From Llangunllo to Llanbister Rd.

iploffy

OC Blue Brigade
Well I personally think it's excellent, but could do with a how did you do it bit i.e. show us how you make it look so good please and give us your thoughts on how we can produce the same (if somewhat inferior) results for our efforts
 

Old Buffer

Western Thunderer
The last piccy, I don't believe that's a model, you've got an old photo of a scene at an actual prototypical location and posted it, letting us believe it is your layout. :drool: :drool: :bowdown: :bowdown:
Just joking, it is brilliant.
Alan
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
Afternoon Chaps,
Thanks very much for all your comments.

Simon said:
That looks really lovely Geoff, it's great to see further developments on what was already an exceptional model of a railway.

You have a real knack for setting up naturalistic and extremely appealing "pictures", it must be fabulous to run trains through them!

Simon

I wouldn't say I have a knack Simon as it's just a matter of observation, be it from the real thing or my collection of railway albums and magazines. I was also lucky enough to have seen the steam branch for real before the Beeching axe fell.
It is very satisfying to run trains through the scenery and yet as I have grown older operating the layout has become less important. You will have read elsewhere on this thread how I run things to a sequence, just wandering into the railway room at will and picking up where I left off. These days I get more enjoyment out of creating a realistic scene and model photography.


Jordan said:
Oh you guys ain't kidding - that's one of those "Do I just give up now?" type pictures..... 

Well I hope not as my intention was to try and inspire !

iploffy said:
Well I personally think it's excellent, but could do with a how did you do it bit i.e. show us how you make it look so good please and give us your thoughts on how we can produce the same (if somewhat inferior) results for our efforts

Like I said earlier it's a case of looking at the real thing and then trying to scale it down. It is also my view that modellers need to spend a little more on scenic materials and move with the times, the days of dyed sawdust and ground foams need leaving behind.
I use a combination of materials from cheap hanging basket liner bought by the metre from the local garden centre to the expensive Silflor grass mats and static grass.
For a "show you how" take a look here


http://thechroniclesofpenhydd.blogspot. ... el/Scenics

For materials then this is the place to browse.

http://www.internationalmodels.net/acat ... Tufts.html

So all you need to do now is experiment, honestly it isn't diificult.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]
Dunkley & Cookes farmers merchants, the former deals in manure amongst other things and the latter in all things mechanical

[attachimg=3]

Lunchtime departure, a single coach and milk tank was a famiiar sight. The writing is on the wall for the 57 ft Sub as a couple of new Hawksworth coaches are in the works for conversion to EM. One of the things I like about this photo is the way the train is leaning into the curve.

Cheers,
Geoff
 

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S

Simon Dunkley

Guest
Geoff said:
Dunkley & Cookes farmers merchants, the former deals in manure amongst other things
Listen mate, it helps the grass to grow.

(Alternative interpretation: I supply the bull, and Steve stirs it... :) )
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
Simon Dunkley said:
Listen mate, it helps the grass to grow.

(Alternative interpretation: I supply the bull, and Steve stirs it... :) )

Just a quick question, do you also supply the "Turd Polish" as per Ian's avator ?  :))


Hi CME, thanks for your comments
CME & Bottlewasher said:
It would have been great to stumble across such a line when out and about in the countryside, to find a Pannier shunting a couple of wagons to and fro.

It certainly was but we just took it for granted, one day it was there the next it had gone

..Which (product number) of mat would you recommend because tonally you seem to have hit the nail on the head 8) :bowdown: :drool: and searching for the right matt - colourwise - online is nigh on impossible.

The colours of mat that I used were Summer and Winter pasture, I would advise that you have a chat with Richard at International Models and tell him what sort of look you are after. Then perhaps buy a couple of the small samples to judge what looks best under your particular lighting. Make sure you select and use your seasonal colours in order which in my case was summer followed by autumn.
http://www.internationalmodels.net/acat ... sture.html
For static grass I used summer and late fall, but it seems the descriptions have changed since my original order ?  It is as you say a case of experimenting until you get the look you are after, eventually it will all fall into place so don't give up


I have included and couple of photos so as to provide and idea of colour and tone thus far - apologies for hijacking your Thread :-[ :-[

No problems with hijacking, photos look good and winter pasture might just be the tone for you

I have managed to procure - for a great price - a Provender Goods Store kit, which may either be the main goods store, or if enough room for a Goods Shed, will be used for animal feed - I love the feel of your line and your 'store' etc. it gives so much atomosphere and puts it at a place in time :thumbs:

I originally had a Ratio Provendor store in the goods yard and was going to move it to Mr. Dunks feedstore next to the cattle dock but it was all a bit too much. My advice for creating atmosphere would be to look at the real thing, hope you find the above helpful

Cheers,
Geoff
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
Hi Geof,

Many thanks for all of the info and advice

I agree, about the buildings issue, on a compact layout, less is more, so we may just end up with one Provender store and no GS....time will tell.

Thanks so much again, v'much appreciated :thumbs:

CME

Hi CME,
Glad to be of help, perhaps a few rough card mock ups of the buildings you have in mind might help. Place them on the layout and juggle them around, you might just find things work.
Must say I am a great believer in the less is more approach, good luck.

