All the best!

Just a quick one to wish you all the best for 2011.

I managed to grab an hour or so to start work on Escomb road seen here at the top near the little wooden garages. Hope to show more progress tomorrow.



regards
Derek

Merry Christmas everyone

I just poped on line to do a sneaky bit of modelling on my G5, (Gosh it's hard to find out info on it, though there is a group rebuilding one, 'Class G5 Locomotive Company', good luck to them.



Anyway, I'd like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a great holiday rest.

regards

Derek

K4 start

Units set up and work begins, I now have the G5, J21 and K4 underway.

regards

Derek

Old Bakery beside Grey St.

By using google earth, street map and various other old maps and photos I have pieced together the old Bakery/Stables/tobacco factory complex.

I don't really remember anything about the buildings, and I'm sure they were knocked down by the time I was 7 or 8, but my landscape looks less baron now that I have it in.

I have also laid the houses to Princess St, all place holder but a good start. I have tried to get the correct number of houses in the street. I will do my best to match the houses/windows on all streets, however they will all use a varied but generic texture.

So all still very much blank blocks, I can now do the fun part and texture them.

Hope to show progress over the coming days.

regards

Derek

Update

I seem to be forever giving reasons why I am making slow progress, and just when I am through the issue another one pops up. Work and family eh!

:)

Anyway, I finally got round to picking it back up again, just spending some time getting to know the route again. There are some good things been worked on at RS.com towers so I may have to re think some areas to use the new tech next year.

For now and the next couple of weeks, I will be making the area around the station. Here is some progress on the footbridge to the rec.

Off to work on the class 03 cab and characters tonight but tomorrow... I think I will tackle the large buildings behind platform 4.

derek

Where thou art?

Hi,

I have had a number of pm's asking why I've stopped posting in forums.
The main answer is fairly simple, I've been busy, but also my personal time is far to important to be arguing the toss with various folks.

Rome would never have got built that way.

:)

So in this time of non posting I have been fairly productive.
The works Yard area is coming along well, as is the 03. (images below)

I'm just texturing the cab and going through a fix list to finish it all off.

So, what is the Works (industrial North) all about? Well it grew out of the 03 shunter. I have had that on my drawing board for almost 2 years, but the team were like; 'not another shunter pack!' How very dare they! (I only have a couple left to do to have the full set!)

:)

We discussed what we could do to make the pack more interesting than just a small diesel.

I really wanted to do Consett Steel works and surrounding area but and 03 was just not right and I did not have images for a Sentinel shunter. Not to mention how much work it would be.

As I researched the area I was amazed at how complexed it all was from track to buildings, so we brainstormed some more and came up with a works area, Doncaster became the clear favourite as we discussed ideas.

We distressed many bits of rolling stock and added a number of new buildings and assets, However, I was keen to add more characters to the area too, all animated doing various tasks.

Below is one of the recycled chatacters before being skinned and animated.

cheers

d

Tea time

While multitasking (badly) I have been keen to put together a couple of new characters. This one taking time out to have a cuppa.

So an interesting week. RS2 out which is good.
The Arkem is quiet for a change but UK kicked off.

Not sure UKTS have got to the bottom of the real problem though. Maybe they (Matt) should be asking why the creators are taking their work down...
Anyway, for once not my problem which is nice...!

Nice!

RailWorks2

So the upgrade happens tomorrow.

Everyone backed up?
I backed up this afternoon as I noticed I had not doing it for 2 months. (well at least the whole set of folders)
Not that anything should go wrong of course, just a good excuse to back up.

It feels good to be backed up, but what about the backing up of the back ups? where do you put all the data? These days the files and folders are so big it makes it difficult and time consuming to back up.
Anyway, had a good look around the forums today, some really cool stuff going on, and interesting chatter.
The route building challenge on UKTS is producing some high quality and nice to see my buildings being used, many have thanked me which was unnecessary but nice.
The signs I'm making for the guys however is eating into my time here at home but will make a difference to the routes. Just wish I had them all done.

A subject on UKTS made me laugh again, how an image and a line about the image/RWs-RWs2 can have folks jumping to all kinds of conclusions. Chinese whispers/mis quotes etc (including a few who like to stir... :) )has people talking nonsense, kinda sums up forums really.

