The Lady and the Lamp - Christmas Tree Halt

It's that time of year again to defrost the pizza and have some 009 Christmas fun. As usual the Minitrains Bagnall 'Isla' is in charge of getting the presents to Santa in time.

I always like to add something new to the scene each year and this year I have added a Lady, and a Lamp. I've always thought there should be a hopeful passenger on the platform, awaiting the train into town for some last minute shopping, so we now have Mrs Goggins, a Dapol figure painted in Christmassy greens and reds to match the colour palette of the scene. lamp standard, one of the standard Merit/Modelscene ones with a frosty finish (over-sprayed matt varnish) and plenty of snow-mix to blend it in. 

The gas lamp is one of the standard Merit/Modelscene ones with a frosty finish, created using over-sprayed matt varnish and plenty of snow-mix to blend it in around the base and on the flat surfaces. After some debate about whether there should be snow on the top if it heats up, there is a fine layer and we have to assume it has snowed since it cooled down.

I had a crazy idea the other day to paint the Snailbeach hopper in blue lettered for the North Pole Snow Co. - I might have to lay off the cheese over Christmas! 

Wishing all readers a Merry Christmas.

Colin

 

To Caistor and Cleethorpes

I thought some railway content on the blog was in order after a few weeks of  Doctor Who. On Sunday, with clear skies after the stormy weather of the previous days, I headed across Lincolnshire to Caistor for the annual model railway exhibition. Despite many flooded fields I found that the roads were largely clear, the only bit of surface water encountered being a big pool on the A46 (although I discovered on my return home that the outgoing route I had taken via Bawtry was now closed due to flooding).  

Town hall shows can bring a mixed variety of layouts, the highlight for me being Paul Windle's 'High Stamley', an atmospheric 009 layout placing the railway in the landscape in a relatively small space. It also runs very well to a pattern that the operators know and provides movement most of the time, including on the road. There's also a very large dog from a popular animation hiding in a corner!

Further narrow gauge interest was 'Welton Park', the O9 layout from the Market Deeping club that was at Narrow Gauge Now back in July. On the standard gauge front two layouts representing the BR blue era caught my attention, 'Boston Frodsham' and Ken Gibbon's 'Lapford Road', which I hadn't seen for a  few years. What was noticeable here was that with a few exceptions most of the stock was of an older generation sensibly detailed up, including Triang-Hornby Mk2 coaches, an Airfix class 31 and Airfix kit brake vans. Other layouts were full of the latest toys but perhaps lacked the consistency across the board.

It is not a huge show and after an hour and a half, (and a small expenditure on some narrow gauge items from a trader) I opted to head the relatively short hop to the coast to Cleethorpes to call in on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway. The Guest 0-6-0DM 'Rachel' was in charge, and do not worry, giant spiders have not attacked her, she was dressed up for the Halloween season. After a train ride and some lunch I walked up the floodgate to get a couple of photographs.

To be pedantic you are beside the Humber estuary at this point and the actual sea is tantalisingly in the distance, so as the weather was so nice I walked up the marine embankment to a point just past the currently disused CCLR Humberston station, from where I could see the sea, Spurn Point and both of the Humber forts. Ironically exactly a year ago to the day we had stayed in a caravan just here and I had watched and photographed the sunrise from the balcony. I regretted not having my "proper" camera with me on this visit, but the picture below from my phone has turned out reasonably well.

(Click for larger version)

The days that followed have turned to much less pleasant weather and the brief trip to the coast has allowed the longer days of summer to stay fresh in my mind for a little longer. As the nights draw in and the clocks go back I tend to find that these memories help. What will also help is working out what the next modelling project will be, that may take a little longer but don't be surprised if an influence from Caistor creeps in...

Colin

Highlights of 2022

On the face of it, 2022 seems to have been a quiet year modelling wise for me, at the end of the year it doesn't feel as if there is anything to really reflect on, but as I browse back through the photos I realise it hasn't all been that bad!

The Bungalow

Started in 2021, completed in January, an Airfix/Dapol conversion in 4mm scale built with no real purpose but to 'do'. Interestingly this inspired one of my modelling 'hero's to do a similar conversion, and I'm flatered! I still have it, one day it may feature in a layout or diorama...

The 'Big Tree'

Encouraged by my friend James Wells' work for the NRM's O gauge layout, I reworked my prototype wire-framed tree into a half-relief model with the hope that it would move forward a layout project. Completed in April, it hasn't achieved that but I still have it, awaiting it's moment...

