well filled baps The Sheep Chronicles : These are the adventures of a Sheep, the Works Forecat and Naughty George,

[F-UnitMad]

1 hour ago, Captain Kernow said:

Thanks for posting the photos of the panniers, Robin.

 

You've made a miserable old git very happy

Never mind the old git, how did those pics make you feel, Tim? 😁👍

[John Besley]

20 minutes ago, Ramblin Rich said:

You just need an i.v. line running a glucose drip in, and a catheter with leg bag for the out. Can go for hours like that. In extreme cases, once the top bag is empty, just swap the bags around.... 😈

Don't mention that to my old man (JR Besley)... he's lost it and just pulled all his tubes out... 😮‍💨

 

Some might recognise the initials

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, 2ManySpams said:

 

Nope, still waiting for Vidjoe evidence.

Says the man who spent two days with some plasticard and a regularly replenished mugga tea.

[Oldddudders]

2 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Says the man who spent two days with some plasticard and a regularly replenished mugga tea.

Sandwiched between Old Gringo and Cannock Chase......

 

Let's be fair - that can't be easy. 

[2ManySpams]

Just now, Oldddudders said:

Sandwiched between Old Gringo and Cannock Chase......

 

Let's be fair - that can't be easy. 

 

To be fair, it wasn't...

[2ManySpams]

And for some reason I did have a steady stream of people asking to see Lego houses...

[NHY 581]

Evening all. 

 

Full update will follow in due course but I really must say thank you to Jay for his kind assistance today which allowed me time to wander about what was a really top show. 

 

Excellent week end spent amongst excellent people. 

 

Full overview tomorrow. 

 

I thank you. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by NHY 581

[NHY 581]

11 hours ago, 2ManySpams said:

And for some reason I did have a steady stream of people asking to see Lego houses...

 

 

[Tortuga]

Glad to see you made it back safe and sound yesterday.

Really enjoyed seeing Bleat Wharf and finally meeting you (and Jay): thank you for making me feel welcome and putting up with my repeated circling back!

 

Of course the real question is: did you make it back before the Rugby kicked off?

[NHY 581]

18 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Glad to see you made it back safe and sound yesterday.

Really enjoyed seeing Bleat Wharf and finally meeting you (and Jay): thank you for making me feel welcome and putting up with my repeated circling back!

 

Of course the real question is: did you make it back before the Rugby kicked off?

 

 

Hi Nick, 

 

And indeed lovely to see you. Glad you enjoyed the mayhem ! 

 

I did indeed make it back in time for the rugger and jolly damn good it was, accompanied by a couple of beers and a chinese take away.

 

Sheep one was unloaded this morning so all is sorted. 

 

It was indeed a really good weekend away. Due to the early start, I missed the disruption on the M5 that befell a number of the exhibitors later on Friday afternoon. 

 

Over both days,  Bleat was host to a number of Rmwebbers. Too many to name but it was lovely to meet you all and your attendance enriched an already splendid weekend most considerably. 

 

Bleat behaved itself and any hiccups were down to the owner. Jay steadied the ship on Sunday and the word of the day was 'switch'. Again, I'm indebted to him for his help. 

 

Locos ran mainly well enough. Grahame's Pannier was impeccable and both the 4F and 3F went well. The 1P could have probably done with more running in and it was lovely to chat on Saturday with Wurzel who did the original weathering job. 

 

This is a really good show. Good spread of  layouts and some new to me traders. I have no hesitation in recommending this show held in an excellent venue. Plenty of space to mingle and no issue in seeing the layouts or getting to the traders. 

Frankly....forget Warley. Maybe not as many traders but for layouts, Stafford is just as good with over 50 to see. Now that's half as many as Warley but without the drama of trying to see them. 

 

If not invited back for next year, I'll be going as a visitor and for someone who doesn't do big shows that's quite something. 

 

I'll leave with a shot of Jay and Tortters..  

