Stoned Again

Sometimes it's best just to get the boring bits of a model build out of the way so you can move onto something more fun.

So I decided there was no point putting off scribing the stonework on the front wall of the Oberon Wood house and picked up my pointy stick and got on with it.

I was asked the other day what I used for scribing styrene. I'm not sure I quite described it properly so a picture is probably much more effective.

I use it in the opposite orientation to how you see it here, with the sort of spoon bit facing downwards.

Scribing stonework is the sort of job you need to tackle in sort bursts. After 10 minutes or so your fingers start to tire and the lines begin to swim in front of your eyes.

Fortunately this piece is quite small so I was able to get it done in about an hour.

Here it is fixed in place on the model.

I know it doesn't look much right now but you wait until the Artistic Director has got his hands on it....

A New Dorm

Having tested out the first Oberon Wood house in position on Bron Hebog and - I think - satisfied myself with the dimensions of the Artistic Director's design, I have got a little more construction work done this week.

The dormer window on the southern elevation is now taking shape.

I have also cut the piece for the wall beneath the overhanging section here at the front of the house.

This is faced with stone and will be scribed by hand when I can summon up the motivation.

From this angle the very complicated shape of these buildings is apparent.

Whoops!

Eagle-eyed Himself has spotted a boo boo with our new model of FR Superbarn 121.

It's only come to light halfway through the painting process, which is both unfortunate and fortunate at the same time because we were close to having a finished, varnished carriage with a bit missing.

So, in true puzzle magazine style, let's play spot the difference....

In case you still haven't noticed it the bit in question is a small, horizontal bar on one of the double entrance doors.

There are no tell tale chips in the paintwork to show that it was knocked off accidentally so the most likely conclusion is that I simply forgot to put it on when I made the carriage.

Whoops indeed!

Hopefully it should be simple enough for Himself to graft in a piece before he proceeds further with the painting.

Three Of A Kind

As part of my tour of inspection at home I also got to see how Himself has got on completing the three DZ wagons I built for the Bron Hebog fleet.

I'm much happier with the Franklin Heavy font transfers which look a lot more like the stencil type used in South African than the ones we had before as discussed in a previous post.

The wagon nearest the camera is what you might call a standard WHR DZ wagon - it is the only one of the three built as per the kit with U channel stantions.

The middle one is what I shall call the Boston Lodge Improved DZ. It has replacement, removable, ends and the stantions between the doors on the sides are made of T section.

The third wagon, on the right, has lost its ends somewhere along the way and its vacumm pipes have been extended upwards and moved into the corners of the wagon to leave the way clear for overhanging cargo.  It has been put to use carrying many unusual loads over the years.

At the moment they are a bit pristine and shiny but Himself will soon set to work with his airbrush to weather them.

Van Body

With three of the sides now made the WHR Tool Van is starting to come together and look the part.

Although most of the van body is now complete there's still lots of stuff to add to the wagon.

The Tool Van had all sorts of stuff hung on the side from what I can see in pictures of it in use.

On one side where two giant black boards with white crosses on them, for use during track occupations, and on the other side a big frame which looks something like the contraptions you see on the side of glaziers vehicles on the road.

I have no idea what its purpose was on this wagon but there's probably someone who's about to tell me.

Pic Of The Week 13

Unlucky in this case because its the last of this series of fabulous Chris Nevard shots of Dduallt.

Very appropriately its a departure shot.

Taken from a high angle - indeed higher than the level of the average pair of eyes when the layout is set up on its trestles - we see Taliesin leaving the Down platform while the rear of another train is heading off on its journey around the spiral.

From this angle you can see the way the loop line arcs around the trees in the middle of the station which I always felt made it one of the most distinctive and attractive locations on the FR, if not on any heritage railway.

The Down road is no longer connected to the main line at the top end but there is a small run round which is used as a turnback for works trains, slate trains and some short formations during gala events.

I hope you've enjoyed these series of pictures. I'll be bringing them together in a gallery soon so you can find them in one place.

Site Visit

An Easter visit chez Himself afforded the opportunity to check out progress at the other end of the operation in Oxforshire.

One thing I was keen to do was see what the first of the Oberon Wood houses looked like in position on the layout.

These have been designed by the Artistic Director, Francis, and have been carefully scaled to fit the available space.

The other building is a double garage we built a while back and which may have to be resized and rebuilt now we can see the size of the houses.

Both these shots are taken from the public viewing side of the layout.

And this the view looking south from the station platform.

I would be interesting to get reactions from readers who know Beddgelert station well as to whether this house looks 'right' in position.