Kevin Sweeney

I used a pound shop clear glue for the water. The base of the river is mountboard. On top of that I put a layer of toilet paper soaked in PVA glue. While the glue was still wet I worked it with a brush to create ripples. Then I poured the glue on top. It took about 48 hours for the glue to dry. I'm happy enough with the result for a first effort. Another layer of glue or two would add more depth to the water.

I've decided to add to my Ballyheelan diorama and make the whole village, as it was in the early 20th century. The village is gone now, there are only two houses now. In the early 20th century, there were 8 houses, a grocery shop, a butchers shop, a post office, a slaughter house, a mill and kilns, a forge and a shebeen. I've had a life long interest in local history and am really taken with the idea of making models of buildings and scenes that are gone. I've been experimenting with a bit of weathering, I will need to do lots of it, as without it the village will look like a pristine theme park. I'm also creating my first water feature, the Ballyheelan river. I will be adding vehicles, people and livestock to the diorama, another first. I have the terrain elevations correct, I found a really good and simple to use, contour map generator at Contour Map Creator (urgr8.ch). See screen shot below. The baseboards are made from 1.3 mm mountboard, the boards are quite rigid and surprisingly strong. To test their strength I stood on them and they bore my 70 kgs without problem.

Making good progress on this diorama. This was my great great grandfather's house and farmyard. Unfortunately it is all gone now, demolished about 10 years ago. The aerial photo below was taken in the 1980s, but my model is based on the 1901 OS map and a video made in the 1950s.

Over the last four years I've accumulated a large collection of unfinished projects. I've resolved to try and get some of them finished rather than starting anything new. The first result of this policy is the stables at Lough Key Forest Park, which I started about 4 years ago. The textures used are all scalescenes, as at that time i did not know how to make textures. Some day soon I might even get around to finishing Ballywillan.

Bellmont House is finished.

I finally got the Cathedral finished. Next job is to finish Cavan Town Hall, which is well on. Looking for future projects, I really like the look of these two, Kinsale Market House and Bray Town Hall,

Back doing some work on Kilmore Cathedral.

Scalescenes have a gantry crane kit. T032 Gantry Crane – Scalescenes

More progress with the cathedral Romanesque doorway.. Made with 5 layers of photos, stuck to 160 gsm card.

I learned the sticky label method from this Chandwell video. You print the windows onto sticky labels, stick them to acetate and cut out the openings. The Xs on the glass are printed on acetate and added as an addition layer behind the main window.

Making good progress with Kilmore Cathedral. About 45 hours work done so far. I've used the sticky label method for the windows.

Funny you should say that, but this has piqued my interest in larger scales. With this method of construction it would be easy to make and fit out interiors.

I got distracted again, and as so often before it was by Michael at Chandwell on youtube. Over the last few weeks he has been building an Indian restaurant on his layout. Because he was making an interior in the building, he made it from the inside out. He started with a floor plan and then created a wall plan, and then built a carcase. Then he made the walls to fit the carcase. I have always made buildings by making walls first, then making the structure to fit the walls. I have always started at one end, with a gable wall and worked the building out as I went along. This is a very inefficient way to work. Why not try the Chandwell method I thought I started on Friday morning with a plan of Kilmore Church of Ireland Cathedral, this is where I'm at after about 35 hours work. I lost a lot of time in that 35 hours, learning as I was going. But even so I am very happy with progress, as of this evening. I have cut all base layers with the cutting machine, done all the wall textures in Inkscape. I have a lot of slates left over from the distillery. I have all the drawings done now. I am making serious progress in a very short time, just by changing my working method. The first pieces. The wall panels are being held in place with blue tac. . The tower wall panels have been added The buttresses were cut with the cutting machine.

They are Scalescenes slates. TX18a Slate Roof Tiles – Scalescenes

Getting very close to finishing the distillery. All that's left is capping for chimney, hood for malt kiln, two large tanks and downpipes. This by far the biggest build I've yet done.

It's great to see this kind of work being done, protecting our heritage rather than sweeping it away, and replacing it with post modern junk. A particularly awful example from my own area. was the destruction of this farmhouse and yard, which was demolished completely some years back, only the hayshed is left. It was a really good example of a house that started as a single story thatched building and was extended as the family came up in the world during the 19th century. It was a great example of an upwardly mobile 19th century catholic family home. In Northern Ireland it would have been a listed building, instead it became rubble and was used as fill for the foundations of the modern house that replaced it.

Getting there with the distillery. It has taken almost four A4 sheets of slates to roof it.

More progress on the distillery. The big job of the last few weeks has been making slates, but well on with it now.

You've diagnosed my syndrome perfectly, I keep threating to lay track but get distracted by another bloody building. I was ranting recently to my wife about the 13 year schedule to open the Navan Dublin line, and she replied your a fine one to talk, your railway is taking almost as long to build. I need to dedicate an hour or two every day to actually building my railway, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions, or in my case with interesting buildings.

Thanks Patrick. It will make a great centre piece for the rural section of my layout.

More progress on the distillery.

It's looking good. I love the fine detail that is possible in OO, that cannot be got in N.

Brilliant work, it's coming together very well.

I knew when I say the plans I had to build it. Not only because it will make a great centre piece for the layout, but because I'm a whiskey drinker.

More progress on the distillery. The big building will require a full A4 page of Scalescenes slates.