 

 

Rob

Edited September 26, 2023 by NHY 581

[JustinDean]

Spot on assessment on the Stafford show there. Loads of space and loads of good layouts. A few more specialist traders would have made this perfect but that’s a tiny gripe. 
Warley has become more of a shopping trip for me these days!

 

Jay

[F-UnitMad]

Without wishing to open a nasty can of worms, I haven't been to Warley in years - far too crowded with slim chance of getting decent views of over-hyped, "must see" layouts. Since getting into O Scale most of the Traders at Warley are irrelevant to me as well.

What prevents me going to Stafford is how close it is on the calendar to Guildex - at the same venue now - and my local Club's Show a couple of weeks later. I can't get enough day passes from the Household Authority, & going AWOL just wouldn't be worth it, in many ways!! 😱🤫⛈️🤣

[Johndc120]

8 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

 

Hi Nick, 

 

And indeed lovely to see you. Glad you enjoyed the mayhem ! 

 

I did indeed make it back in time for the rugger and jolly damn good it was, accompanied by a couple of beers and a chinese rake away.

 

Sheep one was unloaded this morning so all is sorted. 

 

It was indeed a really good weekend away. Due to the early start, I missed the disruption on the M5 that befell a number of the exhibitors later on Friday afternoon. 

 

Over both days,  Bleat was host to a number of Rmwebbers. Too many to name but it was lovely to meet you all and your attendance enriched the weekend most considerably. 

 

Bleat behaved itself and any hiccups were down to the owner. Jay steadied the ship on Sunday and the word of the day was 'switch'. Again, I'm indebted to him for his help. 

 

Locos ran mainly well enough. Grahame's Pannier was impeccable and both the 4F and 3F went well. The 1P could have probably done with more running in and it was lovely to chat on Saturday with Wurzel who did the original weathering job. 

 

This is a really good show. Good spread of  layouts and some new to me traders. I have no hesitation in recommebding this show held in an excelkent venue. Plenty of space to mingle and no issue in seeing the layouts or getting to the traders. 

Frankly....forget Warley. Maybe not as many traders but for layouts, Stafford is just as good with over 50 to see. Now that's half as many as Warley but without the drama of trying to see them. 

 

If not invited back for next year, I'll be going as a visitor and for someone who doesn't do big shows that's quite something. 

 

I'll leave with a shot of Jay and Tortters..  

 

 

Rob

If not invited back next year we may well call on your services for operating and assisting with Shwt!

 

we had a fantastic weekend and as always good to see you! 
 

John

[NHY 581]

6 hours ago, Johndc120 said:

If not invited back next year we may well call on your services for operating and assisting with Shwt!

 

we had a fantastic weekend and as always good to see you! 
 

John

 

 

Morning John. 

 

I'd love to and thank you for nipping over on Saturday to allow me to nip away for a tinkle. Much appreciated........

Saturday evening's 'function' was very enjoyable as well. 

 

As you rightly say, a fantastic weekend.

 

Rob

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

Just managed to catch up since Friday, I was expecting to go and look for my old welding googles, after Friday's post, but I have been spared the need. I thank you.

 

I hope you all had a good weekend at Stafford, whilst I attended Scaleforum on Sunday.

[Anotheran]

It was really good to see Bleat in Stafford on Saturday. Sorry I didn't actually say hello. You were in the middle of a discussion as to how a catching sandpipe was causing problems, so I didn't want to interrupt! 

 

Photos on here are always good. But your work looks even better in the flesh. I have seen Bleat a couple of times now, and if that really was its final outing then I look forward to seeing your next presentation out and about.

[figworthy]

On 24/09/2023 at 21:53, 2ManySpams said:

 

To be fair, it wasn't...

 

I'm sure that @Old Gringo has our sympathy.

 

Adrian

[Tortuga]

@NHY 581 I meant to ask on Sunday, but forgot (or I did ask, but I’ve forgotten): how big is the fiddly yard attachment for Bleat Wharf?

