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Hi Pete - just found this post belatedly... usual reason.

I think the building is looking good. Personally I wouldn't stress too much about perfection in the paint job or this or that fine detail. I like the analogy (I think it was from Keith Armes) that 2mm is the modelling equivalent of watercolour impressionism as compared to 7mm which might be oil painting.

So put away the optical aids. Step back and look at the overall effect. Is it pleasing? It certainly seems so to me.

Thank you all for the complements. There will be plenty of work still to be done after Nottingham, but the intention is to get the layout into a state by March where it doesn't look obviously incomplete - which means most of the buildings, ground cover and the other aspects of presentation like a decent lighting rig.

For those who have never been to the Nottingham show, I can definitely recommend it. It is one of the few shows that I attend every year as a punter and I always enjoy it. This year promises the additional bonus of being rather a 2FS-fest with four finescale layouts in attendance including Bob Jones' north eastern empire.

Thanks for posting the unmodified picture Chris - I've been having a look at this plus a few other pics of Kimble. I think your modified picture is a good demonstration of what can be done with a camera and either a backdrop or Photoshop to make a layout look really good.

Apart from the obvious benefit of removing the NEC roof and the punters in the background, I find it remarkable how much of a sense of 'space' is conveyed by your photo. I just don't get the same sense from any other pictures of the layout. In fact I struggled initially to relate the two together - your picture makes my brain think that the signal box is further from the bridge than it really is and the station is not noticeable, giving the impression of a wide-open stretch of main line. Put another way... I'm sure now that I did see Kimble at the show, but I didn't recognise your picture as being the same layout.

Don't get me wrong - this is not a criticism of clever camera work or of the layout, nor is it (hopefully) simpering fan mail. I'd just like to be able to improve my own efforts with the camera. I think there is a lot in the unmodified shot (choice of angle, focus etc) that is critical to the success of the modified picture - i.e. Photoshop is not the whole story.

Keep up the good work and feel free to tell us more about how it's done.

Regards, Andy

Nice photo Chris.

Which layout is it? I don't remember seeing it. It may be the camera angle or it could be that I managed to miss an aisle at the show, which wouldn't be surprising.

Good to see you're still progressing... even though RMWeb still doesn't want to tell me so <grrr>.

Blimey - you finished another layout already?

I must stop surfing RMWeb and get on with some modelling...

Regards, Andy

Excellent - reminiscent of the photos in 'Sabotaged and Defeated' and Colin Maggs' 'Last Years of...' book.

I wonder if it would be bending geography/history too much to have a blue class 22 and some milk tanks trundling through?

Regards, Andy

Now that is scary!

Is this how you will look at Wycrail?

Ha! You're sure someone isn't winding you up, Chris? Best, Pete.

It's just as sad whether or not it's a wind up.

Good to see you turning out some motive power Pete... and glad that Dapol's offering hasn't put you off building your own.

For some reason RMWeb has decided not to tell me when you post stuff on your blogs... annoying because it tells me when other people post.

Hi Chris,

Did you check the translation of your chosen place name?

As far as I can see it could be 'badger pool', which seems quite nice... although to be more sure would require consultation of one of the large tomes which trace the provenance of individual Cornish place names... which is probably going a bit far.

Any plans for a model of said badger?

Regards, Andy

isn't that what IKEA shelves are designed for?

Could be... but if I must build 2mm layouts to fill all of the Ikea shelving in my house then that will take a very long time... and I'll have nowhere to keep my railway books.

I like the layout.

Thanks David, and thanks for the original inspiration.

Do you have any more close of shots of the layout?

No, but I do have a camera

I did end up writing a bunch more stuff when writing this post but it was getting a bit long winded so I thought I would save the detail for another day.

I must also get round to taking some photos with a proper means of keeping the camera steady because hand held close-ups are pretty hit and miss (mainly miss) with the layout residing on its usual (ahem) Ikea Ivar shelf.

Brilliant, and already giving me some ideas!! (building a small 2mm layout, and seeing whether it is practical to operate it mid flight!!)

Just because you can doesn't mean that you should... (images of news headlines about flights being diverted due to passengers being scared by unusual shunting behaviour). Don't blame me for putting you up to it!

You would definitely need brakes on your stock - some of mine will roll away with the slightest gradient.

Did I read that right?...a small layout that can be taken away on holiday with you and you did... ...R - E - S - P - E - C - T

Well, once I've started a blazing inferno in the log burner and the rest of the party have settled down to watch one of the carefully chosen set of chick flick DVDs that they brought along, what is a chap to do? Actually to be fair they did bring one movie that I would have sat down and watched but they managed to bring the bonus features disc instead of the actual film .

Seeing as how it does fit in a suit case/flight bag...I will be very happy to see it should you be vacationing in Barcelona one day! It does look like a lot of fun can be had with the layout.

Thanks Pete - I'll bear it in mind, but I don't think that I'm quite as brave as you in terms of what I'll take through airport security. I doubt whether they have a specific rule in their book for ultra-portable model railways, so it's probably down to the initiative of the individual security person... which doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

> Im back! Has anyone missed me?

Yay! Of course we missed you... although it was good to see you in real life at the AGM.

