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Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips located at the bottom of the newsletter.

This week in history - On the 1st October 1911 Nigel Gresley (yet to become a Sir) became a locomotive engineer for the Great Northern Railway. The rest as they say, is history!

Nigel Tottle sent us this picture of his layout. He explains " After getting some 009 gear from you last summer whilst on holidays I have at last started a corniche harbour layout and these are the first buildings I have scratch built for it." Click on the picture to see it in full size.

Have you ever considered incorporating a cameo scene into your layout? A lot of modellers do, and it seems to be a natural progression once all of the track laying and ballasting has been completed, but, where do you start?

A cameo scene is where you model a story or an activity within a scene, for example, some workers getting an engine ready for the day in an engine shed or some figures in a street scene busking etc. The scene can be anything you wish, even bizarre or humorous if you choose, it is purely a matter of imagination and personal taste, although don't forget, if you intend to exhibit your layout then it should probably also be non-offensive!

Occasionally, we all need a little inspiration for our layouts, to help with this Busch have produced a range of ready-made cameo scenes in 00 gauge, below are just a few including:

The "Plant Nursery" set. This set can be used on its own to create an outdoor nursery or you could add your own building alongside to portray a garden centre. Although this set is more of a diorama than a scene, it does give you the inspiration and opportunity to add many activities such as a forklift or lorry loading or unloading, shoppers browsing or a burger van in the car park.

The "Market stall with vegetables" set. Many layouts have a town square, why not add a market?

The "Crowd control barriers" set. These barriers are brilliantly generic just like in real life, they can be used at car shows, animal shows, county shows, road works or anywhere else where crowds would need to be directed or controlled.

The "Park benches, trees and stone cross" set. Not all cameo scenes have to be an explosion of activity, you could add simple activity to a street or park with a memorial. This is an excellent way to distinguish your model town or village from the usual portrayals.

The "High-pressure cleaning" set. Hand car washes are everywhere these days, if you are modelling a modern-image layout, this cameo is well worth considering.

The "Lake with windsurfer" set. This scene is all singing and all dancing, with bells on! A motorised windsurfing scene with a surfer that actually moves, not for the faint-hearted, but if you're looking to make a centrepiece on your layout, then these kinds of sets make it a lot easier.

There's an impressive number of ready-made cameo scenes available in N gauge too, and it's always worthwhile rummaging through the figures section of your model shop for inspiration, here are a just few to give you an idea of the kind of scenes you could include on your layout including, Christmas tree sellers, a humorous take on a graveside service, some old boys playing checkers, a newsstand, dog wash and a campfire scene. 

 We keep on adding modelling tips to our website. Here are the latest ones:

• How to recognise the British Rail late crest?
• What is the British Rail early emblem?
• What is a passing contact switch?
• What is a diesel headcode?
• What is a CDU?