

Theres a few red flowers that could grow at the side of the track if the driver threw some seeds out the windowThis is a really lovely layout.
I am reluctant to venture anything that looks like a criticism, but there is one feature that jars every time I look at it: the bright red flowers.
The thing is, there are almost no native British plants with bright red flowers. Red flowers are associated with bird pollination (especially hummingbirds in the Americas) because birds have good vision in the red part of the spectrum. Bees can’t see red at all. On the other hand, bees can see UV. So British plants relying on bees generally have yellow/blue/purple flowers. Poppies are an obvious exception but although red have UV reflecting petals. Poppies though are weeds of newly disturbed ground so wouldn’t be found in the sort of locations where your red flowers are.
Please feel free to ignore the above!
Martin
This is a really lovely layout.
I am reluctant to venture anything that looks like a criticism, but there is one feature that jars every time I look at it: the bright red flowers.
The thing is, there are almost no native British plants with bright red flowers. Red flowers are associated with bird pollination (especially hummingbirds in the Americas) because birds have good vision in the red part of the spectrum. Bees can’t see red at all. On the other hand, bees can see UV. So British plants relying on bees generally have yellow/blue/purple flowers. Poppies are an obvious exception but although red have UV reflecting petals. Poppies though are weeds of newly disturbed ground so wouldn’t be found in the sort of locations where your red flowers are.
Please feel free to ignore the above!
Martin
We don’t need to get into a detailed discussion here!There are more red wind flowers in Britain. Granted, some are at the pink end of the red spectrum but they are red flowers.....
Red Campion (Silene dioica): A common, hairy perennial found in woodlands and hedgerows, featuring deep pink-red, five-petaled flowers.
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense): A familiar, low-growing plant with distinct red-purple flower heads, commonly found in grasslands.
Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas): An iconic, bright red, annual flower that thrives in disturbed soil and cornfields.
Ragged Robin (Silene flos-cuculi): Known for its ragged, pink-red petals, this plant prefers damp meadows and roadside verges.
Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber): A hardy, clump-forming plant with clusters of small red, pink, or white flowers often found on walls and banks.
Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum): A small, trailing geranium with pinkish-red flowers and distinctive red-tinged leaves.
Betony (Stachys officinalis): A wildflower with spiked, purplish-red flowers that is attractive to bees.
Lords-and-Ladies (Arum maculatum): Produces a spike of bright red berries in late summer, which are highly visible in woodlands.
And if all that doesn't convince..........there's always rule 1
Rob
Couldn't agree more, it was lovely seeing Ruyton Road at Calne this year, brought back a lot of memories!Just been through the whole thread
I loved Ruyton Road when I saw in MRJ when I was 11, it's lovely to see it in good hands.


Did the print need much cleaning up Paul? I keep looking at stuff on Pregrouping models not that I don't have enough to be getting on with.

Prints seldom come off looking very well in unpainted comparisons like this. The resin is often not entirely opaque and can have a 'surface', which can make them appear rough and details soft. Finishing improves the surface and sharpens everything up visually. Personally, I prefer to at least give models a quick prime prior to posting images online. Of course, for multimedia models that does hide the provenance of the parts. I like the approach though. Resin for speed and detail where parts are not fragile, metal where things are delicate or mechanical.Hi Andy,
The body had been printed quite clean and needed very little if any cleaning up. The kit does also include prints for solebar, stepboards, springs and buffers which I chose not to use preferring Gibson buffers, Dart Casting springs and nickel silver strip for the stepboards. In particular the Dart Casting springs are more accommodating of the Bedford sprung w-irons. The end steps came from the waste etch box but are very fragile if just glued to the body so I strengthened them with brass wire underneath fixed through the body. Rather than use the included sheet of plasticard for the roof I formed a replacement from brass. One thing to be aware of is that for some reason the lower door reveals are missing so I had to form using a scriber.
Ikm quite happy with the result although to be honest I do prefer to solder rather than glue. For comparison the photo shows the LSWR carriage next to a Cambrian composite.
Regards Paul
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