SonOfMike

I had the same problem when using foamboard for background flats. I found that sticking a piece of paper or thin card with PVA to the rear of the foamboard section before applying cladding to the front helped to prevent this, as then (I am guessing) the PVA caused the paper covering on both sides of the foamboard to shrink equally. For the warping I encountered prior to trying this technique, I was able to remedy most of it after the fact by gently bending it flat by hand, sticking the paper on the rear and then using weights to keep things flat while the PVA dried. This could only be done on individual pieces though, not sections that had been joined together to make something more three dimensional.

And me!

Bostin'

I know that feeling all too well myself

Yes, so far they include "waterfront" and "module". I possibly need to give it a little more consideration .

Thank you very much for the kind words - I'm sure I will post an update eventually. I need to get my mojo back. I've not exactly lost it; it's more like I've put my mojo at the back of a cupboard for a while . A welcome return to full time work in July after a short furlough period has meant that I haven't had as much free time and I have been devoting what time I do have to other hobbies which are easier to dip in and out of and involve less clearing up. I have quite a lot of holiday left to take before the end of March so I will most probably get back into modelling when I'm off work. I need to plan my waterfront module and finish that last building I started and I also still have some details and figures to add to the main Apocrypha module. I should just get on with it really...

I'm not really sure. It was a darkish green Tamiya acrylic which I bought because I liked the shade but I didn't really notice what it was called. The wood on the buildings is a variety of materials. The board and batten style of the gable end is hand cut strips of balsa on a balsa sheet (I don't really like balsa but I had some lying about). The horizontal planking is hand cut (by eye) individual balsa planks on top of a foam core shell. The buildings with the vertical planking are Noch textured and printed card sheets stuck to foam core. In the case of the board and batten, the balsa was stained using dirty thinners to achieve a weathered wood effect and then sprayed with hairspray. The paint was then applied and then sightly rubbed off n places, using everything from a finger to some sandpaper, to reveal bits of the stained wood and in some cases raw wood. More dirty thinners was applied to create further weathering and to slightly craze the green paint (especially on the windows) to suggest peeling paint. Lastly it was lightly dry-brushed with a touch of white. I'm not 100% sure that the hairspray did anything other than make it smell nice really, but I'm worth it The horizontal planking was stained before being stuck down and then treated and painted using the techniques described above. The Noch sheets were panted in the direction of the printed grain (only because I had used them as-is for another building already) and I found that the paint didn't fully cover the underlying wood effect and created a lightly weathered paint effect without any real effort. Dry-brushing was then applied to tie it all together with the other structures. The "architecture", style and construction of most of the buildings was very much dictated by what materials I had at hand. I didn't have enough of anything to do the whole lot so I just went a bit freestyle. There are some "during construction" photos in my layout thread. Hope that helps.

It existed (and still does) within my warped mind

The green buildings in the photos here (The Anneka Rice Co.) are all less than 1 cm deep. They are basically some 5 mm foam board clad with balsa and card and are part of an HO micro layout which is less than 4 ft x 1 ft. I personally think they look OK; the right-angle between the buildings in the corner of the layout and the tree next to one of them hide the lack of depth somewhat. The little ammo and fishing tackle store to the left of the rice mill is also only about 2 cm deep.

Keen to see how this one progresses.

Managed to get just enough light to take a few hurried snaps in between rain showers. slowly getting there...

Progress at last! Now that I have found some time and a bit of mojo, I finally have the front loading dock and rooftop water tank under construction for the new building pictured further up the page ("new" being a relative term; I started it quite a while ago) . Photographs to follow when the glue dries...

Apocrypha, Louisiana, late 80's.

I'm 100% with you on that. Having recently started modelling again for the first time since I was a teenager I have definitely found that compered to then, what I lack in eyesight and dexterity these days I more than make up for in patience. You win some, you lose some .

No updates yet I'm afraid but I did just want to confirm that I haven't given up. Returning to work has meant that I haven't had quite as much free time and I have also been devoting my attentions to another of my hobbies. I'll be back here before you know it I'm sure.

Thanks to a generous gift from my Dad, we can see what Apocrypha looked like during the 80s. Basically nothing had changed at all .

