esngblog

My shoulder is still recovering, but I’ve been building a few plastic kits to keep my hand in.  The latest model is an Airfix 1/48 Walrus.  Lovely kit, with just a smear of filler needed here or there.  I’ll build it with the wings folded, and painting is just about under way.

Which rather brings me to my thoughts for the day.  As I’ve built these models, I realise (perhaps the obvious) that I enjoy putting things together and making the models.  I don’t enjoy the final painting process (though it’s worth the effort) and that’s often where I make a mess of things.

Thinking about it, this explains a lot about my model railway interests.  I love planning new layouts.  I quite enjoy building them.  But once they’re done, I don’t operate them very much.  This is probably why I like small railways – they don’t take up much room when I’ve finished!  And it’s a vote in favour of modules – they can come out and run when needed.

Perhaps it’s why I’ve got quite a few projects that have started, but seem to have stalled.  I love the planning, and the start, but the finishing is less interesting.  It’s why I’ve always had difficulty in completing a rake of coaches (I’ve a part complete rake of O gauge plastikard Stroudley 4 wheelers sitting on a shelf – and haven’t the heart to throw them out.)  Perhaps trams really are the way forward!  Only one is needed, rather than a long train.

And it also explains why I’m happy to watch trains go by on ESNG club nights.  I love watching the models pass by, but I’m less interested in controlling them, and I really don’t mind if they’re not my models.

Despite all this, I do enjoy the hobby, and even more meeting up with friends for club nights.  Thank goodness our hobby is so multi-faceted that there’s room for all sorts of people!

New Year’s resolution – actually finish something!!!!!!

And another project under way…..

Happy New Year everyone, and it’s time for a quick look back and forward.  No new year resolutions, though, as they won’t last the month!

2024 was rather interrupted with my broken shoulder, that took out four months of modelling time.  I was pleased to upgrade my N-club airfield module, adding some new details, some drones to stand on the tarmac, and a demonstration by the perimeter fence.  All greatly improved the existing module.  I also made progress on my Minories layout, though I’m still not very happy with it.  Maybe a third incarnation will appear in 2025?  Cliché as it it, I realise that the fun of modelling is the journey as much as the end result.  It’s very pleasing to complete a project, but if you have to scrap something and start again, so be it.

My injury didn’t stop visits to ESNG club meetings, though I didn’t run many trains, just talked a lot.  I’ve also made the most of malingering for a few months, letting everyone else do the lifting and setting up the layout.  I’m back to helping again, though lifting heavy items will still have to be avoided for a month of two more.

As a club, we have met regularly, and though numbers have often been low, we have only failed to set up a layout and run trains on a couple of occasions.  We’ve seen a wide range of models on the tracks, especially when we had an absolute rash of Revolution 59’s in action when the model was released.  (I’ve only seen one ‘Caroline’ in action, though.)  Meetings are also very social, and a number of us have visited exhibitions together.

Despite failing to have our own exhibition, we did take a few modules to TINGS to join in with the German NCI layout.  I was disappointed to miss this with my shoulder, but sent the modules that behaved themselves.  We did, of course, go to Stuttgart and contributed about 32′ of mixed N-club and N-mod modules.  These ran pretty well for the four days, with few derailments.  And the ESNG members who attended had the usual sociable time.

In 2025, what lies in store?  Having got my modelling arm back in action building three aircraft – the Whirlwind that appeared a few posts back, and a Chipmunk and Walrus to come – I need to get back to railways.

At home I really need to get back to my Minories, and I have another small layout project in the planning stage.  And there are a lot of little kits to make.

At ESNG, we need to start another club module – perhaps another N-mod/N-club junction – to work on on Wednesday afternoons.  We had a lot of fun building the fiddleyard together, so a new project would be good.

Of course, there’s always the thought of a club open day or exhibition.  I failed to organise it last year, and that actually worked out well as the show date was just after breaking my shoulder.  But we really ought to do something this year.

I’ll look back at the end of the year and see how much of the above gets done.  Some of it, no doubt.  But the only important thing, really, will be for it to be a lot of fun, making things and running trains with friends.  Hope you all have a good 2025, too.