Getting wet

The time had finally come to get some water into the stream and leat. The intention was to use one of the poured water systems and after some research I settled on Magic Water which I acquired from EDM models.


I of course read the instructions fully before using it (didn't I? - oh!) so took all the necessary precautions to avoid any issues - but:

• It leaked. It shouldn't have - I had tested it with water several times, each time plugging all the leaks with waterproof PVA, varnish etc. It didn't leak that much but luckily most of the drips fell on the newspaper which was still down from the prior leak checks. I think one of the problems is it takes hours to set so has plenty of time to ooze through any tiny holes.
• There were very prominent meniscusses (menisci?) especially along the leat and around the viaduct piers. This was partly a result of wicking into porous scenery and vegetation (as noted in the instructions), and also possibly through loss of resin, i.e. the meniscus was the high tide and the level went down slightly through the leaks.

 The instructions suggest the water feature should be made before you do the rest of the scenery, and any porous scenery should be prepared with a thin paint of Magic Water along the waterline. This is all very well but it meant I should have done it 12 years ago. And in this time the plans have changed - the large waterwheel and launder having been (perhaps temporarily) abandoned when it became clear they were never going to be built in time for the big outing.

I tried to cover up the meniscus with vegetation but it was simply too prominent, and vegetation would not look right around the bridge piers etc. The resin sets to a rubbery state so it could not be easily scraped away - and it would probably have made it look worse. I eventually decided it needed a thin top coat. I reasoned that it had done any leaking and wicking that it was going to do, so this thin top coat should hopefully just fill the surface up to the top of the menisci. Of course I had now used up all the Magic Water.


A bit of late night internet searching showed there were several suitable clear resins - all quick setting which should enable corrective action to be taken during whilst it sets. I contacted Eli-Chem Resins UK who sold two types at a reasonable price. As a result of their helpful advice I ordered a General Purpose Clear Epoxy 350g starter kit - despite choosing their standard 5 day delivery it arrived the very next day!

I dribbled a thin coat into the middle of the leat and worked it into place with a spatula to just fill the meniscus. When it started to thicken up I carefully swept any build up away from the edges with a small coffee stirrer.

The result is much better. The top coat has set very clear with a hard glass like finish and the menisci are far less prominent. What remains can easily be hidden with some judicous planting.

(After planting - clearly it now needs a hoover)

Signs

With some helpful info and advice from my friends on the O14 Group I have made some mileposts and whistle boards. I have decided not to make gradient posts - the PLR crew knew exactly where the big hill was!

No turning back now

Well the secret of the PLR's one and only public appearance is well and truly out now (gulp!). I just hope it will live up to the publicity. There is still lots to do: complete the scenery, leat, make the rest of the quarry buildings, make the hidden track boards and fiddle yard, lighting gantry and lots of clay wagons.

Trackmaking for Chelfham

I've been helping my friend David by making some points for Chelfham. He was running out of time before it's next outing at the 7mm NGA AGM at Burton-Upon-Trent and I wasn't going to let him succumb/revert to the dreaded crazy track.

More scenery

I am progressing well with the scenery. My thoughts are if I start at the very back I can learn the techniques that work for me and hopefully I will have improved enough by the time I get to the front.  I have tried to introduce a bit of false perspective on the very back section with smaller hedges and 4mm scale cattle and gates.

I have deliberated long and hard on how to represent bracken with some areas of old dead stuff and others still growing - I have the photographic evidence if anyone doubts this. I used a base of lichen for the dead stuff with selected Scalelink fronds added in here and there, and whole Scalelink plants for the still growing plants. I possibly need to add a few more of these. I used a blowlamp to curl the tips slightly in an effort to make them more realistic. Painting was with acrylics (on grey primer) and then touched up with watercolours.

Rail Sections

A quick note about the rail sections I use. Most of my track is laid with Peco Il-115 which was the best available when I started, however I would certainly have used Karlarin code 82 had it been available. As noted a while back I recently relaid the quarry track using Micro Engineering code 55 which I think looks right on a small industrial system especially when seen alongside the mainline. The following diagram comes from my track articles hosted on the o14 group: http://www.o14group.org/2008/10/31/finescale-7mm-ng-trackwork/

Hedges (walls if you are from up Country)

Experiments continue on hedging. The basis is corrugated cardboard stuck down with a hot glue gun and then coated with a gloop made from slightly diluted PVA and lots of loo paper coloured with a big dollop of raw sienna goache (yes it looks like what one could find down a sewer but obviously without the smell). This is trowelled on with an icing knife. It stays soft and sticky for days giving plenty of time for adjustments but will eventually dry hard and strong and is very light.

The following photos were the result of a couple of hours spent adding rocks to simulate a typical moorland type granite hedge. The stones are coloured filler/PVA mix spread out to dry on foil then broken up by hand and pressed into the gloop. Static grass was added with a puffer and some scatter and foam added by hand.

I'm pleased with the stonework and from a distance the vegetation looks reasonable but the close-ups show the grass is not ideal. When it eventually dries I may clean it off a bit with a toothbrush and then apply rough grass (carpet underlay and/or plumbers hemp), bushes (a la Gravett) and static grass (properly).

I've also included a photo of the trunks under development (again a la Gravett) of some more substantial bushes which grow out of another section of hedging.

First attempts at Scenery

I have at last starting on some flora - I also have some fauna to add (a nice Christmas present from one of my daughters). This is the first time I have done any scenery for over 20 years and all those previous attempts never saw completion, so I am have to learn all over again. Rough grass is proving to be a challenge and I suspect I will need to have several throw-away attempts before I am happy with the results. Similarly with Cornish hedges. The following photos are some of the early attempts which will I think be scrapped and restarted soon.

They also show a mock-up of a wooden crane. I think I've accepted that there's no chance of me completing the intended lattice metal jib crane by October, so it will have to be a temporary wooden one (hopefully more convincing than my mock-up).

Bridges and Sheds

Progress has been slow but I have installed parapets on the remaining two bridges and some walking boards so the PLR track gang should hopefully be a bit safer (although this was the 1950s).

This shot also shots the quarry engine shed. This has been made with scale corrugated iron sheets from (IIRC) Metalsmith with 1/16" square brass for the main frame and wooden strips for the rest. The corrugated iron fairly quickly started rusting after soldering, but as there were still shiny bits I painted it with gun blue and then washed it off. The next day the whole outside was totally rusted. Whilst the rust looks good I'm not sure if all of every sheet would be like that in the prototype, so I am deliberating if I should try and paint on some grey in places to represent non-rusty areas.

I have some more corrugated iron buildings to make so may try and paint bits of the sheets first, or at least before wielding the gun blue.

Progress on the quarry and leat

The last two weeks have seen the ballasting completed on the quarry board and numerous small scenic enhancements.

The quarry entrance gate - it will be a Cornish hedge to the left.

One of the next major tasks is to complete the river and leat. This is one of the sluice gates (well a pair in fact).