short supply and furthermore a minimum order had to be placed if dealing direct with the manufacturer, so I looked around the web for an alternative supplier and decided to try Model Scenery Supplies.  I placed my order on Sunday evening and a short time afterwards I received an email from Paul to say my order had been prepared for dispatch, it arrived early on Tuesday morning, now beat that!  It goes without saying that I have no connection with either of the two company's mentioned other than being an extremely satisfied customer and I reckon they deserve a mention.

My scenery making kit already to go, the Sea Foam will be mainly used for some small saplings along the river bank and for creating some rough unkempt hedgerows.  The chunk of rubberised horsehair will also be used for hedgerows and for making the foundation for some foliage mats for the trees.  Lichen suitably dressed with foliage will be used for bushes, the latter being held in place with display mount.  When applying fine ground cover I use a simple tea strainer and though I have an electric fly swatter for applying static grass I prefer a simple puffer bottle which allows a more precise applications of fibres to be made.  By using a mix of materials its easy to get a good variation in texture and colour which I find goes a long way towards creating a convincing scene.

The scenic materials will be used to create some new trees and hedgerows around the Llanbister Road end of the layout and also to improve some earlier examples elsewhere.  I've also made a start on preparing the ground for the allotments and the first set of level crossing gates.

Here we have the first set of crossing gates, when the photo was taken the post nearest the signal box steps was not properly in place as I was waiting for the main gatepost to set.  Care has to be taken when installing these gates and were I doing the job again I would install them during the track laying stages.  Everything has been distressed and weathered so the gates blend into the scene, if they were pure white they would stick out like a sore thumb.  The metal fittings such as braces and hinges were painted in Precision dirty black and then dry brushed with a little Humbrol dark earth, a wash of dirty black was also run over the gates and their post along with a few dribbles of rust around the hinge and pivot areas.  Whilst the paint was still tacky everything was dusted down with talc, to blend everything together and provide a little texture, a little touching up is required here and there to complete the job.  I'm reliably told that the oil lamps had both a red body and lamp on the (G) WR, other regions notably the Eastern used a white body with a red lens if my information is correct.  An area has been cleared on the right for the allotment plots, I shall be using a few ideas from Barry Normans 'Modelling the Landscape' book and from MRJ No.5 in which Chris Pilton shows how he modelled his allotments and the various vegetables in it.

Another view of the crossing with the gates open to road traffic, it was normal practice for them to be closed thus preventing access to the railway.  In the background a few tree armatures are taking shape, these are plastic mouldings from C & L Finescale and are being built up in a random fashion rather than to the instructions.  Once complete they will be coated with my own bark mix made up from Plaster and neat PVA.  Whilst taking these photos I tried out various positions for the trees so they blocked the mousehole and yet didn't cast shadows across the backscene which is easier said than done.

Unkempt hedgerows will border the lane and allotments, a few grotty tool huts and potting sheds will complete the scene.  An overgrown cart track winds its way down towards the disused quarry on the right, it will probably terminate in front of a five bar gate with a rusting corrugated iron hut, a relic of the old quarry workings keeping it company.

Looking up towards the crossing and allotment site from the quarry track, if all goes to plan the tree will mask the mousehole nicely and yet not overpower the scene.

Since these photos have been taken the first crossing has been completed and the first hedgerows and foliage mats are drying out.  Tomorrow should see the tree armatures completed and the scene above should slowly come to life as the greenery takes hold, well I can live in hope can't I ?