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Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing.

Wow, that's really cool news! Thanks for the fast response, Ellis.

Hi Ellis, It has been rather quiet regarding the carflats recently. Since December has passed without emerging carflats, is there a new delivery date?

Yes definitely. Have a look at YouChoos' install guide for a Heljan 05 with a normal (i.e. 00) Zimo decoder: https://www.youchoos.co.uk/Index-Resource.php?L1=Guides&Item=OHeljanCL05

Absolutely great! Thanks for that video Simon. How much drying time do you allow between the layers of grass & varnish spraying?

Ellis, since I pre-ordered some of your models including Presflos, have you already got any informations about dealing with continental customers (as me) from 2021 on? Thanks.

Sorry, done

How sad news this is. The O scale community will miss him. And I will miss him too. My condolences go to the family and Chris Basten. R.I.P. Chris

Perfect - thanks a lot, Paul. That worked fine. I tried that feature before but had mixed results. Partly it functioned (mainly when switching one F-key for another such as F1 for F3 and vice versa) and partly it didn't, so I opted for assigning the sounds and functions directly to the F-keys via the according CVs. Thanks again, Frank

Hi Paul, Thanks for taking care of my problem! I started my DCC O gauge modelling with Lenz models. They use F-keys in another way than internationally common. For instance they use F0 for front lights only and F1 for rear lights to control them independently. F2 is controlling their automatic coupling system. F3 is the 'Sound on/off' key and so on. Later, when British R-T-R models were available I started modelling a BR era 5 theme. Since I don't want to memorise different F-key assignments for every locomotive I change the F-keys to my liking wherever applicable. These are the new assignments: F0 Directional Lights (when available, i.e. Diesels) F1 Short Whistle F2 Active Brake (default) F3 Sound on/off & Mute (fade all sounds) F4 Long Whistle (default) F5 Shunting Mode/Half Speed F6 Coal Shoveling (default) F7 Blower (normally, when available I assign the bell to F7) F8 Toot Toot (or 'very short' whistle) F9 Light Engine Mode F10 Injector F11 Sound Volume Decrease F12 Sound Volume Increase Since I alternatively drive my models with a Lenz 101 controller and a Roco Multimaus and the latter has F0 to F12 funtion keys available only I assign the (for me) most important functions to these 13 F-keys. And that's what I did with my Manning Wardle. Everything works fine apart from the Flange Squeal. I just happened to use the flange squeal very seldom for fun. I could assign it to F19 because I changed the 'Mute' feature from F19 to F3 together with 'Sound on/off'. Oh, and I don't need the 'Speed Lock' feature at all (I set CV#356=0).

Hi all, I've got an O gauge Minerva Manning Wardle 0-6-0 with a Zimo MX645R decoder and a Paul Chetter sound project. F9 was addressed with the "Wheel flange" sound. Today I assigned the 'Light Engine Mode' to F9. (CV#345=9 / CV#346=0) Though I set the wheel flange sound CVs to zero (CV#537=0 / CV#538=0 / CV#539=0) it still sounds when activating F9. Then I found CV#603 and 604 which, in the German description (the English 'small decoders' manual at Zimo's website is dated 2018-04-13 and doesn't contain these CVs…), is for the default sound of wheel flanges - for random sounds, I suppose. They both have value 0. Help, please! What must I do to get rid of these flange squeals? Thanks a lot, Frank

Thanks Ade. I didn't know there's a kit. I needed the longer wheelbase anyway but I'll buy a WEP kit - you never can have enough shunters trucks! (sadly it's decalled in GWR livery, so I'm still searching...)

It's self-made from a piece of real loco coal, crushed with a hammer to various sizes.

It's scratch built. It is loosely based on a GWR diagram M4 shunter's truck. I used a Coopercraft chassis which means it is a bit longer than would be prototypically correct. But that's intentional because I wanted to fit a track cleaner appliance underneath which needs some more space between the wheels. The upper part is modelled after the one at 'STEAM' in Swindon where I made some photos. The last picture shows the fitted track cleaner appliance. Sadly I couldn't find appropriate decals yet. Seems no-one does them for shunter's trucks...

Interesting idea, Adam. I'll think about it. Thanks!

Hi Sentinel fans, After adding sound to my Dapol Sentinel model (see RMweb Thread) I found just one thing faulty - the double rims of the tank top. If you look at the prototype you won't find them. Only the rear crossbar is as thick as with the model. Prototype photo by kind permission of ©Robert Thompson If you are interested please watch Robert's photos of 'Isebrook' 2012 at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Back to the model - I understand completely why Dapol did it that way and it's a smart idea to simplify the decoder installation process. I had a more prototypical solution in mind, I cropped the slim edges and only left the rear thicker one. After that I put the tray back into the opening and protected the model with food wrap while filling and gluing the coal in place. After drying the inset is ready and the coal forms nice even edges. Now it looks much smarter! I have to cope with the groove in the rear crossbar though. But that's ok for repair reasons. (although that might never happen… ) Ready for layout use! Even the coal heap suits me fine. If you'd google for British Railways Sentinel you'll discover that my heap is a quite humble one (look at that one),

