Brakie Wrote:Since errors cost money I do my utmost to avoid them..I plan,rethink,think some more and re planed if necessary ...
That is very true and I fully agree. May be I am in a somewhat unusual situation due to the way my layout is build.
- The base is a flat piece of wood and anything is glued with simple white glue on it. So everything can be removed easy with some water and 5 minutes time waiting until the glue became slime again. Except some new holes for cables no woodwork is required.
- 90% of the ground cover is sand. I buy about one bag of about two pound of sand per year. It is cheap sand original intended for bird cage but needs to be sieved before use.
- Track work and especially turnouts are mostly untouched to prevent cost and disruption of a functioning layout. If necessary I use simple Atlas material only. The flex track are mostly reused
- All buildings are scratch build. I buy styrene in large sheets 12" x 25" (0,50m X 1,00m). The styrene used per building is less than $2-3.
- Details like fences, bushes etc. are reused when every possible and it is possible for more then 90%. e.g. no new details have been bought for the hatch area.
- I did ones spend about $100 to get a box full of Trichy windows and doors. That box will last for years
- All paint is usually white, gray or brown primer in rattle cans
That very special environment permits to implement most brainchild right away. As I frankly admit you may call my structures mock ups with some details. It is part of the joy not to wait for weeks or month until everything has been planned and set like in real life. That leads to the very comfortable situation of a constant changing layout in the way of an evolution. I do rarely scratch large parts and "start all over" but I start pushing into another direction with little steps each one to be implemented within a few days only.
I did find two nice Atlas HH600 in my cabinet yesterday evening. They are beautiful and smooth runners. With more and more brick buildings erected on the layout ..... I do not know how my layout will look xmas 2011 :o