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As described in my previous blog post i have been improving (attempting to) a Dapol meat van kit i previously built as per the instructions. This involved scratch building some new doors. The original paint job was phoenix bauxite weathered with powders and decalfix wash. This appeared too dark and was not helped by the oversized decals supplied in the kit. I didn't bother stripping the paint, simply scraping away the decals and a layer of halfords grey primer over the top. Next, as used by @46444 i painted a layer of tamiya nato brown over the top. Decals from modelmaster were cobbled to make a representation of a sixties livery (no they are no strictly right for this vehicle but are all in the correct position) Next, i washed over an enamel black diluted in white spirit. I recalled white spirit and acrylic paint are not good bedfellows. The wash dried and was then rubbed away with a white spirit soaked cotton bud. This begins to remove the paint also. Next, a cocktail stick was used to scratch away some of the paint. This stage was sprayed with a matt varnish as it was quite glossy. Next I will use powders on the under frame and some rust effects on the corner bracings. Cheers for now. Dave

Another vehicle to add to the London & Birmingham Railway layout I will never have! However, that’s never an excuse not to make a model of whatever you fancy is it? This little van is from a drawing by Joseph Wright of a water ballasted ‘break waggon’ pre1845. The drawing gives his London address which makes it a very early vehicle, so just right for Bricklayers Arms (if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s for completely the wrong railway), but let’s not worry about that. Excellent masters (as always) by Simon Turner and cast as a kit. Went together well so I might just have to make another one...

Whilst I am waiting for the weathering paint on the 74XX chassis to harden off, together with the matt varnish on the loco body, I've set up my circle of Lima track again, to run a few RTR offerings in. Yesterday I gave a Hornby W4 Peckett (PoLA blue livery) and a Model Rail Sentinel (WD livery) a good few hours stretch each. Both are destined to be 'military' locos on 'Bethesda Sidings', making occasional trips down the light railway to Bethesda yard. New nameplates were obtained from Narrow Planet some time ago. Currently on the circuit is this B2 Peckett (sorry for poor focus): I'm not sure what to do with this one. I had originally planned to keep it as an OO model and run it on both 'Bethesda Sidings' and 'Bleakhouse Road', but I have a feeling that the flanges on the B2 are (for some reason) very slighly larger than on the W4. The reason for saying this, is that the W4s all run very happily through my 'OO-SF' A5 crossover on 'Bethesda Sidings', whereas the B2 doesn't seem to like it as much and I get flanges impacting on the chaired track. If I'm right about this (I haven't measured the flanges as yet or compared them in close up), then it's likely that the B2 will have to be converted to P4 and used on 'Callow Lane' as an NCB loco. Whether that involves waiting for a replacement chassis kit or perhaps scratchbuilding a chassis, I don't know either, although quite possibly the former, given that converting it to P4 isn't very high on the priority list (pity, as it runs rather sweetly on the Lima circle of track). Next up after the B2 will be a Hornby 'Terrier', on which I suspect the slightly larger flanges are also present. This one didn't run quite as sweetly as the B2, so if running in doesn't improve it, a replacement chassis might be the order of the day.

