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Apparently it was meant to be in 2028 or by then, but apparently Trump has said it should be in 2024, 'coincidentally' the final year of his presidency, should we all be unlucky enough to have to go through a second term.

Rubbish, isn't it? At least the USA now wants to return people to the moon within 10 years.

Yes the Apollo missions gave us so much technology wise, advances in computing, velcro etc. We need to do it again for that very reason . https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/apollo-11-moon-landing-50-future-artificial-intelligence_uk_5d31d7d0e4b0419fd32c2990 Brit15 (Apollo !!)

I think I read all the comments on my 'Wolverhampton' post and then, one day, I was browsing round the local 'Homebase' shop (now closed) and saw the pots of paint on a rack and thought it looked 'about right'. Nothing more scientific than that, I'm afraid. Mike

Model railway circuits are quite simple it is just there are a lot of them. Note what is being connected to what and test out the connections as you go. Wiring it all up and the appling power to see if it works means you have no iidea where to start if it doesn't work. A decent multimeter is well worthwhile. Don

Keep coming back to this but never progress any further. One day.

Lovely piece of work, Mike, and very atmospheric pictures. I love the concept of Cape Killarney but not much possiblity of rocket launches last time I was there, it was blowing a gale and the rain was horizontal! The moon landing brings back some nice memories for me. I was staying with an aunt and uncle, both now long gone, in Bristol. We watched the landing on television, all in black and white of course, we had a day at the cricket watching Gloucestershire v Lancashire and the rest of the time I had the delights of a South West Rover. All those hydraulics!! David

I think that is the best way. Get the info you can and then go with what seems to fit. I doubt we will ever get a definitive answer on the exact shade. Even if you could find someone who saw it daily it would be a long time ago could you trust your memory back that far. Don

I should probably make a new thread for it. A name came to me only this week : Belvedere. Unfortunately I have just discovered it is the name of a real station in South East London. My intention is that it be a diorama built in to a cupboard in my study and I can use it to display some interesting early trains and hopefully play a little.

3 certains of the Bachmann Norris loco. Very much a work in progress

Very nice Mick Steve.

Thanks Pete, good to meet you too! It was a thoroughly good weekend!

As its a lovely summer Saturday tomorrow, heres Combe Martin and Blandford Forum (Hornby) on the up and down Pines. I only run these on a Saturday but get them set up the night before as something usually goes wrong with them.

Thats exactly what i have done Jack, plus a Wills kits stone water tower and Dapol signal box. Total cost less than i paid for Bachmann Shillingstone station building from the North Dorset Railway Trust, but at least that money went to a good cause. I do read the Child Okeford blog and take some inspiration from it, thank you. Paul.

I think there are two types of Premier Inn - The family type: in town, air conditioning The white van man type: cheaper, industrial areas, no air conditioning. I was just checking out one I use on occasion when in outer London which is definitely the latter and just noticed it doesn't advertise air con either and is on a ring road.

Thanks for the compliment. The hobby doesn’t have to cost too much. However, If I had the spare cash I’d love to populate my layouts with top of the range models. I’d probably also go down the 0 gauge route. Yet there’s plenty of fun to be had detailing older models. Sometimes the doing and making of things brings much more satisfaction than just buying and admiring stuff.

Love these photos. Just shows what can be done with older models - when weathered they look superb. Just look at the Hornby freightliner behind the 25. And the rusty rails. Great. Sometimes I think we are just too obsessed with super detailed and expensive models. Excellent modelling, and very inspirational. Thanks for sharing with us.

Cheers Job. The 20 combo was one of my favorite loco projects. Simple too as the Hornby is a great runner. I rewired the rear one in reverse so that they both go in the same direction and, like the real thing, it’s made the combination a powerful puller.

Again some nice pictures from your layout. Love the Hornby Class 20 combo hauls a short engineering train picture.

Great pictures

Fantastic Mick, would you airbrush that wash on to the roof? I really like the fact you havent used many products. I've read a lot about weathering in books and magazines and most use a load of different products and many steps and it all seems a bit daunting. Having read your stuff I recon I could have a go. Great stuff. Steve.

Hi Mike, I use the cheapest that I can find when I need to buy some more.Currently half way through some B&Q best. A wash is a very thin concoction, with a high proportion of carrier to pigment, and will take a long time to dry thoroughly. I don't very often use more than one wash on one area of a model, so the problem you relate doesn't occur. When I do want to use more than one wash in an area I will leave the first one to dry for 48hrs and then apply a coat of Testor's Dullcote. I leave that for a further 24hrs and then move on to the next wash colour. I keep meaning to try one of the odourless products but have not yet got round to it.

That's starting to come together nicely Mick, great stuff. Steve.

You don't need any help from me! Yes, two colours of pigment and a wash were used. More precise details will appear in the VAA portion of this very blog . . . . . . . . .

Since they are not close coupled and they show, I like to do the doors.

A nice touch which certainly lifts the coaches...

Nice work! Weathering looks fab and good detailing as well.

Blue tack or glue dots, or just glue them on if you don`t intend to swap between era`s.

Good call. Rule 1 applies

Magnets?

Think it may need electric warning flashes too

Really like your OAA - I'm doing one myself right now. Even simple weathering with Tamiya powders brings out the detail on the body. I hadn't even noticed the moulded chains until I started the job. Very good detail considering it's a 30 year old model. And the sides are nice and thin too. OK, the underframe is not up to "modern" standards but fair play to Hornby all those years ago. When weathered and detailed I'm more than happy to include it in a rake with more modern Bachmann offerings. Thanks for the inspiration!

Blimey! I used to have one of those. Looking at it's proportions it's certainly better than the Mainline offering. Taking off the tension locks would be good. Parkside do a nice pack of NEM coupling pockets for a Bachmann coupling. Other than that I'd probably look at replacing the roof rain gutters with Microstrip and a couple of MJT vents and you'll have a nice model. Alternatively leave well alone and lightly weather. Look forwards to seeing the finished article. Cheers, Mark

a bit more weathering on the ends perhaps...

Thanks. I've done another since.

Train set at the moment, but hopefully moving on to less tight curves.

Cheers Rich. More work needed on them though.

Wanted it like this http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brventilatedvaa/h8e52492#h5537794 But couldn't get the pink to work

Definitely makes a difference, from pictures I've seen the real ones seemed filthy a lot of the time!

Hi Mark Yes Paul Bartlett's site is invaluable for weathering.

Looking good. You've certainly picked up the right colours and there's some nice tonal variation particularly on the brakevans. Do you use Paul Bartlett's website for reference photos? I remember these Yeoman PGA's being very popular in the 1980's/1990's. Nice to see them again. Certainly capture that era nicely. Cheers, Mark

I'm going to put the boards back on, even though they didn't stay on for long on the prototypes. Good luck with your request to Bachmann.

Looking good. I emailed Bachmann if they would produce the N gauge version with the boards being separate but was told they receive them how they come??? Obviously sent the email to the wrong people at Bachmann.