westernviscount

It helps to know others have felt the same and also that some do not suffer with this at all. Both provide reassurance and hope. Yes, it is through my recent flurry of activity that has made me notice my thought patterns and to ignore or power through. It certainly helps to pick the right project to enable flow, in which I am a great believer in terms of its positive affects. I am building a layout and have come across multiple problems which have made it all seem a bit futile. I did some kit building this weekend and that really helped. I need to feel capable and dare I say skilled in my hobbying to derive pleasure from it. This doesn't mean I only stick to the same thing, but my layout problems have made me feel totally inept. I like to save that feeling for weekdays;-)

My mojo has come back in a big way. In part it is to do with finding the right project to induce "flow". Usually a kit with my own added detail. I suffer greatly with that sinking feeling of guilt whenever I go near my hobby or grab a railway related book etc. A feeling that I should be doing something more productive usually ensues. I think this is a hangover from those younger years when model railways felt like the thing I was doing whilst everyone else was having the time of their lives. I am doing well to manage and ignore these feelings and to accept that I want to do railway modelling stuff and that is totally fine. Does anyone else have similar feelings or experiences? I often feel I need permision to do stuff I enjoy.

It's likely been said many times over here but I am interested in good modelling. The intent of a modeller is clear in their work and if that intention was to create something for themselves which honours in some way their interests/passions then I am all in. The intention behind the layout is usually plain to see. Its like great art.

Thank you Paul. I have seen the less clear one but missed the more detailed one. I'm thinking I may well have captured it close enough.

Thank you @cctransuk. I might explore this as some of the part are warped in the new kits. Possibley due to this soft plastic? Not having metal wheels isnt a problem as the Dapol ones are awful (although I maintain these kits a excellent and hope they dont go away).

@SteveyDee68 I am not sure how to save or download the blogs. You could try going to print then printing as a pdf? This will save a digital copy. It may pick up all the adds etc and make for an untidy page but it might work.

Thank you @SteveyDee68 and @osbornsmodels. I very much enjoy this type of modelling. Absolutely no need for it in these days of RTR but I do it because it is so absorbing. The handles are .33mm brass rod (phoenix precision) bend into a rough shape and trimmed down. They are probably well out of scale but they are quite prominant on the real thing. The handles are glued to the corners of the hatches which have raised detail to represent the handles. They don't have uprights to spin around but these would have been just too fiddly.

Hi Steve. I had abandoned the blog as a result of the image loss but I have given it a go and restored the images relating to the LMS CCT across the 3 entries. I doubt I will restore all images across the blog but as you showed interest I am happy to help.

Construction wise the wagon is complete.. Justbwaiting on some railtec decals. There are enough for 4 so perhaps a couple more of these are in order.

I am of the habit to start a project enthusiastically and then to gradually abandon half completed projects. This time I am determined to complete and have powered on to complete the construction side of things... The side pipe was attached (on the wrong side initially as is the custom) and handle attached to the hatches. The catwalk located holes were filled ready for a scratchbuilt replacement. The side pipe is .8mm brass rod. It is linked to the gauge using fuse wire. Barely visable but fun all the same. I was unsure of the look of the catwalk as I have no clear pictures of the roof of the prototype. So I went for a best guess based on photos I do jave the original kit parts and the Ellis Clarke O gauge model. It is built up using styrene. Fiddly, but worth it.

Thank you! I can't really blame the instructions as they are fairly clear!!

I haven't used the blog section for a while and thought I would show what I have been up to this weekend. I enjoy kitbuilding rolling stock, particularly wagons. Here are a few "improvements" I have made to the Dapol/airfix/kitmaster presflo wagon... A few changes include... Drilling out the sole bar mounted end steps as they are solid on the model but open on the prototype. Some additional brake rigging detail An object which looks like a tie bar. Lanarkshire.M.S. buffers, vac pipes and eventually hooks. Filled holes in the sides which are for locating the user branding...not required as I am finishing to original condition. A replacement ladder which uses .3mm styrene and .45mm brass rod. The same brass rod is used for the handrails at the top of the steps. A couple of grab handles to be added and pipes from the roof to the underframe will be the next jobs along with the catwalk on the roof. A loovely kit with plenty of history. The old airfix branding is still partly in place... May these kits live forever...which is the kiss of death I suppose.

