Lochdubh several steps forward…

I will never tire of getting lost in this box, I’ve said it before and then, again. In a little over 1000 centimetres squared it feels that I have somehow managed to capture the pure essence of the ‘1980s Highland Rail’ and I love it…

Last weekend I was indulgent and spent a whole day tinkering with the layout which has meant lots of progress and a very meditative few hours. Bursts of energy like this are possible with the thoughtful planning of what I want and is possible to achieve in the time, honed over years and mulled over during commission work. The plan was to get the bridge in and see how far I could get scenically in the time by juggling jobs around to let things dry. In the end I got a bit of time over the second day too, so as well as the road approach I managed to green things up too!

The approach road is a balsa core covered in Slaters embossed styrene painted with Humbrol 245 as a wash which is a good way to get some subtle variation with less work, and work it does - some 28 was used for lime staining, being careful to ensure none was higher than the road surface behind. It feels the tone blends well with the back scene and sets off the weathered Mk1 carriages beautifully. Before these were fitted and whilst the paint dried I had glued down the balsa ramp and blended this with the platform surface to allow that to be painted and dusted in talc in my now tried and test method for tarmac. The station building was glued down with PVA and weighted over night to ensure no gaps. The stone cladding was added to the approach road too and propped in place with various aids to ensure a good bond even with just PVA.

The opportunity to begin to green things up couldn’t be passed up either, a blend of 1mm Peco and 2mm green scenes fibres are the base, with 4mm Peco in a few spots for variation. More work on this to follow. The overall picture is how I imagined it, and now the basics are all in place and coherent the fun work of choreographing the scene with smaller details and touches can begin in earnest. Next will be the bridge and finishing that off before lamp posts and platform furniture, but for now, I’m happy turning on the LED layout lights in the evening and just enjoying the scene as it stands. Until next time, more soon…

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