Countdown to the Orcs in the Webbe Advent Calendar 2018

Just one more sleep until the Orcs in the Webbe Advent Calendar 2017. The anticipation is palpable.

"What is the Orcs in the Webbe Advent?"

Where have you been? The OITW Advent is an annual treat for dedicated followers of certain games - Flintloque, Slaughterloo, Pax Bochemannica, Panzerfauste and many more where Craig Andrews (Editor of OITW) releases a daily treat in the form of a twenty-four free advent calendar release of original and 'written just for Advent' articles or scenarios. For more information check out previous Advents here.

Here's looking forward to another great year of content and thank you Craig for keeping up this great tradition.

Tony

NB. Free prize draw - see this post for more details.

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - the layout part eleven

The shelf-layout plan calls for a copy of the open salt pan as seen at The Lion Salt Works, Cheshire (see illustration above and earlier posts). The brick built base to this pan has now been fully painted using a variety of different acrylic paints to show a well worn red brick base. The wooden sections have been painted in a dark brown with lighter brown streaks and some grey weathering and the wall ties are plastic wheels from a toy train set painted in a well rusted finish.

One of the features I wanted to copy was the use of white bricks and these appear to be very white in my images of The Lion Salt Works.

I still need to add some additional weathering to the wooden doors and supports, but this can be done later.

For more information see the Narrow Gauge label to the right.

Tony

NB. Free Prize Draw. See this link.

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - the layout part ten

It has been a while since my last update and to tell the truth, this is because I was disappointing with the effect that the standard brick slips had given me (see earlier posts). I felt that they looked too uniform, too toy like and not like the hand produced brick effects that I had seen on layouts or building like those modelled by Marcel Ackle or Emmanuel Nouaillier.

So I filled in the missing corner bricks with Milliput and after covering the speaker with a piece of card and some masking tape, I let loose my Dremmel with a large grout-removing bit set to high speed.

Here is the result.

I think it is much closer to the effect I was after, with truly weathered and damaged bricks. I also like the natural colours better.

There is still lots to do before I can think about mounting it on the shelf layout, but at least I feel better about it. I believe that with any model, you should modify or re-work any item you are not 100% happy with - after all if you are not happy with it, why show it to others?

Hopefully this weathering will be enough of an kickstarter to get me modelling more features on the Narrow Gauge Layout.

Tony

1,000,000 Views - Prize Draw, see this earlier post.

FREE PRIZE DRAW

FREE PRIZE DRAW

Earlier today Dampf's Modelling Page celebrated it's 1,000,000 page view. I had wanted to run a competition prior to this, but time and other projects got in the way. So between now and the 1st January 2018 any comments placed on the Blog will be entered into a prize draw. Details of the prizes will be posted over the next couple of weeks. So good luck.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Blog.

Tony

Snapdragon resin terrain - a charity shop find

I found this resin model in a charity shop in Evesham. I am pretty sure that it is a Snapdragon (or Moondragon) original. I have made no secret of the fact that I think the now defunct Snapdragon range is/was some of the very best fantasy terrain available, this example does nothing but confirm this view.

The model is 150mm x 130mm x 95mm tall (to top of chimney). The doorway 24mm tall by 18mm wide. And the best news of all ..... It only cost me £2.50.

Tony

Scale Model World 2017 - part two

Part two and armoured vehicles I photographed at the show.

Tony

Away Day - Birmingham, December 2017

My plan is to have another pre-Christmas day out in early December. I have already booked the day as Friday 1st December and will meet at Parabellum, Birmingham for 12.00 on the Friday. For details see this link.

For those that have been to one of these annual days out you will know of the cakes and tea, but for those new to this event, expect to have chats with other like-minded modellers and put the world to right.

This will be the eighth or ninth time we have met up at Parabellum and numbers who attend vary, so if you can I would hope to see you there.

Tony

Twelfth Night at the RSC

Last night Sue and I visited the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon to see Twelfth Night. For details see this link.

I thought the performance was once again stunning with very special contributions from Adrian Edmondson, Michael Cochrane and John Hodgkinson. The stage design and production were very Edwardian or Gilbert and Sullivan and the use of music was inspiring.

For anyone who knows the play, the humour was 'spot-on'. A very entertaining evening, and another Shakespeare play crossed of the list.

Tony

Scale Model World 2017 - IPMS, Telford

Yesterday Sue and I visited Scale Model World, the IPMS model show at The International Centre, Telford. I came away with loads of reading matter, some paints, filler and tools, but as usual didn't spend that much.

Here are a few of the boat models that I photographed. The 'in action' lifeboat model (above) was very realistically modelled, exhibiting some of the best water effect modelling I have ever seen. It really did look like real water.

These small ship models (above) were all the more special as they were entirely scratch-built, see below. I would estimate them to be about 1:300th scale.

Another in action boat model - The sea and waves were made from Modge-Podge.

This galley (above) was featured in the competition area, so was this huge 1;35th scale Mulberry Harbour diorama. What was interesting about this display was that I overheard a veteran of WW2 discussing the actual harbour with the modeller.

Finally a 1:72nd scale Clyde Puffer.

Look out for more images over the next couple of days.

Tony