Jim, the concept is right, it's just that concrete tends to go bad in sections rather than in small pieces, even when it's poured in small bits. There would probably be 6 or 7 slabs replaced in one area and then a fair distance between that and the next area that got repaired. If there were aw many slabs needing replacement as what you show, it would be cheaper to tear it up and replace it since the labor costs to keep replacing bad sections will eventually get higher than replacing the whole thing.
Under Construction - Birmingham UK
- Thread starter jim smith-wright
- Start date
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi Jim
Its not really repairs I am looking for. Just the natural variation you get from paving slabs. I see how it looks like repairs as the colour I used was far too bright. I have spent this evening toning it down a bit.
Regards
Jim
Its not really repairs I am looking for. Just the natural variation you get from paving slabs. I see how it looks like repairs as the colour I used was far too bright. I have spent this evening toning it down a bit.
Regards
Jim
Ah, OK, Jim, I understand what you are trying to do now. In that case, the color variations would be really subtle, with the range being from typical Floquil Aged Concrete paint color to a very light gray. It's tough to make it look right. I'd personally do it by having the color changes predominate in large portions of different sections of the sidewalks on the premise that some were laid earlier and some were laid later.
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi Jim
You can have a look at part of the area on street view. Its all changed since the 80's but its good to have a wander.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...cbp=12,274.4150338918266,,0,31.51391162029461
HTH
Jim
PS - if the link doesnt work, type in hill street, birmingham, england into google maps.
You can have a look at part of the area on street view. Its all changed since the 80's but its good to have a wander.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...cbp=12,274.4150338918266,,0,31.51391162029461
HTH
Jim
PS - if the link doesnt work, type in hill street, birmingham, england into google maps.
That's a really interesting area, Jim. I can see why you chose to model it. They certainly made the sidewalks as tough as possible for a modeler though. 
It looks like some parts are brick or at least brick colored concrete. Many of the shots show the sidewalks after what appears to have been a rain, which also changes the look, as parts dry faster than other parts. I'm glad I'm not trying to reproduce those. The sidewalk construction is very different than in the US. Ours are usually poured into forms, with a standard 5'x5' section for residential and light commercial and 5'x8' for downtown areas. Yours look more like what we would call pavers, maybe 2'x'2' sections? Do you know if those are cast somewhere else and then laid in place for the sidewalk? Interesting how we all do things differently.
It looks like some parts are brick or at least brick colored concrete. Many of the shots show the sidewalks after what appears to have been a rain, which also changes the look, as parts dry faster than other parts. I'm glad I'm not trying to reproduce those. The sidewalk construction is very different than in the US. Ours are usually poured into forms, with a standard 5'x5' section for residential and light commercial and 5'x8' for downtown areas. Yours look more like what we would call pavers, maybe 2'x'2' sections? Do you know if those are cast somewhere else and then laid in place for the sidewalk? Interesting how we all do things differently.jim smith-wright
Member
Hi Jim
All of the brick work is recent - as is the tactile paving near crossings (for the blind) The newer slabs are about 2x2 as there is a health and safety issue due to their weight. In my era they were 3x2 slabs which are not used these days due to requiring 2 people to lift them.
The slabs are all manufactured away from the job site and brought off the shelf. The same as bricks, thus the variation in colour as batches are mixed up all of the time. The dark areas in the model are tarmac (asphalt?) and that is laid on site. We do have large pours of concrete for paving here (or we did) but it was usually for roads not pavements (sidewalks). It makes your comments about repairs in areas a little more clear now.
All of the grey areas in the model are scribed for slaps while the kerbstones are 80thou microstrip cut into scale 3ft sections.
Regards
Jim
All of the brick work is recent - as is the tactile paving near crossings (for the blind) The newer slabs are about 2x2 as there is a health and safety issue due to their weight. In my era they were 3x2 slabs which are not used these days due to requiring 2 people to lift them.
The slabs are all manufactured away from the job site and brought off the shelf. The same as bricks, thus the variation in colour as batches are mixed up all of the time. The dark areas in the model are tarmac (asphalt?) and that is laid on site. We do have large pours of concrete for paving here (or we did) but it was usually for roads not pavements (sidewalks). It makes your comments about repairs in areas a little more clear now.
All of the grey areas in the model are scribed for slaps while the kerbstones are 80thou microstrip cut into scale 3ft sections.
Regards
Jim
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi All
Posted by my buddy on another forum.
Posted by my buddy on another forum.
Tim Horn said:Well, Jim, Simon, Phil, and myself (with a bit of help from Bryn, cheers! ) have been getting on with building the track for my storage yard to go with Calcutta Sidings v2 and of course, Birmingham New Street.
As always, thanks for all the help chaps :clap
Progress pic below:
Cheers,
Tim
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi All
Never let a good theory get in the way if diving straight in with a mindless sense of optimism! I was going to do a test but thought sod it and went for broke anyway. Luckily it came out as I hoped it would so this is what I did.