[NHY 581]

1 hour ago, Tortuga said:

@NHY 581 I meant to ask on Sunday, but forgot (or I did ask, but I’ve forgotten): how big is the fiddly yard attachment for Bleat Wharf?

 

 

Hi Nick. 

 

It's 90cm x 26cm. The 9mm MDF adds...er....9mm to the length but it sits into the scenic section by........yep.....9mm. 

 

Rob

 

 

[NHY 581]

Morning all. 

 

Happy new month ! 

 

October is going to be a busy one. As well as the Sheep Continum's last show of the year in three weeks time, there is a lot of other stuff to attend to.........a couple of family birthdays, fence building in the garden ( 20m wooden for the use of ) to name but two.

Post Uckfield, we will commence the revamp of the Room of Doom which will emerge as a space more tailored to Sheep needs with much storage/layout supports and a larger, more suitable Desk of Doing. 

Once completed, I can then start on the new layout, whatever that may be which already has potential exhibition appearances next year.

 

Whilst this is going on, I'll be working properly on getting  SWAG'24 up and running with a view to announcing the line up in December. 

 

As a precursor, the date for everyone's diary is Sunday 28th April 2024. 

 

Outside of SWAG, Sheep Tours will be commencing at the Nailsea show in March which will see Sheep Dip attending. Also in the pipeline is a trip to Exeter in June ( conveniently moved back  from this years July date ). Layout to be confirmed.

 

So there are busy times ahead on the run up to the festive season and hopefully, this means a busy thread...

 

Rob

[Tortuga]

Busy month indeed! Hope it all goes according to plan.

 

Quick question if I may: what height do you make your viewing slot and layout facia? Since I’m messing with the frame for Whaley Shunt, I wondered if it was worth integrating the height of the backscene…

[NHY 581]

Hi Nick, 

 

If memory serves me right, track height is 54inches.Current baseboard depth is 5cms The backscene is overall 30cm ( sorry to mix measurements) so stands 25cms from track height to top.

 

Generally, it suits most people at this height but Alex @wiggoforgold had to squash a bit but he is 10ft 12 long. 

 

 

The lights sit ontop. The  fascia then frames the height of the viewing slot to 20cms.......er.....ish.......however......

 

I'm going to revise the lighting rig to make for a more streamlined look, doing away with the separate lighting box thing. 

 

So it will look a bit more thus........

 

 

First revision is planned to be made to Ewe ahead of Uckfield. 

 

Rob. 

[JustinDean]

The viewing height thing as been a source of a lot of debate over the years. While I prefer Rob’s approach so you can stand and look into a little world, this can be restrictive to shorter people, kids and folks in wheelchairs. 
I’m going for 4’ with Middleton Top as I’m going to have to reach over the backscene to couple/uncouple. 
 

Jay

[Tortuga]

Cheers Rob. I’d estimated a viewing slot height of 20cm from my photos of Bleat Wharf, so nice to have it confirmed.

 

I liked the high viewing height - made you feel you were part of the layout - though I can see the viewing issues for people in wheelchairs and potential problems manipulating 3-links. I think Whaley Shunt will be around 4’ to rail level as I’m integrating the support legs to fold up into the main board.

 

Since it’s going to sit lower than Bleat, I’m guessing a wider viewing slot might be better, so perhaps either a taller backscene or a narrower fascia might be in order?

[woodenhead]

There's another aesthetic with Rob's layout height approach that I don't think has been considered - sociability.

 

Low down railways mean everyone including the operator is looking down so you are less aware of the other people around you, but when you are all looking straight forward you are more likely to make eye contact with the operator and the other viewers.  Now knowing myself and not being a keen eye contact person, foreheads are great by the way, you'd think I'd be aghast at the idea of standing at such a layout but actually it was great and there was constant chatter around the layout.