The last show at Church Stretton seems like ages ago - well that is because it was ages ago and I am only just getting around to thanking Simon, Geoff and Geoff's son for all their help in running the layout. Thanks also to the show organisers and helpers who looked after us nicely and provided all the help I could have wanted when I was setting it all up by myself on the Friday night. It made a huge contrast to Narrow Gauge North where Simon and I were rushed off our feet all day and was actually quite relaxing being able to watch other people playing with my trains and being able to have so good conversations with the visitors. At the risk of being a bit controversial (when has that ever stopped me before!), that made a huge difference to what I experienced at another local show I visited recently. Here, all the operators were completely engrossed on what they were doing or just chatting / larking about with each other and completely ignored the visitors so that even I was discouraged from asking any questions. OK, it was a bit late in the day when we got there so they may have been a bit shagged out after a long shunt and merely resting but was not a good impression. I always make a point of trying to interact with visitors wherever possible, made a bit easier I guess by operating from the front but it is surprising how many conversations can be started by shoving people out of the way to uncouple something! Anyway - each to their own.

And now for something completely different - some modeling!

The last few weeks seem to have been taken up rather too much with trying to make ends meet, dodgy gutters and long ladders and a rather protracted episode with a dead cat that is worthy of any sitcom but there has been something happening. In my attempts to provide a little bit more variety in the rolling stock and to have a few more, what we have begun to call 'specials' to send down the line to keep up a bit of action I have built an ambulance van. Actually, 'built' is probably not the correct word as it is a 3D print from Simon Dawson but via Ebay which could have been the source of the main problem. The next pic will show the nature of the problem and my rather ill thought out solution;

Hopefully I will be seeing this particular Simon (almost everyone I know is called Simon!), soon so will be able to clear this up, but I suspect that this print was an example of Shapeways being a bit erratic. The gap between the planking went right the way through so that although joined at the top and bottom, each plank was separate from the next so let light through and was just really bendy. I suspect the previous owner thought Ebay was a better option than trying to sort it out. But.... it was cheap so I sorted it out! Unfortunately my brainwave to use up a few of my excess business cards (I ordered 500 and 5000 turned up!), was not the best - why didn't I find some black card or even painted then first?

After undercoating, which was actually going to be the top coat as well, in grey, there was still loads of white showing through the slats. As I had stuck the card with PVA, this resisted all my attempts to run thin paint down into the cracks. I only made any head way when I dusted dark weathering powder into the cracks and sealed it all up with some thinned matt varnish - a lot more work than I planned.

It has turned out a bit darker than I was intending but as no one really knows what colour they in use, that is fine, Some red crosses printed out on decal paper finish it nicely. Actually what would really finish it off nicely would be a set of bogies - I have got some somewhere.......