What Peter used
BACHMANN SCENECRAFT
◆◆ Farmhouse (44-0030)
◆◆ Wooden Barn (44-0057)
◆◆ Dutch Barn (44-0056)
◆◆ Pigsty (44-0030)
◆◆ Stables (44-0051)
◆◆ Walls and gates (44-451)
◆◆ Victorian walls (44-565)
◆◆ Horses (36-080)
◆◆ Cows (36-081)
◆◆ Pigs (36-082)
◆◆ Sheep (36-083)
◆◆ Modern farming figures (36-412)
◆◆ 1940s/1950s arable farming figures (36-413/4)
Availability: Bachmann stockists
Web: www.bachmann.co.uk
MATERIALS
◆◆ Matt brown acrylic paint
◆◆ Static grass fibres and fine scatter materials
◆◆ Woodland Scenics Scenic Glue
◆◆ Extra hold unscented hairspray
◆◆ Woodland Scenics Green Undercoat paint
TOOLS
◆◆ A sharp craft knife
◆◆ Self-sealing cutting board
◆◆ A selection of paintbrushes
◆◆ An electrostatic tool for planting the static grass fibres
1
After consulting my wife, who grew up on a farm, I placed the Scenecraft buildings on the baseboard. This gave me an idea of how things would look and allowed a few adjustments until the composition looked right.
2
After fixing down the farm buildings with Woodland Scenics Scenic Glue, I left the diorama to dry fully. This glue dries to a strong, flexible bond, which can be broken in future with less risk of damaging the buildings.
3
The next morning, I painted the entire baseboard with a generous coat of Woodland Scenics Green Undercoat, taking care around the bases of the buildings. The acrylic paint dries quickly – about two hours was enough.
4
Bachmann’s Scenecraft range also includes plenty of wall sections, including some attractive gates. These packs looked ideal for surrounding a Victorian-era farmhouse and yard.
5
I find it best to run a little white glue up the joins in the walls. Once dry, it has the effect of hiding the tiny gap between the sections. The iron gate simply slots into the pre-drilled holes in the brick wall pieces.
6
A piece of Redutex Grey Green Cobbles (076CR121) was employed to represent the cobbled yard, and this was cut to size with a sharp scalpel, aided by a steel ruler and a self-sealing cutting board.
7
Redutex sheets are self-adhesive, so peel away the backing sheet and press the cobbles onto the baseboard. Additionally, a footpath leading from the back door of the farmhouse was created from an offcut of the same sheet.
8
Around the cobbled farmyard – and on the paths and tracks within the farmyard – I spread Scenic Glue with a wide paintbrush. Brown fine turf was then sprinkled over the tacky adhesive to represent the muddy areas.
9
The next stage was to cover the surrounding areas with static grass fibres, applied via a WWS Pro Grass Micro electrostatic grass planting tool. A steel pin was driven into the base and connected to the tool.
10
Scenic Glue was brushed liberally over the areas to be planted with a broad, flat brush. A smaller brush treated the more intricate areas, working the adhesive up to the walls and against the brown scatter.
11
The static grass applicator was filled with Woodland Scenics medium green fibres and, with the power on, the grass was ‘planted’ into the wet glue. The tool was held about 8cm above the surface and moved back and forth.
12
I also planted a handful of Woodland Scenics Realistic Trees, leaving their plastic bases attached, but covering them with glue and scatter material.
13
Hedges and creeping plants were formed from small, teased-out clumps of Poly Fibre, glued to the walls. The fibre was then lightly brushed with Scenic Glue before a coating of Fine Turf was sprinkled over, followed by a selection of coloured scatter materials to represent flowers.
14
Small details could now be added to the scene, including sets of straw bales around the Dutch Barn. These bales are from Tasma Products, obtained from A&H Models, Brackley (www.aandhmodels.co.uk).
15
A pile of logs for this chopping scene were created from twigs found in the garden. These were simply cut to length with a small saw over a self-sealing cutting board.
16
Farm tractors, trailers and other implements were obtained from the Oxford die-cast, Wiking, Busch and Siku ranges. There’s no shortage of suitable die-cast models these days, especially for ‘OO’.