Cattle Dock.

 Before you all get sick of looking at bits of plastic sheet and tiny bits of Microstrip- It's finished.
There had to be some compromises ,such as bridge rail on wooden posts but I couldnt face filing thirty odd holes to take bullhead rail.
Luckily I found some T shaped strip produced by Plastruct which I have used as a representation of bridge rail and I don't think it looks too bad, I would be interested in your comments!
The whole lot was given a couple of very light dustings of grey undercoat then the rails dry brushed with a grey/green and brown to add a bit of relief. I may have underdone it but it passes when not at the
end of a camera lens.It now has some landscape around its mounting site an seems to bed into the landscape quite well. The boards between the rails have been cut and need painting and some drainage grilles added. I need to source information about the size and construction of the water troughs that would have been sited within the dock- any info gratefully recieved.

Must be doing something right.

From the start of this blog I didn't expect great things, indeed I have looked at wether I could transfer the content to my other offering, Dorset 3mm.The feedback I recieve is encouraging and I am wondering if I should open this blog to a question and answer format after the debut of Teignford has passed.
Dorset 3mm will remain the focus of my 3mm activities, but this has suffered due to the pressure of producing a working layout for a specific date.
Please feel free to contribute or suggest topics that can be discussed, and if possible I will try to assist.
Remember that the 3mm Society is the Friendly Society, and we only get assistance if we ask and are able to put ourselves out- JFK said "It's not what your country can do for you, it's what you can do for your country". This also equates to modelling. You only get out what you are prepared to put in! Your input will make this blog more interesting and, hopefully convince modellers to adopt the 'Modellers Scale'
I look forward to hearing from you.

Cattle Dock.

 With the upright posts cut there is the small matter of making 30 odd square holes in the base.
First a pilot hole was drilled at each post point, then opened out to something near the post width, then each hole was filed out to make a square just large enough to take the post.
As can be seen, several posts are in place, I must fix the rest of the base to keep the floor square- it has slightly warped since making the holes and fitting the first few postes.
I have some 1.2mm T shaped plastruct which, although wrong for wooden posts, will give a representation of Bridge Rail along the sides.

Signal Box.

 Cracking on with the buildings, next is the Signal Box.
This will be a composite of mounting card and plastic strip. As can be seen, the shell of the Box has been cut out and the four base walls glued together. It always seems very basic at this stage but probably the easiest part has been done.
For windows, Allan at Worsley Works has sent me some windows and door etches, these can be seen in the lower picture and are as usual of top quality.

Next job is to cover the base with brick paper- which one I have yet to decide- it was quite usual to find a different building material on Signal Boxes than on the main buildings.

Cattle Dock.

It doesn't look a lot at the moment, but, it will eventually become the Cattle Dock at Teignford.
Therein lies a story.I spend a fair amount of time scanning through books looking for suitable subjects to model.
A Pictorial History of Great Western Architecture is one of my sources and it was inside this tome that the plan was found. However, I could not make out the dimensions, such was the reduction for publishing purposes.
Here the power of the internet comes in. I belong to several groups and I put a plea for information on the GWR e-list. The writer of the book himself, Adrian Vaughan answered my plea and provided all the answers to my questions, even sending an enlargement for my use. Thank you Adrian, I hope my efforts will make the effort worthwhile.

Engine Shed-Completed.

 At long last and the use of much midnight oil, the Shed is complete.
It has to be mounted on an extra sheet of card because- as many elderly sheds found out- a 45XX wouldn't go into it! It does now-just. The extra foundation will be trimmed a little and a hut will be joined to the rear quarter when planted. There is also the matter of an access ladder, I have some but until fixed this won't be attached.
I looked at the vents atop the building and eventually, after scrapping much card and plastic, a brainwave. I had some featheredge plastic card- from Evergreen I think-so pieces were cut and filed to size and glued in. Then the whole lot was painted and is ready to become attached to it's new home.

 These views show my wonky application of the roofing slates. They are actually 00 Gauge Superquick, cut in lengths of two slates and stuck on, it's not until afterwards and the enlarged image from the camera that I realise Specsavers needs a visit.

Forming The Lay of the Land.

The card formers have been fixed to the end of the board and a master cut to join the next board. The platform edges have also been cut so hopefully there won't be too much of a gap visible when all fitted together . This hopefully will be at the next Group meeting.
The only thing to be done to the baseboards is a set of legs for the Fiddle yard, and another folding set for board two.