Don't worry, there is no chance of Boycie or Marlene appearing anywhere in this article!
With recent expeditions to visit the real railway in action, my modelling has not surprisingly taken a bit of back seat. However, I have added a few bits to The Plank, so let me tell you where I’m at, as they like to say on Dragon’s Den. Since the road was laid and the track ballasted I’ve turned my attention to the natural areas of vegetation – the first green shoots of modelling, you might say.
The area around the layby is fairly flat land, so there was no need to build up any significant height. If I need height, my preferred method is polystyrene ceiling tiles to keep the weight down, as used on
Exeter Parkway. Ceiling tiles are easy to work with, albeit messy, but cheap – although mine were free as the local McDonalds was having a refurb and threw hundreds of them into a skip. Without the need to build up the land, I simply used a supermarket own-brand of Polyfilla, and I worked this in to the required areas accordingly. One reason I like using this type of filler is that it is flexible to use, and can be watered down to any consistency to suit the terrain being modelled. It takes a long time to dry, and this gives plenty of working time to sculpt the area exactly as you would like to have it. This is useful in countryside, for example, if you wish to create a well-worn footpath, sheep trail or stream. Simply run a finger through the filler to create the path, taking it steady and lightly all the way. This photo from a visit to the Peak District earlier this year clearly shows a well-used footpath, and inclusion on a model can help break up large areas of greenery.
While the filler is drying, I create the sites for such footpaths and scenic features. As this model depicts a layby, there was another feature that needed modelling – the rutted earth and tyre tracks at the entrance, caused by lorries cutting the corner. This can clearly be seen here:
The easiest and quickest way to replicate this is to use the exact same method as used in real life! I took a spare vehicle that had good tyre treads, and rolled it over the affected area several times. I didn’t do this all at once; I did a couple of runs and then allowed the filler to dry out a bit more before having another go. After a few of these sessions, the earth is now looking realistically churned up, but with clearly defined and overlaid tyre tracks. This shows up on this module I made for demonstration purposes a while back:
Here is the entrance to the layby itself once this week’s work was complete:
If you're wondering why the tree has a large '3' on it, the reason is simple. While the filler was still damp, I 'planted' each tree into the area I wish them to be located in when the model is completed. By pushing the tree into the ground, it appears as though the tree is growing out of the earth, rather than daintily sitting on it - one of my pet hates. As the trees won't be glued in just yet (they get in the way) I have numbered them simply so that I know where they're going. Okay, there's only 3 tress and 3 holes - how hard can it be? Well, you don't know me like I know me.....
I allowed the filler to fully harden for a couple of days while I played with my recent video footage in the evenings. Then I returned to
The Plank to begin creating Mother Nature. The first step was to paint all the earth brown. Soil is rarely a uniform colour, and I used six shades of watercolour artist’s paints that come in squeezable tubes, rather like toothpaste – although I’m not recommending that you clean your teeth with them. An artist’s palette is useful here, as various quantities of paint can be squeezed into each compartment and then mixed together as appropriate. Add water, a little at a time, in order to create the required consistency. I give the whole area a basic coating to build a foundation before going back and highlighting areas that require more colour. For most types of earth, around half a dozen shades of brown, such as Vandyke Brown, Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber from the excellent
Windsor & Newton range etc work nicely – if lightening is needed I use Cadmium Yellow. A good artist's supply shop is the best place to find a decent stock of such paints, and in my experience, the staff in these shops are invariably friendly and knowledgable about their products. For distinctive colour such as the cliffs at Dawlish, several shades of red need to be gently worked in as well, so I’d recommend having photos to hand of your preferred location on such a project. As with most modelling projects, add a little at a time and work it in slowly. Overdo it, and you inevitably end up back at square one. Been there, done that.
