Wright writes.....

[jrg1]

28 minutes ago, DougN said:

I have been continuing my battle with the Martin Finney V2's which I am building to P4 standards. I ran into a clearance issue with the cross heads and the coupling rods. Thanks to some advice on the Scalefour list the issue was the Aland Gibson wheels had a boss on the frontwhich needed to be removed and I needed to recess the crank pin nut, along with reducing the back of the cross head. So I am now back to a rolling chassis and the second one will need fettling to get to the same point. 

this is taking some time but the enjoyment is there once the problems are located and resolved! 

 

I really enjoy a project when it is finished and forgotten!

[grahame]

5 hours ago, jrg1 said:

I really enjoy a project when it is finished and forgotten!

 

 

Yep, maybe when forgotten. A 'finished' project that is remembered can play on your mind - is it really finished, should have done that, could have done better, oops that is missing, doesn't look right, etc.

 

Well, at least to me.

;-)

 

 

[great northern]

After a busy weekend, and up at 6.30 this morning to get ready for golf, I've managed to process one or two more images from last week's visit. I've also remembered one of my means of escape from difficult photoshopping - crop, and crop hard.

 

 

[Barry Ten]

On 26/01/2020 at 11:39, Headstock said:

 

Back in the day, BBC studios would have a lighting grid up at ceiling height to which the lights were attached. Woe betide anybody who would wish to remove lights from the grid, reposition them or even turn some off. This arrangement was perfect for lighting 'Ask the family' or 'Blankety blank' but if you were trying to shoot a Mayan temple set, aluminated by torch light, you were screwed. The dictate was that everything should be fully aluminated otherwise the viewers wouldn't be able to follow the drama. The result was dramatically flat and over bright lighting, that made it obvious that the sets were constructed from cardboard, polystyrene and sticky back plastic.

 

I think this is referenced in one of the Doctor Who DVDs I've got. The directors were frustrated at being stuck with that overly-harsh lighting regardless of the story setting, but the word that came down from on high was that they weren't allowed to have fewer lights or else "little old ladies would complain that the picture was too dim".

 

Al

[Tony Wright]

On 25/01/2020 at 21:50, Manxcat said:

Tony,

 

Today I opened up "Robert the Bruce" to fit a DCC chip. In an unusual twist of fate, when I lifted off the chassis the boiler space was full of a spider's web. Further investigation revealed a very dead and very sizeable spider. You'll be aware of Robert the Bruce sitting in a cave watching a spider try again and again to make a web which spurred him on to greater things. 

 

Spooky, eh?

 

Archie

How strange, Archie,

 

Do you think it was a Lincolnshire spider (it's nearly a year since you bought 60510 off me) or an indigenous one? 

 

Perhaps it was killed when you club member dropped the loco on the floor! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

13 hours ago, Iain.d said:

Thought I’d share some of my modelling for 2020, by previous year’s standards its got off to a good start!

 

Over the Christmas break I was able to start on a Parkside Dundas SR CCT that I have had for eons.  I added a bit of extra detail to the underframe to represent better the components there and used a MJT compensation unit at one end.

 

 

 

Painted up I think it looks okay, early BR crimson, home-made screw couplings, additional handrails, steam and brake pipes and some better roof vents round it off. Weathering will wait until I'm a bit more proficient.

 

I’ve also started three SR Maunsell coaches from Roxey Mouldings. I’ve done quite a few Comet and BSL/Phoenix coach kits in the past but are (I think) a slightly higher level – they’ve certainly been a learning curve! The design in some areas is quite ingenious (like how the bogie mountings fold up) and other areas left me wondering….or maybe its just me!  

 

 

 

The underframes are pretty much done, less the brake rigging and buffers, but I’ll do those towards the end of the build, and the sides have had the tumblehome formed, droplights and vents soldered in, guard's duckets formed  and the ends folded up and detail added. Lots of burned fingers….  Next stage will be to form the sides as bodies and build the roofs, but that’ll have to wait as I have a quick trip back to the UK first. In the end they’ll represent SR 3 Coach Set 393 in crimson and cream. 

 

Iain

 

This is wonderful work, Iain,

 

Thanks for showing us.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

Having just spent a marvellous weekend at the Southampton Show, perhaps a few observations.....?

 

What a splendid event, very well-organised, excellent hospitality and a fine range of layouts and traders. 

 

Mo and I made £45.00 for CRUK, so may I please thank all those who donated so generously? May I also thank all those with whom I spoke?

 

One privilege of being a participant is being asked to be one of the judges for the Founder's Cup competition. It was a damn close-run thing, with Jeff Day's Sandford and Banwell taking the prize, with a magnificent rendition of a GWR secondary line in P4. 

