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00:00and in this series we're taking that to heart we're stepping into a world where
00:07cherished places from the past are brought back to life in miniature it's
00:11like being detectives isn't it from family homes I just miss it so much to
00:17grand public buildings this building was so magnificent I found my identity there
00:24each tiny model tells a big story it's a beautiful project because it's all
00:30about love the craft and skill of our team of miniaturists I'll make it happen
00:35perfect shines through in every delicate detail
00:41and while our models may be tiny the memories they stir are immense welcome
00:59to the marvelous miniature workshop
01:11tucked away in the Surrey Hills our little village workshop it's opening up
01:16for business
01:34all the models we make of buildings that are special to people but some carry the
01:40history of an entire community so they really have to be spot-on visiting us
01:48today our family friends ex coal miner Reg and miner's son Neil over the coming
01:54weeks their local coal mine will be brought back to life just a bit smaller
01:59than they remember it but first let's find out why it means so much to them
02:10hello hello come in love coming
02:18Neil nice to see you I knew as well you must be reg the ledge yeah so what brings you here
02:26today then lads we're hoping that you can make us a model of our former pit
02:31silverwood colliery okay where is silverwood colliery yeah yeah Yorkshire
02:37yeah I'm Lancashire there might be trouble god this sounds like a really
02:42interesting story there must be a lot of history behind oh yeah there is yeah
02:45definitely yeah okay well I know a man who can help with all of this he's
02:49called Lee our miniaturist he's fantastic come with me
03:01marvelous model maker and fellow Yorkshireman Lee is going to take on this
03:05build hi guys so Neil and Reggie tell us about silverwood colliery then it plays a
03:13big part in both your lives silverwood colliery was the place that kind of
03:18form shapes and held our community together I was 14 when the pit actually
03:23closed but as a child I was just fascinated by it reg how old were you
03:28when you started working at silverwood then 15 years old and did your family
03:32members work in the pit on fourth generation at last Wow let's have a look
03:37at this colliery and then you got some pictures of silverwood well it's massive
03:43isn't it huge the whole pit tip and the old site was one square mile
03:50silverwood colliery opened in South Yorkshire in 1905 then at its peak
03:55employed around 3,800 miners I mean you're a Yorkshire lad is any of this
04:03for me yes I mean these pit heads were just a common sight across all of Yorkshire
04:07luckily every mile though you just be able to see them on the horizon and with
04:10the model as you look at these photos what are you feeling excitement
04:14trepidation well there's a bit of both I mean it absolutely appeals to me because
04:18I'm kind of really into industrial looking thing I'm from a model railway
04:21background so this photograph in particular yeah we're seeing all the all
04:24the tracks this is your kind of iconic look of the the colliery and the
04:28colliery like this now in the in the 60s this would have been around the time
04:31that you started work there it was yes we must have been claustrophobic down
04:36there and was it hot and hot stress yeah dusty dusty unbelievable how dusty it was
04:43did you witness a lot of accidents yes quite a lot I lost four friends in a
04:48week yes it was a tragic pit I had a friend who collapsed on the ground and six of us had to put him on a stretcher
05:01and carry him out to the surface all the time we were taking him out he got his
05:08hand round his wrist like saying don't let me die don't let me die they said I want to see
05:13some for last time as we got him out to pay and he just sat up looked at look around and that
05:23what I'm done he died there and then gosh and there were four men blubbering yeah I bet it's
05:31hard sometimes to understand a job so dangerous was one that is still you know so close to your heart
05:36but well mining's a very very dangerous job and the only people that are there for your safety are
05:45your friends the ones that are closest to you and everybody bonded together that's how it had to be
05:51yep to look after one another and I think that didn't just stay at work that came back into the
05:59community where everybody took care of each other and looked after each other because it's just how they
06:04lived as dangerous as what it is I go back in a heartbeat tomorrow and with this little miniature
06:12model what are going to be the main challenges with that do you think the hard parts I want to
06:16make it very gritty very realistic looking yeah and there's really complicated machinery at the top
06:20of this headstock here so it's getting the wheels to look right yeah and getting it past reg and getting
06:25it past reg yes you want to be able to look at it and think oh that's silver are you up for the
06:30challenge I am up for the challenge yeah I'll do you a good job yeah it's a good luck thank you
