Apologies for the delay in posting any progress the last two days - I'm afraid I spent them both mainly sorting out a computer issue. Sadly, model-making does not take priority (even with an upcoming exhibition!)
Anyway, to make up for it (and in light of the fact that I only have tomorrow and Friday left to work on the layout til the exhibition) I tried to get as much done today as possible. I didn't take too many photos as I was more concerned in getting stuff done, but I have a few to show regardless:
Above: Here we can see the most difficult section of track after installation. This is the NG line leading to the dual gauge engine shed (which sits on that rectangular section). As you can see, there are numerous things working against me here. The most major being the board joins and the steep gradient, but also the fact that it is on a curve doesn't help matters! We'll see when it comes to cutting the track whether it works as intended or fails spectacularly.
Below (next 2 photos): The simple way to make land forms! All I do is to roughly cut a piece of polystyrene the right shape (using either a small saw or long bladed knife). Then it is simply a case of slicing away bits of it with a hot wire cutter until you are happy with the end result. Of course, it is important to check clearances if the scenery is around track-work like this.
Below: And so let's move on to another problematic area - the lighting!
Dad and I were racking our brains to come up with a support for the lighting. Then I noticed behind the layout was my mic stand. It doesn't see any use anymore so I figured it would be perfect for its new use as a lighting stanchion! Our current thinking is that we can simply dangle the lights on an old coathanger off of the top of the mic stand. We also plan to secure the stand to the layout with a bracket for extra stability.
Above: Oh yes, and i've also been working on a design for a new hand held vacuum cleaner...
... well it looks like one! It is in fact the trackbed for the jetty. This was cut out at 9pm tonight (I hope the neighbours didn't mind!). Getting this to sit on the clay supports I made will certainly be a challenge (but i'm up for it!). Oh, and yes, as you can see I finally attached the jetty board onto the layout. It's been long overdue (and I had almost forgotten about this board) but it makes a big difference to the look of the layout. I can see some interesting view points as the result.
Below: A late night overview of the state of the layout so far. Tomorrow my aim is to completely cover the layout in clay ready to paint on Friday morning. This should vastly improve the look of the layout! That's what I'm hoping anyway...
So that about wraps it up for tonight. As you can see, a lot done, but also a lot left to do. The layout will be appearing at the exhibition at the weekend, even if it isn't as advanced as I'd like it to be. I'm hoping people will appreciate it regardless and I'll do my best to talk to people and explain my vision for the layout.
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