David's Workbench

[David Holman]

Following the muse

 One of the many nice things about our hobby is that you don't have to follow convention, or even your own plans. Thus it has been over the last week or so, when after doing the ballasting & in particular working on the baseboard joint, it felt like it was time to do something different. So, I split the boards to gain a bit of space and have been focussing on the right hand one, in particular the right hand end of this. There are two main structures here, the travelling crane [more of which anon] and the warehouse.

 

The first and third pictures show that this has grown a bit, with the gable end section gaining an extra storey as I felt more height would balance the scene better. This was then rendered with DAS clay, like the rest of the model and, once dry, the process of scribing in the stonework started. Inspiration comes from the rather splendid set of buildings on Ramelton Quay, not far from Letterkenny, photos of which I found via an internet search. They appear to be built from random stone & then cement rendered, only for some of the latter to crumble away.

DAS is ideal for this sort of work. I don't worry much about applying it flat or smooth, for though I do sand it back, I also leave humps and hollows which help create variety. The hollows in particular are where I've scribed the stonework, plus along the base of the building, as per the prototype. The tools required are minimal, just a scribe and an old toothbrush - the latter essential to see where you are going.

 The building [a warehouse on my layout], also has some very nice looking doors, which have clearly seen better days. The ground floor one is both patched and very worn at the base, while the upper ones appear to have been repaired with corrugated iron. All fairly easy to do with plastic sheet and strip and certainly a lot simpler than making windows.

 As for the crane, I had this in mind as a way to hide the square corner at this end of the layout. A full scratch build was a possibility, but then I remembered the Dapol [ex Airfix kit]. This must be at least 50 years old, probably more, but represents the sort of thing I am interested in, standing high on long legs and running on rails set about 4-5 metres apart. Thus far, I've used the wheel units, along with the the cabin base and boom. The two legs have been made from 60thou plastic sheet, with the crane cabin from 40thou. A lot more detailing is required, but it seems to fit the scene, though the corner of the back scene will need some sanding to make a small radius curve.

 As things stand, I've got four structures of different kinds under way [crane, warehouse, platform store and the Puffer], so plenty of variety if/when I get bored with more mundane things!

[David Holman]

I've been tinkering with the crane, on and off, over the last fortnight and thought I was getting on quite well. Unfortunately, in trying to work out how the cables and hoist gear was rigged, I came across a lengthy thread on RMweb, which shows that the Airfix/Dapol crane kit is, well, wrong...

 It is all to do with luffing, apparently, which to the uninitiated like me, means the jib needs to be able to move up and down via a supplementary set of cables, separate from the ones to the lifting hook. All to do with the angle of the dangle when lifting cargo from a ship's hold.

 Anyway, for me, it was a case of 'do I scrap the whole thing and start again', or persevere onwards? Given that Northport Quay is very much a cameo and the crane is really just a view blocker, half hidden behind the warehouse anyway, I decided to plod on. There is another issue though, because am fairly certain this type of crane would have been powered by electricity, so a model isn't really appropriate for the early 20th century. 1950s should be ok, though by all means tell me I'm wrong!

 I won't mind, because it has been an amusing little project to adapt and reconfigure the old Airfix mouldings. After making new legs and a larger cabin, it was obvious the platform needed some safety railings and this meant raising the cabin on a piece of tube made from several layers of 20thou plastic sheet. Inside the new cabin, I fitted part of the Airfix one, to act as a kind of engine room - maybe diesel power? I also added some white metal levers from a signal box kit, together with a seated driver. The outside of the cabin has been clad in Slater's corrugated iron sheet, some of which also forms the roof.

 Thus far, the model has been sprayed with rattle can primer and given these things seemed to be mainly grey anyway, it could be that some weathering coats on top of this are all that is required. By and large, it looks the part, though far from prototypical - but as I said earlier, the layout is very much a cameo, so liberties are most certainly being taken.

[David Holman]

It's competition night at the Chatham Club the week after next, so nothing like a deadline to get something finished! Don't know what other clubs do, but we have five categories: Locos, Coaching Stock, Wagons, Buildings and Miscellaneous. The latter is the one the crane will be going in, which has in the past been won by everything from ships to scenics to road vehicles. Members vote on each others' models and so it is a bit of a lottery, but equally also mainly a bit of fun, so we are hoping for a good turnout after missing the last two years.

