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Mark, Having just received a couple of these for my own P4 project, Thorburn's, I'm interested in how you're planning on convert these to being sprung. Mike

Managed a few hours of creating general junk today. Mike

Thanks Neil. I really wanted to challenge myself with the amount of detail I could get into the scene without it feeling claustrophobic. For me there are too many modelers who try to cram as much onto a board as they can and lose any feeling of space. If you look at a real railway there really isn't that much there and all of the adjacent buildings tend to be much further away than you'd think. Mike

Cheers Neil. Liking the look of your own wee project at the moment. Mike

I used Das on card painted with Railmatch concrete. Personally I think it's a little too green but generally I'm happy with the outcome although I had hoped that it would crack as I flattened the card out. Not going to try again now. The SPAs look good to my eye with pretty crisp detailing. Not sure exactly how the Bachmann SPAs are articulated but these have the springs as part of the underframe and only the W-irons turn. I'll be gluing them up at some point. Anyway, I literally took them out of the box, popped some wheels in and sat them on the track. Mike

Yes, and I do this for enjoyment, not some kind of punishment so it's important for me to walk away and do something else when it isn't floating my boat. Mike

Thanks Paul. I'm pretty pleased with the way things are looking and glad to be getting back into it after a few week of doing other things. Mike

First up for tonight is a black and white version of the photo in my previous post. I think this has the feeling that I'm striving for with this layout. A quiet, misty morning with a sense of space, Secondly, the postman arrived at work today with a couple of wee presents to myself... 2 of the new SPA wagons by FTG models. I think this'll be about the right state for Thorburn's: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bolckow/5697424648/ Lastly, I've done a fair bit of work around the concrete outside the shed.

As promised, I've started modelling this new year. Nothing to show as yet but I did turn the layout round so that I could work on the back edge more easily. Mike

Many thanks Jock. I wish you a happy new year too. I'll try to get the granary exterior finished pretty soon and then get onto the overbridge at the headshunt end of the layout. I may well even start of the Yorkshire DE2... Catch you in the new year. Mike

Cheers guys. Pretty pleased with the way it's looking. I've rolled out another slab for one of the ends so I should get started on that tonight. I might mock up a roof to see how the whole thing's going to sit against the back edge of the layout. I've nor really decided where it's going to sit exactly - particularly with respect to the track. Mike

Not much going on at Thorburn's at the moment, although some new motive power turned up during the week: The long awaited Railfreight 26. Time to get the Railmatch weathering paints out. Mike

Cheers David. I need to get another couple of bits of DAS rolled out and dried for to do the sides with. Mike

Thanks Paul I agree with what you're saying. It might not look exactly like the real thing but it looks enough like a masonry building to be convincing. Mike

I wish I hadn't posted that picture of the real thing at the top of this page as it shows up a few deficiencies in my modelling. Happy enough with where this has got to now though. Mike

Thanks Christian. I'm glad you like it. Mike

Cheers Jaz. If I get time tonight I think I'll attack it with a smear of DAS to try to recreate this photo a little better. Luckily there's a nice line where I made a mess of counting the courses, so that should be easy enough to disguise! Mike

Brilliant. I'll have a good look at those later. Mike

I'm pretty keen to have it in the condition it is in now. In use but with a few alterations from it's heyday. That sounds interesting. I'm not sure it was so much the detail I was disappointed in, more the overall feel and quality. I've seen other folk describe them as being like 1980s Lima models!

Paul, My own preference is for woodchip... It's good to see that someone else on here is into dirty track work. Mike

Thanks Andy. I had toyed with the idea of using blocks but was worried about what would happen as they clay shrunk and how it was going to make rolling the thing flat a little more awkward. You're right about the sizes of the stones but that's something that can be fixed with a skim of clay and a sharp implement. Mike

Nice one Paul. I've been following this with interest for a while now. Just wanted to say that I think it looks great. The last photo is conclusive proof that you don't need a back scene. Mike

Cheers Simon, All I would say is 'go for it'. Buy some Exactoscale turnout kits and some flexitrack (if you're looking for an easy start) and then see where it takes you. Mike

Cheers Paul. On reflection I'm pretty happy with it although I think some areas need a little bit more work. The next thing to think about will be the windows. I had imagined getting some etched brass frames made up but the cost is too much as far as I can tell and because I didn't have the frames, and I wasn't that careful about the opening size, all the windows are slightly different sizes! A lesson for future reference. Overall I'm happy that the 'slab of DAS' method works well enough for me so I'll press on and get the sides done. Mike

Just a few shots of the first attempt to paint the front elevation of the granary. The stonework looks a bit too regular so I think I'll do some remedial works and maybe smear in some DAS clay to make it a little more irregular. I haven't cut out the central door as I'm worried it'll be a bit on the breakable side before I build the rest of it. Mike