End of the line

No updates for 2 1/2 months. No modelling going on. Nothing. Time to call it a day I think. With a lot of house renovations, (c'mon, bloody rebuilding most rooms really) modelling is having to take a back seat. So with this I thank my tiny band of dedicated reader(s) and sign off for the time being. Hopefully by this time next year there will be a shed at the bottom of the garden humming with activity. Knowing my luck there'll be a pile of broken concrete where the garage used to stand in the middle of a mud swamp.

So for now, and the next several months. Thank you and adieu.

Spotter Spotting #3 Mephitis mephitis

I seem to be coming across more and more of these types of spotter/modeller these days. The Mephitis mephitis (latin for: noxious vapour) or common skunk, is far too easily recognised by the trail of yellow fog that trails in their wake. You are aware of the mephitis long before they are in visual range.

What is it with so many spotters and poor personal hygiene? Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of people are fairly normal but for some inexplicable reason model railway exhibitions attract a higher proportion of the soap dodging segment of society.

I feel a rant coming on. This is directed towards those that have no clue as to the meaning of personal hygiene. How can any self respecting individual have absolutely no clue on self grooming. For f*ck sake, even monkeys clean themselves better than some of these stench merchants.

1: soap is your friend. Use it, often. Daily in fact.

2: bathing will not make you rust. You are flesh not sheet metal.

3: shampoo is nice too. Your barnet is not meant to be a flea circus or bug hostel.

4: deodorant is not poisonous and won't make you sterile. Lets face it without it you aren't going to be reproducing anyway.

5: clean out that beard. Yes I know there is a family of great breasted sap suckers nesting in there but cut the damn thing off and let them nest outdoors. The birds will be thankful for the relief from your halitosis, and you will be doing your part to support endangered species.

6: toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. Before your breath causes a hazmat alert by triggering the carbon monoxide alarms.

7: wash your clothes, replace them when they are worn out. There is nothing nostalgic in 20 year old beer, soot, curry stained T shirts that have more bacterial growth on them than at Huntington Life Sciences.

Perphaps we can get the Body Shop or Lush to sponsor next year's Warley exhibition. How about, A4 shaped soap, Brunel bubble bath, Gresley shampoo, Deltic deodorant, and mirrlees mints.

Trainspotter Spotting #2 the Guru

The next part in our series of spotting the spotter centres around the guru. This person is the most valuable to modellers. Many have come across the guru but have never realised. These are the quiet types that will only dispense their vast knowledge once primed and lubricated. Gurus come in all shapes and sizes and are not normally easily found. Some digging and prompting is required to unearth the real guru.

I've been fortunate in knowing several of these individuals. One such gent back in the 70's had built an O gauge layout in his basement. Big deal I hear you say. Well this one was worked with complete operational precision. Everything was accurate. This was the first and only time I've ever seen points operated by compressed air and a fully operational hump shunting yard. I Owe this gentleman a great debt of gratitude and if not for him I may have ended up spending my evenings in some dodgy pub instead. I've also been lucky in meeting several other people in the hobby that have pushed me into improving my skills and enjoyment.

My gurus in no particular order.

Peter Bryant: a complete gentleman who was like a father to me and spawned the collector in me. Always a kind word and a cuppa ready. Sadly missed.
Bert Haynes: a kind man who has donated more time to scouting than just about anyone else on the planet. My memories of his white jag and basement layout will always be with me. His O scale model of CP's Stoney Creek bridge is awe inspiring.
Al Love: a modeller extraodinaire. Has driven me to work harder and always improve.
Doug & Jackie Hole: artists is the only word that fits really. Kind and encouraging people with an eye for detail and a modelling skill that leaves me in the dust.

To these people I say a very large thank you.

The dust begins to settle

Well after a protracted house move that would merit its own blog SWMBO and I have finally settled down into our own pile of bricks. Lets just say the next person that mentions 'completion dates', 'contract exchange', 'surveys', 'chains', is going to get throttled with a chain.

At the moment all things railway are poised and awaiting the phoenix that is the layout. Erm, no actually. The baseboards and all my wood is piled up in the concrete bunker that passes as a garage. The rest of everything has been transfered from boxes into nice damp proof plastic tubs. 24 of them to be exact. I managed to get an amazing deal from B&Q a while back and snapped up their entire stock for £2.50 each. I've got no space to set anything up and with all the 'additional unforseen' costs of the move, my dream train shed is on hold for the forseeable future.

In my infinite crap luck, it turns out that the advertised 5' from the back seats to the door in my Freelander actually turns out to be 4' 10" once the stupid junk holder in the back door is taken into account. The result is the baseboards that I oh so carefully measured to fit the 'official' Landrover measurements with 1" to spare are actually 1" too bloody long to fit. Of course I didn't find this out until I actually went to move the blasted things to the new house.

Do I move the existing layout onto shorter baseboards, or just start again? Do I carry on and get a trailer for the LR? What do I do for the next 12 - 18 months until I finally get my shed built? Decisions, decisions. I was hoping to catch up on some other projects but I'm suffering layout withdrawl. Does anyone actually read my drivel?