Pendon Scenery

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Kos

Pendon Scenery

Postby Kos » Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:24 pm

I made some Pendon egg-box scenery with 2" x 2" spaced card formers and a covering of scrim and polyfilla. The scrim is from a roll 3" wide and appears to be the same material they use at Pendon. The covering sagged between the card formers. Has anyone had more success? I replaced the scrim with newspaper pasted down with PVA and this appears to be OK.

Stuart

ps how do you paste an image into the post?

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grovenor-2685
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby grovenor-2685 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:06 pm

ps how do you paste an image into the post?


http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Philip Hall » Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:29 pm

I remember watching some scenery being built up at Pendon a long time ago and I think they were using a hot glue gun to fix the scrim down. They were using a brown woodworking glue and as that goes off very quickly maybe it had no chance to sag?

Philip

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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Terry Bendall » Wed Mar 13, 2013 7:01 am

Stuart

You may have too large a gap between the formers. When I do this sort of thing I use a woven lattice of card strips about 10mm wide which are spaced about 15mm apart and fixed with PVA glue - both at the ends and where they overlap if I can. The card is 160 gram weight and is usually off cuts from cutting the Scaleforum entry tickets to size. When the glue is dry I use plaster impregated bandage which is cut into squares about 60mm square, dipped in water and then placed over the lattice. An old 1.2 inch wide paint brush is used to stipple it down and remove air pockets. Two layers are usually applied.

An alternative to the plaster bandage is nappy liners cut into squares and fixed with Pollyfiller or similar. Works just as well.

This is a very old technique but works for me. When the plaster is dry I paint it brown using water colour before applying the grass.

Terry Bendall

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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Re6/6 » Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:29 am

as Terry says, it is an old technique, which has worked well for years.

I prefer a method using building insulation material (Cellotex type) which comes foil backed and off-cuts can often be found in builder's skips.

The benefit of using this type of material is that it's solid and self-supporting, lightweight and easy to fashion into the required contours with a bread knife (or similar) without so much of the mess associated with white polystyrene packaging material that many have used. It's available in various thicknesses typically between 25mm and 100mm and can be glued down with solvent-free grab adhesive (No More Nails/Gripfill).

The contours can be finished with 'Sculptamold' a modelling compound from the US which resembles a dried papier-maché. This very easy to use and is available from several sources (Squires/Amazon)

I used this method in the construction of Netherhope Halt, a small experimental scenic diarama It has proved very robust during transportation.
008a.jpg


If really rugged construction is needed, polymer resin on glass fibre matting over a chicken wire framework is very robust and will take a hit, obviously not desirable, but it does happen.

We've used this method on our Ouse Valley Viaduct project.
004a.jpg


006a.jpg
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John

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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby LesGros » Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:27 am

John Farmer wrote:
...I prefer a method using building insulation material (Cellotex type) which comes foil backed and off-cuts can often be found in builder's skips...

I used celotex to insulate the ceiling of my railway room; As John says, it is easy to cut and carve, and does not sag between the supporting beams, but there is a downside.
The dust created becomes electrically charged and gets everywhere, even when dust extraction is used. On the skin, it can be quite unpleasant, similar to fine glass fibre, though a little less of an irritant. Surgical gloves and a dustmask are recommended when working with it, I also wore a disposable coverall.
The cut surface is a bit fragile, and left untreated would become a constant source of the aforementioned fine dust. Coating the exposed cut surfaces ( eg edges) with acrylic emulsion, seals the surface and makes it possible to handle it comfortably.

I considered using celotex on Footery Neuk, but I am now inclined to use mainly traditional scenic construction.
LesG

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Tim V
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Tim V » Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:04 pm

My Pendon guide "Why, What and How" (1968) says that a 20mm honeycomb is used (not 2"). Evostick is used (no hot glue guns then). The cotton scrim is pulled tight.
Tim V
(Not all railways in Somerset went to Dorset)

Kos

Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Kos » Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:16 pm

Thanks everyone, I'll need a bit of time to take all this in. Meanwhile, this is what I have been working on:

Scenery SH 130311.JPG


I used a hot glue gun and spaced it as told at Pendon on a recent visit. I'm guessing the narrow scrim meant I couldn't pull it taut in both directions.

