Airfix church in The Collector

 

Time to tackle a kit over 50 years old for the Hornby Collectors Club magazine, The Collector. 

Last time, I built a Tri-ang hardware store, and I'd hoped to try the church from the same range, that survived into the 1980s, but I haven't been able to locate a kit yet. 

So, plan B. The Airfix church, now manufactured by Dapol, has its roots from the Kitmaster range that predated the Tri-ang one. Kits designed to compliment OO railways were an excellent idea, even though Kitmaster/Airfix weren't model railway manufacturers at that point. 

The model is fun to build and paint, and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. The big question is, what do I build next?

1/32nd Street Scene

Not really a "Warehouse Wednesday", but a stunning street scene spotted at the G3 Society AGM last weekend. The model is actually 1/32nd (Gauge 1), but we won't hold that againast it. 

 I've uploaded these images full size, so you can click on them and see all the detail. It's well worth it!

Tri-ang shop in "The Collector"

 

The latest issue of the Hornby Collector's club house magazine drops through the letterbox, and in it is my contribution, a build of the Tri-ang "Real Estate" Hardware store. 

I'd never heard of the range before, until I found this kit on Cheltenham Model Centre's stand at a show. I picked it up out of curiosity, and it's sat on the shelf ever since. Then I started building retro kits for The Collector, and it seemed like an excellent subject. 

If you'd like to know more about this range, I recommend this website. It allowed me to date my kit to 1962, as the range changed name in 1963.

Having built one, I'm now on the lookout for more, so if you have anything tucked away, and don't want huge amounts of cash for it, I'd be interested. More on this tomorrow. 

 

Crooked House in BRM

 

One main project for me in November's issue of BRM - if you've been looking at the news in the last few months, you'll have heard of the Crooked House pub. This apparently, well loved hostelry, was sold by the brewery and then burned down in suspicious cirumstances. 

David Wright very quickly built a 7mm scale model, and spotting a 3D printed kit, I made the same thing in 4mm scale. Add some prototype information by Andy "The Yam-Yam" York, and it's one of the most interesting features we've put together. 

Also on the workbench, modelling poppies in various forms. 

There's also my first TT:120 build for the magazine - a yard crane. 

 

For BRM TV, I look at stringing cranes, with a few different options. 

My camera has been out too. 

Pwllheli in P4:

Newvaddon Parkway in N:

And finally, College Halt:

Plaster N gauge buildings

 

Three, very nice, N gauge (OK, scale, but you know what I mean) buildings, for a fiver. Thanks Elaine's Trains at TINGS. Apparently, they were part of a much larger collection, that mostly sold out on the Saturday. 

I'm told the manufacturer is SD Models, although they don't appear to be related to S&D Models, but I do remember hearing the name in the past. Do they still exist? 

Made of plaster, each model has been in the wars with chips and dings. I'm hoping that a little touching in with thinned paint will hide the worst damage. Being plaster though, the colours and wall textures are superb. 

To be honest, I bought these out of curiosity, and because I sometimes need to set up photographic scenes, and my N gauge building collection is minimal. These might appear in the few backgrounds in the future. 

This is one of the reasons I go to shows. You don't get bargains like this on the web!

Fame is, R7361

 

I am properly famous. Never mind having your name in lights above a theatre entrance, or appearing on billboards. There is a building in the Hornby Skaledale range named after me. 

When sitting through the new year announcements last December, this model, R7361 Parkers Newsagents (I'm sure there should be an apostrophe), it was heavily hinted that the name wasn't a coincidence. 

You can argue that they have to call it something, but I've known the people at Hornby for a long while, so have decided that the model is named after me. 

Inside the box is a rather nice building. Not perfect of course, and in the July issue of BRM, I've made a few modifications, which have ruined its collectable status. I'll have to buy one and keep it mint. They probably worked that out. It's a marketing ploy...

You can buy Parkers Newsagent from Hornby.

R279 Mock Georgian House - Part 1. What's in the box?

