The Burford Branch

[Terry Bendall]

I did wonder whether I was wasting my time on inessential details.

Some peeople might think that Martin but for others this sort of detail is what brings a model alive. A delightfrul scene.

Terry Bendall

[martin goodall]

Thanks for that encouragement, Terry.

However, I think there will always be a dilemma as to how much detail to add to a model, and whether the time and effort involved is justified by the result. Sometimes I think so, and sometimes not. The Romans had a saying: Ars longa, vita brevis (which one of my friends used to translate as "If your name is Longbottom, you'd better watch out!").

[martin goodall]

I have just noticed that I missed Philip's comment at the foot of the previous page.

The same thought occurred to me, and other friends have also raised it (!) Ideally, the "Gentlemen" sign should include a hand pointing down and to the left, directing those in need through the archway on the left, but I couldn't find a model sign showing this, so we shall just have to hope that the male residents of Burford are too gentlemanly to resort to using the fire buckets for purposes for which they were not intended. But I bet this wouldn't stop people from stubbing out cigarette ends in the sand-filled buckets.

[jim s-w]

I think there's several factors to consider with things like this Martin

1 (this the most important one by far) do you want to and if you don't do you think it will bug you forever?

2 cameras can get places the eye can't so are you reducing your options for photography if you don't?

And 3. on an exhibition layout (yours isn't is it, I can't remember?) some people love to find hidden things and I think it's nice to give them some little rewards for their efforts if they do. Some exhibition organisers like it too as they give quizzes out for kids to find stuff. On Brettell road I ask them to ask the kids to find out how many cats are on the layout.

I'm totally behind the approach you are taking personally

[martin goodall]

Thanks, Jim. I fully agree with all three of your points.

The Burford Branch is not an exhibition layout (too big and heavy, and not designed to be portable, although it is transportable when required, for example for the various house moves it has undergone in the course of its development), but your point about details being discovered by visitors certainly chimes with me, and I have enjoyed closely examining some exhibition layouts to see and appreciate various details that they incorporate.

I suppose that what prompted my earlier remark about 'inessential details' was the fact that the details under the Train Shed roof at Burford can only be seen clearly through a camera lens (as shown in this thread). But I admit that it can be fun to add details of this sort to a model. It's just that spending time doing this makes it less likely that the layout as a whole will ever be finished (which brings us back to 'Ars longa, vita brevis').