I was fed up waiting for the Dapol sound fitted model and cancelled my order, changed it for the analogue version and opted for a YouChoos sound set with consists of a Zimo MX644C and a Zimo Icecube 18X13X10-1W speaker. I added a 17,000μF 'Super Capacitor' which is a valuable stay-alive device in an 0-4-0 locomotive. The Zimo decoder MX644D comes with a smaller 470μF capacitor. If you cope with this you don't have to solder… Dapol supplies a cavity at the front end of the vertical boiler which suffices for a Zimo Sugarcube 15X11X9-1W. However, the boiler is thick enough to encase a Zimo IceCube 18X13X10-1W. To get the speaker into the boiler I had to lever it slightly and prise it off the mounting plate. The wires for the speaker are preinstalled so soldering the speaker wires to the little board was a piece of cake. Well done Dapol! After re-mounting the vertical boiler the first test drive could be executed. First time on the layout! Sound was great, full and loud - so the Sentinel's body could be put back onto the chassis. Before that I added a driver/fireman for one-man operation. I chose a Phoenix figure which I had available. Now that there are far more realistic figures from ModelU some of the old white metal figures look rather odd… - but in this case you don't see much of the figure inside the loco, so it'll do for me! Installation of a decoder is very well prepared. You just have to lift a cover in the rear part of the loco and replace the Dapol analogue PCB for a 21 pin decoder. Even for the 'SuperCap' is enough space behind the flywheel. Cover back onto the body and ready for GO! The sound project is for 'normal' steam locos, so I had to tweak it a bit. The real Sentinel Y3 doesn't sound like a normal steam locomotive. The engine of it is similar to those used in Sentinel steam wagons. Therefore their steam locos sound rather like a steam lorry with a very fast revving steam engine. So I changed some CVs of the decoder to cope with that. John of YouChoos is very competent and was very helpful indeed. He told me what to do: - CV#267 modifies the chuff rate. I tested a bit and chose the value 48. - To prevent the model sounding like an insect when revving fast I reduced CV#271 (Overlapping effect at high speed) to zero. This results in a smooth flowing sound when the engine is going fast. - The chuff sounds of the 'light engine mode' which you get if you use Quick-Select are more smooth and subtle so I inversed the Quick-Select mode so that the smooth sound is on by default CV'409 = 109 (inverses F9, which ist my Quick-Select key) - again a helpful advice of John. Now I'm satisfied with the Sentinel sound. It sounds like a really high revving steam engine.

Dapol advises to seal it with the supplied gaskets. Anyway I didn't use those because after dividing the speakers from the original Zimo speaker housings there was enough foam left at the edges to seal it in the Dapol housings. I just added the foam pads on the back side to give it a tight fit when clipping onto the main PCB. [/img]

And rightly so! It's absolutely great and I hope all future models will have similar easy-fit solutions! I like to show how I did the installation with the Sugarcubes, as well as to show how totally easy the installation is thanks to Dapol's preparations. Installation of sound actually is a piece o' cake. No tools needed at all if you stick to just installing sound. I opted for the YouChoos sounds but I added their 17.000μF Super Capacitor which I value so much because of its lavish performance of 8-9 seconds additional power if power supply fails. Installation starts with opening of the smokebox door which is easy if you gently lever it from the hinge side. Don't try to open the door by means of the smokebox dart! Afterwards just pull out the PCB. Attention, I failed to do photos in time… the pictures show the state after changing the original Dapol PCB for the Zimo decoder. The Next picture already shows the SuperCap on the left. But what I mainly want to show is that Dapol had a cool idea regarding the speaker housings. You just have to replace the original Zimo housings with the Dapol housings which are a clip-fit. Make sure that the spring contacts line up with the circuit paths on the underside of the main PCB. The flat foam pad which I added to the upper side of the speaker is supplied by Dapol with the model and it prevents vibration. After sliding the PCB back into the boiler there's enough space for the SuperCap beneath the PCB - though mine struggled a bit which is why it's slightly askew. Smokebox door back in place - ready for layout use! The sound of the 2 Sugarcubes is full and loud and the YouChoos sounds are really great! The whole installation process took about 10-12 minutes because I had to change the supplied 470μF capacitor for the 17,000μF SuperCap. If you don't have to solder the installation is a matter of 5 minutes I'm sure.

Cool, thanks a lot! Just ordered the both of them.

Just wanted to order the above lamp hut and discovered the 'GWR concrete hut' in your online shop. Sadly there's no picture. Have you got a photo of that one?

Thanks! I'll try that. Looks very convincing.

Brilliant as ever Steve! How do you create the puddles, is it glossy varnish or an artificial water modelling product like the ones from Woodlands or similar?

Wow! The snug fit in the corners and in the arch is absolutely stunning. And all the sloped bricks are also very cool. TOP!

I got my Heljan 43XX class Mogul yesterday and discovered problems with one particular point where obviously the radius is too small for the given loco-tender distance. Now I found out that there's the possibility to alter the gap by choosing another of the 3 holes in the drawbar. Isn't that a bit stone-age? I own O scale tender locos of the German manufacturer Lenz which have a very short (and prototypical) loco-tender distance when on a straight track but widening when passing through curved tracks. This works with dove-tail ducts which allow the coupling to veer in curves. On top of that coupling and un-coupling loco and tender is a piece of cake - smooth and simple indeed. What do you think, is it possible that we get a similar modern solution with the A3/A4 models as well, instead of an outdated solid peace of brass between loco and tender?