An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-eight

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Update number twenty-eight of my themed month and as the last planned update, something a little unusual, a road sign.

The model is a scale representation of a typical sign from around the 1960's. It was inspired by this magazine image (below) that I cut out and kept. I'm sorry but I did not keep a record of which magazine it was from. Using techniques championed by Emmanuel Nouaillier, I have mounted the signs onto thin plastic card and then trimmed the plastic card before gluing the signs to a section of plastic rod and weathering with acrylic paints and washes.

My intention is to use the sign as a bit of highway scrap and place it with some of the other rusted metal work at the back of the layout.

The themed month has forced me to finish off a number of scratch-built models of clutter in preparation for them being added to the still-to-be finished layout. Most of the pieces were modelled in short modelling sessions while listening to the football World Cup and sitting in the shed. I freely admit that I went a little over-the-top and am not sure that ALL of these pieces will be used on the layout.

I would hope that they have been interesting and informative. I know (through the Blog counter) that they have been well viewed and would welcome any comments.

Finally, here are two updates that didn't get shown in earlier posts. Another watering can/oil kettle scratch built from a section of plastic tubing and some aluminium foil.

and another wheel/tyre from the £1.00 toy tractor.

Once again, I hope that you have enjoyed seeing the progress.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-seven

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

The strangely shaped oil can to the rear right was copied from a similar can seen at the Bewdley Town Museum earlier this year. I was not able to get close enough to measure it, so I have estimated the size and I think I may have made it a little too big. It was made by gluing layers of 3mm thick plastic card together and wrapping with aluminium foil. The handle was more foil and the spout was a short section of plastic rod.

The other items were from my scrap box or bits box. A plastic tube, a section of plastic card and the fender from a cheap toy tractor.

Painting was once again done with acrylics, then washes. I am conscious that the rusted items look a little darker in this post.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-six

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

The two gas bottles above may look like the ones from the 1/35th scale Italeri Field Set, but they are in fact scratch-built using large plastic knitting needles that I 'turned' on a Black and Decker hand drill using pretty rudimentary tools. The caps and dials were scrounged from the Italeri set and glued in place with superglue. Painting followed my usual basecoat of acrylic paints then blending with make-up sponges before detailing and weathering. The labels are small rectangles of paper glued in place with PVA glue before being matt varnished.

In contrast, the bottle and drum in the image below were taken straight from the Italeri set. The gas bottle was painted in a similar way to the ones above, but the weathered oil drum was a new technique using a coarse natural sponge to add the rust and the white paint. At first, I thought that I had gone a little over-the-top, but now I look back at the weathered oil drum, I think I could have gone even further.

Once again the labels are small rectangles of paper applied with PVA glue and then matt varnished.

Tony

An Industrail Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-five

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Another post of bits and pieces. From left to right they are; scaffold pole bases. I had seen these at a local building site and thought that they were worth modelling. They are used as bases for the scaffold and are simple metal plates with an upright pole or spike that fits into the bottom of the poles. They were made from plastic card and plastic rod. The thinner poles/tubes are plastic tubing, while the thicker pole/tube is from the barrel of a pen. The cider bottle to the rear was 'turned' on a Black and Decker hand drill from a section of plastic rod while the square section rod to the front was a section of plastic coat hanger. Finally we have a metal fitting which was cut from a KNEX building toy. Most were painted in the Vallejo Color Charred Brown and Hot Orange mix detailed in earlier posts then varnished with matt varnish.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-four

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Seven metal petrol cans. These 2 gallon petrol/oil cans were inspired by a second-hand SHELL petrol can I saw at The Severn Valley Railway, the Bewdley station last month. At the time I didn't have a ruler or tape measure with me and was trying to scale the cans with a piece of scrap paper and taking images with my camera. A volunteer asked what I was doing and when I told him, he very kindly found me a tape measure. Thank you.

The models were made from layers of 3mm thick plastic card cut and sanded into a long strip 5,5mm x 9mm. This strip was then cut into can size heights 11mm tall. I added a thin plastic card top and bottom to the cans and then sanded them to shape (adding some dents and bruises to some). The handle is a strip of aluminium foil and the screw top is a piece of plastic rod glued in place with superglue.

