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I was at Scaleforum last weekend, helping Rod C (10800) and John F (Re6/6) with the massive Ouse Valley Viaduct and Balcombe station layout, representing a chunk of the Brighton main line in P4. It is truly a project on an epic scale, both in size and the understandable gestation period of the layout. Also of this parish, Brian H (Taz) and Nick R (Brinkly) were also on the team. Although the layout itself is essentially the work of the first two gentlemen (John and Rod) only, both Brian and Nick have made very significant contributions in terms of rolling stock for the layout, with construction having taken place over the last 12 months or so. Others have also made important contributions, either in terms of building stuff or (eg. Mike A of the Kent Area Group) bringing superb locos and stock for the show and attending same. Although I have been involved (rather casually, by my own admission) with the project since the early site visits to Sussex in 2009 (10 years ago, for goodness sake!), for a variety of reasons, my own contributions have unfortunately not been on the above scale. That said, for the last few weeks at least, I suspended work on 'Bethesda Sidings', to allow me to complete one or two items for the layout, in time for the show last weekend. The first item was a small building for Balcombe station. Rod made all the other buildings and structures for the station and did a splendid job, as evidenced by photos posted on this forum and also on the Scalefour Society forum. My contribution was to build the Gents toilet! (no comments, please, Stubby). This is the prototype, the photos taken way back in 2009: Although I took detailed photos and measurements during a subsequent site visit the following year, it took me until 2018 to actually produce the scale drawing, necessary for me to build the thing (from plasticard). This is the Gents part-way through construction: The roof slates are the old Exactoscale self-adhesive ones, which were designed to be painted over with a dirty enamel wash. This is the finished building, prior to having signage and advert hoardings added (which it had in the 1950s 7 1960s): After taking these photos, I added the 'Gents' sign and also two period adverts. Here is the building in place on the layout (please note that the station area scenery is not yet completed, including the station garden adjacent to the Gents): I also built most of the buffer stops for the layout. Nick (Brinkly) built a couple of Southern examples from Dave Franks kits, which I then put on copper clad sleepers, added cosmetic chairs and then painted and weathered. I also built a lost wax SR buffer stop and another Dave Franks whitemetal example. Finally I built a sleeper-built buffer stop from balsa wood and also painted and weathered a Bachmann sleeper-built example. All buffer stops were sprayed with red oxide (Halfords) primer, then 'Rail Dirt' by Railmatch and then weathered with Mig and Abteilung 502 powders.

Although I've got a few horse drawn vehicles on the layout, I haven't got anything suitable for transporting goods from the station into the town. While I was at Guildex, I found a white metal kit from Duncan Models http://www.duncanmodels.co.uk/ that looked like it had the potential to make a simple flat bed wagon. Duncan Models flat cart They also make a nice range of horses, I chose to use their Shire horse. The horse is cast in a running position, but as I wanted a standing animal the legs were re positioned and filled with Milliput epoxy putty https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glue-Lines-Standard-Milliput-Epoxy/dp/B007SLC372/ref=asc_df_B007SLC372/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226557876382&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18315479174994515514&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045353&hvtargid=pla-581817163082&psc=1 White metal kit The kit provides for a raised type seat, but after looking at pictures of prototype carts, in conjunction with information provided by Mikkel, this type appears to be more common around Paddington. In a rural backwater like Sherton Abbas a simple flat wagon where the driver sits on the left side of the deck appeared to be more appropriate. The boarded deck was made from a piece of scribed plastic card, which was glued to the white metal frame. The cart was then painted using enamel paints. Painted wagon I thought a grey coloured horse would contrast nicely with the chestnut mare that pulls the coal cart in Sherton Abbas's yard, so searched the internet for a suitable picture. After a bit of searching I came across this rather magnificent beast, which I used as inspiration for my model. Splendid Shire! Model horse The wagon was then attached to the horse and the chains and reins were added. Richard (Tricky) of this parish http://www.monksgate.co.uk/ had given me some of his splendid wicker baskets, so these were arranged on the wagon along with some wooden packing cases to form a load. Horse, wagon and load The model was then positioned on the layout alongside the platform. I cut and repositioned the legs on an Andrew Stadden figure and positioned him climbing onto the cart to inspect his load. In situ on layout I’m taking the layout to the Cardiff show in a couple of weeks time http://www.cardiffmodelrailwayshow.co.uk/ Looking forward to a great weekend Best wishes Dave

