Jon Fitness

That's superb Steve. I have to remind myself sometimes how small these 4mm scale signals are in real life! JF

Stunning work! A beautiful bit of scratchbuilding and they really look "right". JF

Superbly engineered as usual Steve. Lovely stuff JF

Aw Steve, those ground signals are absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful work JF

I think my customer's layout is set in the early 1950's... JF

Its all appreciated Stephen. There's quite a lot of the catalogue printed in David Smith's book too... JF

It certainly does look a little skinny. I may have to look into an etch of GWR subsidiary fittings and arms in the future.

I very much see your point on this! I did look at quite a few pictures but I found several showing slightly different positions. The MSE S I used is all I had in stock and looked right at the time.. I think that was the picture I used eventually....

Believe me, I'd really love to but it would require a complete re-jig to get it right. I can't just re-size it as is because it would become too delicate. I'm a bit too loaded up with 7mm work to start going down the 4mm route I'm afraid.....

So.. Time for an update. I've been busy at the bench and the computer so there's a new etch or two to see.. This is the BR(W) version of the 2 doll bracket for tubular WR style signals It differs from the available etches in that the main post is positioned in between the two dolls. It features fold up construction and marks for punching out the rivets. Also provided is the diagonal T section support. A test build.. So what did muggins then go and do? Use it as a GW style bracket for a customer!! I was tasked with copying several of my previous builds so this centre pivoted one was chosen. I had to scratchbuild the two arms..The basic shapes Then making the bearing bosses.. Adding to the structure Fitting out the structure with LEDs, and Modelu lamp cases and finials. Now here's a little tip for using these LEDs. (Unless I've already mentioned it!!) The latest batch of these warm white 3mm LEDs were very focussed on the tip and gave off almost zero side illumination unlike the previous lot. To make them shine sideways I filed a chamfer on what became both the front and back faces of the LED and lo and behold, the light was deflected perfectly to give a nice diffused light front and back! The finished article out in the sunshine. The decking boards were laser cut for me from .9mm ply by a local friend, Nikki Wilkes.. Next up was a wooden post GWR stop signal with lower shunt arm using scale signal supply arms and a Borg-Rail fold up brass post. Now, this one isn't the same signal as a previous entry but a correction to it. I made a cracking job of getting the previous one wrong. This entailed getting a new Right Handed etch done of the LMS running line to loop bracket as it couldn't just be fitted the other way round and is also 6inches wider than the Left Hand version. That'll teach me to read the customers instructions... My most recent job was another copy of the Severn Tunnel East bracket I originally did for Steve Fay. The main difference on this one is I've used Borg-Rail fold up posts this time instead of actual wood on the first one. Much easier as everything can be soldered rather than glued and the posts are of course hollow so it's easier to conceal wiring. There may be an interesting banner repeater coming up next...(if a banner repeater can be interesting More soon JF

Thanks Steve. I'm never sure how much detail to include!

A link to my usual overlong Youtube videos! This one shows my method of fitting servos to the signals I build... More soon JF

Lovely simple power bogie. Very nice JF

I've produced an etch for the LMS ground signal. I have always struggled with the available cast whitemetal version and this one was designed with buildability, operation and illumination in mind. The open "Lid" at the top will be folded down and soldered once an LED is fitted and working. The test build went rather well, so the production version will be available to buy in about 6 weeks JF

Ah, nice to hear from you! The live steam sounds fun! JF