Ok so I can come off the naughty step, take the dunces hat off and take the walk of shame back to the land of mojo. I really hadn’t realised it had been so long since my last post and that this blog has been running since 2013 with virtually no progress concrete or other wise modelling going on. However that is all about to change he said and in this one post I am going to re-ignite the flames of progress and get back to that fifteen minutes (at least) a day as proclaimed in the title of this blog.
When I set out and started my blog having seen many others extolling the virtues of a small chunk of time a day set aside for modelling or hobby time I decided that this would get me going and banish the analysis paralysis that had plagued me. As a very settled some might say stuck armchair modeller I got my enjoyment out of the endless planning and noodling and virtual modelling allowed via computer driven simulator sessions. I have in the past started many projects that with good intentions never quite manage to get beyond the embryonic stage, don’t get me wrong I have modelled for others completing the task(s) adequately but when it comes to my own work I seem to have a mental block. However with all that said I/we are here for a fresh start and a new start it is as I have taken up an idea that kind of popped in there whilst I was least expecting it.
What is that idea I hear you ask. Well the genesis for it started back last year well I was reading this thread and had a kind of “Uhh-huh” moment and then again it was cemented when I was visiting a friend and the discussion got to his US layout. I had remembered that hidden in the railway boxes were some HO Kato Geeps and mentioned to my friend that this might be an interesting idea to design a HO shelf layout for him based on an L to start with. Coming away I didn’t give it much thought and it wasn’t till I travelled down to see him again with said locos that the itch that needed scratching returned. He was taken with those smooth running locos and the leap to HO was made. Then time went by as we pasted ideas and plans backwards and forwards, again the planning stage engaging me with the creative juices flowing on what we could achieve. But this was on someone else’s layout not my own. Through various events over the last few years organising my modelling has been somewhat difficult and this has been the main reason why things have not progress in any kind of fashion however that is about to change. It was a kind of light bulb moment for me when I realised that the best way forward would be a modular layout that could be moved at short notice if needs be and that could be adaptable to the space it lives in. I’m not sure if it will ever leave here but having read about modular meet ups it does sound fun, but that is someway off in the distance.
So to a bit of background for this latest attempt. HO; check, US; check, New England; check, Fall colours; check. Yes I know nothing original here and the majority of UK modellers will either model NE or Desert railroads but for me it is the greenness of New England that resonates with my British sensibilities and I also want to sneak a covered bridge in at some point. I have deliberately kept the modules small and at 30″ x 18″ they are more manageable and will fit into our little Ford easily. I have been also thinking about the scenery and more to come on that as and when I get that far.
So till next time..
Leave a Reply