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Masks are social badges to let people show they care. They might as well wear a green lanyard or a poppy. A double jab is hugely more effective. If show organisers want to do something useful they could keep the windows open and admit only adults. And if they wish to impose rules on visitors e.g. time limits or compulsory mask wearing, they need top make this clear in their pre-show advertising not at the door. - Richard.

Yes and no - depends what I try to couple it to. It is ok coupled to a loco - but only because all of my 00 locos are 4- and 6-coupled things with the back of the Kadee knuckle forward of their buffers. Example on no.2 radius, the well tank has a no.19 coupler: It would be sensible to put the screw further along the tail of the coupler, but this is my only 00 bogie coach. Edit: I know this makes my layout look ridiculous. More representative photos here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/152888-shelf-marshes-first-attempt-at-a-cameo-layout/&do=findComment&comment=4473124 - Richard.

This looks rather good. I wonder if the larger axle support could be usefully integrated into the beam, offset a little from the middle? And above this, a bracket to hold one of the miniature coreless motors which seem all the rage in RTR at the moment? Doing this would allow for an 0-4-0 or 0-6-0. If the beam were to be long enough, the driven axle of an 0-6-0 could be the centre axle or one of the outer axles. Do remember, the wheels of H0 locos are smaller than those of 00 ones. So the gear on the driven axle may be quite small. We might need an idler between this gear and the worm. You must let us know how the test sample works out. - Richard.

I would like to factor in the location of the first show I attend. For example at the charity shop, the rate of infection in the district is currently around 1 in 1,200 not 1 in 260. The true infection rate of people at a hypothetical show near here is going to be even lower than 1 in 1,200 because the show won't attract people from the demographic groups who refuse vaccination. So say, 1 in 1,500. As a male under 60 (just), my probability of death unjabbed might be around 1 in 1,000, reducing to say 1 in 10,000 now I am double-jabbed. So may 1 in 15 million? Here, I would feel lucky. Then again, supposing the infected person happens to be an exhibitor and I visit every display including theirs for fifteen minutes. This is the worst case I can imagine. The odds get a lot worse, but - well - I would still feel safer than sitting for 30 minutes in a peak-time commuter train, or (as is happening at the moment) a train full of rowdy football fans. I think I would trust the people around me. I may be a bit misguide to say this, but I would be able to feel safe at such a show. - Richard.

I think we "know" from the statistics we have, the rate of infection is climbing but the mortality rate is dropping. And we can reasonably suppose, this effect is because the vaccines work. Most of the people I see at shows are in demographic groups which welcome the vaccines. They get their vaccinations done. Looking at ages, most of them have been double-jabbed by now. I reckon, this is as good as it is going to get. The virus is shifting from being a pandemic to being endemic. The onus shifts to the individual to get jabbed and, if they have symptoms, self-isolate. We will have to wait years maybe decades for the virus to mutate into something less harmful. I am happy to go to shows as soon as they restart without rules and regulations, and this ought to be "now" - Richard.

I fear, regulations and precautions are equally hopeless because people do "unregulated" things which are equally stupid. I work in a charity shop. Last Wednesday, a customer asked for the tray of rings. She proceeded to put the entire length of her middle finger into her mouth (she is "mask exempt") and use her spit as a lubricant to try on some different rings. Now - I think this is horrible, but having some a kind of a rule about it is equally stupid. Some kind of sense of decency and caution would be far better. She did at least accept my offer of a blob of hand sanitiser afterwards. I scrubbed up, soapy water half way up my arms. - Richard.

I have just done the questionnaire. I seemed to be in or near the majority responses for all the questions except the one on regulations. Where I am in the 11% ticking the box for 'none'. I go to shows to stand with complete strangers to look at models, to interact socially with people I have met before and other strangers, and to crawl on the floor to rummage through boxes already sifted through before me. If you take any of these things away, or impose fresh restrictions like a time limit at a layout or not being able to touch stock, I won't go. - Richard.

I have a feeling a wig and dark glasses might make things worse. Worse if I was spotted and even worse trying to explain my purchases. But - the eyeshadow must be a good idea? You get six shades in a box, and a reasonable quantity of each, while for the Humbrol powders you get one shade per jar. Staying in the same section of Boots, maybe hair spray would hold the result and be a bit less permanent than the Daler-Rowney fixative? I imagine it is "chemically compatible" with the eye shadow so a regular user can adjust their hair after doing their face? (Hair spray has just worked well for me with a very fluffy Woodland Scenics tree). - Richard.

I will make a guess, military modellers want mainly matt finishes and railway modellers (railway train modellers anyway) want mainly gloss. - Richard.

