Pont Dulas crossing keepers cottage...

As Pont Dulas continues to hold my attention, the next muse is the small level crossing and cottage at the right of the layout...

I was rather taken with the example at Penclippin on the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line - and so on Pont Dulas this small cottage will form the view block at the right of the scene. Rotating 90 degrees (so we can appreciate the wonderful frontage, and peculiar chimney) this artful interpretation in my Dad's best traditions was eyeballed from the photo and the shell cut out roughly before further detailing. Where he used hardboard I chose 30 thou styrene with 10thou overlays (for the corner details). The roof uses my tried and tested paper slates. Small touches like the sash windows are another step on for me and seem to have worked pretty well - the window itself drawn on clear styrene with a Posca paint pen. Modelu chimney pots top things out.

My paint and talc method is so tactile - and smells quite nice too - so this seemed a sensible choice for the rendered walls. I like this process because you can introduce weathering in the wet gloss paint before adding the talc - the results have a wonderful texture, feeling totally in scale in photos, but with a natural look from normal viewing distance. This part of the layout is less well formed in my mind, that said the crossing cottage helps to form an anchor here, and so I will muse over crossing gates, fence posts and hedges in it's vicinity - all chosen to balance the space as well as tell that story. 

I am immensely enjoying this work in N. The compact size means I can work quickly, yet the scale requires precision. The result speak for themselves. If you'd like me to work on a layout project with yourself then get in touch for a personal proposal and fixed price. Until next time, more soon...

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