This Dapol pug was one of the first models I bought after returning to the hobby in the mid 1990s. Living in the Netherlands at the time, my purchases were confined to occasional visits to the UK or those few Dutch retailers who sometimes had British stock for sale. This model, if I'm remembering rightly, was bought at one of the big Eurospoor model shows in Utrecht, for the princely sum of 115 Guilders, from the stand of "De Spoorzoeker". This friendly Dutchman (Harry, if I'm also remembering rightly) had a very well-stocked shop in Borkel, near the Belgium border, which I visited on subsequent occasions, mainly because he always has good stocks of Hornby. Alas, the pug was a terrible runner! I don't think it ever made it around my layout without stalling at every bit of pointwork or mildly dirty track. It ended up getting a test run every few years but to no discernible improvement! I know these Dapol models are not regarded as particularly good runners, but this week I decided to take a more methodical look at the problem and see what could be done, without going to the time and expanse of a new brass chassis. Some disassembly showed that the basic chassis is perfectly free-running, so it ought to have a chance of running reasonably well. So why was it so temperamental? Testing revealed that while pickup from the rear axles was reliable, there was almost none to speak of from the front wheelsets. In addition, the back to backs were found to be very tight, such that it wouldn't run through a Peco double slip without bumping over the crossings. Suitably motivated, I decide to tackle these issues. The back-to-backs were adjusted first, using the high-tech approach of gently levering the wheels out with the flat part of a screwdriver, a tiny step at a time. I was surprised at how far I had to shift them before the Pug traversed the slip without bumping. Since I also use shims to tighten my Peco flangeways, the wheels were eased out even more . This done, the Pug could be pushed through slips, crossings and points without resistance. I then took a careful look at the supplied pickups. These are very flimsy fixtures which might work if properly adjusted. The problem is that once the wheels are in place, the pickups are all but inaccessible. I tried cleaning and re-bending them, but nothing improved the pickup from the front wheels. I therefore decided to fashion a new set of pickups for all four wheels, as shown here: The problem here is that there's very little room to work, due to the minimal clearance between the keeper plate and the tops of the rails. I therefore had to get a bit creative. Areas adjacent to the wheels were carved away to allow the pickups to bear onto the treads without touching the rails (not a problem on plain track, but an instant short circuit through points and crossings, for obvious reasons). PCB pads were fixed to the keeper plate and 0.35mm Phosphor-bronze wire used to form both the pickups, and the extensions which take the current to the pads at the rear of the chassis, and then up to the motor terminals. Unfortunately, the clearances were still too tight. I therefore opted to melt the extensions into the keeper plate, touching them with an iron until they sank into the plastic and allowed that vital fraction of a mm which then permitted the main pickups to be arranged within the available room. I retained the original pickups and wiring as a belt-and-braces approach. Also visible in this shot are areas of the cylinder cover which have been trimmed back slightly to provide for the crosshead movement, now that the wheel spacing is wider. The effect of these two tweaks, the back-to-backs and the pickups, is an immediate and pleasing improvement in slow speed running, with the pug now proving fully capable of slow running and being stall-free across all pointwork. It's still somewhat noisy compared to a Hornby Peckett and can't be got down to an absolute crawl, but it's still not a bad showing given its age, and the less than brilliant reputation of these mechanisms.

To finish things off, some Black Smoke has been added to the wheel centres and the tender axleboxes and springs. I have also applied some Dark Mud to the seams in the tender, to indicate the start of rust, and some Rubbel Dust to the horizontal surfaces of some of the steps. The requirement was for a very grubby workhorse, which might suggest that piles of paint and pigments are to be applied, but it is just as effective to apply small amounts of both to achieve the effect, adding more if really necessary at any stage. The principle of only using small quantities at any time to achieve dirty effects is illustrated in many of the images in my flickr photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/laughinglobster/ That's it for now. I expect there will be more after the Great Electric Train Show at Stadium MK. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OK, first draft of the pointwork etc is done, some fettling to do but it's removed from the build board and had a quick clean. Isolation gaps next and some wiring then I can test the running with a real loco or two! I'm also thinking about making the narrow gauge track move to the centre of the standard gauge, without sharing a rail etc towards the fiddle yard exit, then I can make dual gauge cassettes that can be rotated easily. Fire up Templot again!

