Well, the first completed one anyway. Something with a name needs a homepage:

Phoenix Yard, a OO inglenook shunting puzzle: http://mcaleely.com/jh/PhoenixYard/

Some of the scenery didn’t survive a period of storage, but the layout still works well.

Last weekend I was at Missenden Abbey, making things dirty! I joined Tim Shackleton’s weathering class, and wielded an airbrush for the first time.

After a demonstration on the Friday evening of basic coach weathering, Tim asked us to show the projects we had brought along. Mine was to be an Oil Tank wagon and a Class 20 diesel. Lots of other nice, and largely pristine models were also shown.

When it became clear I had a box of TTAs with me, Tim suggested the whole group use one each as a first exercise. We also weathered some N gauge wagons from another attendee. My first attempt:

Some of the effects I liked, and some I can’t really get beyond seeing the tools and paint I used. I’m pleased for a first attempt though!

Next up is the class 20. I really struggled to get an even matt coat of dark grey on the roof – a question of learning how to use an airbrush. The result is pleasing. Notice that I’ve picked out the axle boxes after the first weathering ‘brake dust’ spray.

It was clear that the basic techniques Tim was teaching us could be applied quite quickly. Many of us were reaching for stock we didn’t imagine we’d have time to weather. So I also got to detail an 08 and a 25. On these Tim used a pink mist to depict the very typical faded-blue seen in many photos:

Finally, a look at my fleet of TTA’s. One each from my fellow classmates, and a few I did myself. I think we all learned by seeing the efforts of others on the same project – I certainly did. As a bonus I now have a very unique fleet of wagons:

For the last two years, I’ve been going to Missenden Abbey’s Model Railway weekend. Initially, it was a distraction when Richard was away in Kentucky, but the appeal now is the friendly crowd and the regular kick-start to my modelling.

For the last two years, I’ve been building locos. This year, I want to experience using an airbrush so I can finish some of what I have started!

I’ve just ordered some paints to take along next weekend, and now I need to rummage around the internet for pictures of the stock I plan to run on Popham Depot. That way I can work from images of what the wagons and locos look like after they’ve been in traffic for a while.

If you’ll be there too, see you in a week at Missenden!

It seems I’m not the only person who finds the Micheldever fuel depot interesting. Since my last post on the topic, there have been several people who have documented explorations of the site.

It seems it was last in use in 1995, which would tie with my memories of it seeming active while I was at university (1992-1996).

Anyway, lets start with a historical pic from Subterranea Britannica:

• Micheldever Depot

And then some more recent explorations @ 28dayslater:

• A visit documented by Phantom Bish in February 2011
• A visit documented by tommo in June 2011
• A set of pictures by klempner69, probably taken on the same trip as tommo.

These all look like great sources of info and inspiration!

Not my own work today, but some inspiration from the Science Museum.

This diorama really caught my eye. For size, the ‘room’ these model tools are in is around 30-40cm high.

I’ve been working towards ‘replicating’ my Phoenix Yard layout in P4, and there have been some early steps documented here already. I’ve been working with the name ‘Twenty and Tanks’ for now, since that’s the rolling stock the layout is dimensioned for. However, that’s not a name that rolls off my tongue.

I want to base the scenery on the Oil Depot at Michledever station, but since I won’t be attempting to replicate it, I don’t want to name the layout directly after it.

Looking around on the map, there is an airfield just up the road – Popham – and it seems sensible to steal the name for the layout. I’m guessing the military may well have had usage at Popham in mind when they built the obviously camouflaged facility.

So, my new P4 inglenook will be ‘Popham Depot’. Set in the 1970′s, with BR blue motive power, and with a fleet of TTA tanks as shunting fodder.

I’ve recorded my modelling in a couple of other places online. I started on the RMWeb Forum as jhmcaleely. I’m still on the newer ‘community‘, but only as a reader (to date).

Notable threads I started there:

• My 00 Inglenook: Phoenix Yard
• Getting started in P4: Can I buy all the bits I need at Scaleforum? (Yes!)
• My first P4 track work: An A5 point kit from Exactoscale
• My first contributions to JMRI: Hornby Decoder XML files

I am also a member of the Scalefour society (since 2008), and post on their forum under my own name.

Threads there include:

• My first ‘from scratch’ point work: “Workshop Homework“
• My first P4 loco: A Hornby 08 conversion
• My first brass chassis: A Highlevel Class 03 Chassis
• Something more ambitious: 60163, Tornado
• A test bench, for the CHEAG spot-on (ish) competition