Engine Lead Buildings

Thanks to Marty McGuirk for reminding me to think about the story I want to tell when putting together this scene. I’ve always maintained that the whole layout should build from right to left, getting more and more lively and optimistic as it goes. Here at the right end of the layout, it should be […]

Mock-up Coaling platform

The information on the coaling platform in Pembroke is scant. We have a mention that there was one in the 1908 GTR Bridges and Buildings book, with the note “Shovelled into Ten.” There is a turntable-long rectangle on the Grand Trunk Railway’s 1918 Plan of Pembrok (NMC 145203-1) that indicates its location along the engine […]

Prototype Modelling for Cattle

It kind of started as a joke: why not model individual cows for my pasture? It didn’t take long to find a couple of dozen photos of Ayrshire cattle, but the prospect of reproducing them in HO scale would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? I was laughing at myself for even thinking of this idea. Well, […]

Pasture in Place

Except for cattle, the pasture is as finished as it is going to get. They’re getting painted with oils, and those will take a week or so to dry completely, so in the interest of tidying up, I’ve put the pasture in place for now. Depending on how herd installation goes, it may be in […]

Pembroke87 Joins the Fediverse

I first became aware of the idea of a decentralized social network through Kim Stanley Robinson’s science fiction novel, The Ministry of the Future. Here is his fictional account For everyone else, using these sites means they’ll control their data, rather than it being used and mined. That privacy can then be a resource to […]

Cattails Start to Sprout

To explain away the stream that heads straight into the ditch by the tracks, the area is going to get swampy. To produce these cattails, I borrowed a design idea from Noch, but cut my own, rather than plumping for their probably excellent product. Forty-seven plants in an area about 2.5x3cm looks about right. The […]

The Dairy Herd

Now that I can have as many cattle as I desire, the question becomes how many should I have? My cousin’s husband keeps about 100 cows producing milk, and at least another 100 heifers and pregnant or nearly pregnant animals, but he has machines that do most of the milking. Surely hand-milked herds in 1905 […]

Pasture Bushes

Most of the pasture consists of grass and weeds, but the stream is lined with bushes to such an extent that it often disappears. A couple of years ago, after reading Gordon Gravett’s books, I ordered a small square of rubberized horsehair from Treemendus. When it arrived, along with a small shank of postiche, I […]

Blending a Cow

A quick online search, and indeed a visit to the hobby shop, confirmed that populating my pasture with a herd of Ayrshire cattle is going to be a pricey proposition. Moreover, even if I were to spend $20 or more on a hand of cows, they will be in three different poses: grazing, mooing, and […]

Weeds around the pasture

I’ve put the static grass away for now. I still have the bit next to the backdrop to finish up, but otherwise, I think it’s time to stop and consider before it gets worse. Some techniques are worth mentioning so I can remember them for when I get to work on the near side of […]