Yet another solution, for Bachmann coaches at least, is to use a small self-tapper to fix a Kadee NEM coupler onto the underside of the wrong-height NEM box: I read about this somewhere on RMweb. Mounting Kadees onto cams is an unhappy combination. It may be best to lock up the pivot on the Kadee NEM head e.g. cyano, but I cannot try this out and find out anything useful because this is my only Bachmann coach. - Richard.

I have taken my Beattie to bits to see if I can add some extra weight. I don't know about the size of sound decoders but I cannot see any room to put a scrap of lead in a useful place: The complete model has its centre of gravity a few mm behind the centre axle. If you were to remove the block of steel between the cylinders to make some space this would put more traction onto the rear axle but I'm not sure whether the pony wheels would stay on the track. I have just stumbled upon the video by 'Sam' discussed here last November. To my mind the model is just about perfect. If the boiler were to be diecast, the centre of gravity would shift too far forwards. If the cab were to be die cast as well, it would look horrible. I wish the NEM pockets were on cams and the wheel treads had been polished or even turned in a lathe but this would take the model up towards Continental standards and of course pricing. I bought a couple of Hornby coaches to go with mine: I have no idea whether this has a prototypical equivalent but somehow it pleases me, even in my late 20th century setting built for H0 scale. Sorry about the coach wheel :-) - Richard.

Chris Ellis writes about what he calls "multi-moding" in his book Next Steps in Railway Modelling, Midland Publishing / Ian Allan 2004. @Ian Simpson has lent me his copy. In essence, you build structures on lift-out bases so for example you can drop in a British, German or American building. Ellis describes this for an inglenook but I imagine it would work fine for a larger layout, as long as the removable models are a manageable size. It has got me thinking to allow a wider range of dates for the setting of my own layout. - Richard.

I was discussing this competition with a mate yesterday and we concluded we could build something A4 or A3 size, because these are less than 2 square feet, but not A2 because this is more than 2 square feet. But re-reading this today, it looks like our model might be (say) a circle of 1 foot radius, this being able to fit into a space measuring 2ft x 2ft. A little clarification would be good as I think we both misread this rule. The rest of the instructions look straightforward. For example we felt a queue of people waiting to buy their tickets would be fine. - Richard.

I can imagine a really happy half hour at the Boots make-up counters, I'll take along some scrap wagons and loco bodies and introduce myself to each of the assistants in turn :-) - Richard.

To my mind, a "small" layout is one where one person can run the whole model, and there isn't room for a second operator. A "medium" layout supports a second operator (but one person can enjoy the whole thing with perhaps a wireless controller); and a "large" layout needs more than one operator or some element of automation to help. My own wall-hugger will thus be "medium size" when I finish it, but I know in my heart I really want more i.e. a "large layout". I would look to a roundy-roundy with a double track main line and storage loops, with crossovers to let trains arrive in the loops and stop and go back the way they came. Some simple route-setting to let you choose the loop and then have the layout set up all of the points to suit. Then have a third loop inside of the main line, and call this the branch. This line will have its own storage loops beside the loops for the main line, and crossovers to let trains reach the main line. On the opposite side of the layout, build a motive power depot with a connection to the branch. This lot will let you have three trains running while you concentrate on the operations in the depot; or you might ignore the depot, let a railcar amble around the branch, and use the main lines to send a train out, do one lap, then reverse. In other words, you have a large layout where you can get some enjoyment on your own, and there is room to add up to two more operators and everyone can have something interesting to do. My own layout is supposedly set in Britain in 2012. A mate looked at my current project last Monday, he is the first railway modeller to see it. I asked him whether he thought my model looked like somewhere in Britain and he said an emphatic yes. But when pressed, he cited only the church tower on the backdrop. Many of my buildings are modern, and not particularly British. For the period, he felt trains would not look out of place from the present day back to the mid-1970s. This was better than I hoped for. I pointed out a model wheelie bin, which would mean 1990s onwards, and I removed the wheelie bin today. My layout is supposedly to 1:87 scale, for British H0, but built to the Continental loading gauge. This gives me the width and height to run trains of Continental origin (like the MaK Di-8) and British 00 models too, though of course not at the same time. I have just bought two Hornby 6-wheel coaches to put behind a Beattie well tank, and this 1930s-style train does not look especially out of place in its rather underscale surroundings. At least, as long as I tell myself this is a preservation working. Edit 1: These are physically small models; I am sure a mainline loco or Mk3 coach would look completely out of place. So I am happy enough, with a small layout able to become part of a medium layout, and accept many kinds of trains. This is fine for me, but I wonder how well it can translate to a "large" scheme. I think, a pleasant if generic landscape is possible as long as you keep it fairly modest. The backdrop will be ok if it shows a modern cityscape or maybe some wasteland or reclaimed land. But you will have to rule out a lot of the character of a real locations to make the surroundings generic for the selection of trains. I would want to make sure the roads have no road markings, and I could swap cars and lorries from one side of the road to another. The Trix model station seems a big sticking point because it has such a clear prototype. So perhaps, you could have the three circuits I have described with some scenic breaks dividing them into different scenes. These scenes to have their own lighting and backdrops, with the lighting controllable. So for example, when you are running a British or American train, the Trix station is barely visible and all you can see is the train itself passing through a darkened space. The mate who looked at my layout does not have a layout of his own. He has some tracks arranged around the walls of a double garage, but refuses all suggestions at scenic treatments. He runs long trains (say, fifty 4-wheel wagons), and gets pleasure from simply watching the trains go by. Perhaps it would be possible to build a very basic layout, without scenery, to get the trains up and running. And then tackle a series of scenes, one each for Britain, Germany and somewhere in North America. Each scene giving a pleasing setting to enjoy the train(s) you have on the layout at the time; and being ignored and treated as a bit of connecting track when you are running other trains. Edit 2: I can visualise a British/European scheme, especially if it is a freight operation with no signalling and no passenger platforms. I struggle with incorporating North America. Perhaps my postulated 'branch' circuit could be the place where the American trains stretch their legs. - Richard.

