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Sound fitted Stanier 8F

It has been a very long time since I posted anything of note on the forum but I thought my recent work on fitting sound to some of my old loco fleet might be on interest. Encouraged by Robin (Barrow Road) and a few recent visits to the layout I have been impressed by the work he has done on sound implementation. So, I have just had a go myself and put a sound chip installation into my Stanier 8F. The results of the bench testing are below and I have been very pleased with the results so far

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A mystery item....no longer

Not really in the mood to write much tonight but I have been busy this afternoon making something. The question to visitors of my blog is a very simple one. What is it?     Cheers....Morgan

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3504 - Ready for inspection

I got the broad gauge tank back from Warren Haywood a couple of weeks ago and have been steadily working through the list of finishing off jobs. This afternoon I was satisfied that all was done and so a couple of photos were taken for the records. Time to now start thinking about Xmas shopping. Joy of joys!       Cheers....Morgan

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Broad Gauge 3501 progress

An earlier entry on my blog ruminated on tackling a fully lined out rendition of the 1880s-90s version of GWR livery. Whilst I think I could have tackled it I'm sure it would have taken me a long time to get it just right. This fact balanced against a lot of other bits of modelling work that are long overdue meant that I decided to engage the services of a sub-contractor for the painting and lining work. Today I received a few tantalising preview images of the work in progress. One of them is co

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Saint Ambrose

For those readers of this blog that also thumb through the pages of Model Railway Journal it will be no surprise to see these photos. 2912 has been given the prestigious front cover photo in the recently release MRJ242. There are also a couple of lovely photos taken by Philip Hall towards the rear of the magazine. Here are a few more of Philips excellent photos showing some more detail. I'm pleased to have been associated with the re-engineering and re-painting of this wonderful model. Well done

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Saint or Sinner?

Keeping with the Great Western theme for now over the last week or so I have been working on this beautiful locomotive   Soon to be 2912 Saint Ambrose this particularly elegant GWR 4-6-0 has a rather interesting heritage. It was built more than 25 years ago by Martin Finney using the Proscale kit as a basis. However, how much of the Proscale kit is left is very much open for debate. Whether it is fact or fiction the story that I have been told is that his (frustrating) experience with this l

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Narrowing Horizons with Extreme Gauge Widening

Well the promise in the last blog entry of having "....a couple of things to post in the coming days" didn't come off in the way that I expected. Instead I fell into a work (Aerospace Engineering) vortex that chewed me up and only spat me out long after the Xmas break in 2014.   Following this hiatus, where I effectively lost most of my winter modelling time, it has been hard to find the enthusiasm for a number of modelling projects, both personal and on commission. Through April and May I too

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Small loco detailing parts (LNER Cabside Screens)

OK so it has been a very long time since I posted anything on here but I have a couple of things to post in the coming days.   Firstly, readers of the "Wright Writes" thread will be aware that I planned to produce some small etched cabside screens for use on Hornby LNER locomotives. This morning the postie delivered my etchings and I now have two designs of fret available to purchase. Whilst these items are primarily designed as replacements for the Hornby plastic screens there is nothing to s

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Postwar decrepitude

As a brief respite from bigger projects I've spent a pleasant evening trying out some weathering techniques on a ubiquitous RCH mineral wagon. It is no secret to those that know me that the long term aspiration for my ultimate train set will be set in the 1948-50 period on the ex GN and GC lines around Nottingham. As a result I'm going to need a lot of wooden bodied mineral wagons painted and weathered to show how they looked at the end of their life.   The wagon shown below started life as a

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ECML pair leave the works

I finally finished off the two A3s last night and decided to wait for today to take a few photos outside. I thought the reflection from the lying snow on the garden table would be good for lighting up the motion. No such luck. It started to snow before I could get out and do the business. Content with having to take more indoor photos I've attached a few below. So, apart from actually lining and varnishing Cameronian both have also been coaled, crewed, fitted with express code headlamps and had

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First out the (painting) stable

My antidote to the Xmas excess of food and drink has been to spend some time working towards completing the two A3s. Shown, in the raw, in the previous blog entry the last 2 to 3 weeks has seen both locos primed and painted. This has been a bit of a game with the weather but thankfully enough fair and dry hours have been found to get them done. Using cellulose paint (primers and top coats) gives a major advantage at this time of year as it is feasible to get a loco painted from start to finish i

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A thoroughbred pair

As I was taking some photos to send to along with an invoice I thought a few pictures of the latest locos out of the works would be good to keep the blog chugging along. Lack of time due to work committments have not allowed much other modelling work to take place recently and when this situation arises it has to be the paid modelling that takes priority.   The subject title ought to give a clue as to what is revealed below. Actually the game was given away in a blog posting a few months back

