LDM34046

Another day of small jobs that needed doing! A trip to the local model shop for a few paints and pieces resulted in a spur of motivation to make more progress. The first job was to bed the yard hut onto the layout. It’s currently just placed on the layout resulting in some unsightly gaps. Clearly plastic was cut and glued in place to represent window glass. The hut was then glued down on the baseboard. Static grass was then added around the edges of the building to cover up the gaps along with some small vines creeping up the side of the wall. The grass will be tided up once it’s dried. For a while I’ve not been happy with the shade of ‘grey’ on the embankment. A coat of darker brown and redoing the edge of the grass line resulted in a finish I’m much happier with. It looks a lot darker thanks to the room lights but it’s a much lighter natural shade of brown than pictured. Some proper edited photos will be posted when the natural lighting is better! A productive afternoon!

With the weather proving pants today there was no better excuse to sit and have a lengthy operating session. A few of my favourite photos. W4 Peckett 'Niclausse' pushes a stray coal wagon into the local goods siding. Removable wagon loads are on the list of things to do. The fireman looks ahead as 41726 arrives with a local mixed goods. A lone fruit van awaits unloading in the local goods sidings. When the lighting hits just right. 5775 assembles an outward bound coal train due down at the coast. A touch of Black & White. The Peckett crew discuss the day's movements with the 1F driver. Apparently the fireman is in the hut making a few cuppas! The Peckett snapped mid shunting. Hornby has nailed this model, even better with the weathering. Now to getting it running properly, hopefully with the addition of a stay-alive chip. 5775 snapped through the trees on the hillside leaving Lancaster Lane heading up the line. It's amazing how even a small layout can provide hours on enjoyment, even with a simple track plan. Tempted by the idea of exhibitions hopefully later this year? We'll see... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking at a few new ideas of rolling stock...and a new extension for that matter...one step at a time!

I’ve seen both the N Gauge couplings and the peco 009 used but neither suit my fancy. Most of my locos will be 3D Printed so a simple copper bar and 3-link chain will do the job I think... Excited to see the progress!

Loving the work so far. What couplings are you using on the layout? There seems to be a mix in the photos. I'm thinking of a 009 layout in the future and thinking of going with 3-link but I don't know if it's too fiddly when it comes to operating.

Just spent the last hour looking through the layout, loving the progress so far, in particular the weathering techniques.

Sunday morning's spent shunting a few China Clay wagons. Finally at a stage that I'm happy with in terms of scenic work. A few more changes on the horizon. Potentially some more rolling stock. You can never have enough right?

A visitor on the layout today. Selling some old stock on eBay and couldn't resist getting a few photos of Class 03 162 on the layout. A lovely model by Bachmann purchased years ago at a show. Excellent detail and weathered from factory. Normality resumes with the W4 Peckett as the driver enjoys a well earned tea break in the local goods sidings. In the background, 5775 assembles an outward bound mixed goods train.

BR Black returns to the layout. The 1F Jinty spotted through the trees arrive into Lancaster Lane on an early morning goods.

Thank you! Yeah I originally looked at pre made trees however the trunks were very chunky. Glad I went with Seafoam in the end.

The local W4 Peckett arrives into Lancaster Lane. Shot between the freshly planted trees.

Thanks Paul! Yeah mine are electro frog as well. I’ll give the inside of the rail a clean as I only clean the top. Everyone I’ve asked as told me stay-alives are the only way forward but I’m determined to get it running well on DCC on it’s own accord. Cracking photo by the way!

Loving the layout so far! It's great to see another micro layout utilising the Hornby Peckett! Do you have the W4 variant? I'm struggling to get it running smoothly on DCC, regardless of how clean the track is.

Trees finished and glued in place! Very happy with the results for my first attempt. Sprayed with brown paint and sprinkled with a mix of Gaugemaster Dark Green and Light Green Leaves and fixed in place with a very cheap sticky hairspray. A small hole was drilled about 3mm into the baseboard and then the trees glued in with PVA. Some of the trees towards the back were held to the backboard with a dab of superglue on a few of the leaves. A few smaller bushes and bits of seafoam have been added in between the trees to blend them into the layout. There are a few areas on the layout that I'm tempted to add some more but they can be done at a later date. I think foliage is a case of less is more.

