luke the train spotter

Sorry yes that’s what I meant. I decided to buy the 22 as to me they look quite similar to the 21. It is likely that I will buy a 21 when they come out but until then the 22 is standing in its place.

So some special deliveries for the layout. Firstly, I’ve purchased a class 22 which was used in the speyside region in Scotland. Cracking model from Dapol and would definitely recommend it. Here are a couple of pictures:it needs disks applying and a good weathering then it can become a proper member of the fleet. I’ve also bought and installed NCE powercab which is an awesome system and perfect for small layouts and shunting. I think the panel that I installed on the side of the layout also looks quite smart and makes dcc so much make easier as well as I was previously limited by the capabilities of the Bachman EZ system.

Thanks Technic arrow. You are right about the wooden inset track fouling some of the couplings. It doesn’t help that the vans couplings do droop a little. I will be sanding it back prior to painting but when running trains I’ve not noticed it causing any problems. For the front left corner I’m thinking maybe a large gate (closed) with a wooden archway or maybe a small boiler house and chimney.

Love those little bits of wire you added! Great detail.

A visitor to marmalade wharf today.

Great track plan. Simple but full of fun operations.

Still love looking at this layout. May I ask, are the brewery buildings a kit or are they scratch built?

The backscenes are finally in! I’ve used one from the peco range and I think it suits the scene really well. I think it adds a lot more depth to the scene as you can see in the photos below. I decided to curve the corners of the backscene a bit which i think has made a huge difference to the overall look of the layout - far less boxy. Don’t worry about the holes in the backscene, they will be covered up by buildings.

So the track has now all been inset with wooden match sticks. These will be painted at a later date and the rest of the board covered in das clay cobbles.the backscenes have also arrived so I can get them sorted tomorrow after work.

hadn’t thought about that. I guess I’ll need to get the breakdown crane out to rescue it.

Yes I believe no 29 is dark earth - you have great knowledge of humbrol paints!

Finally found some more time to work on the layout. Just a simple job of painting the rails with humbrol enamel number 29. Didn’t take too long but made a big difference.

May I suggest that you reinforce the shoe boxes with something. My experience with card board is that it wraps over time even in dry conditions even if braced. Also, as soon as any watery glue mixture seeps into the cardboard base it will probably warp and disfigure. Some thin ply wood would probably do the trick. It would make it much more robust as well.

It’s a very well planned layout. It looks nice and deep and very convincing. A matching backscene would finish it off nicely creating a smooth transition between model and the surrounding countryside. Beautiful layout!

I got round to filming a YouTube video of all the up to date progress of marmalade wharf. Here it is:

Looks good especially with the American stock on it.

I did a bit more work on some of the buildings last night. I added a second coat of paint onto the slate roof of the stone warehouse. I just used enamel paints on this. Its now nearing completion and just needs a few details and touch ups with the paint job before I’ll call it finished. I also got round to finishing off the other warehouse which has a single track leading into it which will hide the entrance to the fiddle yard. The roof is plasticard and the capping stones are bits of card. The small wooden door is thin strips of coffee stirrers. Now all the model needs is painting and some pipe work/ guttering adding.

That’s probably the way forward. Oh well, we live and learn.

Looks good Jerry. Though simple I think roundy layouts give great satisfaction and its nice to be able to stand back and not have to worry about the complex operating that you get on other layouts.

I think I might have been too generous with the mod podge or put too much air into the glue with the airbrush but when I came to see how the glue had dried and it had turned a funny colour in deeper areas and it was also full of bubbles. Not impressed. Thankfully I was able to remove most of the dried mod podge as it peeled off with the help of the screw driver. This lead to some damage to th resin below and the stone quay bit. I then applied a much thinner coat of mod podge over the top which has worked really well. I think I definitely will be getting some barges/small boats to hide where I’ve messed up though. However, for a first ever attempt at water modelling I’m fairly pleased with it. It’s the sort of thing I might consider on future layouts now too.As you can see, the damage to the resin is in the bottom right hand sides and those spots of white is where the screw driver has unfortunately pierced the resin.

For layout inspiration I find looking at Chris nevards layouts very inspiring. He’s got a lot of albums on Flickr which can make interesting browsing if you have some spare time.

The mod podge arrived today so it’s been applied to the water. I used the airbrush just to create some random patterns by blowing air on the surface of the mod podge. It certainly smells a bit funny! Hopefully it will all be done by tomorrow then the water effect will be finished and I can move onto the buildings. I’d like to get all the buildings done first so that I can do the cobbles last which would allow them to be flush with the buildings. I’m still unsure how to go about doing the rails though. I could add check rails then add cobbles to the inside of that or I could out planking round the rails and points. I think maybe a mixture of them both would work well.

Thats a good question! I have a very limited knowledge but I’m guessing that they tried to keep the canals flat so barges could travel both directions along the canal yet they did need to flow in some direction so that the water didn’t get stagnant. I assume that the rate of flow would change from area to area though depending on the geology and topography.

Thanks Technic Arrow. It’s a very easy technique involving just das clay and some thinned acrylics. Didn’t take too long either,.

Probably! I was at the stand at about 4 on the Saturday.