A bit of progress on the presflo. The hope in this project is to slightly lift the model in terms of detail. A couple of changes include drilling out the middle of the outer foot steps to match the prototype more closely. I added some rigging to the brakes which appear to be tie bars. There are holes in the sides to position the user brandings which I am not using. I obscured these with plastikard. The ladder was scratch built from .3mm plastikard and .45mm brass rod. This is also used for the grab handles at the top of the ladder. A few more bits to do but I have really enjoyed working with this kit. Will they ever die?? Hope not. Oh and a word of advice...this model is handed which I managed to get wrong at virtually every stage!

Loosely fitted together with some nice replacement Lanarkshire buffers.

Noticed a nice piece of history on the presflo I building tonight... Looks like airfix products with airfix removed. Shows how great these kits are to have so much history and still available.

Thanks Captain. As soon as I thread a couple of the SMP sleepers on I realised it would be very time consuming to adapt the others. Obviously the rail sits above the sleeper so there was much fiddling about.

I have stalled a little on the wiring as I am struggling to get the seep PM4s to fire over nicely since I started tidying the wires and installing connectors. I am running a CDU off 16v AC and wondered if perhaps it needed a higher input? Does distance between the motors and CDU matter? Anyway, a more enjoyable development in the construction of the Lanrkshire white metal buffer stops. I have no pictures of the real ones at Caia Road and assume they were of a Cambrian design. Well, I like the all rail built design. I once made my own from rail but it wasnt as fine as the kit... Still not finished as there is one more sleeper needed for the rear section. I have used more sleepers than the instructions suggested as the spacing looked a little odd. Chairs needed to be shaved off the SMP sleeper then seperated and glued in place to repreeent the wider chairs needed. Extremely fiddly. The brass wire stretcher is insulated with superglue at both ends and the buffer rails have cellotape (used from the packaging) glued where they attach to the assemby.

Four of the points are now controllable from the panel and behind the scenes things are coming together.

I am going to make a start on the buildings proper, soon.

Not much visual change still but there are some subtle changes. The yard is mostly laid. I have two lanarkshire models bufferstops to build soon.

I am looking forward to it. Remove the webs so there is a nice gap under the rail and brush into place. Lovely.

That is impressive. Fees of 9k plus living costs, rent etc on top. I think students finding a part time job of £15k-20k would be a stretch, especially in a uni city. Well done.

Behind the layout at an exhibition can look like Emin's Bed ;-) I was more referencing Emin's original accusation of being "Stuck, Stuck, Stuck" in the past, using old techniques. Using copper clad in the age of 3-d printed track!

I have undertaken to enjoy the hobby NOW as I am unlikely to have a retirement or indeed make it to a reasonable retirement age due to stress and questionable pension value. This means my modelling is restricted but I would rather enjoy what I can today rather than wait for the Golden years which will never come. I am certainly a "stuckist" when it comes to hobbying and see it as a nostalgic, mostly isolated endeavour, with no one being the spokesperson. Future and progress doesn't much feature but I understand there needs to be one. Youtube and the associated modelling royalty I feel might overstate the strength and reach of the hobby, therefore making recent news of ends and closures all the more shocking. Just an opinion. I am not very good at promoting the hobby, leaving that to the youtube and modelling royalty. They appeal to lots more people.

The end of 2023 sees track building and laying also coming to a close. The lined up wagons are parked on the line joing the shed and completing the loop. The right hand line is the main line and I have nearly completed the turnout just before the high town road bridge. The sidings in the background have been laid short for now and will be completed with Lanarkshire GWR bufferstops. This view shows the almost complete turn out, minus tie bar and one of the check rails. So, 2024 will see the continiing of electrics and onto further interesting jobs. Thank you to those who have shown an interest and hopefully the continuation of the project will relatively entertaining. Merry Christmas all and a Happy New year.