Little Jeeem

Looks like you're off to a flying start! A very nice layout, with plenty of operational and scenic interest. That's a very informative and well constructed video too 👍

It's a shame one of them isn't The Other Line 😁

Good luck! Not that you really need it, as the awning seems to be coming along very nicely. Although if it's already fixed in place, painting maybe a bit of a challenge?

Speaking as someone who just plunges in with only a vague mental picture of what might go where, and who then often discovers that most of it won't, I should paint those very wise words in 12inch letters on my railway room wall. Am very much liking how this is coming along 👍

You've created a very realistic scene there 👍

Yes, my plans for what might go where keep changing too. Its a good job I didn't pursue a career in town planning 😁

My enthusiasm drifted off for a while, but is thankfully now returning, so I hope to show some progress before too long. When I do, it'll be of my attempts to model these terraced houses or at least, something that might vaguely resemble them.

Don't worry, it's not just you! Enthusiasm for my little layout, party inspired by yours, also vanished into thin air a while back. Thankfully though, it's been hovering around a bit recently, so I'm expecting it to land again quite soon. Looking forward to your updates on this great little layout in due course 👍

I notice that the top critical review on Amazon states "Not really suitable for wearers of 'Varifocal' or 'Bifocal' glasses. Things work a lot better if you wear 'standard' glasses" but doesn't say why that is. I'm in desperate need of something like this, and am also a varifocal wearer, so wonder if, when you receive them and have had a go, you could let me know how you find them? Many thanks.

A bit of fiddling around with the last remnants of the Superquick kit, some brick and tile papers have resulted in this low-relief building. Nets from some odd sort of cloth that my new laptop was wrapped in, curtains from Quality Street wrappers, poster from the Wordsworth website and gutters/drainpipes from cocktail sticks. Site on the layout yet to be decided.

Quite simply: Superb!

I'll at least TRY to make and stick to a plan for each area of my layout, and think things and processes through before starting, rather than my usual modus operandi of making it up as I go.

I realised that due to my change of plan, the wall below the station building had become rather tatty. So a replacement has been made and I took the opportunity to rebuild the doorway to the stairs. All now looks a little bit tidier. Now that the walls are complete, I'll turn my attention to the roadway and the low relief buildings which, in another change of plan, I think will now be mostly the backs of terraced houses rather than a high street shopping parade. Although of course, that could very well change 🙄

Turns out I'm not a very accomplished stairway constructor, my attempts involving cocktail sticks, staples and card resulted in something only very vaguely resembling a usable set of stairs which probably would have buckled under the first foot of a Smidgen resident. So with thanks to those who suggested it, I've gone down the dingy doorway to hidden steps route. Cobbled together from a few more bits from the Superquick station building kit. Evidence of the original gap in the top of the wall still to be disguised somehow, probably with some creeping weedlike thing. I do sometimes wish that whoever invented the high definition camera, hadn't 😐

That's very neat @Irish Padre . I am sort of half committed to a visible stairway, having already cut the access for it into the top of the wall by the station building. That's not undoable, but just to make things a little more challenging, before even testing my stairway construction skills, I've cut another access gap for a stairway further along the wall so as to break-up the vast expanse of brick and give access to the land down below, where I think the Smidgen MRC clubhouse might be.

Thanks for the suggestions. I especially wish I'd seen your suggestion @sleepyrider BEFORE I'd cut into the top of the retaining wall. I'd prefer to make rather than buy, so whatever I do come-up with probably won't be anything too intricate.

I really would benefit, and my modelling be a lot easier (faster too probably🙄) if I planned things out on paper rather than them just taking shape as I go. I find though, if I sit down with pencil and paper, despite all good intentions, I seem to get some sort of mental block and just can't move things from my head onto the paper. It means my modelling sessions often involve a fair bit of head scratching and mild annoyance when things don't turn-out quite as I imagined, or need re-doing entirely. Still, that said, there has been a bit of progress with the retaining walls almost complete and the station building position firmed-up. A bit of tweaking still needed then I'll have to have a think about how I might construct the steps down to the platform. For an easier life though, if there's enough space to avoid it looking like an alpine ski-run, then I'll make it a ramp instead.

The warehouse interior really is very effective, it's surprising sometimes how little additions can make such a difference. The industrial side of my little layout will also be a low-relief warehouse or factory, so what you're doing here continues to be rather inspiring 👍

Yet to be fixed in place, but the retaining walls are coming along. Not sure if the design would prove able to retain anything much in the real world, but I'm pretty pleased with the look. I use the word "design" very loosely, as other than a vague idea of what I wanted, there wasn't one.

So much in so little! You obviously have a very vivid imagination Jim, I'm intrigued to see how this comes along.

Gosh, you've certainly packed a lot into Mr Dingleberry's Tatbank Sidings @JimRead, I shall be following with great interest. Thank you for the kind mention also on YT 👍

A little more progress today with sides and the centre backscene fitted. Not quite as grey as they appear, there's a hint of blue there too. The station side of the layout will have, I think, a retaining wall running the entire length, with a small high street type scene, mostly low relief. The industrial side will probably be a hashed Metcalfe factory, I quite fancy making it a busy, crowded, grimy scene, so a scrapyard too maybe.

That's very nice @sleepyrider and so seasonal 👍 I've assumed that I'll be limited to 0-4-0's here but have often fancied a terrier, but as you say it seems to be on the limit at 19cm radius, that may have to remain a pipe-dream. I think you've hit the nail on the head there re childhood memories, as it's a niggling desire to recapture those innocent times that provides most of my drive, slow as it is. Much as I admire the many high-fidelity, prototypical layouts here and at shows, I prefer (at the risk of raising a few hackles 🤔) those that create more of a cosy-rosy version of the world, where imagination plays more of a role as it did back in my train-set days. There's a picture on my wall which reminds me a little of the illustrations in Ladybird books, it probably sums-up my approach better than my words. EDIT: I've removed the image in case of copyright issues. I've since learnt it was in an Enid Blyton book. A Google search for "william fyffe the railway station enid blyton" will bring it up.

Must admit that I've only scanned, rather than read this entire thread in detail, but just wanted to say what a delightful little layout this is turning out to be. The standards you've achieved are those that many, myself included, will aspire to achieving ourselves one day.

Very nice! And as someone struggling a bit in 4mm, I'm impressed by the detailing you've managed.