Ighten

I had the same issue with Tunstead (which is in this forum somewhere) which is a scenic diaroma - goods yard - Inglenook style with an extra headshunt.. For a shelf layout the run around really was pushing things and it looked too tightly packed - I also felt it important especially in 00 that when space is ltd you can still have an illusion of space by not cramming every available inch with trackwork.. I was just about to do an update so will share one reflection I was thinking of this morning and that was if I started again I would just give myself an extra inch or two between the backscene and the track - I got a little too carried away with the idea of having space at the front of the layout but now have track almost up to the backscene so I am going to copper the Canadian Boomers method of having vertical scenic treated areas that just sit in front of the backscene to add a little depth. The three way should be useful for saving space, it did appear in my first plans I think but I shied away when I looked at the wiring lol

There does seem something slightly ironic in watching someone reviewing something with a knowledgeable attitude then running it on a carpet - though I have to agree with maico, that looks like a pretty rough model when compared with those shown here.

Will this be avail in stores - I can see the postman destroying it as per usual as our post box is a long way from the house and he packs everything in like its a puzzle or will it be better protected than just the usual plastic wrap on a magazine

So just amall update to reflect the small amount of progress; the start of Spring has ment many many jobs in the gardens now need attention so I have not had as much time to devote inside. I cant decide on either to use an ID backscene clouds or countryside or just stick with painted blue - I'm not sure a printed backscene would work on such a compact layout.. I have also started to build up the scenery banks a little at the rear to blend in with the backscene board - I had left this till now as I wasn't sure on building sizes and positions etc The rest of the time has been slowly catching up with the dreaded ballasting - a job I have never really got along with but so far so good - the secret does seem to be getting it really wet before going near with the glue..

So I have completed the first two levels of grass 2mm and 4mm all the wal along the front of the layout and embankment.. I will add some 6mm in places and also need to work out the best way to make gorse bushed with specks of yellow to allow a little more interest etc.. Im happy with the colours - maybe some specks of purple as well for heather will be part of the final detail. The stream bed will next get an ink wash to darken it down before larger pebbles added etc to represent poking above stream bed. WIll then make some reed like grasses for the area as well. I need to work out how the bridge area is actually working - more of a culvert than a bridge perhaps set into a rock face. Think Ill now start making some temp buildings though to see how this looks with buildings.

Continuing on I have added the first layer of static grass on top of the turf - a mix of 2mm spring and 4mm patchy - Im not sure what you would call the look I'm aiming for - sort of moorland tor.. I just make it up as I go along and adjust with the layers as I progress. Im not 100% sold on the GLR couplings - they are great for rakes where you want close scale coupling but they need such a tug to break the magnetic force you actually can end up ripping the coupling out of the NEM socket as they are not all a brilliant tight fit being 3d printed .. Think I may use Kadees not so much for the auto feature but just for the close coupling and the fact you can just lift and seperate without it being such a tug of war.

Sorry for the poor quality of pics but I thought I may as well show some progress .. I have added to the earth base layer with some very fine turf layer .. I'm keeping it random how this next layer goes on top of the earthy sand (on top of mod roc) and it could be argued the end result is a little like a rather bizarre coloured cheetah but once this dries its like solid rock and you can apply base glue or thickish pva on top for your static grass to sit on.. You may notice I have made a start on the ballast as well --- I'm using DCC concepts brown blend the 00 scale mixed with a about 20% N scale. The colours allow a great flow in to the earth colours I'm using though I have to admit I'm probably the only person who'll notice this by the time its finished.. Basically Im just fed up with grey and am applying rule 1 no matter what.. Not to confuse anyone but the gap in the boards will lead to the fiddle yard but I have now relocated to the "woodland" bedroom which means if I accidently ran a loco off the layout it would have a hell of a journey to a hard oak floor so safety first until the fiddle yard actually exists... Even though the fine turf looks quite proud its set like concrete so its a firm base for thick glue and the static to sit on - It does seem a backward way of doing it but I just prefer this method as it allows you to break up the space from the start.. That 7 plank seriously needs weathering though and as this is a very simple and quick inglenook I'm trying the GLR couplings - Hand of God but not as fiddly as tensions and with way way way more realistic gaps.. Even on short points I have no issues with a short length GLR on the loco extending about 1mm from the buffer and the wagons being the same (though these Oxfords need a "long" to actually reach that) --- They are firmer though than I envisioned - I have a plan

