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I thought it was time for a few words and pictures to update folks about the latest happenings chez moi. Things have settled down to a more err... leisurely... pace since Nottingham and I've been trying to get some of those half finished projects completed and reduce the level of overcrowding in the gloat box (this never works, I know). One item that didn't quite make Nottingham was one of two Association CCT kits. I've now finished painting it. Fetching it out for a photo reminds me that I still need to fit some handrails. There isn't much to say about this other than that I followed the instructions and it went together pretty much according to plan. The only departure was for the buffers because pretty much everything suitable was out of stock. I didn't want to hold the model up just for this so I used some buffer heads from the Association shop and brass tube for the stocks. The Thompson BG was one of two Ultima kits that I bought before Nottingham and intended to build ready for the show. Our practice session showed that we needed more locos, so Western Talisman got built instead. I'm glad that I did the Western because the BG proved rather more challenging than expected. The main problems were with the fit of the various body parts and also a moulding defect in the roof that needed to be fixed with filler. Nothing insurmountable but it did rather reduce my motivation to get on with the build. You can see some of the extent of the extra packing and filling in the photo below. You can also see my gangway end plates made from 15 thou black plastikard because the etched ones in the kit didn't look right - especially at the bottom. There is also zero chance of bare brass shining through any damaged paint with my solution. The roof provided with this kit is a Bulleid roof rather than a Thompson one so it needs some modification to the rainstrips and destination board brackets. I departed from the instructions by keeping the upper strip and shortening the lower one to represent the strip at the top of the destination brackets. The end result isn't quite right but neither would it have been if I'd followed the instructions and just deleted the upper strip. I didn't fancy trying to add new strips - I have never found a way to do them that looks anywhere near as good as the moulded ones. The hood vents over the doors are provided as etches in the kit but I couldn't see a nice way to hold these in the correct alignment while soldering them. Glue didn't seem like a nice option either (visions of them falling off during or after painting). Instead I used some nickel silver strip. This was almost cut through with a knife to the correct length and a slight bend introduced at the point of the cut. The strip could then be used as a 'handle' to locate the vent while it was soldered in place. Once the vent was fixed the rest of the strip was snapped off. I wasn't too hopeful when I came up with this idea but it worked a treat. One final problem became apparent after assembly - the bogies seemed too far from the ends. This is a 'foreign' vehicle for me so I don't have a big pile of books about LNER coaches to check the dimensions. A query on the (excellent) BRCS Yahoo group yielded the major dimensions. Checking the model against these proved that my gut feel was correct. I've since exchanged emails with Mr Ultima and apparently there was a mistake on the artwork - the bogie centres were to 2mm scale but the rest of the coach is to 'N' scale. I unsoldered the bogie pivots, filed new holes to the correct centres for 'N' scale and refitted the pivots. The result was a big improvement. The bogies are Association kits bought in some haste before Nottingham. There were several alternatives available, so I rather guessed which ones to buy. The BRCS posting also yielded the correct bogie wheelbase (8 feet). Surprisingly I had actually bought the right wheelbase. Further discussion on the thread brought me to the realisation that they were still the wrong bogies though - they should be the heavyweight variety. Ho hum. I will order the right ones next time I'm buying stuff but in the meantime the BG can keep these ones. The plan is to follow a photo in Dave Larkin's Bradford Barton parcels stock book and paint this vehicle in unlined maroon as E18E. It will probably replace the Hawksworth BG in the mail train. Neither BG is any more out of place than the other but the high windows on the Thomson BG seem more 'in the style' for a mail train. The Hawksworth BG will then be freed up for the milk train which currently lacks any guard's accommodation - fine for the early 1970s but not so good for the mid 60s. And finally... following the success of my recent theme 'building stuff that is then announced by Farish or Dapol', I am now trying a new theme - 'writing about kits that other people can't buy'. The Thompson kits are now unavailable because there are no remaining stocks of the roof mouldings. Still, I hope you enjoyed the read anyway.

I have returned to a little 2mm scale modelling. I need to add some more stuff to the Glenfield layout as it is looking very neglected, so have been soldering together a station seat and a hand barrow from Shirescenes. Hard on the eyes but I managed to do it ok. I also gave the track a good wipe along to try to get some of the dirt off and improve running, in the process of which I managed to remove the sign ( again) from the Gents. I don't think now that the track on this little layout is the best I can do, and I am sorely tempted to rip it up and relay it all. However, if I start this it is likely that I will chuck the whole board and try somewhere different! The evidence for that is my mark 1 attempt at trackwork, Barnoldswick, the board of which is in my garage propping up a wall, rails rusting nicely.. So instead I chose the option of trying to complete the scenery and put up with the odd glitch - after all, it's never going to be exposed to public scrutiny and is purely for my own amusement. This led me into running a train behind the converted Union Mills 2F, of which I have attached a couple of photos. I must also get round to changing the couplings to get closer and more even spacing. That has been on my to-do list for over a year, and applies to the older wagons, as I quickly realised it's easier to get it right at the time of construction! Regards, Chris Emerging from Glenfield tunnel... Shunting the yard.... Shunting as black and white image...

