Steps on the Path? (Up-cycle pt.5)

As hinted previously, things have been rather quiet on the ‘Up-cycle’ front lately due to an emerging view that the work so far is a step on the path rather than the destination itself. I'm not sure what has provoked this change in thought, but I suspect it is fuelled by a feeling that ‘Up-cycle’ was really just that little bit too small to be a layout itself and perhaps too big to be a diorama.

Although ‘Up-cycle’ was built with (and fulfils) the dual purpose of fitting onto my already cramped desktop and storing in an impossibly small slot, in practice there is a rather cumbersome movement between the two. Since the re-purposing of the scheme as a dual identity test track/diorama scene I've actually started to wonder if I have made a compromise too far and whether the best outcome is in fact to split these two purposes apart and make some further steps:

• A simple (dual gauge) test track which sits on the desk in a location more suited to use whilst other work is ongoing.  Now complete:

• A diorama suitable for photography could be created using the existing scenic concept and material and store in the location used for ‘Up-cycle’. In progress:

• Adopt the view that the existing board stands as a proof-of-concept for the method of construction used. The diorama board above uses more shelving offcuts and plywood:

The only real loss here will be the length of the track available for ‘play’ purposes but I get the feeling that in the genuine spirit of the project, the potentially redundant board could easily be “upcycled” itself. Although built to fit in a limited vertical space there is every possibility that it could be extended upwards with higher backscene boards and indeed outwards if required to add depth. Alternatively, it could make a useful fiddle yard run-off for a larger project…

Colin