OK work and odd jobs asside its time for an update... The Din socket is now wired into the fascia board and tested as working. The side boards were also constructed and finished out of more MDF. We have also started to make a little progress on scenery layers.. On top of the original black paint I am adding a method of earth layers which will then be followed by patchy static grass at a later date.. I want to try to avoid the carpet of grass that can sometimes take over. For this I mixed some old Javis sand and stone with brown earth scatter. This is set with matt PVA and then later i'll randomly build up the static grass in areas so that this partly shows through. Thats for much later though. Im still thinking at the moment of buildings etc - I dont want to overwhelm the layout with too much.. TRack has had an initial blasting of sleeper grime and will get some more work when ballasting is complete (a job I always put off - though prefer to do after the earth layer is down)

Yep one of my faves from the weekend - Bacup TBF doesnt look much different in places and you get too see a lot of it up close as its through road is generally a traffic jam of roadworks

You have a true artistic skill in making the dirt and grime full of realism and life, especially those Min Wgns....

Excellent work as usual

Like the whole idea of the fiddle yard set up

I am kind of at a similar stage but one thing i keep getting mixed opinions on is weathering the track --- My intention is to "Railmatch sleeper grime" before I ballast and then dry brush and detail after but I see your going the other way and ballasting before.. As your in front of me (re that stage) could I ask whats made you take that path

Also remember quite a lot of DC only locos are now fitting coreless motors and they wont work either..

Im slightly concerned the photographer seems to have ignored a rather major risk in order to get this effect

First thoughts were auto uncoupling and as you say the ability to lift out easily compared to tension entanglement... I have to say though now as the layouts developing and Im looking more and more at the detail Im starting to be drawn towards some form of magnetic 3 link.. That pic does looks like mine but for some reason thats not what I think of as a NEM pocket - which I always think of as sliding into the pocket horizontally and then the spring clip at the end holding it in place.. Not just slotting in from above - I must have got confused at some point.

To be fair any B is soft enough

Another Vote for Gaugemaster - never had a burnt out engine and the lifetime gurantee is noce though I have never had a fault - quite happy with a W walkaround which I dont think has ever been turned past 30 and is generally between 15 and 20... Only others I had in the past was Hornbys that came with the kit (useless unless you only wanted high speed running then just died) and later a couple of H&M superb but too bulky for my needs now.. Havent I read the HM2000 does have feedback (which seems a bit bizarre with the market shifting towards coreless)

Stunning work - Beauty in grime

looks good to me if not excellent - only thing I can think is tune down the highlights as its washing it out a little (but that may be monitor setup) - you may then end up with some over punchy red bufferbeam and the yellow anorak so I just toned those a little -

Last few days have been spent on the wiring on the baseboards.. Im using some Wago connectors I had to connect up the droppers to the bus so no soldering required. This particular brand I have always had great success with - the fit is secure and a resistance and voltage test shows no effect to the power. Other jobs I could get on with was tidying up the front fascia ready to drill the din socket into. I think the RH point seems to be still having a Peter May adventure of its very own Now to find an 18mm drill in the depths of the woodshed.

Which Kadee series do you need for these as they dont have the usual NEM pocket but a sort of Y slot pocket the tension coupling pops in and out of..?

To add to my previous post I now have dc power to the layout so out for a fresh from the box test it went (and no - not on static poly carpet like youtube would have you) It runs like silk (crawls superbly) so based on this thread Im a little reluctant to return it for the minor weathering issues in case I'm then sent a dud - now back to the box until the rolling road arrives to run it in..

Used them twice now and would not have come across them if it wasn't for these forums - but the simple attitude to postage costs is an absolute breathe of fresh air.. Thumbs up

I have a ? - has anyone been given anything remotely resembling an official certificate - proof etc (I ask ask as a few of our hols have in the future requested this)