Morning gang!
How's things? Hope you've had an amazing week… It's the penultimate Saturday of August and with that comes another Bank Holiday so we can finally have a lie in on Monday! Well, in theory… although some bright spark has decided this weekend is going to be perfect weather to paint all the planters in the garden and take care of loads of other jobs at home, so it could be a busy one! And this weekend's newsletter comes to you with the soundtrack of Lynyrd Skynyrd's One More From The Road, which I've got to say, has to be THE best live album ever recorded if you ask me. If you like your 70's rock and you've got Spotify or some other streaming service… get it on and turn it up to 11!
And Elizabeth's back from Paris so we'll be doing a few family things too at some point. I think she had a lovely time with her mate and she managed to fulfill her dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower when it sparkles at night! Now she's back to earth with a bump, working at Cornish Cream in the village.
It's been another full-on week again at HQ and we've finally finished the 1:32 scale diorama. I think overall it took nearly a solid two weeks to get it all done, including buildings, scenics and everything else. It was a bit high-pressure at times, trying to get some of the scenic techniques up to pro-standard within the time allowed was a bit of a challenge but we made it. The client collected it on Thursday morning and they're super-chuffed with it, which is a massive relief. It's filled us with real enthusiasm to crack on now and build some bigger, more elaborate dioramas for the showroom here at HQ.
One thing I will say… from our experiences building the diorama… it's all in the glues! The right glue makes it all so much easier. I'll post some photos in a forthcoming newsletter once I've had full clearance from the client. But the farmyard area was based with a blend of sandstone & mountain pass mix which Tina sieved and then sealed into place with Deluxe Materials Ballast Bond which made it set rock hard! It's absolutely brilliant! And then for the static grass, we used a variety of our own blends, glued down using Gaugemaster's Static Grass Glue, then layered with Gorilla Spray Glue from B&Q which worked absolutely brilliantly! It's super sticky but dries clear and is really easy to work with.
Anyway, as soon as I've had clearance, I'll do a more detailed write-up.
New Product Development
Same as last week really… We've not really had much chance, but as a result of doing the 1:32 scale thing, there will be some new fencing and hopefully a cowshed very soon. But there is a new brick paper available as of yesterday designed to match the texture used on the BX001-OO Retaining Wall Backscene Element. Link, as always, is down in the new releases section below.
Ooh I nearly forgot… we do have some new bulk grass tuft packs in straw, marsh grass & swamp grass and they're absolutely blummin amazing! Again… links below…
In the meantime, it's over to young Sam for this weekend's videos.
Good morning! As always, I hope that you've had a great week and make the most of the weekend. Sadly, summer seems to be coming to an end already. Where did the time go? This week, I've only been on half days due to having to take care of the dogs but I've still been cracking on with the usual stuff. There has been some excellent content posted on the RailwayModellers club so if you aren't a part of that I'd recommend you get involved! Check out www.railwaymodellers.com for more information. We would love to see what you make.
I made a video showcasing some of the dioramas around the building, check it out here:
Time for some videos!
Laying and Testing Track Bed (The Ladykiller's Update)
For my first video, I've selected Dawn Quest's most recent update on her layout The Ladykillers. In this episode, she tests 3 types of track bed, doing some experiments and going over the pros and cons of each one. If you are planning on creating a layout, this information would be great to listen to and watch. I won't spoil which one she goes for!
Building a Model Thunderstorm
This is something that I've never seen before - a thunderstorm on a layout. Jimmy from DIY and Digital Railroad takes us through the techniques used to create a brilliant stormy scene starting right from the baseboard. After he goes through the whole process, he does a showcase of the lighting and sound in use which looks incredible. I can't believe this is the first time I've seen something like this.
Achieving Ultra-Realistic Model Photos
A few Newsletters ago, I featured a video explaining some basics of taking great model railway photos. In this video, from Jennifer E. Kirk, she goes into some detail on how you can achieve ultra-realistic model photos. She does this by using outdoor photography which allows you to have natural lighting as well as the real sky. At 16 minutes, this video isn't overly lengthy but will increase your photographs a lot. Do your dioramas justice and follow this tutorial.
Loughborough Model Railway Exhibition 2024
Finally, we have some exhibition coverage for you! On the 17th and 18th of August 2024, the Loughborough Model Railway Exhibition took place at the Loughborough Grammar School. The video itself comes from Philip Holmes who covers 15 layouts (another 18 layouts are covered in Part 2, check the description for the link to that). Many incredible layouts are featured in various scales including OO, O, N, 12mm and 2mm.
For up-and-coming exhibitions, you can click here.
That's all I have for you this week, I hope you enjoyed them. Let me know what you think in the comments or via email (sam@scalemodelscenery.co.uk or help@scalemodelscenery.co.uk). I love seeing the modelling that all of you do so please send me any photos. Have a great rest of your weekend!