One of my all time favourite models is Mainline locomotive Mars. I kept my original purchase from 1983 and a couple of years ago I upgraded the model with a Bachmann mechanism. I think it is still an attractive engine with its Fowler Tender. The Mainline model of Mars was relatively expensive, I am guessing to cover the cost of the ‘new’ improved Fowler Tender which I think was all new tooling – that despite Mainline getting access to the older Airfix 4F / 2P designs. 45698 Mars – Mainline model with Bachmann mechanism I have been taking an interest in the reported sightings of Jubilees on the Port Road as discussed on Dan’s RMweb thread about his model of Stranraer Harbour. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/140736-building-the-station-stranraer-‘themed’-loft-layout-1959-64/ During the 1960s Mars was frequently recorded at Carlisle – with a Stanier Tender! Thank you Pete (Courtesy ‘Fairburn 42244’ https://flic.kr/p/cuXpsw) Where did Mainline’s Fowler Tender come from? A further search of people’s images confirms that back in LMS days Mars was paired with a Fowler Tender which it kept until the late ‘50s. Thank you David (Courtesy ‘davids pix’ https://flic.kr/p/bwbHo2) Other pictures indicate that Mars received its Stanier Tender and Late Crest as early as 1959. Therefore Mars as portrayed by the Mainline model would not be correct for the Port Road and Stranraer in the 1960s. One Jubilee model that is recorded as being at Stranraer in the 60s was Orion. I bought my original Mainline model new in 1981 for £17.95 only to sell it in 2007 to raise funds to buy one of Bachmann’s new unrebuilt Patriots. Moving forward I have purchased another Mainline Orion. It has been given a Bachmann mechanism, cab glazing and brass safety valves. I think a good model. 45691 Orion –Mainline model with Bachmann mechanism, cab glazing and brass safety valves I need to share a couple more images of Orion number two. First there is a view taken from the sales details and then a view immediately upon receipt. It would seem that Orion owners should have an Aga! Mainline Orion – advertising detail Mainline Orion – on receipt Jubilee Amethyst is another of my original Jubilees that I kept from new. Bought in 1985 it was given a Bachmann mechanism around 2013. As time goes by I am beginning to think the 1950s BR livery scheme with lined black engines and red and cream coaches was actually very smart. I think I now prefer it to the all maroon coaches and Brunswick green engines. 45700 Amethyst - Mainline model with Bachmann mechanism After the demise of Mainline Palitoy, Bachmann reintroduced the Jubilee fitted with a ‘can motor’. One of these early models that interested me was Invincible which I had photographed at Carlisle Citadel in 1962. 45715 Invincible at Carlisle Citadel August 1962 The first Bachmann Jubilees came with cylinders fitted with plastic slide bars. Other will confirm but I suspect the wheels were also over wide and chunky. I gave my model of Invincible a new mechanism and some black coloured ‘247’ etched plates. Bachmann Jubilee 45715 Invincible with upgraded mechanism and 247 etched plates There was one other ‘old’ Bachmann model with a Fowler Tender that had eluded me. That was 45568, Western Australia. 45568 Western Australia- Bachmann model with refurbished cab windows The Bachmann model that I tracked down turned out to be a bit of an oddity. It was little used and had bright wheel rims and motion. However it had bright metal slide bars and thin profile wheels. As a result I haven’t upgraded the chassis – although I have replaced the nylon gear to the centre drivers. Furthermore all the chassis fixing screws for both the tender and the engine are cadmium plated cheese head screws. In all the years I have been playing with Mainline and Bachmann models the chassis fixing screws have always been blackened counter sunk screws. Bachmann 31-152 aka 45568 Western Australia – the odd cheese head body fixing screws Bachmann 31-152 aka 45568 Western Australia – the odd bright metal slide bars For comparison I have included a picture of an early Bachmann Jubilee / Patriot chassis with black plastic slide bars. (The early Scot chassis was similar but the wheel balance weights were crescent shaped.) Early Bachmann Chassis for Jubilee or Patriot At a first glance the old Mainline and Bachmann locomotive bodyshells are identical. However when the Mainline bodyshell is fitted with a Bachmann mechanism the cab sits too low and a packing washer is needed beneath the cab. Packing beneath the Mainline cab when fitted to Bachmann chassis The need for the washer becomes clearer when the Mainline and Bachmann mechanisms are compared – the Mainline mechanism is made to sit 1mm higher (why?). Mainline versus Bachmann chassis The cab glazing can be another issue with these old models. Most frequently the clear plastic for the right hand side (the side that lies in contact with the polystyrene tray) becomes stained yellow. The yellow colouring is Bromine which was added to the plastic during manufacture and which with ageing leaches to the surface of the plastic. (I would say the plastic lenses in my spectacles are beginning to show the same issue!) A trick that I have successfully used to remove the discolouration is to immerse the stained item in hydrogen peroxide solution and leave to stand in bright sunlight – you do need some good ultra violet radiation. My bottle of peroxide solution was bought at the local chemists as a weak disinfectant / mouth wash and is marked ‘20 VOLS available oxygen’. Two days of immersion with bright sunlight works wonders. I did notice here in Scotland that with poor sunlight I had left the bits in the solution for nearly a week and thought the clear plastic became slightly smokey. Cab glazing after one day in hydrogen peroxide solution – still some residual yellow colouring. (Note the flower arranging glass nugget to hold the plastic below the surface.) All clear glazing after two days treatment in bright sunshine One other issue that affects all Bachmann Jubilees, Patriots and Scots, and probably the Mainline and Replica versions is that the chassis fixings for the top motion bracket can break. Broken Bachmann chassis fixing The key to gaining access is to remove the circlip on the centre driver. I used one of my wife’s fine brass dress making pins. Dismantling With the motion detached the plastic moulding for the support bracket can usually be pulled out from the mazac chassis. This allows access to the tiny screws that hold the metal parts to the plastic and to the chassis fixing holes which can be cleaned of residual glue and broken plastic. For the cleaning I used the blade of a tiny instrument maker’s screwdriver. Cleaned I replaced the broken fixing pins with a short piece of copper cut from the earth wire of some surplus domestic mains cable. Ready for reassembly I guess the clever part is drilling out a hole in the plastic moulding to accept the copper wire. The Bachmann plastic is very soft and a suitable size hole can be created using the same instrument maker’s small screwdriver as I used to clean out the holes in the chassis. Nearly 40 years difference, Mainline Mars from 1983 and Bachmann Baroda from 2012 I do like my Jubilees! Acknowledgements Many thanks to 'Fairburn 42244' and 'davids pix' on Flickr for allowing me use of their historic images of 45698 Mars.

