luke the train spotter

Nice start mate! I like where this is going and the history behind it all is very convincing. Regarding the signalling what did you what to know? With a track plan like that I can see a lot of little shunt signals in use as well as quite a few home signals on the end of all the platforms.

Well only one week to the exhibition and it's all hands on deck. With revision for mocks and work set up for half term it's gonna be interesting to find time to finish a couple bits of the layout off. But today Ive managed to find a few spare moments after work to start on the skirt for the layout. I'm using distillery yard's skirt plus an extra bit of black fabric on the end to wrap around the whole layout. Still need to finish and tidy up some scenery as well as cover up some damage to the fascia before it'll be ready for Saturday.

I'm thinking of having a seperate A4 boxfile for just materials and since most of them will be flat and thin I imagine that I will be able to fit loads in. Not sure where to store completed models but if I'm working on a boxfile layout whilst at uni I'm sure I'll be able to store them on the layout itself.

So chances are if you're space starved for a layout you'll probably be space starved for a workbench. This is something I'm seriously taking into consideration and planning as I hope to take some different modelling bits to uni with me when I hopefully go to it in September. Fingers crossed! But anyway, I present the all inclusive boxfile workbench! Simply pop it on a table and open the lid and you've got a very compact workbench! For this I've used a standard A4 boxfile, 5mm foam board (bought very cheaply from hobby craft in A2 sheets) and some hot glue as well as an A4 cutting mat. Simply super glue the cutting mat to the inside of lid and then divide the actual box into different sections of what you want. Here's a picture of my one in progress. It still needs a lot of work and some elastic bands to hold everything in place when in transit. In there I have got a handful of brushes, 3 files, craft knife, 30cm steel ruler, PVA glue, super glue, rocket card glue, section full of cotton buds, up to 14 valleyo acrylics, 3 valleyo washes and 2 humbrol weathering powders. It's impressive what you can fit in this tiny space and entirely customisable to what you want to put in it! I plan to neaten it up a bit and add an LED strip along the top of the actual boxfile for illumination when modelling. Not an expensive or difficult thing to do but a great way to make your workbench super compact and mobile!

So the plan was to simply add a tree or something but a pub sounds pretty good! I mean it can't be a Scottish layout without somewhere to buy whisky from!

I've already got 2 but a third wouldn't hurt anyone

No problem Will. Here's a link to the exact one I bought. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BR-LNER-GWR-Railway-Totem-Sign-any-text-you-want/182955604496?hash=item2a9900fa10:m:mgSP6ORPfbEN3c9zee-88HQ Something to not is the small one (the one I got) is small and there are some dimensions in the product info to help you decide what size you want.

I found that medium length kadees would actually manage them! I used the standard nem pocket and a chopped down Hornby lowmac and it managed it surprisingly. Otherwise a piece of wire would work.

More exhibition prep on Finlarig today. Spurred on by the arrival of a custom made layout sign I've finished off the fascia on the fiddle yard board and are currently waiting for the fascia paint to finish drying on the back of the layout as a write this now. I decided to get one of the smaller name boards since one double that size would just dominate the fascia a bit too much for my liking. I think it looks quite crisp and trim so big thumbs up from me. I ordered it from a seller on eBay for £10 and it feels pretty solid being made of aluminum and some mdf. As well as that I have tidied up the wires to the lighting rig in the fascia using some wooden clothing pegs, hot glue and a terminal block. This is a tip I picked up from Hornby magazine a couple years back and it works great, just running out of wooden pegs now! I reckon the next jobs will be sorting out a curtain/skirt , lining the fiddle yards with foam (to protect the stocks flanges) and blending in the road extension with the rest of the grass scenery.

For those that don't know I go by the name of Lukes_micro_layouts on Instagram. I post quite a lot of pictures of my layouts along with the updates on my story. Also on a Monday there is the "Train Crash" podcast live stream with me and my mate Oliver which is a laugh as well as live streamed running sessions (with requests) for anyone interested.

