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Ross34

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Everything posted by Ross34

  1. Because I don't attend model railway shows anymore- well, not currently anyway, doesn't mean I'm "Sitting at home in the dark staring at a wall while eating food from a supermarket bin" ..what an odd thing to say?
  2. Yes.. I make reasonable living but even so. travel & food costs are too high for me to spend on model railway shows. ..and perhaps the occasional too high an entry fee but that isn't universal. And it doesn't make the shows 'bad' (that's probably a poor choice of word) - most are very good but if the money isn't there ..it isn't there. To be brutally frank, I find the hobby in general is getting too expensive.
  3. Ross34

    EBay madness

    Do what??? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133958067528?epid=1356728713&hash=item1f3085e548:g:C~QAAOSweAxhsMeK
  4. When I order stuff from Australia I get charged the usual fees, VAT is added, handling charge etc.. annoying but my choice ultimately. The interesting thing is when either I or my late father visited Australia (which wasn't often & certainly not now) we used to buy model railway items - my dad used to literally fill a suitcase! We were asked at customs what they were & for what purpose - we always answered they were "toys" for our own use as it's our hobby. Which of course was true. Beyond that, customs were never even remotely interested. My old man even went through the red channel on one occasion when re-entering the UK... again, not interested.
  5. I'd be surprised if there is any at all in 2021 - indoor at least, especially considering a large majority of model railway exhibitions take place in fairly cramped & crowded venues. Plus, who is going to attend such events? I wont be... unless things improve beyond all expectations. And who would be willing to put on such a show (given how much effort that entails) with the hope of even breaking even? .. or even finding enough exhibitors or trade in the first place willing to put themselves in a potentially risky environment for two days. Optimism is fine .. but IMHO there comes a time when people need to face the true knock on effect of Covid & lockdown.
  6. Cancer sucks! .. having lost somebody close to this horrible illness recently this hits home. As a Wiganer (well nearly) I'd been following Kevans work closely - so sad - RIP.
  7. So am I John .. I really am, but I can't see any exhibitions happening in 2021. My jab isn't due till July at the very earliest - in reality it'll be later. And who's going to attend a model railway show? .. certainly not in any numbers to make it worthwhile I'd suggest. .and how would you police them? I wouldn't even entertain the notion unless things change very dramatically. Sorry for the downbeat post but sometimes optimism & positivity isn't enough...sadly.
  8. Ditto .. I've mentioned this before but I actually get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) really badly. It affects me physically & mentally. It's made worse because my main passion in life is gardening so Nov, Dec & Jan are bad - I'm counting the days. The fact that the shortest day is now behind us lifted my spirits no end - sounds silly but it's true. Modelling wise its been fits & starts - I have a show next Sept so that may motivate me to fix whats needs fixing on the layout - unfortunately if it doesn't go ahead I can see me selling or dismantling the layout and putting railway modelling on the back burner for a while.* * I did of think trying n gauge but if I'm honest the cost put me off.
  9. That's assuming everybody is going to get vaccinated or perhaps more correctly, chooses to be. Also assuming of course vaccination isn't compulsory - which I doubt. From a personal standpoint - as of Nov/Dec 2020 - I wouldn't go within spitting distance of an exhibition until things change very significantly. I certainly wouldn't exhibit or man a trade stand. I sincerely hope things do improve but weren't we saying that back in April... yet here we are. Apologies for the negativity but I believe we wont see any exhibitions in 2021.
  10. Ditto - I'll block a bidder for the slightest reason which may seem perhaps slightly churlish but I've run out of patience with chancers & scammers. Also, I'm always wary that addresses have been exchanged so it pays sometimes to be a little careful of allowing disputes to "hot up" too much. Much as it pains us, there is, unfortunately a small element of thieving low life toe-rags that inhabit this hobby.. that's life I guess.
  11. Ross34

    EBay madness

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/c/1853557411?iid=313254346250 Oh my giddy aunt!!
  12. 3 hours in the shed..2 of them cleaning an airbrush.. many times. Some days its best not to bother. 

    1. mike morley

      mike morley

      Been there and done that so many times.

       

      A few years ago there was a thread on here about tools and/or equipment people had but rarely if ever used.  It was astonishing just how many of us owned up to having airbrushes that rarely came out of their boxes.  In my hands an airbrush is simply an expensive tool used for ruining an otherwise perfectly good model and I found it very comforting to discover just how many of us are in a similar situation.