 I've been searching for that little bit extra, in the hope of making the model more believable & managed to find a picture online of how the old Aifix kit had been adapted to have a pseudo 'luffing' arrangement. Hence did a  simple copy of this by adding a couple of plastic brackets to the centre of the jib, along with a couple of extra cables [fishing wire], via a pulley on a wire arm, as a means to move the jib up & down separately. None of it actually works, I hasten to add!

 

 The rest of the work has been about trying to tone down the plain [primer] grey paint. Did this first with an overall wash of 'Null Oil' [Games Workshop], followed by various applications of weathering powders to give a patina of rust. Being a harbour crane, am assuming the salty air would lead to rapid corrosion.

 Still need to get the cable to the hook straight. Could be I'll need to swap the fishing line for some sort of thread from the end of the jib.

 What I haven't been able to work out is how a 12" to the foot version of this crane would have been powered. Safe to assume that steam is very unlikely, so diesel or petrol the best bet. However, the kit doesn't come with with any sort of exhaust pipe, yet if it was electric, where would that source come from? Some dock cranes were hydraulic powered, but they were static. Either way, unlikely anything other than steam power would have been used much before WW1, so the model is only really applicable for after that, it seems.

[David Holman]

Backscene

 Decided it was time to grasp the nettle and tackle the backscene. Have done a few over the years, so here is my take on such things. My leanings are probably more artistic than engineering, being left brained and generally untidy, though working as a primary headteacher meant I had to learn how to be better organised!

 First up, materials and for me it is pretty much a case of anything goes, so lots of paint brushes, with the old school hogs hair ones favourite for blocking in larger areas. Paint itself is cheap acrylic, from places like The Works, where a big tube costs the same as a much smaller one from an art shop.

 For detail work though, pencils, pens and crayons are more useful, I find. 20 odd years ago, I bought a set of Berol Karisma water colour crayons [easy to see which ones are used most] which are lovely to use and they still have plenty of life in them. Felt pens of various types come in handy too - a case of finding what works best for you, while ensuring plenty of options.

 I often get people telling me that they can't draw or paint, but while there are obviously some people who are naturally talented  [look at Picasso's early stuff - he really knew how to draw], the basic techniques are easy to learn. When I was still a class teacher, there was a great art programme on TV called 'Look, Look and Look again', which pretty much sums it up - that and the basic rules of perspective. When I am painting a backscene, have found a few other things apply:

• Start furthest back, probably the sky, and move forward
• Distant colours are much more faded and become almost monochrome the further back you go
• You'll need about 10 times more white than any other colour
• Yellow ochre, burnt sienna and hooker's green are the other main colours, along with cobalt blue - and very little black
•  It is best to build things up in multiple layers
• Colours always seem to be darker on the backscene than they appear in the palette
• No matter how hard I try, I always start off with colours that are too strong and have to tone them down!

 The rest of the pictures show progress thus far. Sky first - a fairly plain pale grey, pretty much as per the weather today, then the sea: a slightly darker shade than the sky, with a hint of blue. 

 The hills come next, mainly greys for the distant ones, with grey/green for the nearer slopes. A lot of work still to do here as I want to try and replicate rocky hillsides with patches of gorse and heather, so only an impression at the moment. 

 Another 'rule' is that it pays to just do half an hour or so, then stop for a bit. Chances are, what you thought looked ok will be less satisfactory when you go back, but you will get there in the end.

 

 

[Northroader]

Track, VG...buildings,VG... but that backscene really lifts the layout up and gives you a real feeling of place. Great work.

[KMCE]

Excellent - you make it look effortless. 

Sadly this is one area I just cannot seem to manage, never mind master, hence why I use printed photos!!

 

As @Northroader noted, this really does lift the layout.

Ken

[David Holman]

Thanks folks. Hopefully it will provide the all important depth to what is a very narrow scene, but a fair bit of work still needed!

 Nothing wrong with using photos, Ken. Some can be a bit bright, but choose the right ones and they can be very effective.

[David Holman]

On Monday, spurred on by kind comments, I went to look at the back scenes and must confess they looked pretty horrible. The camera can and does lie, I'm afraid...

