Chinahand

Hi Stephen,

There are some excellent texture files on the CG Textures web site which are free once you register and will save you the cost of the Scalscenes ones. CG Textures

Thanks for the credit Trevor - but it was actually Kris who responded -

Oops. Sorry about that Kris but a belated thank you for the info.

Thank you so much for that information Steve.

However, although I have already retired I don't actually hit 'Retirement Age' until May so, as I'm not in a great rush and there is a not insubstantial financial benefit, I will postpone applying for membership until then.

Hi Steve,

I really like the look of those etched bufferstops but presume they are only available to members. If that is the case could you please advise me how to join and how much the buffers cost. They look so much better than the plastic Peco ones.

Having said that I presume they are equally at home on standard Code 55 track.

Hi Simon,

It would seem to me that maybe the attic window in the gable end is a little on the large side and that a smaller window would give a better impression of it being an attic.

Notwithstanding the paralax problem that's not a bad piece of work at all.

I would say that if it works then that is a major achievement and you can only get better with practice.

Good afternoon all.

Well it's been another very pleasant day here in SW China. Started a bit overcast but soon cleared away to give bright sunshine and the temperature pushing up to 16°C.

Not looking forward to next week though as I'm heading for Beijing on 3rd Jan and the temperature there at the moment is minus 11°C.

Hi Steve,

When I first read through your post and saw the iron in the vice I had wild imaginations of you getting clobbered by SWMBO when she found out.

As it turns out my fears were unfounded and you have my total admiration for your track building. I just do not have either the skill or the patience for it.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks Stephen,

I'll drop them a line in the New Year.

Hi Stephen,

Those storage tanks and fueling points look very good and even seem to be partly weathered. What make are they, if you don't mind me asking ?

The layout is certainly starting to come to life now.

Well it's 7 a.m. on Christmas morning here and the weather is a b**** awful. 4°C and tipping it down.

SWMBO has decided to stay in bed so I'm getting on with fabricating some N Gauge MBD couplers.

Hi Steve,

Notwithstanding the revised domestic arrangements you are still achieving things that I would not even attempt. I continue to enjoy your thread and look forward to following it in 2011.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year

Mornin' all. Well it's 6:50 a.m. here in China but I suppose most of you are just about thinking of going to bed.

The weather here has turned a bit nasty. After being a nice sunny 19°C for the past few days it's suddenly raining and 10°C. Ah well, at least it's not snowing.

I can fully empathise with you on the pain front Gordon and hope that your treatment proves a positive move towards a cure. Having had a trapped Sciatic nerve for the past 6 months I have become something of a junkie myself. 2 Co-codamol + 2 Tramadol + 1 steroid, 4 times a day certainly takes the pain away but at what price. Added to which the nerve is still trapped and my foot is completely dead.

Sorry for the winge but I just felt the need.

I do feel sorry for all of you freezing your 'whatsits' off in the UK at the moment. It certainly seems that Winter has come with a vengeance.

It's a nice balmy 18°C here at the moment but the forecast is not good for the rest of the week. Gradually getting cold and -2°C on Christmas Day. Apparently there's a cold front coming down from Beijing.

Yeah. Been there, done that, got the T Shirt.

Used to play bass and sing in a band back in the 60s. We were rubbish but we covered the cost of petrol to and from the gigs with a bit left over for a few beers.

Went through a 'revival' in the mid 80s when I was working in Indonesia and teamed up with a bunch other 'old rock'n rollers' (a la Swinging Blue Jeans). We had a couple of Queen songs in our repertoire and even managed to ge onto the BBC World Service that time. Guitar well and truly hung up now but thoroughly enjoying railway modelling again.

Hi there jbqfc (whatever that stands for ) and welcome to RMweb from a fellow N Gauger.

You look to be making a good start and some steady progress which I will follow with interest.

Looks like there is room but I think you would loose some of the feel of the layout. I would also be tempted to loose the facing crossover, maybe moving it off scene to the left to allow better use of the bay.

The station cross-overs will become quite complicated if you introduce a third track into the equation.

Just in case you're not aware of it, Peco Code 55 track is actually Code 80 with the bottom part of the rail buried in the plastic carrier so that the visible rail height is only 55/1000ths of an inch. Because of this you can join Code 80 to Code 55 without problem.

oops...how bad do i feel now!!! Sorry to hear that, hope you fix up soon. Ribs are not good as my uncle will testify...

 

i am using code 80 tyrack but was told to use code 55 points

Is there a particular reason for using Code 80 track as Code 55 does look much better ??

That's what I'm presently planning to do for this, and several other buildings, but the 'Station Hotel' is such an archetypal building that I feel a lot of modellers could find a use for it and that maybe John would give it some consideration.

I would like to have a large hotel building, something like this one which is part of one of the Townscene Backgrounds. I was planning to use this as the basis for a scratch-build by layering and spacing the various layers out to form a low relief structure.

Hi Jules,

Only recently joined RMweb and have just spent a most enjoyable half hour reading your GWR build thread. I must compliment you on a most impressive layout which captures the 'air' of a sleepy GWR Branch Terminus to perfection.

I will be following your further progress with great interest as I am just starting to build a 'U' shaped N Gauge GWR layout which will feature a branch terminus on one side. See my blog for further details.

One thing you will have to make sure of with these larger designs is that you will need access all round as you certainly won't be able to reach all the way across from one side.

I did a 6ft x 3ft 6in design for a friend some time ago which might be of interest.

The basic idea is to have the station platforms 'Off-scene' with the station building and town at high level above the tracks. The local DMU terminus, however, is at the same level as the track and is reached by stairs. The idea was to have a 'dropped' section of the board at the right hand side with a viaduct crossing a canal or river.

I would suggest that, after completing the first colour, you use some Tamiya masking tape to set the straight line and then apply the Maskol. After removing the masking tape you can, if necessary, clean up the line with a scalpel and then paint right up to (and over) the Maskol. When everything is completely dry the Maskol can be easily removed witth warm water.

I know what you mean about apartment living as I have to do all of my messy work out on the balcony. I would suggest, however, that you apply an undercoat of Halfords Grey Primer spray to your models before doing the final livery.

PS. Chinahand use any ideas you like, I'm putting them on here to share - have you got a topic on here?

Hi Simon,

I don't have a topic at the moment but I have started a blog on the building of my new N Gauge layout and have now included a link to it below my signature. Maybe I should have started it as a Topic instead of a Blog but, being new here, I wasn't sure of what the protocols are.

The paint job on the wagon has come out really well for a hand brushed finish. Have you tried using Maskol masking fluid for the line between two colours ?? It overcomes the problem of free-hand painting a straight line.