JamFjord

Good tips, all - cheers. I too have been using PVA, but for Metcalfe kits, along with Deluxe Roket Card for trickier bits, both applied with fine applicator, so I think I'll stick with those for the printable download kits. Thought it might be worth trying wallpaper paste, but I hadn't considered the bleed issue. It sounds like I might want to try Anita's Tacky Glue though, I like the texture idea.

I'm hoping for a little help and advice, perhaps just ideas and suggestions. As I've been extremely fortunate to win/inherit/become custodian of Chris Ford's GWR branch line layout 'The Art of Compromise' via BRM's Great Model Railway Giveaway competition, I'm now planning how to bring about the ideas I proposed in my submission. A key one of those is to change the setting from the small, quiet archetypal GWR village station and goods yard of the original design, to something with a bit of light industrial interest. The layout itself has quite a background (more details here) so I will be paying tribute to that and attempting to preserve as much as possible, but it does need some work to bring it up to date, I think, and make it suitable for exhibiting. The track configuration, for one thing, is absolutely not going to change. The setting will remain a ficticious location in Wales, but slightly more gritty and perhaps a little shabbier than the current bucolic and pastoral theme (which, don't get me wrong, is lovely work by Chris, skillfully refurbished by Phil and Howard). Geographically, we're talking Powys, Mid Wales along the border with Shropshire or Herefordshire. I do have some ideas of the kind of light industry I'd like to portray (probably forestry or something similar) but I thought I'd post this here in case anyone has suggestions or ideas that would be fun to incorporate, or perhaps glaring prototypical errors to avoid.

Not built this one myself but I'd be interested to know how you got on, as I have ScaleScenes' Clyde Puffer in my list to build for a planned layout sometime in the future

Has anyone tried wallpaper paste for sticking the printouts to card? Thought I'd ask before I order a packet...

The website has the owner's email address at the top - I just ordered some kits and got a couple of prompt, friendly and helpful responses to my queries. Hope you've had some luck contacting Roger, but for anyone else reading this, the company still seems to be very much in operation. EDIT: the kits arrived this morning, so if you haven't had any luck contacting the company, @bluestag, and if any of your kits are the ones I've ordered, I'd be happy to send you a pic of the instructions from my pack. The kits I ordered are: F319 GWR Stone Goods Shed F558 GWR Single Engine Shed F524 GWR Standard Ground Frame Hut F526 GWR Ticket Office F321 Lifeboat Station

Cheers Keith, I managed to get about half way through this issue so far (busy week!) - I'm glad I still have plenty to look forward to. I'm particularly interested to read Tony's TT:120 review. Some amazingly good layouts in this issue too - heaps to inspire us all.

Cheers James, will do - next recce will be planned well in advance with an itinerary and everything. Probably worth running that by you beforehand anyway in case I'm missing any essential locations. Just a lovely part of the world to explore.

