ROSSPOP

I have used foam board ( 3x 5mm thickness) on my 7mm layout. Don`t do it. The foam will disintegrate over time and is affected by temperature if not glued down well. Mine has been successful but once ballasted does`nt really lessen the sound in any way. Cork or the underlay from Woodland Scenics is more reliable.

Black Tack from Youchoos

Hi Dave This is my riveter, .................................... and as long as you have a device with an anvil that helps shape the rivet and also one that adjusts the pressure of the punch it would just be a case of experimenting with a range of plasticard thicknesses to find one that doesn`t allow the punch to pierce right through. You may also need to use some modellers licence and space the rivets further apart to prevent the anvil causing distortion/damage along the run of rivets. Cheers John

Thanks for posting that Ron Ron Ron..... just what I was thinking about doing....

Thanks Graham, The Dean Goods is a Vulcan complete kit off ebay that I built three years back and is languishing in the `to be painted cabinet` along with a DA Castle and a Hatchette A4. John

It`s been great getting away from loco kit building and the layout is now progressing. I`ve had a period of grassing up with the Flockit using predominantly German static grasses of varying lengths which seem superior to the £20 wasted on some GB stuff which failed to take a static charge!! At long last the layout now has a fiddleyard thanks to some of Intentio`s cassette kits...

Fitted with a Zimo decoder and sound from Youchoos of the real thing.... mine runs faultlessly now...........

Hi, Mine is over 30 years old but a similar issue happened to mine .I unscrewed the hose attachment valve at the bottom and cleaned the seal which helped for a while , but replacing the whole valve has given trouble free performance ever since. Hope that helps. John

And then suddenly in 1937 running economies forced the line into a Diesel service.......................

Of course the Railmotor did`nt survive in this form past 1932 when it was converted into an Auto coach.

Thanks Graham, things are running well now despite the layout being idol for at least three years. I had a bit of a scare as one dropper on a 6 inch length of track was a casualty of the ballasting but I was able to use a soldered fishplate to an adjoining piece of rail which saved a lot of hassle. I`m hoping to sort out the fiddle yard , which I`ll have to do outside the shed, before summer ends. I`ve got some of Phil`s Intentio cassettes to assemble. John

Still lots and lots to do..... but today has been PLAYTIME !! My kitbuilt 1930/31 collection was on duty today.... Trackwork has been reclaimed from the pit of paint and ballast and my Railmotor has had it`s very first outing.... ................ Very pleased

secrets revealed....................... ......a sprinkling of Tesco ground pepper.....................

So , I found this pot of concrete paint........... or did I ??

1930, first train of the day.........................

`Tis 1930 and the first passenger train has arrived...... hooray something to play with at last.

Slow this week due to the heat......................

Yep! There are pickups on all the trailing bogie wheels but are not connected up at the moment as she is still under trials and works really well on the driving bogie...............................

I shied away from plunger pickups on this one....stiff phosphor bronze wipers on a fixed axle chassis.

More progress:- Grassing, fencing, and flowerbeds..................

Thanks Pete, I agree with what you say. I`m going to order some Noch 12mm for one final try as Nock and Heki produce stiffer grasses and those and Mini-Natur suit my Flockit and Gras Master 2 John

Slaters sprung plungers usually cause minimal drag but if possible keeping them ( two on each wheel set) on the axle centre line they will act as a pivot when the wheel set travels up and down in the hornguides. Also keeping them in this position will ensure that the plunger has the longest surface wheel tread area of travel with the movement of the wheels in the hornguides. Strongly sprung plungers can prevent the compensation movement .

Answer: Yes absolutely...if you set them up properly. Ideally they should be positioned at the centre line of the axles and if using slaters wheels, avoid the `plastic triangle at the back of the wheel tread. I always apply a smooth finish to the backs of wheels. And ALWAYS use very thin and flexible wire. so as not to impede the plunger movement. They are an excellent product.... ...the above is set up for DCC. OOps... forgot ... on beam compensation.

By sheer chance I got one of these off Ebay a few years back and have only just got round to trying it. Surprisingly, it works very well indeed for static grasses up to 6mm length.................................. but Nobody has mentioned the quality of grass fibres to be used..... recently wasted £20 on longer grasses that do not hold static well enough. I use Heki, Nock, and Silflor 2mm , 4.5mm and 6mm lengths , but minimising the layering technique as I dont like it that much. I did this today using a Flockit ( surprisingly brilliant) using various colours to give a look of distance on my 2 feet wide diorama layout. No weeds or shrubbery yet as these don`t grow much on the GWR !!!

I took delivery of a Flockit this week to enable me to work in a confined space. I`m very impressed with it and tempted to say it`s better than my Grasmaster 2........... It`s a pity it only comes with one size sieve, but i should be able to make one using the blank screw on lid.