Robin2

Both photos give the impression that the embossed lines are raised above the face of the surface whereas I suspect they should be lower than the rest of the surface. ...R

That is my preferred solution. It also helps to disguise the location of the joints. Also if the two baseboards are at slightly different vertical angles it halves the angle at each joint making the motion of the train smoother. Indeed it probably removes the need for alignment dowels. If there is a ledge to support the adjoining baseboard the fishplates on both ends of the "jigsaw" track can be soldered in position and the connections made as the baseboard is slid into final alignment. ...R

I think of "embossing" as making an impression with a blunt instrument - and I doubt if it could produce enough force to emboss plastic However I think there were earlier posts in this Thread where someone (maybe more than one) made a "scrawking" tool for a Silhouette machine. By that I mean a tool that would scrape away some of the surface. ...R

Having helped assemble layouts that have location dowels and over-centre latches one additional feature that I think would make the process much easier, and less prone to damage, is if one of the pair has a ledge on which the other one can sit before the dowels engage. That means the people can let go of the board to get a new grip if necessary and the process of alignment is then one of sliding the board onto the dowels with all (or almost all) of the vertical alignment taken care of. Another good idea (IMHO) which Iain Rice has written about is using "jigsaw" pieces so that the joints in the track do not coincide with the joints in the supporting baseboards. ...R

I have found the Everbuild 502 Wood Adhesive to be very good. AFAIK it is just PVA but it has reasonable grab and the joints can be handled after about 20 minutes. I built a baseboard about 2000 x 350 mm by about 50 to 100mm deep (it varied) using cheap 4mm ply. The vertical webs at the ends and internally were 10mm softwood. All the joints were glued along the edges of the ply and IIRC I had some fillets here and there. Certainly NOT along the full length of each joint. A fillet of glue along the edge(s) of a joint hugely increases the strength of the joint. I have no doubt the webs could have been made with 4mm ply, but cutting them accurately would have been tedious. The strength came from the fact that it had a bottom as well as a top. However most of the bottom was cut away to allow access to the innards. IIRC everything was cut away except a width of about 50mm where it contacted the vertical webs. I think I had two internal webs for the 2000mm length - making bays about 500m wide. Certainly there were not more than 3 webs. As usual I never finished the layout and eventually I broke up the baseboard. Before doing that I tested it by standing on it when it was supported at each end. It did not break. ...R PS ... my latest attempt at a layout is using a baseboard made from 25mm Celotex and no timber at all.

9mm ply is for structures that a person will be standing on. 3mm ply (or 4mm) will be perfectly strong enough for railway modelling. Even then it should have lots of holes for lightness. ...R

Thanks for the update. I must think about this a lot more carefully ...R

There is also a lot of info and help available on the Arduino Forum ...R

Very interesting. I will take time later to read this carefully. Did the laser module cost $295 ? ...R

+1 The "twee" is what I like. It makes a refreshing change from all the Brexit nonsense we are assailed with every day. ...R

Peter Ustinov was also good. ...R

Good to see prompt action being taken. Also, its a relief to see Ukraine being blamed. I thought it may have been my fault because the day before I had said to myself that I have never seen any spam messages on this Forum ...R

I much preferred the earlier Poirot series. I never got any sense of that darkness from Agatha Christie's books. John Malkovich was good within the constraints he was working but, really, none of the characters made me feel like I wanted to see what happened to them. I recorded the first hour but I didn't bother to record the others. I just watched them in the hope that it would improve. I will stick with my ITV box-set. I didn't realize they were using real trains. To my mind the railway shots looked like poor quality CGI ...R

I hope the loco will be built with battery powered radio control. ...R

So ... ? ...R

Does anyone know if there really was a drone flying over Gatwick at any time? Or was it all just a hoax? ...R

These seem to be your other Threads on similar stuff - just so I can find them easily. All wonderful, by the way 1:76 tipper lorry A Remote Depot ...R

Fabulous as usual. But with the battery in the trailer you won't be able to uncouple the tractor ...R

I was considering using ESP8266 modules and the ESP-NOW capability to control battery powered radio controlledd 00-gauge model trains but the battery drain is about twice that of an nRF24L01+ transceiver so I gave it up. I guess with a garden railway there would be room for larger batteries so that would be less of an issue. ...R

It was a somewhat rhetorical question in the hope that some constructive ideas might emerge. IIRC that was the reason this Thread was started. In practice a lot would depend on how much investment was needed to produce the kit. If a small production run could be viable then the business risk would be low. There are plenty of off-the shelf model buildings and trains, track and power units so the only part needing investment is the baseboard and scenery. ...R

What's to stop someone marketing a UK outline equivalent to the "train in a box" ? ...R

I use LibreOffice Draw (which is free and available for Windows - though I use Linux) to create drawings for my Portrait cutter. It is very similar to PowerPoint. L-O Draw can export files in SVG format. Because I am using Linux I then use an extension to Inkscape to drive the Portrait cutter. IMHO L-O Draw is easier to use than Inkscape - but then I have been using L-O Draw for years and PowerPoint before that. ...R

All I am suggesting is another way to get into the hobby. Many many people are cash rich and time poor. And many people don't like starting something in which they have no competence for fear of being laughed at by experts or just by family and friends. Give them scope to start with a good looking product and they may be tempted to move on to more traditional railway modelling. The product needs to be good looking to adult eyes so that it is not easily dismissed as a "toy train". ...R

Yes of course. But the purpose IMHO is to create an attractive-to-an-adult and simple-to-implement entry point to the hobby. If you buy a Lego kit, or a flying model airplane, or a sailing model boat, or a model loco kit you will wind up with something identical to other people. I don't see that as a big deal if the thing you wind up with is a pleasure to own and display. If you buy a Ford car it will be identical to hundreds of others. ...R

I don't think the issue is price so much as completeness. I reckon there needs to be the ability to buy the whole thing in one package - trains, track, baseboard, scenery, buildings, electrics etc. Take it home; take it out of the box; minimal assembly; call friends and family in to admire its looks and the way it works. Something that can be presented as piece of art, as well as a working model. Maybe the baseboard is just a plastic moulding, or extruded or expanded polystyrene. And, for obvious reasons it will be a lot smaller than 8x4. Maybe a shunting plank that can fit on a shelf. Or a 4x4 (2 off 2x4 for ease of carrying) that can sit on a table. Maybe the boards could be designed so you could buy another one and join it on. That concept is well established among some groups of modellers. Why not commercialise it? ...R