Thank you very much for saying so, although in truth I'm very much in the "measure once, cut 3 times, swear quite a bit and then bodge it until it looks like I meant it to be like that" school of construction. The "architecture" and construction of this building in particular is very much dictated by what materials I have at hand. I didn't have enough of anything to do the whole lot so I just went a bit freestyle. I'm happy with the shingle roof on this one. The shingles were cut from strips of cheap masking tape and then all coloured with splodges and streaks of black and rust washes before they were applied. Then I gave them all a light dry-brushing to give them a sense of cohesiveness. I took a similar approach with the corrugated iron; each piece was painted and weathered separately and then the whole was dry-brushed ti bring everything together. The name on the left end was a result of me not having any transfers or decals. I googled some Louisianan surnames and chose one that was four letters long and all straight lines so that I could mask the letters with tape whilst painting. The dust collector is made from bits of ballpoint pen and sprue. Its frame is made from bits of a window moulding.

I think I was just lucky. The kit was a birthday present from my parents, I think it was my 16th. I had heard the horror stories about the running qualities but I didn't care - I just wanted a shay and this was the only option other than expensive brass models. Somehow it ran perfectly the first time it was tested and it still runs, although it does need some lubrication now as it's 36 years old and has spent most of its life in a box until recently.

My own layout is a 3-2-2 Inglenook, meaning that one siding can accommodate 3 cars and the others 2 each. The headshunt can fit a locomotive plus 2 cars. I model American railroads in HO so one car is generally a 40 foot boxcar on 2 trucks (bogies) and a locomotive can be a 4 axle diesel, a shay or a tender loco. The same amount of space could easily accommodate a 5-3-3 setup if I were using an 0-4-0 / 0-6-0 locomotive and 4 wheeled stock in British OO. I tend to operate mine in one of 2 ways. In both cases I first place 5 cars on the sidings in a random fashion. Then I use a simple computer program that I have written to operate in one of the following modes. "Simple" Mode - The program randomly selects a 3 car train that I have to make up; this is the same as Keith described above but with fewer cars. "Complex" Mode - The program knows the capacity of each siding and randomly assigns 5 cars to spots on the sidings. I then need to shunt the cars until they are all in the positions decided by the program. Sometimes this is very simple. Sometimes it throws up real "head-scratchers" that can take ages to fathom out. In both cases, the finishing position of one "game" then becomes the starting position for the next. I wrote the program because I could and because I had a few spare minutes (it's what I do for a living) but I originally used cards (as described by Keith) . In my case I also had an extra set of cards to define the number of cars on each siding for the complex mode. On the other hand, sometimes I just use my imagination and shunt as I feel inclined.

I thought that some of you may be interested in my own micro layout. It's an HO scale inglenook, set somewhere in or near Louisiana, measuring about 46.5 inches x 9.25 inches . It has it's own thread here on RMWeb in the USA & Canadian Railroads forum and this is where the majority of updates will continue to be posted. Here is a link to the main thread and a couple of photos. Feel free to have a read and a look if you are so inclined.

I'm still gradually progressing. Here are a few snaps; it was difficult taking photos as the light is so poor these last couple of days and it's a bit wet and windy to risk taking it outside. There is still a lot to do including but not limited to: Fixing each of the 3 sections together and hiding any gaps, finishing off the roofs with bargeboards etc., a loading dock at the front, another raised deck and lean-to roof on the right-hand side, a water tank on the roof, signage, finishing off the cyclone dust collector on the left-hand end and adding various other details.

It's starting to take shape. I still have no idea exactly what shape it's actually taking but it's definitely a shape of some sort. An irregular polygon of some sort, anyway. Most of it is still held together by gravity alone at the moment.

Personally I'm in agreement with you. I actually like interacting with the layout; uncoupling and operating points by hand either with a lever or just one of my big fat fingers. If I were building an exhibition layout then I might think differently but even then I would probably use wire in tube to a switch / lever or pull rod rather than a motor. But that's just me and I am also far from being a dab-hand with a soldering iron. By the way, I absolutely love this layout; I really should have commented to say so sooner. The scenes you have created simply ooze with atmosphere and character. It was seeing photos of a K37 and a shay when I was a child that got me interested in modelling American railroads.

I seem to recall saying something about planning when I come to do the next module. Blow that for a lark!. I have a fuzzy notion in my head and that will do for now... what's the worse that can happen if it doesn't work out? Anyway, I have started on a structure; this is just the mount board shell. I'm working using my normal principal of "it will probably look OK once I've clad it and weathered it". The roofs are just held in place by gravity alone and the doors and windows are stuck in with a bit of tape behind them for now, all if which makes things look a little wonkier than they really are. I'm not sure what this is going to be yet. Each section is going to be a different material; that's mainly because I don't have enough of anything to do the whole building. I've been frugal with the doors and windows because I'm low on them too and I have no idea why I decided to recess the door on the left had side. There will probably be a loading dock on the centre section, a lean to on the right and a water tank and other bits and bobs sprouting from the rooftops. Who knows? Anyway, at least I have started building something again. Which is nice.