The aim was to have a portable layout that wasn't a micro shunting plank that would fit in to our (rather small) car. There's nothing wrong with shunting planks but I wanted the whole station, preferably uncompressed. I drive a Citroen C2, and there's not much room in the back. Unfortunately hobbies that require large objects to be moved don't fit in well with a love of small French hatches.

Initially I thought the layout could fit behind the rear seats, but this is a daft shaped space that tapers in from every direction. The plan fitted in here once folded, but I later discovered that it wouldn't go, not with height considered. It would also be impossible to manouvre it into the space through the rear hatch. By this stage I had started construction thinking that the layout would fit lengthwise with the seats down. Wrong again! The car inside is wider than it is long behind the rear seats. Some more measuring revealed that the backscene height would be dictated by the 26" height of the tailgate opening. Unfortunately not high enough to have the lighting pelmet permanently attached, and I am still deciding exactly how best to attach and transport this.

So my measuring did work out, but I could have planned better. The layout (without lighting) still all folds up with legs in one piece and currently tips the scales at 14kg. This makes it really easy to lift and load...

...once these are out (7 bolts).

Lift up...

...and into the car

I probably need something to make sure that it stays in place during transit. The castors aren't great on the lumpy bumpy outdoor surfaces due to their small size. Hopefully they'll make things really easy once inside most venues and I'll have a quick and easy set up and take down.