This is a soft aluminium mesh sold to make formers for sculpture. It's one of those things I bought donkey's years ago, was rather expensive at the time, and which I have kept back for when it seems genuinely necessary. It's my insurance policy for DAS clay copings on mixed sub-bases.Sensible application of plastering exmet (mesh) on the lock edge
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Last Monday was mild and calm and just right for aerosols. Maybe, just maybe this is the last time I will take this baseboard outdoors for painting. Some years ago I tried the bathroom for this sort of thing and I'm still not convinced I ever quite completed the cleanup
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I have added a base coat of acrylics and I will leave the detail painting alone until I have practiced on some smaller models.
The sea lock (post 219) is going to be a model in its own right, and the basin edge is also on pause while I decide on the water surface. This might end up sliding underneath the edge here, or butting up against a full-height wall.
I can return to the bench and do some modelling sitting down
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If using acrylic paints, have a good look at buying or making a wet pallet. Really extends the working time of the paints (by keeping them damp) and means you can keep mixing up colours (and not wasting paint).
I made mine from a plastic Chinese takeaway container with a lid, a layer of foam sponge, and a piece of greaseproof paper. Add some water to the bottom. Add paint to the paper.
The biggest mistake people transfering from old Humbrol type paints is that they try and use the same method/techniques.
The ignorance is, I don’t know what the natural colour these should be. I have settled on warm shades to reflect the local aggregates, and give me a contrast with the setts which will be of granite.
There were many local brickworks, these started after the opening of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. We see 'foreign' red bricks throughout John Rennie's original works on the navigation; these repaired and rebuilt with local yellow brick, and the same yellow brick again in the huge Bentall warehouse and contemporary terraced houses in Heybridge.If it were locally sourced materials I would have a look to see is there were any local brickworks in the area and look at older buildings as this will provide a clue to the colouring.
I agree, but it will be difficult to tie this to the products of individual brickworks. It is easier to look at 19th century brickwork, and try to make allowance for a century of weathering.Also the local geology will provide a clue to the clays in the area.
This is useful to know. I can try to match the colours of the copings around the basin and the sea lock. These are massive blocks of granite, bedded on thick mortar beds. But for the setts around the railway I can either blend them into the copings or choose something to make a contrast. With a century between navigation and railway, I can allow myself the luxury of choosing the type of granite for the setts. Indeed, I might choose a sandstone instead; this would tie in with the stone slips I've just glued onto the platform. Building stone has to be imported, so I can compose fictional history around whatever I find aesthetically pleasing.Again, for the granite you would have to decide where it was sourced from as these vary in colour depending on the feldspar content.
George Iliffe Stokes!Meanwhile, this is the empty plot at Heybridge Basin in the 1920s.
Thanks to @Rob R for bringing this wonderful set of photos to my attention: Places > Heybridge - Mersea Museum
The operating practice on the Navigation was for sea-worthy vessels to tie alongside near Osea Island, where their loads were transferred to old Thames barges. These were towed across to the sea lock, moved into the basin, and everything was moved again this time onto barges.
Really, my only "groundworks" for this project are the station platform and the inset track and (later) the basin itself. I was unhappy with my styrene kerbs beside the setts so I cut them out and put in a row of sandstone ones. The new kerbs are dolls house bricks cut from yellow sandstone.It is sensible to deal with the groundworks built directly onto the baseboard before adding any ballast.
….. I am an engineer by training……
I’m just waiting to see which way up you plant that granite bollard.
I am thinking about comments posted on this layout thread and on my workbench thread on my choice of finishes for my scenic models. Clearly “it’s my train set” but I will try to expand on this.
There is no useful building stone in Essex. John Rennie used granite for his works in 1797, so I can choose sandstone and local gravels to add a contrast for my Heybridge Railway. This diorama is supposed to be my learning project for 7 mm, and I think I will be happy with this aesthetic, so I can only try.
I want a layout I will enjoy and which brings engagement. This is going to need some bright colours to inject a little fun and youthfulness. These can sit alongside muted colours, for things which set the scene, and pastel shades to provide that all-important calm on a layout where very little happens.
I hope this doesn’t all sound too pompous, but the underlying governance is my desire to portray a newly-opened railway. I am an engineer by training not an artist so technical stuff comes naturally and early on. Looking at my platform edging slabs I can see a tendency towards the exaggerations of freelance modelling. So be it.
. . . but we do still shorten buildings.