JS Models’ latest kit of a rarely-modelled, yet eyecatching waterway feature is an accessible layout addition for beginners, as Phil Parker uncovers.
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Words & photography: Phil Parker
The canals of Britain have a long and interesting history. Once the main economic arteries for the country, they were supplanted by railways, which offered faster movement, gradually falling out of use. For years, the local canal became a dumping ground for old bicycles and shopping trolleys.
Fortunately, thanks to the writing of people such as Tom Rolt, we rediscovered their beauty and now most are restored and properly appreciated. While preparing this article, I visited the flight of locks at Hatton, and even on a damp Wednesday, the cafe did good business with locals and visitors.
Locks are a great focal point in real life. From a purely practical perspective, they solve the problem of moving a waterway up and downhill. Their operation is simple enough for the observer to grasp pretty quickly, yet there is something magical about the process of emptying or filling the chamber to allow a boat to exit at the correct level that is enjoyable to watch. Actually operating the lock on a cold or wet day isn't quite as much fun, especially when faced with a long flight to navigate!
Adding a model lock to your layout looks easy, but they are surprisingly complex structures. We know that lock gates close to a 'V'-shape, so the weight of the water pushes them closed, but it's easy to forget the sill under the upper gates. Then you need to model the sluice gates and controls, all of which are complex shapes.
JS Models' laser-cut kit produces a strong model, making it simple to insert into a baseboard. Simply cutting a hole slightly bigger than the chamber will do the job – the structure is rigid enough to be hung from its stone towpaths. The modeller will need to extend the canal, but with this kit, the hard work is done in advance.
If there is a tricky job, it's forming the lock gates. These are complex shapes, but a gauge is provided to guide the work with a sanding stick, so everything fits.
There's a lot of clever design in this model – saving the modeller a great deal of time creating it from scratch – including a pair of shallow cut-outs near the lower gates for the bridge to fit into. Too clever for me as I thought I'd found a tiny mistake and filled them in. Pay attention, Parker!
Gongoozling: The activity of watching boats and activities on canals for pleasure
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Most of the lock gate edges need to be shaped with a sanding stick. To help get this right, a gauge is provided.
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To release the components, flip the sheet on its face and cut through the retaining nibs with a heavy and sharp craft knife. It is sensible to leave pieces in their frets until you need them or smaller parts will be lost.
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Painting the MDF to look like stone starts by spoldging colour using sponges. I used Precision Paints Weathered Concrete and Humbrol Mid Stone over a sprayed grey primer base. Patchy coverage is important – too regular a colour would look unnatural.
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Once the paint is dry, powdered DIY store filler is rubbed into the surface to fill the mortar lines. It's activated by spritzing lightly with water mixed with a few drops of washing up liquid. Once dry, some areas might benefit from a second coat if the lines between the stones haven't filled properly.
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The first impression when you lift the lid is how professional the presentation of parts is. Several large sheets of laser-cut MDF in different thicknesses fill most of the box. The odd-shaped cut-out in the 6mm sheet on the right is to hold a box containing etched and 3D-printed parts so that they aren't squashed in transit.
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The lock gates are made from two layers of MDF that need to be lined up and glued together using plenty of bulldog clips.
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Apart from sanding off any remains of the nibs, there's no work to do on the components, which all slot together well. I'm using normal PVA glue for construction. The size of this kit means quite a bit of glue is required!
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Although the instructions say that a single set of steps on the towpath side is normal for a prototype lock, two are provided and it seems a shame not to use them both.
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The largest component is the lock chamber base. Set this on a flat surface and start adding the walls. Square blocks ensure the model goes together neatly with all the walls vertical.
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To give someone operating the lock gate footholds to push against, a series of push-stops are fitted in an arc around the pivot. On the model, these slot into partetched marks on the top surface.
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Finally, wash the stone with thinned brown acrylic paint to give the filler some colour. Add plenty around pushstops to show where muddy boots have left their mark.
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The shine comes from Ronseal yacht varnish applied as a series of thin coats. Don't be tempted to slosh it on thick, as the water will dry with unrealistic wrinkles. The varnish is a slightly yellow colour, and this adds to the apparent depth. Two or three coats will normally be enough, but the more you add, the deeper it looks even though it's only a few millimetres thick.
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After a few varnish coats, I add the ladders. These have to be bent to shape, and there is a jig provided for this. I'll add the jig to my toolbox because it will be useful in the future.
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Canal water is brown, and an emulsion matchpot is ideal for the job. I paint the water with brown, then add grey and black to avoid a uniform colour. Dabbing the mix with a sponge blends the colours nicely.
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The base is extended with 2mm thick MDF and edge stones made from strips leftover from the 6mm fret. An Xacto saw is used to cut slots between the stones.
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One challenge is to make the smooth MDF look like wooden planks. I start with a mix of pale grey base colours, scrubbed on with a toothbrush when they are nearly dry to let some of the brown MDF show through. Then, work some dark grey weathering powders onto the sides. Finally, spray with hair lacquer and scrub along the grain lines with a stiff, flat brush. This scumblestyle technique is pretty simple, but you have to work reasonably quickly before everything dries.
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On the lower gates, the sluice mechanisms as made from etched and 3D-printed parts fixed in place with superglue. Be careful, the components are handed so that the linkage ends up on the correct side of the gate.
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I treat the etched ironwork with chemical metal black before removing the parts from the fret. You could paint these pieces, but when bending up the hinges, I'd be worried about the paint flaking off again.
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The finishing touch is the bridge made up of a beam and some handrails. The beam needs to be tapered using the gauge. It fits into recesses in the top of the wall, if you haven't inadvertently filled them up like I managed to.
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Water always gushes out between the gates of the top lock and this is modelled using layers of artist's medium acrylic gel. The material dries clear, so I painted it with pale grey acrylic paint. The gel dries quickly and I manage to add eight coats in an afternoon, which builds up a body to the water.