This will be a brief(ish) update as I’ve been trying to spend what little time I’ve had available in actually modelling rather than reading or writing about it... and with a deadline this week time was rather short. However, I’ve drawn a halt now... for the time being and this will have to do. There’s lots and lots to do, but this was never intended to be at a final exhibitable stage, it was actually intended as a work in progress for our local show this Saturday... and that’s what it is. Fortunately, bits of it look ok. I’m reasonably pleased with the ballast although I’d prefer the hard-standing to be a little darker in colour now that the ballast is down. I can work on that at a later date. To carry on, I will add the refuel mechanisms to the hard-standing and I’ll add pipework to the de-fuel area alongside the shed. General detritus needs scattering and I’ll have to add some weeds too. The foreground needs some fencing and some better tarmac surface... the office will probably be moved off this board and replaced with a fuel tank... and then I’ll need to add some lighting poles.... but, as I said, it’ll do for now. It should look ok as a partial board – work in progress. To be honest, this has taken about 6 weeks... so I don’t think that’s too bad. Nothing like Jon N (Sandhills) standards... but a reasonable start. It will (the plan) get a board at each end... and one/some behind with main running lines (2 or 4) and some backscene. The (sky) blue board serves for now... although I managed to drop the resin office onto it today and chipped the paintwork in 5 places. That’s been touched up... but it’s no work of art. There’s a very rudimentary lighting rig that will sit behind to suspend a small tube to provide some overhead lighting; the lighting in the exhibition hall last year was a little orangey... and I’m in the same spot this year. Ballast is all Carrs. The main depot area is Ash ballast, which is as smooth as it seems to go. All laid as flat as possible and the larger areas tampered with a small piece of packing foam (once I worked out a better way to do it)... and set with Klear... this is ideal for me because it allows me to work a bit at a time. I just wish I could find a stockist somewhere as the old stuff is in short supply. I think the new stuff is ok too... just need to find some somewhere and give it a go. Ballast comparisons... ash on left 2mm grey on right Some blending with powders. No, I'm right handed - it's holding the camera. Blended ballast The ballast at the edges and on the rear (slightly raised) line is Carrs 2mm light grey, although I mixed some ash ballast in to provide some variety. There is a colour mis-match, but with some blending in with Carrs weathering powders the difference does tend to diminish... or so I fortunately found. The buffers are modified Peco. I removed all the additional bracing pieces, and assembled them at a slightly wider gauge... by drilling the holes in the front plate out a bit... fitting and filing the ends flush. Several prototype photos showed a bracing piece across the back... so I added this detail with 0.6mm wire – superb as it adds some strength too. I removed the bent-rail bottom ends of the vertical and added plasticard bracing pieces... of the approximate shape from photos... and added some archer rivets to the sheet. To be honest, these are a bit weak for what I needed... but they’re what I had, so they had to do. The finished item was fitted once some chairs had their uppers removed to allow the rail pieces of the buffers to sit nicely on the track. The whole thing was treated to Halfords red primer and then painted with Humbrol metalcoat which polished up nicely (where it needed to).... a white head stock (is that the name?) and lamp finished this off. Weathering was with a mix of brown and black (Sleeper grime and weathered black) daubed over and rubbed off.... and a thin mix allowed to seep into the crevices. A final partial buff gave this result... which will do for now until I can acquire something more finescale. The inspection pit sans shed The office is Bachmann Scenecraft with some light Tamiya pastel weathering (tried out) and the paving is of course Metcalfe. The intent was to have somewhere to sit NIMBUS... and I hope it’ll suffice for now. I hope it meets the punters wishes on Saturday. If you’re attending, please stop by and say “Hiâ€. A couple more shots to illustrate my work in progress... an overview or two and a close up with insufficient depth of field... I must download that software! Oh there's so much more to do and this evening it was diging the allotment! Oh, and my powercab will be connected... so if you want to hear a Deltic ... this I can manage (albeit within the limitiations of the scale) for now.... Jon

