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A little progress has been made over the last week. I've finally got round to adding timber fendering to the dock wall and I think it adds quite a bit to the effect. Bushes are also popping up all the way along the back edge to help disguise the lack of width. Here are a few photos of things as they are now. 20192 draws away from the dock with some beams destined for Fort William. TTAs wait next to the fuel loading point for a return trip down the line. A couple of track workers enjoying the sun.

The layout has a name now - Tarbhit (pronounced Tarvit). It's still 'Somewhere in the North West Highlands'

I've been meaning to post an update for a while but nothing much had happened to write about... Things have progressed a fair bit in the dock area with the fuel tanks in place along side the refuelling point. The TTAs have also seen a bit of action too. There's still a bit to do round the back of the station but things are starting to progress quite quickly - I'm keen to get this finished and start my next project in earnest (track in the post).

I'm glad you guys all seem to like it. Still not sure of what to do for a scenic break at the left-hand end. Maybe a few rocks to help suggest the open feeling I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

Ian, I bought exactly those magnets but couldn't get them to work the way I wanted - they kept attracting the wheels of very light wagons and making them lurch just after uncloupling. I'm also quite keen to keep the ability to shove stiock after uncoupling. Anyway, I've been keeping an eye on your Jedburgh layout as I'm a Borders man and it's not something you see modelled very often. A future project for me might be to model Duns station as it could have been some time in my childhood (Large logo 37s would obviously have made their way down there).

Always good to have more people modelling the West Highlands. Tonight's obligatory 37 shot... I'm pretty happy with the way the waves are looking now and I've added a little colour to the rocks with a bit of brown pastel. I think it helps alot. --- So, I eventually decided to try out the Dapol Easi-shunt couplings and have spent a good while testing out different magnet arrangements - I came to the conclusion that the Dapol ones are the best even though they're much more work to try to disguise after the track's down (and weathered). They're expensive too! It's possible to put them completely under the level of the base of the sleepers which allows you to cut the sleepers away, along with some of the cork underlay, and then replace the sleepers and ballast. I'm just a bit gutted that I didn't think off this at the beginning and saved myself the bother. Mind you, I probably only need 5 magnets, so it should be too much of a bother.

Thanks for the kinds words folks. The water was the bit I was most nervous about but in the end I don't think it was too bad (so far). You just need to have a clear idea of what you want it to look like and be bold enough to try. When I took the first photos the 'Javis Simulated Water' was still wet and I actually found the high gloss finish quite satisfying, especially with the slight ripple in the surface. Once it dried it went quite flat and had more of a satin finish that I was a little disappointed in. Once I had painted in the white water with undiluted acrylics and stippled it to give it some body I was actually much happier with how reflective the water was. The next stage is to apply another thin layer of the simulated water to create more depth, possibly mixing in a little bit of white at the broken water to build up the texture and then, as it dries, try to add more texture behind the waves with a brush. Hopefully that bit won't be a disaster.

Tonight's job was to bring the sea to life a little. Not quite done but getting close to what I'm looking for. On the photography side of things I decided to get my old DSLR out of storage and found that the field of focus is very narrow at close range, To get around that I followed the excellent short tutorial by Andy Y. Mike

Lots done this weekend: Rocks and water! That's a single layer of Javis water brushed lightly to give a base layer. The next stage will be to start adding in a little white water on the rocks. I'm a bit nervous about that stage but I do have this for inspiration - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/68142-isle-ornsay-hebridean-light-railway/

Cheers Jaz. I'm really happy with how they're looking - probably a little over sized but the effect is good. Once I've got past the end of the sidings I'll take a coarse brush and fine sandpaper to them to take away the worst of the harshness. That'll also lighten them up a little and allow me to stain the areas around the fueling point. At the moment it's all a little dark.

Hopefully this is all going in the right direction: And here's a top down view to show the layout:

May I ask what the biro circle method is? I've been scribing the cobbles with a sharp implement, a straight edge and plenty of patience. Knightwing kits arrived today, so this area should start to develop at a pace.

After a lengthy committee meeting (my flatmate, girlfriend and I) the decision was taken to remodel the area at the end of the dock. In an attempt to accentuate the feeling of open space that removing the engine shed creates, I've now removed the hillside and replaced it with the ends of three sheds: It does mean that there are going to be loads more cobbles but I think it'll be worth it, particularly as it makes a bit more room for a fuelling point and tanks without the whole thing feeling cramped and a little incoherent. The hill in the corner around the end of the passenger loop will be reduced in height to try and get away from the 'railway in a quarry' feeling that the area has.

Must order a Knightwing fueling point.

Thinking about designing the dock without the engine shed. I think I like the more open feel.

Just a wee aerial shot of the right hand end to give a feel for the flow of the track. I'm a bit gutted that there's a dog-leg between the main line and goods yard. Not much I can do about it now though.

A few more photos...

Consider it done...

Ben, It looks as though they are the ones on the Langley Models website. Good looking models although they might need a little modification so that they don't look too 'Euro'. http://www.artitec.nl/index.php/en/kits/category/n-ships

Ian, The rocks are roughly formed out of DAS clay to get the overall shape I want. Having lots of nooks and crannies makes for good texture and depth. Once I have the shape I flood everything with water and then apply a small amount of Payne's Grey and wash it all over trying to have a good variation in the colour - darker in the recesses and lighter on the edges. Once that lot's dry, which can take quite a while, I use sandpaper and a file to bring out more detail and then put another wash of colour to pick out the highlights. A little bit of brown help with the variation. The gorse is simple - a mix of Woodland Scenics Dark Green Bushes, Medium Green Clump Foliage and a little Light Green Coarse Turf mixed in to take the harshness off the colours and then a few dabs of yellow enamel paint for the flowers. I'm glad you like it.

Probably a wee bit more than I'm willing to pay, and a bit big for the little dock I've built. Nice models though. I was thinking of something from this range: http://www.langley-models.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Boats__Ships__quayside_walls_etc_63.html

It's been all go this weekend. Here are a few of photos of the engine shed and dock area: All of those sets are hand scribed into a layer of Polycell Onefill. A painstaking job if ever there was one but quite worth the effort to have something that doesn't look too uniform.

That's the plan although finding something suitable in N gauge may be a challenge.

Hey Jaz, thanks for the kind words. The seafoam works quite well for the trees so long as you don't look too closely. The gorse has turned out quite well - just some Woodland scenics bushes with yellow enamels painted on. Here are a couple of views from the deck end of the layout: 37027 catching the evening light.

Thanks Nick. In my original plan the branch was actually just a loco refuelling point so it's just by luck that it points away like that. With regards to the town, I must confess that I made a bit of an error when I planned the station - there's not really enough space behind the platform to suggest much in the way anything behind there and I'm not really a fan of low relief buildings. That's why I've gone with the quarried out rock at the left hand end. I think I'll have to try some kind of back scene tucked in behind the trees that are going to be at the top of the cliffs. Anyway, here are another few photos...