Ydna

Hi there, Hoping this is the correct place to be posting this query... I'm wondering whether or not anyone would have any information on the subject of the availability of 4mm scale passenger coaches that ran on the Isle of Wight railway network anytime between the 30s and 60s, preferably. I'm beginning to build a small layout of a station set there and am not sure if I'll be able to get hold of some stock to run on it or if I'll have to scratch-build / modify existing available models. The more prototypical correct, the better I suppose. Thanks in advance for any help, Andy.

Hi, The way I personally would go about doing it is not spending all that money on pins as you suggest but also not spending it on too much PVA. I'd glue the track down using the PVA glue sparingly and let it dry fully. That'll save on pins. Then use the "PVA+water+dash of washing up liquid for good flow into all the gaps" to set the ballast in place after you've spent six hours tidying it up around the sleepers. Trust me, that will give you the best looking and most realistic look. It's probably worth spending some time on the ballasting or you'll look back on it later and wish you'd done it differently. Especially as you've invested so much time and money on all that track. Hope that helps, Andy.

Great progress here.. a lot of work has gone into this project already. Looking forward to seeing the ballast complete Good luck, Andy.

Great shots there. B/w really suits the atmosphere, Andy.

Hey Andy. Haven't looked at your blog on this exciting subject for ages. I'd strongly recommend that you post this event as a topic rather than just on a blog on the British Railway Modelling Exhibitions page here on RMWeb. You'll get a lot, lot more advertising. Looking forward to the next update, Andy.

Looking forward to seeing those TTAs all weathered up Andy.

The new buses look great and will definitely be a great addition to this project. Andy.

Wish I had a mother in law like yours! Really does look like a great addition By the way, where are the diggers from? Andy.

Nice pics. How about Bixford, Wemford, Hettingham, Yedley, Hempingham, Lemford, Heckley or Rewford as possible names. None of those exist already. Andy

My 08 is in the Intercity livery, named Piccadilly. Its a Hornby model that I got about a year ago. I'd really like a Mainline livery gronk (like your 09) to match my tractor in Mainline blue. The Mainline livery is one of my favourites. Who is your Mainline 09 by, or was it resprayed? What livery is your scrap 08 in? Andy.

The new, improved scenery looks great. A gronk fest sounds good! I've only got one 08 in my fleet currently Andy

Looks like a basement with great potential Looking forward to the further progress on this project. Andy.

Great sound and clag

Sounds like great progress on the show as well as the layout (and school reports) Good luck with starting the scenics. I've just finished the scenics on my 1' test-board. It's very satisfying to see a piece of wood looking more life-like after an hour or so of modelling. Andy.

OK, thanks Andy no.1 Andy.

Nice weathering on those TTAs and the Limpet. I must get round to weathering my two Bachmann TTAs soon. Mine are in the Green BP livery. I'm thinking of fading it, and adding spillage marks as you've done. I've been trying to research what livery the TTAs were in to replenish the TMD refuelling facilities in the 90s. Was it this Mobil livery? The TTAs will look good on Millwood (or is it Mill Wood?) Thanks, Andy.

Hi folks, Thought I might update you as I've not posted on this blog for ages. There's not been a lot of progress on Almere because I've been concentrating my modelling time on Bexford TMD, my test-piece. I'm really glad I chose to do a test-board for two reasons; one of which is that I've learnt a few lessons in ballasting and warehouse-building, etc. The other is that I have got a small amount of satisfaction out of getting a piece of chip-board looking slightly more like a bit of railway than just a plain board. You see, the last time I did some scenics was 3 or 4 years ago on my old, now dismantled layout. Anyway, as Bexford is coming to an end rapidly I'm going to be returning to the Almere workbench soon hopefully. The first job will be to lay track. That's all for now. To see the latest modelling progress (Bexford TMD) visit my thread on it. Thanks, Andy.

The plasticard mock-up looks good and will add to this compact little diorama nicely. Looking forward to further updates on the project. Andy.

Can you please take a picture of the whole layout in one picture? At 17' its probably hard to fit it all in though! Andy.