Jump to content

Converting Our UK Layout to Japanese - Yamanouchi Oshika


Claude_Dreyfus

Recommended Posts

I purchased CM yesterday and read the article with interest.

 

Hopefully, we will get some more people interested in Japanese railways.

 

Congratulations

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Thanks for the comments reagrding the article...hopefully those who have read it enjoyed it. There was one notibly absent section...that realting to the trains themselves. This has not been overlooked, just put back to another edition...hopefully part two will come out in a few months time.

 

Back to the present, and Saturday saw the second showing of Yamanouchi Oshika in full Japanese form; at an exhibition in Oxfordshire, along with about 25 other layouts...none of them Japanese though!  :grin The layout behaved very well, with only a couple of minor glitches, and attracted a lot of interested from the punters.

 

I did not manage to get too many pictures, however the few I did capture are below.

 

This shot of the town seems to be the standard image of the layout now. The Kiha 40/53 combo in the platform are Tomix and Micro Ace models respectively.

YamanouchiOshika.jpg

 

I recently managed to get hold of one of the 'Hyper Construction' diggers, which can be seen in this image, just behind the Tomix crane.

YOCrane.jpg

 

A Micro Ace EF64 threads its train of Wamu box vans out of the yard...

YOEF6442.jpg

 

An overall view of the layout...

YOOverall.jpg

 

And finally a mug shot of some of the responsible. An unusual picture as yours truely is on camera...second from the right

YOShower.jpg

Link to comment
bikkuri bahn

What an excellent layout.  The car-park is making me drool (okay, I'm a bit odd, I'll admit it  :grin ).

 

Yes, actually that's quite a nice car park, probably b/c it uses space efficiently.  On the prototype I usually hate car parks, as they usually are built on the station premises formally taken up by the freight shed or loco depot/coach storage tracks, in other words, places that held great railway interest.

Link to comment

What an excellent layout.  The car-park is making me drool (okay, I'm a bit odd, I'll admit it  :grin ).

 

Beautiful layout.....and I agree the car park really draws me into the layout.

Link to comment

The March issue of CM finally made it to my local bookstore.  Great article: well presented, lots of detail but done in a way that should be accessible to someone not familiar with Japan or Japanese trains.  I learned a few things, and enjoyed reading it despite already knowing a fair bit about the layout from this thread. And the photos really show it off to advantage.

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

It has been a while since I have update on progress with the layout...quite simply because there has not been too much over the previous month or so. That has since changed, and further modifications are underway.

 

Incidentally, thanks for the postive comments, both about the layout and the article.  :grin

 

As I have mentioned before, there are still a number of areas that I feel need improvement on the layout. I have long gone on about the balance, and still it is not quite correct. It is difficult to reconcile the flat area to the front against the high ground behind. The area behind the motorway bridge has always been up for further work, so last Sunday we had another on of our work days.

 

This involved the removal of the waste ground to the front, as well as part of the lower industrial estate. This area will now be raised, and change to a residential area, using some of the rather nice Skynet appartment blocks.

IMG_4232.jpg

 

The landscape will be created from a very dense foam, as with much of the rest of the layout...

IMG_4244.jpg

IMG_4247.jpg

 

Also, in preparation for the redevelopment of the area behind the flyover, we needed to create a new way of accessing the yard for road vehicles. There will now be an access road from more or less opposite the higher industrial estate, crossing the branch, and dropping down to serve this whole railway area. So far, only the supports and ramp have been put in place.

IMG_4249.jpg

 

We seem to have given ourselves lots more work to do now...still, we have another 5 months until the next showing...

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Astonishingly it has been over three months since the last update!

 

Work has been carrying on around the country end of the layout, however continued issues with my computer (I'm writing this on my work laptop) mean there are no pictures for the time being. Hopefully this will be resolved within a couple of weeks. The landscape is growing behind the motorway and the new residential estate, made from Skynet appartment blocks, is taking shape.

 

We need to be pretty disciplined here as it is due at the Gaugemaster open day on September 10 - 11. Just over a month left!

 

Finally, some may be interested to know that part two of our article in Continental Modeller is due in the September edition...

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

At last, I have my computer back!  :grin

 

More activity has been going on with the layout, especially behind the motorway. Here one of our club members is getting practical with the framework for the new hillside...

 

Picture008.jpg

 

Also, the same club member has been building up one of the Skynet apartment blocks. He is of the opinion that it is one of the best kits he has worked on...the parts fit together really well and it needs very little toning down once complete. I have a second one of these on their way from PlazaJapan... :grin

 

Picture007.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment

...the parts fit together really well and it needs very little toning down once complete. I have a second one of these on their way from PlazaJapan...

