Oxholm - A 1:500 Airport in the UK

Budgie · 01-05-2016, 11:04 PM

Hello, Wings900!

I'm a long-time lurker and new member of the forum and I collect 1:500 models. I have been for a few years now, but as a university student, can only work on my models while on break. I've been finishing up my current airport layout over this break, and think I'll be able to call it complete in the next few days (when my order of elusive 1:500 gates comes in, along with two new arrivals).

Two words about my collection: Like members Speedbird and others, I'm a big BA fan, and this airline forms the base of my not-huge collection. This is namely why I've situated my airport in the UK. Secondly, its an old and not well-cared for collection, and has suffered attacks by cats, siblings and time. So a word of warning to the sensitive: I am missing a few rear stabilisers and nose gear, and I have a few of Herpa's old rolling gear planes. Both make me cry a little. But oh well. Ideally I will be replacing them as I can on school breaks and such.

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Onto the airport:

Oxholm is a large international airport located somewhere in the UK (ideas for where specifically would be very welcome). Like the large London airports, it serves as a destination for many airlines of the world, and you can see a variety of world tails parked and taxiing through.

My section of the airport shows 12 gates of Terminal A, sized for wide-bodies, but not quite able to support A380s (No exciting 3-jetway gates yet), and 6 remote stands, 5 of which are taxi-in/taxi-out (Thanks to other forum users for that idea. Can't remember exactly who it was, but my thanks for any borrowed ideas goes out nonetheless).

Another noteworthy element is the *ahem* "temporal anomaly" the airport sits on. My models are by no means current nor all from the same time period. I don't mean to say that I'll have a DC-3 boarding alongside a 787, but I do have some defunct liveries and airlines, and a few planes that are being or have been recently phased out.

Here are some sneak peeks!

A BA 747 refuels begins the boarding process after a long haul just as the 787 prepares for pushback

A BA 777 taxis into the apron area, bound for gate A-13. A Continental 757 can be seen in the distance along the other pier of the terminal.

The daily Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt just after the last buses empty of passengers can be seen, as well as a KLM 737 just arrived from Amsterdam

Other than that, please let me know of things you like, things you don't, and any suggestions or corrections I should make. I think everything, including the foil, is changeable (bonus points if you can guess how I've done it). I wanted to get this post out and start to hear feedback. Photos of the whole airport incoming as soon as I finish the foil. For now, please make due with some close-ups and sneak peeks. I promise the photography will improve

!

Thanks!

Budgie

Budgie · 01-07-2016, 07:58 PM

Time for Update 1: The foil is complete and every gate that needs a jetway has one!

Its currently early morning at Oxholm, so the stands are sparsely populated:

The entire layout, showing the occupied 3 of the 12 widebody gates, and 6 of the remote stands.

BA 777 G-YMMG spent the night at A-13, and is awaiting a checkup before it begins the boarding process and departs for Boston Logan airport. To the left, another aircraft is being towed from the remote stands to its gate at Terminal A. Activity at the taxi-in/taxi-out stands can be seen behind.

Fiji Airway's twice weekly flight to Nadi airport is today being flown this morning by A330 DQ-FJU. After being kept elsewhere at the airport, it has been towed to Terminal A to load up before it gets under way.

While the big wide bodies are away, smaller planes made use of T-A's jetways. Here we see an Air France A321 just arrived from Paris CDG.

Same goes for this KLM 737.

Another shot of the empty gates and the Air France A321.

Gates A9-A16. Each island is configured for two or three seating areas, or in the case of the second island, a single seating area and a restaurant and shopping space.

Activity on the remote stands: Two BA A319s, one recently arrived from Glasgow and one preparing to receive its first busload of passengers. A Fly Niki E190 has released the brakes and is taxiing out towards the runway.

A (bad) close-up of the arriving A319. Such a pretty little plane!

Hope you guys enjoy the first photos of the completed layout!

Please let me know what you think I could do better on, where I may be lacking detail or accuracy, and perhaps how my photography could improve. Please also feel free to ask about the model airport itself, I'd be happy to answer questions!

Budgie

LeoMuse747 · 01-07-2016, 08:20 PM

Great diorama Budgie!

You have nice models!

That Continental 757... I need it! And also some United decals. (Unfortunately

)

Budgie · 01-07-2016, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leonardo Mello

Great diorama Budgie!

You have nice models!

That Continental 757... I need it! And also some United decals. (Unfortunately

)

Thanks for the comment! My collection isn't quite as large as some other ones on here (very jealous), but I'm happy with it and the rate at which it's expanding.

I too need some decals for the 757! I wasn't aware any existed. Could you point me in the right direction?

Also, some feedback on the spacing would be appreciated: do things look too close together, too far apart? How about the taxiway?

LeoMuse747 · 01-07-2016, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budgie

Thanks for the comment! My collection isn't quite as large as some other ones on here (very jealous), but I'm happy with it and the rate at which it's expanding.

I too need some decals for the 757! I wasn't aware any existed. Could you point me in the right direction?

Also, some feedback on the spacing would be appreciated: do things look too close together, too far apart? How about the taxiway?

There are some custom makers here who could possibly sell you the decals

About the spacing: it looks fine!

DutchCollector · 01-08-2016, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budgie

I too need some decals for the 757! I wasn't aware any existed.

I have a former Continental 757-200 that now has United titles. Anglojet did it for me, but it should be doable on your own. PT-TAA, CB Customs and Anglojet all make custom models: Try one of them.

Budgie · 01-08-2016, 05:44 PM

Update 2!

Here's a midday scene at Oxholm, so plenty more planes at their gates and taxiing.

An overview to begin with.

