81A Oldoak

To all our friends, We are pleased to report that the Minerva Blue Circle and Ferrocrete cement vans are on the high seas and scheduled to dock in the UK in the second week of April. Subject to the postal service being available, we expect to be able to dispatch the models after Easter, and we will take orders at this time. This is a limited edition production run. Three different running numbers are available for both vans. The price per van is £47.50 with a flat postal charge of £4 per order irrespective of the quantity. Owing to cancellations, the next shows we expect to attend are RailWells in August and STEAM 12-13 September 2020 at Swindon. The full range of Minerva products is available through our internet webshop, the telephone and email. A normal dispatch service will continue subject to any restrictions imposed during the current pandemic crisis. We will keep you advised Minerva as news is received. Meanwhile, keep well and happy modelling. Chris B and Chris K

Dagga! Dagga! Dagga!

The April 2020 Railway Modeller just arrived in the post. Congratulations Rod for Ramchester as "Railway of the Month". I had that honour 25 years ago with Abersoch in the May 1995 edition. Regards, Chris

You're welcome, Malc. I may revisit the rust on some of the most corroded 16 Tonners to add a little more texture. Regards, Chris K

And I keep promising myself a Class 22 from MM1.

Nice work. I'd be happy to run those on Cwm Bach. Chris K

Very nice. The overall view of the layout helps put everything into context. For anyone looking for a prototype suitable for a small space, the Forest of Dean has much to offer. I sometimes consider the area with its extractive industries, challenging relief and dominance of tank engines to be honorary South Wales Valleys. Chris K

The centre axle will be sprung as is standard on all Minerva 0-6-0 chassis.

Thanks Rod. These B&W shots are from Cwm Bach. I hope you like them. Chris

We don't expect the Class 14 to be able to traverse so-called Peco R2 setrack as it is effectively an 0-8-0. The coupling rods are fully articulated and have a fair amount of side-play. One of the axles will be sprung in the vertical plain to allow for small variations in track. We will experiment with the engineering prototype as soon as it is delivered and will report our findings. Chris K

We don't expect the planned prices for the Class 14 to change unless there is a catastrophic devaluation of sterling. Delivery is planned for late July/early August, but the engineering prototype due at the end of March 2020 is delayed by at least a month due to operational problems arising from Coronavirus travel restrictions between Hong Kong and mainland China and within China. Regards, Chris

And here is 3702 in black and white.

The sun came out briefly yesterday and our roving photographer just happened to be visiting and captured these shots of 3702 in the yard. Regards, Chris K

Andy, Will you be changing the lighting when you move to Ampsher to simulate all the extra sunshine we get south of the M4? Chris

Looks like good progress, Peter. I have attached the handrails and the main soldering jobs remaining are the cab roof, footplate steps and lamp irons. I'll try to do some more next week, but I have a queue of weathering commissions to finish and then preparation for the GOG Spring Show at Kettering. Regards, Chris

To dismantle, unclip the roof, remove the two screws under the van that secure the underframe to the body. Inside the wagon use a small flat-bladed screwdriver to ease the plastic clips holding the body to the underframe. The brake gear can be removed by soaking the glued joints with clean white spirit which after about 30 to 40 seconds will dissolve the adhesive and all removal of the parts. Chris K

Peter, I'm afraid it's still languishing uncompleted in its box. I took it out the other day and really should press on as I am almost at that stage when all of the really boring soldering is finished and its just a matter of sticking castings on. Perhaps your message will prompt me to get a move on. Regards, Chris

Andy, My Class 40 will fit on Cwm Bach, it just looks a bit silly taking up almost half of the length of the platform. It won't run on the sharply curved and steeply graded colliery line. Chris

Andy, I look forward to meeting up when you are settled in. Meanwhile, I have spoken the district superintendent about running rights on Cwm Bach and he is happy in principle. Chris

Someone else didn't like those small portholes. Look at what they did to 1152.

I hadn't noticed the buffers. I have boxes full of spare bits from our locos so it's always worth dropping me a PM to see what I might have.

Thanks Bob. Your praise is much appreciated. Will you be at Kettering? Chris

That looks like a Minerva bucket on the coffeepot.

Latest off the workbench is this Minerva Peckett E that I have weathered for a client. The brief was for a worn, but relatively clean superstructure. I used my favourite method for clean engines of polishing the cleaned areas with T-Cut and cotton buds, followed by a very gentle spray with an airbrush of a sooty colour on the top surfaces. The nameplates are Narrow Planet and the crew figures are ModelU painted by Claudia Everett. Regards, Chris K

No, this not a new thread about an oriental restaurant or take-away. Instead, it is the first bulletin in a series of periodic reports describing the adaptation of my Tonfanau Camp layout from a 1950s/60s British Railways station on the Cambrian Coast line with a private siding serving an army camp to a small wayside station in East Anglia serving an RAF airbase in the same period. I intend the the layout to be easily switchable between the two scenes. The buildings and signals will plug-in replacements and the ER station is inspired by Pulham Market on the erstwhile Waveney Valley line. First off the workbench is this little LNER platelayer’s hut. It is built from the Roxey Mouldings resin kit, which is a robust model of just five parts. I carved away part of one of the corner posts and inserted a small length of wire to represent an exposed portion of the steel reinforcing rod. Pre-cast concrete can be quite difficult to simulate convincingly. For this model, I used Woodland Scenics Road System Top Coat Concrete paint (ST1454). This is a thick acrylic paint that looks like newly laid concrete and can be stippled to provide a little texture if desired. The colour was too bright for my taste so I added some drops of Vajello black and dark earth to tone down the rawness. I then applied a thin black wash and finished with some matt black enamel mixed with a smidgeon dark brown brushed into the corners and then manipulated the paint with a cotton bud. It’s probably best only to tune in occasionally as there will be long periods of radio silence between bulletins. Chris K