Gypsy

I was introducted to a varient known as 'diesel' in the militray - a bottle of Diamond White, another of Stella, a double vodka and a dash of blackcurrant. Lethal

Assuming that you're not nicked first for clouting the poor sod standing behind you???

Depends which way they're looking, facing and standing, sitting or lying (or flying or swimming). Not sure any of those apply to a horseshoe. Sorry you've taken my heraldic knowledge to its limit...

Recursant? That's head down for heraldic animals...

Thanks - I've downloaded the pdf's of the points from peco and I'm going to use those on some old Amazon brown paper when I'm home. 1:1 scale. But I'll look at RailModeller too... The halt in the middle is what I'm struggling with I think. As to why the sheds. Although its shown as a halt its more a terminus/'location' with a fiddle at each end so I can run shuttles. There is a planned/imagined lower level inglenook to provide goods interest that will sit in front. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and make it a BLT with just one fiddle? Or a fiddle and a stick at the other end to allow a shuttle? Location wise, its cold, snowy and on a mountain (in my head) hence the need (?) for somewhere to keep stock out of the weather and an insulated water tower.

I've been playing with the track plan and need some ideas. A look at the West Highland thread and some pics of Garelochhead (traumatic place though it was - not the station, I don't remember ever going there, the training camp) reminded me that I want more of a 'line in the landscape' rather than a station on a board - and that I was going away from that. I'm wondering about Y points rather than left and right to give more 'flow'... What doesn't work in my mind's eye is the passing loop. It takes too much attention from the halt and backscene. I could put it in a tunnel under the cottages - but is that too clichéd?! Excuse the PP scribble, I use a Mac so can't use AnyRail... Any suggestions gratefully received.

I'm working away (again) but a second HO scale Canadian Pacific water tower is nearly finished. It’s far too big but clearly an insulated tower will be bigger than the normal narrow-gauge job seen in the UK and it will be good practice... Also been playing with the track plan and need some ideas. A look at the West Highland thread and some pics of Garelochhead (traumatic place though it was - not the station, I don't remember ever going there, the training camp) reminded me that I want more of a 'line in the landscape' rather than a station on a board - and that I was going away from that. I'm wondering about Y points rather than left and right to give more 'flow'... I've also bought five laser cut cottages as a scratch aid for the backdrop. What doesn't work in my mind's eye is the passing loop. It takes too much attention from the halt and backscene. I could put it in a tunnel under the cottages - but is that too clichéd?! Excuse the PP scribble, I use a Mac so can't use AnyRail... Any suggestions gratefully received.

I beg to differ, it looks bloody marvelous.

Cheers! For anyone else looking its here... Microscale Liquid Decal Film ordered from the Bay of Fleas - who seem to be getting a fair bit of my hard earned at the mo'

As mentioned on @MrWolf thread (thank you) one of the next bits will be a water tower (very) losely based on the insulated versions on the Canadian Pacific. I've aquired an HO Atlas kit which must be nearly as old as the real thing to nick the water spout and mechanism from. The rest will be probably Wills clapboard and square rod... If anyone wants what's left of the Atlas kit, please shout (I have the timber frame and base too)! Also any advice on handling prehistoric decals (the gauge) would also be greatly appreciated.

Hamdulillah for the post office, the Atlas kit has arrived. I reckon I need about 250mm of chain to be safe - more details on my layout thread... One last question for you lot - prehistoric decals - I suspect this kit is nearly as old as me but the gauge looks pretty good - how to use??? Sorry. Really am back off to my box now...

Wow. I love your work Chris but I do wonder if I'll ever have the skill or patience to even come close...

Thanks very much Rob & Rob @NHY 581 @MrWolf ...and thanks very much for the offer Chris @chuffinghell - hang fire for a bit but I might take you up on that, I've got a water tower to scratch build for Port St Nick, but given the weather there, its going to be based on one of the insulated Canadian Pacific ones. I've aquired a cheap HO kit off the bay of fleas for the north American spout mechanism but it hasn't arrived yet so I'm not sure if a. its suitable or b. how much chain I will actually need. Sorry to derail your thread von Wolf, I'll get back in my box now...

Looks good and some really nice stuff - and finally someone does a Labrador - although sadly its still a bit too chunky to represent my lass...

Looking very good. Can I ask where the chain is from?!

Decided that the red and cream WAS too standard British branchline - the background pic is a Canadian Pacific station - not sure I'm going to use quite that much snow on the rooves though...

Thanks Keith - that makes sense. I guess my intent was to keep it as simple as possible but maybe too simple. The idea for the short siding was exactly that - either coal (though that would probably be better by the engine shed?) or a small storage/unloading shed or even cattle/livestock dock... I think it needs 'something' on that side to add interest/visual balance...

