Brookhall Mill - A GNR(I) Micro Layout

[Patrick Davey]

A visitor to the mill this evening......

[jhb171achill]

Annual staff outing to Mosney?

[Patrick Davey]

At last - the builders have arrived at the mill, to get started on the construction of the actual buildings!  They certainly took their time......

 

Wondering if the tall building is too tall......

 

 

The initial design has been adjusted a bit to give more room for internal detail.

David Holman has given great advice on the construction of low relief structures and how to hide their truncated gables with trees but am not sure this will work here!  I need your help here @David Holman I think!!

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[Galteemore]

12 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

At last - the builders have arrived at the mill, to get started on the construction of the actual buildings!  They certainly took their time......

 

Wondering if the tall building is too tall......

 

 

The initial design has been adjusted a bit to give more room for internal detail.

David Holman has given great advice on the construction of low relief structures and how to hide their truncated gables with trees but am not sure this will work here!  I need your help here @David Holman I think!!

 

Some pipe runs may help Patrick - wall mounted steam pipes from a boiler house ? Also scope for things like a projecting jib for a crane, or even a fire escape ladder….

Edited April 28, 2022 by Galteemore

[Patrick Davey]

The brickwork is progressing on the first block of the mill buildings.

Thick card forms the rigid structure, faced with brick-embossed plastic sheet:

I use PVA glue for the larger areas and Roket glue for smaller areas, for added strength.  This stuff is like superglue for card!

Each wall is done separately, and a pile of railway books is used to apply pressure as the separate assemblies dry overnight.

Then the walls are brought together on a thick card base:

And basic flooring adds strength:

 

This will be a stair block, giving access from the platform to the upper floors of the adjacent building (also under construction).  The buildings have sufficient depth to allow some internal details to be added - the windows are quite large so this is important.  Staircases will be visible at the three windows.

Tomorrow I will be working on the corner pieces, which will have quoins.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[2996 Victor]

Hi Patrick,

Great work on the buildings! What sort of card are you using for the shells? I've been using artist's mounting board recently and found it to be quite stable, even without a coat of shellac.

I've also recently "found" the Roket card and paper glue - it's absolutely indispensable now

Looking forward to seeing the quoins and window reveals, and smaller details go on.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Galteemore]

Agreed - nice work on those arches! I like 1mm board too, @2996 Victor. With a sharp knife it’s easily worked, and 90 degree fillets in the corners, with a honeycomb interior, soon gives a good strong shell. Takes paint nicely too. And I love Rocket card glue. It is very runny so like superglue, small doses, or it tends to dry in resin-like bumps. Don’t ask me how I know…

[Patrick Davey]

A bit more progress this evening. Structure glued together and quoins added, along with brick detail above the top window.  Painting next then attention will turn towards the windows: the frames are painted and ready to install, then arches, sills and glazing will follow. 

The top of the quoins here will be tidied and the building will have a flat roof with coping stones at the edges.

[Patrick Davey]

16 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

Hi Patrick,

Great work on the buildings! What sort of card are you using for the shells? I've been using artist's mounting board recently and found it to be quite stable, even without a coat of shellac.

I've also recently "found" the Roket card and paper glue - it's absolutely indispensable now

Looking forward to seeing the quoins and window reveals, and smaller details go on.

Cheers,

Mark

 

3mm thick card - Scale Model Scenery was the source  

[David Holman]

Looks like 'grey board', which you can get from artshops. Hobbycraft usually sell it too. UHU sticks it well, likewise Resin W.

 Lots of nice 'gingerbread' in the details, especially that penultimate photo.

[2996 Victor]

5 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Lots of nice 'gingerbread' in the details, especially that penultimate photo.

Definitely! @Patrick Daveyhow did you achieve the fancy brickwork detail above the top window?

Cheers,

Mark

[Patrick Davey]

28 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

Definitely! @Patrick Daveyhow did you achieve the fancy brickwork detail above the top window?

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks all

Grey board indeed it is, obtained from Scale Model Scenery.

Mark the brick detail and quoins are from York Modelmaking, they add a lot to the build I think!

