HOW TO... MODEL A CAMPSITE
Summer holidays in the Warne family usually entailed camping around the Isle of Purbeck. That, of course, meant plenty of trips on the Swanage Railway, particularly as one campsite was within walking distance of Herston Halt. Whenever I heard the shrill whistle of a steam locomotive, I would invariably run as fast as I could down the steep country lane to the bridge to watch it pass underneath.
The best way to preserve these memories is to recreate them as a physical scene, so for this project, I’m using the Gaugemaster ‘Fordhampton Campsite’ kit as the basis. Along with the necessary scenic materials, I’ll be using the Scale Model Scenery wooden platform shelter kit to represent the halt, as well as a few Preiser figures to really set the scene. To create visual intrigue – and also reduce the size of the diorama – the halt is set at an angle, with most of it presumed off-scene. While the country lane rises up like the prototype, the campsite is set lower so that I can include a small section of beach – an evening trip to Lulworth Cove was often a highlight of our holiday!
Anyway, enough talk; let’s recreate it...
Base and gravel track
1 An old pine shelf forms the baseboard for this diorama. I had a rough idea planned in my head, but it’s wise to do it properly using either mock-ups, or, in this case, parts from the Gaugemaster Fordhampton Campsite kit. Once happy, the plan is drawn onto the board with a marker pen, and then onto tracing paper for use as masks and templates during scenery work.
Rigid insulation board is used to form the terrain. The foil needs to be removed