06:53Lee loses no time deciding which part of the enormous cholera to focus on
06:58I'm going to recreate the west tower it's probably the most striking part of mining this would
07:05have been the structure that lowered the miners into the ground Silverwood's west tower
07:10or headgear was around 20 meters high and stood above the main mine shaft Lee estimates the exact
07:18height by counting the rows of bricks in the photograph all 268 of them it's going to be a
07:25complicated build as it is a quite small scale there's a really nice long bit of metal truss work
07:31here that supports the weight of the winding wheels the winding wheels were circled by cable to form a
07:39pulley system getting this mechanism to look right is going to be challenging these little wheels they're
07:46just so complicated they are an intricate part of the model and I think it's going to be really great
07:51to to recreate when we saw the photographs it was the first thing I saw that would be a really nice
07:56subject to make and I was quite excited so I'm going to just jump in on that having uncovered more
08:01reference photos of Silverwood Lee needs to turn his sketches into a detailed computer aided design each
08:12element is carefully planned so it can be laser cut from super thin MDF first Lee's constructing the
08:21large brick building that stood at the base of the tower this is quite an important part of mine it's
08:28going to be quite an important part of the model Lee's replica walls are designed to interlock and are
08:33glued into place to form a sturdy structure he's laser etched a brickwork pattern onto every outer wall
08:43working to the typical scale of model railways each brick is exactly 76 times smaller than the real thing
08:52I think it's it's quite striking looking building so be nice to sort of recreate that and bring it back
08:58to life with a glue activator replied he adds a coat of deep brick red acrylic but can he recreate the
09:08aged and dust-covered tones of the original Edwardian building Reg saw this every day he went inside it
09:16every day so for me it's a challenge not only to get it to look right but to be able to look right for Reg
09:23back at home in Rotherham Neil and Reg are revisiting the other end of our nagging
09:53visiting the site of the old Silverwood colliery.
09:57It's definitely changed a lot, hasn't it, Reg?
09:59It certainly has.
10:01It's easy to see why they want a model of their old pit,
10:05as today, almost nothing remains.
10:09Yeah, the old bus stop, eh, Reg?
10:11Last thing standing.
10:12Last thing to survive, really.
10:15It is, like, a completely different place.
10:23Coal was once the black gold that fuelled Britain's economy.
10:29And in the early 20th century,
10:31the industry employed over a million men.
10:36But cheap coal imports and rival fuels led to a gradual decline.
10:41In 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
10:44planned to close 20 unprofitable pits.
10:48Thousands of miners all over the country,
10:51including those at profitable mines like Silverwood,
10:54went on strike to try to save them.
10:57Silverwood is a pit where solidarity with the strike is a matter of pride.
11:04And Reg was one of them.
11:07It were time to stand up and make a point and go on strike.
11:11I had five children at the time, a mortgage around my neck.
11:15So it was definitely very, very stressful thinking about
11:20where am I going to get some money from?
11:22Where am I going to get some food from?
11:24They were fighting for their jobs.
11:26They were fighting for the right to work.
11:28They knew that once the pit had closed, everything would go with it.
11:31The miner's strike was the longest and bitterest industrial dispute in British history.
11:42It's kicking me!
11:44But once it ended, the pit closures continued.
11:48And eventually, the axe fell on Silverwood.
11:56Well, this is it, Neil.
11:58One wheel.
12:02So this is the memorial wheel.
12:04The last shift at Silverwood Colliery was on Christmas Eve in 1994.
12:10And we watched them blow it all up off the top of that banking up there.
12:15It was like a nail in the coffin for every piece that they took down.
12:20It really, really did hurt.
12:22My grandad and his dad and my dad and me all worked at Silverwood.
12:35And now it's all gone.
12:38For Neil's family, the pit closure could not have come at a more difficult time.
12:44That was when my mum passed away at the age of 35.
12:48And so my dad, as well as losing his job, he lost the love of his life.
12:54And he's now got four kids to look after.
12:57I mean, I was 13, 14 at that time.
13:00And, you know, I'll be honest, it was a really, really difficult time.
13:04But I do remember everybody sort of coming round to the house,
13:07constantly checking on him, checking on us,
13:09making sure that we'd got everything that we needed.
13:12If we were sort of in that situation again now,
13:14I don't think that sense of community, it wouldn't be there.
13:18I don't think people are that together anymore.
13:20And that all came because, you know, my dad were a miner.
13:23He were a coal miner at Silverwood Colliery.
13:29It's gone.
13:32Confined to history books.
13:34To think all them men used to be working it back at Yardier.