[2996 Victor]

1 hour ago, Patrick Davey said:

Thanks all

Grey board indeed it is, obtained from Scale Model Scenery.

Mark the brick detail and quoins are from York Modelmaking, they add a lot to the build I think!

They certainly do - excellent details that would otherwise be difficult to reproduce.

I've heard of York Modelmaking, but never tried out their products. I think a little browsing of their website is in order!

Cheers,

Mark

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, 2996 Victor said:

They certainly do - excellent details that would otherwise be difficult to reproduce.

I've heard of York Modelmaking, but never tried out their products. I think a little browsing of their website is in order!

Cheers,

Mark

Indeed - a lot of very useful items to be drooled over

[Mike 84C]

Been to a lot of mills in my working life and you are getting exactly the right atmosphere. Are you using a specific prototype or a sort of collage type mill?

[Galteemore]

26 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Indeed - a lot of very useful items to be drooled over

EBay can also offer rich pickings through various small outfits offering 3d and resin prints. Smart Models have been a huge help to my latest project.

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Mike 84C said:

Been to a lot of mills in my working life and you are getting exactly the right atmosphere. Are you using a specific prototype or a sort of collage type mill?

Thanks Mike! It’s a freelance design I suppose, with a bit of an influence from the GNR works at Dundalk, red brick with yellow quoins and window arches

[Mike 84C]

I suppose the thing to keep in mind with all mills is the grain was taken to the top of the mill once, by elevator, then worked its way down the floors as it was processed. Animal feed had various products added in the mixing process then cooked by steam in the presses with a fat binder to make pellets/rolls.

   An interesting book is Milled from Golden Fields by Grahame Edge, gives a flavour of the flour milling industry in England but there are a lot of photos of lorries ancient and modern!

[Patrick Davey]

Thanks Mike, this is a linen mill though 

[Patrick Davey]

More work today, including painting and adding the windows and window arches.  Some work also done on the internal detailing too.  

Window sills to come next.

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Finished, with just the glazing to go. Painting finished and sills added, along with some grey brick courses and also coping stones at the very top. An overall wash of dilute white acrylic has also been added to dull the red paint and bring out the brick detail. 
 

 

[Galteemore]

Would have been so much easier to use an off the shelf cardboard kit - but that scratch build looks so much better! Love the little architectural details that give relief and character to this.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Galteemore

[Patrick Davey]

More progress today, thanks to a few unexpected free hours.

Building....

 

Painting....

 

And trying in position - the platform road is starting to look a bit cramped.....

[Patrick Davey]

Two blocks of the mill building almost completed. 
 

 

Just now, Patrick Davey said:

 

And no, the GNR(I) didn’t run flying trains……

[DJ Dangerous]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:10 PM, Patrick Davey said:

 

 

 

Lemmings!!!

[Patrick Davey]

Really enjoying this. Had a lot of small detail items waiting to go onto these buildings so it’s nice to see them in place at last.  More to come too……

* Date stone from Scale Model Scenery
* Extractor fans from JS Models
* Quoins from York Modelmaking
* Period posters from….em….the www….

 

[jhb171achill]

Another absolute gem from 1960 Lagan Valley!

[Patrick Davey]

1 minute ago, jhb171achill said:

Another absolute gem from 1960 Lagan Valley!

A bit heavy on the GNR-ness perhaps…..???

[Galteemore]

2 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

A bit heavy on the GNR-ness perhaps…..???

Is such a thing even possible ? 

[Patrick Davey]

Lots of new photo opportunities emerging as the buildings go up!

[jhb171achill]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:09 PM, Patrick Davey said:

A bit heavy on the GNR-ness perhaps…..???

Never!

[Northroader]

Reminds me of somewhere?

[jhb171achill]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:09 PM, Patrick Davey said:

A bit heavy on the GNR-ness perhaps…..???

Never!

[Patrick Davey]

On 14/5/2022 at 11:38 AM, Northroader said:

Reminds me of somewhere?

This stuff smells exactly like the distinctive aroma which emanated from the above establishment:

 

 

[Patrick Davey]

Working on this corner at the moment. This will be the last block of GNR red brick…..or will it….