 

Regular readers will know I'm a fan of the Hornby Town & Country range of plastic kits produced in the 1990s, so when I chanced upon a pile of R279 Mock Georgian House, I snapped a couple up for a "stick it together for fun" session. Well, it makes a change from 3-wheel Japanese trucks! 

In the box, the plastic mouldings are all very nice and crisp. Self-coloured too, if you like that sort of thing. Windows are pretty good and will be augmented with printed glazing. 

The prototype is one of those identikit dwellings that proliferated in the later years of the last century. Nowadays, I notice a greater variety of designs on new estates, but I'm sure I've seen plenty like this. The designer did a good job. 

And who was that designer? Well, the Pola branding on this part tells us it wasn't someone from Margate. The range was bought in, but none the worse for it, and handily, you can still buy them fromn Gaugemaster.

Saturday Film Club: Build a Fairy house from cardboard

A really impressive build - creating a fairy house out of cardboard and lashings of hot glue. 

Recording this video must have taken some effort, and the model itself benefits from the builder's artistic skills.

Making pavements

 

One of the jobs I've been least looking forward to on Selly Oak is laying the pavements. I'm not sure why, it's just a task I can't work up any enthusiasm for, but know needs to be done. 

Progress has been slow, but I have managed one side of the road. I'm using 2mm thick Daler Board cut to size and then scribed for the paving slabs. A home-made ruler marked out in slab sizes speeds this job up a lot. Even more if I didn't lose the ruler each time so I didn't need to make it up again.

This is sprayed with grey car primer and then painted with Precision weathered concrete paint. 

Years ago, I bought some very cheap packs of grey pastels which can be scrubbed on a very coarse file to produce powder. This is rubbed into the surface with a mucky finger. Dampening the digit helps the stuff stick into the scribed lines - although it seems to cling to the card pretty well. 

I'll use the same powder on the road eventually to add variety to the colour, but that will wait until the pavements are all down.

Brace yourself!

 

 

 

The Selly Oak viaduct is the biggest structure I've built in many years, and my normal methods need a bit of adaption. 

 

With the sides stuck to the plywood track bed using Deluxe Materials Speedbond, the structure still felt a bit wobbly. Cue several pieces of foamboard fixed in place for added strength. I only need this while the model is free of the baseboard, but they won't hurt. It's not like they add any weight! Fixing is with the special foam-safe UHU as it's quick to grab and holds really well. 

 

At the end, there some DIY wall filler also acting as glue and the same trick has been sued along the sides of the trackbed where there are small gaps 'cos I'm rubbish at woodwork. 

 

The viaduct can now be waved around in the air without issue - good news as it's now time for paint. 

Building more plastic walls

 A little sequence of photos showing the construction of the final big bits of the Selly Oak walls. 

 

 

All the work is carried out with 2mm thick own brand plastic from Eileen's Emporium -  I think it's a little softer than Plastikard. It's also easy to work and cheaper. Bricks are from South Eastern Finecast. Glues are Revell Contacta, Mek Pack and Limonine for laminating. 

An evening's work and a very pleasant one at that.

Canal bridge sides

The massive canal bridge is another exercise in repeated modelling. The basic concept is a curved top slab for the side, but the ribs are numerous and need to look the same. I used a similar method as on the road bridge, although it's simplified a bit as no-one is looking at the canal in the same way. 

This diagram might be a little crude, but it should help to explain. The numbers indicate the order the parts are assembled.

1 - Bridge side. 1mm plastic.

2 - Bottom plate. This sticks out both sides of the side and is 8mm wide. 

3 - Vertial rib back. 3mm wide 0.5mm thick plastic. 

4 - Diagonal brace. Basically a square of the same stuff as the rib. Yes, I know the rib should carry on all the way down to the bottom plate, but it's quicker this way and I don't think anyone will notice. 

5 - More 0.5mm plastic for the rib. It's cut off at around 45 degrees at the bottom. 

