I hate going into our loft. After we cleared out the garage, any chance I had of putting a layout up there went out the window. I also hit my head, and, worst of all, is coming down the ladder with anything in your hands.
And I'm sure there is a reason why Issy needs so many boxes of Xmas decorations, half of which always go back up there, unused.
But I braved it today, in search of various 4mm items from the stalled pre-move East Coast-based layout idea. It is amazing what you forget you have stashed away. In this instance, unfortunately, much of it is of limited use, for now. But some of the other things I've found are going to make life easier, and provide most of what I'll need for the fiddleyard board I've got a couple of key scenic decisions to make, which will impact the track plan. I'm wondering about their visual aspect, because I want to keep the scene minimalist whilst hinting at what is off-scene. I also really want to avoid using a bridge as a scenic break.
Which brings me back to Dark Hall Halt.
And THAT bridge.
I don't know why it has become such a blocker for me, so to speak.
It isn't going to be 100% accurate, whatever I do, and I know I could get away with using a combination of the Scalescenes and Lcut parts. But I keep overthinking it, whilst at the same time struggling to keep my mental model of it in focus. There is one other factor. I've got to deal with the Mosslanda shelf's limited width whilst giving the illusion that the path to the platform descends from the road over the bridge. In my head, I can't quite visualise how I do that. I'm beginning to think it could mean increasing the slight skew of the real bridge to make it more extreme in the model. That means playing around with a lot of 3D geometry, but I think it's the way to go. At 3am this morning, I had to remind myself that I can just build a card carcass and throw it in the bin if it doesn't work. But it also means I wish I hadn't cut panels off the Lcut plategirders.
Whilst all that is going on, in the real world I'm trying to design a qualification and online course for a client, and having pretty much the same problem in a different way. How to lead people into a model, and help them quickly see connections.
Meanwhile, the garden now looks very different, having had a mature tree felled. Needless to say, the tree surgeons seem unaware of how expensive LGB track is....
Anyway, next week I'm paying a flying visit to Chris Stockdale, the doyen of 7/8ths scale, to pick up my James Hilton Ruston.
Which brings me back to Dark Hall Halt.
And THAT bridge.
I don't know why it has become such a blocker for me, so to speak.
It isn't going to be 100% accurate, whatever I do, and I know I could get away with using a combination of the Scalescenes and Lcut parts. But I keep overthinking it, whilst at the same time struggling to keep my mental model of it in focus. There is one other factor. I've got to deal with the Mosslanda shelf's limited width whilst giving the illusion that the path to the platform descends from the road over the bridge. In my head, I can't quite visualise how I do that. I'm beginning to think it could mean increasing the slight skew of the real bridge to make it more extreme in the model. That means playing around with a lot of 3D geometry, but I think it's the way to go. At 3am this morning, I had to remind myself that I can just build a card carcass and throw it in the bin if it doesn't work. But it also means I wish I hadn't cut panels off the Lcut plategirders.
Whilst all that is going on, in the real world I'm trying to design a qualification and online course for a client, and having pretty much the same problem in a different way. How to lead people into a model, and help them quickly see connections.
Meanwhile, the garden now looks very different, having had a mature tree felled. Needless to say, the tree surgeons seem unaware of how expensive LGB track is....
Anyway, next week I'm paying a flying visit to Chris Stockdale, the doyen of 7/8ths scale, to pick up my James Hilton Ruston.
Plenty of Xmas decorations in our attic as well, including the board for the under-tree trainset. Dani likes to vary the decor every year, so we have more than we need. Other stuff up there includes 2 new bike frames (unbuilt), camping gear, tools, more bike stuff, books, and, of course, model railway stuff. It's pretty crammed....
ReplyDeletePaul, then there are the Halloween and Easter boxes.... I've got a never used 3d printer and laser cutter up there, somewhere, and equpiment for a photo studio
ReplyDeleteOur new place has two large loft spaces, one walk in, the other requiring slightly more acrobatics, but neither needs a ladder, which is nice, and means that Gilly can get her Christmas stuff out herself.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, when we had the roof replaced, everything in both lofts got covered in dust, bits of wood and broken slate, all of we (I) need to remove, which is happening piecemeal as time and inclination permit. Happily, all my hobby stuff is in the garage, and much of what's in the loft is in plastic storage boxes so it's not really ruined anything.
I know what you mean about "connections", several of my small layouts have suffered delays while I (over)think where that path should go, or whatever.
I'm trying to deliberately limit my enthusiasm for various alluring rabbit holes, and am hoping to start passing on some of the stuff for the projects that are unlikely to progress any further, but nature abhors a vacuum so no doubt other daft ideas will wake my brain cell up, especially if getting rid of stuff generates money...