54mm Waterloo Cornfield Base-A Blast From The Past

[Neil Merryweather]

I get challenged over whether a rivet is in the right place or not. Your concerned about getting the crop right at Waterloo. Its a tough hobby this modelling lark :smiling5: :smiling3:

I know, it's crazy isn't it? like it matters.....
I expect my wife wishes I would get as concerned over more important things in life.....:smiling5:

[Neil Merryweather]

Hi Neil
Pure dedication for sure. The rye does look good.
Jim

Jim , it's called obsessive.........:anguished::flushed:

[Neil Merryweather]

I wanted to get at the longer bristles in the middle of the brush, so rather than cut through to them I decided to see how much there was below the ferrule and look! I've got myself another scale foot of rye


Result!:thumb2:

[Neil Merryweather]

Well I've been cracking away at these strips of corn RYE ,one by one and I've got about ten or eleven done.
I bunched a load together to see how they would look and I think it might actually work!


The next stage is to add some leaves from raffia, according to the Gospel of Stan.
I must say this little booklet is a joy -it's full of beautifully drawn illustrations.



here's the raffia....


I cut it into 15cm lengths and bundled it together- it looks like a squid!



I shredded it with a comb



and then I unrolled each strand, cut it into shorter lengths and shredded it some more



That was the most tedious part, as they don't want to unroll.
then I put double sided tape along one of the strips of corn and added a leaf or two to each one


Doesn't look too bad, though I say it myself!
I ran a line of Evo-stick along the bottom to hold the clumps together

I used Evo-Stick as it has a more earthy colour, which hopefully will stand out less against the ground. I think I will save that stage until I have a bunch of strips and then glue the whole lot together. Hopefully then I can cut them off the tape and glue them into the furrows in rows.
Who knows if it will work? But I must admit I am optimistic, and it's not as tedious as I expected.
Stan suggests making each stem one by one :flushed: which makes me slightly question whether some of the ideas in this book were thoroughly road-tested ........
I HATE repetitive tasks because boredom makes things slapdash and without finesse, so I am always looking at ways to streamline processes like this.
Anyway, thanks for looking, and keep your fingers crossed!
Neil

[Guest]

These look fantastic Neil :smiling3:.

[Andy Belsey]

Looking great Neil! You’ll have to have some of the rye trodden down or he’ll be hidden!

Sorry for being a ‘bolt counter’ but I read elsewhere that you said that St Stan was really Sid Horton. His name was really Byran Fosten. He and his brother were pioneers in our world.

Below are some of his tips on the Historex Agents website. You should recognise his drawing style, as these are credited to Byran

ttp://www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_hxkits.php

http://www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_metal.php

Andy

[Steve Jones]

Terrific work on the Rye field Neil. Don't forget to make some place mats out of the leftover raffia. Ah the memories LOL

[Neil Merryweather]

Looking great Neil! You’ll have to have some of the rye trodden down or he’ll be hidden!

Absolutely! and I'm going to tint it green as well, because it wouldn't have been so ripe in June

Sorry for being a ‘bolt counter’ but I read elsewhere that you said that St Stan was really Sid Horton. His name was really Byran Fosten. He and his brother were pioneers in our world.

Below are some of his tips on the Historex Agents website. You should recognise his drawing style, as these are credited to Byran

ttp:tongue-out3:/www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_hxkits.php

http://www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_metal.php

Andy

yes of COURSE! Bryan Fosten's drawing style is SO distinctive, that makes absolute sense!
Sorry for the misinformation everyone!

[colin m]

I feel a thread coming on- a sort of 'then and now'
I have a couple more things I could share that have survived the various moves and purges of life

I do envy you a bit having some of your early work around. My bedroom ceiling (as a boy) had a complete air force of all nations. Nothing of that era survives.

[Neil Merryweather]

I do envy you a bit having some of your early work around. My bedroom ceiling (as a boy) had a complete air force of all nations. Nothing of that era survives.

It's only a few figures really, Colin.
I too had an airforce on my ceiling, and tanks and trucks and armies- all gone for landfill!

[Dustbin]

I Still have the Catchpole Collection and most of the mags too, fond memories of learning to model "proper"
Paul

[Neil Merryweather]

Morning All!
I have some progress to report.
I painted the ground after doubling the number of furrows-whether it's accurate or not I don't know, but I've done it now and I'm not undoing it!


I tinted the corn green as threatened - Waterloo was in June so I imagine it wouldn't have been golden yet.


here's a shot of the first furrow- looks promising, I think.

I used Evo-Stik in the end for this as it grabs instantly and is brown, unlike PVA which is clear but shiny, and doesn't hold the stalks upright without patience(which I don't have a lot of).
And here is the (almost) finished article.



It took me about 2 hours to do this, and there are 227 stems, for the benefit of those who care( we know who you are, Steve).
That's a guess because I couldn't bring myself to actually count them!
Looking at it now I wish I had been a bit more careful to get the ears more uniform,as it looks more like a hedgerow than a cornfield,but hell it's done now.
I quite fancy adding a flower or two- poppy, cornflower- any ideas, anyone?
I'll leave it a couple of days and then start the process of trampling it down, but not too much,I think.
thanks for looking
Neil

[Guest]

This is excellent Neil :smiling3:.

[Steve Jones]

Morning All!
I have some progress to report.
I painted the ground after doubling the number of furrows-whether it's accurate or not I don't know, but I've done it now and I'm not undoing it!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1095699[/ATTACH]

I tinted the corn green as threatened - Waterloo was in June so I imagine it wouldn't have been golden yet.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1095700[/ATTACH]

here's a shot of the first furrow- looks promising, I think.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1095701[/ATTACH]
I used Evo-Stik in the end for this as it grabs instantly and is brown, unlike PVA which is clear but shiny, and doesn't hold the stalks upright without patience(which I don't have a lot of).
And here is the (almost) finished article.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1095702[/ATTACH]

It took me about 2 hours to do this, and there are 227 stems, for the benefit of those who care( we know who you are, Steve).
That's a guess because I couldn't bring myself to actually count them!
Looking at it now I wish I had been a bit more careful to get the ears more uniform,as it looks more like a hedgerow than a cornfield,but hell it's done now.
I quite fancy adding a flower or two- poppy, cornflower- any ideas, anyone?
I'll leave it a couple of days and then start the process of trampling it down, but not too much,I think.
thanks for looking
Neil

Send me some more close up photos and I will count the stalks for you. Do you want the amount of Rye seeds counted as well?? LOL

Looking forward to seeing your crop circles. Terrific work

[colin m]

Well now, what splendid scale horticultural skills you have. That looks great.