David Holman

That may be so, but sinuous curves are naturally very attractive to the eye(!) and straight lines are often best avoided on layouts. Likewise anything parallel to the baseboard edge. On the real thing, track tended to follow contours and natural features, so flowing curves are actually more common than you might think. Hence anything that softens edges, draws the eye into the scene, makes you peer around some feature in the front and so on, all help to make a layout look bigger and more interesting. On a narrow baseboard, it can be difficult to avoid tracks that are parallel to the edge, so going slightly diagonally is an option. Alternatively, small, non structural additions to the baseboard front can do the same thing.

Alternatively, take one Chinchilla, put in a freezer for two days and then put through the coffee grinder - preferably twice. Needless to say, Broithe is correct. Comes in one kilo bags. Fine sand works just as well.

Indeed, JB - I can easily start salivating at the thought! Not enough space to do it justice though.

A couple of pictures for you showing how the scenery has been progressing this week. See the Workbench section for details of how it was done.

Trees and scenics It seemed to take a long time to complete the buildings and back scene, so it is pleasant to report that the basic scenics on board two have been much quicker. I want to produce a 'signature' tree, to hide the liberties I've taken with the back scene's perspective, so out came Gordon Gravett's book on the subject. His take on the twisted wire method for trees is interesting, because instead of unravelling a large hank of cable or wire, he starts with single strands & therefore builds up the model in reverse. It works well too. Using florists wire, you twist two or three strands together for an inch or two below the end of the branch, leaving the rest of the strands straight. You make enough of these to complete the thickness of trunk you want and bind them together with more wire from the base upwards, [creating the branches as you go] leaving a projecting section to go in the ground. On mine, I glued this in a length of brass tube, which then sits in a slightly larger piece of tube set in the baseboard. That is as far as I've got, because, while this only took an evening, the next stage - coating the wire with a PVA/artex mix takes ages, not least because a couple of coats or more are required. I don't have enough foliage material at the moment either! A second, half relief, tree has been made to help hide the front exit to the fiddle yard, past the warehouse. This has a more basic framework, again as described by Gordon in his book. A large advertising hoarding, shown by a sheet of foam board in the photo, will also hide the exit and hopefully suggest there is a road running in front of the layout [but off scene]. Am actually contemplating a front extension that might show this and create more depth - but not yet! So, could then turn my attention to the scenics. My preferred method is to first 'block in' the main areas [a bit like doing a painting], to get a feel for the work, then gradually work up the details. A static grass machine and puffer bottles make short work of tasks that would take many hours not that many years ago. Going a la Gravett again, the first stage is to prepare the ground surface. For me, this included improving the baseboard joint [bit of an earthquake crack up to now], then soften the track and ballast colours with weathering powders. Chinchilla dust was used for the yard surfaces [sprinkled on to gloss paint] and once all was dry, I could start the greenery. Hard to believe that this has only taken about three hours. I put down a layer of ground foam first [so the grassed areas don't look like a lawn], then after wetting with dilute PVA, got to work with the static grass machine. There are 3-4 different shades and two different lengths of fibres to give variety. I hoover up the excess fairly quickly, as it encourages the fibres to stand up better. Then, after this layer has dried, there is further fun to be had adding weeds and flowers. I dip a finger in PVA and wipe it lightly across the tops of the grass. Fine ground foam is then sprinkled on top. I've used Greenscene 'crumb' [light green and slightly larger], Woodlands fine medium green, plus their dark green with some white flower crumb mixed in. This is what really brings the scene to life and provides the all important variety of colour and texture you find in the real thing. So, coming on well, I think, though I want to do a lot more detailing, including a few larger shrubs and [lots of] nettles.

One of those projects that might have been quicker and easier to scratch build, but if it is enjoyable, then why not? Looking good too!

Thanks everyone, as ever - I always value your 'proof reading' of my posts. The main line snaking off stage, as Mayner nicely puts it, is exactly what I want to portray. Would love to have included a full on Clogher scene with a stretch of line running down the middle of the street, with buildings closing in on either side. Sadly, not enough space within the two metres available to me and viewing would be difficult too, hence the suggestion of the line heading for the middle of the road as it goes off scene. I suppose one option could have been the town, forget which one, where the line descends down the street at 1 in 30, followed by a right angle turn at 1.5 chains. That equals 100 feet, so 700 mm in my scale, where 900mm is getting tight! That would produce an interesting set of viewing angles. Could make a neat idea for the 00n3 project on another recent thread.

The Ulster and Connaught has always been an idea worth considering. Never happened of course, but a trans Ireland narrow gauge link from Newry to Clifden offers you a wealth of 'might have beens.' The U&C would have used the C&L as part of its route, so setting your layout somewhere nearby, or just inventing a name would be a decent option. As for track plans, there are plenty to choose from, though Iain Rice has done lots with his latest Cameo Layouts book a good start. A personal favourite is having a 'terminus junction' with the fork just off scene, or a second line trailing in from the fiddle yard that can serve anything from a harbour branch to a standard gauge exchange siding.