I had a setback with my Dean Goods. I was spraying on some varnish in preparation for lining, when this happened: Orange peel - or something similar! There followed the usual process, so well described in Dr Mindbender’s insightful ”Coping with Failure in Railway Modelling: The Four Phases of Modeller’s Recovery” (Wild Swan, 2019): Phase 1: Despair (”Why me, Lord?”) Phase 2: Resentment (”Stupid model!”) Phase 3: Detachment (”It's only a model.”) Phase 4: Comeback (”Bring it on, orange peel!”) Moving from phase 1 to 4 can take hours or years, depending on circumstances. I have projects in the cupboard that seem permanently stuck at phase 2 (resentment)! In this case it went a bit faster. I was at stage 3 (detachment) and about to reach for a wagon kit when a sudden surge of inner strength (a.k.a whisky) prompted a search for "how to strip paint off a glued model". The results suggested that a bath in IPA might do the trick. It did, with a little help from a tooth brush. Things are now more or less back on track. Due to the 'toothbrushing' and rubbing with Wet & Dry, the edges seem to have lost a little crispness in the process (this is styrene after all, not brass) but it's not too bad, and I'm just happy that the whole thing didn't fall apart. Re-painting is now underway. Phew!

During South Pelaw’s outing to Expo EM North a few weekends ago I noticed that on several occasions we had a large number (well 3) K1s lined up in the Stella Gill approach roads. In the interests of variety, and because I like their rather stark lines, I thought it would be good to add an Ivatt 4MT to our pool of available locos. I have not seen any evidence of 4MTs at South Pelaw, but it is entirely plausible for one of the engines shedded at Darlo, Gateshead, or Teeside would have at least worked in to Stella Gill. So I bought a very cheap secondhand Bachmann model with a broken return crank from Hatton's, an Alan Gibson EM conversion set, and off we go. Further inspection following the not entirely straightforward separation of body and chassis revealed a broken pickup, but nothing that can’t easily be fixed. First job was to sort out the wheels, crankpins, and balance weights. The first set of balance weights I made from black plastikard were based on the Bachmann wheels, but then I looked carefully at some prototype photos, and the central balance weights not only have a different arc length, but also a smaller inside radius. I think the Brassmasters etch may also be incorrect here ... Next problem was the coupling rods — the holes for the crankpins in the Bachmann rods are rather large. Normal practice would be to solder Alan Gibson crankpin bushes into these holes (see the downloads on the AG website), but in this case the bushes were a very sloppy fit and I was not confident about locating them centrally. To my delight I found that Dave Franks of Lanarkshire models does an etched set, and these arrived today. The centres are spot on for the Bachmann chassis, and although not finished yet, they are going to be a big improvement over the Bachmann offering. My initial investigations suggest that clearances behind the cross head will be OK. We will see... Richard

can fit ho chassis br 93 to get best results test fit all parts first sand and file parts