Little Red Number

Restarted earlier in the year from a stalled project, again completed in April, this model of nothing in particular (sorry, The Smiths are playing on the radio...) is one that I am particularly proud of, capturing the spirit of a mid 20th century 15" gauge loco.

'Old Quarry Line' Scenic Re-work

Totally unexpected, as I was meant to be re-working something else instead! I wanted to reuse the scenic materials removed during reworking the big tree and another project, creating new layers of undergrowth and adding another reworked Hornby tree. 

In addition a new dummy siding was added that became host to a much modified Dundas Snailbeach hopper. I completed a running example too, plus a Peco one was received at Christmas...

The White Rose

Having been received from A1 Models back in February, this 3D print finishing project was not completed until October, I have to admit I fell out with on more than one occasion, but perseverance paid off in the end to a satisfactory result, although a few further changes have not been ruled out...

The Tramcar

Another February generated project, but one that had a lot of thoughts and doodles behind it by the time it started. Very much a nonsense project it is currently in the latter stages of assembly post-paintshop, the full reveal will hopefully not be too far into 2023...

Almost 'Albert'

Another A1 Models build but with a lot of changes to better reflect it's inspiration (largely because I know the chaps that built it!). Livery and real name to be determined very soon, watch this space!

There were a few other projects in the course of the year that I haven't mentioned here, including numerous wagons and another tree. But all in all it doesn't really add up to a massive amount of creation. I look on at other modellers rates of production not with envy but awe at what they can output, but have to remember that we all have different circumstances, resources and amounts of time available. I cannot even pinpoint 3D printing as a reason people can produce more, despite those who claim it isn't 'real modelling' (whatever that is), designing the print takes skill and time, and even after printing cleaning up, preparing for paint, painting and finishing still takes time and real skill. I have to admit I prefer other mediums, one of the reasons 'The White Rose' took so long was the 3D print's limitations, but that is a personal choice rather than a prejudice.

In O9 ready-to-run isn't an option, one of the reasons I keep an hand in 009 is that it does allow the odd dabble in "instant satisfaction" and the ability to receive the odd gift of a wagon etc. I'm torn on the Bachmann Quarry Hunslet, I'd really like one, I can afford one but only as a one-off treat. But would it eclipse my Minitrains-based locos that I've put work into to make unique? Decisions, decisions...

Happy New Year to all readers of O9 Modeller.

Colin

Do not move - an abandoned wagon in 009

Abandoned wagons are a theme that I seem to return to from time to time, there seems to be something quite intriguing about a vehicle that should have a purpose, sitting idly doing nothing, perhaps forgotten by all but the keenest observers.

This 009 project was inspired a rebuild of the new RTR Peco Snailbeach wagon that featured on the NGRM Forum where the top of the hopper was altered from three planks to a two-planked version. My interpretation uses my second Dundas kit, with appropriate modifications to the top sections of the body. On the underframe I carried out the same frame end modifications as my operational example and wishing to create a wheel-less wagon up on blocks, I removed the axle boxes by making a horizontal cut with a fine razor saw across the top of the axlebox, then a vertical cut up behind the axlebox leaving a flat piece behind. The pin-point was then drilled out from the back and opened below to create a slot, which I neatened with a file.

Having removed the original mouldings before reworking the underframe ends, I added new bumpers either end from Evergreen channel section, and all the strapping between hopper body and underframe, a fun job if ever there was one! Rivet/bolt details carefully cut from the discarded top plank sections were added to detail underframe end strapping and holes drilled to represent mountings for the vanished brake lever. After final cleaning up it was given a scrub up ready for painting. 

A coat of primer brought all the elements together and revealed little need ready for further treatment before moving on.

I'd give a step by step account of the paint job, except that I laregely just made it up as I went along and didn't have time to take photos...

To summarise, I started with washes of Citadel 'Nuln Oil' and Penhaven weathering paints, followed by dry brushes of wood colours, light greys etc and further washes to tone different areas. I then masked-up and painted the metalwork in Vallejo black-grey. That was followed by another wash using a brown shade and more dry brushing. The interior was treated to various shades of rust, some stippled using a stiff brush, representing the metal lining of these wagons. In a sense this was all pre-weathering for what would follow.

In order to set the wagon onto 'The Old Quarry Line' I created supports from a couple of different coffee stirrers and squares of Basswood strip. These had a wash of 'Nuln Oil', a brown wash and were then dry-brushed with a beige/grey shade. After drying they were glued together to create the support stacks. They were them glued and weighted in place on the layout.