They were painted with acrylic paints in a variety of different colours and aged with more acrylic paint, drybrushed on and washed. The blue can had a yellow decal added, just to give it a little colour and the metal edges were highlighted with a graphite pencil after they were varnished.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-three

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Today's update shows even more bits of clutter for the 1:27.7 scale layout. The larger, cut-down oil drum was scratch-built from an aluminium food tray, the smaller drum and green bucket were from the 1/35th scale Italeri Field Set while the metal poles are various plastic rod and strips, either shop bought or scrap plastic from the spares box. In all cases the painting was brush painted or sponged-on acrylic paint with washes of 'flesh' or brown coloured washes. All of the items were varnished with Galleria Matt Varnish and I have used some rust weathering powders on the larger drum.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-two

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

These three items were modelled from a simple £1.00 toy tractor picked up in Poundland. The bucket is a simple re-paint, while the wheel and tire have been modified with holes drilled in the hub and the tyre cut back to show that it is a flat. The rectangular panel is made from plastic card, but the hub is from the tractor's front wheel and glued in place with superglue.

All three have been painted with acrylic paints and washes, however I have use various weathering powders after matt varnishing all three.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty-one

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

The two oil drums are scratch built pieces made from aluminium food trays as described in this earlier post. These were my first attempts at impressing and rolling the foil and as such are experiments that although look OK are a little out of scale or too tall. The blue oil drum was made using the same techniques as the green and yellow oil drum but is taller and not so wide. The rusted example is the right height but again not quite wide enough. Both were painted with acrylic paints and washes. I have been experimenting with different rust powders and these have been applied to both oil drums.

The small green bucket is made from the same aluminium foil, but rolled around a smaller tube, while the oil kettle and jack are from the 1/35th scale Italeri Field Set. The jack is modified with a longer cocktail stick lever painted and washed before being varnished with both matt and gloss varnish.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twenty

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

The larger piece of exhaust was made from various pieces of plastic tubing, some pen barrels and straws. The metal banding and mounts were either sticky-back plastic and/or strips of aluminium. The demijohn is a modified resin casting detailed with new Green Stuff handles while the rest of the bits are scrap plastic found in my bits box or scrounged from work.

Painting was done with the same techniques detailed elsewhere on the Blog.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part nineteen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Another post showing bits and pieces.

Back Row;
A scratch-built gas container made from some spare plastic tubes, detailed with sticky-back plastic and some plastic rod. A plastic bucket from the Italeri 1:35th scale Field Set, and a  galvanised metal bucket made from rolled-up aluminium tin foil (a tin food tray). The final piece  is a section of retail dispenser, used for holding small pots of paint. I have cut it to size and added some holes before painting it in my usual rust colours.

Middle Row;
Four pieces of scrap plastic found in my  'bits box'. Bits from an old transistor radio, another piece of the small paint pot dispenser, scrap plastic and a mounting plate for a toilet seat. All painted with a basecoat of Vallejo Game Color Charred Brown/Hot Orange mix.

Front Row;
Strips of scrap wood, cut into planks or strips. They have been painted by adding a dilute wash over the whole surface and then painted with acrylics. I got the worn effect by using masking tape to remove some of the paint by pressing a strip of tape onto the freshly painted wood and peeling it off to give a realistic peeling paint effect.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part eighteen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

More rusty bits. A selection of rusty clutter made from items from my spares box.

Starting on the left, we have a couple of pieces of pen and pencil barrels, glued together, next is a length of plastic tubing and then another section of plain pen barrel. The flat sheet is just plastic card and the three pipe lengths to the right are from a cheep £1.00 play-house toy. They are door pillars from the porch. Finally the tapered section across the front is the handle off a plastic spoon given away free with tea or coffee.

Painted with acrylic paints from Vallejo; Charred Brown, Hot Orange, white and black. They are then highlighted with Hot Orange/yellow before being varnished with Galleria Matt Varnish to which I have added a tiny bit of brown.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part seventeen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

This latest update shows a wide range of different bits. The glass Demijohns are two that I sculpted and then had cast in resin. They have been painted with acrylic paints and the glass area has then been varnished with KLEAR, two or three coats to get the high gloss effect. The labels on the nearest one are just pieces of paper glued in place with PVA glue. The white enamelled earthenware pot is another sculpt by me, but in this case modified to have a tapering body. It was also varnished with KLEAR. Details of how to order resin copies can be found here.

