Amazing what you can get done in a few days with no work or female interference !!

As you will have seen from some of the photos in my gallery, work on scenics has begun and the first 2ft of 6ft is about where I want it. Really feel like my scenic work has come on a little from previous projects, the secret I think, is taking your time, using the higher priced end range of materials and taking the time to tidy up each section after the glue has dried with tweezers, picking out all those annoying bits that tend to stick out like sore thumbs on close up pictures !

The board has a split personality with the higher level single line in place and now, 2 dead end roads which sweep round and disappear off the front edge of the board on the lower level. I can now take my prototype length train shots with sky backgrounds on the higher level and my closer studies of weathered & detailed locos & wagons on the lower level. Slight curves in all the tracks help with keeping the baseboard edges out of the pictures.

Just to run through some of the materials & features used, the retaining wall sections are all from Internationals Rustic foam wall range, the excellent telegraph poles from Express and most of the scenics have come from the Silflor range available at International.

Still using good old Peco code 75 but the ‘call’ of P4 beckons as I still feel a lot of the closer range shots are let down by wheels and track. Paint & weathering wise, everything has had coats of Railmatch Sleeper Grime, Frame Dirt & Weathered Black with some extra touches using Carrs weathering powder applied with small make up brushes and sealed with Railmatch Matt Spray Varnish.

After a Google search for spacing distance on telegraph poles I found that 10.4’’ between poles and around 1.5’’ from nearside rail was about right. The first 3 are lightly tacked down with PVA as I am still not convinced on height, size & location. Several photos have given the impression that they would decapitate traincrew despite being a scale 10ft from the nearest running rail. They say the camera never lies but I think the rule of angles often can !!

Top level photos wont be undertaken until the board is complete. Apart from the 6+6 Redland and ECC PGA’s I have I am a little short on full rakes of anything. I suppose some mixed Enterprise trains could happen but I really cant wait for the day when I can picture a cl50 on 6+ NSE coaches or a cl60 on 10+ seacows !!

Space in the bottom right corner of the lower level is begging for some kind of feature whether it be a structure, building, mast or derelict water tower .?.?.?.?.?

Fencing is also a thought. I do love Pete Harvey’s security fencing sprayed silver or green and may have to find a use for some somewhere on the board.

I also need to think about how I do the wires between telegraph poles ?? Any ideas on materials & execution would be greatly appreciated !!

Bachmann 47535 with Howes sound is currently in the hands of Parcel Farce and should arrive tomorrow, so looking forward to a few nights on the workbench weathering, detailing, hearing and then photographing my first ‘Spoon’ next week !! More Large Logo Blue, I shall be modeling steam next at this rate !!

Despite one of the comments on the last Blog entry, I can assure everyone I didn’t use breeze blocks to build the embankment despite the photos suggesting otherwise. The board is remarkable light and I can comfortably carry it with one hand between home & garden !! Just incase anyone is interested, the foam slabs were from B&Q and £11 for 5 4ft by 1ft pieces. It was very easy to work with, didn’t shread into snow like some cheap polystyrene blocks do and I actually used an electric kitchen carving knife to shape my earthworks !! Carving the Sunday roast will never be the same again !!

Anyway, with a mass of glue, varnish & scenics drying nicely on the board I shall turn the last of my free time this afternoon to a few more photos, maybe a little DCC sound video (!) and painting up the Shawplan pipes ready for ‘University Of Leicester’s’ bufferbeams !!

My final pic is my favourite so far, without even knowing it I created a quiet little corner, 'feet up on drivers desk, tea can on hot plate and a copy of the paper', making it the perfect little spot for a PNB !!