Buildings nearly finished! The photos may not at first sight appear to show a big difference from last time, but this has been one of those periods when a lot of work doesn't always translate into great effect. The most noticeable feature is the warehouse. It has been there for a long time, but in 'raw' form - just scribed DAS clay on a foam board core. Work has involved making the doors and windows, adding the hoist girder, guttering and down pipes, then internal floors and the roof tiling of course. After much deliberation, decided it would be a seed merchant & animal feed warehouse. At the moment, the hoist/lucam has little about it, but may well open up one of the doors and add a figure inside, along with a dummy hoist/chain/load. We'll see. Along the low relief back scene, some tidying up has been done to chimneys, trees and the like, then attention transferred to the road and pavements. Found some etched brass drain and manhole covers [Langley Models] and after blackening with gun blue, these were fixed in place. Pavements are cut from sticky address labels [pre-painted with enamels] & then weathered with washes & powders. The road surface was initially talcum powder on gloss paint. Once dry, I sanded it smooth with fine wet & dry paper & this had the interesting effect of making a range of shades, not unlike a road drying out after rain. Hence went over it with Humbrol 'satin cote' varnish to develop the effect. It was always intended to have a low wall separating the main street from the tramway station/yard, so that came next. As on Arigna Town it is made from Wills random stone glued to foam board & topped with capping stones made from DAS clay. A few creepers & grass/weeds complete the effect. Finally comes the yard gate. This is based on the design of the crossing gates at Brookeborough on the CVR main line. The gate is plastic strip and the posts are balsa. Eventually, I hope to make the gates swing open & closed. On a small layout like this, such little cameos help to expand interest - or I hope so! Next steps will involve completing the ground cover on the second baseboard. Two more structures are required - the large tree mentioned previously [to hide some of the liberties i've taken with perspective on the painted back scene, plus a large advertising hoarding to help hide the hole in the sky at the front edge of the layout.

Just to add to what John says, you may find the worm and gear come with grub screws to hold them to the motor/axle. However, wheel quartering is not for the faint hearted and get it wrong will only make for even worse running.

Or you could go for three links, Tony! Depends on you eyesight I guess. When I modelled in 4mm, found the Smiths three links were usable. Slightly bigger than prototype, but certainly not as ugly as tension locks. Completely prototypical too. Dinghams work well in 7mm, but your problem will be the turntable, as they are 'handed' and only work one way round. On Fintonagh, am experimenting with rare earth magnets and Kadees. There is a thread on RMWeb which explains how to use them.

In the larger scales, if it is there, you are duty bound to model it, especially if it can be seen from a foot away. Hence bigger stuff not really a bonus for the eyes - you can include so much more and it is what gives bigger models more character. Nice trick with the home made split pins, Eoin. Another one to remember! As for the loco, it is really coming together and each fresh bit of gingerbread makes it that bit better. Am also drooling again

Unbelievably retractive prototype and why it doesn't appear to have been modelled before is beyond me. Visited in 2016 and the setting seems perfect. Quayside at the front, village street forms the backscene and even the engine shed to hide the hole in the sky to the fiddle yard! Not sure Andy is one for posting pictures, but do know the layout is booked for Warley this year.

And no sign of any track yet. Just like the real thing!

Great to see there are more!

And just to add, that means we now have a new addition to correct gauge layouts: 3mm - Ballyconnel Road 4mm - Valencia Harbour, Courtmacsherry and new P4. Adavoyle too. S - Paul Green's layout 7mm - Castle Rackrent, Arigna Town Not many, so great to have a new addition!

Star! Am guessing that, trackwise, P4 21mm is no harder than finescale 21mm and flangeways will undoubtedly look better. From what other people have said here, it seems that loco and rolling stock conversion is the main barrier to going 21mm, though Andy Cundick gets on well enough. So, all power to your elbows, good sir. It has the look of a very good layout and can only be enhanced by being correct gauge. Am really looking forward to seeing how you get on.

Part of me thinks that if it was that simple, why haven't we all been doing it for years? Then again, maybe you have hit on something really interesting.

A real beauty - full of character.

Good for you and hope you get lots of satisfaction from this project. It deserves to do well.

Quite simply, it is! Previous Peco was a 'universal' track system, playing as much to HO as OO. The new stuff follows British practice, with correct sleeper spacings. So, still not the right gauge, but a big improvement.