Before installation the wagon acquired a significant amount of 'grot', in the form of paint and weathering powders. Again, no step-by-step but a lot of the load remnants are a mix of acrylic paint and filler, stippled in place in the base of the hopper and around the top edges, and on horizontal surfaces of the underframe. To this was added sand and earth weathering powders to add to the colour and texture. On the black ironwork I had previously added a few areas of Citadel 'Typhus Corrosion' paint and I added some rust colour weathering powders in these areas - all very subtle! The somewhat ironic 'Do not move' inscription is from an old Replica Railways sheet of chalk markings - it didn't rub down correctly but that adds to the effect. Once the stacks of wood were firmly fixed in place on the layout the wagon was fixed in place on it's perch.

At the far end the wagon is slowly starting to vanish into the undergrowth, I had to re-arrange the bushes a little to push the wagon closer to the baseboard edge to create enough clearance at the end of the operational siding. I think this scene is closer to what I had in mind here when I added the disconnected siding, the Penrhyn Fullersite wagon looked far too useable to be in there and will be recycled into the operational fleet.

I am pleased with how this project has turned out from a kit that was likely to have become a source of 'bits' and is now the generous donor of a spare set of Greenwich wheels!

Colin

More Makeovers (Red is the new Grey)

Not so long ago I realised that my 009 stock was a little bit, well, grey in colour. The main reason for this on the kit built stock is pure laziness on my part, working the colours up from primer grey. In the case of my modified Dundas WHR brake van, it is also a symptom of hurried completion to meet an exhibition deadline. With it's seasonal use on 'Christmas Tree Halt' in mind I decided to give it a bit of a makeover... 

As the dedicated Christmas wagon is green, the obvious other Christmas-compatible colour is red, but not too bright a red. The ideal colour came in the form of the Citadel 'mephiston red' as used on my recent O9 loco. The intention was to just repaint the grey areas but in the end the only original paint remaining is the roof and veranda floor. These areas were masked off, the grey areas sprayed with red primer and then a couple of coats of the citadel colour applied.

I had also masked off the axleboxes and underframe but the black-grey that looked fine against the light grey body colour now looked too light, so I repainted these areas in a darker shade, using the same shade on the bumpers at either end and the steps. A wash of Citadel 'nuln oil' over the red sat nicely in the plank lines and door recesses, although some dry brushing of the body colour over the planks was needed to get the desired effect. Feeling the red needed breaking up I added numbers either side from an old dry-print sheet of GWR locomotive lettering.

The Meridian Models TR brake handle had been removed prior to repainting and was reinstated prior to varnishing with Humbrol matt acrylic. For the first time in ages I experienced 'blooming' of the varnish coat and had to again dry brush the body colour over in places. The lamp and guard figure were glued in place and the roof (and integral partition) glued back in place, and finally the wheels added and couplings refitted. 

In other makeover news, I have been able to complete the area under the new tree on 'The Old Quarry Line'. 

Filler was used to create an impression of the roots and once dry the new roots, trunk and lower branches were painted, attempting to match the Hornby colour. You cannot actually see the roots now as I have cleared the grass away and added a small area of treated coir hanging basket liner before adding more recycled foliage material.

On the other side of the layout I have added a felled tree trunk, actually the remains of an early home-made tree I started during the construction of the layout. This wire framed tree was chopped at the roots and branches using a cutting disc in a hobby tool. Some touching up of the cuts with filler and paint was required to complete the cut timber "look".

There may be a few more additions or changes to make in due course, watch this space...

Colin

Snailbeach - at a Snail's pace!

I received a couple of Dundas Snailbeach wagon kits as a Christmas gift from my Dad after I mentioned that I might get a couple of the Peco ones when they came out. What I had forgotten to say is that the reason I was interested in them was based on them being RTR and that the kit had something of a "reputation"... 

Between Christmas and New Year I started to build one of the kits, which has been an interesting build process to say the least. Any hopper wagon in kit form will be tricky, more so from what must be among the oldest moulds in the range. I probably took away too much material on the insides of the joints, you can see some of the styrene strip infill on the inside. A few mistakes have been made, such as scribing plank lines into the inside of the upper sides, thinking the old tooling just didn't feature them... before discovering that the real wagons had metal linings, and having to fill the lines back in! 