Anyone know where to buy sheets of scrim, rather than a narrow roll?

Thanks, Stuart
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby pheald » Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:57 pm

When I used the Pendon method I used a fine fabric (tights or something similar) glued using a glue gun to the formers. This fabric should be as tight as possible. Afterwards I brushed the the surface with an Artex type paint. When dry this gives a firm surface which is light in weight yet is ideal to cut holes to allow building cellars etc to be inserted. You could walk on the surface without damage!

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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Terry Bendall » Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:19 am

Stuart

Having seen your picture, I would have used thin plywood, MDF or hardboard - about 3 - 4mm thick for the vertical supports in one direction and used the card for those running at right angles. For building up the ground as you have done, one of the foam methods that have been decribed would probably have been better and although I would still use the woven card for an enbankment, I would use foam for this application.

Terry Bendall

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Tim V
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Tim V » Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:29 pm

Kos wrote:Thanks everyone, I'll need a bit of time to take all this in. Meanwhile, this is what I have been working on:

I used a hot glue gun and spaced it as told at Pendon on a recent visit. I'm guessing the narrow scrim meant I couldn't pull it taut in both directions.

Anyone know where to buy sheets of scrim, rather than a narrow roll?

Thanks, Stuart


Your method looks like that I've partly used on Clutton, check out the pictures on my old RMweb workbench thread, partway down this page. I used corrugated cardboard for the surface.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=100
Tim V
(Not all railways in Somerset went to Dorset)

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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby LesGros » Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:17 pm

Tim wrote:
...Your method looks like that I've partly used on Clutton, check out the pictures on my old RMweb workbench thread, partway down this page. I used corrugated cardboard for the surface...

Hi Tim,
Interesting stuff; reading further, I see that you subsequently changed the farmyard surface to ply. Was there a problem with the surface of the Corrugated cardboard?
LesG

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Tim V
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Tim V » Fri Mar 15, 2013 4:34 pm

No, what is shown in the pictures is the extensive remodelling of that area. It was originally the corrugated cardboard with the temporary buildings, then as new buildings were put in, the original farm yard became more of a mess, so was replaced.
Tim V
(Not all railways in Somerset went to Dorset)

martin goodall
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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby martin goodall » Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:02 pm

I am not sure that the Pendon method is the right way to go here.

I have seen evidence of sagging on some of the 'eggbox'-based scenery at Pendon. I think there are other methods that may be preferable.

(@Tim V - Snap! I have the same 1968 edition of "What? Why? How?", which I bought on my first visit to Pendon Museum on Good Friday 1969. I remember being told by Roye England that the Vale Scene would take 25 years to build. I gather it is still expected to take 25 years to finish!)

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Re: Pendon Scenery

Postby Captain Kernow » Sat Mar 23, 2013 2:08 pm

LesGros wrote:but there is a downside.
The dust created becomes electrically charged and gets everywhere, even when dust extraction is used. On the skin, it can be quite unpleasant, similar to fine glass fibre, though a little less of an irritant. Surgical gloves and a dustmask are recommended when working with it, I also wore a disposable coverall.
The cut surface is a bit fragile, and left untreated would become a constant source of the aforementioned fine dust. Coating the exposed cut surfaces ( eg edges) with acrylic emulsion, seals the surface and makes it possible to handle it comfortably.

I considered using celotex on Footery Neuk, but I am now inclined to use mainly traditional scenic construction.


Thanks Les for the tips in handling this Celotex, which I am also planning on using for a future project, having seen the excellent results that John has obtained. Other members of DRAG have also 'seen the light' with this material.

Thinking longer term, apart from the beneficial strength/rigidity aspects of it, there is a definite benefit that will last the life of the layout, long after one has cleared up any mess associated with construction, and that is the light weight of the baseboards. I won't presume to speak for others, but as the years roll by, the thought of lighter weight layouts is definitely appealing!
Tim M
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