O Gauge Dairy Warehouse finished and other layout detailing bits

Next weekend I am planning to put the layout up for a week and start working my way through multiple modelling tasks across the various layout boards. There are a few larger jobs to undertake, such as replacing a bit of curved track where the transition is too sharp out of the station (I wish I had noticed before I started ballasting), cutting back a bit of the pub wall where it is too close the track and taking out a small bulge in the edge of the dairy platform where it is catching on the class 08. I wish I had noticed all of these things at the time, which of course I did not and they all require remedy, otherwise the operation of the layout will be frustrating when I put it up to play trains. Hey ho - time to just bite the bullet and get these bits finished, then it really is onto the home straight with the layout.

The dairy warehouse finished and ready to install on the layout.

After doing these bigger messier jobs (which will require some hoovering up), I will then put into place some of the buildings on the layout. The pub and the quamasters cottage are already glued into place and I can now add in the dairy office and warehouse to the end board. The diary office roof has been toned down a little with dry brushing and I have finished the main dairy warehouse that will be located next to it on the diary platform. The dairy warehouse has a centre office into which I have fitted some interior details and lights, such as a desk with papers, a phone and typewriter, a dairy manager and a picture and clock on the wall. All good fun to model, although the close up is a bit cruel! All of these buildings need to be wired up once in place to a battery source with a switch to allow the lights to be individually  switched on.

Dairy office manager Roger Caries is hard at work at his desk!

Picture hanging om the office wall, because the dairy manager, Roger Caries (of Caries Dairies) is a civil war fanatic in his spare time.....

Clock on the opposing office wall, with telephone on the desk.

There are various other little detailing projects I am currently painting / weathering, which include:

Rubbish bins - to be fitted outside the pub and at the quaymaster cottage;

Metal drums - to dot around the place as general detritus;

A post box and telephone box - to be fitted outside the quay masters cottage;

A platform sign;

A pub bench;

Some lineside speed signs (which I thought I had cleaned up with sand paper - but the close up photographs show I need another go at this!!

Post box, after a bit of toning down.

Dustbins - these are the old steel dustbins I can remember from the 1970s!

Phone box, also after a bit of toning down.

Some metal drums - these will painted in some lurid colour and then have the obligatory rust patches added.

Pub bench - ready for the pub garden.

Lineside speed signs - these require some more sanding down and cleaning up!

So there is plenty to keep me busy at the moment and of course relatively little time to push on with these projects. Anyhow, the layout will go up next weekend, so I will get the bigger jobs done and some of the buildings glued in and see how far I progress with the rest of it. Mostly though, I am really looking forward to running some trains!!