I paid particular attention to the ends of the chassis, refining the shape, adding a 5 thou overlay wrapped around and adding new bumpers from Evergreen channel section. I have added some deliberate distressing on some of the planks and some very dubious looking brake gear, with the proviso that it isn't a Snailbeach wagon but one supplied to the Old Quarry Line. 

One area where I did make a change was at the left hand end of each upper side, trimming the corner plate back by approx 1mm to line up with the plate on the angled section and also making each end section equal in length. I have had to add new bolt heads harvested from another Dundas part that was redundant. All painted up in primer it looks OK, and you can see some of the distressing I added to the planking. 

Wanting a finish that would differ from any future RTR companions I applied a weathered wood effect, including some planks in "wood" colour and some in grey, black-grey and brown washes. The ironwork has been painted black-grey with brown/rust washes. The interior metal plating is finished in a base rust colour with various stippled effects. The hopper is seen here after varnishing but before weathering.

Once varnished the additional weathering and finishing work was completed. This is largely dry-brushing on the exterior using a grey/cream colour in an attempt to represent a wagon that has been in a quarry environment, along with some gunmetal dry-brushed on the axleboxes.

Unfortunately the lighting has picked up the plank lines I scribed and thought I had subsequently filled, you cannot really see them at normal viewing distance.

Inside the wagon I have added a representation of load remains, starting with the leftover mix of the acrylic paints used for the dry brushing and a dab of household filler. Once dry weathering powders were added to vary the colour a little and spread the effect further up the wagon sides.

Greenwich couplers have been added at ether end, I could perhaps have moved them in by another 1/2mm but wanted to ensure that the loop did not have any interference from the bumpers when lifting.

No doubt the forthcoming Peco model will be quicker to get into service, but a lot less individual!

Colin

 

Santa's Gotta Brand New Sack

The presents in the open wagon on 'Christmas Tree Halt' were troubling my mind a few weeks ago. The reduction in size of the originals was the obvious solution at the time but part of me wondered if the eventual solution was to have a sack of presents represented in the wagon. I thought nothing more of it until I took a trip to a local model shop that is sadly closing at the end of the year (http://www.thegoodsyard.co.uk/). I was hoping to get some 009 flexi track but they were out of stock, however I did pick up a few bargains...

All were in the £1 box and being 7mm scale I was going to pop them in the "some day" box. I've no idea who NMB Models are/were, address on the back in is Immingham, but the more I looked at those sacks once I'd returned home the more it occurred to me they could be the answer to a present wagon load in 4mm scale. Even the smaller parcels might pass as presents if painted up in a suitable way...

In order to create the new load I started with a piece of 20 thou styrene scribed as a false floor, to hide the fact that inside the wagon it still has 7mm scale planking. I arranged the sacks to overlap, filling the area underneath the left-hand sack with Milliput, carefully shaped to match the casting. The parcel castings were cleaned up and used as larger presents (must be train sets and TVs!) to fill the gaps. I adjusted two of them in size to give a little more variety. All were placed carefully with the label hanging downwards.

After a coat of grey primer I gave everything a wash of watered-down Vallejo grey-black and once dry carefully picked out the floor planks in timber colour, and the sacks in a slightly darker red shade than the final shade. The presents were picked out in different base colours and then the actual red shade almost dry-brushed over the sacks giving a pleasing depth effect. the ribbon on the presents was picked out in Vallejo brass, as I had no gold to hand!

Once varnished the load was slipped into the wagon, it isn't glued in place but is a tight enough fit. I'm really happy with how this has come out, whilst the old present load worked to a degree I think this actually looks better and is more in keeping with tone and texture of the scene as it exists.

Colin

Christmas in a Box

Having spent the time to restore/rebuild 'Christmas Tree Halt' I decided that I would have to find a way of safely storing it for the eleven months that it might not be required. I was mindful of the fact that the damage to the original version may have occurred due to it being badly stored - I'll never know. 

Given that the trees are removable the easiest option would have been to locate a suitable 'Really Useful Box' but having looked at the options I would have needed an 11 litre box, and they were not available locally. It would also have involved a cost, and when you have a selection of materials to hand building your own box makes some sense...

There is a distinct recycling theme here, construction of the bottom half of the box used some 8mm ply from an old box that a friend passed on to me in January 2020, having held vintage car parts, in the days when things were packaged properly! The hardboard for the base came from the back of an old wardrobe disposed of when my daughter moved in January this year and the thinner ply diagonally in the corner and dividing the main box is some of the last bits of lovely veneered ply that came from a wardrobe disposed of many moons ago.