  13. I don't want sound like Mr Doom'n'gloom but I have a feeling the knock-on effect with regard to cancelled model railway exhibitions will drag further into 2021 than first envisaged. I sincerely hope not but personally I'm not confident. Equally, on a personal note, I wouldn't want to spend a full weekend operating a model railway in a relatively confined space wearing a mask and having to social distance (which, lets be fair wouldn't happen anyway). On top of that I can't see the general populus heading back to events like exhibitions anytime soon - modellers and die-hards, yes but folks who just want an afternoon out...no.
  14. Ah, but are you famous in model railway circles...
  15. As a seller of model railway bits n pieces & occasional locos / stock, I reckon on one in ten who "make trouble". Sometimes its my fault - I'm not perfect and sometimes I end up making a loss - thats the way it goes. This just an observation but I have to say a surprising number of buyers who either don't pay, are riduculous pedants, don't read the description properly, or are a just plain ignorant are well known figures in the model or full size railway business. Two, I can recall who were/are very well known took weeks of emails & finally Ebay action before they payed. Of course being a "face in the biz" doesn't preclude them from being a pain in the rear end but it does still surprise me now & then....still blocked 'em.
  16. Ross34

    EBay madness

    LOL!!!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heljan-Class-26-DCC-Loksound4-Sound-Zimo-Supercap-Stay-alive-Eastfield-Loco/203052088705?_trkparms=aid%3D555021%26algo%3DPL.SIMRVI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107095009%26meid%3D8d24e1d6710144388aacc11af2386fbe%26pid%3D100040%26rk%3D18%26rkt%3D19%26sd%3D372742224063%26itm%3D203052088705%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2046732%26algv%3DSimplRVIAMLv5WebWithPLRVIOnTopCombiner&_trksid=p2046732.c100040.m2060
  17. My layout needs a small amount of work for an exhibition in 2021...New lighting, transport cradle, the odd signal making...but to be honest I have zero motivation at the moment. I hope it will return but for now it's just sitting there collecting dust.
  18. When I switched from OO to HO I envisaged being able to utilise alot of my 4mm bits n bobs...I was surprised how much I actually couldn't..and being equally surprised how half a mm made such a difference. But if nothing else, I could buy scale track off the shelf. ...till I started looking at P87!!
  19. Thanks Ben. The track is laid on thin cork so I built up the yard (the grey foreground) with layers of thin cork sheet and tile grout. I sanded the tile grout smooth and painted with emulsion paint to represent compact earth or faded, very worn sun bleached tarmac. I finished off with a "very light" dudting of weathering powder. The ballast is fine sand. Placed and packed in fairly tight then sprayed with surgical spirit and maybe 10% water mix. Then place dilute pva with a dropper. The surgical spirit mix stops the sand floating away when you add the glue. I then airbrush a dark rust on the railsides and then light dust colours over the track - finish with a very light weathering powder application. The powders need to be applied very sparingly. Hope that helps.
  20. I built an exhibition only layout and it went to the grand total of 1 show. As I'm effectively a one man band the storing, setting up, carting to & from shows plus storing it at home (in bits) put me off "touring" the circuit with it. So I recluctantly scrapped it and built a much smaller layout I can use at home and its not too big a burden to take to a show...well it wont be once I've built a travelling cradle for it. If I'm honest I do miss the "long train going round in circles" thing but it would have happened maybe two or three times a year...a maximum of 6 days playing trains wasn't enough to justify the sacrifices
  21. I don't see posting of model railway items as necessary either. I had three auctions that were "live" during the movement restriction announcement. Quite low value so I let them run. I then emailed the buyers with 3 options.. A full refund. Keep till hopefully the restrictions get lifted and I'll post later. Refund then complete by private Paypal transaction later. (if they don't want the item then well, thems the breaks..) 2 buyers opted for the second option - one hasn't responded. (which would normally irk me but who knows what situation the buyer is in?)
  22. Well as we're all housebound & I have an exhbition deadline (Sept 2021) I though I'd have a go at some weathering. Working from photos, I wanted these GMs (Trainorama) to look like they have been worked hard in the hot, dry, dusty environment of central Australia. I used Vallejo Model Air paint in a Iwata Neo to impart a dusty abraded kind of appearance. But first I experimented with the "dot technique" using grey, white & yellow oil paint to give a slightly faded look. Its subtle but its a technique I quite like.
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