CF MRC

Well, there’s a thought. Actually, our Valour probably wouldn’t need to have much pulling power as our twelve wheel Pullman’s are as light as corks and run on Kadee bogies. I still like making locos as solid as possible, however, and therefore heavy: inside every piece of metal there is a shape trying to get out. GC engines are a new book to me, so I perhaps need to do some homework. The engine would look really well in GC livery, but presumably it changed to LNER pretty quickly. Tim

I’ve always thought that one of these would look grand on Copenhagen Fields heading our 12 wheel Pullman train. Is there any possibility of having the artwork shot down to 2mm scale and a suitable tender too? Tim

Sounds like you need to adjust the convergeance as well as inter-pupillary distance John. The way to check that you have them set well is to put your two thumbs together at the working focal point. Close one eye and the thumbs should stay still, ditto for the other eye. Having coaxial illumination is a major boon. Loupes can give you a better posture because they encourage you not to stoop over your work. Tim

We have always used rail top scrapers on Mrs W’s yard. They can be bit fragile, but they do work really well, and as a show progresses, the track gets more & more polished. Tim

My students have sourced these loupes: https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fdp%2FB077Q8CJY2%3Fref%3Dyo_pop_ma_swf&data=01%7C01%7C%7C0f8863245f02428d37b808d633562ad1%7C8370cf1416f34c16b83c724071654356%7C0&sdata=VFULhafi0K6yV%2F1VjZWSttS0u5fNsnZ6AYTNMKpipQs%3D&reserved=0<https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fdp%2FB077Q8CJY2%3Fref%3Dyo_pop_ma_swf&data=01%7C01%7C%7C111d7a0efa6b41779f9f08d638bcc37c%7C8370cf1416f34c16b83c724071654356%7C0&sdata=N6DKQgXm%2BYhk%2Fnsm3FCXTe4li2XupoFOkje0TgPe4uk%3D&reserved=0> They are incredibly good value, with reasonable optics. They cannot be fitted with prescription lenses, however. Obviously, not quite in the league of the ones I use, but the box is pretty good anyway! Tim

Not a very exciting picture this one, but shows a bit of a re-wire at the northend of CF: we sustained plug damage at our last show. However, it does show our baseboard construction rather well, especially the very long joining bolts. Our efforts (all due to Mike Randall actually) in this department have paid off, as the joints and baseboards are still as good today as when they were made 34 years ago. CF will be at Wakefield in November 16-18th. Our new MRC S7 layout, ‘Bow Junction’ uses an identical baseboard construction, but slightly different joiners. Tim

As this has become a bit of a golden oldie reminiscence class, does anyone know much about the Merco brick papers? Colin Albright is researching them on behalf of the HMRS. I will ask at the MRC, but even our members are not that old nowadays.... Tim

I prefer the small boilered Atlantics. A natural progression from a Single. Tim

We have used Tufnol as a dentine analogue in crown - luting cement - fatigue load testing models. Tim

Now there’s a thought. Ivory has similar properties to Tufnol. So we could make muffs from it and I’ve spent the last 30 years developing suitable adhesives for it. Hang on though, wouldn’t look good if 2mm modelling caused the decimation of the world’s elephants, would it? Tim PS (added after Nigel’s comment) Actually, a correctly sized incisor would even have a pilot hole down the middle and the composite matrix fibres (collagen) optimally aligned for strength.

I get my blacking solution from Frosts https://www.frost.co.uk/frost-metal-blacking-solutions.html The metal must be completely clean. Dunk the part in the metal black and agitate the solution around it with a brush. Remove from solution once it appears to be going black, rinse it and blot dry the component with a paper towel. If the blacking comes off, then re-immerse it and start again - I sometimes use a fibre glass brush in the solution to really get it to bite. Blacking solutions are toxic, so wear gloves, or don’t touch. Brass & nickel silver will go browny-black, steel will go black. If you aren’t going to paint the item then coating it with light oil will give it a semi matt finish and stop it rusting (a technique used a lot on my traction engine). The chemical blacking acts as a good anti flux when soldering, so bits need to be cleaned up accordingly. Solder does not chemically blacken. Crankpin washers and other soldered bits can then be blacked with a magic marker. Tim

Eeee, but it were tough....., In my day, we filed the teeth on the gears to make them round (yes seriously). Tim

Can you tell what it is yet? Well it’s fairly obviously two sets of Association etched rods. The one in the foreground is sold for the modern Farish Jinty conversion, whilst the rather more robust version is also sold for Farish conversions. I think that the one in the foreground is too delicate, being only 10 thou thick across the rods, as it is half etched both sides. Anyway, the thicker ones were used for the Farish Jinty conversion below: After one days work, it now needs some couplings and weathering; the chimney has been replaced with a correct shaped casting. Quite ironic that the previous Grafar Jinty had a good chimney and poorly shaped dome. It runs really rather well, although I had to make new plain muffs, as the supplied ones were a touch too loose for my taste. All the running gear was chemically blackened before assembly. All in all, a really good introduction to making finescale locos - who would have thought that thirty years ago we would have such high quality commercial models available? Tim

What always amazes me is how many people get confused with North and South on CF, but then I suppose it’s not surprising that not everyone has an intimate knowledge of the ECML, just north of KX! Tim

It was great meeting up with the Northen lads and especially fellow ivory carver, Jim. Tim

The Missenden team were not tutors, but participants in the modelling courses. Tim

Except CF has taken 30+ years, not 3 days!

Very pretty, but immensely thick cab side sheets. Could probably be thinned down with a scalpel tho’. Tim

Summer has seen me working on bigger projects Andy. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/parkinsons-miniaturesteamrun Normal service will resume mid September. Richard Wilson has been re-working the control systems on the NLR. Tim

That presentation reminds me of a 1:700 scale Mikasa model that I made for a Japanese friend of mine a few years ago. This followed a visit to the real ship in Japan - I hand delivered the model to him, next time I was over. Tim

Unfortunately, the lifting link arrangements on a P2 absolutely preclude making it work as they are tucked inside the motion support bracket, rather than being forward, as in the 9F, or behind as in the LNER Pacifics. There is simply no room for the link to be made to work. Tim

I haven’t followed this thread particularly, but wouldn’t one of the magnificent LNWR Royal Carriages make a rather good ‘must have’ model? Tim

I got this train set (long gone) for my Christmas present, probably 1964 and never stopped since. Interesting that it cost £7.38 (rounded up). Prior to that, an O gauge clockwork set. Tim

Afraid only the centre doll works Graham with a wire up the inside of the post. The signalling is accurate for the area as far as it goes at present: there are, however, far more signals in Belle Isle than we will ever be able to make work, but really important and conspicuous ones will function. With respect to this signal, the trains would obviously be safe to stop at the relevant home signal in Belle Isle, but either the engine or certainly the guard would have been in the tunnel, hence the notice. Tim