In answer to my question - when it has no wheels. I'm going to look at containers today. In particular the BP1 type. This all started a out 10 years ago when I bought some cheap containers at a swapmeet. I looked on the internet and bought some POWsides transfers for them. I then researched and found the number provided by POWsides (BP-1723) was not the same as the containers I bought. The Containers and transfers were put away and forgotten about until 2 weeks ago. I found the transfers when looking for some other ones. I checked the Atkins, Beard & Tourret wagon bible and found a picture of the exact container on page 518 (plate 712). The container is diagonally planked with doors in one end. The containers were purchased in 1936 as a batch of 5. There is a picture of 1722 on page 517 - looking closely, the diagonal planking is a different width! I'd love to link to a photo of one, but they were very camera shy and I can't find any internet images of them. The same photos as in Atkins are also in Russell's wagon appendix as full page images. I decided to scratchbuild one as a lockdown project. What info was in Atkins? Surprisingly, not much info available. No info on size and no diagram. I decided to try and draw a design based on the photos. Each square represents 3" or 1mm in OO. The shaded areas were to check that the transfers fitted. I've guessed at 15' x 7'6" footprint. Next, I scribed some plasticard and cut out the pieces. Stick together, add plastrut detailing and 10thou plasticard corner plates. Paint chocolate brown (still need to do the roof grey). I've never used POWsides dry transfers before (no links to company). I found them to be easy to use with a soft pencil. I haven't done that since Letraset in the 90s! I'm really pleased with the result. I think I will chain it permanently to a conflat but I need to give it 12 years worth of grime first. Keep safe in the lockdown Will

Here is the latest update from my Class 89 project...

In commenting on an earlier post, Michael Edge pointed out that the visible diameter of a locomotive boiler is greater than the diameter of the metal boiler itself and he suggested that I should have bought a larger diameter tube for my model of 'Tantalus'. I had already been thinking about how to add the visible boiler rings and then had the idea “why not 3D-print the boiler cladding?” After all, the prototype boiler was metal, whereas the cladding was initially of wooden planks, then with an iron covering over the wood, and later, a range of different materials, such as asbestos, were used. In all cases, the cladding was an insulator and, therefore, non-metallic. So, I would only be following prototypical practice if I added a PLA cladding as the insulation on my own model boiler. A few years ago, I measured the cladding thickness on one of the boilers at Didcot Railway Centre, using my ever-ready measuring stick. (Sadly, they wouldn’t let me strip some cladding off ‘Iron Duke’, to measure that one). Two inches thickness translates into 0.67 mm in 4mm-scale. All I needed to do was to print a cylindrical sleeve of 0.67mm thickness and add the visible bands in the appropriate places. This last requirement gave me some food for thought but I eventually came up with a very simple method. The Gooch Boiler had three intermediate bands, dividing the length of the boiler into four equal segments, with an additional band at each end, adjacent to firebox and smokebox respectively. My easy solution was to design one section, with a band at one end and then copy the additional segments and join them all together, to create the complete cladding. That left one additional ring to be added at the final end. I illustrate the steps, when using ‘Fusion 360’ below: After extruding the first segment, with its ring, I copied it to make 2 rings and copied again to make 4. For the final ring, I split the ‘body’ 0.5mm from the end and extruded the top part to make the final ring. When printed, the cladding sleeve looks as shown below (taken on the printer bed): The printed tube slid smoothly but firmly over the brass-tube boiler: The difference in diameter is not that obvious but another advantage of this method was that I could include the boiler bands in the 3D print, so solving a secondary problem in completing the model. My model of 'Tantalus' now looks as shown below, the measured outside diameter of the clad boiler being 19.3mm. There is, of course, quite a lot of work still to be done on my model, in terms of ‘fixtures and fittings’ Mike