Let's Make A Scene…
Right then… Jess and Stu have both been taking deep dives this week into a variety of scenic modelling aspects over on the blog.
- Create A Market Scene For Your Model Railway
This one carries on from Jess's Wednesday evening email about building a market scene with a deeper look at the things you need to incorporate into the scene as well as some handy hints to detailing the stalls. Read it here… - Let's Make A Scene - Britain In Bloom
Even the most industrial scene can benefit from the softening effect a few flowers can bring to it… The humble dandelion, which pops up in the most unlikely of places, and don't forget buddleia, which grows out of walls, bridges and anything else its roots can get a hold. But in this Let's Make A Scene article, Stu takes a look at how we can get creative as modellers and add some lovely floral detail to our layout to bring a splash of colour to our miniature worlds. Read it here…
New In Stock
Here's the links for the new static grass tufts… We'll be using these very soon on some new dioramas!
- FB022-OO Straw / Dry Grass 10mm Tufts - Bulk Pack - OO/4mm/1:76
Great for summer scenes, grass verges, edges of paths, open fields and wasteland. Simply peel and stick!
- FB023-OO Swamp Grass 10mm Tufts - Bulk Pack - OO/4mm/1:76
A darker variant of the above self-adhesive tufts. Ideal for adding texture to fields, wasteland, paths, verges and marsh/boggy areas.
- FB024-OO Marsh Grass 6mm Tufts - Bulk Pack - OO/4mm/1:76
Self-adhesive two-tone tufts in completely random shapes. Ideal for open fields and marshland bordering onto a river, lake or stream.
- BR016 Mountain Pass Gravel & Boulders - 200ml
The gravel with a million and one uses! This works for everything from mountain paths to wagon loads, yards to embankments & more. Our new favourite mineral blend!
- TX154-OO Modern Stretcher Bond Red Brick Paper - OO/4mm/1:76
We've also been giving some of our texture papers a bit of a makeover including the TX154-OO Modern Stretcher Bond Red Brick. This is ideal for any modern red brick architecture, from houses & shops, to hospitals, schools and even retaining walls. In fact it's the same brick paper we used on the BX001-OO Modern Red Brick Retaining Wall Backscene Elements.
- TX154-N Modern Stretcher Bond Red Brick Paper - N/2mm/1:148
And as above, but in N scale… we have the Stretcher Bond Red Brick paper available in packs of 5 printed sheets. I've not included a pic of it here as it's the same as the one above, just a darn sight smaller!
If you'd like to see our textures in any other scale (TT:120, 1:64, 1:32, 1:43 etc) drop me a line and we'll see what we can do.
Back In Stock
And we have a few 3D printed items back in stock this week for detailing your farm scenes…
- AX556-OO Tractor Tyres (Pack of 4) - OO/4mm/1:76
- AX384-OO Circular Galvanised Cattle Feeders (Pack of 2) - OO/4mm/1:76
Right, that's about it for this edition of the weekly news. Elizabeth is at work most of the weekend, so we're off out with Lola now for a wander round the wooded paths, then it's gardening if the rain holds off, and I think I'm about due a haircut too! We've also got some serious number crunching to do in Excel. I really don't want to do it, but it's got to be done!
Next week, we're hoping to get stuck into a couple of kit variations and there's a whole host of other stuff to do.
Have an amazing weekend folks… And of course…
Keep on shunting…
Justin, Tina, Elizabeth, Lola & The Team
P.S. This weeks newsletter header comes from Paul D's clubs rather wonderful Cornish layout, Tolcarne over on the Railway Modellers community with the pannier tank waiting for the off with the train of local goods.
P.P.S. Missed a newsletter? You can read all of our recent newsletters online here.
The thunder storm vid , looked great however it lacked something !, can you think what ? i knew from when he started to tell us of how to set up to how it looked when finished , well what if he ran it with RAIN sound affects , that's what is missing , what do you think ? . Arthur
Dear Scalemodelscenery, I have been receiving your weekly newsletter for many years and have always found them very informative and motivational (all newsletters have been saved). I first got involved in the old Hornby 00 three rail with the Dutchess of Montrose being my first steam loco. Unfortunately I did not keep up with the hobby until in my late 50's where I ventured into N gauge. I guess for me the biggest pull was the creation of the layout and scenics. I'm sorry to say that, now in my mid 70's, and on pension, I am no longer actively modelling. I live in South Africa and with our exchange rate (R24 to 1 GBP) the hobby has become too expensive for me.
I would however, like to thank you all at scalemodelscenery for all the creativeness that you have introduced over the years. I still remember my first n gauge houses were purchased on-line, printed and put together on cereal box cardboard - oh, mustn't forget the UHU glue. Am amazed at what you now produce.
Ashley Lowe