With Paynestown's appearance at the Barry show just over a month away, I've been pushing on with some of the outstanding tasks.  Most of the work has been on the right hand end, including the building of this pub from a Metcalf kit:

I toned down/adjusted the colouring with washes, added a proper roof and some gutters and drainpipes, but other than that it's as Metcalf intended. I've named it the Railway Inn and made it a Rhymney & Crosswells pub. I spent a happy few hours looking at old photos on the internet of Rhymneys pubs, of which there are many nice examples, all displaying a variety of signs and lettering.

It's not bedded down yet and needs levelling to get it to sit correctly.

I've also pushed on with the terrace leading up to the hill to the pub:

The original idea was that these houses would run all the way up to the pub, but once I'd built the latter and tried it in-situ, I decided the composition would work a bit better with a gap between the last terrace and the aforementioned inn. Partly this is to give a nice view through to the station, partly to show off the lettering on the end of the pub, and mainly to resolve the problem of what to do with the terrace chimney that would be abutting the pub wall. As far as I'm aware, such a thing would not be permitted unless the chimney was built up to at least the apex of the pub roof, which in turn would mean a much wider base to the chimney, which I felt would look disproportionate. Hence, take the easy way out and add a gap! This will be developed into a bit of rough ground, with a little lane leading to the back of the terraces.

At the other end, I've added a bit of geology in the form of this outcropping beneath the goods yard:

This was inspired (loosely) by some reddish rocks seen near the road between Mountain Ash and Abercynon, so not out of keeping for the presumed location.

I've also added a smaller outcropping above the carriage shed, as seen earlier!:

Other work has been focused on progressing with the backscene, for which I wanted a vague, misty suggestion of distant hills, reminiscent of a typical soggy day in South Wales.

Still lots to be done! But hopefully it's within the realm of what can be achieved in a month, with steady progress.