Wright writes.....

[Clive Mortimore]

12 hours ago, gr.king said:

At least the chosen shade of grey for 10000, whatever it ultimately is, won't have to match any other loco on a layout. That's the most difficult thing when locos of supposedly the same colour come from different makers who fail to establish and adhere to any agreed overall standard. One could always go for a medium-dark grey and alter the appearance to taste by adjusting lighting levels up or down......

 

Alternatively, at least to create a racy talking point, paint it in fifty different shades.

Hi Graeme

 

I know where you are coming from about  those that are supposed to be in the same colour, as a 60s diesel modeller the same manufacturer cannot get two production runs of the same class the same BR green, that use to bug me until I went back to my books with colour photos of the era. Especially the ones where there would be multiple locos in differing classes. They were not the same colour, all were green of a similar colour but had slightly weathered to look dissimilar enough for me to say "It is BR green of a sort, that's OK." So I am quite happy to have locos in various shades of BR green form the RTR guys and when I paint my own builds to use BR greens from various paint manufactures. 

[Craigw]

Speaking of  battleships, the end of HMS Vanguard.

 

A very sad video I must say.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Warton

 

 

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, Craigw said:

Speaking of  battleships, the end of HMS Vanguard.

 

A very sad video I must say.

 

Regards,

 

Craig Warton

 

 

Thanks for posting this, Craig,

 

What a wonderful style of presentation. Clear diction, informative and interesting. 

 

Ironic, isn't it, choosing the name VANGUARD for the last of Britain's battleship, though it has a better 'ring' than REARGUARD (which would have been more appropriate). 

 

Of all the British battleships, surely WARSPITE should have been preserved for posterity, but sentimentality has no place in the scrapyard. 

 

What I found staggering in watching VANGUARD being broken is the total disregard for 'elf-'n-safety'!

 

Regards,

 

Toy. 

[landscapes]

Hi

How about the Royal Navy’s latest Warship.

 

And again a different shade of grey 

 

David

Edited October 10, 2019 by landscapes
Spelling

[Bucoops]

2 minutes ago, landscapes said:

Hi

How about the Royal Navies latest Warship.

 

And again a different shade of grey 

 

David

 

 

I got a close-up of that the other day when coming back from the Isle of Wight as we had to wait for it. Quite big but it didn't stir the same pride as a name like Ark Royal.

 

 

 

[APOLLO]

Taking of grey Warships ----

 

 

Swindon works 1971 -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/with/34727092172/

 

Brit15

 

[CF MRC]

Modern RN grey is quite a light colour: the QE & PoW are very impressive ships.   If I made a model of the W1 it would be in Home Fleet grey. 

 

Tim

[Chamby]

26 minutes ago, Bucoops said:

 

 

I got a close-up of that the other day when coming back from the Isle of Wight as we had to wait for it. Quite big but it didn't stir the same pride as a name like Ark Royal.

 

 

 

 

And the front tower is a different shade of grey to the back tower.  Sums up the prior discussion in one photograph!

[Anglian]

Weren't most British WW2 warships painted in Camouflage as depicted by HMS Belfast in preservation? As for the new carrier, they should have called it Ark Royal and fitted it with catapults so they could have bought the more useful version of the F35 that can carry a decent weapon load. It'll be reliant on the US Navy for protection if it ever sees combat.

Sorry back to trains. (My excuse, son of naval officer FAA who served in Ark Royal.)

 

[Flying Pig]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

 Of all the British battleships, surely WARSPITE should have been preserved for posterity, but sentimentality has no place in the scrapyard. 

 

I doubt the post war GDP would have run to preserving Warspite given the condition she was in by the end of her service.  She should have been towed out into the Western Approaches in heavy weather and allowed to sink as she apparently tried to on her way to the scrapyard.

[Tony Wright]

Having not long completed processing the pictures of Arnside, I came across this one; of particular interest.

 

 

Greig Mackenzie was running this steam special at Wigan, and, to me, it represents a classic case of Rule 1. Why? Because MADRAS was never preserved. Apparently, he liked the name (a favourite curry?). 

 

I suppose there are precedents - FLYING SCOTSMAN, for instance, has been given new identities from time to time, but I don't know whether I'd apply such a rule - in fact, I know I wouldn't. 

 

I think it makes an 'attractive' picture, though lamps, a vacuum standpipe, a screw shackle, front steps and a crew would improve the loco no end (a standard Bachmann 'Jubilee'?). At least the shot shows the outstanding civil engineering modelling!

