The Display Track
The warehouse was a nice idea, but I needed somewhere to try out some 'outdoor' features - track, ballasting, dry-stone walling, trees etc. While building my new workshop, I had to cut a plywood door down and ended up with a 762mm (2'-6") strip, about 100mm wide. I also has lots of 9mm ply strips left over from the wall panelling. Joining one to the other I had a small baseboard on which I could practice modelling in this new (to me) scale and create a nice display track as well.
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The first addition was a strip of 3mm cork, which will lift the track and allow the ballast to rise above the surrounding ground. Then some track, comprising stained, hardwood timber sleepers that had been distressed with a wire brush, and some code 120 flat-bottom rail, spiked down. The wall was given a coat of PVA and covered in filler. It was difficult to get it perfectly smooth, but some texture should make the wall more interesting. The filler was allowed to set hard before inscribing the stonework and painting it.
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Trees
Trees were another area I wanted to experiment with. Having previously modelled 0-16.5 (1:43), trees and shrubs in 1:22.5 scale were clearly going to be a greater challenge. I had been researching and collecting materials for some time. Visiting Ken Warren's Realistic Modelling shop at various shows I picked up fabulous flock materials and was shown the use of stainless steel wool as the basis for the smaller branches. I'd also picked up some florists tape from Ceynix, which is used to wrap the wire armatures that form the trunk and main branches. I couldn't wait to put it all together. (NB: Ken retired in 2016)
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Installing power to the workshop produced lots of copper wire off-cuts, together with steel wire from the armoured power supply cable. I discovered that the latter was tinned and could be soldered. It also came off in neat, relatively straight bundles, ideal for tree making.
A copy of Gordon Gravett's modelling trees pt1 was subsequently purchased that should provide inspiration and guidance on future trees - watch this space. |
Ballast
While tidying up in the greenhouse, a bag of Cornish Grit was discovered. It had a good range of grit sizes, but they were coloured light grey to white. Undeterred, some was thrown into a tub and mixed with neat acrylic paint (black, brown & white) and stirred until evenly coated. It was then spread on kitchen paper to dry. Several batches were made with slightly different paint ratios and when dry, mixed together.
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