I’ve built a new ‘one-size-fits-all’ traverser for my Farthing layouts. My latest layout - The Stables - has two levels, so I needed a traverser which could accommodate that. After I had proposed various harebrained schemes, Stu suggested the principle that I have sketched above. This was clearly the way to go. But how? After mulling it over I looked at my old traverser (above) and realised that I could kill two birds with one stone. I prefer to have just one traverser for all my layouts, and the old one has served this purpose well. I called the old traverser “The Bumblebee” because it defied all sorts of basic engineering principles – yet still worked. The old Bumblebee was nevertheless beginning to show signs of wear and tear, so I decided to build a new one that could serve all of my layouts, including the new two-level one. For this version I used wood instead of foamboard. With woodwork I just sort of bumble along, so the 'Bumblebee' moniker is also appropriate for Mk2. On Mk1 I used tubes to guide the traverser. It worked but was noisy, which led to certain domestic tensions when my wife wanted to watch TV and I wanted to shunt! So I found these “linear sliding guides” on ebay instead. While not as silent as I had hoped (woe is me!) they do slide nicely. The angle braces are from various strata of my “can’t be bothered to sort all this” drawer. Masonite from a broken Ikea frame. Adjustable legs from a Danish timber merchant. I have now standardized on them for my layouts. The rubber pads are a heavy duty type from 3M, essential as they prevent the legs from sliding on the tabletop. The cassette was re-used from Mk1. One end of it serves my three single-level layouts (track 1-5). The other end serves the new two- level layout (track 6). In order to serve all the layouts, I had to come up with a simple way of shifting between regular single-level operation on my existing layouts, and two-level operation on the new layout. To accommodate this, I made the cassette hinged. When shifting to two-level mode, it is tipped to one side, a strip of cork is placed on the wooden blocks, and the cassette is tipped back in place. The adjustable legs are then raised on one side of the traverser only. Looks more complicated than it is! With this, Stu’s original principle has been achieved: Rising gradient, level track. For operation, traverser and layout are simply pushed together. The 3M rubber pads prevent any sliding. The adjustable legs make vertical alignment easy. At the bottom level, a simple stop block is used to ensure that the cassette stops in the right place. This can be rotated down when the traverser is used on my other layouts. At the upper level, the traverser is stopped automatically as it reaches its outer limit. To avoid the cassette sliding down from this position, I have tentatively fitted some slightly tapered wooden blocks beneath the cassette deck. When they engage the angle braces there is a slight resistance, enough to hold the cassette in place. I'm wondering whether this particular solution will last, but let's see. I have tested the traverser on all the four Farthing layouts, and so far I’m pleased with the operation. Here it is working the Down Bay on the (extendable) dining table. The stop block is a recycled kitchen sponge, which squeezes into place. As you can see I am not one to worry about scenic breaks! With the traverser done I can now run trains on the new layout . Below is a 1-minute video to celebrate.

A new kit for Hardy's Hobbies, announced today; I've been working on this one for a while. It's been a joy to do, as the chassis (a Hornby B2) is an almost perfect match, and none of the dimensions have needed to be compromised to make it fit. This leaves plenty of space to add strengthening, and lots of spaces to add weight - coupled with the already good chassis, this one should run beautifully. However, I always make unique versions of the Hardy's kits to run on my own layout, so the question here is - what tweaks should I make? I could play around with the sandboxes, toolboxes and ladders a bit, or maybe go for a different chimney style... (Modelling pictured by Andy Hardy, pre-production test model)

Truth be told, my miniscule branch terminus (provisionally nicknamed "Tinories") probably wouldn't have had any fixed signals in 1840. All that would have been needed to control the trains at that time were a pocket watch (so that a train could be given a five or ten minute start along the line before the following train was allowed to depart) and some red flags for the railway policemen to wave frantically in an emergency. But I've always had a soft spot for the rotating disc signals used by companies like the Great Western and the London & Croydon. It's very easy to build a rotating signal: you just need a stick, a disc and a drop of glue. In my case I used a length of skewer, collected during a visit to a posh burger joint, and the flat head of an office drawing pin: I wound some copper wire around the pole of the signal to make a bracket for the cam mechanism that was going to turn the post through 90 degrees. This was easier than I expected - I just had to use a pair of pliers to keep squeezing the (reasonably) soft and pliable wire into the correct shape: Then I glued the wire bracket to the post, remembering to glue it at 45 degrees to the face of the disc so that the cam would be able move the signal into the two positions required (disc facing the driver for "Stop", and disc turned sideways though 90 degrees for "Go"): All that's needed is a hole drilled in the baseboard to hold the bottom of the signal post, with just enough slack to allow it to turn freely. I added a small length of brass tubing at the bottom of the signal post just to make the arrangement look a bit more visually interesting (and because I've had it in the spares box for years and never found a use for it before): I used a coffer stirrer rod to operate the signal, with a piece of copper wire running through the bracket to move it from side to side: And that was it. Surprisingly simple and effective, even if I do say it about myself. Oh, and does it actually work? Of course it does:

