Call me what you want , but don't call me mad

[shropshire lad]

Some people will make any excuse to avoid doing a bit of modelling . If you want a few of my tried and tested  excuses just let me know .

I didn't realise that I had been released from the corner for my last infringement . Shall I just move to another corner ?

   Nick

  Do you have a Male Spouse as well as a Female one ? Your followers need to know .

[finescalerr]

Jerry, you and Nick now may use Extra Strength CA to fasten yourselves permanently to whatever corner(s) you prefer, together or separately depending on your proclivities.

I shall demur answering your tainted questions. One in my Vaunted Position must rise above such childishness.

Indeed, I have had an epiphany: One in my Vaunted Position also must rise above modeling itself in order to remain impartial in my assessment of your ongoing efforts.

Answering these posts has been such hard work it now is necessary for me to relax at my impressive Tahitian seaside villa with some specially selected beautiful girls in thong bikinis eager to cater to my every whim. Please forgive me if I am unable to respond to your further remarks for awhile.

ssuR

[RoughboyModelworks]

Russ, does your oft-referred to "vaunted position" also involve the specially selected beautiful girls in thong bikinis? If so, it's no wonder you have no time, let alone energy for your modeling pursuits...

Paul

[artizen]

I blame Nick really. For the last week I have squashed, scored and cut 3100 bricks out of air drying clay for my new layout. I have discarded all the out of shape, too thick, too thin and too long bricks. I have painstakingly produced strips of card for the mortar courses out of thin card at 2.5mm widths. I have designed and built retaining walls and bridge abutments. I have glued said bricks (so far 1500 and counting) into the layout. I have now painted and matt varnished the walls. Then I went and had a look at this thread to see how the mortar was produced. Damn, my bricks don't look anywhere near as good as this model. Is it because I didn't painstakingly paint each individual brick with a brush with just three hairs left on it? Is it because I laid my brick courses by eye to speed up the process? Is it because I am under pressure to get something finished for the next show on August 7? Will I throw it all away? Damn no!!! I like what I have produced so far and in my little world it will look good with extra long grass and weeds hiding it all. Maybe I will inflict the finished thing on Gnatterbox. The standard on here is out of my league.

I hope you build another little gem soon Nick. I am watching. 

[marc_reusser]

Ian.....

Inquiring minds want to see.....post those photos!....I think it is unfair of you to deprive us of deciding the verdict on your brickwork . The standards of which you speak are purely imagined.

MR

[artizen]

Sorry Marc - the glue is drying on the stream bed before matt varnishing the soon-to-be-congealed mess so that I can add a flowing stream through it. Just a theory of course - it may not work. I then have to build a box girder bridge with plate steel sides. No idea at this point how to emulate about 1000 rivets. I should be able to get those off Kit Form Services or Detail Master et al.

I truly admire the mind-numbing level of detail and high quality of finish on this forum. One of my favourite places to visit when I am tired of seeing all that other crap on other forums who are obviously not setting the standards that are apparent here. Nick's attention to detail on his brickwork is light years ahead of mine. So that I am not seen to be hijacking this thread I will post my efforts later when there is more to see - but thanks for your vote of confidence!!!

A question for Nick though - how did you colour the bricks and what do you mean by pinwashes? Do you use a fine tip to apply colour to the surface and let capillary action do the rest? I have simply painted an overall colour of British Paints Manor Red followed by a stipple of British Paints Ironstone which from normal viewing distance - about two metres(!) looks about right! My plaster was casting plaster with a touch of cement oxide to create a mid grey mortar colour so that the wall looks more than 30 years old. Unfortunately the casting plaster dries in literally two minutes which means some parts of the wall still have a bit too much grey smeared over them. Still working out how to pick it all off.

[jacq01]

   Ian,

   please publish some photo's of your work. They will tell more than any literate effort. 

   Jacq

[shropshire lad]

Ian ,

   Glad to see you participating on this forum . Don't be too overawed by the quality of modelling here , just remember that we all started somewhere at sometime and you are not seeing photos of the results because , depending on their age , either the internet hadn't been invented or , for some , cameras hadn't been invented !
  If you do brave it and post some photos you will be guaranteed to have a response. It will probably come in the form of constructive criticism and suggestions of ways of correcting , changing or improving what you have done . You may ,or may not , agree or accept to what is said , but the intention by and large would be to try and help . Unless you caught Marc at the wrong time of the month .

  To answer your question . The bricks I used are all self coloured . One of the sheds is made of the clay bricks I bought from Germany and the other is made with bricks that have been made with a terracotta coloured plaster . This is made by a British firm called Tiranti . Therefore , the answer would be , is that I haven't coloured the bricks .
  The mortar is just white plaster sponged into the joints , not too thoroughly so that there are some bits missed, and then wiped off before the plaster set . I have added nothing to the plaster to change its colour . I would do that after the plaster has set .Pinwashed are just as you suggest . Localised application of stain to darken the mortar and bricks . Restraint is the watchword here .

The secret , if it is a secret , is to use a plaster that is the colour you want the finished bricks . That way you won't be rubbing any paint off when you apply the mortar as there isn't any paint to rub off . However , as you are not making your bricks out of plaster this may not be relevant .

  My next building will be significantly bigger and will be a mixture of brick and stone done in an interesting way . I will also be experimenting with air dried clay to try and make some pantiles for the roof . I'll let you know if it works . If it doesn't then I'll say nothing .

  Thanks for posting pictures of my sheds on your website . Hopefully you'll be able to post photos of them finished in due course ,

  Nick

[jacq01]

   

I'll let you know if it works . If it doesn't then I'll say nothing

     CHICKEN

[shropshire lad]

   

I'll let you know if it works . If it doesn't then I'll say nothing

     CHICKEN

   Abso-bloomin'-lutely !

[danpickard]

Nick,
Back home from the NG convenion now I guess.  Did the brickworks hold up ok for the flights, and how was the feedback?

Whats you're next project then...a sawmill? 

Cheers,
Dan

[Frederic Testard]

Dan, bad boy...

[danpickard]

wot, me? 

To be honest Frederic, it really would be nice to see what sort of an effort Nick would throw into a sawmill.  I could probably guess what it wouldn't look like...

Dan

[shropshire lad]

Dan ,

   I guess you got my private email regarding the subject of sawmills and competitions , so we had better not say to much , eh , nudge nudge , wink wink !

   Been back from the Confusion for about a week now and have started on my next project . It is a six foot square diorama using all the HO kits I have in my possession ( numbering about 15), including a sawmill ( sorry). There will be no proper theme ,logic or continuity to it , but that doesn't matter , because it will be BIG ! As Dave Revelia says , "if you want to win , go large , or go home !" I will charter a plane just so it makes the crossing safely .

  My brick sheds made it there and back safe and sound as overhead luggage , so the only moron to handle it was me . Those people who knew and understood what the diorama was about seemed to like it , the rest were bemused .

  I actually did start making a sawmill several years ago , but like most of my projects it stalled . It was an open air O scale one or two man operated mill set in an old stone quarry . I got the idea from two sources, a pair of articles in the Gazette from years ago and a firewood cutting operation in an old quarry half a mile from my house . The problem was I just couldn't make it work . I'm sure I could have if I had persued it , but I moved on to other things . I still like the idea , but haven't got the time at the moment . Maybe when I retire !

Nick

[danpickard]

 

See Nick, option B with the sawmill just sounds so much more original and creative.  I'd only go with the first option if you have contacts with the British Airforce, and can talk your way into a ride in the back of one of them big cargo jets to get it all there (parachute drop out the back door and all!)

Glad the travel was "satisfactory".

Cheers,
Dan