LAYOUT CLUB

This is another of those structures that, despite not being for a layout, just called out to be modelled. It's actually always been fairly local to me, and I'd driven past countless times without paying much attention. A recent change of living arrangements meant I started walking past it in the evenings when the summer weather was nice, and I instantly wondered why I'd not noticed it before! My model is not an exact replica in terms of dimensions or construction. My building is a standalone structure, the real thing has an adjoining building. This meant that I had to guess at one of the ends and the back - as there's no public access to the rear. Built using good, old-fashioned, card and embossed plastic sheet, As an aside, working with card is so pleasant and nostalgic. The real thing also has a breeze-blocked up window, a feature I was keen to copy. Everything, including the windows, is scratchbuilt and made using various off-cuts and bits and pieces. There's sti...

In recent weeks I've often found myself drawn to my burgeoning collection of old MRJs. I rarely actually read them cover to cover, but I enjoy the tone and sense of vigorous enthusiasm. The words within have a real buzz, and excitement for a growing, and increasingly "cool", professional approach to modelling (even if it was all-to-often tied up with an almost cult-like obsession with P4)  It feels like a stark contrast to the more downbeat mood (perhaps linked to the growing volume of obituaries!) and impersonal content that we've grown used to from the modelling press. I suppose a longing for a fresh approach was what I was so keen for James to launch Layout Club, but that's enough pontificating for one post. It was whilst flicking through one such tome that I came across a picture which stirred the modelling spirits in a perhaps surprising way. An image from the lesser spotted "Real Atmosphere" feature - the specimen in question, a humble coal merchan...

Some modellers are focussed and directional. I could be better described as meandering and listless! Imagine a bumper car, attempting to circumnavigate its corral of chaos, but spending more time heading in the wrong direction than the right one (presumably to the chagrin of the screaming attendant - in this analogy, they could represent my wallet!) The first entry on this blog concerned the village store for Butley Creek, what was supposed to be my first (and likely only) venture into EM gauge. However, as discussed in that piece, “The Creek” remains a pretty vaguely defined, ethereal concept. With a growing roster of EM-converted wagons (predominantly kit-built), a few Rustons, and my prized RT Models Sentinel, I felt I really ought to build something to test them on. Enter that baseboard I had dumped in the corner, originally intended for an N gauge micro, and I began to form some dangerous ideas. I felt an irrational yearning to model some really bland, unremarkable, and downright ...

Although the vast majority of my modelling is for myself, very occasionally I get the opportunity to build things for someone else. Not to the same extent as Mr Hilton - there's no layout construction here - but once in a while I get asked to build things [usually small] for other people's layouts. This little weighbridge is one such project. I was sent some rudimentary drawings and one photo to work from - you can actually view both of these by visiting this website: Oswestry Borderland Heritage - Tanat Valley Light Railway Construction was simple - plastic sheet walls clad in embossed brick sheet. I probably could have included an interior, but it didn't seem worth it. Paint scheme was an unknown, however brown seemed appropriate. I simulated an open window to bring a bit of life to the model - but that was a purely artistic touch. A nice, fun little project to break up my own aimless modelling! 

Have you ever come across a photo of a structure and thought “that’d make a nice model” or “I’d like to make that”? Well, if you’re anything like me, this happens frequently. Inspiration often strikes when I’m browsing online, and generally when I’m looking for something else entirely. Generally, common sense prevails after asking myself  “do I actually need a model of that” or “why, when this has no relevance to anything else I’m doing ”. In this case, however, I really was taken by the photo I came across of the diminutive box at Grain Crossing and I decided to build a model, just to please myself. In its original format, the real box had three side windows, but these appear to have been replaced by two modern style UPVC windows in recent times. As I wasn’t really keen on the modern replacements, I decided to make a model inspired by the original, but not a direct copy. My model therefore has two side windows – albeit in the original style with three panes of glass – but more...