davidbr

If I remember right, Andy has used structures around Shrewsbury and the Welsh border, near where he is based, so GWR/Cambrian. For more precise origins, one would have to contact him as he has taken suggestions from people which might be from other places. I looked at a weighbridge in Tiverton some years ago and that was a different style again even though it was near the entrance to the GWR goods yard. I wonder if some might have been built by local contractors rather than to GWR designs?

Going back to the weighbridge, have you come across Severn Models? I have pinched the image from his website: The kits are etched brass and I have made several which he (Andy Vaughan) has designed to be put together with superglue. The kits make up very nicely. Personally, I prefer to solder brass which I did when I made the platelayers' hut: I have seen his range develop over the past few years and can recommend the kits.

Yes, I did. Well remembered! I made the first one using the LRM instructions which omitted 2.5v. Someone told me the arrangement so I added it to the label. The image should fit a sticky Avery label - 10 to an A4 sheet. Sorry, but I don't know the Avery code.

The London Road RSU is very good and easy to change the voltage. I made a label for the different combinations which people might find useful:

The OP asked about suitable solder and mentioned paste and cream. I don't get on with either because it invariably spits or splatters but some people do manage to use it successfully, so it clearly has a place. 1. I have not, though, found a successful way to use solder cream or paste. Does anyone have any pointers to their secret of success with the product(s)? I know I am not lone with my negative experience. 2. I am also aware that paste and cream has a shelf life, so has anyone successfully rejuvenated their 'past it' paste or cream and if so, how did they do it? Two questions I know many modellers would like to know the answers to.

Old fashioned iron magnets are either too large or too weak. You need rare earth magnets - neodymium are the commonest - so that you get a good attachment. I bought 8mm diameter x 20mm long rod magnets which have a pull of just under 3Kg. I got the length so that I could get hold of them! If they are too short, with the pull they exert, they can be b*****s to get off. I have not had any problems with them attracting each other as they do not need to be very close. There are two websites (UK) which have an excellent range of shape, strength and size, some of which are self-adhesive which can be useful: eMagnetsUK and First4magnets. I am sure there are others but these have provided all I need. A word or two of warning. These magnets are strong, so a) if you have a medical appliance such as a pacemaker, do take advice from your doctor and b) try not to let them bang together because they can chip and shatter and nip fingers quite painfully. I have a couple of battered magnets people have tried at demonstrations and been taken by surprise. They have also been known to wipe credit cards!!

See attached: D&S 1986-7.pdf D&S-Cat-Spring-05.pdf

Thank you Harry. Glad you found it useful. Any questions, drop me a pm. This goes for anyone else.

I should have added to the previous post that burn marks can happen if the tip of the probe gets dirty. A dirty tip also reduces the efficiency. Every so often, give it a wipe or better still, clean it with a bit of abrasive paper or a file.

It is worth practising with scrap etch before committing yourself and the RSU to the kit. Until you have built up experience, I recommend always starting with a lower setting and working up. Working in 4mm, my LRM unit is on 2 volts for a majority of the work but I reduce it to 1.5 volts when soldering brass or nickel silver to white metal. I have never got on with paste as I find it spits, so I either tin bits first, 145 or 183 degree solder, or cut small pieces to reinforce folds, where I flux the fold, add a bit of solder then apply the probe to the outside of the fold. When the solder melts (it can jump off if you boil the flux behind the solder, so apply the probe slightly to one side), it flashes along the fold and you can draw it along a bit further by sliding the probe so that the solder follows the heat. Do not think the RSU will solve all your soldering problems - it won't, nor will it replace your conventional iron. It has its good points but there are also times when it is not as good as a conventional iron. The knack is knowing when to use the right tool! I wrote a couple of articles for Scalefour news a couple of years ago which people told me they found useful, so I will attach a copy here in the hope that it will contribute to people's use of the technique. Spirit of Resistance (opt).pdf

Bob was a veritable mine of information when it came to model making. I knew him as a long-standing and excellent tutor at Missenden Abbey where he helped many, many modellers not just in 7mm but other gauges as well. If there was question to do with metal, anything, then Bob was the go-to person. I learned a lot from him for which I shall be eternally grateful. He will be missed very much as a tutor, modeller, friend and all-round good chap. This is a picture of his railbus which he brought along one weekend.

Whilst on useful tools, I recommend these: They are hackle pliers, used for fly tying and available from angling shops. Veniard is a common make. Price: about £2.75 with the comfortable finger pieces; £2.50 without. The jaws are very nearly parallel and they have a good grip.

Try nylon jawed pliers: https://www.toolsntoolsuk.co.uk/shop/parallel-action-flat-nose-nylon-jaw-pliers-5-12-jewelry-crafts-with-extra-jaws/ There are also brass-nosed: https://www.toolsntoolsuk.co.uk/shop/parallel-action-flat-nose-pliers-smooth-brass-jaws-tips-jewelry-making-120-mm/

Not so much an advanced skill as an additional one. In many ways it is simpler than conventional soldering which it compliments - one does not replace the other in spite of Mr Walley's view. If you tin the parts first, attaching them with the RSU is quick, easy and above all, very clean because you do not add any more solder. It is like so many other skills, getting over the fear of the unknown to get going. I have introduced a number of modellers to the technique and they now use it regularly alongside conventional soldering.

