Of course that’s the wrong question. I can cast eyes across the net at the many wonderful models by modelers that I admire and I can see that in several areas my own humble efforts come up a little short.
However all that is fine. With no modelling skills whatsoever I knew that building my first layout was going to be a challenge and that I needed to be easy on myself during the process. Rather than get bogged down at any stage trying to make it perfect I followed Allen McClelland’s famous ‘good enough’ principle: make it good enough to fit into the overall picture but keep moving.
I created a very clear set of goals for this first layout and made sure I stuck to them.
- Finish the layout.
- Stay focused on the big picture.
- Don’t get bogged down: do the best you can and then move on.
- Pick out a few essential features to really make a big effort on and save the rest for reworking in phase two: tracklaying, bench work, wiring were prioritized; everything else was secondary.
- Practice new methods and use new materials as much as possible.
- Have fun.
As my goals were largely based around my basic skills and the desire to learn I kept them limited and realistic. When I look over the layout now I see that I achieved most of what I wanted for this first phase. From that perspective I think The Depot is pretty good and has given me a solid foundation of skills to move ahead with.