A few blog posts, and some time, ago I expounded on some fairly general tree making thoughts focussing on the armature. At the time tree making was not my focus and the blog described some experiments and test pieces. Hopefully useful in a general way. This time around I have spent many hours working on…
In which your correspondant ponders the merits of the journey over the destination and the benefits of technology in speeding things up… In NZR modelling ‘the layout’ is an almost mythical concept. Widely aspired to, often started, but seldom developed to a stage even approaching completion. It’s not hard to understand why. With a prototpe…
Interesting times here at NZF, where we’ve been reminded yet again of the pace of technology change. The trusty Solus 3d printer that we’ve been churning out casting patterns on for a few years has died, and been replaced with something higher resolution, faster and cheaper. While that has been going on, production of parts…
After a number of teaser posts, here at last is the finished 1:64 BP3688 30′ van pilot model. Like all pilots it has suffered the odd reversal and a number of parts have been remade and redesigned. There are one or two things about this build that will be altered for the kit release, and…
Photoetched number and class plates provide a very accurate representation of the real thing. Painting them to bring out their best is another thing entirely. Locomotive plates are relatively easy to deal with as they can be painted with the base colour and carefully sanded back to reveal the brass numbers. NZR car and van plates…
There are many occasions in model making where there is a need for small (0.2-0.6mm) holes. If you are building a kit these holes may be present, but undersized. You can, of course, use the correct drill to open out holes but you may not have the ‘correct’ drill on hand. In any case drills…
The Addington car Many of my blog posts offer some philosophical insight (I hope) or practical dodge that I feel a burning need to share with the modelling fraternity. In contrast, this post is a shameless promotion for an upcoming kit that I’m super excited about, having just completed the assembly phase of the pilot…
If I were to look out, and blow the dust off, my degree certificates I’d remind myself that once upon a time plant science was my life. Thus when it comes to modelling trees and foliage I have always viewed them as models in their own right rather than just a soft green backdrop. ‘Tree’…
There’s been a bit of a burst of activity at Chez Finescale of late. While it’s all been pretty good stuff it probably looks a little random and scattergun from the outside. To be honest it feels like that on the inside too sometimes, but really the soft focus approach has been driven by two…
I have often been surprised at how relatively fast building models can be compared to finishing and detailing them. This can be especially true of basic kits where the supplier gives you the relatively easy bits but leaves you up to your own devices for all the minor parts that are actually the more difficult. …
When a bunch of bits arrives in the mail there’s always the choice of what to work on first. In this case it was the Q hoppers, but once they were out of the way it was the turn of the La-2 and the various wooden Ls (L1/L2). As readers on the blog will know,…
New product update: Q1 and Q4 hopper wagon kits. These kits have been promising for a while. Final test builds have been completed, instructions are nearly written and stock is on order. So here’s a preview… The Q1 and Q4 were both unbraked iron bodied hopper wagons that could be found in both the Westport…
