Mikkel

I was just looking at the mixed rake again. It really is amazing that the bow ends don't stand out more, considering their age. But then that is also credit to the work you have done on them. Great stuff.

That looks good to me. But I am no track layout expert. The river at the back: I think the trees would look good there, but I wonder if the river would be at all visible from eye level height? Or maybe that was part of the point?

Fantastic Ricky, those Vallejo links are very useful, many thanks! So the building is a kit from MKB? Impressive., must look that up too. Maybe scope for a bit of conversion.

Fairweather friend, hadn't heard that expression before. Nice one. I look forward to the next photos, thanks. Oh, and don't forget that you have now promised to build a handful of HR fish wagons!

I was sitting here with my morning coffee on a grey misty morning, trying hard to wake up. Then I saw this and I woke up very quickly...! This is exceptional, Mike, even for you. Must have been quite a task to do, but so beautifully done and the effect is very, very good. This may be a stupid question but what are the long "wires" that extend along the roof support structure? They are a small detail but they add to the illusion that we are seeing something "real", I think.

Thanks very much for those mogul double header shots, Rob! This prompted me to look for prototype photos of such a feature, but haven't found any yet. It would have been quite a sight though.

From a visual point of view, I like the curve on 3B, and how the river is oriented so that a viewer would look along it from the front center to the r/h corner. But the jigsaw solution to 4 seems clever...

Hi Adrian, this is indeed disgustingly wonderful! Although your HR wagon in green takes a lot of beating in my book, this looks pretty OK too for such a modern livery :-) Very nice and subtle weathering, as always something to learn from. PS: Please Sir, can we see some more of your recent work? It makes the days seem fairer, you see! :-)

Hi Al, very nice to see the Toplights finished. The mixed rake in the last shots works really well, I think. I share your view that oversized couplings can really ruin the illusion at eye level height, even if total finescale is not the aim.

Nice to see something different. I have no knowledge about French steam era, but you freight train looks very good. The building beside it has a lot of character too and looks superbly done. Is it a station building or a depot? Your weathering of the Wills goods shed is really good. I use Vallejo too, so thanks for the tip about the "Chipping Medium", hadn't heard about that one before.

Mouth-watering stuff, Will ! I really like the weathering of the Gresleys, looks like just the right balance to me. And yes please, can we have some more early GWR coaches :-)

Tough choices, Pete. But maybe it is good sometimes to focus activities a bit. I noticed this casual statement: "My growing 7mm collection of rolling stock." Is there something we should know, Pete? Are you trying to tell us something? :-)

Just to humour him, how about a double header with the 43xxs? Or have we already had that? Couldn't find any when I searched.

Looks very 1950s, Job. You are very good at finding the details that define a period. I like the big wicker basket in the photo. Hornby did some pretty good representations of these.

Hi Dave, what an excellent demonstration of how you work. Very useful. You make it look achievable, which is very inspiring. As I've mentioned before, there's something fascinating about how you are creating a William Clarke "might have been". It's almost as if the story lives on in a parallel dimension.

Hi dseagull, this looks good to me, although others will be better than I at judging the operational integrity of the layout. I do like the very simple engine sheds that you mention. It would make a great little modelling project and provide lots of character to the scene. My favourite is the one at Newcastle Emlyn: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/n/newcastle_emlyn/index6.shtml Pete Morris did a nice model of it once, seen here: http://gwr.org.uk/layoutspentrecwrt1.html

Hi Mike, you make some interesting points I think. The thing with details is that once you start focussing on them in the real world, there are so many little things and imperfections to notice that it becomes almost overwhelming. But it would be fun to do a wagon with bent bits here and there!

Hi dseagull and Job. I think the challenge for the jigsaw approach is the same as for the interchangeable dioramas: Finding those natural lines that will hide those cursed joins. Since the above entry I've experimented with three ways of doing that: (i) Using cobble sheets which include natural lines. It seems like the Wills sheets are best for this as the lines in these are quite deep. (ii) Making the join just by a wall or a loading dock, which seems to works fairly well for small diorama sizes, but may not be enough for a jigsaw style layout? (iii) Using a flexible foam material, where the edges can be pressed close together to avoid a visible join. Didn't work! That's how far I've got with it. It would be interesting to hear about you progress with it, dseagull!

Hi Jules, great to see all the progress on your layout. I really like the shunting sequence above. Your attention to detail makes all the difference, I think. Eg the point levers, which actually makes the points look like points!

Robin, thanks for the reminder about the Maskol trick. Haven't tried it myself yet as I've been modelling a period that didn't much need that sort of thing. But for my forties layout I will give it a try to some limited degree. Tim, thanks for the info. Interesting that the keys are oak, didn't know that. I'm not going to model rotten track keys, that was just a general interest question. You raise a good point though: Some of the details recorded above would simply not be visible in 4mm, and modelling them might have the opposite effect of realism. So that's one conclusion from this little exercise. But I'd like to capture some of the other details, like the newly replaced boards, and the way the stock weathers. Nothing new in that of course, but it's nice to have observed these things for yourself before replicating them. Ian, yes it was a bit heretic not to visit Pendon, but I didn't even have time to see all of Didcot either. I remember seeing a photo of those cobwebs in the barn though. Made from tissue, eh? Did they stretch it? I had no idea you are also at Didcot! So I missed both you and Castle. Argh.

Thanks for the scarecrow, Robin (Odd sentence!). I just wanted a closer look. It looks good, usual quality from Montys. That second photo of the disappearing train above is just brilliant!

Adam, that's interesting. I suppose that if you are experienced, the wagons can be numbered/lettered quickly enough by hand. So the cost/benefit may not have worked out in favour of transfers even then. Lee, thanks, I hope there is something in there of use. I'm off to see your Blogger blog, I keep getting sucked into RMweb-world and forget that there are other fish in the sea :-)

Job, glad if the photos are of any use. I took lots but better not post them all here as it would become a bit unmanageable. Maybe in the gallery. Castle, I was hoping you would chip in with some background info. I agree very much with the principle of not making it all too neat and tidy. Apart from the resources this would require, the whole thing could so easily become a fairy tale and not very railway-like. I think the mission is more than accomplished, and I really admire all the effort and thinking behind it. Thanks for the info on the paint effect around the numbers. That's an explanation I hadn't expected :-) Quite a famous little van, then! Once I

As a GWR fan I hate to admit it, but there are certain classes that actually look better in black, I think. There, I've said it! :-)