"Voiding the Warranty" - Mol's experiments in 21mm gauge

[Mol_PMB]

40 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Google photos of the Rathmelton quayside show red doors, with very peeling paint, suggesting it had been that colour for quite a while. Indeed, enlarging your photos shows the same. They also show it's not exactly the finest stone that's been used. Rubble would be a better description and even the brickwork around the openings looks decidedly second hand!

 All adds to the charm, of course and some talc to texture the paint might not go amiss.

Red it is then! 

I tend to use some artists matte medium to add texture to some of the larger stones, talc as well is a good idea for other parts of the wall. 

The row of square holes in the wall (and the half-blocked windows on the first floor) are associated with a canopy across the tracks. That was present in the 1960s and 1970s but now missing. I get the impression that the wall under the canopy may have been whitewashed at some stage - there are still traces of it on the ground floor walls, but not above the row of square holes.

[Mol_PMB]

Progress on the old mill. The structural carcass is assembled and I've painted the window frames red. 

I've used matte medium to add some texture to the front wall, then applied an initial coat of grey on the stonework and bauxite on the brickwork. There's more stages to do on this, but I want these layers to dry properly first.

I had some successful experiments with laser-cutting window frames from thick red paper. These are ready to be fitted to the structural carcass.

The next stage is to think about the roof and how best to represent the slates. Perhaps more laser-cut paper. But there are some other jobs on the list for this evening (nothing to do with the trainset) and I have quite a busy week ahead at work. So there may be a pause for a few days.

[Mol_PMB]

Another clue, a bit late for me but nevertheless a useful angle. 

From an article on Quartertown Mill in the Mallow Field Club Journal No 09 - 1991, which also contains some useful history.

https://digital.corkpastandpresent.com/Documents/Detail/mallow-field-club-journal-no-09-991/35856?item=36556

And this image from the same source has already highlighted two errors in what I've built so far (not too serious), but also provides some very useful extra information for the next stages. Note also, just partly visible on the right above the car, a CIE bitumen tank container.

 

 

 

[David Holman]

Lovely stuff and coming on a treat.

[Mol_PMB]

A few more photos scoured from t'interweb.

Another view of the old building, disused but before it was covered in ivy. I've only got room to model the portion to the right of the downpipe, so have used a bit of modellers licence to move the other double door along a bit. 

The first map I have found that shows the track layout I'm modelling, with loop. However, the arrangement of buildings is a bit off (or it doesn't match the 1960s/70s images or the present-day survivors). 

The mill leat (race/stream) runs along the west side of the area I'm modelling, but not really close enough for me to squeeze it onto the model. Unless I extend the board forwards, in which case it could squeeze in at the north end where the site access road bridges over it.

 

A more recent view showing the row of buildings that are still present today. There have definitely been some changes in the building layout at the nearer (southern) end.

[David Holman]

Those shutters will be a lot easier to model than window frames!

Edited December 2 by David Holman

[Mol_PMB]

Not much to report, a little more progress on assembling the mill building, and my tree order has arrived. 

 

this isn’t the final placing for the trees, indeed I may put one at the other end of the layout  These professionally-made ones will be in the foreground, backed by a couple of homemade seamoss trees and then painted ones on the backscene. I’ll try to keep them all in a similar autumn colour palette.

 

[Patrick Davey]

Fabulous!!  Love the stone texture on the building!

[Flying Snail]

The mill looks very well - as Patrick says the stonework looks well but I also think the timber doors and window frames set it off nicely

[David Holman]

Can only agree with the comments above. Lovely stuff.

[spudfan]

I think I "voided" the warranty on the Mrs a long time ago....

[Mol_PMB]

Yesterday I went to the O gauge show in Wigan, which was worth a visit for the number of small traders, and an opportunity to browse the Squires stall at leisure without a crowd. I stocked up on quite a lot of scenic items and a few tools.