Last Sunday, I found myself with a few hours to spare, so I jumped in the car and headed to Wales. I’ve been planning a more organised recce around a series of locations in Powys and the Welsh Marches, to knock off a number of the places I’ve identified as possible prototypical examples for 'The Art of Compromise'. However, Sunday’s trip was just to take a few photos, get a feel for the potential setting and judge whether I’m on the right track (no pun intended, but I’m keeping it). I took a few photos of things that caught my attention - here are some of them. They aren't particularly good photos, but that isn't the point. Close-knit tangled vegetation at the edge of the forest. The wooded hillsides and the buildings here both offer good reference, I think. A very poor shot through the car windscreen, but I love the shapes of these pine trees. Nature is often far more extravagant that we seem comfortable representing in model form. I took a few reference shots at Llynclys South (the Cambrian Heritage Railways' line in Shropshire). Close detail on a hedgerow that should be fun to model. A shot of the soil I saw around this area, to help me make sure that I get the paint base coat colour right on any new bits of scenery I create. Books and stuff I also had a flick through the books that arrived (see previous post ‘A lineage’) and thought I'd share a few pages that caught my eye. Chris Ford's ‘Modelling the Great Western Branch Lines’ (above left) and ‘Great Western Branch Line Termini Volume 1’ by Paul Karau (above right) which profiles Fairford in detail, the prototypical basis of Roy Link's 'The Art of Compromise' design. Michael Welch's ‘Great Western Branch Lines Volume 2: Rural Wales’ (above left) and ‘Industrial Locomotives & Railways of Wales’ by Gordon Edgar (above right). Rather than Fairford's Gloucestershire, the setting of Chris Ford's TAOC build is Wales, which I will be carrying through as I remodel the layout. All four of these books are packed with good stuff, I've just shared a taste of what's there. The latest issue of BRM also arrived, with plenty more motivating pics and articles. I’ve been particularly inspired by Kathy Millatt’s ‘Port Dinorwic’ layout, having followed its creation over a series of live streams on Kathy’s YouTube channel, so it was good to see it captured so beautifully by World of Railways’ Phil Parker. I have a lot to learn from Kathy and from this layout in particular, much of which I feel could be applied to ‘The Art of Compromise’. Finally, going through my haul of leaflets and cards from the Doncaster show, I found the ‘Introduction to Industrial Modelling’ leaflet I picked up from the Planet Industrials stand. On top of the useful tips included, there are some lovely photos by Alan Sewell. James Hilton from PI has been sharing a few of Alan’s photos on his blog, Paxton Road, which is appreciated - Alan seems to have done an incredible job capturing a pivotal era in industrial railways and I haven’t had much luck finding his photography (and detailed notes) elsewhere. Perhaps a book of Alan’s work might be on the horizon? What’s missing from that photo though? A Planet Industrials mug, I reckon. Here’s hoping we see those added to Light Railway Stores soon (pretty please @cornelius and @James Hilton). Thanks as always for reading and bye for now.

Thanks @Mikkel. I haven't found confirmation in the book yet (maybe I missed it), but the upper photo does indeed appear to be Ian's Modbury layout, very deservedly on the cover. The lower photo is, I'm pretty sure, the lovely Condicote by Bob Vaughan. I'm very much enjoying Chris' book; some fascinating historic context, examples and step-by-step guidance on specific projects/builds. The other books are excellent as well - lots of inspiration and ideas.

In the last blog I said I wasn't going to write anything for a couple of weeks whilst I was deep in the planning stage and starting to acquire materials, but I couldn't resist posting this... An exciting delivery arrived yesterday. Well, exciting to me anyway. The final piece in a puzzle; completing a picture that should help me to understand 'The Art of Compromise' as a layout, as a trackplan and as an idea. A couple of weeks ago I’d already found myself a copy of Railway Modeller from October 2018, with Chris Ford's article detailing his interpretation of 'The Art of Compromise' - the layout that has become my project for the next year. Yesterday's delivery brought a copy of RM from October 1978, with the feature by Roy C Link that inspired Chris to create the layout. I felt a charge of excitement course through me as I held the copy for the first time, and flicked through its pages, enjoying a bit of nostalgia for the publication that I consumed voraciously as a kid (albeit a few years after 1978). Having read Chris’ article first, seeing the piece by Roy before me in its double-page glory felt a little like discovering some long-lost historical document. I’ve included some photos of Chris Ford’s 2018 article as well for context, as this has already been a huge help in understanding how I can best preserve the essence of ‘The Art of Compromise’, whilst also putting my own stamp on it. Well, that’s what I hope to achieve, anyway. In addition to the two magazines, I also got a copy of Chris’ book ‘Modelling the Great Western Branch Lines’, as well as ‘Great Western Branch Line Termini Volume 1’ by Paul Karau and ‘Industrial Locomotives & Railways of Wales’ by Gordon Edgar. A copy of ‘Great Western Branch Lines: Rural Wales Volume 2’ by Michael Welch is on the way too. That lot should keep me going for a while…

