Saturday, March 19, 2016

While I was at work one day,

Things happened  in the basement.
We had company this past week. My good friend from Germany was over visiting with his family for a few days.
Thorsten is the man responsible for my membership in Fremo(not FreeMo) and an avid HO modeler. Once he gets the next set of Fremo modules completed at home his plan is to build a large home layout based upon Bellows Falls.
In the meantime he gets to come over here and assist me with my layout under the guise of a family vacation.
In the middle of his visit, I had a day of work at the arena that I couldn't turn down, so Thorsten was left to his own devices for the day. I had left him with a "Streetview" photo of a level crossing and directions to the lumber yard if he ran out of styrofoam. I came home after a 20 hour day to this;
 What we have here is St George St, where it crosses the Wabash main on the west side of the Kettle Creek Valley. And to the left of the road is the caboose pocket where Tilley will sit with the replacement caboose for the eastbound Redballs.
Now some may think that "big deal. It's only one corner!"
Actually he did far more;
Basic fill in all the way to the westend staging!
Now all I have to do is add fascia and start with Sculptamold to get scenery really going in this area.
I'm so thrilled to have this done. I had been having a bit of a mental block about this area and Thorsten just blew through it for me.
Clearly I need him here more often!


2 comments:

Roger Sekera said...

Just saw your notes on what I would call the Thorsten "blast through," and how often we need a shove to get into and through on some project when, in fact, what's needed is the realization that a good jig saw can cut out undesirable work. I'd been diddling with a coke plant for well over 2 years. The finished product is now done---not wonderfully--but done.

I enjoy your column; keep up the good work

Roger Sekera
Potomac, MD

Trevor said...

Good point, Roger.
Sometimes it's best to forge ahead, knowing we can cut it out and forge ahead again if we don't like the result. This also applies to situations where we feel we need more information or are unsure of the technique. If new information or a better technique comes along, we can always make improvements.
This is easier, of course, if we start with what I like to call an Achievable Layout - a layout that isn't overwhelming for the builder. A more modest design means we have a better chance of building it - which is way better than an ambitious design that burns us out.
Pierre's layout is a good example of this. He considered several more ambitious ideas - including multiple decks, as on his previous layout. And then he decided to build a design that gives him enough layout, but not too much. (And it's going to be a great layout, Pierre!)
Cheers!
- Trevor (Port Rowan in 1:64)