Here's another contribution to the RMweb "Horse Drawn Weekly" as Dave calls it. My efforts don't even get close to his superb models, but a horse is a horse as they say in Farthing. Today's subject is a wagon from Ratkin & Son, makers of finest jams and marmalades (or so they claim). The build was inspired by scenes such as this one, showing the GWR sidings at Henley and Sons cyder works (sic) in Newton Abbot, October 1908. Source: Getty Images. Embedding permitted. The wagon is a straightforward build of a Dart Castings kit. As usual I modified the parts lightly to allow the front axle to rotate freely, which adds a bit of flexibility when positioning the wagon. I don't know whether trade/industry wagons followed the local styles of farm wagons. If so I'm in trouble, as my model isn't a Wiltshire type, where Farthing is located. An excuse could be that it was acquired secondhand from elsewhere, or built to the standard design of a large manufacturer. The example above was built by the Gloucester Wagon & Carriage works (who also made horse drawn vehicles). The style of the wagon didn't allow for lettering directly on the sides, so I made a sign. Whilst browsing a discussion of marmalade on CK's Bethesda Sidings thread, I realized that I had used the Danish spelling. It's the little details that reveal who we are, as Poirot would have said! Anyway, a new sign was made, and I took the opportunity to modify the name. If you're wondering about the point of the name, there's a clue in this photo. The rear flap was detailed with interior bracing and chain from Cambrian models. An Andrew Stadden figure was added, and some of those nice bulky sacks from Dart Castings. The horse is also from Dart Castings. I thought I'd have a lighthearted go at a nosebag, made from ordinary printing paper, rolled and glued. Getting a decent fit and fold was surprisingly tricky. As this delightful photo shows, I really ought to add a strap to hold it in place. Source: Wikipedia. Embedding permitted. Wagon done. It is manned by D. Woods, formerly of the GWR and His Majesty's Prisons, now happily employed at Ratkin & Son. So here we are in one of the mileage sidings at Farthing Old Yard. Obviously there is work going on - but, er, what exactly? Ah, an unloading procedure of sorts. The work seems to be all done. The loco crew must be very impatient, as they are already removing the goods wagon. Quite unusual. The siding has been cleared and we get a better view. A delivery of low grade oranges has been received, soon to be recycled as Ratkin's Finest Quality Marmalade.

I've been finalising a batch of horse-drawn vehicles for Farthing. First one done is a light one-horse dray – or trolley, as the GWR called them. It's of a type that some GWR drawings refer to as the “Birmingham pattern”. There was a variety of designs of this type from the 1890s onwards, but the main distinguishing feature was the front-mounted protective tarp, and a carter’s box seat beneath it. The name shouldn't be taken too literally. Photos and drawings show that they were widely distributed around the system, including at e.g. Slough and Ilfracombe. I’ve previously scratchbuilt another Birmingham pattern vehicle, but that took ages so this time I decided to modify a generic Dart Castings kit (ref L45). I found a drawing in 'GWR Horsepower' which is a reasonable fit, give or take a mm here and there. The following photos show the main steps. I initially fitted bolections to the sides, but later dispensed with them (see below). Probably shouldn't have. The carter was composed of a Langley body and head from the Andrew Stadden range. The horse is from Dart Castings. The subtle colouring of our equine friends is hard to capture, I find. Here I tried dry brushing lighter colours on a dark base, i.e. white from below and light brown from above. Works OK in close-up, but once on the layout you can’t really tell the difference! The tarp on these vehicles could be pulled back and draped over the load in case of rain. I folded it from a spare Smiths tarp, cut to size. A central box seat was made for the carter. It's a bit lower than it should be, to accommodate his short legs. Lettering is always a problem for company vehicles. I first used coach lettering off the HMRS sheet as per my earlier model of this type, but wasn’t happy with the result - and the font isn’t right anyway. After much back and forth I had a "modeller's fit", ripped off the bolections, and fitted a simple printed side. It’s not ideal, next time I’ll make my own transfers. Fortunately, photos show much variety in lettering style in the 1900s. The fine chain is from Cambrian, great stuff and still available from H&A Models. The new trolley posed next to my earlier model on the left, which shews a different type of headboard (and no box for the driver, must get roundtuit). The scratchbuilt one has more character I think – but the kitbashed one was a lot quicker! I'll leave it there for now, these entries are becoming too long and unwieldy! More on the other vehicles shortly.