13:37Yeah.
13:38Used to watch them off of this hill here, like poetry in motion.
13:41Thanks to Lee's nimble fingers, Silverwood is riding again in miniature.
14:00To recreate the sooty look of a working colliery, Lee uses thinned black oil paint to age the brickwork.
14:10Numerous one millimetre bricks are then hand painted in subtly different shades of red, creating a rich and varied texture.
14:19It's quite time consuming, but I think it's worth doing.
14:21Then there's the steel framework. Lee builds the main access ladder one tiny MDF step at a time.
14:29And after hours of research, Lee has meticulously modelled every side of each girder in 2D,
14:37assembling them piece by piece to recreate the mine's intricate hoisting machinery.
14:42These mines were everywhere in South Yorkshire. They were just, you know, you'd look up and you'd be able to see the headgear,
14:49you know, the top of the pit. Just seeing this back again will bring back so many memories.
14:53Now he's preparing to tackle the most prominent feature of Silverwood's west tower, its winding wheel.
15:01To get these pieces accurate, I've laser cut them so they're nice and crisp, consistent sort of bar width between all the spokes.
15:10So that enables, once I've assembled it together, it just looks absolutely perfect.
15:16And with some model making, it's nice to be imperfect, but with something like a wheel, it has to be spot on.
15:23So I've created two identical pieces here, but when they're overlapped and spun apart, it creates the multi-spoked version,
15:31which gives it more of a three-dimensional aspect.
15:34So now I just need to add a dab of glue around the rim here, stick those two pieces together.
15:40If it goes wrong and they're stuck in the wrong place, I've got to start again.
15:44Layering the pieces is delicate, fiddly work, but this is how to turn a collection of flat shapes into an impressive 3D replica.
15:54These outer rims will be stuck to either side to create a channel where the cable will sit.
15:59Reg would have been lowered down from this area like every single day, so I need to get this right because Reg will be noticing any little detail that's wrong, so I'm a little bit nervous about that here.
16:24Lee wants this model to reflect the heart of Silverwood, so I've arranged to meet Reg's wife, Sylvia, to find out more about living in the Silverwood community,
16:36and to see if she has any suggestions about how to make the model extra special.
16:40Sylvia, hello.
16:43Hi, Sarah.
16:44Or should I say, hey up? I do speak Yorkshire.
16:47Hey up.
16:48Hey, it's so lovely to meet you.
16:49Thank you, you too.
16:50So, Sylvia, we're going to make, hopefully, a spectacular model of Silverwood colliery.
17:00Now, Lee, our miniaturist has sent me on this fact-finding mission to get all your memories so we can build this little model.
17:06But before we ask about Silverwood colliery, I want to know how did you end up with a miner in the first place?
17:12How did you meet the lovely Reg?
17:14We met through school through a sponsor walk.
17:16Yeah.
17:17So you were teenagers?
17:18We were teenagers at the time, yeah.
17:19Cute.
17:20I was very shy but I liked him straight away.
17:23He's a very caring person and he's just down to earth.
17:26I have got a picture.
17:27Oh, let's have a look.
17:28I've got to say, Sylvia, he looks like, he looks like a rock star.
17:32Like a rock god, isn't he?
17:33Yeah, he looks very cool there with his hair and his sideboards.
17:36Yeah.
17:37We got married in 1976 and we got married in a local village.
17:40You went on to have kids?
17:42Yeah.
17:43How many did you have?
17:44Five.
17:45Did you not have a telly?
17:48And how was it as a wife of a miner when you waved them off in the morning?
17:51I suppose you do worry because it is a dangerous job.
17:55I mean, it was called a widow-maker pit so that tells you a lot.
17:59In the past there were a lot of fatalities as well.
18:02Did you ever say to him, I don't want you working down the mines?
18:05No, because he loved it.
18:06He loved the camaraderie.
18:08They were like a family.
18:10And as a miner's wife, how were you involved with the strikes?
18:14Did you get involved?
18:15Yeah, we used to go down to the local pit and stand up the picket line,
18:18watch them, support them.
18:20We would set kids down if we could get past policemen.
18:24And then how long did it go on for?
18:26A full year.
18:27It must be hard, because lack of money is such a big strain on a family,
18:31isn't it?
18:32Yeah.
18:33It was tough, because you got to put your kids first.
18:35They'd got to be fed before us.
18:36I mean, he borrowed some carrots and turnips out of farmers' fields.