 

 

Here's Geoff with his team, and Southampton Club's Chairman. Well done chaps!

 

 

I took this picture of the layout a couple of years ago, and much has been done since. The quality still shines through, though, and the running was impeccable. 

 

Second was Calderwood. A beautiful EM Gauge L&Y depiction.........

 

 

The Southampton Show was this fine layout's last outing. 

 

Third was Lighterman's Wharf....

 

 

 

A stunning 2mm FS rendition of part of South London just on the Thames. It'll be appearing soon in BRM.

 

One of the 'highly-commended' layouts was Nick Salzman's Lakebank in 3mm FS. 

 

 

As I've said, the judging was very difficult, such was the high standard.

 

The 'high standards' were not entirely universal, and too many 'hands of God' were present on a few layouts. Derailments were too common on some layouts as well, some operators seemed to be bewildered, and as for tension-lock couplings, surely exhibition layouts/high-standard layouts should have graduated beyond these? And, as for non-working signals? 

 

The above said, overall the standards of running (particularly on the layouts mentioned) was exemplary. 

 

One particular loco which took my eye was this new B3 on Grantham. 

 

 

 

Built by Graham Nicholas and painted by Ian Rathbone, I thought it was beautiful.

 

If you missed the show, you missed a great event, so, if I may, I suggest a note in the diary for this time next year? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Tony Wright
to clarify a point

[Manxcat]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

!How strange, Archie,

 

Do you think it was a Lincolnshire spider (it's nearly a year since you bought 60510 off me) or an indigenous one? 

 

Perhaps it was killed when you club member dropped the loco on the floor! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I did wonder if it had hitched a ride in Jesse Sim's luggage but there again it didn't have a red back, so I ruled that out!  It was far too mummified to be less than a couple of years dead I think.

[Philou]

But .... but .... Tony - the winners - where are the loco lamps?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Leander]

Calderwood is 00 rather than EM Tony, more's the pity.

[Tony Wright]

12 hours ago, Philou said:

But .... but .... Tony - the winners - where are the loco lamps?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Quite so,

 

However, I did state that the picture of the winner was taken two years ago, and all trains on Sanford and Banwell now carry lamps. 

 

 

 

As some did two years ago.....

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

11 hours ago, Leander said:

Calderwood is 00 rather than EM Tony, more's the pity.

So it is!

 

My mistake. The trackwork is so good, I just assumed it must be EM. Food for thought, there?

 

 

And, most of its trains carry appropriate lamps as well. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[gr.king]

If Calderwood gives the impression of being an EM layout, while retaining the convenience of OO, I think that's a very good thing. No doubt the impression is fostered by the hand-built nature of virtually everything, rather than it being a colony of clones taken out of red or blue boxes. I think it deserves to win more awards.

 

Even on a show layout, I think there are real advantages to the retention of small, discreet tension lock couplings within trains, especially in those that may have to be propelled or regularly set back through reverse curves, but they should preferably not be sticking out on the front of every loco, the rear of every brake van, and both ends of each piece of loose stock.

[grahame]

2 minutes ago, gr.king said:

 

Even on a show layout, I think there are real advantages to the retention of small, discreet tension lock couplings within trains, especially in those that may have to be propelled or regularly set back through reverse curves, but they should preferably not be sticking out on the front of every loco, the rear of every brake van, and both ends of each piece of loose stock.

 

Yes. And forgive my ignorance here, but isn't most OO RTR stock fitted with push-in/pull-out couplers that clip in to NEM sockets these days which make the, temporary if necessary, removal of such couplings from the front of locos very easy? It's certainly the case with N gauge stock but it seems far too many don't bother to remove unnecessary ones when running at exhibitions. 

 

No doubt for scratch and kit built stock an appropriate coupling would be installed during the build.

[Anglian]

I was lucky enough to have a behind the scenes view of Sanford and Banwell, as well as watching it from the usual position. It worked utterly faultlessly and I was surprised that P4 could cope with the curvature of the track. 

 

[t-b-g]

37 minutes ago, gr.king said:

If Calderwood gives the impression of being an EM layout, while retaining the convenience of OO, I think that's a very good thing. No doubt the impression is fostered by the hand-built nature of virtually everything, rather than it being a colony of clones taken out of red or blue boxes. I think it deserves to win more awards.

 

Even on a show layout, I think there are real advantages to the retention of small, discreet tension lock couplings within trains, especially in those that may have to be propelled or regularly set back through reverse curves, but they should preferably not be sticking out on the front of every loco, the rear of every brake van, and both ends of each piece of loose stock.

 

Calderwood is indeed a lovely layout and if it has done its last show, that is a shame. I spoke to the builders a while ago and they were considering how many more times they wanted to exhibit a large layout due to advancing years.

