Walls, Gates and Ladders

Marks Quay is supposed to represent a Victorian dock and clearly it requires walls to keep the uninvited out. I have constructed the walls from thin balsa wood with piers either of balsa or plastic card, depending on what I had to hand. These were then covered with Metcalf brick paper. I added coping stones and pier caps also made from plastic card suitably shaped with chamfered edges. A coat of paint and the stones look like they have been in place for years.

The gates where made using Evergreen Scale Models styrene sheet, in this case 4040 V-Groove, which is 1mm planking and 1mm thick. The framing is made from strips of card stuck on and painted to suit. The double gates are in fact one piece, much easier to make and handle especially as I am modelling them in the closed position.

The photo shows the finished gates along with a second one under construction which hopefully gives an idea of how I have made them.

Finally for this post, I needed some ladders for the quay side and these I made from 'Fleetline' brass etches with one end curved over a suitable piece of rod. Trimmed to length and blackened they look rather good. In due course I will paint them to match the quay side and make them look more rusty.