There were also some very nice small layouts, and I was able to take inspiration from the way they were presented. I particularly liked this one, which (albeit in O gauge) is similar in size and composition to my Quartertown Mill:

Today I have made some progress on the layout backscene and the mill building. The layout now has some painted birch tree trunks (still awaiting foliage). In front of these will be some homemade sea moss trees (which I'm also working on) and then in the foreground I'll use the Primo trees. So there will be a gradual progression in quality.

The old mill now has a roof and a few other details. It's nearly there now, still a few details to add and some more weathering. And of course the canopy which will mostly hide the lower (whitewashed) part.

This building is going to be partly hidden behind others, perhaps I've put too much effort into it? But I've enjoyed making it. Here it is placed in situ:

 

[Patrick Davey]

Just superb.  No need to ponder the amount of effort - it’s helped build experience, and as you point out, there is enjoyment to be had, which is the most important thing (I think).  Plus we’ve enjoyed the updates! 

[WRENNEIRE]

Voiding the Warranty???

[David Holman]

A thought: the sky is very dark, especially when compared to the near white of the prototype scene, or are you going for twilight? That said, earlier pics with the trees posed in front it appears less so.

[Galteemore]

6 hours ago, WRENNEIRE said:

Voiding the Warranty???

Presumably by doing horrible things to the chassis for 21mm conversion

[Mol_PMB]

56 minutes ago, David Holman said:

A thought: the sky is very dark, especially when compared to the near white of the prototype scene, or are you going for twilight? That said, earlier pics with the trees posed in front it appears less so.

I confess that the sky has come out a bit darker than I had intended - I'm now thinking of it as a threatening stormy sky. It is autumn on the model so a storm is plausible.

However, lighting has a big influence - many of these photos are taken in rather gloomy artificial light. In due course I'm intending to install some lighting on the layout itself. 

Most of the building rooves along the backscene will be dark (black corrugated iron or dark slates). I'm hoping they will help to make the sky look a bit lighter in comparison. Too big a colour contrast there might be a bad thing.  

My big Swiss layout in the garage has a plain, very pale blue sky but sometimes there's too much contrast between the layout and the sky colour.

I'm just making excuses really - I mixed too much black into the white paint!

[Mol_PMB]

Dark skies and sunshine in autumn - I'll claim this is what I intended for Quartertown, rather than what I ended up with:

(my pic)

[David Holman]

Last photo looks a great place to work from. As for mixing co!ours too dark or bright, got lots of t-shirts in that drawer!

[Mol_PMB]

7 hours ago, David Holman said:

Last photo looks a great place to work from. As for mixing co!ours too dark or bright, got lots of t-shirts in that drawer!

I took the ship photo about 2 miles from home, just lucky with the weather. In the background is the unique swing aqueduct that carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. 
There’a also Barton Road swingbridge adjacent.
Part of the MSC railway system ran under the swing bridges and along the bank where the trees are, on the left of the pic. 

‘Deo Gloria’ is but a humble dredger. 

[Mol_PMB]

A few photos taken outdoors in overcast daylight:

And indoors but with a brief glimpse of sunlight (dark lines are shadows from window bars)

Compared to the photos in artificial light there’s a massive difference to the appearance of the sky. This was in artificial light:

I suppose the real test will come when I have got the layout’s own lighting installed. That’s a long way off!

[Rob R]

Might want to consider bringing the layouts' own lighting forward in the build plan. That way you can paint to suit the light rather than lighting to suit the paint.

[Mol_PMB]

5 minutes ago, Rob R said:

Might want to consider bringing the layouts' own lighting forward in the build plan. That way you can paint to suit the light rather than lighting to suit the paint.

That is a very good thought. I don’t want to permanently fit the upper part of the front fascia and the lighting until the scenery is finished, but that doesn’t stop me making it. Then I could use the layout lighting to better judge the colours.
 

A couple of days ago I bought some more timber for the legs and to support the fascia, so I could move this forward in the build. 
 

