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Looking to pay for an expert on Templot who could produce an EM gauge track plan on Midland Railway practise based on Matlock Bath. Does anyone know of anyone who might be interested. Thomas

Looking to pay for an expert on Templot who could produce an EM gauge track plan on Midland Railway practise based on Matlock Bath. Does anyone know of anyone who might be interested.

Sad to hear that. I spoke with him a few times at the Bristol O gauge show and he always had time to speak to people regardless of their modelling abilities. His models will be a living testimony to his brilliance along with the likes of Beeson. Tom

As most of us know building a model railway incorporates a multitude of skills that some of us have, wish we had or if you are a cheque book modeller pay for. I fall into that category of someone who doesn’t have all the skills and joined a model railway club to hopefully master some of the skills fellow club members have that could be imbued on me. I’m all in favour of cheque book modelling if it shortens the job of getting a layout finished to a standard you aspire to. Time you can’t buy and I am always conscious of hearing about modellers who never got to finish their projects due to lack of time or money. This brings me to the thought that there are probably a lot of modellers out there who have the skills but not the money to pay for someone to produce something for them that they lack the skills to do themselves. I propose that maybe we could have a section where modellers could post their skills and wants that other modellers could tap into. For example, I haven’t a clue on building EM gauge points but could build and design a railway model on my computer and 3D print it for someone who knows how to build track. In return they get a model built for their layout. RMWeb is a great place to share our knowledge and skills so why not have a section for bartering.

I use to use Shapeways in the past before I got my 3d printer of which I have three now. I think Shapeways can be a bit misleading when it comes to displaying their models which are usually in rendered form which always looks better than the actual printed product. I have produced items for a colleague who produces a range of Cambrian loco and coach kits as masters or items that go with the kits. The stl files are always worth much more than the printed items and are worth hanging on to unless someone is willing to pay for them. For the masters I printed out I probable spent two years fine tuning them until the client was happy with the final outcome which you don't get from Shapeways. There can also be a lot of post production involved on the printed items to get them to a injection moulded quality which the client can be left to do or you do yourself. There is only one company I know that can produce close to injection moulded quality prints and that is EnvisionTEC. There largest printer for example for printing a 4mm coach would set you back over £100,000 and then there is their resin which you would have to use which isn't cheap. You could justify charging a lot of money for a 4mm coach but I doubt if you would ever get your money back printing for railway modellers. Shapeways may have had a monopoly in the 3D printing market but are slowly loosing ground to freelancers who can offer a better service at a cheaper price.

I was saddened to here the news of their closure as I myself have bought items from them at a show they have attended. But I think Jol hit the nail on he head when he said it's worth looking outside of the model trade for good quality tools. That is what you are up against when trading and unless you have great buying power or offer what nobody else offers you are going to struggle to survive. I have used the jewellery sector for my tools and they are hard to compete with when it comes to the range of material and tools they offer. Cooksongold and Cousinsuk are the two main suppliers in the UK. The metal materials I have always gone to is Metalsmith which probably have the best range of materials for the hobby. Lets hope no more other traders fall by the wayside because they are the ones who help fund model railway shows along with the public. Thomas

Having just come across this article and being a Midland Railway modeller myself I would like to point out that the wagons also had their numbers painted under the M. The reason for this was so the number of the wagon could still be read when the side door was open which covered the number plate. Why the number plate could have not been placed elsewhere on the underframe I don't know.

I am wondering why EM and P4 are not in the category or is it because most of the members are out of the box modellers.

So this begs the question the Midland Signal in the photo has an arm repeater electrical box which I presume was fed to the nearby signal box and if that was the case would it not have made the back blinder redundant as the repeater would tell the signalman what position the arm was at.

I assume it is the item circled in red on the photo. As an experiment I'm going to try and light the signal lamp that will be 3D printed out in clear resin with a recess for a .5mm LED feeding the wires up through the inside of the signal post and through the side into the signal lamp. I've often thought it would be nice to be able operate a layout in a night time setting as it can be quite atmospheric if you use the right light.

Thanks for the replies. I wonder how much electricity those live wires carried? Does anyone know when the Midland Railway started using arm repeater contacts, not that I am thinking of adding them to the model in 4mm.

