FOREST OF DEAN PROJECT

CHRIS NEVARD has decided to come out of his Somerset ‘comfort zone’ and model something different. It’s all about the base this issue, as he starts his new project with this laser-cut solution from Tim Horn.

or me, building a baseboard falls into the same category of tasks as wiring. It’s one of the boring bits that I have to get through before the real fun of railway modelling can begin. If you are like me and wish that making the baseboard was more fun, Tim Horn’s laser-cut baseboards may well be the answer. I’m no woodworking expert, but I’ve always soldiered on through the baseboard stage, building my own for all my projects. Having recently disposed of a couple of layouts, I now have the space to build something else. I decided to model the tree-covered beauty of the Forest of Dean, rather than my usual default location of Somerset. Laser-cutting will be a familiar term to many people, especially for people who make model buildings. More recently, the technology and hardware has been harnessed for bigger things,

Fsuch as baseboards. Tim Horn offers an extensive range of laser-cut baseboard kits, but for this project, I used the new Scenic/photo Plank Board range, and ordered ‘left’, ‘middle’ and ‘right’ kits. Put together, they form a 195cm long, 30cm wide baseboard, complete with ‘proscenium arch’ to house a lighting rig. Constructing such a baseboard yourself, especially for a layout bigger than one board, is always a challenge and can take up quite a lot of time. If you’re not overly skilled with a saw and drill it might not end up being 100% level and square. To assemble the three boards here took me a couple of hours one weekend because all the components fitted together so well. Tim Horn also produces more conventional baseboard kits, giving you the option of having no back- scene or adding your own. Computer design also allows bespoke work to be commissioned to suit a particular need, but that’s beyond the scope of this feature. I’m seriously impressed with these laser- cut kits. The materials, design, instructions and ease of assembly are of the highest quality. Some may baulk at the idea of forking out about £150 for baseboards that are 6ft or longer, but sourcing the materials to achieve the same quality would still set you back quite a bit of money. And then you would still have the headache of designing it, cutting out all the bits and the final assembly. The end result is strong, square, lightweight and neat. Hopefully it will form a good base for the next stage of my layout project, which is going to be a Forest of Dean area by-way based on one of the Severn & Wye Railway mineral lines.