I’ve been working on the new touring HOn30 layout. With a show at the end of January there’s a lot of incentive to have something new and cool to show. This pressure has forced me to focus on the modules and it has made me make tough choices rather then put them off. Some time ago, I had started a freelance factory design for a specific location on the layout. I decided I would make it strictly from stuff in the “extras” and “flats” folders on our disks. I really built the monster out to the max and it was looking glorious. It was an odd shaped building made to fit a siding and also have another siding going inside. (Notice I’m using a lot of “past tense”). When I work on a module I hook it up to the module next to it so they look like they belong together. Wile playing around with placement I took a couple of buildings I had sitting around and tried different arrangements. I hit on one that worked really well. The problem however, is that this beautiful scratch built one of a kind factory’s foot print would no longer work.
This is where you just have to make a leap of faith and trust your instincts. I ripped out the custom building (carefully removed actually). I had a vague idea that I would re-configure it into a smaller structure. Then I had to go back and fill the gaps with fresh ground cover and dirt. Making this one tough decision opened up several opportunities. I was able to place 5 structures in the space taken up by the one I ripped out. A nice arrangement of old and new kits. A slightly modified Warehouse kit, the brand new Habbakers Garage, the shed from our contest of a couple of months ago and a Qounset Hut. An unexpected bonus was a home for the model that started it all. The brick narrow gauge engine house that I first showed my brother almost 6 years ago will now be tucked into a space at the end of a spur that would have been inside the big factory. It’s a bit crude compared to our current models, but I like the historic aspect. I think I’ll model a marker or monument for it.
So, what of the big factory? No way I will let dozens of hours of work go to waste. I cut appart all of the walls and re-assembled them as a long, low relief background flat running along one of the 6 edges of the layout (it’s U shaped).
When all is said and done, the lesson here is to not get too attached to anything. Sometimes being brash and chaotic can lead to fresh thought and exciting results.
Thom