BA permanently holds 4 gates on the second pier of A terminal. Today, all four are occupied by wide bodies. Two 747's (one with the South Africa world tail, such a nice idea but sadly not accurate), a 787 and the 777 from yesterday's update.

On the other side of the pier, the Wunala Dreaming Quantas 747 is recently arrived from Sydney with plenty of cargo in its hold, while a Lufthansa A321 loads from the visiting catering truck before taking off for Germany.

Here's the Lufthansa again. What does that little blue cart made by Herpa do? I don't know, but whatever it is, its services are required before the flight is ready to leave for Berlin.

In the centre of the aisle, the American 757 pushes back, beginning its journey to Baltimore. Behind it, its larger sister Triple 7 loads baggage, cargo and passengers.

Gate A8 is currently occupied by a Cathay Pacific 777, operating the lucrative daily Oxholm-Hong Kong route. Long flights require plenty of fuel, so one of the airport's tankers pulls up below the wing to fill the aircraft up.

That Continental 757 that Leonardo Mello likes so much is pulling out of the aisle and onto the taxiway now, complete with its lovely blue winglets and tail.

The Fiji A330 is parked between the lines on the remote stands to allow operations to continue on its left and right. It is having some mechanical issues, so technicians have pulled up alongside and are busy diagnosing the error.

The first bus arrives bearing passengers for the BA A319, where behind it an ADAC Dornier 328 air ambulance has recently arrived to rapidly transport a German patient home for an time-sensitive procedure.

Those are the pictures for this update! I have a few more of the BA planes should anyone wish.

Budgie

American787 · 01-08-2016, 06:18 PM

Wow! This is an awesome airport! I love the overall quality of the airport and also the exotic traffic like the ADAC and Fiji, but my fave is the AA 777-200 in the old colors. Absolutely amazing! I can't wait to see more updates!!
Keep up the good work!

American787

Kmonaghen · 01-08-2016, 06:18 PM

i really like your creativity by using sky bridges to connect terminal buildings to maximize their usages and space. I would love to see some close ups of them and gate A16 (the angled bridge). Id like to see how you did that. I may steal your idea haha

Budgie · 01-08-2016, 06:35 PM

Close ups coming up! To be honest, I was just inspired while I rummaged through my craft and modelling supplies. Ideally the bridges will be painted grey to match the rest of the buildings, perhaps with a painted or printed window texture.

Can anyone guess on what program I made the foils? I suspect I may be the only one who has done so, I certainly haven't seen anyone else do it.

Kmonaghen · 01-08-2016, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budgie

Close ups coming up! To be honest, I was just inspired while I rummaged through my craft and modelling supplies. Ideally the bridges will be painted grey to match the rest of the buildings, perhaps with a painted or printed window texture.

Can anyone guess on what program I made the foils? I suspect I may be the only one who has done so, I certainly haven't seen anyone else do it.

Thank you, and im going to guess paint or word.

Budgie · 01-08-2016, 07:22 PM

So the bridges are made with plastic square tubes, which I found in an arts and crafts store. I can't quite remember the dimensions these are in, but I only needed one pack for all the bridges in the airport, and I have plenty left over.

Here is a bridge piece. Simple 90 degree cut on both ends.

Here's the gap between two islands. I've placed those little brackets Herpa provides to connect buildings together on either side of the gap to ensure the bridge is at the right height on either side. On some I've superglued the bridge to the brackets, leaving the side of the bracket attached to the building free. On this bridge, I guess I left it free.

Here is the final product

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Gate A-15 is the angled gate. Here, I took a little section of the same square tube used for the bridge, chopped it in half along the diagonal, or thereabouts, and cut a small triangle of plasticard (or the leftover material from the other half of the tube), and superglued it to the top, then glued the glass bridge to the angled piece. Pictures:

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American787, here's a picture of the 777-200. Shiny!

Kmonaghen · 01-08-2016, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budgie

So the bridges are made with plastic square tubes, which I found in an arts and crafts store. I can't quite remember the dimensions these are in, but I only needed one pack for all the bridges in the airport, and I have plenty left over.

Here is a bridge piece. Simple 90 degree cut on both ends.

Here's the gap between two islands. I've placed those little brackets Herpa provides to connect buildings together on either side of the gap to ensure the bridge is at the right height on either side. On some I've superglued the bridge to the brackets, leaving the side of the bracket attached to the building free. On this bridge, I guess I left it free.

Here is the final product

---------

Gate A-15 is the angled gate. Here, I took a little section of the same square tube used for the bridge, chopped it in half along the diagonal, or thereabouts, and cut a small triangle of plasticard (or the leftover material from the other half of the tube), and superglued it to the top, then glued the glass bridge to the angled piece. Pictures:

---------

American787, here's a picture of the 777-200. Shiny!

What store. I see you are in miami. Hobby Lobby, marshalls?

solicitor82 · 01-08-2016, 11:23 PM

very interesting airport Budgie...the first thing which I noticed was the BA B744

Sadly G-BNLX was retired in November 2015...

Budgie · 01-08-2016, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmonaghen

What store. I see you are in miami. Hobby Lobby, marshalls?

Here's a picture of the packaging. I got this from Pearl, before it shut. I am sure it can be bought elsewhere, if not online. Hope it helps!

Quote:

Originally Posted by solicitor82

very interesting airport Budgie...the first thing which I noticed was the BA B744

Sadly G-BNLX was retired in November 2015...

Aw, I'm a month and a bit late! Still, lets just say the "temporal anomaly" explains that little hiccup. I kinda want another BA 744, as the one I have is easily my favourite model. Its certainly on the wishlist for future purchases.