The key to making the ribs is plenty of solvent and smooshing the parts together so the molten plastic fills any unwanted gaps and hides less then perfect part fits. Where possible, such as at the top of each rib, I cut overlong and trim back once the glue has dried. There's less measuring that way, yet you can be confident they will be right.

Brickwork patching

 I love working with styrene - it's so forgiving. There aren't many materials that allow you to make invisible joins in so easily. 

 

 

The design of the South Eastern Finecast arches combined with the way I've used them on Selly Oak lets the end of one arch be visible where I don't want it. 

 

 

The bricks are laminated to a 2mm thick backing sheet using Limonine solvent. To hide the end of the arch, I carefully cut out a section of bricks and a matching strip from a plain sheet. Then the whole are is washed with Mek-Pak. 

 

 

The strip is them shoved hard into the gap after making sure the bonds line up. It's important to push it in properly because the two plastic pieces will be slightly soft thanks to the solvent. Done right, the plastic will bond and leave no gap. A wash of solvent over the surface and apart from a slight shine, which will be covered with paint, the bodge will be invisible.

Leave the door ajar

 

I can't remember which magazine it was in, but I remember an amazing, beautiful, model railway layout where the author made the point that he didn't like little people. Instead, he left hints of their existence - a bike leant against a wall and doors slightly ajar. Enough to suggest life without static people. 

I'm not against model people (insert traditional note about not using running man figures) but I do appreciate the value of doors that aren't shut properly. 

The Selly Oak arches are coming along and I've followed my own advice leaving a door in each arch ajar. Well, except for the one furthest from the camera, but there is a good reason for that which I'll come to another day. 

I've also varied the design of the doors so it looks like the scene has evolved over time. It's not difficult to do when scratchbuilding, in fact it makes the job more interesting. I'm easily bored when repeating the same things!

All the above is in plastic sheet. Apart from the bricks, everything is scribed using an Olfa cutter with a few bits of plastic strip for embellishment.

Developing the repeatable Part 2 - The arches

Now for the REAL challenge - the viaduct the railway runs along the top of. Unlike the road, these will be at least visible and people might even look closely. 

Unlike the prototype, I have to contend with baseboard joints and using existing arches rather than starting from scratch on a cleared site. I don't want a break in the middle of an arch  for a start, it will look more natural between arches and I can invent a drainpipe to distract the eye. The model is modified to fit the boards as it is, so I feel justified in taking a few liberties with the design. 

I think this is recognisable from the prototype if slightly simplified. The 5 rows of bricks on top of the stone line are toped with a 45 degree angled brick that would be difficult to model neatly for a start. As I said yesterday, keep it neat and no-one will (hopefully) spot the cheat. If they do, tough. 

I'm filling in the arches with workshops as I think that's how they were, and more importantly, working out what to do under there if I don't fill them in makes my head hurt. 

To make matters more interesting, I'm modelling both sides of the viaduct. This test is the rear version. I think we'll want to take photos from this side occasionally, so no skimping for me here!

Airfix coal offices

 

Talking of tickling up old models, a couple of Airfix coal offices have been across the workbench for a projects. 

On the right we have one bought second-hand from my local model shop so I could turn it into a burning building for a World of Railway Project. It was horribly painted with gloss pale brown paint and the ridge tiles were missing. Most people would chuck it in the bin, I saved it and turned the little building into something useful. 

On the left we have something for a HCC magazine project. Starting with a new old stock kit, I put the windows in inside out and added cills from square plastic. New for me is scribing the roof tiles with an Olfa cutter using the raised Airfix lines between each slate as a guide. The result looks good and didn't take very long. 

I kid myself that the colour scheme is reminiscent of the Crowsnest Tramway. A better sign would be nice, but beyond my graphic design abilities. The brown wash is a little heavy-handed, although looks better in real life. My excuse was that there was a serious time-pressure on the project so I simply didn't have time to tone it down a little. 

Maybe I'll build the definitive model one day.

