Arboretum Valley, home to several stations including Goathland 00

[Jaz avalley]

I like these

[Jaz avalley]

[Jaz avalley]

[Jaz avalley]

Edited December 14, 2021 by Jaz avalley

[Jaz avalley]

[Jaz avalley]

[Jaz avalley]

more plant machinery

[JasonB]

On 15/12/2021 at 12:28 AM, Jaz avalley said:

Brilliant, love it! 

[Jaz avalley]

On 17/12/2021 at 8:39 PM, JasonB said:

Brilliant, love it! 

Thank you it is always nice to see positive comments

Weir at goathland

[Jaz avalley]

I like messing with trees as well

[Noel]

Stunnng modelling. Just spotted this amazing thread now.

[Jaz avalley]

Thank you very much, if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

 

I try to work from good reference pictures,and include all details however small,to mess on the floor,good reference is better than our minds.

 

I have the lucky happenstance to. Have a long bungalow roof, with velux windows so natural light which gives me a lot of advantages.

I also use an I;ad or iPhone to take my photos as I can select where the focus is and get certain items to defocus, and I hide anything that screams model from wagons without decent kadees to the bases of freestanding figures, cars or bins or anything that comes to hand blocks off any issues, and I love weathering and indeed playing I usually run a vanilla railway but at times go totally tutti fruiti

as it is Xmas I will offer some of the more tongue in cheek offerings that get time on the layout 

Thunderbirds

[Jaz avalley]

Merry Christmas

 

One and All.

[Jaz avalley]

And sometimes the railways are abandoned and left to overgrown and be reclaimed by nature

 

[Jaz avalley]

Jingle bells jingle belles jingle all the way

[JasonB]

Wouldn't fancy bumping into those two, when putting the bins out 

[Broithe]

That reminded me of this marvellous picture.

The USS Connecticut tipped this bloke into the sea as they surfaced through the ice.

He took offence and proceeded to give the sub a bit of a kicking.

Despite their billions of dollars worth of weaponry, nobody felt able to pop outside and look at the damage.

[Jaz avalley]

Well elsewhere I have a nervous penguin

 

 

[Jaz avalley]

Before I return to railway stock I’ll try to avoid making a donkey of myself

[Jaz avalley]

 

[John-r]

Fantastic photos, the detail is just something else, it's on a different level altogether, great work.

[Jaz avalley]

Before I return to railway stock I’ll try to avoid making a donkey of myself

Ii like the figures of my animals to blend in and enhance the layout

[JasonB]

On 4/1/2022 at 9:52 AM, Jaz avalley said:

 

Impressive. Love the attention to detail. 

[JasonB]

14 hours ago, Jaz avalley said:

 

Like the shot of the fox, sniffing around the rubbish bags. 

[Jaz avalley]

On 7/1/2022 at 11:44 PM, JasonB said:

Like the shot of the fox, sniffing around the rubbish bags. 

His coat screams model close up but set back a little he blends quite nicely,he needs a white dot on his eye I need to look into that.

[Jaz avalley]

bridging the divide

On the layout

[Jaz avalley]

Wagons roll

[Jaz avalley]

To get the best photographs on your layout,

the most important factor is getting the camera lens at a height similar to a model within the layout, if the camera views the layout how we view the world, you are already do the most important thing to give a realistic picture.

 

the second is to avoid placement of any items that are obviously plastic ‘toys’ because they scream model, weathering of all items in a photohraph should be worthy of upgrading in order to achieve a realistic look

this close up shows the wheels with mouldings, the lack of a pedal, the lack of detail in itself is a give away

A little less focus in the foreground can help, sonething in the distance that passes muster when focused on as not too close for sharp scrutiny helps,our brain knows the detail that should be there,and if you’re carour brains will automatically fill that expectation, choice of focus placement is a valuable weapon.

fyi I have no figures in my passenger coaches so photographing at this angle does not give this away.

I have velux windows that let in natural light and thus shadows, natural ilks a valuable source also,this can be manipulated through light bulbs or a directional lamp but with more difficulty, real light if possible is a valuable aid, the reason so many modellers get oi defects when they do a small in the garden photograph with real trees real sky able to make the best of anything that helps get the right look.

Figures are an important feature also I will discuss them later as they are worthy of a whole chapter on best placement, you can get away with cheap Chinese figures with appalling faces you just need to find their best feature and use it, or at least their worst feature and hide it!