The lid is a further piece of ex-wardrobe hardboard with 25x12mm timber surrounding the edge, this was new material purchased specifically for layout-boxing, with the Avalon Brickworks layout in mind at the time. If I could have found some suitable material to recycle...

The pizza layout fits in neatly in the large compartment, and the two trees fit in the smaller compartment, retained by a system of trunk peg holes and special supports in the centre. The smaller compartment top-left is intended to hold the battery pack and any other bits and pieces that need to stay with the layout. I need to devise how the pizza can be padded into the space, it is deliberately not too tight a fit!

Along the back edge of the box can just be seen the two pieces of thin aero-ply that cover the encapsulated nuts that allow the lid to be secured in place. Holes were carefully drilled through with the lid clamped in place, then opened out from the inside to hold the nuts. The nuts were Araldited in place and the thin ply plates, with holes punched using a hole punch rather than drilled, were fixed in place as a belt-and-braces approach to stop the nuts falling through in the unlikely event the Araldite failed.

With the lid in place and secured the box ought to provide adequate protection for the layout, I just have to remember that unlike the covers for my other layouts that bolt to the baseboard, this one cannot be stood on end! All timber surfaces and hardboard edges have received a coat or two of yacht varnish to protect them from moisture and it has really lifted the appearance of the plywood sides.

Overkill, maybe... but I've actually quite enjoyed the build process.

Colin

 

A White Christmas

I had unofficially set myself a target of getting the 'Christmas Tree Halt' rebuild completed by the end of October, lots of reasons but mostly to ensure it was completed for December! I think I might have made it...

Since last week's update the major change is that I have painted the snow. As daft as it sounds this is key to the effect that I am after, as I wanted a snow finish that was durable (i.e. not too much loose material glued down) and repairable (in case of sticky fingers). This is why I paid so much attention to texture at the filler stages... My method has been to use Vallejo 70919 'Cold white', thinned very slightly with water and with a drop of Vallejo retarder medium added, painted using a soft brush (to avoid brush marks) and as each area is painted a very sparing sprinkle of Deluxe Materials 'Icy sparkles' added. You cannot see the sparkles in the photos but they do glimmer if the light is right!

The Noch trees have been fixed to their barbeque skewer pegs and slot neatly into the tubes set into the scenery. In the foreground I have added the bare bushes around the fence and shelter, with a smaller patch to the right. These are largely recycled from last year's efforts, but broken into smaller sections and a effort made to make them look more like bushes than trees. These were painted with the Vallejo 'Cold white' for the snow effect and again some icy sparkles sparingly added.

Last year I had hoped to add some ribbon around the base of the scene to help emphasise the "decoration" element of the concept, but had nothing to hand and no time to go out looking. With more time on my hands this year I was able to obtain something suitable, I always knew I would probably end up in the craft section of Boyes for this but had not perhaps foreseen making the purchase in their Barnard Castle branch!*

The ribbon was attached using double-sided tape, it really adds to the effect of the whole scene "floating" as you cannot really see the black-painted supports underneath.

There is one more item to add in due course but all the work I wanted to do to bring the pizza back to life for 2021 is pretty much done. A few adjustments have been made to the wagon for this year, notably adding Peco couplers in place of the bent bits of wire it ran with last year, and adjusting the load to not look quite so over-powering (although they are still HUGE presents!).

 

Attention is now turning to safe storage, it isn't easy to create a box that slips over a pizza and bolts in place, so a box that accommodates the pizza and has storage space for the trees is now under construction.

Colin

*my eyesight is fine, thank you...

Gimmie Shelter (and other snowbound detail)

I'm making progress with the rebuild of 'Christmas Tree Halt', with short bursts of work almost every day taking each step at a time.

The Wills halt building was primed and painted, ironically in pretty much the same colours it was moulded in, but the painted finish is much nicer in my eyes. The moulding dictates that there should be posters ether side of the doorway, so I searched online for suitable vintage looking Christmas themed designs. The chosen posters were reduced to size in Gimp and given the effect of a frame around them, then printed on glossy photo paper. Once fixed in place the whole structure was matt varnished to remove the sheen from the prints.

The shelter was glued in position and the snow (more filler) built up all around it whilst the glue set. As I had a weight on top holding it down I could not add snow to the roof at this stage.

I have also managed to plant a short length of fence, more Wills halt leftovers. I had to create a little trench in the scenery to get this to sit correctly, but once I was happy I glued it in place and added more snow all around. Just visible to the left in the shot below is the extra piled up snow I've added in front of the rock faces as these areas looked fat too flat before.