Just been trying the new uploading and whatnot............


WT test.jpg

Cheers,
Geoff
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
I know you chaps love your hydraulics and I had hoped that Dapol would have their Class 22 in production by now. Had that been the case then perhaps 1455 would not have turned up at Penhydd with a single coach and milk tanks in tow.

1455 arriving at Penhydd.jpg

Based on an old Aifix model and running on a semi compensated Comet chassis with Gibson wheels and small Mashima motor providing the grunt, she has settled down after a little tweaking to be a smooth performer. Mind you a fair amount of weight needed to be added as she was very light on her feet.


1455 shunting the yard.jpg

Wanting something a little different I removed the top feed and it's pipework. Then made a boiler plug to give it a fully rounded profile with daylight underneath it. The cab roof has also been modified as the old Airfix was in my opinion a little heavy.

1455 1c.jpg


Inspired by scenes from the Culm Valley 1455 heads back down the branch with loaded milk tanks.

1455  1a.jpg

To satisfy the diesel buffs a Hymek was spotted earlier in the week......

Hymek on creamery siding.jpg

Hymek on creamery siding.jpg1.jpg
Geoff
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Really nice Geoff, moving the backscene away from the bridge has opened up the scene something rotten, looks bloomin' great :thumbs:
I like the shades of Culm Valley shots too :)
Steve
PS Shadows on the Hymek in Dairy siding shot are a little confusing, appear to be coming from two directions...sorry....
 

AdamF

Western Thunderer
What a fantastic and atmospheric layout :thumbs:

The scenic work and the track detailing is superb :)

And the photography is first class too :thumbs:

A
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
Thanks once again for your interest and kind words chaps,

Really nice Geoff, moving the backscene away from the bridge has opened up the scene something rotten, :thumbs:
Steve
PS Shadows on the Hymek in Dairy siding shot are a little confusing, appear to be coming from two directions...sorry....

It was a bit of a gamble to be honest Steve, I had a picture in my mind and rough sketches on paper but was unsure as to how the scene would work out. I remember discussing my ideas with you and Simon D late last year and one thing we agreed on was how good it would be to see the creamery chimney in the distance when looking towards the bridge. I am pleased to say that it works thus adding a little more interest, no photos yet but over the next few weeks I will be disappearing from the forum world to complete the scene.

I do however have a few views showing the start of the scenery on the other side of the bridge.

T\'other side of\'bridge.jpg

The idea here is to give the appearance of rolling countryside, to acheive this means the cassette deck needs to have a scenic background and you can see this very much WIP.

Moving to the foreground the strip of hardboard is the support for a stone and earth embankment around the creamery. The area of scree is where the water tower will be sighted, a couple of it's legs being partly buried in the embankment and the remainder surrounded by long unkempt grass and bushes.

Creamery site.jpg

The whole creamery section is being built off site in jigsaw fashion and will fit in place on the area to the left. The cutting nearest the profile board will slowly change to a low embankment as it progresses from right to left.

No need to say sorry about the shadows as they annoy the hell out of me as well, good feed back pointing out faults is always welcome, as are solutions to how they might be overcome. The problem at the moment is that the lighting is provided by three tungsten spots centrally located over the layout, these are adequate for the main portion but from the bridge area onwards to the creamery something else is needed. So I am looking at a sort of mast from which spots are suspended and adjustable to give various lighting effects.

Cheers,
Geoff
 

Alan

Western Thunderer
Lovely stuff as usual Geoff. Can't wait to see dairy, I do like the idea of the chimney being behind the bridge. I do like a view on a lauout that is broken up by bridges or high trees and embankments. To me it always makes a small layout larger when you can't see it all in one go.

Re shadows They are about the only bit of "photo-shopping" that I do to my pix. I just clone them out with the nearest bit of sky or scenery as appropriate
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
Hi Richard where have you come from, have you finished the book yet ?
Good to see you around and about again.

Geoff
 

28ten

Guv'nor
love the top shot of the 14xx, it reminds me of Kington and Titley that could be Stansbatch hill in the background....
 

Geoff

Western Thunderer
love the top shot of the 14xx, it reminds me of Kington and Titley that could be Stansbatch hill in the background....

Thanks for making my day Cynric, as you know Penhydd is meant to be in that lovely part of the country.

The Class 22 has now been converted to EM by simply pulling the wheels out and shaving a couple of mm from the inside of the bogie frames. The overscale wheel treads are not really visible and the flanges clear the rail chairs so I might not bother with finer wheels if they become available. Using a Modelex hand held controller she is silky smooth with just a little gear noise. So it's now a case of adding the detail, a coupling bar and a spot of weathering.

A change of plan with the creamery has taken place and the original has gone to the scrap bin to be replaced with this new, improved Mk 5 version. I felt the ornate Victorian style brick original looked out of place so came up with this.................

Creamery Mk5 a.jpg



Creamery Mk5 b.jpg


Creamery Mk5 c jpg.jpg

Cheers,
Geoff
 

Wagonman

Western Thunderer
Hi Richard where have you come from, have you finished the book yet ?
Good to see you around and about again.

Geoff


100,000 words done, just a few more to go, plus tracking down certain photos, writing captions, having a nervous breakdown... The usual.


Richard
 
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