A few update photos. The bridge (scenic break), platform, walls and fences are now in. The walls are made from DAS clay and match the small Skaledale section at the rear - these were quick to make. I used the ends of paint brushes with the hairs removed and just kept stabbing at the clay to get the stone effect. They were then primed with grey and given a couple of black washes to complete. I wanted to achieve that broken down and badly repaired dry stone wall effect you often see in the countryside. The fence is the good old Peco one - dead fiddly to put together, but well worth the effort. This was given a quick coat of dark/rusty brown and then given a black wash to finish. The next shot is of the Hornby Rail Road Pannier Tank and although it is over scale and not as good to look at as the Bachmann version I'm really fond of it. However, a slight weathering with a black acrylic wash has enhanced the detailing. It's also a great little runner to boot. The next couple of shots of the Pannier in action with the Hornby Celestory coaches - these are superbly painted and the detailing is really crisp compared with the old Triang ones. The girder for the bridge was actually made from Evergreen strips glued down to a section from a plastic file cover - the walls and abutments are all Scalescenes - so is the platform. The road finish and platform surface were made by sprinkling a mixture of sand and fine ballast onto card pasted with glue. It was then painted with grey emulsion and given several coats of different coloured washes. All the base grass effects are made from simple hanging basket liner that has been firmly glued into place. The liner will eventually be sprinkled with static grass using a simple puffer bottle. Just waiting for a delivery of static grass and a new point motor (to replace the troublesome one) now so I'm hopping about in anticipation till the postie arrives with them!

It has been quite a few months since I posted anything on my Skaleby blog. With my attention firmly focused on the organising of the school's model railway show, and on the building of my show layout "Skaleby West", the larger layout has had to take a back seat modelling wise. There has been no progress on the scenics whatsoever, and even the tidying up of the board has not happened. That does not mean that the layout has been ignored however. Sharing the spare room with the pet house rabbit may have its problems. The national network may have leaves on the line, the wrong kind of snow and even recently a guard taking a statutory break but these pale into insignificance next to Skaleby's challenge of rabbit fur. The little feller's white hairs get everywhere! Much of my time is spent "defurring" the layout and the locos which run on it. But it is not all bad. The need to give the rabbit his daily exercise does give me an excuse to play trains. And so whilst the scenic work has taken a back seat I have enjoyed a daily bout of playing trains and Skaleby has seen a regular service. As Skaleby is essentially modelled as a preserved line, passenger trains are very much in the majority. Up until recently these have been operated using a pair of midland surburban coaches. Now these trains operated using an ex GWR autocoach as this prevents the need to run the loco round the train, important time saving when I am combining my railway operating with rabbit watching and paper work. A three coach B.R Eastern region set of Mark 1's is also used and often visits during busier days hauled by a larger loco from my collection. At present the operation of the line is shared by a fleet of three locomotives. These are: Hornby Railroad SDJR "Jinty" 3F number 24 This is the workhorse of the fleet. It was bought for Skaleby's previous incarnation at our old house when the line was plagued by "cat attack" as our pet cat delighted on jumping onto the layout. It is robust and easy to maintain. Despite some problems in February it still gives good service on the two coach surburban set and is seen here on shed at Skaleby. Bachmann B.R Standard class 3 number 82020 My favourite loco of the current fleet. It also runs with the two coach surburban set. It is seen here on shed outside Skaleby goods shed. This is being used to temporarily house locos whilst the main shed ares is under construction. Locos are moved out when freight trains run. In this picture you can see the rabbit hair problem! Bacmann B.R Ivatt tank number 41324 This loco is currently in service on the autocoach trains. It runs well although sometimes doesn't like travelling forwards over the point work. Care is needed when driving it. It is seen here in the goods yard at Skaleby. Up until recently a fourth loco was part of the fleet. Hornby B.R "Terrier" number 32636 This loco was also used on the autocoach trains and has been in regular service over the last three weeks. It is seen here with the autocoach in a photograph which is being used on the publicity material for my school's model railway show. The loco has just been taken out of service for "defluffing!!!".

A short update on some of my printing projects, you may recall last year my little N gauge '813' prototype, here is the Mark II version, which is the subject of some experiments in printed handrails.. (which look like some sort of condensing pipe along the side of the tank, as I have thickened them somewhat with an eye to long term robust-ness) ..the extra thickness is hard to judge on screen, and I may well have over-done it, but remember we are talking an N gauge saddle tank, so not a big beast by any means, the proof of the pudding, including some other details of varying fragility, will be in the printing: Also currently in the works, after some re-jiggging and some rejections from Shapeways, my new bridge sides, and Class 139, which to avoid too many 'setup' costs for individual designs, has some fine detail rivets for the bridge hidden inside it.. sneaky! The bridge sides are made from 'White Strong and Flexible' (cheaper, but less sharp detail) and the Loco/Railcar/Hidden Rivets are from finer 'Frosted Ultra Detail'. The Class 139 ought to be the first to appear, with a following wind, hopefully some time this week. I am looking into some better programs as Sketchup is showing its limitations, especially compared to Missy's Inventor renderings, with curves where Sketchup substitutes a matrix of straight lines... I have downloaded 123D but is seems to be too much of a challenge for my weary old computer! ~The experiments continue~ PS for more 3D printing, see my slow, but steady progress in the 2012 innovation challenge: http://www.rmweb.co....573#entry684573 Bonsai!

Presentation of the blog is very nice. The trees are fantastic, very airy and i like the fact that you can see through them. Will need to take lessons when i get to that stage on my own layout.