Yard lamps have appeared at Farthing, using a mix of scratchbuilt bits, modified parts from old whitemetal lamps, and modified Andrew Stadden figures. This is an early GWR platform type, based on old photos I have found. There was also a later, more sturdy variant. Thomas Grig, GWR Yard Porter and lamplighter, is looking a trifle worried. He never did like heights. Above is a standard 13ft column lamp. Most GWR yard lamps had hexagonal lamp housing, but the style and decoration of the chimney varied greatly. This one is based on a photo in Vaughan’s "GWR Architecture". On some of the taller lamp types, a ladder was fixed permanently at the center. I assume this was safer than using the cross bars. The Old Yard at Farthing was formerly a station on the erstwhile N&SJR line. A few of the original lamps survived the GWR takeover, as seen here front left. These are modified from the old Mike' Models range. GWR porter Herbert Pocket prepares to clean a lamp. Thanks to Richard whose suggestion inspired this little scene. Herbert discovers that the chimney glass is broken. It's a proper mystery how that happened. The lamps were cobbled together from various parts in my spares box. Here the post from an old Dart Castings lamp is being modified with cross bars and curly bits from brass wire. The glazing on all the lamps was drawn up in Inkscape, then cut and scored on my Silhouette cutter. I used 0,25mm (i.e. 10 thou) PVC glazing from the German “Aeronaut Modellbau” range (ref #7858/32). The glazing is simply folded into shape. Here is a hexagonal example being folded for the GWR lamps. To represent glazing bars, I filled the folding lines with paint and removed the excess. After taking these photos I discovered that it pays to use a darker shade than for the rest of the lamp for this purpose. Frosting was initially a problem, as I used Superglue to fix the glazing in place. However, leaving one "window" open helped the fumes escape. The last bit was then fixed with glazing glue. On future lamps, I will see if a more appropriate glue can be used. The tops on the GWR lamps were built up using prototype photos, bits from the spares box and some plastic rod. In retrospect it would be better to fashion the lamp top cover from styrene as well, using the cut and fold technique. I tried different ways of making the glass chimneys, all with mixed success. I think the most promising way was to use bits cut from "fine glue applicators". The glass chimney in evidence. Looks like I didn't fit it straight. Never mind, time to get on with life :-) Speaking of life: The lamp attendants were made from Andrew Stadden figures. Their limbs bend fairly easily, another advantage of these great figures. Thomas Grig had his arms and legs bent for a suitable pose. Looks like Thomas has made use of a fireman's jacket for the grubby work of tending the lamps. Herbert Pocket was made from one of Andrew Stadden's loco crews, which come with separate arms and heads. The photos show how: I have enjoyed making these lamps. With further experiments they could probably be refined further, but for now I'm happy with them. A final look at Thomas Grig as he surveys the scene. He is in dire need of some equipment for tending that lamp - currently on the workbench.

These days 4mm modellers have an excellent choice of figures from Model-U, Andrew Stadden and Dart Castings - but there's always room for a bit of tinkering! Here are some porters for Farthing Old Yard, modified and pieced together from various sources. The figures have all been attached to something - e.g. a barrow - as I find this helps "integrate" them once placed on the layout. Our first subject mixes a Dart Castings body with an Andrew Stadden head and arm. The barrow is a Shirescenes kit. Below is another Dart Castings/Andrew Stadden combo. The wheelbarrow is a modified Springside kit. Next is this gentleman, a modified Andrew Stadden figure that I bent forward in pursuit of a more casual pose. This chap was made from various Andrew Stadden parts, including his useful loco crew "kit". The basket is from an old Preiser kit. Next is a modified Airfix 1:72 figure with an Andrew Stadden head. The Airfix figures proved a rather difficult material to work with. This porter was built from a mix of body parts from Andrew Stadden figures. The barrow is a modified Langley kit. Lastly a few shots of the "accessories", including some equipment for my lamplighters.

Here are some pictures of a spontaneous modelling decision i took recently. I am sure i have seen this done here and before i knew it i was tearing off the door and bashing some new ones. The doors have a huge gap at the top and oversized hinges to enable an opening action. The roof is also too thick...oh and the decals don't look right to me. Due to slightly heavy handedness the kit doors were broken to new ones fashioned from plastikard. .3mm wire and fuse wire were used to create the locking mechanism. A new roof was made from .3mm plastikard with thin strips cut from the same material for the rainstrips. I also dabbled in a bit of Martin Welch inspired roof degradation. Happy but haven't quite got the great man's finesse! Decals and further weathering to follow. Cheers for now.

