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

[finescalerr]

Nick, I have sent you by personal e-mail my little model photography primer. It assumes you can shoot outdoors but, in your climate, that sometimes may be impossible. If so, just make sure the lighting you use indoors is consistent: All natural light, all incandescent, all fluorescent. Don't, for example, shoot with the lights on and the window shades up.

Now you can stop whining about your photography skills and you also can't say you didn't get a Chritmas present. In return, your present to us will be better photos of your superb modeling.

Russ

[shropshire lad]

Russ ,

  Thanks for manuscript on "how to take better photos" . All I need to do now is figure out how to print it off .

  I wasn't the one whining , it was Marty complaining about my rubbish photography . All I can say to that , is show us your latest piece of bricklaying !

  Anyway , if I post crap photos of my work when you finally see it in the flesh you will either be pleasantly surprised that it looks better in real life or not dissappointed because it looks just as crap in real life as it does in the photos .

  Happy Christmas to all you buggers around the World ,

   Love and kisses,

   Nick in the Winter Wonderland that is England

[Gordon Ferguson]

Nick,

having seen some of your photos of your narrow guage loco didn't think there was much wrong .

When you have read the tutorial you may want to have a look at this http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

Gordon

[Ray Dunakin]

When you have read the tutorial you may want to have a look at this http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

Great link! That light box is just the ticket for shooting SBS photos of small to mid size models.

[shropshire lad]

Nick,

having seen some of your photos of your narrow guage loco didn't think there was much wrong .

When you have read the tutorial you may want to have a look at this http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

Gordon

Gordon ,

  Thanks for that link . I think with a bit of help from my mummy I should be able to build something like Strobist's box .

  Nick

[Belg]

Hey Nick when you get done with this build here's another you could try, should be pretty easy now that you got the techniques down. Pat
http://images17.fotki.com/v349/photos/9/914592/4152282/100_2608-vi.jpg

[mobilgas]

Ok since everyone is talking about brick....does anyone do 1/48 individual scale bricks?  Craig

[shropshire lad]

Ok since everyone is talking about brick....does anyone do 1/48 individual scale bricks?  Craig

  The German chap who makes the bricks I use also makes 1/45th scale bricks , is that close enough for you? I don't envy you building with bricks that small . Perfectly possible , I'm sure, but rather fiddly . Good luck .
  You could try looking at what is on offer from some of the military modelling companies, although the only one so that I have found that makes 1/48th scale bricks is Plus Models , but the quality isn't nearly as good as the ones I have got .
   The best solution would be to change scales !

   Nick

[Chuck Doan]

Not brick, but a very nice sturdy header idea:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilja/1986897962/

[jacq01]

  Chuck,

  that last one is more in Marcel's alley. I'll send the link to him.

  Jacq

[mobilgas]

Nick,   ill have to look back on this post to see how to order some in 1/45 scale i think that size will be close enough....  Change scales....NO.... ill stick to O scale as my main scale.  The gas station that i was doing was in 1/2 inch scale before the DEMO ..... one project in 1/2 scale will be plenty   Craig

[shropshire lad]

Nick,   ill have to look back on this post to see how to order some in 1/45 scale i think that size will be close enough....  Change scales....NO.... ill stick to O scale as my main scale.  The gas station that i was doing was in 1/2 inch scale before the DEMO one project in 1/2 scale will be plenty   Craig

Craig ,

  The website is on the first page . However, I think you need to be made aware that I managed to get hold of the bricks because I have a German mother who phoned up on my behalf to order the bricks . I also had to pay by sending Euros because he doesn't take credit cards . This may be too much of a challenge for you , I can't say, but if it is you might consider making your own bricks out of stripwood or styrene , perhaps ? How about making 100 or so bricks out of whatever you think is suitable , make a mold of them and then cast whatever you need out of plaster , preferably a terracotta coloured plaster .

  The changing scales quip was just a joke , but ironically it is much easier to find scales bricks in 1/24th scale than any other ,

  Nick

[mobilgas]

Nick,   Your right ill just forget about the 1/45 bricks....as i dont have a connection like you had. For me trying ..it would be to much trouble. And im to LAZY to make my own, wish i had some of his 1/45 bricks then i could cast my own and everything would be right in Craig's modeling world.                 Craig

[finescalerr]

Marc once told me about an idea he had for making a brick wall from "paper". I think his plan may have been to find some cardboard or chipboard of the proper thickness and first cutting it into strips, then into individual bricks. Once you paint the stuff you can't tell what it's made from. The texture seems as though it would be preferable to either wood or plastic and I always liked the idea.

The other way I might go about it would be to make a flat sheet of modeling clay or plaster and cut it into bricks. The biggest advantage would seem that, once the bricks are cut, you could put them in a bag and shake them up to distress the edges and corners.

Bet you already thought of both those ideas.

Russ

[shropshire lad]

Marc once told me about an idea he had for making a brick wall from "paper". I think his plan may have been to find some cardboard or chipboard of the proper thickness and first cutting it into strips, then into individual bricks. Once you paint the stuff you can't tell what it's made from. The texture seems as though it would be preferable to either wood or plastic and I always liked the idea.

The other way I might go about it would be to make a flat sheet of modeling clay or plaster and cut it into bricks. The biggest advantage would seem that, once the bricks are cut, you could put them in a bag and shake them up to distress the edges and corners.

Bet you already thought of both those ideas.

Russ

  Both of those ideas seem very plausible . I would still suggest making a limited number out of whatever material you think works best and make a mold of them and then you can make as many as you want out of plaster .
   The problem is that to make a structure of any size you need alot of bricks , just those two sheds took over 3000, so to cut each one individually certainly would qualify you for "madness" status .


  Craig ,

   How much of hurry are you in need of these bricks ? I might be persuaded to ask my Mum if she wouldn't mind ordering some for you , via me , if you were in no particular hurry . You could then send me dollars , or whatever , in exchange . In fact the only time you would need to get out of your armchair is to reach into your wallet to get the cash out and to post the letter !
   We wouldn't want Craig's Modelling World not to be right , now , would we ?!?

   Nick