Jesus might save, but this time I couldn't

Soppy Phil sometimes spots waifs and strays on stands at model railway shows and buys them to save the poor model from the bin. 

Two quid saw me acquire this badly built Wills Tin Tabernacle at Stafford I think. My idea was to have a bit of fun with it for the blog. 

Well reader, I tried, but sadly I was defeated. 

Whoever had put the thing together in the first place used tube cement, and plenty of it. All my efforts to gently prise parts away from each other failed miserably. Shards of broken plastic were my reward for the attempted rescue.

Even the brickwork was firmly fixed together - that wonky chimney isn't lose, it's solid - couldn't be pulled apart, and that stuff is usually a bit more flexible than the corrugated plastic. 

So, it's another failed project. I don't feel too bad, at least I tried.

Pity about this as I've always liked the look of the kit. I'm sure there is one stashed away somewhere for me to build properly. I just need to concoct a reason to do it...

Tenterden shop kit

Another model from the kit stash. This City Streets kit came my way a few years ago, I think from a blog reader whose name I can't find no matter how long I dig through my e-mail. I remember soma happy holidays in Tenterden as a child. A few trips on the Kent & East Sussex railway and a lovely main street to walk down.

This kit is made up of some nicely cast resin parts. The detail looks pretty good and there's not too much flash to deal with. I found the stuff there was needed to be sanded away, the material being too hard to cut with a knife.

Resin models can be "entertaining" as the parts are rarely spot on square. I've cut up enough ready to plonk model buildings to know how wonky they can be once you attack them. This seemed pretty good, but fixing with epoxy resin was the order of the day since a bit of gap filling was required.

I made up the two corner sections, let them dry and then brought them together and that's when it all went a bit wrong.

Noticing that the building wobbled, I tried to tweak it with my fingers with the clamps in place. Normally, you can get away with this if the glue is soft enough. It might have been, but the old resin sides were brittle.

Suddenly, I was left with many bits of building.

I did contemplate getting the superglue out, but couldn't find all the jigsaw and really, this wasn't going to get any squarer or flatter. Sadly, this building is now in the bin. I have more examples and so one day I'll have another go as this range is worth the effort.

It all goes to show that modelling doesn't always go quite as well as I'd like every time!

Sticking the walls together

A real expert would spend hours carefully honing the chamfers in the corners of this kit. I am not an expert, I just trim them so the outside corner is OK and then glue things together using Pound shop epoxy resin that fills up the gaps. Buying the cheap stuff means you can slosh it on and it's plenty good enough for this job. 

The outside corners aren't perfect of course, but a bit of Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty soon sorts that out. Once dry, because I want to do this properly as a tribute to Peter, I cut each brick course with a thin saw. Yet again, I'm glad this isn't a warehouse...

The roof is joined with superglue and then braced with more epoxy. I'm keeping it lose as I have an idea that some furniture would be nice inside and since I don't have any suitable kits, or a desire to scratchbuild, I'll fix it on properly later. 

One area to be careful with is fitting the chimney. This needs to be slightly inboard as the roof extends beyond the walls slightly, and the stack should be on top of the bricks, not fresh air.

Pete's hut

My friend, Pete Blakeman, passed away recently. He had been ill for some time and so disposed of his unbuilt kit collection. Mostly 7mm scale, it's not my main interest, but I bought a cheap Skytrex weighbridge hut with an idea it might be fun to build as a future project. At Pete's funeral, I decided the time had come to get on with it. Funerals focus the mind a bit...

Anyway, the kit is mainly cast resin sides with some whitemetal detailing.

A little cleaning up is required. Chamfers on the ends need treating with either coarse file or some abrasive sticks. The windows have their flash removed with a sharp knife. It's a lot cleaner than abrasive which produces dust that I'm told is bad for you. After a couple of windows, it's very quick and easy too. A little carving, a little scrapeing and the job is soon done. Mind you, it's hut not a warehouse!