Due to a lack of forethought, I found that I hadn't made a large enough hole in the cab rear to accommodate the motor mount. I couldn't get in there with a file so I resorted to a burr in the minidrill to carefully remove the metal. Below you see the body in place on the chassis. If I were to use a similar motor mount in future, I would ensure that it was entirely in the bunker! You can't see it here, but I've also filed down the chassis block so that the body sits at the right height. Thanks to the footplate having a PCB layer underneath, the body is insulated from the side frames. The next job was to prepare the boiler and smokebox. These are made from brass tube, of diameters 8.73mm (11/32") and 9.5mm respectively. These two sizes are nicely telescopic, and a close enough match to the real thing for me. I first cut a length for the boiler, then used the piercing saw to remove the part that would otherwise interfere with the gears and motor. Incidentally, for cutting the tube to length I used the lathe, as I find it easier to get the end square compared filing/sanding after a saw cut. When cutting the smokebox it was a simple matter to cut a representation of the smaller diameter band at the inner end. The smokebox was slit across the bottom, and the previously prepared nickel silver front used to mark where to make the bends. The reverse curve in the smokebox "skirt" was bent using pliers, then it was soldered on to the boiler. The next photo shows my set up for doing this. Since I've never got around to making a proper wooden right-angle for this kind of job, I just rigged one up using a clothes peg that was sitting nearby. I found it useful to attach a piece of tufnol to the boiler with masking tape, so as to be able to hold and position it by hand and also to see more easily whether the smokebox was orientated correctly. The smokebox front was attached last, flat on the bench against the clothes peg. This photo shows it before cleaning up. Here's the boiler after cleaning up and shaping with emery sticks. (I left the smokebox front a little oversize originally to give me some wiggle-room): Finally for today, I soldered on the tank tops. I'm not attaching the boiler yet as it needs to be drilled for furniture and handrails, and I also need to sort out the body fixing hole and screw at the front.

Well, it sort of works... I think I've got a bit more adjustment to do on this, it runs well in one direction, but is a bit chattery and vibrate-y in the other direction (are those real words?). I don't really know the reason for this at the moment, but it might be something to do with the meshing of the gears - they're 3d printed, so nowhere near as precisely made as proper hobbed brass or plastic ones. I hope to address this once lockdown is over, and get a source of better ones.

If this doesn’t fit in with the forum, sorry, I can delete it if needed. I’ve always liked steamships, specifically cargo ships from the turn of the century. And I’ve scratch built my fare share of ships, mostly none than 3 inches long. Then a year ago I made a half hull model of a the first Blue Funnel ship, Agamemnon of 1865. It was all wood and brass, but I still wanted to do a full hull model. Something very much like the Bassett-Lowke ship pictured below. So today I began that endeavor, and two and 1/2 hours in, here we are. The hull has been shaped, but is to tall, this will hopefully be rectified by the removal of the raised bits on the bow and stern, (called islands) and then the shaded area will be cut away, lowering the appearance, and some more material will come off the keel. I’m open to suggestions as to what shipping line to paint it. It will be completely made from wood and metal, no plastic allowed.

Recently had a N gauge 3D printed body arrive to be painted for a commission. The body was well detailed and after a few hours of cleaning the print lines using a sanding stick and a micro chisel. After a coat of primer it was given a couple of coats of Br Green and then the trnasfers added with details around the buffers picked out in red.

The ship is now 85 percent complete. Next it will be moved to the fitting out berth. After it has arrived there, many ancillary detail items will be added, these include: windlasses, winches, anchors and chain, cowl ventilators (photo below), and a propeller. Since this model can also float, ballast will have to be added, I’ve already started this long and lesions process however. Also in the yard is the hull for a tug boat, but I made a fearful mess of cutting the hull so that is currently, err, undecided? The ship is painted in the colors of Brocklebank Line, which whom my grandfather sailed during 1962-63, at the very end of the good times in shipping. A photo of his ship will be below, it photographed on its way to the breakers yard in Turkey, summer 1967. Stay healthy, Douglas

I'm back again. Took a day off as I was in absolutely no mood to do any 3D modelling yesterday. The Class 89 is nearly complete. The following details are still pending:- - Lower body side detail, I think these are bogie mounts that link the bogies to the body. Could be wrong. - Pantograph area. I've decided to make arrangements for Hornby pantographs as Hornby seem to be the only company selling spares in some form or the other. Also Hornby's pantographs all have the same insulator footprint. Our very own pantograph kits match Hornby ones as well. - Cab interior. I have a drawing and a few pics. But still sitting on the fence about it. - Underframe, just got a few more minor details to add. Hope you guys are like it. A huge shout out to @jukebox, @Pete the Elaner and @innocentman for all their help and assistance. Cheers! Hayley

A Monday and Tuesday well spent. Not accurate, but all we've had access to is a very bad quality scale drawing that has errors in it. But hopefully it will be better than the kit currently available. And maybe, just maybe...this might result in one of the mainstream manufacturers doing it once we've finished the CAD. Cheers!