Recreating these famous Dawlish cliffs can be quite a challenge. I have previously had a bash at these with Sam on Exeter Parkway
, and will write up the experiences later on. This photo is one of many I took during visits to Devon between 1999 and 2002 whilst engaged in chasing the last years of loco hauled operation in the area - I really must write some of those trips up, too...With the earth complete, basic flocking can begin. I do this in stages, starting with a basic covering of grass, then working up to thicker grass, weeds, small shrubs and then onto bushes and so on. Currently I’ve got as far as the basic grassing stage. I painted watered down PVA glue onto all the areas that required grass, and sprinkled Woodland Scenics fine grade flock onto the whole area. As with earth, grass is rarely a uniform colour outside of well-tended areas such as lawns and golf clubs etc. So I mixed around four different types together and sprinkled this onto the areas needing it. Don’t forget small individual areas where grass is clinging to life – even in the rutted earth of the tyre tracks, some hardy grass manages to grow!
I left the grass overnight (to grow?) and hoovered up the following evening. Put a Jaycloth over the end of the nozzle and this saves all the expensive flock ending up in the bin – I put it all back into the flock tin I keep for this purpose. Before beginning any further flocking work, such as scrub and small bushes etc, I added in the lineside fencing. I discovered the hard way that if you leave this until later, when bushes and trees are in position, then it is difficult to get the posts to run in an orderly line parallel to the railway. Also, it is an absolute nightmare to thread the wire through the fence posts!
The fencing in this case is from
Ten Commandments, and a pack consists of 25 whitemetal posts, pre-drilled with holes for the wire that is included in the pack. This will make around three feet of fencing. The posts require painting, which can be a tedious process. I simply stood all mine up in some blu-tac and sprayed them with several coats of Halfords white primer. Holes were drilled out alongside the railway track at 27mm intervals, then the posts firmly attached with Superglue. These were left overnight, before the fiddly job of threading up the wire began. There is a technique here that I’ll pass on, but if anyone finds a better way, please let me know!
I start with the first post, and significantly, the lowest line of wire to install – don’t work from the top down, believe me! Cut the wire to the required length of the fencing section – in this case I have a continuous run of around four feet, so each strand of wire I used was cut to 4ft plus a couple of inches overhang as my ‘just-in-case’ margin. Using a pin, insert a small blob of Superglue into the fencepost hole, and gently thread the wire into the hole. Then leave it – several hours at least, if not overnight. It is absolutely crucial that the glue has hardened properly, as a fair amount of pressure will be placed on this joint. (N.B. It is a good idea to repeat this process all the way up the fence post, so that the four of five strands of wire will then all be ready when the time comes to move on. Just be careful not to get the wires tangled up).
Once the glue is hardened, give the wire a firm tug to check. If it doesn’t hold, repeat the gluing stage, as it must be secure. If it is firmly in place, you may now start the enviable job of threading it through the bottom hole of each fence post all the way along to the other end of the run of fencing. It is fiddly, and best done with a pair of tweezers which may be found in your good lady’s make up bag when she’s out (don’t forget to return them, and don’t bother to ask if you may borrow them for a modelling project. You will generally receive a hard glassy stare).
Once the wire is threaded all the way through to the other end, there should be a couple of inches of excess wire. I attached a bulldog clip onto this excess, and then pulled the wire tight to ensure that it is taut all the way through the run of fencing. A couple of spare lead weights were put on top of the clip to ensure that it doesn’t go anywhere. Then again using a pinhead, I dabbed spots of Superglue into the hole from which the wire is protruding. It is also useful to dab a spot of glue every foot or so down the run as insurance, but by no means necessary to do every post. I repeat this process with every strand of wire, always working up the posts as this makes the threading so much easier. Once the last bit of wire is threaded through the final hole, secure it with the bulldog clip and Superglue method, and relax. So what next? No, before a coffee and a Hobnob? Yes, return the tweezers.
Don't say I didn't warn you ...The whole thing may be left overnight again, and when you return to the project, simply take a scalpel blade to the excess protruding wires and remove them. There should now a run of realistic and taut lineside fencing.
A note on Superglue – it is well worth investing in a good Cyanoacrytate glue from
Eileen’s Emporium or a similar specialist. Avoid the cheap stuff from the Poundshop or supermarkets, as it is generally very poor quality.