Those that have followed this content over the last decade will be aware of a layout called Littlemore. It was seen operational with hardly any scenery at the 2mmSA 50th anniversary event and following that as a static demo at Peterborough in 2011. I worked on it some more since then, but not in the last 6 years. It's been sat in my new workshop for the last 4-5 years and been erected once. The latter event revealed that a number of Cobalt motors have failed (about half). Despite making the workshop large enough to erect it in it's entirety it is a tight fit and when folded and stored the design is such that, whilst compact, it only fits in the middle of the floor to one end of the free space. It would be most convenient if it would fit into the cupboards under my work surfaces but that would require a major reworking of the boards. When I built it I made some bold choices - by which I mean untried, untested and novel - and these have come to be problematic as time has passed and progress tried. Truthfully my attention and interest is on other things, and indeed some friends already know what my future plans are regarding a layout. There are no plans to move house (hopefully ever again) and the workshop is established. One good idea for storing the layout is, I think, to be able to store it in the cupboards under one of my work surfaces and swap the layout with various machine tools and other items so that some or all of either the scenic section of a layout, or the tools &c that take bench space can be out at one time. This will create space in the workshop and should make it more pleasant and habitable. If I am starting over with the baseboards then I am starting over with a layout. Today that would not be the same layout since I now desire different things out of the model: Large engines (my favourite being 28xx) on reasonable length trains where rule 1 doesn't need to apply from something in most trains. I have a soft spot for brown vehicles (horseboxes/siphons &c.) and a branch line can only justify so much of that stuff and possibly none of some of the wagons in my stock box. I don't need a model of a station. A siding is mandatory for doing some shunting for operating sessions at home, but beyond that I really just want to see the trains run. (I must be one of those people for whom the layout is a means to display the trains.) For this reason I'm also completely sold on the idea of a roundy layout rather than a fiddle yard to fiddle yard set up - not necessarily for home use where a bit of shunting and use as a grandiose photo plank is what I am looking at, but - for any exhibitions it might attend. I've taken delivery of the baseboard kits already and at 650x450mm for the main scenic boards, 650x300 for the fiddle yard boards they are all portable enough, although they may not all fit in the car at one time with the end boards if more than 1 passenger is present. Littlemore is therefore at risk of being no-more. I feel that I should be more sad to break it up than I think I would be and considered storing it in the loft. Doing so would allow time to make a decision and maybe one day retrieve it and complete it. It was disheartening when I last erected it and found that it needed a bunch of work to get it back to an operational state. Last year there was the call for layouts to be built as a challenge to get something smaller built as a possible entry into getting something going in 2mm, either as a stand alone layout or as the beginning of a larger project for the 60th anniversary event. I've thought a lot about what I could make, decided over and again that I would not or could not build something in the space or time available, and done nothing. I am still tempted to try though. Due to a clash of dates the event has moved back a week meaning that it might be possible for me to attend. I've thought again about a layout, which could potentially reuse a portion of the trackwork from Littlemore to give me a start. A rough calculation on weeks remaining and average modelling hours per week gives a product of around 180 modelling hours remaining. I estimate that's about the number of person-hours that goes into a Great British Model Railway challenge layout during the show. It is evident that they use a large amount of RTP along with their pre-built items. Not only would I like to aim for a higher fidelity I have failed miserably to work to deadlines and do not like to rush things when they are meant to be for pleasure. I still think that maybe it is something I should do as a preparatory prior to the larger project to have something achievable in a short amount of time.

More work with pigments now, to add to the random dirty bits that have been created with Black Smoke. I normally use MIG Productions Industrial City Dirt or Rubbel Dust (that's what it says on the jar) for lighter stains, like ash and sand, and Dark Mud and Track Brown for rusty bits. In this case it will be Rubbel Dust (ash and sand) and Dark Mud (rust). The lighter colour represents ash staining under the smokebox door and sand staining around the sandbox fillers, and the darker colour is applied to seams in the tender and then brushed outwards from there in random directions. The aim in both cases is to just hint at discolouration rather than have large deposits of different colours, and this is effected by using very small quantities (heard that before?) and brushing them out until the effect is achieved.

There are several areas on a steam locomotive where dirt buildup is of a very dark nature. The smokebox, the cab roof, the coal space, the running plate and so on. I like to represent this with a brushed pigment (in this case, MIG Productions Black Smoke) rather than with airbrushed paint. The pigment is applied with a filbert brush and is taken on the brush from the lid of the container, because there is (nearly) always a thin film there consisting of the finest particles. The pigment is added to the model a small quantity at a time and gently brushed out in the direction of either airflow or water flow, depending on area. In this next photograph, the smokebox and the cab roof have been treated. Finally, you may just be able to see that some of the pigment has been placed on the running plate in random places. Further pigment applications will be done to the running plate, but with different colours.

