So, those who have followed me, know I started a layout on top of the bookshelf attached to my desk. Those of you know I started out modeling the "Old West", which turned into the "Wild West", which was far from prototypical, and then "Movie set of the Wild West" (suggested by one of the kind folks here... forgive me for not remembering names... I can look it up, maybe?) which opened up a LOT more possibilities, and is the PERFECT thing to model for a first layout. (I mean... movie set... I want Steam Punk on the rails? DONE! I want a Western? DONE! I want a Western, that has a 2-8-0 "Connie" pulling old west cars? I question the director's decisions, but... DONE! I want Zombies? Okay... there are no Zombies on my layout, but... don't tempt me! A friend just gave me a tin with 550 HO scale zombies in it!)

So... the layout got bigger than I had planned... it was supposed to be just the desk top, but I made bench work to extend the two ends... it was supposed to be TOMA, and ended up being TOMA inspired... Though the main town, and layout is mostly permanent, I did set it up for TOMA expansions... small permanent layout, TOMA compatible for any scene i want to attach to either side... how come nobody is doing that? (rhetorical question... I'm sure there are more folks than me doing just that!) Can I move it when I move from my apartment? Of course... I did build it in three sections, and gravity keeps it in place... so it's an easy matter of pop it off the desk, unscrew the two sides, and break the seams on the two sides that are only a thin layer of Water Putty. Set it back up somewhere else, and invest a whole dollar fifty for some more water putty.

So what's with the title of this personal blog? Well, it was some musings I had today involving my layout.

Now, I know my limits... I know I will have an interest, and then move on eventually... though, it's usually because the interest was unfeasible, or too narrow. 30 years ago, I had an interest into trains... wanted to build a grand layout (using large plywood that would fit nowhere, because the model shops, trades, and ex wife's grandfather said that was the only way) and what with youth, jobs, excitement, moving a LOT, self destruction, more moves, poverty, divorce, and a drinking issue... okay, not all at once... but, I lost interest in the hobby due to a lack of means to build a layout. It was hard, in those days, to build that "grand" layout that I thought I had to have in an apartment, that I may only be in for a month or two before having to move. Job to job, post to post... I then went on to other hobbies... from trains, to action figures (bit more portable, and I had Star Wars figures as a kid, but too focused) There were video games (they got boring REAL quick) Guns, and gun collecting (well.. couldn't afford that, and does it count as gun collecting when you have only three guns, and your ex steals two to give to the guy she's cheating with, and the third to pawn for whatever drugs her preacher wanted her to get for him?) Computers (but after Windows 95, it just felt like more of the same) GI Joes (I even had a popular web site on how to do restorations, and repairs, that turned into a comic strip that inspired a rather twisted TV show) Work, of course (acting, comedy, and radio took up a lot of time, and interest, but even that got old) Ren Faires, Historical Reenactments, Steampunk (before it was cool) entertainment, hobbies turned to work, and jobs were based on interest, and interests would falter as things got narrow, focused, and important... it's hard to have fun, if your living depends on it... sometimes at least...

Then more life happened, and eventually, bad things to justify stupidity...

But model railroading never really left me. I would still go nuts over seeing a layout... I'd watch any BBC show that had a model train in it (I would LOVE to get a beer with James Mays, and I don't even drink anymore! I'd make an exception!)

So that leads me back here... and the title of this blog.

What's important? Rent, bills, groceries... yeah... but then hobby after the necessities, of course. I don't have family anymore, so it's necessities, and then hobby... so why am I not bored with the hobby yet?

Variety, and possibilities. Big Jobs-Little Jobs.

I think model railroading stuck with me, because it kept harping on my creative side... the artist in me. It hit the engineer in me (building things for fun, instead of destruction) The love of miniatures, and fine detail (I am just as impressed with the detail of an "Acid Rain Stronghold" as I am with a Faberge Egg, as I am with a custom GI Joe diorama, or with an HO scale steam engine)

That, and as much as I will buy ready to run before a kit... I still LOVE to build. Simple things, complicated things... things I have to work up to.

So we are back to Big Jobs-Small Jobs.

When I designed my track plan, I considered that small, because I doubted I would use my plans (I ended up using more than I thought) Bench work, I considered big, but how I did it, it wasn't that big... it was done in under an hour.

Buildings, and the extra little things... those were a series of little jobs that I did while waiting for a layout. (make a building, put it on the bookshelf in the closet... make another, etc etc...)

Then after bench work was the pink foam. Big job. It didn't take long... couple hours, but still a big job, because I cut foam, laid it (wedged it more like) then laid track (EZ Track, so that part was about fifteen minutes, but still big in scope)  The layout wasn't what I pictured, but it was better than what I pictured (I thought for sure I would only use a few of my buildings, and not have my town, but because of some changes due to the track planing software being WAY off, I got my town, and some things were moved around)

Then I put off scenery... the trains were running, the town was in place... and I played with the trains for a bit. (couple months) Then I got some trees.

That egged me on to do scenery. Big job.

That's when I started to notice... I wasn't bored! Not even in the least! That's when I started to see that it was the "Big Job-Little Job" that was keeping me interested!

Lighting (one building at a time=little job... all together big job, and I did most in one day, making it big, but, in my mind, it was a series of little jobs)

Putty, and paint... Big job.

Sand and tea leaves... little job, but, attached to big job... save glue by letting the paint seal everything... but... glued it all anyway.

Now I'm looking at a half completed layout. It's nice!

But, I'm not overwhelmed, like I was at the beginning, because I now know I can break big jobs into little jobs... and I know there are so many little jobs I WANT to do. The big jobs I was afraid of (like ballasting) were actually much smaller than I thought... I have found that I WANT to do something every day. It may just be running trains... it might be building something (I have a few cars kits still that I haven't built) it might be wiring something... I may want to experiment with scratch building (the outhouse) and now I'm catching myself looking at Craftsman kits, and seeing if there's something I wouldn't mind building.

I know that once the layout that I have is finished, that's just the beginning... I will want to make expansions (bunch of little jobs that make one big job) and I want build a turn table, and roundhouse for my engines to be parked in (big job, part of the expansion) and there are other engines, and cars I want (big job? Little job? Depends on what I get) and things that will keep me VERY busy.

I think that's the secret.

Big job-little job.

Every day there is something I WANT to do in this hobby, be it big, or little... there is never a dull moment... there is always something else!

They say a layout os never finished, and I have seen, or read about layouts that are finished, but, I still see people working on those finished layouts... running trains, maintaining the track, or adding or subtracting due to finding more information, or more they want...

This is a hobby where there is also something more to do, that we enjoy. Once this is finished, and the expansions are finished, and I can build no more, I can start detaining the insides of buildings too! Once that's done, I can replace cars with more detailed ones. I can build cars. I can fiddle around with seeing how realistic I can get a small corner of the layout, and then let that idea spread. I can run my trains, and come up with new ideas, and... and... and...

But that's the secret. That's what keeps my interest.

Big job-Little job.

I'm not bored!