The three lifting jacks were scratch-built following some examples found on the Internet, while the cogs were from an old cassette player (a great resource for bits and pieces of clutter). Finally we have an oil kettle - another scratch-build. The inspiration for this particular model was found while Googling Gn15 layouts. It is built from a pen barrel and a piece of plastic tubing (I think it was another pen barrel), some plastic rod and a strip of aluminium for the handle. It is painted with acrylic paints, following the usual process of basecoat, drybrushed highlights and washes before being varnished and then highlighted again with a graphite pencil.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part sixteen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

A pair of 55 Gallon oil drums.

The rust coloured oil drum is a yellow plastic toy that I picked up from a charity shop bin in Alcester, Warwickshire. It was only a couple of pence, but at 30mm tall and having a diameter of 20mm was an almost perfect 1:27.7 scale oil drum. I have no idea who made it or what it was originally intended for but as you can see it works perfectly with the 11mm = 1 foot workman.

Image two, shows the plain plastic model. Should anyone find a similar model/toy, please respond with details.

The second oil drum, the green and yellow one was scratch built by me. I used some aluminium foil food containers which were cut into a rectangular strip, later the strengthening ribs were impressed into the flat foil with a blunt screwdriver. Then after wrapping around a suitably sized plastic tube, I superglued the edges and sanded the join. I then used sticky-back plastic strips to produce the top and bottom rings. I glued these in place and cut the top and bottom to size with a scalpel, some plastic card was cut for the lid and base. Detailing was done with plastic rod sections.

Both drums were painted with acrylic paints, but using a make-up sponge instead of a brush to apply the colour. Weathering was done with more sponge applications and washes. The numbering on the rusted oil drum was found in my transfer stash (never throw anything away) and the SHELL Oil logo on the green oil drum came from a set of Scalextrix transfers I bought at a car-boot sale for 50p.

I have scratch-built a number of foil container oil drums, but this is the best. It is a technique you need to practice with before you get the effect you want. One of the advantages to making oil drums with thin aluminium foil is that they can be easily damaged, just use a paintbrush handle to 'prod' the foil and produce realistic looking dents.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part fifteen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Making realistic tarpaulins from tissue. The inspiration for this particular post came from a magazine article by Brian Balkwell and published in Model Military International - November 2006. Brian suggested using standard tissues coated with water based silicone sealant to make realistic model tarps in 1:35th scale. I tried this using acrylic medium (used by artists to extend acrylic paints) but found that the tissue paper disintegrated. Back to the drawing board.....

I then stumbled upon some computer screen cleaning cloths. The small tissues are about the same size as a standard tissue but made from a thicker paper/tissue. I painted each side of the cloth with the acrylic medium and found that it was much better and able to be manipulated (see the last image).

 

I then painted the tarpaulin with green acrylic paint. The model Tarp was then scrunched up and folds were added and taken away until I had a flexible tarpaulin. I cut the tarpaulin to a scale 10' x 8' and folded over the edges, about 1 - 1.5mm each side (as suggested by Brian). This was then pressed over a simple resin box to which I had added a couple of balsawood strips. I did not paint the box as the tarpaulin would be covering the whole model. I used superglue to keep the tarpaulin in place and pressed the model and tarp down onto a piece of toughened glass and left it until the glue had fully set.

When I was happy with the effect, I drybrushed the surface with lighter green acrylic paint and even added a couple of washes to highlight the folds (both effects were discussed in the original MMI article). For additional detailing I have added a plastic spanner from the Italeri Field Workshop Set and eyelets made by pressing a small hole in the tarpaulin and then using a silver pencil to model the metal ring.

