Alpine Gardens

 

Alpine Gardens, a new HLR garden, is due to open later this month with a dedicated station created for the visiting members and suppliers to the gardens.

Coal Merchant

With all this coal needed to fuel the engines, N.Slack & Son moved in to the sidings of Giffers' End Station to supply the needs of HLR. The suppliers of the wooden hut were Modeltown and the builders were a local firm from the town.

Humbrol acrylics were applied by Homestyal Decorating Services, finished with a matt coating of varnish.

The staging/platform for the building was designed and built using Foamex.

After drawing the contour of the track on a piece of paper, the shape was transposed to the Foamex board.

The brick walls were created using two pieces of 5mm board stuck together and etched with the outline of bricks. Same for the under platform sections.

The coping stones slightly wider than the 10mm walls.

All platform paint used was Reeves acrylic. The platform edge was left, unpainted.

All finished off with a matt coating of varnish.

Low Level Signal Box

A signal box was commissioned for the operation of the high and low cross section. Modeltown was just the company to supply the building (Kit 12A).

The four walls were glued together squarely before they were primed, together with the one piece base.

Humbrol Blue Grey (79) was applied first to the slate followed by a heavy dabbing of Reeves Mars Black. The woodwork was painted with Tamiya X7 Red and Humbrol White 22.

In addition to the supplied internal bits and pieces, a shelf was fitted below the windows for Wayne the signalman, to rest his daily mug of coffee.

The name board is Plastikard with Slater's 5mm white lettering.

Two small soft white LED's were fitted to the ceiling with the wires routed to below the floor to the battery box.

A 5mm sheet of Foamex was screwed to the bottom of the model and painted Reeves Mars Black.

The whole model was then varnished gloss for paintwork and matt for stone and slate work.

New Homestyal Halt station building

In preparation for a new platform and facilities at Homestyal Halt, a new building for the station has been built.

Purchased from Modeltown, the building is a relative easy model to make.

The building incorporates a seating area, Station Master and Ticket office.

Not included in the kit are the fascia boards, working lamp, signage and timetable.

The building was primed and painted with Humbrol acrylic paint and finished with a coat of matt varnish.

Brookwood Maintenance Shed - Part 2

Here's the finished product in situ, waiting for the scene to come alive.

The shed was initially primed followed by a grey coat of acrylic paint. Stone coloured masonry paint was daubed over the stone with a piece of sponge before randomly picking out single stones with various colours.

To allow for my LGB Stainz engines to gain access, a plinth was made to lift the structure by 10mm whilst at the same time creating a slate grey floor and foundations.

Now I just need to work out how to make some wooden doors!

Part 1

Brookwood Signal Box - Part 3

With the roof, stairs and glazing complete, the finished signal box was put into position at the end of the platform at Brookwood Station.

Before doing so I made a plinth for it to rest on, which also serves as a barrier to keep things dry.

After programming the decoder (55025) via the LGB MTS Programming unit (55045), all four pre-cabled switches/points were tested. Once tested the plinth was screwed onto the base.

Part 2

Part 1

Brookwood Signal Box - Part 2

Well it's been a while, but with all the bad weather around, it was time for me to come indoors and begin detailing the signal box.

 

The brickwork was painted all over with brick-red paint, daubed on using a small piece of sponge touched into the paint. Once dried I used a cotton bud to highlight several bricks in various shades of brown.

The inside detail was to be minimal, so I created a dado line around the box and painted it a shade of green.

The switch levers (rivets) were painted black, blue and red.

Next stage, to finish off, will be the addition of the external steps, roof and glazing panels.

Part 1
Part 3

Brookwood Maintenance Shed - Part 1

With the start of the New Year and limited opportunities to venture outside, it was a good time to get on with some kit making, including several unfinished and a couple of new projects.

One of my new projects was to build a maintenance shed for Brookwood. I found the ideal kit for this whilst visiting last years Llanfair Garden Railway Gala, available from T & M Models.

So armed with my 'Evo-Stik Evo-Grip' adhesive, I glued together the two side walls, one end wall and the open entrance wall. Making sure that all was square, the glued model was left to set for 48 hours.

Part 2

Brookwood War Memorial - Inscription

Thanks to a suggestion from Paul Sherwood, I went about printing the inscription with Inkjet Water-Slide Decal paper.

The inscription includes two ancestors from my family's 'Family Tree' who fell in the Great War.

Brookwood War Memorial

Here's my nearly completed war memorial  for the cemetery in Brookwood village. The figure is from Busy Bodies with the slate column from Cain Howley.

All I need to do now is a little shading to the slate-work and ascertain the best way to add an inscription to the bronze plaque.

Brookwood Signal Box - Part 1

Modeltown Kit 13 - High Level Signal Box

Made from  a resin cast kit and to be painted with acrylic paint, this building will be the signal box for Brookwood Station.

Before fixing the cabin to the base and fitting the roof, interior painting and detail needs to be applied plus a warm coloured light and window glazing.

Below the floor I intend to locate LGB 55025 MTS Switch Decoder for the operation of   four  switches located at Brookwood Station.

Part 2

Part 3

Buddleia Pond Station

Modeltown Kit 23 - Wooden Station

Made from  a resin cast kit and painted with acrylic paint, this building will be the home for Buddleia Pond Station.