Brilliant Pete,

I love these 3 D mock ups and the sketching.

The figures add to the presentation as well. In fact they've almost a Michael Bond of Paddington Bear fame touch about them from his book illustrations.

Perhaps some Quentin Blake esq figures next time!

Cheers,

Mark

Hi Pete

You ought to write a book about layout design. Those mock ups are a delight and are so self explanatory. Very impressive stuff as usual. In any event, I'm sure Mr Ingvar Kamprad would be delighted to employ you as his number 1 Spanish representative!!

Regards

Mike

That would be me with arms folded, having decided to skip all the other layouts and just stick around here to learn :-)

BTW, where is the sidetable serving steaming hot and strong espressos?

Sorry peeps...just got back from a weekend away...I could read but not reply to the posts until now...so here goes...

Brilliant Pete,I love these 3 D mock ups and the sketching.The figures add to the presentation as well. In fact they've almost a Michael Bond of Paddington Bear fame touch about them from his book illustrations.Perhaps some Quentin Blake esq figures next time!

Thanks Mark - I can't claim any ownership of the figures I am afraid - they are from a CAD program I use and I was tempted to remove the paper once I had cut around them to just leave the profile which might have been a bit more abstract...

Thanks for this posting. You got me looking at the IKEA lighting for my APA box creations. Are you considering the DIODER or INREDA strip lights?

Thanks Ian - Its neither actually! For my diorama comp entry I used Ledberg (€10 a pack) and I modified them as this...hope this helps.

I'm unsure about the hole in the sky to avoid shadows. How about setting the backscene a few centimetres further back beyond the edge of the layout proper, and inserting an uplighter along the bottom, below scenery level, angled up at the backscene?

Thanks Jamie - Always happy to here options/suggestions...ok, will give that some thought...

I like the conceptuualisation of the idea - I've alwas been a fan of card mock-ups - much cheaper than making errors in the real thing!

Ian, hi - Absolutely...the same can be said in the construction industry...although I have seen a kango hammer taken to concrete in the past...

You ought to write a book about layout design. Those mock ups are a delight and are so self explanatory. Very impressive stuff as usual. In any event, I'm sure Mr Ingvar Kamprad would be delighted to employ you as his number 1 Spanish representative!!

Thanks Mike - its how I work in my profession so it tends to inform the train models which in turn inform my day job stuff. I did nearly write to Mr IKEA and ask him to sponsor flying my larger layout back to the UK...maybe I should pen that letter after all!

I was thinking along the same lines, but the TV animated version - all you need is a small teddy in a duffel coat and hat to complete the scene.

your forgetting the honey sandwiches Bernard... that's a no no to sticky fingers and model making...

we always seem to clash with another event some miles away. You were the first on my radar to be affected by it!!! As for displaying interactive scores, how's about also remote wiring to the rest room where others can 'enjoy' (if that is the right word?) what's going on? we'll have to limit the bandwidth to 2bytes per hour of course!!Sensibly though, am very impressed by the progress made so far. Maybe PWIASuitcase for 2013 is looking to be a possibility?

Hi Chris - I wondered if you would take the bait and post here! Thank you and yes, I would say that it probably can be moved into the 2013 exhibition...depending on Stoke's cup run performance of course...

That would be me with arms folded, having decided to skip all the other layouts and just stick around here to learn :-)BTW, where is the sidetable serving steaming hot and strong espressos?

Mikkel, hi - Many thanks...you mean arms crossed, thinking, is anything going to run without uncoupling or the stock derailing...

in terms of the espresso service, perhaps I need to cut a slot in the fascia at the other end of the fiddle yard!

I've probably missed something here, but some of your dimensions puzzle me..On your sketch above you show the overall length of the layout as 1300mm - which I get because that's twice the length of a boxfiles interior ( 700mm) plus 2 x 300mm fiddle yards.But in your first post you described the layout as coming in at just under 2m, and show this on the plan view as 1900mm.Do you mean that your FY are going to be 600mm each, which makes sense in terms of holding a 4 car EMU?if so, how do you propose to fit them into the boxfile?

Hi Chris, You foxed me now...I re-looked at my sketches and couldn't find any trace of 1300mm on my sketches. Correct that the centre two boards are 700mm combined but I think the earliest entries on the blog showed the FY's as 600mm each (giving the 1900mm overall) and the idea is that these will probably be hinged cassettes...or something to be developed further.

Love the mock ups. It really gives an illustration as to how the model will present. Looking forward to seeing this one come to fruition!

Thanks again Jeremy...looks like it might be 2013 now in Burgess Hill...let's see how this year maps out!

Aha - it's your handwriting mate!!:DI've just enlarged the sketch and what I took to be a 3 is in fact a 9!!Well, it could be my eyesight....;)All now makes sense! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this idea as it's so intriguing.It's certainly inspired me to reconsider a micro layout in a box!!

Thanks Chris...actually you had me quite worried as I went back and checked all my dimensions both in my head and my sketchbook...

I will keep it ticking over in the background whilst I grapple with Kyle and CJM...you must have as nearly as many layouts as me on the go now Chris...

Nope, I have to lie down and say yous the boss in that respect!

...and that's not counting the ones in my head I would like to build before I depart this planet...

Hi Pete,Just wanted to say that I've enjoyed the blog so far, great conceptual work ups, almost as much fun as the model itself no doubt will be.I have to guess that you work in architecture? Looks all too familiar :-)For what it's worth, on the subject of exhibiting/framing/viewing a layout, which you have been considering in depth, is it perhaps the case that the idea of a secondary display can sometimes be a bit of a distraction from the model itself? Looking forward to the next posting.Best regards,Matt

Hi Matt - Thanks for this. Am guessing you are an Architect too?

Good point on the secondary display. Are you referring to the suspended backscene or the iPad/screen? The latter I Think.

Yes, I may need to tread carefully on that one...perhaps it will be a panel which something can slide in and out depending upon how the punters are warming to it.

Am gathering rolling stock at present so perhaps not much progress until after the summer but hopefully the baseboards and track by Christmas time.

Many thanks for your interest in the project.

Pete