Time for a controversial blog post.
A properly made road will have a camber - the slight slope from the centreline to the gutters to persuade water to drain off properly. If you want to know the details, watch this not very exciting video.
Since the real road is shaped, the model road should be shaped too. But I've decided to keep the Selly Oak road flat.
Why?
Many reasons:
- Model camber needs to be done really well. On my model, there is a T-junction and a side road as well as a considerable slope. I can mess around with plaster all I like, I think the result will look rubbish because I'll never get it smooth enough to satisfy me.
- The alternative method of putting a strip of something down the middle and then bending the road surface over the top is fine - until we get to the junction when it's back out with the plaster to try and blend things together.
- On the real road, when you are standing on it, the camber isn't very noticeable.
- I want to take photos on the model and the buses should be upright. Real vehicles have suspension, model ones don't. The bus in the photo above might be right, but would look odd in a model pic. I think the effects of the lens are more responsible for any lean than the road too.
In conclusion, the road will be flat because I believe I can make a good-looking, flat road and I don't believe many people will notice. This probably makes me a rubbish modeller unworthy of owning a copy of MRJ. That's fine. I'm a long way from the world's best modeller. A very long way.
But I am determined to finish this project in the time available and so shortcuts are going to be taken. If that makes me a bad person, I'm a bad person.
I think the camber is important, and doesn’t need to be over done. I cut a template and then dragged this over the wet plaster, which worked well and needed very little remedial work. However, I agree it needs to be done right if at all.., and in the nature of time I think you’re sensible with this project for all your reasons. However if this was a personal project I suspect you may take longer working on getting things just so?
ReplyDeleteI love the blog post title too!
I'd be keener to experiment on a personal project without deadlines. Sometimes, a model needs to go out of the door and that limits the messing around you can do. Looking at the overall picture I don't think people will notice, but they would if it wasn't perfect.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering....
ReplyDeleteI agree it's tricky and it could look odd in photos. I had wondered whether it might be worth chamfering the edges near the gutter and recessing drain covers just to break up the flatness but even that might be unnecessary on what is really a backdrop for some buses.