Somewhere on the County Down

[Tullygrainey]

A bit more progress with the layout. A station platform made in two bits because it will cross the join between the two baseboards. I used mounting card for the structure and after a failed attempt to use chinchilla dust for the platform surface - it ended up looking like congealed porridge after the glue went on -  I settled for 180 grit sandpaper glued to the top surface with wood glue.

 

Many of the stations on the County Down had cast concrete coping stones, 3ft x2 ft, along the platform edge. These had distinctive diagonal cross hatching, 8 lines in each direction. Deciding how to model these held me up for a while. 3D printing might well be the solution but that's a mountain I've yet to climb. Even base camp is still over the horizon. I managed to draw one coping stone to scale on the computer then copied and pasted to get what I wanted. The result was printed onto paper which I'd pre-painted with a suitable mix. (I'd already tried printing first then painting, only for the nice printed lines to disappear under the paint, despite using water colours). The printer survived being fed painted card. Phew!

 

After painting the sandpaper with various shades of artist's acrylic, the coping stone prints were cut into strips, scored and folded then glued down along the front of the platform and wrapped over the leading edge. 

 

Wills Coarse Stone (SSMP200) was used to cover the platform front, sanded back a bit and wiped over with filler. Paint did the rest.

 

The station building will bed down into a shaped hole cut for it in the platform. It's still sitting a bit proud in this photo. A bit of weathering will also help to blend building and platform together.

[Mol_PMB]

That is looking superb, and your experimentation with different techniques has really paid off.

I was going to suggest the edging could be laser-cut (I have such a toy) but I think your painted and printed version looks wonderful!

[derek]

38 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

A bit more progress with the layout. A station platform made in two bits because it will cross the join between the two baseboards. I used mounting card for the structure and after a failed attempt to use chinchilla dust for the platform surface - it ended up looking like congealed porridge after the glue went on -  I settled for 180 grit sandpaper glued to the top surface with wood glue.

 

Many of the stations on the County Down had cast concrete coping stones, 3ft x2 ft, along the platform edge. These had distinctive diagonal cross hatching, 8 lines in each direction. Deciding how to model these held me up for a while. 3D printing might well be the solution but that's a mountain I've yet to climb. Even base camp is still over the horizon. I managed to draw one coping stone to scale on the computer then copied and pasted to get what I wanted. The result was printed onto paper which I'd pre-painted with a suitable mix. (I'd already tried printing first then painting, only for the nice printed lines to disappear under the paint, despite using water colours). The printer survived being fed painted card. Phew!

 

After painting the sandpaper with various shades of artist's acrylic, the coping stone prints were cut into strips, scored and folded then glued down along the front of the platform and wrapped over the leading edge. 

 

Wills Coarse Stone (SSMP200) was used to cover the platform front, sanded back a bit and wiped over with filler. Paint did the rest.

 

The station building will bed down into a shaped hole cut for it in the platform. It's still sitting a bit proud in this photo. A bit of weathering will also help to blend building and platform together.

Wonderful

[David Holman]

Fab.

 Think the printed paper approach is the right one, especially in 4mm scale. Am guessing the markings on the real thing were fairly shallow and probably would look too deep on a 3d print. And you've still given a nod to modern technology!

 What could work in this situation is resin casting. When I've done my own wagon sides, found that even the fine scratches of a wire brush on the plasticard masters are picked up by the resin. Likewise even a glass fibre brush. Both good for wood grain effect.

[Tullygrainey]

2 hours ago, David Holman said:

Fab.

 Think the printed paper approach is the right one, especially in 4mm scale. Am guessing the markings on the real thing were fairly shallow and probably would look too deep on a 3d print. And you've still given a nod to modern technology!

 What could work in this situation is resin casting. When I've done my own wagon sides, found that even the fine scratches of a wire brush on the plasticard masters are picked up by the resin. Likewise even a glass fibre brush. Both good for wood grain effect.

You're right about the level of detail resin can produce David. It amazed me the first time I tried it. I did consider resin casting for these at one stage but in 4mm scale each one is 12mm by 8mm and I wasn't convinced I could even make a reasonable master either in plastic or clay. Also, if I made only one stone, the business of casting copies would be beyond tedious but if I tried to make a master row of them, consistency would be the challenge. The originals, being concrete casts, are all exactly the same. The paper versions have worked better than I expected but they're not as robust as plastic or resin would have been. I've sprayed them with artist's fixative but a coat of matt varnish might also be a good idea.

Some survivors on the remains of the platform at Ardglass station. Photos I took last year.

[Tullygrainey]

16 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

That is looking superb, and your experimentation with different techniques has really paid off.

I was going to suggest the edging could be laser-cut (I have such a toy) but I think your painted and printed version looks wonderful!

Many thanks. I hadn't thought of laser-cutting. Another technique not yet in my skill set

[Mol_PMB]

18 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

Many thanks. I hadn't thought of laser-cutting. Another technique not yet in my skill set

It would do a nice job of engraving the surface patterns and cutting out the strips too. Could be done in a material like 1.5mm or 2mm MDF to match the thickness of the real coping stones.

 

Here's a little test piece I just found lying around - an elaborate window shutter (this is in 7mm scale) cut and engraved on 1.2mm ply:

And a whole building I designed and made using the laser cutter:

I haven't unleashed the laser cutter on an Irish project yet, perhaps I should!

Edited Sunday at 11:00 by Mol_PMB
added images