Gypsy

Nearly two months... Belated Happy New Year! A combination of working away, the black mutt and post strikes conspired against my efforts to finish Project Xmas by Xmas despite giving myself four months to do it. C'est la vie. What it did do was generate considerable excitement in the wider Gypsy household/family – and teach 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 Hunslett 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 Saint Nick’s Quay. 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?

They look great - any plans for a 110 or WOLF GS?

Merry Christmas to you and Miss R - and thanks for the entertainment - much needed in this neck of the woods. Bet you're the one who gets the kettle on...

Life has rather got in the way of things recently, and the return of the black dog has just compounded that. Nonetheless, its the First of December, so, can you tell what it is (going to be) yet?

Its a bit of a bodge up from some YouTube trawls. The base is some 1mm foam from Hobbycraft. Its then sprayed with Halfords grey primer. I watched a Kathy Millat vid and she suggested scribing in cracks etc which I did with a toothpic. So far so good. There are then umpteen layers of different greys in a mixture of wet and dry brushes and a black wash to accentuate the cracks. The problem was that every time I black washed it, it became too dark, so it was back to more shades of grey. I decided to leave the cracks for a bit, sealed it with matt varnish and drew in the lines with a Posca pen before adding some sandy brown pigment at the edges (which makes the white lines look slightly yellow) and white in the middle. Then sealed it again. I think I may get some panel line wash and see if that's any better at staying where I want it without darkening the rest...! My old man gave up trying to reign me in fairly early on but one of the few things he did force me to do was to wear leathers whatever the weather and whatever the distance. Most of my spills came from other things but having picked up the pieces from a couple of idiots that came off in jeans/shorts/t-shirts etc I'm bloody glad he did. I'll do the same if my sprogs ever have the urge - there's not a cat in hell's chance of getting the boss on anything other than a peddle bike, and even then only under protest!

As promised, I played with tarmac - though fortunately not in the ‘glad I spent a considerable sum on decent leathers’ way of playing with tarmac - any thoughts/suggestions?

I'm afriad the local fauna/menu participants will have to wait a bit longer...

Added a bit more magenta flock to the top and I think it looks much better. Just to prove that I've not been completely idle I've also done base number two for the Lighthouse Underpass - I made a complete horlicks of base number one despite a good few hours work so decided to start again. Base coat of sandy earth for the hillside after which I will be playing with tarmac...

I'd vote for you too, though to be fair Coco the Clown and my Labrador would both have done a better job and at least my Lab looks guilty when she effs up...

Stricly speaking machine guns are automatic. Carbines and machine pistols can be semi-automatic or automatic. I'll get my coat...

I have a couple of technical dictionaries in obscure foreign tongues - they are the ones that I do still pick up occasionaly. Still much quicker, and more accurate than t'internet, but I agree times they are a changing...

But invariably more gramatically regular and thus easier to learn...

Heathens. Aerodrome is excatly the kind of vibe that I'm after with the Restaurant at the end of the Universe. That said, as a sometime linguist I do fear the dictionaries are going the way of the dodo and I guess I'm as guilty as anyone - I have a small library of them and very rarely open one anymore.

Together with the magenta flock for the bougainvillea I got some slightly more restrained stuff for the lillies in the water tank. I'm still wrestling with the hose, but we're getting there...

Thank you - I think it needs a bit more of the flowers along the top. Wierdly I didn't really notice that until I looked at the pictures again - probably something to do with modeling the foliage without the roof on...

...and lo, there was bouillabaisse...

That's the one - thanks very much! Shame, I was hoping it was a moulded sheet that I'd somehow missed. I rather like the rustic look, reminds me of my place...

Sorry - I meant the building in the background?!

Looking great - very random question though - what did you use for that fantastic roof?!

One of my earliest memories is sitting in the Minor that my mum had, looking down at my feet and realising that I could see the road going by through the large rusty hole in the floor...

Slainte

'tis true. Mine doesn't even have a door. Bit like this one really!

Its slowly getting that way 😀 I thought my shed was in back nick!

Rusty Rails 2... Some constructive comments/thoughts would be greatly appreciated here before I go any further. It may be my crappy iPhone but it looks a lot greyer in the flesh than it does in these pics and I don't want to go too far. Just a reminder, sunbleached mediterranean timber is the look we (or at least I) are after... In the meantime, the first of the bouillabaisse is slowly emerging from the swamp @NHY 581 and awaiting some green scatter for the first layer of leaves.

I'd agree on the flying banana too - the early ones at least. Shame but I guess it was a case of style over substance at a time of austerity and looming conflict...