I am sure that I will be using similar techniques to make more tarpaulins on future projects.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part fourteen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Another load of bits for the layout. Starting on the left, a small pot made from the Italeri Field Kit, then a sheet of metal modelled from a piece of plastic card both have been painted in a weathered and rusted metal colour using a Vallejo Charred Brown and Hot Orange mix applied with an old and rather decrepit brush. The wooden packing case is a modified Reaper Bones box/crate with a Milliput sack added to the top at the side is another oil can made from a pen top. The handle is made from more aluminium strip, this time painted green with a simple paper label glued to the side. On the right we have a galvanised metal water tank which is scratch-built from plastic card. It was inspired by a similar water tank that I saw and sketched while visiting Avoncroft Museum in Bromsgrove earlier in the year. The sides were distorted after heating the model over a gas cooking ring then pressing the plastc with a bamboo skewer. It was painted with acrylic colours and matt varnished. The rusted wheel set is from a Peco kit while the larger metal beam to the front is a section of Plaststruct H section, it and the plastic tube (found in the bits box) are painted with the Charred Brown and Hot Orange mix as detailed above. I have then used some Humbrol Rust weathering powder (AV0008) on the rusted items. This is lightly brushed on with a fan-shaped brush that I keep just for this purpose.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part thirteen

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Many of these scratch-built models were built while sitting in the shed and listening to the World Cup on the radio. I found that these simple and easily made pieces of clutter were the perfect accompaniment to the many hours of radio coverage and the hot dry weather. Today's post is a water carrier which was inspired by one I had seen on The Severn Valley Railway. It was built from a section of plastic tubing, wheels from a 1:43.5 scale tractor model and bits from the spares box. The handles were made from some spare aluminium sheeting which was curved around a paint pot and glued in place with superglue.

Painting was done with acrylic paints and dark washes. I varnished the whole model with a mix of Matt and Gloss varnishes while the weathering was done with a graphite pencil rubbed around the edges and some watercolour pencils.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part twelve

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Today's post is a real mix and match of items from various sources. The oil drum is from the Italeri Field Workshop kit No. 04195 that I picked up from e-bay. It was painted with acrylic paints. The rusted oil container was 'turned' on my Black and Decker hand drill from a section of knitting needle and detailed with various pieces of plastic card and plastic rod. It was also painted with acrylic paints. The iron beam was modelled from a balloon stick, the plastic stick that is given away free when balloons are given to children and cost me nothing I modified the X section to be a T section and cut it to length. Similar Plastistruct profiles can cost over £2.00 a length so looking out for suitable plastic profiles is well worth it. The final item is a watering can which was 'scratch-built' from a section of pen barrel, some plastic card and plastic rod and pieces of sheet aluminium. It was painted in metallic greys to represent a galvanised watering can and when varnished, I used a graphite pencil to add some metallic sheen to the edges.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part eleven

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

This warehouse trolley was scratch-built from various thicknesses of plastic card following a design I saw on the TV programme Salvage Hunters. The trolley was used in a fabric manufacturers/dyers and as I sat watching, I quickly sketched details on a scrap of paper. The only addition or change from the original were the four lifting lugs, one on each corner. The wheels were sections of knitting needles cut into discs and sanded smooth. The metal strapping was more (thinner) plastic card.

Painting was built up over a dark brown basecoat with lighter highlights brush painted with acrylic paints. The plank effect was done by applying washes over the textured plastic card sides while the metalwork was painted in a dark brown/black colour with a fine brush.

The model was varnished with Galleria Matt Varnish before I applied metal highlights with a graphite pencil.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part ten

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

This time two resin oil drums - the European style oil drums with heavy central rolling bands. The models are resin casts of originals sculpted by me, for details see this post. Both have been aged or dented by attacking with a Dremel burr prior to painting. The rear drum has a Milliput two part epoxy sack added to the top. This was made from some spare Milliput I had left over after working on another project, I find that 'spare' Milliput can always be modelled into something like a sack or a canvas bag rather than thrown away.

Painting was done with acrylic paints and washes. Both were varnished with Galleria Matt Varnish before I used a graphite pencil to add a metallic sheen to the edges. The small oil stain was done with black and dark brown acrylic paint added to KLEAR floor polish.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part nine

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Here you can see one of the largest pieces of clutter I have made for the narrow gauge layout, a steel oil tank. The model was based on an oil storage container that I had seen in Upton-on-Severn in Worcestershire it is built from plastic card around some LEGO bricks with detail from more plastic card, plastic rod and a couple of cut-down pen tops used as vents. The brick base was constructed from green foam, the brick pattern inscribed on with a scalpel and the point of a sharp pencil. It was painted with acrylic paints with much weathering. I chose to paint it red rather than the more usual green.