That whole ensemble is a thing of beauty! Lovely work on the layout

So it's here! Got back from Doncaster fairly late on Sunday and had chance for a short gawp at 'The Art of Compromise' before bed. Yesterday was mostly taken up with lots of measuring and photographing the layout from every possible angle, working out how it is constructed under the surface and how to start putting my plan into action. Having the opportunity for a closer look has revealed some nice details that I hadn't spotted earlier, a young boy spotting trains from the railings next to the bridge, an oil drum mounted on a wooden frame by the coal staith, various goods stored next to the goods shed, common-bond brickwork to the bridge, and tiny, barely visible signs and notices. I was also happy to discover that both my Bachmann Class 08 and newly acquired pre-owned 64xx look equally at home on the layout. That should be a clue for you... 🙂 Next update in a little while, maybe a week or two, whilst I go deep into the planning and start buying the materials I need. Until then, cheers and bye for now.

I didn't really get what WOR Plus was about when I signed up to the free trial last year, so I didn't really make use of it... had a poke around the layouts, watched a few of the videos, then let it lapse. However, sometime after the trial ended, this video popped up in my YouTube feed: Five digital magazine subscriptions in one, that search feature is a gamechanger, and now I've stopped lurking on RMweb and started posting, it's a no brainer for me now. Plus the free ticket - that's two months covered on its own. It's gone from me not really understanding why on earth I'd sign up for another subscription to it being the one I feel I'm getting the most value out of. Amazing what a short explanation can do, eh?

Thanks Phil - I'm looking forward to sharing what I do with the layout as I work on it. Today has been spent photographing and measuring the layout, understanding a bit more about how it's constructed and making an inventory of what's currently on there, as well as updating my layout drawings to more accurately reflect what I now have in front of me - I even started work on a project plan. I also set up a blog here on RM to document this project, and of course any advice that the RM community can offer would be gratefully received: I'm sure I'm not the only one who would also like to see how the other entrants Phil mentioned get on with their own projects, so please keep us in the loop. Phil - it was a pleasure to meet you and Howard, as well as the rest of the WOR team at the stand and the other people I got chatting to around the show, as well as a catching up with some people I met at previous shows. Right... better crack on, I have a lot to do 🔨👷‍♂️ Haha - not sure if there's such a thing as a flattering photo of me 😅😬

Thank you, Michael, and yes, it really is! Hopefully one positive side effect of the costs of the hobby increasing so much is that more people will take on projects that need a home. One can but hope...

Monday morning and a new email popped up, with some news that I'm still not sure I believe; my submission for the first 'Great Model Railway Giveaway' had been picked and I could have the layout if I still wanted it - and could still pick it up from BRM's Festival of British Railway Modelling in Doncaster. Yes please! Part of me still thinks it's all a hugely elaborate hoax, but I'm going to Doncaster anyway - I'm being a little facetious, perhaps, but I'm still not sure I'll truly believe I won the layout until it's in the car. After that, I expect the scale of what I've taken on will properly sink in. So, to put some context around what I mean by scale, I've got big plans for this layout and lots to learn to make them happen. I've already been on a very steep learning curve over the past few months, catching up with years of missed developments in model railways. I started my modelling journey young, but I've had a long break. I was obsessed with railways as a kid, both model and full size, but once teen peer pressure and hormones started to take effect, music and entanglements took over and I drifted away. Three decades later the dust started to settle and I remembered how much I used to enjoy creating models. Much the same story as many others re-entering the hobby, it seems. So I started this blog to share progress on my first full layout project in a long time, from start to finish, with my hoped-for successes and undoubted failures along the way, getting back up and dusting myself off then getting back on with it again. And having fun - it is a hobby, after all. Hopefully at the very least it might be interesting or entertaining... even better, just perhaps, the end result could be something I will be proud of, maybe even worthy of a few pics in BRM and an invitation to a show. I'll be sharing some details soon on what I plan to do with 'The Art of Compromise', but until then, thanks for reading and bye for now.

