Not much happening here lately, things tend to go in spurts, but there have been glimmers of progress in recent weeks. I had a fence in the foreground which for some reason didn't really work, although I couldn't quite say what it was about it that didn't click - maybe it was a bit too stark, perhaps. Anyway, browsing a model shop last week, I noticed some nice looking cotswold walling in the Hornby Skaledale range and wondered if that wouldn't do a better job. I bought a couple of packs (although one would have just about done) and ripped out the fencing. After I'd fixed the walling in place, I liked it immediately. It provided a soft visual frame to the foreground, but it isn't quite as "in your face" as the fencing was. I don't care if it's not the right type of stone walling for (say) Devon - it looks OK to me and under IMTS legislation that's all that matters.

The Prairie is a Bachmann model that came DCC-equipped and was not a very good runner. I took it apart, removed the motor, cleaned a lot of gunk out of the gears, and then gave it a solid few hours of running in. Now it's much better - as good as my other Prairies, in fact, which have always been reliably satisfactory performers. I weathered it using acrylic washes and weathering powders, taking off the excess with cotton buds - increasingly I like to do without the airbrush if I can avoid it.