nimrod54 Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 8 hours ago, BIG X said: Mrs X has already been giving me some 'sideways' looks - you know the drill... Mrs X - 'What are you up to now' Big X - 'Oh nothing really' Mrs X - 'What is the tape measure for' Big X - 'Oh nothing important' Mrs X 'Why are you going into work if your on holiday' Big X - 'Oh I just need to pick a couple of things up' Mrs X - 'You could pick up some wine if your going out' Big X - 'That's a good idea - I know you like a glass on a Friday afternoon' ...phew I think I'm getting away with it - for now... So basically, the plan is to get Mrs X half-cut, then you can do what you want. Excuse me Mrs Nimrod, would you like some more wine? 🍷 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzn20 Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 (edited) Brilliant.. When I first saw it 1974 ,I think. Had to have it . and...….a massive 6 x 4 foot plywood sheet to stick it on . I had the towns supply of Polyfiller to fashion river banks on polystyrene sheets . Used an Airfix polythene DUKW to make tyre tacks though the filler ,shreddied sponge for bushes/trees and a big straight edge to make wave shapes , not as big as the waves my girlfriend's Muvver made though ,turned the spare room where I was sleeping in to some weird studio. Bed disappeared under 24 square foot of 1944 Northern Europe . Couldn't pick the sheet up with several boxes of Polyfiller on it . Eventually got it leaning against her wallpaper (not great) What are you going to do with it ? Do with it ? YES. She only had a daughter so I had no chance ,she'd needed years of bringing up a son with a husband that enjoyed the same things to understand ( My mum still didn't but it would have helped) ! So that was that ,it was broken up ., D Day had been a complete waste of time. Think the idea for a Bridge to far film started near Witney ! What next ? ……. I know …...….Battle of Waterloo bought 3 boxes of each of Waterloo little soldier sets . Brit and French Artillery, Scot Greys ( I think) Hussars, Highland infantry , British infantry, Imperial Guard, French Infantry , Carrasiers sic ( French on horseback) and some others, can't remember . Airfix Le Haye Saint (probably wrong spelling too) really wanted Hougamont (more sic ) and bought the plans for it. I wanted Prussians ,didn't exist then( the whole battle changed by the Prussian's arrival ,Airfix blew it )Eyes agog ,jaws dropped , Her Muvver loved it oh yeah ,in raptures ! I painted all of them except a couple of boxes , never did get the 8 foot x 12 foot board sorted . Waterloo got cancelled and the troops were detached from West Oxfordshire to my parents loft where they're still waiting for mobilisation! Walton- on -Thames Bridge got the pontoon treatment too .. one span without the Pontoons built by the Army Engineers 1940s and stayed there 'til 2000 and something , amazing . Great job Big X ! Sorry 'bout the waffle . Edited July 27, 2018 by bzn20 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 1 hour ago, Ventora3300 said: That's fascinating, hence the link to Taurus Bridge, of course! So we'll just get the performing bulls then??? It wasn't me - it was him - he told me to do it.... 1 hour ago, Antb said: Midgets and fat women.... unbelievable. ...sounds like a crazy forum dunnit... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 9 hours ago, BIG X said: ...sounds like a crazy forum dunnit... More like a three ring circus. Oh, wait... Wasn't there an Elefant tank? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 Today is not the day for outdoor rattle canning... ...still there isn't much chance of those moors catching fire again any time soon. So I'm going to spend some time getting my thread back up to date - before the Hungarian Grand Prix. On Friday I popped over to work to collect a few 'materials' - but I didn't actually start work until yesterday morning. I knocked up a deep rebate frame and cut a piece of 2mm MDF which is going to act as the bottom of the base. To create the various different 'heights' within the landscape I picked up some various thickness of foamboard... ...and card too... Now I'm no 'diorama' expert - so this is very much 'make it up as you go along' territory. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 As you may have seen earlier I'm going for a canal - rather than a river - as I hope it will be easier for my limited skill set. I'm guessing we are in Holland, with the canal and a fairly flat 'landscape'. That and the windmill - which will pop up again later. To make the canal retaining walls I'm going to use the same wall sections that I used for the church - I think it makes sense that they would be in a similar stone, from the local area. The walls need to be 16 inches long and I have a piece of 1.25mm styrene to act as the still water of the canal. I hope to paint this from behind - but more on that later. The walls without their copings are 14mm deep... The frame moulding I chose is actually 20mm deep... ...which will allow for the copings and the MDF base and still give me room to tab the back into place when it's all complete. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 This is looking like an epic build. Great start so far and watching with interest to see how this develops. All the best Ben 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 Thanks Ben - this all took place yesterday - but you know what it's like sometimes - you get so 'in the groove' you forget stop to do an update. A quick test with the bridge and some bits of board - to try and find the right height for things... Nothing was stuck in place yet - I was just practicing with the layers. Here is the wall sections - each piece comes with a front / back / top... The end of each top section was a fancy end piece that needed chopping off - but I had plenty of spare sections... To create the right length of run I 'interlocked' some front and back sections... