We’ve all got them. Projects that get started and then ‘mature’…. I can look around the man cave and see an almost embarrassing number things that have been started and are yet to reach conclusion.

This one above is just such an example. Starting out as a standard class 24, it had the roof panels changed, Brassmasters resin headcode boxes fitted, and replacement fuel and water tanks from them too. Then it sort of stalled. I’d made a painting error too, giving it a full yellow nose whilst leaving the body side skirts attached. Having realised this it then sat there, in the ‘one day’ pile.

Here’s another from a few years back, a Craftsman 02 kit, it’d just been slowly ageing in a drawer. As it matured, I’d suggest my metalwork skill regressed, and not long back I realised that when taking far too long to solder a simple joint. Whilst not the end of the world it did make me sit up and think I used to do this so easily, and not that long ago. Most of my shelf queens are there due to temporary pauses in the work flow that have got a bit less temporary as time marches on. The 02 was very useful in a way, it gave me a kick up the bum to get it completed, the only items missing were transfers, and me! Much like two of my earlier posts how-to-gain-weight and fifteen-minute-heroes/ a large part of the shelf dwelling comes down to time and using it effectively. I’m not sure there’s a silver bullet solution to it, but I’d stopped the 02 partly or mainly, (I’m not sure which), because of the transfers, both wasp stripes and BR logos.

Retrospectively there was nothing really stopping me continuing, and that only really dawned on me when I got it to the position above. However having decided it wouldn’t stall again, I ploughed on and bought the transfers, making sure the workflow wouldn’t have an excuse to cease. There’s an interesting side story to the transfers which I’ll return to in the future too.

It was a real conscious effort not to pick up anything else in the meantime, and over the course of a week I got the core of the work done. It now just needs lamp irons and marker lights to complete. What I’ve noticed is that’s beginning to annoy me, so this week it gets completed. Already another shelf queen, the 24 at the top, is on the get it done list, everything was to hand!

Perhaps the secret of ridding us of shelf queens is that simple, get all your shit in one sock before you start!