 

Modern OO done to that standard looks very good indeed and if that sort of thing had been available 40 years ago I wonder how many who went to EM would have stayed with OO. I probably still would have gone down the EM route as I use little RTR and make my own points anyway and it is as easy in EM as it is in OO but I know one or two who have said that they may have had second thoughts.

 

There are a lot of handbuilt items on the Calderwood but I think that they have done the same as I did on Tickhill and Wadworth by making use of some of the excellent Bachmann P.O. Coal wagons, which are cracking models but slightly wrong in that they are the 1923 RCH design and a bit too big for the majority of coal wagons in pre-grouping times.

 

It was drawn to my attention when somebody noticed that one of the liveries on a wagon was correct for pre WW1 but was on a wagon that wouldn't have been around at that time.

 

It set me off on a wagon kit building and lettering program (that I hadn't finished when the layout went to a new home) but I suppose that for many people, they are "just" coal wagons and not worth spending time getting right. 

[Headstock]

18 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

I think this is referenced in one of the Doctor Who DVDs I've got. The directors were frustrated at being stuck with that overly-harsh lighting regardless of the story setting, but the word that came down from on high was that they weren't allowed to have fewer lights or else "little old ladies would complain that the picture was too dim".

 

Al

 

Good morning Al,

 

we had a talk from a BBC Director / producer back in the day. He filled us in on the 'lighting wars' prevalent at the time. Shows like Doctor Who were particular vulnerable because they used more studio sets and were literally churned out in rapid succession. The problem wasn't that big a deal in the previous decades. It coincided with the investment in a great deal of new equipment in the 80s, new is not always better. The situation was made worse when set against a backdrop of rigid technical vs creative demarcation lines.

[Headstock]

 

The first bit of modelling since my enforced break has yielded results, Hooray, I'm back in the game. I shall strike while the iron is hot, get the bogies undercoated and get something else built, hopefully a little quicker. I shall then return to the painting a little later.

[great northern]

Still loads of stuff to process, but here's one which I quite like, as it fulfils my desire to shoot things from odd angles.

 

 

[Mallard60022]

19 minutes ago, great northern said:

Still loads of stuff to process, but here's one which I quite like, as it fulfils my desire to shoot things from odd angles.

 

 

That is a really different perspective on LB Gilbert. It tgook me a while to recognise the location.

P

[Chris Higgs]

On 26/09/2019 at 11:29, Headstock said:

Talking about Duckets, a poor link.

 

There are far two many problems and mistakes with the Hornby Gresleys beyond those mentioned. I can only assume that people are unaware of them. Anyway, its far far more fun to build your own, as Andy and Clive have consistently shown. Finally I got some picks of my d 210 twin, I have another to build. Like the GC BT 7, it will be running for the first time at the end of October, although the twin and GC carriage will be in different ordinary passenger trains. Should the break end windows have bars?

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it happens I just ordered some of my etches recently for customers, and I have one D210 set extra, in case anyone is interested (or you can have it as a D214 instead). Otherwise I will be forced to build it myself, even though it has no real use on Ufford! Contact me offlist.

 

I am glad I model BR era as these things are a whole lot eaiser to paint in Crimson than they are in Teak. This one looks absolutely stunning.

 

Chris Higgs (a.k.a Masterclass Models)

[great northern]

The presence of a road means that I have to point the camera along it.

 

 

[Chris Higgs]

3 hours ago, grahame said:

 

Yes. And forgive my ignorance here, but isn't most OO RTR stock fitted with push-in/pull-out couplers that clip in to NEM sockets these days which make the, temporary if necessary, removal of such couplings from the front of locos very easy? It's certainly the case with N gauge stock but it seems far too many don't bother to remove unnecessary ones when running at exhibitions. 

 

No doubt for scratch and kit built stock an appropriate coupling would be installed during the build.

 

Indeed it is, the design may not be a NEM standard though. Much of my Bachmann wagon stock have a mounting where you remove the coupling vertically, and are quite stiff to remove.

 

Although (as in N) the remaining coupling mount can still be obtrusive, or totally unoticeable, depending upon the design.

 

Chris

Edited January 28, 2020 by Chris Higgs

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Mallard60022 said:

That is a really different perspective on LB Gilbert. It tgook me a while to recognise the location.

P

I've tried a few from the 'far side' myself, Phil, but not quite the one Gilbert's achieved. 

 

I'll have a go later.

 

What it does show (and I'm delighted with it) is how wide LB is at this point - nearly 5'. Important to let this modest country station 'sprawl'. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Jesse Sim]

I really love that side of the layout and that shot in particular, I think I brought that shot to your attention back when we were filming for the BRM DVD’s....Has a real natural look about it.