Quick job this morning filling in the last bit of grass that didn’t get done the first time around. I’m sure in real life the grass probably didn’t grown this close to the track however it suits the rest of the layout being a slightly overgrown yard. Next job is to fix the trees. Every site I’ve seen has said drill into the baseboard to glue the trees in place however I’m don’t know if that’s too overkill for the tiny tree trunks. I don’t know if cutting into the papier-mâché/ cork underlay and a drop of superglue will be a good enough job.

Trees mounted up and sealed with a coat of 50:50 PVA and water as recommended to strengthen the branches. A coat of brown was the applied lightly leaving some of the original colours showing.

Up early for a change with the plan on getting a lot done this morning. First job was to make use of my latest purchase from Gaugemaster and start work on the trees. Untangling the box was a messy job however some nice sized trees were picked out before being trimmed down and cut to fit. Once all the out of scale leaves had been picked out sizing them out on the layout was the next step and trimming them down further to fit the layout. Just holding them up against the layout made a huge improve visually. Working with the philosophy that it’s easier to add bit by bit. As with everything on this layout, it’s the first time doing it so getting the trees modelled will be a case of trial and error.

A two hour drive yesterday down to the very helpful chaps down at Gaugemaster yesterday! It’s weird to think this is the first time I’ve been inside a model shop since I’ve got back into the hobby because of lockdown so it was nice to be able to ‘browse’. Some great inspiration and modelling on their shop layout and after a helpful conversation and tips from their staff I left with all the necessary ingredients to make my own foliage and trees. A great shop, well stocked and helpful staff! Well worth the visit!

Having had a few operating sessions over the weekend I've decided to turn my attention to more scenic additions. With the hillside and cutting filling up the right hand side of the layout the left hand side is looking pretty desolate albeit the yard shed. The plan is to add a few trees and bushes to add a bit of height and depth the layout however thanks to my excellent planning skills space is a bit limited so a bit of clever placement will be needed. A few trees at the back to add a bit of interest to the back scene and then a few towards the front as I like the idea of the field of view being obscured as the trains run around the layout. At the moment I'm leaning towards the Faller Tree Kits however a trip to the model shop maybe required instead to look as it's difficult to size up trees online! A project for this week. Any other scenic ideas are welcome!

My next project on the layout is getting these new figures prepped and painted for the layout. This time I went with Hardy’s Hobbies as recommended by a few modellers. Very impressed with the quality and excellent detail, on par with the Modelu figures and slightly cheaper. Excited to get these finished up and on the layout.

A few of my favourites from another running session the other day. With Covid restrictions being loosened work is picking up again so modelling sessions are few and far between however the prospect of exhibitions on the horizon is promising! However for now enjoy these quick pics!

All quiet on the western front due to work commitments however on a recent trip up north to collect a new car we bumped into the East Anglian Railways Museum. Despite being shut because of Covid it was nice to have a wander around and look at a few bits of the stock on display. A few new bits on order for the layout so changes are imminent and hopefully with time for a running session this evening.

Thank you Dawnflyer! I’ll check them out this evening!

A few new additions to the layout, 5 to be exact! A lovely rake of Bachmann China Clay wagons. Although probably not very location correct they were an absolute steal on eBay and the weathering is lovely. My excuse is there is a local pottery about 4 miles from here however why they would ever need 5 wagon's worth of clay is beyond me! Currently undecided on whether to add the hoods or not however I am just tempted to run them as empty stock, hence why they're so far north of Cornwall!

That little scene looks incredible Richard! Yes you're right, they work out a lot cheaper. Having looked at the Hardy's models I'll definitely be placing an order in the coming days as I thoroughly enjoyed painting the Modelu figures!

Thank you Richard I haven’t looked at Hardy’s Hobbies however I have heard of them. Are they of similar quality and detail? I think they work out about £1.50 cheaper each which is a lot cheaper for 4mm figures. You’re right in saying that it’ll give me a much wider range of people. I’ll definitely have a look tonight at placing an order.