themagicspanner

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...

Thanks Steve, I'm glad you like the layout. The layout is very small. The following photo shows the space between the main line that the Class 20 is on and the rocks at the front: One thing that probably makes a bit of a difference to the perspective is the length of the grasses at the front - they are far too long and need cut down. The bridge is the Ratio one built upside down. The way it's designed is totally non prototypical for the UK.

One of the main areas that I've been working on recently are the rocks. My technique has developed quite a lot lately and I've really settled on using DAS Clay formed into the basic shapes and then panted when wet - the stage the above photo is at. Once it's all dry I file away edges and cracks to create more texture and then create depth and highlights with washes of light and dark paints.

Thanks. Probably going to experiment with the Dapol couplings at some point - not a big fan of the big magnets above the sleepers though so I'll be looking to retrofit some other option.

I have to admit to lurking on here for a quite some time and thought it was time to actually show off some of the modelling I've been doing for the last 9 months or so, so here's 'Somewhere in the West Highlands' (A layout in need of a name). When planning this layout I knew that space was going to be at a premium, with a space of about 6' x 5' available, so plumped for an N gauge terminus layout in the corner of the living room. I love the aesthetic of the West Highlands in the mid-eighties with large logo 37s and the classic blue and white Mark 1 coaches so it had to be set in a fiction location with plenty of interest. Here's the track plan and an overview of the layout. The main line is the one that leaves the scenic area at the bottom and there's a branch that leads to an industrial facility a little further up the coast - an excuse for plenty of freight and a variety of wagons. Annoyingly, at the planning phase I made the mistake of putting the branch to the industrial facility behind the goods yard and dock turnout, making holding wagons in the dock a bit more convoluted than it should be. Oh well. Anyway - the right hand end of the layout is fairly advanced with just a bit of development need. The left hand end needs loads of work. I'll keep posting photos as I keep developing the scenics and maybe post some from the early days... I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have so far. Mike