18:41Yeah.
18:42Like they all did.
18:43It must have been so stressful.
18:45What we talked about a lot is not to ever go back before strike ended,
18:50because you'd have to leave village.
18:51You should lose your friends, family and everything.
18:53But we were all together, so there were nobody better off than anybody else.
18:56That's the day they went back.
18:58Oh, there's a couple of good 80s tashes, I can see.
19:01Yeah, it is, isn't there?
19:02Come on.
19:03And what's this that they're carrying here?
19:05That's their personal silverboard banner.
19:07When they go and marches and rallies, they always take that banner with them.
19:10So, when we think about this model, what comes to your mind's eye,
19:14the bits that would be the most important to include on the miniature model?
19:18I think that banner, because it represents our pit,
19:22and everybody's proud of their own pit.
19:24And it's been going a long time.
19:25We're a very big pit, very profitable, and everybody's so proud of that banner.
19:30Got this photo with all colours on it.
19:32Oh, lovely.
19:34I mean, it's absolutely gorgeous, the design, isn't it?
19:36Yeah, it's fantastic.
19:37You've got the two men there shaking hands.
19:39I think it's representing, you know, like a union together,
19:42that everybody's together.
19:43Yeah.
19:44Who's that floated?
19:45Well, she's an angel, I guess.
19:46I think she's an angel, yeah.
19:48I wonder if that's like the Guardian for men.
19:50Yeah.
19:51Definitely designed by a man, that.
19:52She's gorgeous, isn't she?
19:53She looks like Beyoncé.
19:54She looks.
19:55Look at that.
19:56All for each and each for all.
19:58Silverwood branch.
20:00Unity is strength.
20:01Do you think that sums up the heart of the pit?
20:04Yeah, it's a community thing.
20:06They're stuck together, they looked after each other,
20:08and there was one, really.
20:10OK, so this is really crucial.
20:12This has absolutely got to be included, hasn't it?
20:14Yeah, yeah.
20:15It's not cake.
20:22Lee's model is taking shape.
20:25To give the steel framework an aged industrial feel,
20:29he's used more thinned oil paint.
20:32The real tower had a zigzagging maintenance staircase
20:35running up the side.
20:37It's a bit tricky to glue it on.
20:39Lee's recreated it from fine cut MDF and given it a spray coat.
20:45That's the bit that I don't want to get wrong.
20:49There are 13 window frames made from half millimetre laser board,
20:54painted two shades of blue to add depth and definition.
20:58I think I can focus on this being quite detailed.
21:02His drain pipes are made from stiff wire.
21:05Their 3D printed fixings are fitted with a steady hand.
21:10And finally, Lee's creating a minute version of Silverwood's special banner.
21:16Sarah's been given this photograph from Reg's wife, Sylvia, of the Silverwood colliery banner.
21:24Whenever they gathered together as a community,
21:27so specifically during the miners' strike,
21:29they would have marched behind this.
21:31It's almost like a battle standard for the mine workers.
21:35The banner is incredibly important.
21:38It needs to be perfect for Reg and to do the model justice.
21:43What I'm doing at first is cutting out this little printout
21:46that I've had done of the banner.
21:48And then I'm going to add some tiny little fringes to the bottom
21:51just to give it a little bit more of a tactile look.
21:55So I'm just taping some pieces of cotton onto the masking tape
22:11that I've stuck into the table here.
22:13Attaching each fine strand of cotton one by one,
22:17Lee turns a simple thread into a detailed decoration.
22:22I'm just trimming the fringe at the bottom of the banner to even it all off.
22:31And now I'm sticking the banner onto the frame.
22:34The frame is made from fine plastic rod,
22:37carefully glued together to recreate the steel poles
22:41that carried the banner when the miners marched.
22:44I know Neil and Reg will have a deep sense of pride with this banner,
22:47so I think it's going to be a really great little detail to add into the model.
22:50And for a finishing touch, Lee is adding a special inscription of his own.
22:55Hopefully it will evoke a little bit of emotion.
22:59It's been a month since Neil and Reg first came to us hoping for a miniature model of their beloved silverwood colliery.
23:16And today they're back to find out if Lee has managed to pull it off.
23:21This is it, Lee.
23:25Yeah.
23:26Don't look so scared.
23:30Hello!
23:31Oh!
23:32Come on in.
23:33Reg, nice to see you.
23:35And you?
23:36How are you feeling?
23:37Very, very excited to see you.
