I have, at last, been weaned off using proprietary roofing slates thanks to the method Iain Robinson describes in the comment at the end of the post in his blog. In case this helps someone else, I used 3x3mm squared graph paper from the web, printed on 100 gsm paper, cut into 6x3 rectangles, stuck down with PVA, painted with what I guessed was an overall slatey sort of colour, then picked out individual slates in different shades. This first attempt is not perfect but much more pleasing - and satisfying. It makes me think I may have to revisit the roofs of earlier models now though. (I bet I won't. Too lazy). The ridge tiles are strips of paper laid over a piece of string glued to the ridge, with thinner strips applied for the joins. I copied that idea too. I copy everything.
Here's a nice roofing example too on the lnr models blog.
Loving this, Chas! The whole thing has a convincing air, the old televisions and the washing machine, the old Morris van...pure magic! That lower window in the yellow bricked structure looks like something from a Cheshire dairy...very convincing.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely first rate modelling, Chas. You've outdone yourself again. These are so full of character. Excellent pipe work too!
ReplyDeleteThank you chaps for your kind comments. I made the post in a bit of a rush yesterday so have added a paragraph about the roof for which I owe you both thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was losing it - that paragraph definitely wasn't there when I saw the post on my phone last night (bit rubbish for looking at the pretty pictures)
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed. This is easily comparable with the work of Iain Robinson et al. That DVD you got has certainly paid dividends
I copy everything too, Chas. And I get inspiration from folk like you.
ReplyDeleteWonderfull stuff as usual. The hasps and padlocks on the doors are very neatly done.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder if the Morris van is still used or if its patiently awaiting a new lease of life with a sympathetic owner or more probably the attention of the scrapman.
Seeing those old tellies (as we used to call them) takes me right back to those valve driven black and white jobs that took 5 minutes to warm up and hummed when switched on. Ah, the good old days when there was only 3 channels of distracting rubbish...
Thanks Paul. Yes, the good old days when you could watch the test card for hours and fix a telly just by thumping it!
ReplyDeletewow! what a nice work..glad that you really have made it..good job, keep it up!!
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Thank you very much!
DeleteThat is as good a piece of scenic modelling as I've seen in a long time, Chas. The fact that our family ran a telly shop in Devon and our vehicle was a Morris Minor van might have something to do with that! Absolutely excellent work.
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest just a couple of points that you may want to experiment with? Try sanding the Slaters brick sheet down a bit to sharpen the bricks away from that slightly rounded cobbly look they come with as standard. Also, if you give the corners a good brushfull of solvent and leave for a day or so, you can file/sand the corner joint to completely remove the appearance of it being 2 bits of plastic meeting and then you can run the courses round with a triangular Swiss file. It makes the bricks look very consistently solid and takes just minutes. Have a gander at my blog. Scroll back a bit to the Greasers and Caffs post:-http://oddsoracle.blogspot.co.uk/ Martin
Thanks very much, Martin. As time goes on, I'm getting a little more picky and the Slaters brick sheet doesn't look quite right so that's great advice. And the tip concerning corners too. Incidentally, I came across this photo from a link on another blog. http://public.fotki.com/MarcelAckle/holzkisten/ki12020.html How on earth does he get that effect with the brickwork? It looks like individual bricks. Perhaps it's a much larger scale. Best wishes, Chas
ReplyDeleteChas,
ReplyDeleteI've seen Marcel's work before and yes, they are separate bricks and yes it is a much bigger scale, I think 1/16th, like Chuck Doan's. Too big for my liking, on scenery. It's starting to be like a doll's house at that scale and there's almost no possibility of setting such huge structures into a scene.
I have the distinct feeling with your work, that after reading and sifting ideas and tips from the rest of us you'll then improve on them to a degree where we will be nicking back off you! But, hey!, I ain't proud. If someone can do it better than me I say good for him and tell me how! I'm glad you like my blog and thanks for becoming a follower (how I hate that expression!). It isn't exclusively models and not just railways as you can see, but it will be more scenery from now on as I am tired of all the other stuff. That's best kept for earning a living. I'll be posting mainly the fun stuff in future.
Thanks, Martin. I've always thought it must be a hard slog at times for professional modelmakers. I'll look forward to reading about scenery and the other fun stuff.
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