Everybody remembers the TV programs that helped form their personalities growing up. Lots of people will say they watched too much of the Simpsons or a certain cartoon. For me growing up with only older siblings, my fondest memories are repeated watches of the series Bottom. Ignoring my being far too young for it at the time, the kick of the theme tune and the iconic scenes of Richie and Eddie in that opening sequence are far from buried in my mind.
That meant that when recently Buggleskelly Station launched an OO Gauge Richie and Eddie figures I just had to recreate the opening scene. Luckily after a few drinks I had "accidentally" ordered the pre-painted models. Unfortunately for me they have now reproduced the Eddie and Richie Bench scene (including the bench) and Mr Gas Man himself! This is going to get expensive....
I started off using a screen grab of the opening title sequence as a canvas in Fusion 360. I wanted this to feel representative of the moment, rather than be a precise copy. I also have the major problem of over engineering projects to the point that they never get completed and I wanted to get past that with a nice, quick project.
To check scale and avoid wasting resin, I printed a cardboard template and put the boys in place to make sure that dimensions felt right. Obviously the poses from the key moments Buggleskelly Station have modelled don't quite match the opening scenes, but I love the idea of this one day holding a spot on a larger layout as a recognisable cameo.
All there was left to do was print it and in true me style I got as far as a sand and a prime before things took me away. Hopefully it will not be long before I revisit and get it painted.
A little list to fuel my task avoidance:
To do list
- Get Richie and Eddie
- Model & print the building facade
- Paint the building front
- Building interior?
- Baseboard and scenics?
Note to self: Keep rewatching the series as encouragement