Any recommendations for LED lighting strips with a suitable colour and brightness for layout lighting? Ideally dimmable. 
 

This morning I am going to the Manchester model railway show. I don’t think there’s much of Irish interest but no doubt some other inspirational layouts. 
 

 

[Tullygrainey]

I've used combinations of warm and cool white LED strips to good effect. Made by Lepro, they're supplied on rolls of 5 metre self adhesive strips complete with transformer and dimmer. They can be cut to length. I got mine from Amazon.

[Mol_PMB]

Quartertown Mill now has legs, which has been the main progress today and took longer than expected.

After considerable thought I have set the height at 1150mm / 45" to top of rail. That can be adjusted up and down an inch with the adjustable feet, otherwise it's a case of changing the leg length. I'm fairly happy with it now but will review in due course. 

I have also added a strip of wood as a pelmet to mount the lighting - this is chamfered 45 degrees on the inside. I have ordered some LED lights, hopefully they'll get here before the Christmas break.

You can also see that I've been building up the board surface to the required levels with offcuts of card and foam board.

Today I've also done a bit more on my sea moss trees - there are a total of 8 Birches and 2 Alders. No pics of those yet, but I'll add some in due course once I've achieved a look I'm happy with. 

[Mol_PMB]

I tried placing the mockup buildings and the trees to get a feel for what it will look like. The trees are at various stages of completion.

There will also be a weighbridge hut in the foreground, just left of centre, and another low-relief building to flll the gap in the backscene. The largest trees will also be set about half an inch lower once I've drilled the scenery for their trunks, and perhaps a bit further forwards.

Here's a couple of closer views of the trees at the right-hand end. Yesterday I bought some nice colours of autumn leaves to add to the sea moss trees and blend them better with the Primo trees and my attempts at painting trees on the backscene. I'm not going to make a final decision on the placing of the foreground trees until I've got the lighting in place - they will shade some parts of the layout which isn't necessarily a bad thing but needs to be managed. 

At the other end of the layout, my nice old mill building will be largely hidden from normal viewing angles! But it can't be helped.

As I move closer towards having a fascia, I'm wondering about how to decorate it. Mulling over ideas like this. along the top where the pelmet will hide the lighting bar:

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

I tried placing the mockup buildings and the trees to get a feel for what it will look like. The trees are at various stages of completion.

There will also be a weighbridge hut in the foreground, just left of centre, and another low-relief building to flll the gap in the backscene. The largest trees will also be set about half an inch lower once I've drilled the scenery for their trunks, and perhaps a bit further forwards.

Here's a couple of closer views of the trees at the right-hand end. Yesterday I bought some nice colours of autumn leaves to add to the sea moss trees and blend them better with the Primo trees and my attempts at painting trees on the backscene. I'm not going to make a final decision on the placing of the foreground trees until I've got the lighting in place - they will shade some parts of the layout which isn't necessarily a bad thing but needs to be managed. 

At the other end of the layout, my nice old mill building will be largely hidden from normal viewing angles! But it can't be helped.

As I move closer towards having a fascia, I'm wondering about how to decorate it. Mulling over ideas like this. along the top where the pelmet will hide the lighting bar:

I’d go with the second font - I think it stands out best. The “Q” on the last one is no more “Irish” than mandarin!

[Galteemore]

Yes that sign will be a nice touch. Option 3 would look good in white writing on black - and translated into Irish. Something like ‘muileann na ceathrún baile’. That’s the GSR look …went for that on my first Irish layout ! 

Edited yesterday at 21:51 by Galteemore

[Mol_PMB]

That’s a nice idea! I had been thinking of a grey fascia but black would work well too, and would look better for a bilingual ‘station’ sign. The Irish lettering doesn’t really work for the English name, so many thanks for the translation!

The snail and roundel would look OK on either colour. 