That's really kind, thank you! I was watching Lawrie's recent live stream where he mentioned you having submitted an entry. Still two more layouts to go so I'll keep my fingers crossed that you nab one of those! :)

No worries, Fran, credit where it's due. Keep doing the interviews if you get time, I can't imagine anyone finding that stuff boring. The open communication we get from yourself and certain others who stand out within the industry is appreciated and builds trust, I think. And yeah, Andy is an excellent interviewer - I'm not sure people appreciate the work that goes into developing that skill.

Thanks @Keith Addenbrooke - I'm starting to feel a slight weight of expectation from the community, and hoping I don't disappoint! 😅😬 I'm not planning anything too contraversial but I'm hoping for a different enough slant to be interesting. Coincidentally, the sketch I submitted did indeed re-site the coal staithes, but I'll be doing lots more research and asking plenty of newbie questions here on RM in an attempt to make sure I don't make too many glaringly unprototypical placements. Your TT:120 version sounds interesting, hope you'll keep us updated on progress? @Keith J - I noticed that too when the copy I bought off Ebay arrived (part of my research). I found the BRM article on Euxton Junction fascinating so it was nice to get some context on the layout's development. I know the 1:1 Euxton area quite well so I'm looking forward to seeing the layout in person next month at the Preston show.

Thanks, Andy - much appreciated! All I need to do is turn those ideas into reality... should be fun

Thank you, Phil and the rest of the BRM team - what amazing (and frankly unexpected) news this was to brighten up a cold Monday! 🙂 I'm looking forward to getting stuck in - I have a lot of work ahead of me to bring my ideas to fruition. Can't wait to get started! Hopefully the other entrants don't feel their efforts were wasted, and can use the ideas they came up with to create a whole swathe of interesting and creative new small exhibition layouts. I'm looking forward to seeing those too. Cheers 👍

I'm a bit late to the party (as per usual) but I just wanted to chip in and thank both Fran and Paul for giving up the time to do these interviews - they are by quite a margin the most entertaining and insightful interviews I've watched for while. Cheers both and to Andy for asking some decent questions.

Thanks both, and sorry for the delay in replying, I completely forgot to check for replies, I must've been distracted by something shiny. Probably in the shape of a loco...

I've thrown my hat in the ring, but whoever wins 'the Art or Compromise', it's going to be interesting and exciting to see how the layout is developed. There seems to have been a step change in modelling skills across the hobby in recent years with many railway modellers taking influence and techniques from other realms of scale modelling as well as making the most of all these new tools and products on the market, so I'm hoping that the layout is shown some love with Chris, Phil and Howard's work continued in an innovative but respectful way. It's also the 45th anniversary of Roy Link's original plan this year, so wouldn't it be nice to see tribute paid to that in some way perhaps? Anyway, for all of us who don't win, I hope this inspires us all to use the ideas we sent to Phil to still create something special in any case (whether that's an alternative 'art of compromise' or something just as interesting). Most of all, I'd really love to see this Great Model Railway Giveaway series kicking off a trend with more old, neglected and redundant layouts getting upcycled and given a new lease of life. Cheers and good luck to all who have entered 🙂👍 EDIT: PS it occurred to me that whoever takes it on has some tough decisions to make, not least of which is whether they stick with Chris' original decision to use kits, stock and supplies that are (where possible) contemporary to Roy's original plan... at what point does the revamped layout lose the essence of the original or become the modeller's equivalent of Trigger's broom? 🤔 http://unnycoombelala.blogspot.com/p/the-art-of-compromise.html

Hi, another new member here 👋 I've been away from the hobby for over 30 years (pretending to be a grown up) and a lot seems to have changed; DCC, greater detail on locos/rolling stock and more realistic scenery techniques like static grass... so I have a lot to catch up on. Please be patient, I'll try not to ask too many stupid questions :)