First up, cut a card mask for the area to be concreted. (you dont need a pic for this bit). Then
Cover the area in a thin layer of PVA. I then drew a nit comb (had to buy one specially :wink: before anyone asks) through the PVA in the direction of the, ermm, grain?
Once dry a quick spray of plasticote suede - more combing and a final coat of paint before scribing sections in with a scalpel . This will be left to dry before back to the washes and weathering.
Jim
Never let a good theory get in the way if diving straight in with a mindless sense of optimism! I was going to do a test but thought sod it and went for broke anyway. Luckily it came out as I hoped it would so this is what I did.
First up, cut a card mask for the area to be concreted. (you dont need a pic for this bit). Then
Cover the area in a thin layer of PVA. I then drew a nit comb (had to buy one specially :wink: before anyone asks) through the PVA in the direction of the, ermm, grain?
Once dry a quick spray of plasticote suede - more combing and a final coat of paint before scribing sections in with a scalpel . This will be left to dry before back to the washes and weathering.
Jim
MilesWestern
Member
I like your idea of using PVA glue for concrete, but why is that concrete patch there in the first place?
Nice work, Jim. New technique on me but one that looks promising for new concrete. I would say the concrete patch would make more sense in the middle of the street, where they usually have to tear up the pavement to get to utilites and such. I'm sure you'll get to this when you do the weathering but don't forget to use a black fine point Sharpie to draw in the tar seal lines around the edges.
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi Miles
to be honest I have no idea! Its just there on the real thing so its there on the model.
Hi Jim
Its a new technique on me too! I find paint (emulsion) better as it gives a smooth finish, not textured like the road surface . Thanks for the tip though.
Jim
Last edited by a moderator:
Hathaway Browne
Intrepid Adventurer
There's attention to detail for you. If it were me I might have been inclined to skip modelling that patch, but it will add to the overall realism.
I guess it could be a disused bustop that might have been dug up and never re-painted?
I guess it could be a disused bustop that might have been dug up and never re-painted?
jim smith-wright
Member
Could Be!
There were definatley bus stops there at one time. However this looks more like it was the original road surface and not resurfaced with the rest of the road. Why? I have no idea.
Jim
There were definatley bus stops there at one time. However this looks more like it was the original road surface and not resurfaced with the rest of the road. Why? I have no idea.
Jim
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi All
Spurred on by being able to get into the garden to do some spraying I have been getting a little more done on some of my road vehicles.
More work on the corgi based ones (with a knightwing Volvo thrown in)
Some variations on a transit theme. Original trackside model on the right , the bare bones of a LWB version in the middle (to be a White Arrow Mk 2) and a SWB luton version on the left.
Cheers
Jim
Spurred on by being able to get into the garden to do some spraying I have been getting a little more done on some of my road vehicles.
More work on the corgi based ones (with a knightwing Volvo thrown in)
Some variations on a transit theme. Original trackside model on the right , the bare bones of a LWB version in the middle (to be a White Arrow Mk 2) and a SWB luton version on the left.
Cheers
Jim
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi All
Started the marking out process. I have used paint markers for the white and yellow lines. Works OK but it will need a bit of tidying up yet.
Cheers
Jim
Started the marking out process. I have used paint markers for the white and yellow lines. Works OK but it will need a bit of tidying up yet.
Cheers
Jim
Hathaway Browne
Intrepid Adventurer
How'd you do the double yellow lines?
jim smith-wright
Member
Hiya
I made a couple of jigs that hook over the kerbstones. One for the near line and one for the far. They are good for the straights but the curves need to be done freehand.
HTH
Jim
I made a couple of jigs that hook over the kerbstones. One for the near line and one for the far. They are good for the straights but the curves need to be done freehand.
HTH
Jim
Those stripes look pretty good to me. Did you make a jig for the arrows? They came out really nice. Interesting how things are different in the UK. We normally don't have any side striping if there are curbs and sidewalks. On other roads, the edge is marked with a single white line, commonly called the "fog line". I kind of like how the double yellow lines look on the road edge.
jim smith-wright
Member
Hi Jim
I just cut a template out of a photo for the arrows. Over here roads without pavements have a white line too. The double yellow lines signify no parking areas while the single yellow signify parking for a limited time (there are signs on poles to specify how long). We have recently seen the introduction of double red lines that signify no stopping.
HTH
Jim
I just cut a template out of a photo for the arrows. Over here roads without pavements have a white line too. The double yellow lines signify no parking areas while the single yellow signify parking for a limited time (there are signs on poles to specify how long). We have recently seen the introduction of double red lines that signify no stopping.
HTH
Jim
Ah, I get it now, Jim. Over here, it's the paint on the curbs (kerbs?) that tells you where the no parking zones are. Red means no parking, yellow means limited parking, like ten minutes, blue means handicapped, and no paint means parking is allowed. We have a theoretical national traffic safety standard that all states are supposed to follow but, with 50 states, some still do what they want to. California follows the national standard but Alabama has yellow curbs that mean no parking. It's taken me a while to get used to that. Using pavement markings actually makes mores sense since the curb paint is often rubbed off by tires and you have have to guess if you're allowed to park or not.