 The colours all seemed too dark and or dense, while what should have tried to present a three dimensional scene looked disappointingly flat. Hey ho, I thought, these things rarely work out first time, but Monday's work wasn't much of an improvement either, as the dull colours were still coming through the next coats of paint. I'd tried adding brighter tones and textures but, even brightly lit, it just wasn't right. Clearly a new approach was needed.

 Starting from the ground up, as it were, I painted in the areas of bare rock and then used crayons and felt pens to add detail to these areas. This looked better, so I continued with the felt pens, sticking to pastel colours as shown below.

 Various greens were used to add what looked like thicker foliage and low bushes around the rocks. Have since gone over some of these areas with a pale yellow pen, which has helped tone things down. In the course of doing this, I realised that by varying the direction of shading, I could better suggest contours on the hillside. A few more touches and we now have what what I hope is a more effective scene.

 Other work has involved further layers on the back ground hills and water, while I've also added a couple of trees to provide a bit more variety and [more importantly] help hide the join in the backscene.

 Although I've used flash, the shadow from the shelf above hasn't helped and in this case, the painting now looks better than there photo!

 Feeling a bit more pleased with myself, I've also started blocking in the buildings and foreground details. More felt pen and crayon work to come.

[KMCE]

Super stuff.  The roadway down by the cottages really works - what is most impressive is how it works from different directions.  Sometimes these backdrops will only work from one direction, but you really seem to be able to bring different dimensions to it.

 

Well done Sir....

[J-Mo Arts]

Seconded, the road is brilliant and it's a difficult job making something that works from all perspectives. Now all you need is a local leaning on the wall whose eyes follow you around around the room!

[Northroader]

With an “I shot JR” tee shirt.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Northroader

[David Holman]

Have wandered back to more specific workbench stuff, after what seemed like too much painting and ground work over the last few weeks. That's the joy of layout building for you - if you get fed up with one strand, there's always something else to do! 

 One thing that had been on the 'to do' list for a while was remote control of the starter signal. I could have gone along the electronic route, with maybe a servo or a solenoid, but it seemed easier to just make it mechanical and looking through my materials boxes, I found there were enough angle cranks and wire in tube to make that happen.  As can be seen from the picture, the wire in tube uses two cranks, one to make a right angled turn to go parallel to the track and the other to go vertically up to the signal actuator arm. Only a very small amount of movement is required, so I made a simple knob from a small bolt, by drilling into it so the wire in tube fitted inside. The actual wire itself comes out of the top of the knob and is bent over and soldered in place. [More than] a few rude words got uttered while I was working how long the wire in each bit of tube needed to be, but got there in the end and [fingers crossed] it all works nicely and without the rather small control panel getting too crowded.

 I also put an order in to Skytrex on Sunday for some all important scenic bits and pieces so was pleased to find a package arriving from the postman this morning. A mixture of boxes, crate, barrels and parcels  - some in cast white metal, others in resin. Spent a happy hour trying out some of them on the layout and then gave these a scrub  in warm water & washing up liquid before an overall spray of primer. I also ordered a set of white metal buffers, which, after drilling the beam to cope with the wider gauge has been posed on the siding, awaiting painting and bedding in.

[Rob]

The signal looks excellent- everything looks spot on.

[David Holman]

 One project that has been very much in the background of late has been the large warehouse at the right hand end of the layout. Various bits and pieces have been worked on, such as making and laying the roof slates, but nothing of any great interest. However, with the left hand board now awaiting more fine detail, attention has moved to the other.

 The roof slates are fairly conventional 'old school' - strips of thin card, a scale 18" deep and snipped with scissors every foot, then laid [from the lower edge upwards] on PVA. Card was also used for the bargeboards, which are stuck to matchsticks just under the edges of the roof.

 Guttering is my standard dodge. Strips of 100 thou plasticard have one corner rounded off with files/sandpaper. Only the ends are fully profiled to represent a half round gutter - the rest becomes the soffit boards and the whole is glued to the top of the building's walls with contact adhesive.

 Most of recent efforts have gone into painting though. The DAS covered walls, partly scribed to show stonework showing through crumbling render, were first given a coat of Tamiya 'deck tan' acrylic. Next, the individual stones were picked out in light washes of more deck tan, tinted with either burnt sienna, ochre or grey. To try and add both texture and extra depth to the rendered areas, these were painted with a mix of deck tan and white, thickened with talc. At first, this seemed to work ok, but when I put the building on the layout, it looked far too bright and colourful, compared the the grey stone elsewhere, so gave everything a wash of grey, which seems to have toned things down fairly well.

