A few pics of my layout

Very good. Some very nice scenic work there Mike,

nice looking layout with quality photo's can't beat it.

The photo through the goods shed is particulary convincing

David

Wonderful scenic work, especially the waist-high weeds. I have to confess that most of my own layouts look as if they have been cropped by sheep or recently mown

Thankyou all for the kind comments! Since I started the layout our back lawn has become a valuable source of inspiration when adding long grasses and weeds. I'm sure my wife would agree.
Mike

great layout the land rover serise3 88 is a bit out of place tho but it all looks great i hope my lay out will be finished soon.

"land rover serise3 88 is a bit out of place"
Yes, it's hard to argue with that! There's plenty of anachronisms on my layout.
Regards,
Mike

Hi there , i think your pics and layout are great . I especially like the colour of your track grime ! I have been trying to get a good colour for my yard ages and just never seem to get it right . Could you give me some advise on colours ?
Regards simon (camelotjnc)

Thankyou all again for your interest.

Here's one more pic, but rather than clog things with too many more, if you wish you can click here http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showg...500/ppuser/6348
I plan to create a just-rained look, so I've spent a while making puddles with acrylic paints and varnish.
Simon - my ballast looked ridiculously clean when new, so once the glue was set I mixed up some heavily diluted acrylic black and brown and brushed and poured it over the re-wet ballasted areas, mopping with paper towel if it got too dark. It might be an idea to experiment by adding a little grime to the diluted glue at the time of ballasting.
I've used black artist's pastel for soot. I rubbed the pastel onto a paper towel and gently applied it to buildings and timber crossings. It can be hard to shift, and there are parts of the goods shed I wish I could redo. Charcoal might be a better, less permanent option. I also poured some of the grime into the gaps in the timbers on crossings. I've used black, brown and grey artist's pastels on the sleepers and the sponge rubber trackbed where exposed, and mixed up a good reddish rust [something like raw umber with a dash of red and a tiny speck of yellow] with my acrylics to paint the rails.
Let me point out I'm not trying to sound like an authority here, it's just what I did. Plenty of people on this forum would do a better job.
CeeDee [Bob] my photos are cropped, yes, mainly to exclude background clutter because my backdrop is incomplete, but also to improve composition. The bckdrop in the first pic is no wider than what you see there.
Space is a bit tight in places and my Olympus digital is a bit bulky so I tend to take the photo from wherever I can fit it, then crop it. I don't use the zoom at all because it interferes with the depth of field, and I set the aperture [the 'f' number] to its heighest which is a disappointing 8.
Regards,
Mike

As usual Mike, you've surpassed anything that I can hope to do. Believe it or not, I still haven't forgotten about coming over to see you: but when I do, I may have to kidnap you and hold you hostage under my House until you've made my pathetic attempts look better

Thanks for your comments Peter, Peter and John.
Peter H - you might be disappointed - I think my photos flatter it a bit Hopefully we can meet at the Brisbane train show this year, too. It would be my first visit for about 5 years.
Peter M and John - sometimes it seems to me that I'm more concerned with the village and countryside than I am with the railway, but the English landscape can contribute a lot of charm and it's easy to get hooked. And then you take some photos, and the camera shows up your mistakes, and you realise you have to keep at it.
And yes, now you mention it, there's a few minis out there!
Regards,
Mike