Here is 'Perseus' passing through Colchester North yesterday on its way to collect 745103: I was waiting for my connecting train, and a bit surprised to hear and then see a class 37 light engine hurtling towards me. So the loco was travelling away from me by the time I framed the shot. - Richard.

Many thanks . This sounds like one fewer excuses for me. I could try some empty coffee tins before I tackle the track. - Richard.

I think we are building different kinds of models ... the pigments of model paints are a lot finer than those of household emulsion. I did do a simple backscene with match pots a few years ago, and to be fair it has stayed colour-fast. Edit: ... But I cannot imagine using emulsion paint on a scale model. - Richard.

I had another day trip to Norwich today. On the outward leg I joined the 0800 ex-LST at Colchester. It was a comfortable journey. I do like the raised seats, you get a view much like the view from a Mk3. Nothing much new to report here. The PA system asked a member of the train crew to go to coach B, where I was the only passenger. This message seemed to be associated with the toilet. My return leg began with the 14:00 from Norwich and this was formed by a class 720 Stansted Express set. Talking with a member of the train staff, this substitution was not because of a fault on the expected class 745, but rather because the 745 was working the Stansted Express service. The 745 sets being more suited to the airport service than the 720 sets, at least at the moment. "Probably a software issue, it always is". I was a bit miffed because I had bought a first class ticket (very cheap advance purchase); but then again it was only £4 extra. But I had had a marvellous visit to Great Eastern Models, my first visit to a model shop since February last year. Bus number 23A or 24 from outside Norwich station. I left with a large carrier bag and a dent in my debit card :-)) - Richard.

Wasn't it one of the early nuclear power station projects where bicycle shed syndrome was first identified? The minutes of the project progress meetings were dominated by details of the bike sheds, they were the only thing people felt comfortable to discuss :-) - Richard.

I am going to have to learn soon, because I have yet to paint the track on the layout and I want to choose my shades of colour. A brush is going to drive me mad. - Richard.

