St. Blazey's - My first layout - Stage 3 Building

[Bufferstop]

Before I'd filled in the scenery on one corner, a pair of bogies coupled together decided to roll along the siding on which they were standing. I didn't leap to stop them as there was a buffer stop for that, except that there wasn't the ginger monster had sat on it and it was lying alongside the track. The two bogies disappeared down the hole, rolled along the shelf beneath and dropped four feet to the floor. Over the years since I've explored below the supporting bookshelves using webcams stuck on the end of a ruler, two different "snakescopes" a flexible grabber found various offcuts of timber and a dried up paint pot with a brush stuck in it, one day I'll find those ***** bogies. Nearest to a real disaster was the set of points that found itself part of a full short circuit, welded themselves shut then started to melt the plastic base, I arrived just in time to cut the power and cool it down with the contents of the spray bottle I'd used for ballasting. Finding the break in the return bus wire took days. These days all connections are hidden somewhere above the boards, it keeps my stress levels down.

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I tried dry fitting my hard standing kit yesterday and in typical St. Blazey's fashion, it doesn't fit properly regardless the of the correct track spacings.
I walked away again. I'm too busy at the moment and cannot be bothered to deal with yet another layout frustration.
Thanks
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[End2end]

Finally remembered my login details!
The change your password feature didn't work for me.

Few more bits done to the layout but nothing significant enough for a photo.
More ballast laid and all dry brushed to blend in and ballast laid around a couple of buildings creating a boundary around each site.
Stuck the programming track building down firm.
At the moment I am making a paving stone base for a small hut. It's a square of thin balsa wood which I have sawn grooves into, painted over with a black wash to get into the grooves and am topping it with grey dry brushed paint.

Also in the works is a small triangular raised lump which I will cover with scatter and then stick down to the layout in between 2 dead end sidings.
Thanks
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[heda]

Good to see you back.
Any work is significant enough for a photo, be good to see your layout to date.
Dave

[Bufferstop]

Hi E2E, glad you are back. I'll check out the forgotten password routine. If you are desperate an email to the shop's info address will get forwarded to us.

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Thanks chaps.
To be honest Bufferstop it's probably my browser. I don't use a run of the mill one.
Thanks
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[whoshotjimmi]

Just to add, the reset password option didn't work for me in the past either.

Good to see you updating!

[Mountain]

Regarding layout gremlins, the worst I had was the simplest to fix. No power. Spent a whole hour and a half checking everything I could think of assuming the controllers had some sort of permanent short to not show the power light (Power light would not illuminate if there was a short) only to later find I forgot to turn the mains power on! I felt rather silly after taking pride on my ability to trace faults in the past!

Have had rather embarissing moments from the past. The last one was where I had found this electrical switch cleaning spray which worked fine on my handpainted models, but when I went to demonstrate it on an old Mainline loco that someone owned, I dis not realize that the switch cleaner removes paint from RTR loco bodies. Fortunately the effect gave the loco a weathered look and very little had touched the bodywork, but I was so embarissed!

Yes, I too have in the past had locos leap off the board and the worst disaster was where a de-railment took place where the one vehicle coming off the layout took the whole long train length with it!

Then though at the time all I had was a small portable baseboard with a single curve of track, I was invited to bring my models to a gathering, so I went bringing several of my models with me along with the small portable baseboards. I got there and found that no one else had brought anything. I was asked to leave my layout and models right at the back, and asked to join everyone at the front of the large building.
Then half way through the meeting it was announced "Will all the children go to the back where there are trains for you to play with".
I spent most of the time on my own running after very young children who out numbered me greatly whom all took off various had made models in different directions, and when I went to try to rescue a kit built narrow gauge loco from the hands of a two year old girl who did not speak English, she threw my lovely loco onto the concrete floor. The childs Dad came and told me off for trying to take my loco from her.
Anyway. Loco was eventually repaired by casting a new resin step.

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Hmm.
Not sure if you can call picking up and throwing my A4 against the wall and smashing it to smithereens........ a derailment, Mountain.
More like the hand of sod!. xD
Thanks
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[Phred]

Mountain wrote:
"Will all the children go to the back where there are trains for you to play with"

Oh my lord! Sounds like some of the nightmares I've had!

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Over the last couple of days I have tried making my first landform.
Balsa wood sanded and shaped, painted brown and once dry painted with pva and covered with various mediums including a stone from the garden and tiny shingle from a beach that I've forgotten. I also included some red scatter (if you can see it) for wildflowers.
Layers of hairspray was used in between adding the different mediums with a final coat of artist's spray fixative.
The wooden block underneath is just to hold the piece while I work on it. It will sit flat on the baseboard.

Not bad for a first attempt.
Thanks
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[Phred]

Beautifully detailed and very realistic! I like the way the greenery is creeping up the rock.
I've never thought of creating ground surface separately then gluing it onto the layout. No doubt it would make the process quite a bit easier and easier to fling it in the bin when I get frustrated with it.

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Thanks Phred.
I can't build up the baseboard in the area the landform is going until I get the wood for the backboard as there will be a (Linka made) wall butting up against the backboard. So this landform can be glued into position now without obstructing what else will go in the area.
Once the area can be finished, this landform will be surrounded by ballast etc.
Here's a couple of pictures of it siting loosely in t's position on the layout.

I managed to get to Gaugemaster yesterday to buy a piece of Peco ST-201. I need to replace all the small pieces in a dead end siding with a single piece of track. The small pieces are obstructing the laying of my hard standing kit because of all the DCC droppers soldered to each piece.
Last night my back went though so there will be no modelling until I'm not in excruciating pain. Typical!
Thanks
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[Phred]

End2end wrote:
Last night my back went

Gaah! Hope you're better soon. Bad backs are horrible. Can't move, can't sit, can't stand, can't do anything really.

[End2end]

Gaah! Hope you're better soon. Bad backs are horrible. Can't move, can't sit, can't stand, can't do anything really.

Thanks Phred.
It's the pain I'm in really. Not sure what happened to be honest. I wasn't lifting anything at the time, it just went and the immediate pain sent me doubling over and to my knees.
Odd to say the least.
Thanks
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