 

 

[Billycan]

'The Knack' and great advice.  More like that welcome.

[Jaz avalley]

Nowadays you can get 3D printed figures, but the prices are still high,and we all have old stock not of such high quality,as and when we can we replace them with better stuff,but with so much cost,and even time you need some tricks or quick fixes to sort them out.

 

I have a load of the cheap Chinese figured bought when you could get 100 for £3 pounds uk, those days are long gone, but I had time to make improvements some better than others. Even in those figures sone were better than others, I liked those that could stand without support,easy to move.

facial features are pretty poor, but to be honest if you look at pictures with figures not in the foreground you don’t see much in reallife either,so you just need careful placement, or turn them to best advantage when closer,and sometimes the back is the best choice!

The colognes and hair on these was the worst offenders in my opinion so that is what I aimed to improve, and if I accidentally over egged the amount of paint, I just waited for it to dry and pushed back with paint from the other direction, stress over these is not worth the aggro.

 

looking at photos I plumped for jeans, I painted the parts I knew I would not paint well first, the t shirts so knowing I would spill onto the jackets, I paint the t shirts let them dry,paint the jackets, I painted the boys jacket pale blue then crisps crossed darker paint once dry to give the impression of a pattern. I avoid shine on figures at all costs, never used enamels always acrylics and often as you were not matching liveries or weathering on rolling stock cheap discounted at after Xmas kids paints did the trick. I improved the hair, not meticulously just enough to do, and as I have natural I did not need to paint in any highlights but had I wished to do so adding a little white to the colour and touching a Shoulder or a knee, BUT you must touch the whole group on the same side for this highlighting to work,if the ‘light’ comes from all different angles it looks wrong. if in doubt just don’t highlight even electric bulbs offer a little naturally, do not high light hair on models this size it is not likely to go well.

bach left I added shoes laces, and bumper toes, and I coloured all the cats,now best to not put these close together as who walks around with cats. Unless they are stuffed cats as prizes from a fun fair,plenty of people have circuses,fun fairs etc so then you can mix and match but even so the three exact fire groups are best not placed together.

for this Scooby doo scene they are an audience not main characters so I see just their backs and the cat issue then is not even an issue.

k

in this party scene,placing them at a different angle helps a little but putting them in the mix away from each other helps more.. You may notice a lot of these figures are side on,because in my opinion that is how I get the best out of those figures.

As mentioned good faces,good hair,good stances,good arm gestures then use those for prime spots for photography. 
 

Always hide the supports, even if tacky wax,if you can.

If possible use photographs for reference, and never ever paint blondes yellow,blondes are pale beige. yes Iknow I broke my own rule,but on Scooby do the cartoon his hair was pretty yellow. rules can be broken lol.

Here the side on just shows off the nose, the texture of the jacket, and the shoes, always look to get best features into a photo if you can. those motorbikes are poor and later I updated those.

looking at the last picture, I always look for what is the worst feature and try to improve it,doing this often leads to removal or improvement, it is not about the best features it is usually about the worst features.

A few reference photos, a quick paint, I chose acrylic but as the motorbike was a vehicle enamel would have been ok, I also turned the motorbike to it best angle

 

[Galteemore]

Real master class here in observation and detailing 

[Jaz avalley]

Forums often give great advice on the locos,the wagons,any of the rolling stock,they pop up pictures old and knew but they forget about the paraphernalia of life,and even it’s time line. When it is appropriate for something to be in view. The locos often ran well after their era, moving through main line stations to a preservation station or overseas visitors, any number of p,aced lovingly brings back to life rolling stock of a bygone era, and it is often quite easy to know when these eras are just by asking.

 

But telephone boxes, post boxes,dustbins,pig bins, plastic bags, skips, the type of bicycle, lamp posts, road markings and signs, post office vehicles, policemen, this can be harder to spot, and those items are worthy of a little love and attention, if they are out of context do not despair age them and create a rubbish pile, do not hammer them too much in case you change you mind and wish they were pristine again.