Thanks for the positive comments, folks - much appreciated, as always. In answer to some of Paddy's questions, below are some of the things I do to try and make my layouts seem bigger [& especially] deeper. The latter is a real issue in 7mm scale, as there is often very little space outside the tracks, so you have to resort to low relief modelling and painted back scenes to create depth. First of all, another of my 'Bibles'. John Ahern's book on model railway buildings first came out nearly 70 years ago, but still has enormous value today and should be available second hand. The chapters on low relief and painted backgrounds are invaluable & I have adapted that street scene on pretty much every layout I've built [and am now into double figures]. Check out the photos of both Fintonagh and Arigna & am sure you will be able to spot where I've done this. The first picture of Fintonagh shows that Forbes Bar is only about 2cm deep. However, along with the store on its right, it is tucked into the corner of the layout, so the viewer can only see it from one direction. Hence the painted houses to the left of the bar can follow a road which also goes left into the back scene & the view is then cut off by the bicycle repair shop opposite Forbes. The next picture, taken from the other side of the Bicycle Shop shows how that road has gone behind it & we now see the rear of the buildings. These then disappear behind painted and low relief trees, until we meet the next view blocker, which is the Tram Inn. This building is removable, as it hides most of the baseboard joint in the back scene. The church spire covers the rest and a lighting bracket will act as an alignment clip to keep the edges of both boards parallel. In this picture, you can see a pronounced gap, but when both boards are closed up, there will just be a line that will look like one of the angles on the spire. The other side of the Tram Inn is the Temperance Hotel, just across the road. This road is part of the painted back scene, with a row of shops at the end, supposedly on the same road that branched off at Forbes Bar. As this is a very narrow view [only about 15cm], I have just painted the front of the shops with just a hint of a second side on the chimney stacks. The second face of the Temperance is only about 2cm deep, so I have tried to suggest it is deeper by painting a narrow strip on the back scene. Because the view down the street is so narrow, I can just about get away with this, though I may well disguise it further with a lamppost on the street corner. Further down the street to the left, we have the other back corner of the baseboards & here is a bit of the John Ahern trickery again. Before then, both the Fintonagh Metalworkers and Coakham's shop are also only a couple of cm deep, so in an effort to give the roofs some depth, part of this aspect is just painted on the back scene. A Mansard roof line helps with the shop & I really like to try and avoid having a gable end just appearing as a 'flat'. However, to make sure viewers will only be able to see this scene from one angle, the large warehouse at the front of the layout hides the hole in the sky, while a large tree will be put to the right of this to ensure the perspective can only be seen from one angle too. In the picture below, the shop roof is just painted on the back scene from a line level with the base of the chimney stack. Mix your paint carefully and the joint is hardly noticeable from a couple of feet away. Note that this aspect still needs a bit of tidying up. Other pictures below show the same effects on Arigna. Depending on the angle of the camera, they may well look wrong, but from the viewing angle I want you to have of the layout at shows, hopefully, they look ok and add to the depth of the scene - which is where I came in.

The simple answer is John Ahern's book Model Railway Buildings, Paddy. First printed in the 1950s when cow gum was the norm and 'Seccotine' was high tech adhesive! There are excellent chapters of low relief work and backscene which I have copied for years. The main problem is disguising the false perspectives and ensuring the viewer can only see from one direction, otherwise things like chimney pots would have three sides on view. Putting in view blockers mostly does the trick and a large tree will be planted to do that on Fintonagh. Will take some more pictures and hopefully explain a bit more.

Already starting to look very convincing, while the way it is being built follows prototype practice with engineering coming before track laying, which adds a little extra to the story.

Baseboard 2 developments Start with the background and work forwards is what most art teachers recommend and it is much the same with model railway scenery - after all, there is little point in trying to work beyond something you have already planted. So, recent work on Fintonagh has been focussing on the low relief buildings making up the rear edge of the layout and trying to incorporate them into a painted back scene. More snake oil than tromp l'oeuil and it is not quite right yet, but the photos hopefully show what I'm aiming at. The latest creation is the Fintonagh Metalworkers building. On the actual Clogher Valley line there was 'Fivemiletown Industries', so this exercise, little more than a 'flat' pays homage to that. I'm assuming a local co-operative offering wrought ironwork, welding, brazing and the like, with the rather OTT clock an advert for some of their work & small weather vane likewise. Both came from Scalelink etches, though the clock needed rather more work than just chopping out. The windows are laser cut jobbies from York Modelmaking. The next work will be to fill in the gaps between buildings with DAS clay and make good the paintwork, then I can add paving stones, drain & manhole covers etc, before working outwards into the front part of the layout. There will be a long stone wall between the railway and road, while a large tree will hopefully hide some of the liberties I've had to take with perspective on the back scene. What might look ok in the pictures is not necessarily so as you move along the layout. The tree and the mill/animal feed warehouse [haven't decided which yet] will both hide the hole in the sky where the layout disappears into the back scene.