Once the shelter and fence were firmly in position I could add snow to the horizontals of the fence and the roof. The rooftop snow had a little PVA mixed into the initial layer to aid adhesion to the painted surface. The corrugations are still visible in places and I've achieved a snow dropping off the edge effect. On the right I've tried to give the impression some snow has recently dropped to the ground

The sign and bench from the Mk1 version of the scene are now in place and blended into the ground. There are still a few more areas to attend to before I start to paint the snow in it's final coating, such as to fill the areas of bare ground where the trees will sit. It is funny how the snow actually looks better and cleaner in the current photos than in reality! 

Oh, and I must clean up those rails...

Colin

It's starting to look all white...

A little progress on the Christmas pizza. I have been slowly applying filler around the edges of the board, then inside the track but not over the central area. The central area has had a coat of a mix of the same filler but mixed about 4:1 with PVA in the hope this can avoid any cracking over the softer base. Everything is largely thin layers in a bid to further avoid cracking issues. The two "eyes" in the centre of the scene are where the trees will sit, rather than plonked in the snow as per the mk1 version there will be a bit of exposed ground cover visible. In the centre of each patch is a tube fitted to accommodate the removable trees, these extend down through the polystyrene into the MDF base.

Whether applied at full thickness or the PVA mix, the filler was smoothed into place with a putty knife (or in the case of inside the circuit, butter knife...) and textured using a stiff paintbrush. A wet brush was then lightly run over the top to smooth the texture a little. I'm not sure the amount of texture is quite right in places and I may smooth any really high spots with fine wet or dry before adding the final colouring. 

Some of the left over filler/PVA mix was stippled into the previously smoothed area between the rails which has given a much better finish in this area. I now need to clean up the rail edges and have a test run to ensure it still works! Attention will now turn to painting the Wills halt building, some fencing and the rock faces before the next stage of snow work is attempted.

Colin

An Unseasonal Chill

Earlier in the month I had spotted some ready-mixed filler at a reasonable price in the largest shop in the village and bought it to see how it faired, as snow...

It had been on my mind for a while to revisit the remains of 'Christmas Tree Halt', the 009 pizza I built very quickly last December, which had been stripped down after mould or some other irritant had appeared in the snow cover. In truth the board had actually been stripped back completely earlier in the year, the track relaid using Roco sleepers/secondhand rail and even painted and weathered with a non-winter scene in mind. After adding corrugated card around the outside and in the centre I had lost interest again...

With filler to hand I soon found myself carefully filling in around the track. Taking my time, rather than rushing as I had before. I actually filled outside and inside the rails in separate sessions, and split the work into small manageable chunks rather than trying to do it all at once, which I felt helped keep control of the filler. I also tried not to create the final finish on the first application! Between the rails an extra layer was added, a mix of the filler and PVA effectively skimmed on and cleared from rail sides. After a little cleaning up I was relieved that it still worked!

With the track embedded I added the bases of the roadway and platform from card, and created the raised central area from polystyrene, subtly different in shape to the original. New features on the Mk2 version are some rock faces made some time ago using Plaster of Paris in improvised foil moulds, and a Wills station halt shelter, left over from the 'Humberston' diorama. Don't panic about the black blobs, they mark where the trees go, marked in felt-tip pen and then wetted during scenic treatment. In the background of the picture above can be seen some early trials of snow mix using Vallejo Foundation white and the new filler.

The Wills shelter has had a few tweaks to make the parts sit a little more comfortably and give the impression of framework over the doorway. The original station sign and bench should sit to the left. Platform edging is very thin balsa, overkill maybe as it will be covered in snow, but the original build lacked relief in this area.

One of the plaster-cast rock faces. This has been blended into the polystyrene landscape using some white modelling clay that had originally been bought to bed in the track, but was not shall we say the market-leading brand and seems to shrink quite a bit, causing me to go back over the gaps a few days later. It will all get a covering of snow in due course! To hold everything together all exposed polystyrene and some of the clay was covered in strips of kitchen towel fixed in place with dilute PVA.

So far so good, the next job is going to be to create sound fixtures to plug the trees in, I'm thinking of cutting into the polystyrene to add pre-drilled wooden blocks that a dowel in the tree base can locate into.

Just in case anyone thinks this is madness in September, I'm enjoying doing it with time to spare and better conditions for things to dry out. I'm also fairly certain I can be finished in time!

Colin