It just doesn't get any better that what Brian and Elizabeth have accomplished with their Christmas Layout project.
I know that if an ever lucky enough to see it it in person, I will be instantly transformed into a 7 year-old child and you will have to drag me away kicking and screaming.
I can never get enough Christmas. Well done Brian!
Where did you find the elves? I'll eventually need a regiment of them as well, if I ever get to building my layout expansion.
All I can say is CONGRATS, BRIAN and ELIZABETH. Well done
. Can't wait to see it in August.
Holy Cow Brian - that last picture was unbelievably beautiful.
- walt
Beautiful, magical job!
BTW, any chance of borrowing your crew for a couple of days?? Tell them I'll throw in all the burgers and beer that they want!
Congratulations to you both on your accomplishment.
JohnJr
Paul, the elves came form a source that specializes in educational toys. We did extensive research to find suitable elves for the layout. As many of you know, there is a very limited availability of elves in O-Gauge.
The layout has three theme areas, the mountain/Ice Lake region, Elf Land, and the Center of the North Pole. We used over 300 elf figures (all D56) that I had collected since 1987 for just the mountain/Ice Lake region and Elf Land. The Center of the North Pole was a totally different story. Department 56's rendition of Santa's Sled and Reindeer was much too small for us to achieve the visual impact that we were going for. Our plans for the Center if the North Pole called for a very large Launch Star (as seen in the movie), some 3 ft. in diameter. Our challenge was to then find an appropriate Santa, Sled and Reindeer (in a launched position) before we started looking for suitable elves. Once we located this piece, it was then on to the elves. What we found in terms of elves are figures that are somewhat larger than would be typically found in an O-Gauge layout. They do however work perfectly for our unique application. Unfortunately, our elves may not work for most of you because of their size that measures from 2 1/2 to about 3" in height.
A fantastically beautiful Christmas layout!
Thanks Brian for sharing this with all of us.
It looks fantastic. Hope to see it in person some day.
I second that. 
-Pete
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