I shared your dilemma over pickups/sideframes for pinpoint pickup based bogies. My solution was to hack the original plastic sideframes around and then glue stuff to them until they bore some resemblence to the real thing, but it's rather a pain to go down that route.

One thing that puzzles me about this form of off-the-shelf chassis is how it works so well. Clearly it does work (and I'm very glad of it), but when you take it apart it seems to have really sloppy clearances everywhere so I really don't understand how it manages to achieve such good results. I suspect that the pinpoint pickup bars are providing pickup, accurate (enough) axle alignment and some degree of suspension travel and that they are therefore the secret to the success of this chassis design. This is probably why I've chickened out (twice) of messing with the pickup bars or the plastic sideframes that hold them in place. I'll be very interested in how you get on.

Regards, Andy

I have been thinking about purchasing one of those tools that cuts foamboard neatly and I was wondering if they do one for card so you can cut at 45 degrees? Alternatively, if you score the card and then bend inwards, could you run a line of model filler down the exposed corner?...

Good suggestions... I'll investigate the 45 degree cutter option (picture framing?) but fear that might mean a trip to the dreaded H*bbycr*ft... dreaded since they dropped most of their modelling stock in favour of knitting, sticking glittery things to other things and other such pursuits (struggling to avoid straying into gender stereotyping here, but I think it's safe to say that they have re-prioritised their target demographic)

Anyway, isn't St Ruth a fictitious place? You can do what you like!

It is indeed, but I generally find that things are more convincing if they are based on reality - making stuff up often results in things that would never really happen.

assume you will model the scaffolding too in the final one?

(in the style of the Churchill dog...)

Err... noooo.

Why the single sheet of card? Is it to represent the concrete/stucco finish on the facade?

In the dim and distant past when I made card buildings and didn't know any better I used to be quite happy to overlook the bare edge of the card at the corners of the building. Then I read how Pendon did in in Model Railway Constructor and I decided that I needed to do better. I'm sure that there are other ways to avoid having bare edges, but the finish on this building doesn't offer many ways to hide the joins. It still might go pear shaped, in which case it will be rethink time.

That's my take based on very little experience, but you're the buildings expert. How would you do it?

Pete, maybe a very basic question, but do you intend to operate from the back or the front (or maybe both) ?

I'm hoping that the results (especially the cantrail line) will improve with practice. I think that one of the keys to success is the smoothness of the finish that you are lining over and I definitely have room for improvement there - more practice with the airbrush needed.

Another thought just occurred to me - if you look at the closeup photo and compare the black line at waist level with the cantrail line you probably wouldn't guess that they were done with the same nib in the pen but that's exactly how they were done. The black line is on top of gloss yellow whereas the cantrail line is on top of my rather rough maroon coat, so it just goes to show how critical the smoothness of the underlying paint finish really is.

Thanks for the comments.

Lovely work. I missed parts 1 and 2, is that an Ultima or a BHE kit?

It's an Ultima etched kit - the first one of these that I've built. Having also built Fleetline and MTK kits in the past (which are now BHE), I'd say that I prefer the Ultima ones although both present challenges with joining dissimilar materials. You can still read parts 1 and 2 if you like, for example...

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/722-hydraulic-heaven/page__tag__coaches

Looks good, especially the lining. Is the lining good enough that you'll be using it in preference to transfer lining in future?

I will certainly be using the pen again on future maroon liveried coaching stock projects and green diesels that need lining. While my results are probably not as good as a really good lining transfer, I found the process enjoyable and the results very satisfying (and honestly, Pete it doesn't need nerves of steel). After having made the investment of buying the pen, it's also cheaper and I don't need to worry about sourcing transfers - I can just get on with finishing the model. I'm hoping that the results (especially the cantrail line) will improve with practice. I think that one of the keys to success is the smoothness of the finish that you are lining over and I definitely have room for improvement there - more practice with the airbrush needed.

I actually 'played trains' with it the other night whilst trying to get it running...

You finally worked out what it's for then?

I would reconsider timber for the substructure and hinge the join (as per Anthony Yeates great boxfile layout)

That reminds me... I must write some words about South Yard some time... my solution is... make it so small that you don't need joins... actually I don't claim any originality on that one (or anything else for that matter).

Thanks for the comments.

Will: the tide always seems to be high when I'm in Penzance but photos show that it does go out quite a long way. We're not keen to try modelling the sea, so the tide will definitely be out.

Hi Pete,

Good to see this again. I'd be interested to know a bit more about your setup time issues and your board joint arrangement since someone I know (not me!) is contemplating doing something similar.

I haven't quite got the hang of the new look RMWeb - some things that used to work with content blocks now behave a little strangely. It also used to tell me when you posted something but it seems to be a bit hit and miss with that too.

I think you have done a fabulous job with the 22, would love to see it having a run out on Highbury one day.

Thanks Jerry. We obviously missed an opportunity at the Oxford Expo to extend the quay line on St Ruth to link up with your layout. Maybe next time. Having said that, although class 22s did appear on the S&D (yet another of my pet interests), it didn't exactly take place in happy times for the line.

Regards, Andy