RPGs and direct fire ATGMs if you're lucky (and someone has actually bothered put the ERA in the boxes). Otherwise they just provide limited stand-off protection for impact fused munitions. Most modern NATO AT munitions have a 'top attack' mode anyway - they climb before they hit the target then dive downwards to impact the top of the turret or decks.

Thanks for that. Its the most I've laughed in days.

Yep. That would explain why the volume of Russian artillery fire on the Donbas front has been less than a quarter of what it was last summer since the Ukrainian's September offensive. Clearly they've got plenty of spare howitzer barrels and 152mm shells...

Its a very fair point - opinions is good! Something like this?

The T-90 is a T-72 in a slightly newer ASOS frock. Its not even a near peer to Chally/Leo 1. Even the few that DO have the French-made Thales TI gunner's sight that they can't get spares/repalcements for. Firing accuately while on the move cross country? Yeah right, even in daylight... Significantly lighter means less well protected, add to that the ammo storage and its propensity to go bang, catasrophically, and the slow, unreliable autoloader that may or may not occasioanly eat bits of the gunner. Then there's the fact that they've been in the field for over a year now with little opportunity for base maintenance so seals, electrics and a lot of the mechanicals are fried. Its the Leo 2A6 that's being sent, so yep, big and heavy and as ISIS proved with the Turks in Syria, vulnerable to Russian made ATGM like Kornet without infantry support. That said, the Ukrainians have so far supported their tanks - proving that they are considerably better at combined arms manouvre than the Russians... As for the Abrams - anyone who think that the offer of a squadron of them was anything more than a kick uo the xxxx to the Germans is in cloud cuckoo land. They'll loaf around somewhere north of Lviv ready to give any Russians stupid enough to swimn through the swamps on the border with Belarus a fright and close enough to the Polish border for easy access to fuel, spares and base maint...

Colours.... I drove past a real model shop last week - yep bricks and mortar, it seems they still exist. I bought a few bits and pieces in the hope that they would boost my mojo - and they have 😀 So, a couple of ideas for the 'corporate' colour scheme for Port St. Nick. Bear in mind that the overall 'ambience' is cold. Granite rocks, dark pines, snow, frost (if I can work out how to do it) etc. Scotland, if not Scandi/Canada... All a bit different from the Restaurant, but that will continue in the background while I polish my skills on this. Please excuse the 'Jimmy, aged four and threequarters' paint job on the framing - it needs a lot of touching up. Both need some washes and light weathering, but this is about deciding on a scheme and then practicing techniques on... So, all over red with green wriggly tin? Gave me a brief flashback to the Falklands (the place, not the war, I'm not THAT old) but I think with snow on the roof, frost on the walls and some low 'winter' light it might take the edge off the overall grey... Or a bit more trad? Quite chuffed with the plum slate although it needs more work, but is it a bit too 'standard British freelance model railway'???

I've also posted a longer version of this in my main layout thread... My little pizza - Project X or Xmas) generate considerable excitement in the wider Gypsy household/family – and taught me a huge amount. In particular I (re)learned that prior planning and preparation prevents p*** poor performance. I thought I had planned, but clearances were still too tight for decent running with all but the Hunslet running light engine. I also (re) learned that I’m still terrified of soldering, electronics and particularly wiring points – which is why it had none of the first and last and very little of the second. So, time to stand in the door and jump into the slipstream, and then worry about what happens next. I know that I can’t do what I really want to do justice (yet?), so I clearly need more practice. So, continuing the Xmas theme for the time being, I give you Port Saint Nick - or rather the station halt that (will, maybe) go with it. The moment of clarity, revelation, divine vision or whatever else you call it came when I was idly researching shuttles (I want something that I can leave running - hence the pizza that was Project-X - but equally don’t want something that looks like a pizza….). That took me to @Phil Parker’s Ruston Quay’s. I envisage something very different in my mind’s eye, but the trackplan does what I want – it forces me to face my fears and the upper level could be a nice shuttle through a station halt. So, not wanting to bite off too much, I’m thinking about doing it in stages, modules or whatever. First bit is the station – a slight change from @Phil Parkers design stolen from one of his other layouts – Ferness Quay (albeit not as a quay, as a halt with an engine shed). After thinking about it for a bit I wondered whether it needs a passing loop. My gut feeling is, no, a small narrow-gauge halt doesn’t. But will I regret not putting one in later on?!! So, which one?

Why would you put a medal on your trousers - chocolate or not?! The narrow boat looks brilliant Chris.