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Another addition to the fleet

Another small but essential piece of motive power has been added to my collection. 58165's life may have been unremarkable but it was certainly a long one. Built from 1875 onwards the Midland 2Fs 0-6-0 obviously served successive masters well as many lasted well into the 1960's. Their diminuitive stature and low axle loading, giving them a wide route availability, made them useful beyond their years. To adapt a phrase from a well known Danish lager they were able to reach parts of the system

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An alternative to filing

Over the last few months I've had a couple of DJH Gresley A3s on the workbench. In itself there is nothing special about the two builds. However every now and then a small construction problem requires an unconventional approach. Having said that it is only unconventional if one is not familiar with using machine tools in their modelling. I certainly don't want this to be seen as an attempt to sneer at those that do not have machining facilities but rather I hope it will show people that do

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Coronation Tank

The latest loco to be put through the paint shops has been a Craftsman A5 4-6-2 tank engine. Now finished in LNER lined black livery and numbered correctly the loco body as received was carrying a rather peculiar number and a poor paint job. The brief was to improve and repaint. The model was thrown in jar of paint stripper which also dispensed with a few of the plastic items. I found that whilst it appeared to be largely soldered together quite a few parts had been glued on. What had been solde

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A trip to Memphis

Last week during a trip to the USA I was able to find some time to check out some of the local rail operations. Prior contact with some of the local railroad enthusiasts meant I made the most of my free time. As a result I saw some great "big diesel" action over a couple of afternoons at the lineside. Many thanks must go to this friendly bunch. Although I'm fairly new to watching trains in the USA I'd say Memphis is a pretty good location. If you know where to go trains are pretty regular a

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How I Paint Models (Part 1)

Quite a while ago I said I'd post up a few comments about the painting process I employ on the locos featured in my blog. This blog entry has been in draft for some time because I've pondered over how much detail to include. In the end I guessed it would be best to publish and see what comments/questions arrive.   The first stage of the painting process involves a thorough cleaning and degreasing. I can't really stress enough how much cleanliness is to the success of the whole process. I w

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Crabbing

Courtesy of Kempenfelt here are a couple of pictures of Barrowroad's re-liveried Horwich Mogul "42763". As I think was mentioned on an earlier entry this loco arrived as SLW's shopfloor last summer finished in early LMS livery. Photo below     The loco was stripped and repainted at the same time as the 8F and K1 but I have only just finished off the lining. In this case I've used Fox transfers along with a bit of hand lining on the running plate. Prior to all this the loco needed a litt

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Fresh from "the Plant"

The last week has seen the lining and detail painting on Peppercorn K1, 62038, completed. Just prior to the dayshift knocking off the loco was shunted out into the yard for an impromptu photo session. The date is 13th December 1962 and this is the last time 62038 will look this clean prior to taking the short journey back to her home shed, 36A, Doncaster. In just over ten months 62038 will be withdrawn and condemned for scrap. In the wholesale scrapping of locomotives 62038 was a com

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Hard Lining

The last few days have seen me tackle some BR mixed traffic lining on a Peppercorn K1, made from a DMR kit. Consistency of lining is always a tricky job and it takes me a while to get into the swing of it. Also spending so long looking at it close up tends to make me overly critical of small blemishes and defects. Frequent breaks and viewing from a distance help keep things in perspective. The attached photos show where I'm up to on the loco body. The tender is not too far behind. After th

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Naked Lady

The title of this entry is sure to get people looking. Sadly forum management would not approve so you'll have to put up with these photos instead     "Lining by L Goddard, 1981"[/i]. We weren't sure if Larry painted it as well but if he reads this perhaps he may recall?   Now stripped of her clothes the Patriot is booked in for a BR lined green paint job and light weathering with Ian Rathbone later this year. She will emerge as either 45504 "Royal Signals" or 45506 "The Royal Pionee

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Stanier Workhorse

Mostly to confound Mike and save him from turning blue here is a quick follow up to last night's posting.       48079 rolled majestically out of the SLW paint shops at the weekend sporting her shiny new BR livery following an intermediate repair. As some of you may notice the buffer beams still require a coat of red paint but the apprentice called in sick yesterday.   Enough of the story. In actual fact 48079 is a rather beautifully scratchbuilt P4 model of a Stanier workhorse. It i

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SLW Paint Shops

As an opening play on words it is perhaps sensible to "gloss" over the myriad reasons why I haven't posted anything on my Blog for nearly 2 years. So moving on....   A few weeks ago I completed the construction of a spray paint booth in my garage using the left overs from the kitchen installation I completed over the winter months. Obviously with a few grands worth of new worktops, units, tiles etc... I was not keen to continue my habit of spray painting models in the kitchen.     A 1.

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