Christmas 2025 Project -update #6

I choose to paint the building in a traditional Bauxite Red colour as seen on the original ThunderMesa site. I consulted the internet about the exact colour and found out that American barns were painted in a mixture of cheap homemade paint or sealant made from linseed oil and red rust to protect the timbers. I mixed my red from red and Linen with a touch of brown Craft Paints and tried to vary the colour across the walls with a slightly darker colour to the base of the walls and lighter to the upper edges. The interior has also been given a coat of red, two coats in fact and although very little will be seen, I have highlighted what little detail there is on the inside with a light drybrush.

The door surrounds were painted in a light cream (white was far to stark) but even this was latter toned down with a light brown wash.

Tony

Worcestershire Model Expo - Sunday September 20th

This Sunday I will be attending the inaugural Worcesterhire Model Expo which will be held at the Perdiswell Leisure Centre from 10.00 to 4.00.

My intention is to exhibit The Yellow Pelican narrow gauge layout and some other models (space permitting).

For more information see this link.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #5

I thought I would use this post to give more details of the inspiration for this building.

The project had stalled and for some time I didn't really know where I wanted to go with this build. Then I saw a post by ThunderMesa Trains from YouTube showing the construction of a new limited edition kit - The Gold Tooth Mine. For full details see;

Gold Tooth Mine Part 1

Gold Tooth Mine Part 2

Gold Tooth Mine Part 3

And 

Thunder Messa Kits

In addition I have also used images that we took at Disneyland Paris earlier this year.

There are many other ThunderMesa YouTube posts worth watching, such as these;

Big Thunder Mine

And

Bandit Canyon Mine

My 1:27.7 (11mm = 1 foot) scale scratch built model is a combination of all of the above using mainly scrap materials I have stored in my shed-at-the-bottom-of-the-garden and as such will be totally unique.

I would hope that you enjoy watching these truly inspirational videos and that they inspire you to build a model railway layout or stand alone mine as well.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #4

The basic roof has been built from some scrap card (backing card from a sketch book) with the holes for the pit supports cut out. Once again I have raised the footings of the supports by slotting in a snap-off knife blade container. The large opening to the rear of the roof is for the roof cupola where the pit winding gear will enter the structure.

I have cut a piece of balsawood to the same height as the yellow blade container and glued this to the inside to act as a support for the diagonal posts that run inside the building.

At this point the roof has NOT been glued down as I still need to paint the interior.

Tony

Modelling Thatch from DAS Modelling Clay - Miniature Wargames issue 522

The latest issue of Miniature Wargames (issue 522 from October 2026) features another article written by me and showing how I built a small 28mm scale A Frame Hovel for use on the wargame table. However the real reason for the article was to show in greater detail how I use DAS modelling clay to portray thatch. For more information you can pick up the magazine from your local newsagent or gaming store.

I believe that DAS can produce thatch with both 'body' and texture as can be seen in these images and although there are simpler techniques for example scouring pads or teddy bear fur I prefer DAS to any other material as it allow you to build such a wide variety of different style of thatch.

I would be interested to hear how you produce your own modelled thatch.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #3

Firstly, thank you to everyone who commented and offered advice about my issues with Blogger (this blog post has now been deleted). Today's post show some of the early detailed modelling like the added battens and door detail which has been modelled with balsawood and used fruit packing crate wood. The door furniture has been constructed from plastic card and plastic rod glued in place with a mixture of poly cement and superglue.

In addition I have added some metal cross bracing and supports to the main pit head. These have been modelled with plastic rod and more balsawood. They were inspired by the pit head and mine seen at Disneyland Paris earlier this year.

The new snap-off bladed case (yellow plastic under the main frame) is included because I have realised that the wooden pit supports will need to be raised by about 11mm - 12mm. My plan is to build a short stone base from some scrap foam to support the frame.

The final image shows the mine from the other side. Note that there is battening to the inside as well as a foamboard corner angle to keep everything 'square'.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #2

The main building has been built over a foamboard core (a used advertising sign) with balsawood cladding glued in place with a mixture of superglue and PVA. I have started adding the wooden battens to the front these were cut from thin wood salvaged from a fruit packing crate cut into thin strips.

The small window on the lean-to was cut from a cheap plastic toy and glued in place with superglue. Once again, I have included this 1:27.7 scale figure to give an idea of the size of this model.

Tony