 

the box telephone and post box could date sone years ago,but the bin and the cars in the distance instantly give it away.

look at the figures at this distance there are no features. sometimes we feel compelled to add detail not required.

older cars,older bins

 

older telephone box and post office box but there is no shadow in the posting area, the post box is lifeless

some white dabbed for light reflections

some dirt in the creases, run water finely then touch with dirty water,thinned black so as it dries most dries in the crevices just like dirt and real rain

thr hole for the post box painted black, instantly there is more realism, you can do this when cleaning your brushes from another job,

the snow on the floor and on top of the telephone box and post box add a season, not much just a touch, and if you do not like it a small decorating brush can remove it again, I use grated insulation, but be careful if you have breathing issues as the dust is fine,and I warn you if you have natural light it turns yellow over a few months. But I did mine for Christmas then tidied it back up.

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Jaz avalley

[Jaz avalley]

I like vanilla, straight up modelling, as realistic as possible, but I also have a kids view, and so try to add some very tongue in cheek moment, and I can happily admire someone else layout that does not conform to me personal modelling, my brother likes his layout old school as it was in his childhood no trees no people no cars just a round and round and perhaps a wagon at the back with sone cat food to amuse him and the cat, he always makes me laugh when I see it, European modelling can be very realistic but often it is more plasticky less weathering and very careful,do I admire it he’ll yes, do I want to emulate it , not so much. 
A person with a small layout and a lot of time can aspire to home made track, and highly detailed locos and scratchbuild of the highest level, a person with a larger track may need to stick to peco 70 and admit itthe bigger you go the less high detail you’ll have time for. I often have people praise me heartedly over many of my buildings on how close they are to the real thing,and I hold my hand up and admit I buy resin made Hornby Skaledale or Bachman, sometimes I weather them at least to sone degree but plenty are just plonk and play. I do scratchbuild, but usually only when I really want something I just cannot buy, and that is not always a building. to date I have not bough any 3D people either but not because I won’t I just haven’t go around to it. But a tree, a person, even a dog, if there is no way I can buy just what I want then I roll up my sleeves and have a go.

Copper leftoversmodelling medium which is bendable

allows me to pose the animal

and once enough layers a paint job

[Jaz avalley]

A tree

different

thickness wires

modelling medium DAS clay in this instance

I wanted an old beech, the really old ones end up with exposed roots

a foam support helped

colouring the tree and the earth

adding the age appropriate moss, generally grows on one side but on older trees can have some all around

fauna

and flora a nice beef steak fungi, a weasel, higher up a birds nest and more birds, may as well go whole hog  

I went for spring to not block the view, and I went for the largest beech that I knew of but a hundred plus tree does kind of look BIG. still I enjoyed the process and it is on the layout just not in a prominent position

 

finer copper

bendable posable modelling 

a foam base to push into

 

a reference picture or two

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Jaz avalley said:

Forums often give great advice on the locos,the wagons,any of the rolling stock,they pop up pictures old and knew but they forget about the paraphernalia of life,and even it’s time line. When it is appropriate for something to be in view. The locos often ran well after their era, moving through main line stations to a preservation station or overseas visitors, any number of p,aced lovingly brings back to life rolling stock of a bygone era, and it is often quite easy to know when these eras are just by asking.

 

But telephone boxes, post boxes,dustbins,pig bins, plastic bags, skips, the type of bicycle, lamp posts, road markings and signs, post office vehicles, policemen, this can be harder to spot, and those items are worthy of a little love and attention, if they are out of context do not despair age them and create a rubbish pile, do not hammer them too much in case you change you mind and wish they were pristine again.

 

the box telephone and post box could date sone years ago,but the bin and the cars in the distance instantly give it away.

look at the figures at this distance there are no features. sometimes we feel compelled to add detail not required.

older cars,older bins

 

older telephone box and post office box but there is no shadow in the posting area, the post box is lifeless

some white dabbed for light reflections

some dirt in the creases, run water finely then touch with dirty water,thinned black so as it dries most dries in the crevices just like dirt and real rain

thr hole for the post box painted black, instantly there is more realism, you can do this when cleaning your brushes from another job,

the snow on the floor and on top of the telephone box and post box add a season, not much just a touch, and if you do not like it a small decorating brush can remove it again, I use grated insulation, but be careful if you have breathing issues as the dust is fine,and I warn you if you have natural light it turns yellow over a few months. But I did mine for Christmas then tidied it back up.

 

 

 

Love those scenes - pure "little England"! An excellent backdrop, I'm thinking, for a SR "Radial" 4.4.2T loco and a couple of old SECR bogie coaches.........