Wonderful work, Mikkel, and inspirational. You said you were worried about soldering the coal rails and used epoxy instead. I can understand your concern if you had used conventional soldering but resistance soldering would have been ideal for this type of job.

The Scalefour Society Stores has the range of Morgan underframes which include one for the W1/W5 cattle wagon DC2 & DC3 non-fitted or vacuum fitted plus earlier lever handle with pin/ratchet lever guides. These are available to Scalefour members, so unless you are a member, you need to ask one to get them. The underframes are designed for EM and P4, so how they might adapt for OO I do not know. Price is £10.10. Morgan underframes are idiosyncratic but excellent. One axle is fixed, the other is sprung and the W irons on one side slide in and out on a screw so that you do not spring the irons to get the wheelsets in. This means you eliminate sideways slop. The instructions (a download) run to 75+ pages but cover the entire range. I have made many of these underframes - there is a range available covering most varieties - and they run very well.

It does not suggest that. It was commenting that chains were missing or damaged, especially after the wagons went in to the common pool. In other words, the chains were missing or damaged (long) before the common pool and that may well have influenced the decision in 1912 not to include chain lockers on new builds of the O8 and subsequently the O16. What the comment about the common pool suggests is that it might have speeded up the process of removing the chain lockers from those wagons which still had them as they were no longer serving any useful purpose.

David Geen, in the introduction to the instructions for his Open C kit says, 'The vehicles built to O8 had chain boxes either side of the centre door let in to the floor. These were done away with later and removed, this, it appears, beginning in WW1 but most in the 1920s with some perhaps not until the early 1930s. No dates are recorded as such but changes in tare weight (a reduction of about 5cwt) give an indication. It would appear the decision not to continue with the chain boxes was made in May 1912 with No. 67986 not [having them], the last 24 of Lot 658 and all Lot 686 having rings on stanchions recorded and a lower tare weight. It was said that the chains were always missing or damaged, especially after the wagons went in to the 'common user' pool, which occurred from September 1926.' This appears to be the only difference between the two diagrams, O8 and O16, 'photographs showing them to be otherwise identical apart from a few small detail differences'. Tourrett says 320 of Diagram O8 were built between 1907 and 1913 with a tare of 7-12; 80 of Diagram O16 were built 1913 - 1914 with a tare of 7-8.

Bodies were all over brown with yellow lettering; underframes were black, quickly becoming grey with dirt. Ironwork on the body was not picked out. The Great Western did not go in for painting body ironwork in a different colour to the body itself.

WD Models (http://www.wdmodels.com) make a kit for a Clyno dispatch rider's bike. The kits are resin and etched brass; two bikes for £12. These are my efforts:

You might not have achieved your own objective - it is very common to over-estimate what you can achieve in the time - but you did achieve an awful lot. Taking things more slowly should lead to a more thorough job and fewer mistakes. From our (the Missenden organisers') point of view you achieved our objectives of a) learning and improving techniques, b) knowing what you are going to do next when you get home, c) enjoying yourself and d) making new friends (I hope). Other feedback has included a line, 'Missenden provides not only the knowledge, but gives me the confidence to use it.' It sounds to me that you have achieved that in spades! Well done. We look forward to seeing you again.

A new chassis, including valve gear, is being developed by Jeremy Suter of the Scalefour Society. I have made a test etch for Jeremy and it is very promising. The valve gear has proper forked joints. It is a considerable improvement on the Mallard version. I don't know whether this is viewable unless a S4 member, but there is a thread on it's development here: https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=132&t=5287

As seems often to be the case on this Forum, some people are inclined to make ill-considered comments. It takes no time to check facts and in this case, although Coopercraft and Ford Nursery share the same road in their address, they do not share the same precise address and are not connected. Has anyone considered that although the website and Worldpay have led people to place and pay for orders, that money might still be sitting in Worldpay's account and not in Coopercraft's? I would agree that if orders cannot be taken, then the website should have been corrected to show this but sometimes even website owners are shut out of their own sites because of technical glitches - it has happened to me. Website registrations are commonly renewed automatically, so if the registration has been renewed, it does not imply any activity on the part of the owner. The very fact that the site has not been updated for more than 3 years should tell you something. I put these things up to show there can be different ways of looking at things. Coopercraft's problems and inability to produce items have been well known and documented for years. There have, in that time, been many opportunities at shows for people to see Paul Dunn and ask questions. I have not seen much evidence of that here but lots of evidence of people continually going over old ground and taking swipes at someone who clearly does not read this Forum and therefore not in a position to respond. I neither condone or condemn Coopercraft from whom I have purchased items this year with cash. At shows, I have found him, like Kelly, polite, helpful and completely open about what he is and is not able to do with the range. If he is going to be at any shows in 2018, one will clearly have to scan show literature. Caveat emptor! Responsibility does not necessarily lie entirely with the vendor.

Just stumbled across this thread. I'm free! Not been pegged down yet for any Friday between now and the beginning of February.

I bought kits from Chris back in May and he told me to get in touch if I wanted anything. I sent an email in August but got no reply. The website was not accessible. It would be a shame if this range has disappeared.