 Roof slates are Precision 'slate grey' enamel, while the doors, shutters, gutters and downpipes are vermilion red acrylic. This probably needs a bit of weathering, as does the rest of the building, but I've posed my ex Timoleague & Courtmacsherry 0-4-2T on the quay, alongside the Clyde Puffer, which has had nothing done to it since Christmas, but hopefully its time will come soon!

[Galteemore]

Nicely sets the scene at that end David. Subtle work as ever. 

[KMCE]

Excellent work David, as always.

Really like the effect of render crumbling away from the stones - very effective and adds a worn down effect to the building.

Edited June 5, 2022 by KMCE

[David Holman]

A few pictures from the workshop.

It's been a while since Belmullet featured, mainly because work has focussed on the other two layouts, but we had some friends over for lunch, so seemed like a good excuse for a tidy up, especially as a request to see the workshop had been made. Guess it's a bit like the wife wanting the house to be tidy for visitors! Anyway, it was good to get some stock out and take a couple of pictures.

 

With some cooler weather, managed to spend a bit of time on the baseboard join on Northport quayside - though still much to do here, not least correcting my continuing inability to get colour tones right. It's not as if I haven't had plenty of practice, but the stonework is far too dark for my liking.

 Finally a picture of Fintonagh, to promote its outing next weekend. The venue is the Bredgar and Wormshill Railway, near Sittingbourne. The entrance fee may at first seem a bit steep at £20, but this includes train and tractor rides all day. The railway is in effect a 12 inch to the foot model, being a 2 foot gauge line, built on private land. There is a large array of locos on duty and lots to see, as well as the model exhibition, so well worth visiting if you are in the area. Good job it wasn't last weekend though, as even though it is well away from the M2 & M20, much of Kent was gridlocked with holidaymakers trying to cross the channel.

[Galteemore]

Lovely stuff David. Nice view of some SLNC stock too - not that I’m biased  

[David Holman]

Puffer/Coaster

 Am almost ashamed to admit that I bought this Langley kit of a Clyde Puffer the best part of ten months ago. Others will keep kits for years, but I much prefer to get on with what I have, so it is unusual for me to have an unmade kit this long. However, the time is now right to get it built - so here goes.

 I doubt that many, if any, Clyde Puffers ever made it to the west coast of Ireland, while I'm afraid I've never found the design particularly attractive. However, in Chatham Dockyard we have VIC96, a post war naval tender very much based on the Puffers and to my eyes, far more attractive, so this is going to form the basis for my model. There is a picture of the VIC in my Northport Quay thread. It is not going to be a slavish copy & this also adds to its allure, because what I'm trying to create is a small coaster, able to ply its trade between Broadhaven, Westport and Galway. The numerous offshore islands give a degree of protection from Atlantic storms, while there are enough small communities that would no doubt have benefitted from a weekly visit from a little ship.

 So what's to be done? The only model ships I've ever built were Airfix kits in my youth, but am hoping the skills I've built up since then are transferable!

  The main tasks are to build up a much more substantial forecastle, plus altering the stern area so that the wheelhouse sits in front of the funnel. The Langley kit is based around a large, heavy, resin casting for the hull, so the first job has been to carefully saw off the small extensions on the bow and then build up the new shape with plastic sheet. The photos below show how far I've got today. The main problem is that there are very few straight lines on the kit, so new pieces need to be carefully filed to fit. Note however, that this is just a subframe [60thou sheet]. An outer layer of 20thou will go on top to represent the hull plates, rivets and so on. Have used cyano to attach the plastic to the resin hull, plus additional ribs made from 80x100 strip to reinforce things.

 

[Broithe]

Almost ashamed?

 

Ten months is nothing.

 

I have a kit upstairs that I started in 1977.

 

I'm about 80% of the way there now...

[jhb171achill]

19 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Puffer/Coaster

 Am almost ashamed to admit that I bought this Langley kit of a Clyde Puffer the best part of ten months ago. Others will keep kits for years, but I much prefer to get on with what I have, so it is unusual for me to have an unmade kit this long. However, the time is now right to get it built - so here goes.