On another note it is a shame that 'Arkem Asylum' is still being run by the inmates, not that it makes any difference of course, just a shame to see them wallowing around in the mud when the rest of the world is moving on without them.

So, onto my Wear Valley Route, great news, Google earth shows the Bishop Auckland area in the 1940s! this really is the last piece of the jigsaw regarding some areas I've struggled with.

Looks like the long dark nights will be filled with route building and object creating. (if the wife lets me)

So whats after RWs 2? well we have a couple of routes in progress and the 03 is finally going to be finished (as soon as I finish the FS cab! (did I tell anyone I hate making cabs?) )

So onward with the evolution

evolution

Steaming ahead?

Just a subtle hint at what lies in store for the WVR... (thanks for the ref photos Sly)


Ok, so I have been away and very busy... all will be known soon.
(Next week will be very interesting indeed)

Anyway, after the free asset pack I put together and random DLC I now want to turn my attention to my own work. For the past few months I have been slogging away with work and my own project has suffered.

I am just in the process of making Wearhead station and surrounding area, wanted to have a look at what the moors would look like with the terrain textures, not a bad first stab but still more work needs doing.
The sky is just a test I was messing about with for one of the RS.com coders. Hopefully more on this soon.



It's good to be back.

derek

This week I ave been mostly been tired.

OK back at work in a big way. Shunter shunter shunter, can not move on my hard drive for shunters!

Anyway, got some great pics from my trip north. Here are just a few. Rather than walls, trees and floors I have been mostly taking pics of skies these past few weeks.

here are a few:

Wesley church - Newgate Street

Ok, as much as I will be doing on the Wesley church.



As this church is right by the track and a big feature in Bishop Auckland so it has it's own texture page. It is a little ropey in parts and I have just noticed I have missed a chimney off it. As I don't live in Bishop and it is a 3 hour drive away I am only working off a small number of images, this texture was made from 3 photos and there were many hours of photoshop trickery to get it all squared up.
Anyway enough is enough and time to move on.



regards

Derek

Summer field

Wear at the dam head just on the left, railway line up on the horizon. Just filling out some scenery waiting for the football to start...

cheers

d

Just a few updates

Wesley Church (4 Clocks) WIP



View of Cemetery and Bracks wood. Lot os housing to lay down but it is all marked out. You can just about see the station in the top left.

d

Weardale Railway

Thanks to my brother for putting us up.
Got to ride the DMU up to stanhope from Bishop.



Bishop Auckland West

The siddlers at Wolsingham station.

Just a screenshot

I'm back!

Hi,

Off up north this weekend to ride the 141 to Stanhope from Bishop Auckland.
Ok not a classic DMU (did I really just say that?) but still pleased the line is now open.

Last time I did that I think was in 1989. I then walked the 10 mile to Burnhope Reservoir ( A place I use to go fishing with my dad)

First time the little siddler has been north and the rest of the clan are keen to meet the little fella.

Look forward to making more progress on this route very soon.

lights on

random shot

Bishop Auckland - Platform 1

First light bake pass on platform 1.

A tad to dark but over all pleased it is almost done. Platform 4 clutter and remaining out buildings still to do.

regards

Derek

Platform 3 seen from platform 2

Not final but getting there... still. Needs People! (and maybe a train)

Platform 3 WIP

Still lots to do but it all fits together well. Now the details and do I model the inside of the booking office? hmmm, maybe later in the year!

d

Footbridge_WIP

Still in a very unfinished state with large chunks not lit.

Just put together the first pass of the footbridge. I don't remember this at all and have only seen it in old photos.

I will go back to the bridge later because I think I may have to model inside it and I really don't want to do that till I have modelled Platform 1.

d

More Platform 2

Platform2 WIP

Getting there but not happy with the canapy boarder and also missing a few details.
I like the Filey and Whitley bay posters mind
d

Public Warning

Just a quick object today, Public Warning notice. This is the sign that was next to the East Signal Box.

Sign

Only an hour or so free this evening, but i thought I'd get the sign out the way.

tunnel test bake

You can see from my earlier post how important a light bake is in RWs.

This is just a dirty hack bake and just done quickly to see how it might look.

Fairly pleased with progress.

d

Passageway

Not shadow baked or lit yet. Also missing details and the slight curve.
I'm amazed at how long this section has taken.