Sunday 18 January 2015

2015, the year of that layout?

Hello.

Now that's a question and a poignant one for me. Highclere has been work in progress for what seems an eternity, it has moved on sporadically, and has even nearly been binned in the past. Now I don't really do New Years resolutions but this year I have said to myself that its really time the layout took some sort of priority over my other modelling escapades. There are a couple of things comming up this year where the layout really needs to be in a better condition than it is now. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going, especially as my modelling has been a bit random recently.

So, this weekend seemed like a good opportunity to do something, I didn't have anything planned plus I was in the mood for a bit of scenic work. I enjoy scenics, its calming, its like listening to some nice chilled out music. I don't have to be precise or accurate, I can experiment and see what appears in front of me...

This is what I started with, its the drain / stream thing on the left hand board just to the left of the Signal box. It had had a coat of basic flock sometime in the past to hide the vast amount of Brown of the baseboard.

So, inspired by Gordon Gravetts excellent book on modelling grassland I attacked the area with a scalpel and cut some chunks out of the area. I wanted to add a little bit of detail / interest to what would otherwise be quite a large area of grass.

And this is what it looks like now. I filled the gaps with some Scultamould which I formed into roughly the shape I needed. Once this was dry I then painted it ground Brown and stuck a bit of the Ballast I have been using onto the area to add a bit of texture.This was then given a wash of black and dry-brushed in earth colours to give it a bit of depth and then some gloss varnish was added to areas to give it a feel of wet mud. The whole surrounding area was treated to an initial layer of 1mm static fibres of varying colours with patches of longer 4mm fibres to add a bit of depth.

The stream was formed out of some air clay which was the painted in some Greeny / Browny acrylic paints and then some Gloss varnish was applied in several layers. Unfortunately as you can see the varnish has gone a bit white in patches though.

As you can see there is still more to do around this area with details to add and hedges amongst other things, including sorting out that varnish. The important thing though is I am happy with it, plus I have enjoyed myself too.

Julia :o)



19 comments:

  1. Julia,
    All I can say is Wow. When I saw the second photo I thought "What has she done!!??" but the end results are fantastic, and very realistic. All you need now are some cattle with mud up to their knees to complete the scene :-) Just out of interest, what have you used for the fencing wire?
    Ian

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    1. Thanks for the comment Ian, I am happy with the way it turned out.

      Some people say that static grass doesnt look right in the smaller scales but I have always been very happy with the results. I dont know if to add cattle to the scene or not though, part of me just wants to leave the fields empty. Knowing myself I wouldnt be hppy with any 'off the shelf' cows anyway and I would have to remodel and repaint them! The fencing wire is fine steel wire which I picked up on my travels, I then paint it a light Grey to take away the shine of the wire. I could measure the dia of it if you like?

      J.

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    2. Julia,
      The cows comment was a bit tongue in cheek - the scene looks really good without anything else. I think the static grass looks really effective, and will use the same when i get that far (only having one roll of dyed lint left). I like the way that the worn away area funnels into the gap in the fencing implying that it is a regular thoroughfare for some sort of livestock (present or not).

      I have some really fine stainless steel wire from MSE, and was just wondering what you had used, I wasn't sure whether it was that "invisible thread" that I have read other modellers have used (but I personally have never seen) for things like telegraph lines.

      Ian

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    3. Hi Ian.

      I always think there are always several options when building stuff. You could make it as indescructable as possible so it wont get damaged, you could make it removable so it reduces the chance of getting damaged and easy to replace, or you could make it as flexible as possible so it makes it hard to damage. I have gone for the first option for the fencing, ok, it might make it a little overscale but its hard to break the stuff. I have already stabbed myself a couple of times on the posts! The invisible thread idea is a good one although I dont know how fine the stuff is. It might be a little late now to use it on Highclere but it would be worthwhile looking into it further.

      J.

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  2. Looks good - food for thought for me considering I have restarted my first 2mm layout. Thanks for the idea.

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    1. I would seriously consider buying Gordon Gavetts books published by Wild Swan. Ok, they are for larger scales but they are packed full of tips, ideas, and insperation on how to create things like I have done above.
      Good luck with the 2mm layout too, I will keep an eye on your blog.

      J.

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    2. I was lucky enough to be at a seminar the Gravett's gave here in Brisbane about 6 years ago and came away very impressed and inspired. Fortunately, one of the local club lads is a friend of them so has all the books in his library!!

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    3. I cannot recommend those books enough, even if you just have a flick through looking at the photos I bet you will find something applicable to use, even in 2mm.

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  3. Julia,

    That looks really effective! Thank you for sharing with us how you went about it (I, like Ian, was a bit worried seeing the second picture!).

    Steve

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    1. Thanks Steve.

      Im not afraid of chopping things up, in a way I am kind of used to it by now so it wasnt a tough call to make. I am sorry I didnt make the step-by-step thing a little more detailed though. I do tend to get a bit carried away with dabbling with different methods and ideas and normally forget to record them. It has got me into trouble in the past on the layout, especially when I try to repeat the process later on.

      J.

      Oh, and I owe you an email too.....

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  4. Hello folks.

    Here is a question for you all. I have been toying with the idea of adding a gate in the fencing on the right of the stream. Do you think I should or just leave it as a gap in the fencing?

    Thank you.

    J.

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    1. Hi Julia, this looks terrific! Difficult one about the gate. I can see that it would be logical to have one there from a real-world farmer's point of view, but I'm wondering if it would look a bit odd here in model form - ie a gate right next to a stream. Plus, the scene already looks so realistic with its rough and casual feel, so doesn't need anything more maybe?

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    2. Hi Mikkel.

      I think I agree with you on that, less is more isnt it. I think I will leave it as a hole in the fence. I am sure that when I get some hedges and things done, it will look a little more realistic in regards to why its there.

      Thanks

      J.

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  5. Superb Julia very very nice
    John

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  6. I know what you mean about scenery being therapeutic. I'm looking forward to some quiet times with mine, after I've finished building GWR No.184.

    The photos of your stream look brilliant and, at least in the photo,the white looks very realistic - reminds of boggy bits in the New Forest. On the point about gates, there is a tendency for paths to turn into streams over the years (anyone who has walked in the Lake District will be familiar with this phenomenon), so this watercourse could have developed along an old trackway. The 'gate' could have subsequently fallen out of use but left some remains behind.

    I also know what you mean about animals (and people), which are almost impossible to model realistically. When I photograph my own scenes, I often feel that they look a bit sterile but, on the other hand, that's probably better then unrealistic figures. A difficult choice :)

    With cows, you can always explain to visitors that they have just gone for milking.

    Mike

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  7. Thanks for the comment Mike.

    I was going to agree with you about the therapeutic side of scenic modelling but ironically I have tried to reproduce the same effect on another part of the layout and currently it looks nothing like the bits in the photos above! I will keep on plugging away with it though...

    You have a good point about modelling animals and people in 2mm too, I was thinking more along the fact I wanted to keep a sense of openness about the layout and didn't want to clutter it up with too much stuff, but you have a totally valid point too, thank you.

    J.

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  8. Wow, this is really effective, I bet you are pleased with your results. I have been doing some work on the river on my layout too, but i think yours loks better. Bravo!

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  9. Thank you Thomas, yes I am pleased with how its turned out.

    I would recommends the series of Wild Swan books done by Gordon Gravett on grassland and trees, its where I got my inspiration from.

    J.

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