Thanks William! Let us know how you get on with modelling the Distillery and if you need any help with pictures of prototypes let us know, I've built up a photo bank whilst researching for distillery yard.

It's a much more affordable way to do it to compared to the products from 10 commandment models. The other box uses a grey foam camping mat.

With the exhibition drawing ever closer (getting more and more excited for it!) I've built my second stock box. Used one of the same boxes as I've used for my stock box but one now just isn't enough. The box cost £3 plus a £2 yoga mat and there you go, a second stock box. I don't mind the pink colour for the box since it won't be on show but need to sort out some foam lining for the fiddle yards really. With the RC van and NCE power cab controller and power leads in I just fill the 2 boxes, double what I needed to take Distillery to it's exhibition last year!

So this loop of track was passed onto my good friend Oliver Rowley to see what he could do with it. The result is in his fantastic YouTube video documenting the build. Definitely check him out he’s a fantastic industrial modeller in oo and 009.

That's something I still need to work out. I think I probably will put points in at some point but I don't think I will now. I'll have to give it more operating before any of that can happen.

A couple evenings worth of work and we have a through running layout! I've attached a fiddle yard made out of the baseboard of a false started ironstone layout. It's 1ft by 2ft long so brings the layout up to the total length of 6ft, my biggest layout in 2 years! It's attached with wing nuts and bolts so can be removed for transport. It's still to be clad in foamboard then I can paint the fascia so that everything matches. With the fiddle yard attached and some temporary track attached I've begun to work out an operating schedule using the van.

Fantastic glow from the LEDs! Will make a big difference to see the interiors too. I wonder if you'll make a model of a model railway layout for the inside of the building.

Like Technic arrow I'm a big fan of the crane too. I'd say pull it closer to the fiddle yard entrance though just so it would be more practical.

Here's my video on the van. Hope to do an update on the layout soon with the changes to the road system.

Looks good. You thinking terminus or through station?

Oh lovely exams. I found that it was worth it for the long summer holiday though and the period running up to my gcses was actually my most productive modelling time ever because I only had a very small amount of time to do my modelling so it was very condensed and I produced a few layouts I was happy with in the space of a couple weeks.

4ft by 16 inches is loads of space. You'll easily get a layout in there. You won't get the same level of operating as a larger layout but it's a different type of operation that I often find more engaging and enjoyable. With this track plan you could put the small TMD in bottom left hand tracks. Maybe one siding for fueling locos the other a small maintenance shed? http://www.freetrackplans.com/416-Railcar-Station.php

After a busy shift at work happy to get some more done on Finlarig. After test driving the can around a bit, it confirmed my suspicions that the road surface was too rough for the van so I have sanded it down. I also need road access to the fiddle yard so I can drive the van on and off scene. This was done using some 5mm foambaord, hot glue and some strips of scored card. All this stuff will be blended into the current road way (which will be repainted to match the old colour but maybe a little lighter). I may have to tweak some bits like the gate to suit the turning circle of the van but that's no a big deal. I'm very excited to see where this van can take me and my next layout will definitely have better road access to accommodate it.

A quite exciting development with the layout today. A custom built, oo gauge RC van has arrived! I ordered this to add another depth to operating finlarig as halts weren't renown for busy train services so to have something else moving and railway related on the layout seemed very appealing. The van runs very well (hope to do a YouTube video on it) and was built by a guy called JP models, a seller on Facebook. Can't recommend this guy enough! Great prices, excellent customer service and product updates and a quick build time. In other news I have got hold of an official leaflet for the exhibition where you can see finlarig halt and the RC van at. With the turn of the new year it doesn't seem that far away now!

Thanks Johna. The original grass was Polak stuff but the grass I used to re-do the layout is woodland scenics 7mm medium green, 7mm light green and 4mm dark green mixed together to get a variety of lengths and colours. Id really recommend the woodland scenics grass though, it is a little more pricey compared to javis and peco but the colours are so much more realistic.