Much of my time away from editorial duties has been spent drystone walling (or recovering from it!), so practical modelling sessions have been scarce over the past month.
That said, I have managed to maintain steady, if unspectacular, progress on my ‘OO’ gauge layout. Gaps in between online meetings or tea breaks have been harnessed to undertake small, self ‐contained jobs, such as priming and painting the goods loading platform. Located towards the rear of the baseboard, the platform was built and painted in situ. This raised a small problem when I came to apply paint via aerosol cans. Masking the backscene and surroundings with scraps of lining wallpaper was easy enough, but extracting the fumes was another matter.
I didn’t have the time or the inclination to move the layout outside so, with all widows open, a pedestal fan switched on (directing the fumes towards the windows) and a heavy-duty respirator mask on, the spraying could begin.