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 Next up was the 'tow-paths' I had a sheet of plastikard with a tiny brick pattern... ...hopefully this will still have enough texture visible once the primer and paint has gone on. I cut it 1 inch wide and it was only 12 inches long - so I needed to join it. I used very thin balsa strip - which is 3ft long - so easy to cut to 16 inch strips. Bothe the plastikard and the balsa were very thin and even the sandwich was still only 1.4mm... Balsa is notoriously difficult when it comes to gluing, either to itself or other things - so it was out with the PVA... At this point I would like to thank Mercure hotels - your key cards make great PVA spreaders... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antb Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Now this is a lesson in modelling. Looking forward to this mate 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Antb said: Now this is a lesson in modelling. Looking forward to this mate ...not exactly - more likely to be a lesson in disaster - my diorama landscape skills are nil. I have been looking at loads of stuff and reading up on everything I can - but I wouldn't expect anything 'too' exciting. It is proving to be fun up to now though and that's what's important. Anyway - on with the update... Whilst the paths were drying and before we nipped off to ASDA for our weekly shop I did a quick measure up of the walls showed they were about 1mm too short - that probably wouldn't show inside the frame - but the walls come with end pieces - which are luckily 1mm thick. So I added one to the end of each wall... Then it was on with the copings... The wall joins were very prominent at this point... ...so I filled them with some mr dissolved putty - to rescore later... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Just caught up with this. Great stuff, should look very impressive. I made one of these a few years ago for my son's WarHammer gaming. Just out of the box, nothing like the detailing that you have done. Amazing what can be achieved. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, Smudge said: Just caught up with this. Great stuff, should look very impressive. I made one of these a few years ago for my son's WarHammer gaming. Just out of the box, nothing like the detailing that you have done. Amazing what can be achieved. Thanks Smudge - it may not be the most 'accurate' kit that Airfix ever produced - but judging by all the comments they must have sold millions of the. The bridge itself was a fun build, but now I'm entering unknown ground - if you know what I mean... Anyway - when we got back from ASDA I was greeted by this... Heaven knows how that happened. I am guessing the plastic on the top cannot have expanded - so it looks like the balsa underneath had shrunk - amazing. Anyway after a lot of kicking screaming and general foul language I calmed down and decided to stick the whole assembly to something thicker. I decided to stay away from more pva and used my old standby of 'very aggressive' double sided tape... Now you know when it's time to walk away - when you have one mess up after another. My hand slipped whilst trimming the excess tape away - but I stuck it to some 1.4mm card anyway - just to make sure it goes flat and stays flat... At this point it was time for a break and a glass of wine - just to calm me down you understand 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 After tea, or is it dinner, oh let's not go there... After my 'evening meal' I returned to the den to concentrate on the easier side of the canal - the 'field' which will house the windmill. Fighting shy of the PVA for now I carried on with more double sided tape. The roll I use is 300mm wide - so it offers a very strong grip over a large surface area. I coated up the back of three pieces of 3mm balsa... I found it really easy to cut on my churchyard project and as usual I had bought way too much - so there is plenty lying around. the step to the left is where the towpath will go and this closer shot shows the lamination effect which is really stiffening up the board - whilst not adding the weight of something like thicker MDF... The foamboard and balsa layers weigh virtually nothing - the thinner layer is 2mm 'display board' which is very hard - but cuts easily with a knife. Here it is with the towpath - 'temporarily' in place... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antb Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 1 hour ago, BIG X said: ...not exactly - more likely to be a lesson in disaster - my diorama landscape skills are nil. I have been looking at loads of stuff and reading up on everything I can - but I wouldn't expect anything 'too' exciting. It is proving to be fun up to now though and that's what's important. don't do yourself down steve. Your work really is something to be proud of. I think it's brilliant and am enjoying watching your progress. Fun is absolutely the name of the game. No point doing anything without it. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 Today and yesterday have been very different days - yesterday was all work and no updates - today has been just the opposite. I have found it impossible to get anything done today, other than pop on here and play catch up. Oh well - last update to 'get things straight. Just to end the day with a couple of problems, I managed to crack the clear styrene that will form the canal water... ...so that means another trip to work tomorrow to cut another one. The upside is I plan on 'painting' the water on the underside - so at least this will come in for practice. The other stumbling block was the church was supposed to be positioned sideways - facing the canal - but I think I prefer it like this... ...so I have been sat looking at the left hand side all day and though the basic layers are stuck down - the top layer, with the border to the church and a 'hint of a road' still isn't complete. All that said - there hasn't been a break in the rain to get any priming done - so I will return to it in the morning. I've got all week off work - so not a major problem Thanks for stopping by and hopefully we will have some progress tomorrow - Steve 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawzer Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 this is fairly coming along mate!!! I know you probably had this in mind way back when we started speaking about the gb but this is really going to pull it all together! 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Good evening folks, I haven't got much to report I'm afraid. I popped over to work and got some more clear styrene. I have made a retaining frame where the church is going to sit. I have figured out the right 'height' for the water level. I'm busy making a path from what will be a road to the towpath. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that this build will need to be moved to the garage for spraying and grass scattering. It's way too big and would be way to messy to attempt in the office. I have a 16ft long bench in the garage - covered in old cutting mats. As the weather hasn't improved I can't rattle outside anyway - so this looks like the way forward. I have spent a nice day catching up on everyone else's builds in the GB - there is some brilliant work going on. More tomorrow - Steve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 On reflection... that was a very 'lazy' post - I apologise... Though my progress today has been 'meagre' here is a better appraisal of what I have been up to. I decided that the field area on the right would have been 'messed up' with various vehicle tracks. Now as this is 1/76 I didn't want to try to impress individual tank tracks or wheels tracks - just 'impressions of movement'. This is what I came up with... ...and this is what I found in the desk drawer to do it with... ...it's a spare castor off my office chair. I also pressed the edge of the ramp 'firmly' into the balsa - as this is how it would impress on soft ground... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Even tonight the left hand side of the plot is still looking very bare... ...a blank canvas - or a blank page - the sort of this that gives artists or writers their 'block'. Well maybe I flatter myself there - but this has been a real stumbling block. Both last night and again today I have been looking at it and walking away - totally undecided how to proceed. As I mentioned the church was supposed to be here in the plan... ...but I don't think it shows it to it's best - so I decided to try it here... I like it better and it gives more room for vehicles - but where are they coming from... I don't know. In the end I put the towpath in place then made a retaining frame fro the curch next to it - leaving room for a roadway on the extreme left... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Any progress is good Steve. This is a big project and takes careful planning and thinking about on how to proceed. You always seem to come up with inspired solutions to achieve your objectives, all of which makes for pleasant viewing. Keep up the good work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 I've just been sticking a pathway - that will run in front of the church and on down to the towpath - to a piece of card... ...again the joins will need blending... This took my mind back to the canal retaining walls. I have temporarily filled the canal with a piece of 3mm white foamboard and a black 4mm piece - followed by a piece of clear styrene. The styrene still has it's protective film on - so it doesn't look as glossy as it will. It's now the right height to give the bridge a convincing slope to the ramps. But it doesn't leave much of the retaining walls showing... ...I guess it's a pretty full canal... of the 14mm height - you only get to see about 4mm. Even with the dull film on you get a hint at the reflection of the wall - when this is removed it should look a lot better. I also need tot remember to paint the inside of the rebate black - where it shows here... ...just noticed - that is showing the reflection in the 'water' too. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 9 minutes ago, nimrod54 said: Any progress is good Steve. This is a big project and takes careful planning and thinking about on how to proceed. You always seem to come up with inspired solutions to achieve your objectives, all of which makes for pleasant viewing. Keep up the good work. Thanks John - that is a rally nice thing to say. I don't know about 'inspired solutions' - often they are more 'hair brained' - I'm glad your enjoying it though - I will strive not to let anyone down Steve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 WOOHOO - Nearly forgot these - sat on the shelf - I must make sure I leave room to position them at the bridge entrances... ..phew a close call. That's all for now - meet me in the garage tomorrow and hopefully we can splash some paint and glue. Thanks for looking in as always - Steve 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 By the way don't forget you need to put in the remnants of the original bridge that must have been blown up by the retreating forces that is being replaced by the pontoon bridge That will also give you things to fill up the left side as there might be a roadway directly in front of the church that ends in the broken bridge with a spur coming off that leads instead to the pontoon bridge... Um have I just made this even more complicated for you? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now