 I doubt that many, if any, Clyde Puffers ever made it to the west coast of Ireland, while I'm afraid I've never found the design particularly attractive. However, in Chatham Dockyard we have VIC96, a post war naval tender very much based on the Puffers and to my eyes, far more attractive, so this is going to form the basis for my model. There is a picture of the VIC in my Northport Quay thread. It is not going to be a slavish copy & this also adds to its allure, because what I'm trying to create is a small coaster, able to ply its trade between Broadhaven, Westport and Galway. The numerous offshore islands give a degree of protection from Atlantic storms, while there are enough small communities that would no doubt have benefitted from a weekly visit from a little ship.

 So what's to be done? The only model ships I've ever built were Airfix kits in my youth, but am hoping the skills I've built up since then are transferable!

  The main tasks are to build up a much more substantial forecastle, plus altering the stern area so that the wheelhouse sits in front of the funnel. The Langley kit is based around a large, heavy, resin casting for the hull, so the first job has been to carefully saw off the small extensions on the bow and then build up the new shape with plastic sheet. The photos below show how far I've got today. The main problem is that there are very few straight lines on the kit, so new pieces need to be carefully filed to fit. Note however, that this is just a subframe [60thou sheet]. An outer layer of 20thou will go on top to represent the hull plates, rivets and so on. Have used cyano to attach the plastic to the resin hull, plus additional ribs made from 80x100 strip to reinforce things.

 

Looking VERY good, David! Don't forget to give it a name in old gaelic script, if you can find it - Gráinne Mhaol maybe!

[David Holman]

I've been concentrating on trying to get the balance of the superstructure right on my coaster. For me, the trouble with a Clyde Puffer is it looks unbalanced with its low bow [almost no forecastle] and the wheel house right at the stern, with the funnel in front. Clearly it worked, but not for me. So we have a higher forecastle and the wheelhouse is now in front of the funnel.

 

All done with plastic sheet and strip. I've ended up discarding the stern superstructure, as it would have been too much of a faff to mount the wheel house at the front of it. Instead, made a new one and I think it all looks better for it now. Apart from the forecastle, nothing is fixed down, including the steam winch, which I made up ages ago.

 

Most of the rest of the work should now be using the castings and fittings from the Langley kit, though I'm probably going to need a couple more ventilators, several ladder type steps and quite a lot more handrails. 

 I've been looking at my road atlas of Ireland, in search of a suitable name for the coaster. After discarding various place names, bays and mountains, realised the answer was staring me in the face: "Acla". This is the Gaelic for Achill [island], which is very much central to the little ship's route from Broadhaven [Port Ross?] down to Westport. Hope you approve JB!

[Patrick Davey]

Really nice little boat David!

[David Holman]

Work continues on the Acla, though it has taken longer than I thought to get to the kit parts. Indeed, trying to decide when to prime the hull and likewise paint other bits has stirred the grey matter somewhat this week. Then, when I did get the Halford's rattle can out, it showed a fair few flaws that needed sorting. It's not called a 'witness coat' for nothing...

 There was also the matter of a bit of extra detailing for the wheelhouse. Managed to find a duffle coated figure in my box of little people, so, with a repaint [including a bushy beard], he now stands at the wheel. Clyde Puffers has pretty vestigial controls - a stop/go lever and another to engage reverse seems to be about it. With Acla being more 'sea-going', seemed appropriate to  to have something a bit more sophisticated. So, we have a compass binnacle and a connection to the engine room - though both are actually white metal milk churns! No matter, they can barely been seen anyway - its more about just creating an impression.

 

Today, I did actually get around to adding some bits from the kit - some of which I can identify, others, I don't have a Scooby. Steam pipes, ventilators, hooter and capstan are all fairly obvious, as is the funnel of course, but quite what the difference is between a fairlead and a bollard I'm not sure and Samson posts likewise. The instructions for fitting the rudder and steering gear were pretty vague - so I took the easy way out and omitted most of them, I'm afraid. Steering gear on the Acla is much more 'internal' than external!

 

What I can't avoid is all the rigging on the mast and derrick. This is going to require some careful planning, as I'd prefer to make this bits either removable, or capable of folding down for transport.

[Broithe]

20 minutes ago, David Holman said:

What I can't avoid is all the rigging on the mast and derrick. This is going to require some careful planning, as I'd prefer to make this bits either removable, or capable of folding down for transport.

