Mikkel

Great stuff, Mike. The first shot really shows what a monster of a building this actually is. However, I am sorry to say it is not prototypical: GWR sheds did not have walls that could be lifted out! ;-) Interesting point about quantity vs price/detail. Personally, I would go for the latter. If you are only buying the locos for this layout, they would have a greater re-sale value if they are better models. And if you are buying them to keep, you will want the best locos on the market... But you may have a different perspective of course. PS: Also, do you actually need that many locos for the shed? Would it not very easily come to look overcrowded? Just a thought...

Please stop this now, Rob. Looking at your layout and stock, I am getting dangerous thoughts about giving up micros and going for big layouts!

Innovation under pressure. Much impressed, Pete. Keep going, the war will end soon.

Ahem, now this is getting a bit fictional :-) It is amazing how much railway modelling has moved forward in the past 10-15 years. Looking at old magazines like Railway Modeller, the 1990s seem a very long way away! Yes there were amazing modellers even in the 1940s, but there has been a general advance in methods and appearance by ordinary modellers like us, I think.

Hi Job, how about this: Wikipedia: "The RMweb Generation" [last updated: May 3rd, 2063] "The RMweb generation" was a school of artists who spawned the "Micro-Art" movement that dominated the art-world in the 2020s and 2030s. The school gained its name from an internet forum known as "RMweb", where members created miniature 3D representations of real-world settings through the subtle blending of colour, texture and movement. Members of the school were initially resistant to fame, claiming they "were just a bunch of railway modellers". However, when art collectors discovered their work and prices began soaring, most members of the movement accepted their new-found fame and started cashing in. Techniques used by the RMweb Generation included: "Dynamic flow" (the passing of living modules through a static scene) "Flooring" (looking for lost items on the floor, as a representation of the individual's search for meaning and identity in postmodern complexity) "Swearing" (giving alternative meanings to silent objects)

A very nice "time-piece" Job. It helps to set the period. Is it the Hornby one? I like the goods on the back. I have that long parcel too on my layout. I wonder what is inside - maybe listening equipment for a 1950s Soviet spy? :-)

Hello Richard, nice to see some progress on this. Glad to hear the 43xx was saved. I personally think those cylinders need a repaint :-)

That's very convincing, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out! What a loco it would have been, almost as strong as a Castle ;-)

I can't keep up with this thread. I need a lie-down after every post. Next week I'll take a day off just for this thread!

Hi Job, anything GWR sounds good to me. When you combine it with ale and horse shunting it sounds even better! :-) What a great scene it would make.

Yes, it seems to me Bachmann changed the size of GWR lettering on tenders some years ago - going for a smaller size, which I think was a good move. Wow, Robin you've been busy with the camera :-) Those shots with the 93xx are really good, I think, especially those with a good depth of field. That does seem to make a big difference for realism in model photos. Glad to see the station signs on the layout. It's only with close-ups that you notice the letters have no relief, I think.

What a great shot, Job. I don't think we have seen that before? I really look forward to seeing Northall develop. I like how you are carefully developing the story of the area.

Hi Pete. Neat and good-looking work as usual. The inside valve gear may not be correct (I have no idea), but it sure looks good.

Hi Paul, there's something really pleasing about taking the time and care needed to do what you're doing here. It is very clearly worth it. About the spectacle plates and handrail, would a fourth option be to return the handrail heights to the original position? I know it would be annoying after all the work getting them right, but I was just thinking it might be a less noitceable compromise? If not, then I suppose the "spectacles" have to come down in height. Easy for me to say! :-)

Thanks Allan for the description of how you build the townscapes. I know all about moving things around for hours to get the right look - a sort of perverse joy that you miss out on if you are copying a real location directly. I agree about the Preiser figures btw, if only we had something like that in 4mm. Iain your clay dries are a real comeback after Allan's nuclear bomb with the cathedral. The texture and slightly gloomy look in those photos is just brilliant.

Ah yes, always nice to see a mogul in action :-) Been wanting to repaint mine for years, as the GWR on the tender isn't one of Bachmann's best efforts, I think (letters too large, wouldn't you say?). It would make a good detailing project too, come to think of it. Looks good with the P.O.s here though. More long freight trains please

Keep going Pete, the bulk of it is behind you now!

I thought we had already seen the best, and then both of you raise the bar one more notch. Amazing. Allan, when you are build your townscapes do you have several buildings on the go at one time, or do you build them one by one? Also nice to see some figures in those last "train-set" shots of yours. Iain, thanks for the gull photos :-) It's easy enough to joke about them, but the quality of the scenery around them is no joke. Your styrene "high" back in 1978 sounds like an unusual experience. "So what are you on, man?" "I'm on thatched roof, amazing stuff".

About mesh, I was looking for something simlar a while ago, although I haven't actually bought any yet. I read on the P4 society webpage that Eduard meshes are some of the finest you can get. I haven't seen them but there are some photos here: http://www.eduard.com/store/Eduard/Mesh-gauze-Hexagonal.html?listtype=search&searchparam=mesh There is a UK supplier here: http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Meshes___Mailles.html I can't work out the mesh sizes exactly though. Scalelink have some but they are expensive and I think 0.75mm might be too large even for 7mm? http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Meshes___Mailles.html

Home-made brick paper in 2mm with all the right details! I'm vey impressed Richard. And clearly worth the effort too. But if you exhibit this I swear I will turn up and ask "Excuse me, but it looks to me as if the bricks are just repeated on the other side."

Fantastic Allan. What is especially convincing here is that you manage to make the castles look natural in their environment, and with a whole townscape around them. They don't look like spaceships dropped from the sky, as is often the case when the rest of us have a go at castles etc.

Hi Robin, those cottages are rather nice. As Mallard says you have really brought them to life. CoT looks like a brass model in those shots, it really is a nice model. Figures for the cab are an issue for GWR modellers (ie r/h drive) of the pregrouping period. I tend to modify mine, but I wish there was a really good GWR footplate crew in 4mm for that period.

The gulls! Challenge him on seagulls!

Hi Job, ah that's interesting. I have a drawing of the Abingdon stable block (courtesy of another RMweb member). I discussed with Scanman of this parish that this seems to have been a standard design, which could be built small or larger by simply adding more stalls and windows to the design. The Abingdon one has 1 door and 5 windows (6 stalls) in total.

Phil, think I must have used up my "Like" quota for the day. As many have already pointed out, the atmosphere here is amazing. I was interested in the distance shots of the layout, which show just how well you have blended colours and texture together. We tend to do a lot of close-up photos these days (myself included), which can conceal that things don't actually look god from a distance. But your layouts looks real both at a distance and in close-up. Superb. And that pic of the 61xx above is just fantastic. Gives me strength to face another long day of work, thanks :-)