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 John,when you started this thread I would have bet, that it will get locked in no time. I am glad that it is not!We all have seen numerous layouts, some of which made us think "Wow- wish I could do this" and some "OMG". Have we had the guts to tell the owner/builder what we thought of his layout? I leave the question unanswered [:D]Here is my attempt to answer your questions:How does one construct a layout that isn't just a "collection of tricks" ?? Well, most of them are, even the successful Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg is nothing else! If the tricks are smartly arranged, we are impressed, if not, we´ll find many a flaw, because we will look for it. That´s human nature. I have seen a few well built layouts, which were not a collection of tricks, but close to real copies of a specific prototype. In these cases, reality provided the master plan, not only for the track plan, but for all parts of the layout. The builders followed an integrated concept, maybe that´s, what made the difference.How does one develop one's "critical eye" and ability to "edit"? Observation and practice. Not only need you to study and observe the "real" world, but you need to understand and know, how to re-enact what you have seen. This is the part, where I have my doubts about some of the criticism posted here in this forum. We have a number of people here, who eagerly criticize work presented here, but we have yet to see examples of their work... To whom does one turn for "the unvarnished truth"? Only to those, who are asking for it! But what is the "unvarnished truth? His/her truth may be a different one than my truth.  What do we know about the circumstances under which a layout was built? Which abilities and skills the builders has, and which handicaps? Let us better not talk about unvarnished truth, but of respect!How does one learn to accept criticism without taking it personally? We are all proud of our work, and it will always hurt, to a degree, if our work does not receive the recognition we would like to have for it. If criticism is voiced in form of builds and comments on our work, it will hurt less and we will be better prepared to adopt it. If it is just meant to put  the work down, it will hurt a lot more and we will take it personally. What lessons are there to be learned in the layout scenario I've outlined above? First of all - beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. What may appear boring (your truth) to you may be thrilling (his truth) to him. Are you sure that you have fully understood his goals and objectives?  What tips and scene-composition / layout-composition techniques could you contribute to someone who is just beginning to learn about the concepts? Lesson No. 1: Try to create a picture of your layout, not only a track plan. Scenery and scenes make the difference, so take good care to have a view, a vision of what you want. Dream it! Plan it!!! Build it!Lesson No. 2: Less is more! A layout is not an amusement park, plastered with attractions....How can someone "put it all together" and achieve scenic cohesion? Develop a master plan - for your tracks, scenery, wiring, operation. Check one plan against the other. And build a mock-up of your layout...
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