Potholes !!
Pointless Roadworks!!
Cones !!
Oh, the joyous life of a UK motorist is never enhanced by the state of our roads.
Maybe in the early days of motoring, there were not as many rules about protecting the workers from the traffic, so a couple of cones and a sign or two would suffice for miles of trenches wandering along or across the road. The tarmac though was usually laid well and didn't crack up within weeks of being put in place.
Sad to say, in these current, safety-awareness days, we are subjected to mile after mile of coned-off lanes, with no workers in sight, or enough cones and signs to surround a large roundabout, all placed around a small excavation on a pavement.
But, and this is the good news, the proliferation of road signs, cones, barriers & piles of earth provides a great deal of modelling potential.
Example Scenes
We've made a couple of small scenes to demonstrate some potential scenarios. They both feature lots of our kits and accessories, with a little bit of scratch-building and imagination thrown in.
The first is a typical roadworks scene, with portable traffic lights, temporary road signs and barriers and lots of cones.
The second scene is for a Utility repair, with an exposed pipe, alongside a pavement and domestic fence.
Roadworks Scene
On an urban road, with speed humps and double yellow lines, a large patch of gravel has been dropped on the road, probably from a lorry going too fast over the speed hump. It looks like it's awaiting a work gang to come and clear it up, but, meanwhile, the cones and barriers protect anyone from damaging their vehicle's suspension or walking across it and tripping over.
We've used several of our 3D printed kits, plus texture sheets and accessories, to create this little scene.
Road Surface
We've used TX158-OO Weathered Asphalt, with RX014-OO Self Adhesive Road Markings to create the road surface. We then added a length of KX023-OO Concrete Slabbed Pavement alongside. We added two of the LX087-OO Speed Humps, which help to define the modern look of the scene.
Pavement furniture
We've added a couple of MP012-OO Wooden Benches and a modern LX014-OO Litter Bin.
Roadworks Equipment
We've added various items from the LX074-OO Temporary Road Signs pack, a pair of AX062-OO Temporary Traffic Lights and ten of the AX043-OO Small Road Cones. We painted the white jackets on the cones using acrylic paint. For the protection of the little people, we've used a couple of lengths of LX023-OO Safety Barriers.
Shed Load
We've added a spread-out pile of gravel to represent the shed load. This could be coloured to match the area your layout or diorama is set in (e.g. it might be quite a strong red in parts of Devon). We used BL004-OO Mid Grey Ballast for this.
Utility Repair Scene
A suburban road, with a small, deep hole. The rest of the scene confirms the suburban setting, with a large tree and tall domestic fence. This scene has been made on a BB031 Micro Diorama Baseboard.
Road Surface
We've just painted the baseboard top in a patchy grey coat and added a single yellow line from the RX014-OO Self Adhesive Road Markings kit.
The pavement is a length of LX217-OO Straight Pavement, primed in grey with a dry-brushing of light buff on the slabs.
Pavement Furniture & Fencing
We've added an MP012-OO Wooden Bench and an LX014-OO Litter Bin. At the back of the pavement, we've added a length of LX233-OO 6ft Wooden Fencing, with a gate from the LX003-OO Gates & Posts pack. Beside the fence, we put a yellow Hydrant post, from the LX009-OO Concrete Posts pack.
Road works
Around the hole, we added some LX023-OO Safety Barriers. A couple of small cable drums, from the LX082-OO Cable Drums pack were placed by the hole, and some SP001 Sandstone Stone Powder was glued in a pile beside the hole. With a few LX074-OO Temporary Road Signs the scene is complete.
Let us know what you've made
Whatever you do for your own roadworks scene, please send us photos as we'd love to see what you've created.
