aardvark

That looks to be a lovely gas lamp just visible at the bottom of the photo. Do you recall where you got it from?

No, we're here. We came from there.

I think you've named what I couldn't - it just looks too nice. I will investigate distressing and/or weathering the shed. There's lots of info in magazines and on the web, so lots of opportunities to procrastinate 🫢

I thought I would age like fine wine. But I’ve aged like milk. Sour and chunky.

And 11 weeks later, the Banff goods shed is complete - or as complete as anything ever is. Although it's a much simpler structure than the station building, it's still surprising where the time goes. Here it is, in company with the station building and an incomplete Parkside van. I'm generally happy with the end result, although the colours are too flat/even/saturated/something. I'm not sure what's wrong, nor am I sure what to do about it. The shed also needs guttering , downpipes and bedding-in, which will disguise several millimetres of the bottom of the model. One day, perhaps. Construction, as previously stated, is Slaters 2.16 mm planking over 1.5mm card with ScaleScenes slates and bricks and details cut from plasticard. Here's some detail shots. Despite being barely visible on the layout, I'm most pleased with the stairs. Constructed from plasticard, these were attempted as a practice for the highly visible signal box stairs.

That's where the support bit comes in, after you've pulled their legs from under them.

That's sensational! What's the limitations with TinkerCAD? I don't know anything about 3D printing - just asking for a friend 😉.

One might comment that there's quite a lot that's round the bend at Little Muddle, but that might be open to misinterpretation, so I won't.

About fordy seconds, I'd say.

The biggest joke on mankind is that computers now ask humans to prove they aren’t a robot.

Hello Graham: You have my (virtual) support, sympathy and commiseration. In buckets. As a beginner, I can only guess at the turbulent emotions that must come when breaking up a layout - all that time invested, all that work going in the bin. Whilst I've yet to get to that point myself, I have spared a moment to consider what will happen should we move from our current location, something that is bound to happen at one point or other, and for that, largely unforecastable. Of course, it is a pastime and a means to make some (virtual) friends with common(-ish) interests, and to that end, has served and will continue to serve you, me, and all the other readers well. I hope you enjoy the modelling hiatus. I suspect that we're all looking forward to your future endeavours.

Cosmetic surgery used to be taboo, but now, when you talk about Botox, no one raises an eyebrow.

Since it's a faff to get the camera into that position, perhaps you could photo all the locos while you're there. Doing different things, of course.

The workmen are wondering what could possibly be in a crate that thin.

Some images managed to be recovered by the service, but most that still exist were tediously restored manually by the original posters.

Do you recommend DG couplings over other varieties?

My wife caught me cheating. She found all my hidden letters. I guess that’s the end of our Scrabble games.

Hello Graham: I've been following your work for quite a while now. Despite modelling in a different scale in a different location, I find it all very inspirational, while at the same time boggling at the scope of what you're building. Simply amazing. But it's time to ask a question: as a beginner, I'm amazed at the step from "blocks of colour" as shown in your Wednesday post above, to the apparent realism of your Thursday post (I don't know the location). Please Sir, what's the "trick"?

I'd read (and posted) that you could disable "smart cuts", but came to the conclusion that you do need them in order to turn the blade. Without them, the blade will turn anyway, just on one of your cuts, and will therefore probably make a mess of the the first cut in each direction as it turns. Autoblades don't need "smart cuts" as they're a point rather than a blade. There isn't anything that SS does automatically that you can do manually in your design, including ordering of cuts, "smart cuts", overcutting, etc. It just takes more work, which I suppose is exactly what computers are meant to be saving us. In regards to the 3mm blade, I tend to be quite cautious, preferring to take my time in order to reduce the percentage of screw-ups. My cuts start at depth 1 and go up in steps of 2, so 20thou has cut depths 1, 3, 5, and 6; 40thou 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, then finish by hand. Everything is cut at speed 1 and force 1. I had thought I would use make use of the higher force provided by the second carrier, but I don't. More force + greater depth increments = higher chance of the blade digging in and ruining everything, but exactly what you can get away with varies by material, so you have to experiment. I come to accept the addition time as I'm sure that SS can cut more accurately, straightly and squarely that I can by shaky hand. I also position my designs at the bottom of a sheet: that way the "Return to Origin" setting pushes the design out of the machine so you can see how it's going without the need to unload the sheet.

Different people find different ways with these machines. I cut 10thou/0.25mm plasticard with the autoblade, and 20/0.5 with the 3mm kraft blade. 40thou is also possible with the 3mm kraft blade, but not all the way through. Cutting with the kraft blade takes some planning/patience, as SS will insist on inserting "smart cuts" in order to turn the blade. Regretfully, I find these "smart cuts" can cause the blade to stick in and ruin the cut, so I minimise them and manage their placement. I posted about this previously. I've only cut a little Slater's embossed, but couldn't be bothered with using the cutter. I couldn't see a satisfactory way of getting the cuts to line up with the embossing.

I believe that the correct answer is: A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

If this umbrella ever tends to roam, smack it's bum and send it home.

It's mine. Knew I left it somewhere.

Must be nesting season.

Someone keeps sending me celery, but I don’t know who it is. I think I’m being stalked.