I wil get the hang of this eventually. I've tried taking a few photos and in the process broke my desk lamp so no modelling tonight. Instead I'll let you know what I've done so far this season (as those who read my earlier blog, modelling for me has a season, rather like grouse shooting).

My first task was to finish off the outside frame brake van which needed painting. This was one of the ABS kits and I have to say they're rather good, excellent in fact. The white metal castings are crisp and free from flash and the kit goes together easily. I like also the comprehensive instructions and the additional parts included where there were variations. I also have an ABS GWR wooden mink and this too was very good. The brake van also had the parts for compensating although once gummed up with paint I'm not sure whether the compensation works. I particularly wanted the outside frame brake van as it is a better choice for my earlier period. I'd certainly recommend ABS kits and they cover some interesting early wagons.

For some reason when I painted the brake van I painted everything below the solebar black. It was re-reading the HMRS livery guide that I realised this should have been dark grey. Quickly checking the other wagons I found that only the last wagon I had painted was incorrect, it's odd how somehow an idea takes root in your head. I also found myself agreeing with others who have criticised the quality of railway paints. The so called matt black I used had a high gloss finish but as this was subsequently painted over this was not a problem. Military modellers would never tolerate the paints we have to use. Hopefully a photo of the brake van in company with 1384 is in the album.

The locos and rolling stock I have has been collected over a long period, probably since the late 1970's. Much of it is unsuitable for Blagdon but notwithstanding that I still feel it should be as accurate as possible. One of the most satisfying tasks i did recently was to look at every item of rolling stock and make a note of inaccuracies and breakages. All the rolling stock is in 6 stout cardboard boxes purloined from work (originally they held Lloyd's Register of Shipping). Just to give one example, from box 5 "LMS Open, tonnage not shown, transfer film needs hiding, needs load."

One item of rolling stock that needed a fair bit of work was my old K's auto trailer. i think it's been generally established that it represents an A31 trailer and I've seen several articles correcting the inaccuracies in the model. One defect that doesn't seem to be mentioned is the roof which should be the 3 arc type rather than a single arc (as provided in the kit) but somehow I had a spare Airfix trailer roof. I added underframe detail using the one of my two converted Airfix trailers as a guide (don't ask where they came from, they have both been detailed with the dart castings kit and represent the trailers as built). The K's auto trailer is in BR newly applied crimson and cream but I think a lot of the panelling would have gone by then. Again a photo should be in the album.

One loco that would never have appeared at Blagdon was the 64xx 0-6-0PT but somehow I have one made from a Stephen Poole kit. It's been a problem getting this running satisfactorily and last "season" I tried to improve matters using a Westward chassis fret. The first false start was using leftover wheels from the scrapbox and finding that it could never be made to run smoothly. Closer examination revealed that what appeared to be the same wheels were in fact a mixture of types (presumably Gibson and Ultrascale) with marginally different crankpin throws. Even after buying a complete set of Gibson wheels I still had problems making it run freely and it didn't like even the slightest bend in the track. Because the Westward chassis was not very deep around the central axle I couldn't compensate the chassis. Thinking about this I thought the answer might be to articulate the coupling rods as they seemed rather stiff. I had thought that this would entail buying another chassis just for the coupling rods but, joy of joy, when I looked at the coupling rods I realised they were two layers that I had soldered together. All I had to do was use a slitting disc and cut halfway through behind the central crankpin hole, turn it over and cut halfway through the other side in front of the central crankpin hole. The coupling rod is now in two halves pivoting around the central crankpin. I also replaced the motor. I had a 5 pole motor based on the old Rovex XO4, I think it may have been MRRC, but this drew too much current. I therefore replaced it with a discarded Anchoridge DS10 and Romford gears. It now runs well but I can't help thinking had I used a High Level gearbox with a Mashima motor it would be even better. The quandry I have is how much do you spend on a locomotive that is not going to see front line service and has inaccuracies that can't really be corrected. Again there should be a photo in the album for you to judge for yourself. Incidentally, to line up the bearings in a fixed chassis try using lengths of 1/8th inch outside diameter brass tube. If you use lengths of a foot or so you can thread these through the bearings and see how they line up. Because of the length of the tube any slight inaccuracy in the alignment will be magnified at the ends of the tube.

The other locomotive I have worked on is the Dean Goods, a K's kit. This had an Anchoridge DS10 and Romford gears but my new controller doesn't seem too happy with this motor. I therefore substituted a Mashima motor with a High Level gearbox. This only took one evening (and that included making up the gearbox) and the loco now runs beautifully. I'm sure 6 wheel pick up is one reason for this. Others I know have commented on the High Level gearboxes and I would certainly recommend them. They are easy to assemble but you do need a 2mm reamer. I have an aversion to any gears that require the final gear to be force fitted preferring those that use a grub screw which does limit my choice of High Level gearbox. I generally use the Road Runner +, 54:1 ratio. the reason for my aversion, if the fit is too tight it is too easy to damage the chassis and it would be difficult to remove without further damage. If the fit isn't tight enough then the gear could slip. Also a grub screw means the chassis can be checked for free running by simply slacking off the grub screw. One advantage of the Road Runner + is that it allows more cab detail to be shown as the bulk of the motor and gearbox is in the firebox and bolier. The photo shows the Dean Goods numberless. It is 2322, one of St. Philips Marshs' finest used on the Sunday diversions over the Severn Bridge which may be the reason it was one of the few retaining the larger tender as supplied with the kit. Fox Transfers are kindly doing the numberplate with a red background which it had in BR days. The allocation of the loco meant it could well have seen service on the daily Blagdon goods when not hauling 5 or 6 coaches over the Severn Bridge.

All in all the start of the season has been very promising with much achieved. I've now looking at my steam railmotor, a Nu cast kit. The chassis was a crude white metal casting which I had packed out so it didn't look too odd in EM. Last season I acquired a Gibson chassis and the appropriate wheels. One axle is fixed, the other sprung and I have a Mashima 1624 and High Level gearbox ready to provide the power. This is proving very difficult though, the photo in the album shows the body and chassis, the curious arrangement of rods replicates the white metal support, this engages in a hole in the body near the roof although I think this is to high and will need to be reduced. The cylinders overlap the wheels so I'm going to have to make these removable. I am thinking about fixing these to a brass plate with a screw thread. By drilling a hole in the chassis I can fix these whilst the glue is setting. Future blogs will probably focus on the railmotor, it appeared daily at Blagdon in the 1920's and unlike the 6400 is front line motive power.

Dinner is now ready so must go. Will advise on progress with the railmotor in due course.