 

 

Despite my obvious preference for steam (I saw 45575), I think this pairing is more appropriate.  

 

Food for thought?

 

 

 

 

[cctransuk]

39 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

....though lamps, a vacuum standpipe, a screw shackle, front steps and a crew would improve the loco no end (a standard Bachmann 'Jubilee'?).

 

 

 

To which I would add - closing up the loco / tender gap.

 

It does astonish me that such closely-observed infrastructure modellers can 'turn a blind eye' to such easily-corrected anomalies.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[timbowilts]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

To which I would add - closing up the loco / tender gap.

Of course, John, that depends on how tight the curves are in hidden areas of the layout?

Tim T

All packed up ready to move to Felinfoel

[scottystitch]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

 

To which I would add - closing up the loco / tender gap.

 

It does astonish me that such closely-observed infrastructure modellers can 'turn a blind eye' to such easily-corrected anomalies.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

And vice-versa?

[cctransuk]

1 minute ago, timbowilts said:

Of course, John, that depends on how tight the curves are in hidden areas of the layout?

Tim T

All packed up ready to move to Felinfoel

 

I may be completely wrong, but I somehow doubt that a model of that stature has curves so tight that they require set-track compromises.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

I may be completely wrong, but I somehow doubt that a model of that stature has curves so tight that they require set-track compromises.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

It doesn't really have 'curves' at all, John,

 

It's fiddle yard-to-fiddle yard, virtually on the straight through the scenic section.

 

In fairness to the builder, he's concentrated on getting the layout done, and is still heavily-dependent on RTR items (hence his 'apology' to me for still retaining tension-lock couplings on some locos/stock). Thus, much is still 'work in progress', which will include fully-working semaphores. 

 

What impressed me were several things. For one, Greig's relative youth (he can't be 30 yet), then his keen eye for observation of detail and his level of modelling craftsmanship. 

 

 

A beautiful Furness 'box, for instance. 

 

 

And how's this for a scratch-built viaduct across the Kent Estuary? Much-shortened, of course, but inspiring modelling in my view. I've removed the 'hole' in the background for trains to go to and from the one fiddle yard. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

[CUTLER2579]

Lest we forget this is a 16 year old young man making his way in this hobby.  Oh that I could have constructed civil engineering of such quality at 16 or 61 for that matter.  i think we are being a trifle unreasonable with the criticism.

Regards,Derek.

[Lecorbusier]

9 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

 

 

A beautiful Furness 'box, for instance. 

 

 

 

 And of course Vintage VW camper rally notice .... must be a solid chap!!

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, CUTLER2579 said:

Lest we forget this is a 16 year old young man making his way in this hobby.  Oh that I could have constructed civil engineering of such quality at 16 or 61 for that matter.  i think we are being a trifle unreasonable with the criticism.

Regards,Derek.

Is Greig only 16, Derek?

 

I think he's engaged, so I assumed he's in his 20s (though a schoolmate was married at 17!). He looks like he is, but everybody below 40 looks young to me nowadays, and I'm hopeless at guessing ages.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

Rather tangentially, 'younger' modellers have just been mentioned. 

 

Whenever I'm demonstrating at a show, I wonder what the 'audience' is I'm talking to. Not necessarily the age profile (usually older gits, like me!) but the level of experience in model-making. 

 

I usually demonstrate soldering techniques, which, in some cases can be quite daunting. Soldering means working in metal, which, again, might not be in the 'comfort zone' of some of the spectators. 

 

With all this in mind, last year at the Peterborough Show, in part, I demonstrated making a simple plastic wagon kit. I was astonished at the interest shown. Not just from younger modellers, but also from those of more mature years - returnees to the hobby, as it were. 

 

So, at every show now, I buy a simple Parkside wagon kit or two, and make these as part of my demonstrating. Very often, someone then goes off and buys one, keen as mustard to have a go!

 

At Wigan, last weekend, as well as demonstrating soldering, I started making a couple of Parkside wagon kits. This week, I've finished them off...................

 

 

The first was this BR 'Palvan', now running on LB. It's sitting between two RTR vans, but I don't think this type is available ready-to-run. A doddle to build, and dry-brush weathering just finishes it off. 

 

 

 

The next was this ex-LMS CCT, again now in service on Little Bytham. Standing in the goods yard, my fitting of Sprat & Winkle couplings allows it to be shunted. Again, this type is not available RTR (I think). 

 

What absolutely splendid kits these are. Inexpensive, easy to build and now come complete with transfers. They're a wonderful 'entry-level' to the making of rolling stock in this great hobby. 