1. Clean the model using alcohol or white spirit, not soapy water. Yes, I fully agree! I still sometimes see that old advice to clean in soapy water and then rinse it off afterwards, but my rinsing is no better than my painting and any soap remnants will ruin a paint job. I tend to use alcohol for cleaning, because occasionally white spirit has softened some types of plastic (e.g. Lima wagons). I worked for a while at a firm who made gyros. This was in 2010/11, by then all of their preferred degreasants had been banned as either ozone-depleting or carcinogenic, and many engineers agreed it was impossible to get components properly clean.. Their recommended practice then was to clean with isopropyl alcohol and dry with compressed air. This works well enough for me. You really mustn't use water because any moisture remaining in nooks and crannies will ruin the paint job. 2. Undercoat with a Halfords spray primer - usually grey, occasionally white Yes again, a big fan of the spray can here. I tend to use Poundland spray cans, which work well enough for me although they don't hold as much paint as some other brands. I know we're supposed to use black primer for figures, but I find most of the enamel colours I use look more accurate with a light-coloured undercoat. I think, the primer has to be a spray. If I try to use a brush I encounter the problems I get applying paint to bare plastic - the paint wants to slide around. And, most of my models are made from parts of different colours, sometimes metal as well as plastic, and the primer makes for a level playing field to start on. 3. Optional base coat with a Tamiya spray, this depends on having a suitable colour to hand I've never tried this, but it seems a good idea if you've got the time and enthusiasm. I think it helps me to visualise things, it shows whether the next coat needs to be darker or lighter or whatever. 4. Tamiya matt acrylics, applied by brush, ... 5. Leave for a week+ and finish with an enamel matt varnish applied very lightly (I am using a Humbrol spray), this pulls the surface together and hides most brush marks. Ahem! Totally lacking patience, if I leave the paint overnight I'm doing well. But I'm sure Richard is right. Yes to light matt varnish - or perhaps satin if you want the finished surface to reflect a bit of light. The acrylics have a finite curing time. I expect three days is often fine, but if you apply the enamel too soon then a disaster happens. I liken this to making compression fittings for plumbing. If you prepare the pipe really well, clean thoroughly and assemble dry, the fittings usually don't leak. But if you prepare the pipe in a roughly passable sort of way and add a smidgen of jointing compound, they never leak. I've been painting twelve models all at the same time so really the final week's wait wasn't a problem. Bit of a relief to stop really :-) On John's over-thick coats of paints, I always have the same problem with acrylic paints. That's why I prefer to use enamel paints, with a few drops of extra thinner in the can, and apply several thin coats. The additional thinner seems to make the paint dry smoother without brushmarks. There is a lot of variety in acrylics. The Revell 'Email' ones brush really well from a fresh pot, but they go gummy a year or so after opening. In theory you can add water to make them runny again but this alters the original chemical balance and "they aren't the same". The special Revell thinners don't work for brush painting either, they are for airbrushing only. I would choose Revell Email if I wanted a slab of primary colour like a red buffer beam or a departmental vehicle painted yellow. Both of these on a white primer. Purists would choose Railmatch to get the correct shade, maybe I should too. I have got on fairly well brushing Railmatch enamel, but their aerosols I've tried just splattered and ruined the model. If I was going to add a sixth tip, I'd say immerse the rattle can in hot water for 10 or 15 minutes before use. Hot tap water at 50 deg C is fine, ignore the safety warnings on the label! This lets the propellant evaporate before it gets near the model, and you get a better finish. I did this when I painted my chemical plant, it does help. - Richard.

I don't know how to use an airbrush :-) I bought a compressor a couple of years ago but ended up using it with a blow gun. I was given an airbrush but it is still unused. I dread the business of cleaning it. - Richard.

It is indeed basic information and I certainly don't want to talk down to anyone. What I do want to do is try to show how I am learning to overcome real difficulties I have had in painting models. I "learnt" a lot from articles in the Railway Modeller in the mid/late 1970s, and truly some of the advice published there (e.g. "wash models in mild soapy water to remove grease") was downright wrong - and made the task harder than it needed to be. And when you are young, advice sticks. A mate tells me the forums like RMweb are "inconsequential", and of course sometimes they are, but blatant inaccuracies do get picked up and corrected by more knowledgable people. Magazines in the 1970s had complete control over what they printed, and people like me lapped it up - and they curated their letters pages to suit the opinions of their editor. I have plenty of experience of painting models, but I am still inexperienced in painting models and getting a half-decent result. So I am cautious of writing any advice at all. Clearly there are many modellers with top-class painting skills, but there must be others like me, forty years since I entered the hobby and still really struggling with painting. I could write more, and in particular I have realised you need a spatula or similar flat object e.g. a lolly stick to stir model paints. The cocktail sticks I used don't work well enough, they cut through the liquid without moving enough of the pigment. One conclusion from this is I can use Tamiya paints to finish really filthy wagons like my BYA steel carrier, these things seemed to exist caked in grime most of the lives. The actual livery underneath hardly matters. - Richard PS. Simon @rue_d_etropal I will reply later, see if Ian or others come back first on my five steps.

Putting the mess hut to one side, I have finished painting all of the buildings for the layout. For me this has been a concentrated exercise in getting better and more consistent results. There was still one disaster: This happened when I forgot I had done my "optional base coat" (see below) and added a fresh application of primer on top and thought everything would sort itself out when I added the top coats. This model got stripped in Dettol and then left as bare plastic with a dusting of matt varnish: But in the main, things have worked out ok: The steel cladding here is actually Humbrol no.1 "grey primer" applied by brush over Halfords grey primer, but the result will tone well with the backdrop. The Wills chapel went together without any filler, the mouldings really are very good. The main things seem to be: 1. Clean the model using alcohol or white spirit - not soapy water 2. Undercoat with a Halfords spray primer - usually grey, occasionally white 3. Optional base coat with a Tamiya spray, this depends on having a suitable colour to hand 4. Tamiya matt acrylics, applied by brush, adding coats as wanted to increase colour depth; use the largest brush possible, lots of springiness in the bristles, adjust pressure to suit 5. Leave for a week+ and finish with an enamel matt varnish applied very lightly (I am using a Humbrol spray), this pulls the surface together and hides most brush marks. I think I will be using Tamiya for every model where they do a suitable colour. I wish they would do common British railway colours! All of their paints and sprays are first class. - Richard.