Since we first reported on Raymond McMahon’s Harbourside diorama, Memories of Yesteryear, he has been working to extend it, between other projects for new design locomotives. It has now doubled in size, but that will be that. “I would have to move house to make it any bigger,” he explains. It is built in two halves to allow it to be portable, but you would have to look hard to find the join.

It is a mixture of scratch built, including the main structure,  with some kit built additions including vehicles and boats. The buildings originally belonged to Raymond’s garden railway. They were supplied as flat pack resin mouldings in a kit form. these had to be dressed up assembled and hand painted. The painting of the stone and brickwork was done using Humbrol enamel applied with small pieces of sponge.

The trawler, Pat, was built from a Mountfield Models kit and given a distressed finish typical of the real thing. It was when this model was completed he realized that the vessel was of the same scale as some buildings already in existence, giving most of the elements for the diorama.

The diorama construction introduced Ray to many new techniques of modelling. For example the stone for the harbour walls was cut from kitchen floor tiles. Coarse and fine sand were used and mixed with white glue for adhesion. Small pebbles and shells were also used.

The Bedford lorry was made from a kit of 152 detailed parts, with 109 transfers on the body and dashboard. Each box panel comprises four transfers. Like the trawler, the lorry is weathered for authenticity.

The coal cart was built from a Hobby’s plan complete with working suspension, and the bought-in horse was fitted with scratch built harness and tack. The small industrial locomotive  and crane were built from white metal kits, as were a Morgan car and a 1925 Austin Tourer.

Road and pavements were made up from plastic, Paxolin sheet and roofing felt.

All the other various smaller items were made specially.

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Editor - David Carpenter