To the side you can see a large resin barrel that was sculpted by me (details can be found in earlier posts). The metal wheel was from a 1:43.5 scale tractor that was picked up in a local charity shop while the pipe is a section of pen barrel.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part eight

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

This latest update shows some more additions. Firsts, we have scaffolding poles; cut from 1.5mm plastic rod with the ends drilled out. I chose 10 foot long poles, but I am aware that these poles came in different lengths. They are painted in various rust/metallic colours and matt varnished.

The large metal pipe is a section of spare pen barrel which has also been painted in rust colours and matt varnished.

The additional pieces of clutter are; a wooden barrel (actually one of the cast resin barrels that I sculpted and have spoken about in earlier posts). Then there is a another enamel container (another item sculpted by me and available as a resin cast) it was painted white and gloss varnished. The small pot is a modified pen top with a florist wire  handle while the re-railing ramp was made from plastic card and follows a design I found on the Internet.

Details of the wooden barrel and enamel pot can be found here.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part seven

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

More Boxes and Oil Drums. In both images the oil drums are 1:50th scale resin castings which were bought from E-bay. They were intended as wagon loads for 1:50th scale Corgi die-cast lorries and were ideal as smaller oil containers in the 1:27.7 scale. They were first washed with soap and water and then sprayed with Humbrol MAKES PAINT STICK as the resin was a little oily.

In the first image you can also see a scratch built wooden toolbox, which was made from layers of 3mm thick plastic card and detailed with thinner plastic card before being painted with acrylics and washed.

The second image shows more 1:50th scale oil drums and three resin boxes from Reaper (Bones) which are intended for 1:56th wargame figures. Once again painted with acrylics and washed before being varnished with Galleria Matt Varnish. The label was cut from the Waitrose wines and spirits guide, mentioned in an earlier post.

The oil drums were painted with an old and rather dilapidated brush and some make-up sponges with the acrylic paint applied in layers and with a stippling action. I have found that this gives an effect close to airbrushing and is much easier to blend than using a brush alone. The oil pump was constructed from various sections of plastic tubing and a piece of electrical wire. The SHELL logo came from a decal set I picked up at a car-boot sale some time ago and was applied over KLEAR (Future in the US) before being matt varnished. The oil stains on the top of the oil drums was done by adding dark brown and black acrylic paint to Klear and applying small drops to the top. In some instances I add another layer of Klear to get a better wet gloss effect.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part six

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

I would hope that you would find these two updates interesting. In the first image you can see a selection of bits that are in the main modelled from the workings of a transistor radio (the same second-hand radio that I used the speaker from, to mount in the brick base of the OSO Salt metal pan. See earlier posts for more details) and some items from my 'spares box'. With the exception of the metal wheel sets (picked up at The Severn Valley Railway for just £1.00) and the large pipe (a pen barrel) all of the other items are from the radio. I have used an old brush in a scrubbing motion and Vallejo Game Color Charred Brown and Hot Orange to apply the rust colour. Once dry I have washed the rust with a dark flesh wash and varnished the pieces with Galleria Matt Varnish.

In the image below, the pieces are also from the transistor radio with the larger flat section being the backing to the radio station finder, the angled piece from behind the battery compartment and the screw jack made from the screw mounting inside the main body of the radio. Once again I have used the Vallejo Color paints to add the rust colour, although I have used some Humbrol Rust coloured weathering powder on the larger flat piece at the front. This was applied over the top of the Galleria varnish with a large fan-headed brush that I keep for this purpose.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part five

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

The last lot of Schweppes boxes have been finished. These four were a little bit different to the earlier boxes as two were modelled as open boxes while the remaining two are intended to be placed on their side rather than standing upright. They have been painted in the same way as the earlier models, acrylic paint highlighted by drybrushing and finished with washes.

The square oil container was modelled from layers of 3mm thick plastic card with the cone top sanded to shape and a plastic rod screw top superglued in place before being painted red. The label on the front was cut from the Waitrose wine and spirit guide - a great resource for small labels and posters and free.

This final image shows all 14 Schweppes wooden boxes. My intention is to have them placed on the layout as clutter, stacked up against the wooden fence or along the brick wall. They have been great fun to build and to paint while listening to The World Cup football matches on the radio and enjoying the warm weather in the garden shed.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part four

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Moving away from wooden boxes and oil drums, in this latest post I am showing some wooden planks and a couple of small oil cans.

