An exhibition prompted JONATHAN NEWTON to complete the upgrade of his 'O’ gauge layout – and discover some welcome operational surprises too…
Much has changed since the last update on my layout Newton Grove several months ago (HM201). As you may remember, I was upgrading the layout in preparation for its very first public exhibition in March this year. This involved building a brand-new road bridge, constructing a three-road traversing storage yard and finally a brand-new engine shed.
Above: Stanier ‘8F’ 48773 and ‘WD’ 2-8-0 90160 await their next turn of duty at Newton Grove MPD.
The road bridge is entirely constructed from 5mm foamex board, with Slater’s 7mm brick sheeting attached to the faces. The brickwork was given a priming coat of Humbrol Red Brick (Cat No. 70) before detailing commenced. Individual bricks have been picked out using the Humbrol range of colours, and then suitably weathered with a series of dry brushing techniques and washes.
Meanwhile, the actual road surface was achieved using AK Wargames Concrete (AK1229) and once dry was sanded down to remove any major lumps and bumps. I have found using this product has created a very realistic road surface, far better than anything I have ever managed in the past. …