I assume it is the item circled in red on the photo. As an experiment I'm going to try and light the signal lamp that will be 3D printed out in clear resin with a recess for a .5mm LED feeding the wires up through the inside of the signal post and through the side into the signal lamp. I've often thought it would be nice to be able operate a layout in a night time setting as it can be quite atmospheric if you use the right light.

Thanks for the feedback. I hadn’t noticed the small lens on the back of the signal lamp. On the information I have received I assume that the back blinders were only fitted to signals where the rear of the signal was visible from the signal box.

I am creating some 3D printed parts for a MR lower quadrant signal as some of these parts are no longer available from Wizard Models. I believe the back blinder had the job of not allowing any light from the signal not to be projected backwards and to cause confusion for drivers who were not familiar with the route. I can't see how light could have been seen from the back of the signal lamp as the lens was in the front but maybe I am missing something here. Did this also apply to ground signals as well ? I would be most grateful if someone could clear this up for me.

Thanks Simond didn't realise there was an Arduino section in RMWEB.

Just wondering if anyone out there has written an Arduino sketch for bouncing signals and would be willing to share it. If not I will have to create one which I will post here.

Who uses Midland Railway Freight Grey that you can purchase from Phoenix Paints or have modellers used ordinary grey primer for the job? I do know the Midland Railway used two variations of grey for their wagons and one was a lot darker than the other. One of the greys was paint that was purchased from the Royal Navy at the time and this could have been the darker colour. The other question is what finish the paint would have been which would apply to most companies when painting their wagons. I would imagine that a gloss finish would have given the wagons more protection but in 4mm would not look right. I have tested Halfords grey primer against Simoniz grey plastic primer and both give different shades of grey with the Halfords one being more matt. I do have a good airbrush but avoid using it if an aerosol can do the job just as well. Any thoughts on this would be welcomed.

I am about to start painting the goods shed I have been constructing using Precision paints. I have a choice of two primers, Halford grey primer or Simoniz plastic primer. Now you might be wondering why I don't just paint directly onto the plastic like I am doing with the primer or spray the Precision paint directly onto the plastic. In the past when I have tried painting directly onto the plastic I have found that the paint doesn't adhere to the material very well and it has needed another coat. I assume the reason for this is that I haven't keyed the shinny plastic by rubbing it down with very fine wet and dry paper, fiberglass brush or primer. The two primers I mentioned give slightly different finishes, Halfords gives a matt finish and Simoniz gives a smoother finish. I always prefer spraying as apposed to hand brushing but on some occasions it is easier to paint by hand when it comes to the detailing. I would be interested to know what approach other modellers use in tackling this subject and if they had any useful tips.

I am building a GWR goods shed for Pencader station and would like to know what would have been the likely colour of the ridge tiles. From the black and white photographic evidence I have seen I am guessing that they would have been engineering brick grey but from a black and white photo it is sometimes hard to tell. And as for the pattern would they have been plain angled or capped angle. I will be 3D printing these with a roll top pattern to make them stand out but maybe the GWR wouldn’t have gone to such lengths and I can change the pattern if need be. If anyone can cast any light on this matter it would be most welcomed.

Hi Linny what 3D printing technology are you using? Do you print the bodies as one piece or in kit form. I try and avoid printing the whole body in one go if I can avoid it as there is less chance warping when you do so. As the print time is taken up on the Z axis printing a body in kit form can be say ten time faster but you need a bigger build plate for some items. I don't no what size your build plate is but mine is quite small but in 4mm could manage a wagon in one go. A six wheel coach I would have to do two or three runs. I first started using Shapeways for my stuff but wasn't happy with some of the results I was getting. Maybe they have improved but I did notice the other day that some items I had printed in frosted detail material was starting to deteriorate, maybe this was because I hadn't painted it but made me think about the deterrability of 3D printer resins but that is a whole other area which I chose not to touch right now. Tom

The artwork always looks better than the printed object which can catch people out when they are expecting the 3D printed object to look as good as the computer rendered object. From experience some of the items on your horsebox I think will be a challenge unless you have say an Invisiontech 3D printer at your disposal. I never try and print things like handrails because invariably they never print straight and are too easily damaged. What do you mean by laser cut kit for 3D printing ? Looking forward to seeing the 3D printed result. Tom

Is the invasive advertising a ploy to get visitors to sign up to Gold membership?

Hi Neil I'm another frustrated user who has complained about the invasive advertising. Try westernthunder which is a similar site but without the invasive advertising.