Paint it black

Last evening I got out the black masonry paint and painted the front profile board which tidies up the look of that no end. I also painted inside the tunnel black which helps with the illusion of tunnelness.

I also constructed, painted and installed some more bits and bobs around the pub which just add a little bit of detail. The pub garden table also gained a family enjoying the sunshine and a drink while watching out for trains.

 

The shop front still needs a little tidying up and there is still a need for some fencing to keep the cattle off the track but otherwise I'm pretty happy with the look of things... apart from the sky. I've a day off on Monday so will have a bash at the MK2 version.

 



Mr Blue sky

Since my last post I've been as busy as time would allow and the scenery is making good progress. One major item ticked off temporarily at least is the backscene. I found a big blue sky with clouds paper in the Faller range and having purchased some Deluxe materials backscene glue I went ahead and stuck it onto the mdf as instructed. It said not to worry if the paper bubbled up a bit as it would flatten out as it dried. Well it hasn't. I have enough paper to try a second go but I can't see why it should be any better a second time.

 

Anyway apart from the partial completion of the sky I've been beavering away on the rest of the scenic work with assorted green stuff and paint and PVA.

 

 

The 'Burning Bush' pub now has a nice garden and the road outside has rough setts courtesy of DAS clay and some styrene section which I used to create the texture.



Another arrival on the Island is the new Bachmann Skarloey. For the time being I will leave it in Thomas condition but eventually I will convert it to a proper Talyllyn No 1. It is a cracking runner and  might entertain at the forth coming exhibition.

Still plenty to do but I'm now confident that it will be as ready as it needs to be for Llanberis, I'm looking forward to the show. Might be a bit of a slog as I've never done a 3 dayer before.

Colour and texture

Because I'm up against it time wise I've been cracking on with getting the layout advanced so I've been splashing paint and glue about over the last couple of days.

The first area to start looking as I have envisaged is the bit between the railway and the fishermen's cottage. The beach is probably the trickiest bit to get right so I started there by gluing down a layer of chinchilla dust and then adding areas of larger size sand and O gauge ballast.

This evening I made a start on adding some greenery and some other more subtle painted colours on the track and so on. The only bit of plaster white left is the road in front of the pub which will get a cobbled surface made with DAS clay.

The halt has gained a gravelled platform surface and the edging stones have been whitewashed. All in all not bad but plenty more to do.

Onwards and upwards

I am happy to say that I have made enough progress this week to be confident that Underhill will be in an exhibitable state by the middle of February at the Slate Museum exhibition.

The new Bagnall posing with a train at the halt

The backscene MDF in place

I think this will be a good place for pictures

The track is 'ballasted'

Today I started putting some basic colour on

In the workshop I realised the Bagnall looked wrong but couldn't work out why and then I realised the cylinders needed painting. As a result it looks much better balanced. I've also finished the Robex flying bench I got from Shapeways a while ago. It has holes to add the canvas roof and I may do another one with a lid but this one will stay open.

Plastered again

I grabbed a half hour earlier and poked a bit more plaster about today.

That's the big cutting and new bit behind the cheese factory. Track next, brown paint and then 'ballast'.

Also the Bagnall now only needs glazing and nameplates to be finished.

Making progress finally

I spent the day working on the scenery on the new bit and made some gratifying progress.

I started by cutting to size and gluing and screwing the end piece of timber in place. This meant that I could construct the rear of the big cutting.

I started coating the plaster bandage with ready mixed plaster and subsequently bedded the buildings into the wet plaster. I have a pet hate of buildings floating above the ground on otherwise good models.

In other news, the new Bagnall has it's basic paint on and looks good. I have name plates on the way but I am wondering about trying out some lining. I have various colours to try. Hmm...

Bagnall begins

Finally I have got back on the modelling bike, having fallen off it at Christmas. A couple of days ago I sprayed the body of my new Narrow Planet Bagnall kit which was my Christmas present to myself but which had languished unloved in it's box.

It follows the usual NP format of having a 3D printed core with etched overlays which add detail and strength.

I've opted to make the version with the fully enclosed cab as it will hide the motor better.

Talking of the motor, I have managed to disconnect one of the wires from the motor which might be a bit fiddly to resolder. 

One thing the instructions don't make clear is how to attach the body to the chassis which might require some fiddle arsing about too.  The basic bodywork is done which will need some filing and filling and then it will be time for the details to be added. Nice little loco on the way, just need to get the layout finished enough for the February exhibition in the slate museum.