 

Hey Claude,

 

That first apartment building ain't finished until I can see the washing hanging out to dry on some of those balconies!!!  :grin

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

 

Hey Claude,

 

That first apartment building ain't finished until I can see the washing hanging out to dry on some of those balconies!!!   :grin

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Indeed, along with the playground toys and rubbish bin bags that also come with the kits.

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

More work has been going on behind the motorway. Now the superstructure of the hills are in place, with some material used for rock faces which is new to me. It is an American product called - I think - Sculptamould. It is a sort of dry papier mache, which when mixed with a little water forms a plaster-like coating. It is very easy to use, dries within about 30 minutes and, most importantly, it is lightweight.

 

This has been used to give a little more texture to the overall scenic base, which is formed from fine wire, fixed to wooden battens, and covered with 'modrock'...

 

Picture006-1.jpg

 

Also being worked on is the hillside to the front of the layout. This now has the motorway running through a low cutting, before crossing the flyover.

 

Picture003-1.jpg

 

There is a very obvious dip in the hillside, which is a valley eroded by a small, and now diverted steam. Once the foliage has been added this will be less noticeable. Its main function is practical. The boards fit together scenic-side in for transportation. That dip allows the hill section of the other board to fit in, so keeping the layout more portable.

 

The landscape is certainly dwarfing the class 115-1000 EMU, which has decided to come out and investigate what all the fuss is about!

 

Picture007-2.jpg

 

Picture008-2.jpg

 

Picture010-1.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment

 

Hey Claude,

 

That first apartment building ain't finished until I can see the washing hanging out to dry on some of those balconies!!!   :grin

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Indeed, along with the playground toys and rubbish bin bags that also come with the kits.

 

claude,

 

there is a nice brass kit of washing and also of bikes by M craft

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10103742

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10103740

 

also a whole upgrade kit that gives you nice, more scale, railings for all the balconies. unfortunately its 1.5x as the original building costs!

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10103739

 

but perhaps the plastic ones are just beefie public housing style. stuff like this usually was not built with much esthetics in mind...

 

cheers,

 

jeff

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Hopefully we will be able to add some colour and texture to the layout tonight. There is a longer session planned for next Friday which will hopefully see some concerted progress made.

 

Incidentally, part two of the Continental Modeller article is out now...

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Last night we broke open the paints and started with the base-coat work on the hillside behind the motorway. The lorry has been provided to give some scale, as well as the MA KiHa130 set...

 

Picture002-1.jpg

 

Picture003-2.jpg

 

Picture007-3.jpg

 

Picture004-1.jpg

 

At present we only have the initial paint layer. Flock powders and trees will be added to the green areas, whilst the grey rock-faces will have some slight colour variation added to provide some more detail. It's amazing what difference a little bit of paint makes.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Plenty more progress to report this week.

 

The hillside section is now more or less complete. I have tried to pick out details in the rock face with different shades of grey, however did not want to festoon the area with bushes and trees as it is quite steep. Time will tell if I feel more trees are required, especially in the valley. 

 

IMG_6300.jpg

 

IMG_6297.jpg

 

The new access ramp to the yard - replacing the old access now obliterated by the new cliff face - is also more or less complete. This has an insulation foam base, with a plywood fascia. The road is thin cork strip, painted a concrete colour. The linings are created with a thin black pen. There are a couple more details to go here, such as barriers and signage.

 

IMG_6301.jpg

 

IMG_6302.jpg

 

More generally, the area where the apartments will be located is also taking shape. Again, the access road is thin cork strip, painted with Woodland Scenics concrete colour. We will need to do a little more fixing here, as some of the cork has lifted. The flat area around the flats will be garden and parkland...quite a few trees will be growing here!

 

IMG_6303.jpg

 

IMG_6298.jpg

 

IMG_6299.jpg

 

Finally, although there are no pictures this week, the decision has been made to electrify the tram line. We'll see if it will be operational by the time of the exhibition in a couple of weeks, but the track has now been wired and a Gaugemaster Shuttle unit dug out in preparation...

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Alas, the August issue just showed up this weekend (Barnes and Noble, at least my local one, is slow).  So I'm going to have to wait another month to see it.

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Just a brief update this time.

 

We have more or less completed the area at the front of the layout, which includes the two apartment blocks in a sort of park land. There are still a couple of bits to add, which we shall do next Friday, when the layout is being set up at the show! This involves a couple of trees, and a few extra bushes.

 

IMG_6329.jpg

 

We have also completed the tram line! This is fitted with a shuttle unit, meaning the two trams we have for the line will shuttle back and forth throughout the day with no intervention from us. More pictures will be posted, when we have the layout fully set up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Looking good, was in the shop today looking at a few bits and pieces ready to buy stuff when we come down(10% discount seems making it worth while).

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...