Monday 18 March 2019

Evolution of a Micro-Diorama

Despite some progress on the mk2 version of the 'Beck Bridge' scene I still wasn't overly happy. So officially that project is on hold for a while - unofficially I have a 'cunning plan' but that will have to wait...

What has appeared is a 70 x 140mm 'micro' diorama to fit in my display cabinet in its place that is a lot more suited to the purpose - less is more.


The track came from from the bridge scene cut to length, I wasn't too sure about the fencing, feeling it might overpower such a small scene so after a little thought I tried some fencing along the back edge  that I made up 18 months ago based on some portable wooden fencing used by the Ravenglass & Eskdale railway, as described here


As much as I liked the 'Ratty' fence the more I looked at it the more it didn't look right - two long sections seemed to shorten the scene. The three panels of the concrete fence made it look longer. I therefore looked at other low options, and mocked up on this typical low wooden barrier.


The uprights are 7mm NGA wooden sleepers, a pack I picked up from 7mm NGA sales for 50p. Each was cut in half and notched at the top. The rail is basswood, it was 1/8" square but I opted to reduce it by about a quarter to reduce the visible impact, then sanding down the sides of the uprights to reduce them too. 

Deciding this was the way to go the wooden fence was given a wash of brown, followed by dry brushing in natural wood, darker brown and dirt colours. The metal plates securing the rail to the uprights were made from foil cut from a Mr Kipling style tray, probably from a Christmas treat! 


Further progress has seen the track ballasted using a blend of colours, laid dry, sprayed with water and secured with 'Kleer'. Scenic work can now begin using tried and tested techniques and hopefully a few new ideas.

Colin

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