Quote from: Bealman on Today at 12:48:04 AMYour brake tender looks great!

I thought it was just a wagon which had uncoupled itself from the end of the rake and got picked up on the way round. As has probably happened to most of us.

Your brake tender looks great!

Tonight's main trains were...........

A very clean E.E. Type 3 on an unfitted freight

Class 37 on unfitted freight at Heatherley by Mick Hollyoake, on Flickr

and an immaculate golden ochre Brush Type 2 hauling fish vans.........

Class 31 Golden Ochre on fish train at Heatherley by Mick Hollyoake, on Flickr

I don't think that there is anything wrong with trying to achieve something in your hobby. For our hobby it can be very different, some like to get a lot of trains running soon and are not too worried about detail whilst others (me...) take ages to get something running and then it is even with track glued to bare plywood.
The thing is that you enjoy what you are doing.

As an example here my latest project.
I 'needed' a grounded coach for my layout of Blagdon station and I thought that it should be possible to build one with overlays of lasercut card/paper on a 3D printed shell. (I like to make things so I have a small lasercutter and a small filament printer)
It took me months to figure out how to do it but I really like the result. And I learnt how to build something with my little machines.

This is what it looks like now, still needs glazing and a window frame for the end window. I started this layout approx 15 years ago.....



And this is it before the paintshop:



The point I wanted to make here is that a hobby should be something you do for yourself and not to impress others.
I must say that I'm often jealous if I see beautiful layouts that are built within a year or so but it seems I have a more glacial way of making things 

Jan

Quote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 04:37:35 PM

Quote from: zwilnik on Yesterday at 02:10:44 PMas is the case of my crap hobby of playing the recorder

I think many parents went through sheer hell as their kids were taught the recorder at school. Of course, the violin is worse, but the recorders always seemed to be the teacher's 'weapon of choice', probably as it was just marginally more expensive than comb and paper

Recorder is just a hideous instrument to teach kids even from a musical point of view. They fingering is complicated, and convoluted and unlike a tin whistle you've effectively got to learn a lot of music theory (however well hidden) early on.

Tin whistle would be a lot better and small kids seem to have much more fun with a Kazoo (or indeed any instrument that can make fart noises).

I am a committed crap guitarist which suits me just fine, and my woodwork may work but it makes grown carpenters cry

Quote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 04:37:35 PM

Quote from: zwilnik on Yesterday at 02:10:44 PMas is the case of my crap hobby of playing the recorder

I think many parents went through sheer hell as their kids were taught the recorder at school. Of course, the violin is worse, but the recorders always seemed to be the teacher's 'weapon of choice', probably as it was just marginally more expensive than comb and paper

I still have the harmonica that my uncle and aunt gifted me from Germany. I can honestly say I was never called Bob D (as in Dylan).

Quote from: zwilnik on Yesterday at 02:10:44 PMas is the case of my crap hobby of playing the recorder

I think many parents went through sheer hell as their kids were taught the recorder at school. Of course, the violin is worse, but the recorders always seemed to be the teacher's 'weapon of choice', probably as it was just marginally more expensive than comb and paper

I have a philosophy that you should have at least one 'crap hobby'. This is something you enjoy doing, but make absolutely no effort to get better at it beyond some initial learning. You just enjoy it (even if everyone around you doesn't, as is the case of my crap hobby of playing the recorder)

Quote from: Bob G on Yesterday at 01:26:43 PMIt's time to make a declaration.

I'm Bob G, and I'm NOT a rivet counter!

On the subject of rivets, I loved the bit in that film of the bloke lighting his fag off a hot rivet before it's put in place and hammered up 

It's time to make a declaration.

I'm Bob G, and I'm NOT a rivet counter!

I choose what my standards are, and I live with the consequences.

Lima Deltic, anyone?