 

Of course, with the inexorable rise in standards provided by the RTR chaps (and chapettes?), the need to kit-build rolling stock has diminished, other than to make the types not yet available off-the-shelf. 

 

 

Such is the case with the SR Utilty vans illustrated above. The nearer one was built from a Parkside kit by John Houlden, and saw service on Gamston. It was made some time ago - before Hornby brought out its excellent RTR example; the further one. Rob Davey weathered this to perfection, and, in many ways, it's superior to the kit-built version. That said, I'll be building another Parkside one at my next show! 

 

 

 

 

[Anglian]

Greig has modelled some of the best water that I've seen.

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Anglian

[Jesse Sim]

6 hours ago, CUTLER2579 said:

Lest we forget this is a 16 year old young man making his way in this hobby.  Oh that I could have constructed civil engineering of such quality at 16 or 61 for that matter.  i think we are being a trifle unreasonable with the criticism.

Regards,Derek.

Criticism is how you learn, when I was only about 19 or 20 when I first met Tony, I was bombarded with criticism both good and bad, I didn’t feel ashamed because what I modelled may have been wrong, I learnt from it and strived to make it Wright/right!  

 

Yet still, I have so much stuff to do, adding details to locos, weathering, removing tension lock, making locos and renders closer, need a crap load more lamps! It’s all a work in progress, so he would be in the same boat. 

 

That really is a nice scratchbuilt bride! I take my hat of to him! 

[Woodcock29]

15 hours ago, Chamby said:

 

And the front tower is a different shade of grey to the back tower.  Sums up the prior discussion in one photograph!

I think the sun is shining through a gap in the clouds creating shadows and bright parts of the superstructure on that second tower, also the edge of the deck towards the stern.

 

Other photos off the web show one overall grey colour. So as you imply variations in lighting give quite contrasting colours.

 

Andrew

Edited October 10, 2019 by Woodcock29
added to comment

[Tony Wright]

7 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Criticism is how you learn, when I was only about 19 or 20 when I first met Tony, I was bombarded with criticism both good and bad, I didn’t feel ashamed because what I modelled may have been wrong, I learnt from it and strived to make it Wright/right!  

 

Yet still, I have so much stuff to do, adding details to locos, weathering, removing tension lock, making locos and renders closer, need a crap load more lamps! It’s all a work in progress, so he would be in the same boat. 

 

That really is a nice scratchbuilt bride! I take my hat of to him! 

Good morning Jesse,

 

'Criticism is how you learn, when I was only about 19 or 20 when I first met Tony, I was bombarded with criticism both good and bad'

 

Was all the criticism from me, Jesse? I believe the first words I spoke to you when we first met at Warley were 'What's wrong with your lip?' (in response to the thing you'd got in it!). 

 

It's a measure  of your strength of character and fortitude that you took any 'criticisms' of your appearance, your English and your model-making entirely on-board. And, may I say (and good for you), gave as good as you got in return? So much so that who'd have thought that a (now today!) 73 year old, miserable old git could become best mates with an Australian 50 years his junior? I count it a privilege and a pleasure to be in that lucky position. 

 

Your model-making has come on in leaps and bounds since I've known you. That's largely down to you, rather than any decent 'tuition' from me. You've also, very sensibly, learned from others. It's how we all started, and unless experienced modellers are prepared to pass on that experience and assist others in their model-making, then the hobby will crumble and die; as a 'making things' hobby, that is. Interestingly, when I promulgated that idea in my RM 'Comment' piece (as part of a wider observation), the article was soundly-condemned by some (on social media). As an aside, I've yet to meet any of those critics face-to-face, even though I'm at many shows. My name has come up again in a further RM piece, written by a youngster. By implication (and I could be wrong) he seems puzzled why I should suggest that always following prototype practice through observation is a good thing. He's been a contestant on the GMRC, by the way.   

 

Finally, the builder of Arnside (I assume you mean he's scratch-built the bridge, not his wife-to-be!) is 28 years old, but he was the age you are now when he started it. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[dibateg]

Think yourself lucky Jesse - I've known Tony for 30 years or so - I'm still being criticised! Its a bit like the accolade of being insulted by Billy Connolly! 

 

I don't get to see Tony so often these day, but when we get together, we pick up and have the greatest laughs.  Which is what you do with great friends.

 

The greatest thing is that Tony ( and others ) inspired me, in turn I know I have inspired other people - and that somehow makes everything worth while.

 

Tony