More drawing and laser cutting and the Platform 2 building is coming along nicely. I've now cut the complete building in 3mm MDF and painted it the base brick colours. The best approach to keep the quoins clean and crisp seems to be to 'grout' the main shell with the fine filler I use in the mortar before applying them. The cream coloured quoins don't show the white mortar much anyway and the Vallejo grey wash I add afterwards seems to blend things together nicely. I also cut the parts for the roof from 3mm and 1mm MDF. The hip roof looks ok, it is currently held with tape while the glue dries. The brick quoins have been cut in postcard thickness card, I've tried giving these a drip of 'Roket Hot' super glue as this makes the card go pretty rock-hard . I'll stick these in place later. The most satisfying bit was the windows. I cut these from 1mm MDF and was able to get some ridiculously fine cuts for the glazing bars. I also 'engraved' the MDF in places to get the recess for the sash area. I was very pleased with how these came out. Looking forward to putting this lot together. David

Engine Shed Sidings signal box is now finished and has taken it's place on the layout. The box is constructed from a Churchward Models etched brass kit I picked up from Ebay, and contains a detailed interior from Springside items with armchair and signalmen from Modelu. The final items, shown in the photos, are the two downpipes which are attached using Modelu cast iron holderbats. Only the two nameboards to make. I visited the Ambis stand on Sunday and purchased a pack of etched LMS letters for the signal box nameboard. A bit of a fiddle to make but I'm pleased with the result. Individual letters were cut off the fret, cleaned up and given a coat of Halfords white primer and the board with red. When dry the letters were attached to the board using PVA.

The upper surfaces of this steam locomotive are shown with a heavy layer of soot-based grime. This is achieved by adding more weathered black to the mixture with frame dirt. If you look at the attached photograph you will see the difference between the wheels and the cab roof, for example, but I doubt (hope?) that you will see the join. By gradually changing the proportion of black and brown in the mixture, as work progresses upwards, the chance of 'tiger stripes' is significantly reduced. Once the dark mixture is applied the brushing downwards process begins yet again. One obstacle around the boiler is the handrail, which prevents a smooth movement from the top to the bottom of the curve. I almost overcome this by pushing the brush bristles down into the gap 'twixt rail and boiler and dragging upwards before starting at the top and dragging downwards. This method is then repeated from the handrail downwards. Not perfect, but it does produce random streaking and uneven patches. The dark mix is also applied to the top of the tender in preparation for the rust and water that are to follow, being careful to avoid the real coal that has been placed therein.

The station waiting shelter on platform at Clare is an attractive '1865 style' medium building. The building currently has a sign in the window which says 'coming soon - model railway' but I don't know what is planned or who is building it. Platform 1 by the way is a now a very pleasant little cafe which does a damn good bacon roll. I've been trying to refine my technique for making these because I felt that the quions (the raised brickwork) on the previous attempt was a little too much relieve. The prototype building detail looks like this.. You'll notice that the quion brickwork is only raised by less than an inch and that, in this particular builders' version, the brickwork is yellow brick down the whole corner and not just in the raised areas. My previous model of a GER station building was based on the drawings of Takeley but in the primarily red brick colours. I used very thin ply for the quions in the past but thought I'd try a couple of tests with thin card. Seeing Alpha Mill at Scaleforum on Saturday encouraged me to have a go. The first attempt was a bit rough and ready, this really is a cruel enlargement. Second go I took a bit more trouble over putting together and I'm happier with the outcome. I've got the drawings done for the brickwork of the whole building so I'll try and get the complete building cut and see how we go. David

The next step was a repeat of the previous, really, but I have deliberately posted separately to illustrate the difference that one light coat can make once manipulated. The process is the same - a light airbrushed coat from one end of the locomotive to the other, followed by a vertical brushing with a dry flat shader. It is possible that the paint has dried too quickly for this to have an effect, so there is a process that can address that. The flat shader can be slightly dampened by adding a couple of drops of white spirit to the bristles. This is not done by dipping the bristles in white spirit, but by using a disposable pipette (or similar device) to add a couple of drops and then briefly work the bristles in a circular motion on a paper towel. The damp brush method can be used at any time during weathering to manipulate small amounts of paint, and it works just as well with acrylics as with enamels. You have to be much quicker with acrylics, though, because of the faster drying. With any luck you should be able to see how the manipulation of thin layers starts to have an effect on the airbrushed surface:

