A Christmas Model Contest?

This build, let me tell you............. I had to hurt myself to get it this far LOL BEEN GREAT tho, don't get me wrong! As you all know I love to take my time building, which makes me a slow builder by far..... I have been having a BLAST absolutely no-doubt about it, DOWNRIGHT fun, like you don't know! The design stages of things has to be what I LOVE the most.... its that brain food I guess......Just to see how and where I can "STUFF" of Shoe-Horn things in that would actually be needed for such a build!

Something I haven't said, and will now, this build, has been helping me, with a pretty serious issue, that I just haven't spoke of....As you all know, I lost my Dad in March of this year. With that said, he LOVED Christmas, so much that on November 1st, he'd begin decorating the house and would continue decorating the house from November 1st all the way till December 23rd, YES that many lights, statues, figures, you name it, he had it.............. He had an ENTIRE village that goes in the yard to support Disney at Christmas! One entire corner of the yard was dedicated for these, he had I dunno 20 of these "villages" that he'd set up in the yard every year....Over a million lights, and thats not all, inside the house too, was like a damned Christmas decoration shop.....Gaudy, you bet, but. he loved it, and in someways, over the years I have it too, a much "lighter" version of it, and kinda been "stomping" it out and almost blew out that little flame.....WELL Dad & I had a serious falling out over 20 years ago....NEVER spoke a word to each other in that time either until 4 years ago, after Thanksgiving, and before Christmas, my wife was filling out Christmas cards, and each year, we would add a picture of our daughter Lily in the card and mail them to specific family members to get pictures, and there that year was one left, NEVER a year before did a mis-count happen on the number of pictures AND Christmas cards! We always had the exact amount, WELL this year, (4 years ago) I told my wife I wanted that last picture, and that last card, I filled out a note on the left of the card, giving my home phone number, with the picture of my daughter My Dad;s ONLY grandchild, and mailed it off......... 3 days pass and the phone rings, and he was in tears on the other end...........Its not fair that he's gone, BUT, I'm glad I made that choice, it made him a happy man, to see his one and only grandchild, and the years from that time opened me up to a way to see, that I am a lot more like my Dad then I EVER gave credit too, this also goes for the Christmas attachment he had as well as I got, just I have a bit of a twisted sense. Those who know.......know just what I'm talking about here....

This whole build, my Dad has watched over it, its something I can't explain, but its he's there, I said to my wife the other day in the shop, I wished Dad was alive to see this, and things, just...I know a lot of you out there knows the feeling you feel when you just "know"....I just know, My Dad as a spirit is uplifting that in me and I at times am not even aware of it....BUT I do give him the credit for this build, if it wasn't for him, I don't think the Christmas Spirit would reside in me right now as it does and hasn't been in the past....With it tho, I myself can see a difference in me, with the whole "Christmas Spirit" feeling and deal. Its way more....pronounced now I suppose would be the best way to describe it. So with all that "said" I guess the best way to end/finish that paragraph is,

Dad, this ones for you!

As far as the details, just toss in a little of the ole "Christmas Spirit" and see where it takes ya.....I've been a model railroader and NORMALLY, I'd be thinking up decoration to incorporate with the trains....Snowy scenes and stuff, kinda like the movie Polar Express really, so.....but why any different approach? The only difference is in the imagination really.....Just transfer it and the scale (size) of what your doing, or planning, like this sleigh, its planned as I went, NOTHING on paper, "Instructions" are really someone elses views on how it ought to be done, ONLY in THEIR own mind!!!!!! Altho NEVER quite as intense as this is, I mean really this model has a lot in to it, design, build, materials, you name it, BUT the enthusiasm I've put forth, just a bit above and beyond what I would have been doing for say a "Christmas Display" of running trains through a village that I made "look" like winter etc, and in some cases with the trains, it would have begun being assembled months ago! So a lot of that is in fact in this build, BUT shoe-horned into a much smaller space!

Thanks tho everyone, thats what keeps it interesting, your views on what I've done or not done. One of the many reasons this forum, club is as much fun as it truly is!