Lock Keeper's Cottage

Being naive, I thought plaster bandages were for those unfortunates who had broken limbs in some way – perhaps crawling under or climbing up to loft constructions! It soon became apparent that there were more practical uses. The first roll I bought was wonderful stuff which I experimented with for a small hillock – or grassy knoll, if you prefer - as well as some lawn in a few back gardens. Beware… cheap plaster bandage is so thin it performs magical, magnetic attractions to your skin, arms or trousers and sets within seconds … yes… it may have its uses.
You can see in the photo that I first outlined the slopes with vanes of card to provide contours and you may also notice my first attempt at scratch building with the lock cottage. ( picture 2 top right.)

I used the same card-contour method to produce the cliff-sides which turned out considerably steeper than I had thought. Since the card would soon be hidden by the plaster it didn’t have to look pretty – I wish I’d realised this earlier when building the lock!
With the better quality plaster bandage I cut it to shape, laid it on a flat plate then poured over just enough water so soak it - it then transferred easily into position over the card framework. Don’t worry about overlapping the bandage - a moistened, soft half-inch brush is ideal for covering the joins.

Again, one of those satisfying moments as I positioned the lock cottage and steps. (see detail). Now things were really taking shape – literally – the grassy slope down to the lock had become a dangerous cliff. Time for a rethink!

The Lock

Having obtained a white metal ‘lock’ kit I was grateful for the enclosed instructions especially the useful diagrams and measurements. The kit included all the winding gear, bollards etc. as well as the gates. Although we ( in Britain, anyway ) are all familiar with narrow locks having seen so many of them in paintings, on TV etc. if you’ve never thought about their layout and operation – don’t – get a ready made diagram!

I started with a scale drawing on paper outlining the shape of the lock ( about 70+ feet long and 8 ft across in reality) then, having worked out the depth ( governed by the lock gates ), set about the construction of the walls. To make the model easier to work on, the whole lock was fitted onto 1.5 mm card which would be eventually fixed to the base board. Please note my confident, if confusing use of both the metric and imperial system of measurement. This is not because of any special mathematical ability- it’s just that I’m old!

After covering the side walls with a stone-finish paper and fitting the self-adhesive edging stones, I was ready to set it out to see how it would appear with the gates in position. It was coming on…. time to think about the scenery.

From paper to reality - the start

Hello, as promised I have a few more details of my lock board. I tend to sketch ideas on odd scraps of paper, as you can see. I find this helps with sorting out measurements like ‘how deep or wide should the gorge be’? 4mm to the foot makes things very easy. To a great extent I was governed by the height (or depth!) of the viaduct I had built.
This may seem a little complicated but I find the planning makes all the difference to the end product – a bit like decorating. Then the point of no return - cutting the board. Using 12 mm MDF meant the board was still rigid even with the narrow strip left joining the two halves – even so, I strengthened with 12 mm edging strips. I do tend to overdo the strengthening but better safe than sorry.
Supporting the bottom of the gorge was interesting but a few bent metal brackets and plenty of screws did the job. I tend to use screws for fixings simply because it’s possible to undo the inevitable mistakes!
With the viaduct in place I was pretty pleased with myself but the fun was still to come….. designing and building the lock. To be continued ….