Staying on track?

[Green_Elite_Cab]

No pun intended! I suppose the real question, is how do we keep our modeling skills rounded?

There is something i've noticed about myself while browsing the forums. Another young modeler who has been with the gauge for nearly as long as i have, had a thread on super detailing an engine, which surprised me. His scenic work is stellar, yet superdetailing seemed have him concerned.

I realized that i am much the opposite. My layout has average scenery, and it certainly still contains many gaps and voids where they should be a tree, or person or a fire hydrant or traffic light. Other than my never ending and never quite fully started Catenary plans, i have almost no major scenic things. in fact, i've only ever built two HO scale trees in my life!

On the other hand, my various commuter locomotives, MU cars and small freight diesels all receive some sort of detailing, even if its just a change in the paint and a better horn casting. As soon as i can identify some special thing about a locomotive or car, i try to add it if i think my skills will allow. I started out with a U34CH as a freshman in high school, and now i've got several highly detailed pieces of equipment.

I'm itching to finish various locomotive kits i have, but now that i think of it, maybe my sites have been pointed in the wrong direction. I'm sure i'll get my Arrow III EMUs done sometime, but i should really have a nice environment to run them in!