I was considering laser-cutting the letters from thin MDF and sticking them on the fascia. Did the GSR have raised letters or were they flat? 
 

One other design element I could incorporate is the Webb company impressed oval on this old letter, but I think it’s probably too fussy and wouldn’t be legible from a distance.

[jhb171achill]

That Webb seal looks well!

Maybe a tidied up, black-on-white version, enlarged?

The GSR bilingual signs of the late 1920s were enamelled, so they were flat.

[Galteemore]

20 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

That Webb seal looks well!

Maybe a tidied up, black-on-white version, enlarged?

The GSR bilingual signs of the late 1920s were enamelled, so they were flat.

Like this - courtesy of a post elsewhere on forum by @minister_for_hardship

Edited yesterday at 22:41 by Galteemore

[Flying Snail]

On the name - Irish translations can be tricky, as the grammar is very different to English. 'Baile' (that's the bit that translates into 'town') is typically at the front as in 'Baile Átha Cliath'. Its also the reason so many Irish placenames that have been anglicised start with Bally.

From the eircode finder website (which is run by An Post, the Irish postal service), 'Quartertown' is translated into 'Baile Na Ceathrún', so thats what I would use.

Mill is translated as 'Muileann' as Galteemore said, and you'll put that in front of the town's name, so I think* it'll become  'Muileann Bhaile Na Ceathrún' - note this adds a 'h' (which is actually a special grammatical construct called a séimhiú) to Baile. 

* Its 30 years since I did Leaving Cert Irish, and I wasn't particularly good at it then, thats why if I was making a bilingual sign I'd probably just do it as 'Quartertown Mill / Baile Na Ceathrún'

 

 

Edited yesterday at 22:45 by Flying Snail

[Flying Snail]

2 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

 

I'd go with the first one - its easier on the eye than the second one, and closer to the GSR signs shown above. 

[Flying Snail]

18 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Like this - courtesy of a post elsewhere on forum by @minister_for_hardship

The dot above the M in the first sign (and above the C in the third one) is actually our friend the 'séimhiú' - when Irish was modernised ini the 60s, the dot was replaced with the 'h'. 

sooooo ....

'Muileann Bhaile Na Ceathrún' would be 'Muileann Ḃaile Na Ceathrún' in GSR days*

*again, there may be grammatical errors in my translations as my Irish is very rusty

Edited 23 hours ago by Flying Snail

[Mol_PMB]

11 minutes ago, Flying Snail said:

On the name - Irish translations can be tricky, as the grammar is very different to English. 'Baile' (that's the bit that translates into 'town') is typically at the front as in 'Baile Átha Cliath'. Its also the reason so many Irish placenames that have been anglicised start with Bally.

From the eircode finder website (which is run by An Post, the Irish postal service), 'Quartertown' is translated into 'Baile Na Ceathrún', so thats what I would use.

Mill is translated as 'Muileann' as Galteemore said, and you'll put that in front of the town's name, so I think* it'll become  'Muileann Bhaile Na Ceathrún' - note this adds a 'h' (which is actually a special grammatical construct called a séimhiú) to Baile. 

* Its 30 years since I did Leaving Cert Irish, and I wasn't particularly good at it then, thats why if I was making a bilingual sign I'd probably just do it as 'Quartertown Mill / Baile Na Ceathrún'

 

 

That’s wonderful, many thanks. I was just thinking I might have to go searching for roadsigns to Quartertown on Google streetview to check the translation!

The space I have for the layout name is 1000mm long and only 70mm high, so I think I’ll have to put the two languages side by side rather than one above the other. Here is an example, not very far from Quartertown, where they were side by side, although one above the other was much more common on the signs:
 

In all cases the Irish comes before the English. 
 

I’ll have another go at some artwork tomorrow - in fact I’ll probably draw up the whole fascia to scale so that I can better judge the overall appearance.

 

I am also formulating a plan for how best to make the signs with the laser-cutter.