Update time again! A huge thank you to @jukebox and @Pete the Elaner for sending over a lot of pictures of the Class 89. Cannot thank you two enough. Very little is left of the Class 89 now, lower body side detail, roof detail, underframe and pantograph well.

Hey! It's another hour or so put into the Class 89. Some finer details added. The body is almost done. Just looking out for detailed images of the roof and pantograph well. If anyone can help with those, I'd really appreciate it. I've received quite a few PMs about it both online and offline. Thanks for all your kind words and support. Cheers

More progress made on the Class 89's body... Hope you guys like it? Cheers, Hayley

Done for the day...happy with the progress. I'll get on with the pantograph well tomorrow. Any feedback is much appreciated. I'm looking to make it better and as close as possible to the level of detail achieved by RTR models. If the CAD images interest you and if you want it in kit form, drop me a PM and I'll selling this as a kit. Cheers Hayley.

Here’s an update on the sidings at Farthing, or "Old Yard" as I have now dubbed this part of the station. I have reached the point where detailing can begin. I'm going for the uncluttered look, although a few weeds etc will be added at some point. Inside the "biscuit shed" we find an old timber built buffer stop. Like the shed itself, it is a survivor from N&SJR days, before the GWR gobbled up the proud little station and turned it into a goods yard. Being a modest lot, the N&SJR built their stops from coffee stirrers. Elsewhere, standard GWR stops rule the day. These were made from the rather nice offerings from Lanarkshire Models. I've modified the kits slightly by removing the left hand section of plain whitemetal rail, as I needed to have proper rail as far in as possible. The finished kits have a nice chunky appearance. They look like they could, er, stop a train. Close-ups can be so cruel. Someone will be having a word with the PW gang about those chairs, not least the missing one! Mind you, the real thing wasn't perfect either. This was cropped from a larger photo, to illustrate that it’s OK if you bend the stay bar... I've also made some point levers, originally from the Southwark Models range, now available from Roxey Mouldings. They appeared around 1900 and can be seen in some sidings, yards and sheds of the period. There were two types and the kit allows for both. I chose the simplest type. I chickened out on the soldering. Gel type superglue worked fine though. The only issue I had was with the weights, which are built up from layers. They do need opening out, and the handles need slimming down to accept them properly. As you can see, I struggled a bit with this. This cropped detail from a larger photo shows how the levers tended to be fitted on extended timbers, with the rodding often - but not always - boarded over. The boards were arranged in various ways, sometimes parallel to the track, sometimes perpendicular to it. I wanted to suggest something rudimentary so went for this arrangement, although these low shots suggest that I should perhaps add some boards at the side. I wonder how shunting horses navigated the levers? Another crop here, showing what seems to have been the standard painting scheme, ie weight and main lever was white, the rest was black (including the tip!). The points - so nicely built by John Jones - use a moving timber as tie bar. I laid the boards to accommodate this, so that the timber slides below the boards. I really must trim that pin! I've also added some fishplates. On my last layout I used the etched ones on the left, but felt that they were virtually unnoticeable. So I decided to experiment and use the plastic variant this time, which has more pronounced moulding. These are intended mainly for isolating gaps, so a slight modification of the rear side was needed. But alas, I hadn't thought it through. The result looks OK from a distance, but in close-up they appear quite thick. Of course it doesn't help that there is no actual rail join in this case! I also had problems with wheels bumping on them, so had to file them down a bit. I'm not blaming the product, it's probably due to my incorrect use of them. This is what happens when irreverent amateurs try to be clever with finescale products A loading gauge has also been made, using the Smiths kit of the simple, early variant. The light stone livery may be a little controversial, as many modellers paint them white. However... ...looking at photos from the period suggests light stone on this type. Above is one example cropped from a larger photo, PM me for others. Stephen Williams' Great Western Branchline Modelling is onto something similar in his livery guide (Vol 2 p71). He says dark stone for base of post and white for the rest, but adds that some may have been all over light stone. Could it be a period thing, or was there perhaps a difference between wooden and metal types? Finally, a note on the backscene. After much back and forth, I ended up with my usual solution: A simple embankment wall. Once again I used the vacuum formed product from Langley. It isn't particularly well detailed but I feel it works OK as an unobtrusive background that adds to the atmosphere but doesn't steal the show. Such heavy infrastructure may seem like overkill for a handful of sidings, but I wanted to avoid a rural look, and indicate that we are seeing the margins of a larger yard and station. The embankment wall thereby forms a recurring feature across all my 3 Farthing layouts, as seen in the medley of photos above. I’m hoping this will help emphasise that each layout shows a small part of the same overall station. So if you think it is all becoming a bit repetitive, I have achieved my goal....