I am sorry that there has been no entry on this blog for several weeks. I have been traveling a lot and all my Shipston stuff was left behind.

But I have been trying out a new angle - 7mm track building. This has come about because I fear for my ability to fiddle with small parts required to detail 4mm scale models. Lamp irons were the first casualty and I suppose that, despite all the finger exercises and lens cleaning of my bifocals, things are not likely to improve.

I have always admired 7mm (my older brother had a Bassett Lowke engine) and so decided to see if I could tackle a couple of C&L Finescale points. The standard point went together easily, so I became a lot more adventurous and bought their 3 way point kit. It's nearly finished and the process of putting it together did not tax either my fingers or my eyes.

I have joined the Gauge 0 Guild and will be going to their Guildex meeting at Telford on September 5th to get a lot more hands on experience with experts and those who seem to make some excellent kits - Jim McGeown's Connoisseur Models has been highly recommended and his website really helps to make the transition.

What does this mean to all the in-progress 4mm projects? Nothing - I will continue to work on Shipston and intend to complete it within the next couple of years. Legge Lane has taken a step backwards and gone into temporary storage. The various locomotive kits will continue to take up my time (and sometimes my frustration) but the the yet to be started kits may be sold (DJH City of Birmingham, Brassmasters 4F) to pay for some O Gauge stuff.

I have to admit that the Shipston Branch would be a very nice O Gauge garden project but we'll have to see about that one much later in life. For a start I don't actually have a garden within which to build one.