The aibrush now turns to the sides of the locomotive and has been loaded with a mix of frame dirt and weathered black. The former is prominent - only a small amount of the latter has been added to the mix. A very light coat has been sprayed along the bodywork and immediately manipulated by brushing downwards with a dry 1/2" flat shader. The paint was drying fairly quickly and the use of a dry brush moved it downwards inconsistently. The result is a deliberately uneven layer of dirt.

When the driving wheels were being airbrushed, the paint was being applied to the complete underframe on each pass of the airbrush. Spraying started off the left hand end of the model and continued along the whole length, not stopping until the airbrush had passed the other end of the model. This produced a relatively even coat of dirt everywhere under the running plate. In later stages this evenness will be disrupted by other materials and effects that are intended to show the differing shades and textures present on the real thing, coming from differing sources and influences. You can see where there is some overspray on the side of the tender and cabside where I made no attempt to protect the original paintwork. This approach was taken because I knew that there would be more paint to add and the overspray would act as a 'base coat'.

Underframe dirt is being represented by Railmatch Frame Dirt, variously altered in shade with random additions of Railmatch Weathered Black. It is applied by airbrush in very thin coats, turning the driving wheels a quarter of a turn between coats. This allows the complete wheels to be dirtied without leaving a paint-less shadow behind rods, motion and other necessary gubbins. When it comes to areas behind the wheels (frames, ashpan, springs and so on) then the airbrush will need to be carefully angled to get the paint into the right areas, possibly over several applications. The most important aspect of this process is to keep the amount of paint deposited from each pass to an absolute minimum, almost to the point of not seeing any difference. You may be able to see what I mean from this sequence. Sorry about the blurred one - my hands aren't as steady as they once were!

Work will start with the underframe and to facilitate this I have used a scrap piece of protective foam channel and inverted the locomotive into it. Like the vast majority of materials and methods I use this is not a Bonwick original idea. The idea came from Tim Shackleton (who may well have copied it from somebody else) and the channel came from Gilbert of this parish (who may well have liberated it from a skip) as a free gift at a Missenden weekend session. While the inversion is in effect the wheels can be freely turned by the use of either a 9v battery or a favourite power supply and a couple of fly leads. In this case I want to turn the wheels slowly so a Gaugemaster DC controller will be used. The enamel paint will be stirred extensively using the Badger paint stirrer (what an imaginative name) to ensure that all of the pigment is fully mixed with the carrier. I don't want tiny particles of unmixed pigment blocking the airbrush at the worst possible moment. On the left hand side you will see strips of 2mm greyboard that can be used as masks to prevent airbrush overspray going where I don't want it to. The rear of the tender has been supported by a folded paper towel to bring the whole length of the locomotive to the same level along the channel. You will have noticed that the spray booth filter will very soon need to be changed for a new one!

Another kit-built Southern liveried locomotive, this time a Maunsell L1 4-4-0 in lined olive green. The PDK kit was built by Chris Phillips: http://www.crphillips-models.co.uk/srmodelspage8.html This locomotive will be filthy! First step to be illustrated this time is the preparation of the workspace. Before commencing any work I have cleared the decks from the last project, laid down clean paper towels to give a little bit of protection to the old bedsheet covering the as-yet unlaid trackbed of my layout, and set out the main tools and materials that will be used. Those that you can see are: Railmatch Frame Dirt and Weathered Black enamel paints Glass dish containing clean white spirit Disposable pipette for transferring white spirit into airbrush cup Old paintbrush for transferring paint to airbrush cup Airbrush (Iwata Eclipse SBS) cup Plastic bottle with Eclipse adapter, containing clean white spirit Various fiddly-pokey tools, just in case MIG Productions pigments - Black Smoke, Track Brown, Dark Mud and Rubbel Dust If I remember, I'll explain the use of each of these as they are utilised.