23:39Excited.
23:40Nervous.
23:41Nervous?
23:42I feel emotional.
23:43Do you feel emotional?
23:44Yeah.
23:45Oh, yeah.
23:46Definitely.
23:47Right, shall we do it then?
23:48Yeah, please.
23:49Are you ready, Lee?
23:50OK.
23:51Three, two, one.
23:53Wow.
23:54Oh, my.
23:55Oh, my God.
23:56From finely etched brickwork and perfectly scaled steel girders to a well-crafted winding wheel,
24:19Lee's model of Silverwood's headgear is a masterclass in miniature engineering.
24:24Wow.
24:25Thank you very much.
24:26That's beautiful.
24:27That is amazing.
24:28Thank you so much.
24:30Nobody else has got this.
24:32I'm...
24:33I'm speechless.
24:36Wow.
24:37It really made our lives really good.
24:40Built from hundreds of laser-cut pieces, meticulously painted and aged, it's a triumph of historical accuracy and craftsmanship.
24:54Technically, looking at it, how do you think Lee's done?
24:57It's amazing how accurate and how close you've actually got it to the photographs and things that we've shown you.
25:04That is better than I even imagined it would have been. It's... I'm blown away by it.
25:09So, look, it's got to pass muster here. You're the expert. You know what I mean?
25:13We've given him 100 out of 100.
25:15100?
25:16That's not...
25:17You've succeeded.
25:18Oh, thank you.
25:19That means a lot.
25:20We only need an engine dragger or the engine we can go down.
25:23You can't go down it, Reg.
25:25Oh, my gosh.
25:28At the front, Lee has included a surprise detail and a special inscription for Reg.
25:39He's even put a banner on it.
25:41Wow.
25:42Thank you very much.
25:43That's an exact copy of the one we've got.
25:45Now then, Reg, do you want to do the honours?
25:47Because there's a beautiful inscription here that Lee's done.
25:50Get your specs on.
25:54Dedicated to the memory of the brave miners who lost their lives at Silverwood Colliery.
26:01May you look upon the sunlight one more time.
26:07You're welcome.
26:10That's beautiful, isn't it?
26:11Yeah.
26:13It definitely is.
26:16That story just really resonated with me.
26:17Yeah.
26:18When I came away, I knew I had to incorporate that bit.
26:21And there were so many that never managed to get out of mine.
26:24Touch of the seat last Sunday.
26:27Constant memories.
26:29Good times and bad.
26:31We spent a lot of good times together, working together as a team.
26:35Yeah.
26:36It takes you back to that time when community mattered.
26:39I mean, that's part of our aim.
26:40You know, we're recreating memories here.
26:42Yeah.
26:43So just to have that reaction from you guys, it just means a lot to me.
26:46You've done it perfectly.
26:49Ecstatic for one word.
26:52Really, really impressed at how intricate it is made.
26:56It is a beautiful thing.
26:57It's so lifelike, it's unbelievable.
27:01Sylvia, come and have a look.
27:03Oh, that's great.
27:04What do you think?
27:05It's fantastic.
27:09That is lovely.
27:10I'd be dead proud to own that.
27:12Have you got a big mantelpiece?
27:15Neil might have.
27:17The detail and the skill and the craftsmanship that Lee's put into this model is just incredible.
27:22It's exceeded all expectations.
27:24I looked at it and I thought, that's Silverwood all over.
27:29I'm really back home where I belong.
27:32Reg, what do you think this will mean to the community then and the remaining miners to see Silverwood brought back to life again?
27:39I think it will mean a lot because, like me, they've spent all their life there.
27:45So they know in the deepest memory what it looks like and that is Silverwood.
27:51I mean, what more can we say there, Lee? That is Silverwood.
27:54That is Silverwood.
27:55That is Silverwood.
27:56That is Silverwood.
27:57The next, quicknesses.
27:58That is Silverwood.
27:59That is Silverwood.
28:00That is Silverwood.
28:01That is Silverwood.
28:02And that is Bruce over to the morning and may be happy with it.
28:03We have time to say we can share the entire lives of and this is our humanity.
28:05Hey.
28:06We have time to breathe.
28:07We have time to breathe.
28:09You can share it all with every day.
28:10This is Worldwide.
28:12This thing is called째 Ed.
28:15That isydan Rockwood.
28:17The Dec der Probably is a дома economically and the tough one outfits.
28:20That is Kevin Rnymi.
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