Firstly, the planks. I Googled UK scaffolding planks and scaled them down to 1:27.7 before cutting them from some 1.5mm thick scrap wood (wood used as packing cases for fruit or vegetables). I added some subtle graining by rubbing with sandpaper before adding the metal strips to each end. The metal strips were cut from a metal/aluminium food container (the sort that you get your Chinese take-away in). The metal strips were glued in place with superglue and then painted - actually dyed. I used a very weak dirty wash to add some aged colour to the wooden planks before masking the ends to add the colour-coded end strips and paint spills. I think they look great and will make more.

Secondly, the oil cans. The smaller can was turned on my Black & Decker electric hand drill from a plastic rod I had in my 'spares box'. The detailing is a simple dress makers pin for the plunger and a strip of aluminium tray bent up as the handle. It is painted dark green/blue with gloss black oil runs. The second oil can, more of an oil kettle was made from the top of a pen (the plunger) with plastic card detailing and more aluminium strips as the banding and a bent florists wire handle. It was painted in a well worn rust colour mixed from Vallejo Game Color Charred Brown and Hot Orange. The paint was stippled on with an old brush before being washed with a flesh wash from Games Workshop.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part three

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

Another day, another update. A couple more Schweppes wooden boxes painted in a slightly fresher wood colour, a wooden packing case which is a plastic model from Reaper Bones and originally intended for 1/56th wargame figures which was painted in the same colour. Then an oil can modelled from a section of knitting needle, some plastic rod and a piece of metal foil for the handle painted blue and varnished with gloss varnish. Finally, a resin oil drum that was sculpted by me and then cast in resin by Hysterical Games. I painted it grey with a darker wash before varnishing.

Details of the resin oil drum and how it was made can be found here.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part two

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

In part two you can see some more Schweppes boxes, a resin barrel and a petrol or oil can. The boxes were scratch-built as detailed in the earlier post and painted in the same way but with a slightly different colour palette of darker brown and an orange brown before being washed with a dark flesh wash and matt varnished. The wooden barrel was a resin casting from my spares box and originally intended to go with some 40mm metal figures. I painted it in a slightly darker black/brown colour with dark metal banding which was accentuated with a graphite pencil to add a metallic shine after varnishing. The petrol can was scratch built from a knitting needle which was turned in the chuck of an electric hand drill. I used a variety of different tools to carve the shape before polished the plastic with some fine abrasive paper. Detailing was added from sticky-pack labels and plastic card/rod. It was painted with acrylic red paint and washed with a dark brown/black wash before being varnished. I have used the graphite pencil to once again add a metallic sheen to the egdes.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - Adding Clutter part one

Regular followers of this Blog will know that I have been working on an industrial narrow gauge railway layout built to 1:27.7 scale or 11mm = 1 foot. The choice of such an unusual scale has meant that much if not all items needed for the layout have had to be heavily modified and/or converted from existing models, completely 'scratch built' or sculpted by me.

In a series of clutter themed posts which are planned to run throughout August I will demonstrate what materials I have used to model such items and how I have painted these various pieces of 'clutter' which will at some stage be added to the finished layout.

The first of this series of Blog posts relates to the wooden boxes. The as yet un-named layout will portray a chemical works alongside a canal and I wanted to add some boxes as clutter. I looked at Shell Motor Oil container boxes, but in the end decided to copy Schweppes soda syphon boxes (as can be seen in the last image).

The boxes were made in bulk from a couple of strips of thick plastic card (the sort of plastic that advertising signs are made from) then cut into small box shapes 13.3mm wide x 9mm deep and 12.9mm high. The surface detailing was done with sandpaper and scoring with a scalpel. The hand holes and locking hole was drilled-out with a Dremel and a pinvice while the wooden supports and lid were more plastic card glued in place with superglue.

In this third image you can see the sketches and a completed box. The image is taken from my project book which is crammed full of sketches, plans and images. I will post more on this in a later update.

Painting was done in batches. The first five being basecoated in dark brown before being drybrushed in a dark brown/Ochre mix and then washed in a dark flesh wash. Detailing was picked out in black with a silver highlight and the OSO logo was added with Letraset white letters.

I will give details of the oil barrel in a later post.

Tony