Perhaps, elastic thread for some of the rigging, to enable masts to be unplugged and dropped, without a load of adjustment to the ropes being necessary?

[David Holman]

 Steadily chipping away at fitting the bits and pieces from the kit this week. First job was the mast and derrick. I adapted the castings with brass tube, pins and 10ba bolts so the the derrick can swing from side to side as well as up and down. I then did the same thing to mast, so it can be unplugged from the ship's hull for safety.

 

 Probably one of the finest model shipbuilders around is Gordon Gravett, who actually did it for a living and having met up with him at the Uckfield show this weekend, it was great to talk further over the phone later this week and get some advice. 

 On his demo stand at Uckfield were two stunning models of Somerset & Dorset colliers - very much along the same lines as my Puffer hybrid. The detail he has included is amazing & I was keen to find out where he gets some of his bits & pieces. Turns out I have a very good option locally in the Model Shop in Chatham Historic Dockyard, so a visit is planned to see what I can find. I also quizzed him on things like handrails, ropes and rigging. Just as Broithe suggested, elastic thread seems to be the way to go on the latter here. Another aspect was how to do water - both colour and material. I'd been brooding on using some of the Woodlands Scenics resin, but Gordon suggested using 2mm acrylic sheet, carefully cutting out the outline of the hull, so it sits in the water, rather than on it. However, that is for the future.

 The rear handrails have been made using the white metal castings from the kit, which needed careful drilling out, plus 0.7mm brass wire

 The last couple of days have seen work on the two sets of steps, which have had to be scratch built, using various bits and pieces from the spares box, plus their associated handrails. A few other items like the anchor [and its davit] and mast head light have been added too. The aim is to get as much detail added as possible before painting, with the rigging added last. It's not a good idea to try painting [especially airbrushing] once the rigging has been attached, as it makes it go hairy.

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by David Holman

[RobertRoche]

Look excellent, really coming together.

[Northroader]

Looking good, the only item I would question is the rubbing strake(?) low down on the bow disappearing under the waterline. Wouldn’t it look better if that was removed?

[Mike 84C]

I recently bought a little book called "Puffers" by Guthrie Hutton   ISBN 9781840334142 published by Stenlake Publishing Limited. 

www.stenlake.co.uk.

 Bought it whilst on holiday in Scotland 'cos it looked interesting, it is, very interesting and I wanted some fresh reading materiel!  48 pages of historic b/w photographs. 

I have no connection with the author or publishers just a happy reader.

Reading the potted history of each illustrated craft its staggering how many were lost at sea.

[David Holman]

Interesting comment on that running strip. Looking at the Vic, there seems to be no need for that lower strip. Will check some more, but could be a bit of filing is required.

[Broithe]

21 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Interesting comment on that running strip. Looking at the Vic, there seems to be no need for that lower strip. Will check some more, but could be a bit of filing is required.

I had a look at a few pictures and it seems to have been a fairly common feature, for some reason.

[David Holman]

Somebody's copied my ship!

[Broithe]

1 minute ago, David Holman said:

Somebody's copied my ship!

Well, that's (Para) Handy...

[David Holman]

Just goes to show how designs evolve. I have drawings of an earlier Vital Spark, where there is no wheel house, just a big tiller at the stern, comp!early open to the elements. I still wonder why it would be a neat idea to put the funnel in front of the wheelhouse on the Puffers, but someone's eventually seen sense.

 There again, we only have to look at some of the early petrol and diesel railcars to see that thinking wasn't always logical. How many railcars did Walkers build before they finally decided to put a driving cab at each end, as on Sligo B? What on earth were they thinking when the D82xx and D84xx locos were designed, with what must be terrible views for the driver?

 My favourite is those Northern Ireland railcars where the driver perched on a kind of cupola on the roof. Visibility must have been terrible going backwards!

 Great picture, which for me shows there is nothing wrong with a bit of interpretation, so thank you.

[Broithe]

A lot of these things are evolutionary, like that because of where they started from. It may be that the funnel placement is less important than the ease of stoking the fire and the smoke just has to come out where it does.

All sorts of vehicles evolved in ways that we wouldn't have done if we'd known where we were going at the start.

Like the numbers on calculators and phones being arranged differently, because they used to be separate things...

Even down to words like 'dashboard' - it's not really fundamentally there to stop you being hit by stones that are flicked up off the road any more.