Add basic scenery

This scene was a quite straightforward to compose. I had to cheat a little, though, to incorporate the island platform – only one track aligns with the 113mm specification. The two key features are the road bridge and the loading crane. Regarding the bridge, photographs from www.disused-stations.org.uk revealed a brick arch over the platform, with the spans over the railway appearing to be girders with brick parapets. I made the arch by removing a chunk from a Wills SS13 Brick Arch Bridge kit, to narrow the arch to fit the platform. I decided to use Wills SS57 Vari-girder Bridge Walls kits for the spans over the track, to provide a visual contrast to the brick arch. The nearest item I could find that looked like the loading crane was Ratio’s Overhead Traversing Crane (546). I think it’s actually based on the nuclear flask loading crane at Trawsfynydd in North Wales but it looked like it would suit my mini Calvert nicely. Why did I not bring you step-by-step guides to one or either of these builds? Because, quite frankly, they were not up to MR’S standards. I’m no expert but I’m a pretty confident plastic kit builder. Unfortunately, Ratio and Wills kits are a world away from Airfix. The instructions are somewhat vague, leaving you guessing about how to assemble parts – or, in fact, what parts to use where. Don’t, as I did, expect the Brick Arch Build kit to come with the underside of the arch: you need to work out how to do that yourself! I scored some thin, embossed plastic brick sheet to get something akin to an arch, using a lot of cyano glue and filler. It wasn’t pretty. I knew the look I wanted. The platform had to be covered with weeds. The embankments were to be covered in thick foliage, reflecting the lack of lineside maintenance since the line closed as a through-route. Weeds need to sprout from the between the rails. The problem was, I’ve never done any scenic modelling before. Where do you start? What do you need to buy? There was only one solution: pop over to Peter Marriott’s for a scenic masterclass. I apologise for bringing you more techniques on using grasses and weeds but, unless you’ve done it before, there’s a lot for the first-timer to learn.