During the last month I've built the base of the second fiddle yard baseboard; added the entry track and docking station for the storage cassettes on both fiddle yards; constructed a few storage cassettes; sculptured the styrene block to nearly all of the scenic area; covered all styrene on one board with Modroc; and thrown together a barn kit by Wills.
Not sure if the barn will end up permanently on the model as I don't think it is typically Cornish but as a temporary building it will help with a scenic break at that end of the model. I'll also make use of a Wills Farm Cottage kit for the cottage but I'll build it as a mirror image.
Quite a bit more time has been spent on further track testing, then doing a few minor tweaks here and there to improve running. Although while struggling with one particular annoying derailment, along with the fact that I'm struggling with my first chassis, I was nearly at the stage of deciding P4 is not for me. I could not work out why one wagon would come off and others stay on through a particular piece of track, then the next evening the problematic wagon would be OK. It was really trying my patience. Then a visit by local Scalefour group members and the encouragement they offered, plus a few more evenings of frustration, I think, I have finally solved the derailment problem.
A little more progress has been made with the clay wagons but not enough to show in this post. I've also started a test piece for trialling how to build up the ground work and apply grass, more of which later. So it would seem I've been busy though it does not feel like I have made much progress as I was hoping to have had the lighting pelmet constructed by now and to have started on the ground work on the model...
This project is certainly a huge learning process and is increasing my appreciation of all the skills that have gone into creating the excellent P4 layouts that are on the exhibition circuit. I will no doubt have many more trying/frustrating episodes... It would seem it's all part of the fun!
