lezz01

Hi there. Very nice indeed mate. Your quite good at this making buildings lark aren't you?? Regards Lez.Z

Hi Rob Thanks for the info on the 432s. That kit looks like it's going to be a lot of work to get them looking right. Good luck with it let us know how it goes together. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there. Can you tell me who makes the AFV432? I assume it's a kit. I used to drive one back in the day, I was in an artillery command post section and we had two 43s and and a FFR rover. I've been trying to find a kit for the 43s for ages now with no luck at all. I have a missile launcher and loader transporter as they are made by rocco minitanks and although they are the wrong scale they work together fine. I wanted to build a diorama of the old CP in the field but can't without the 43s. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there. Very nice work mate. If I recall correctly the military term for the Land Rovers is FFR (fitted for radio). At least it was when I was a lean green NAFFI machine The bog standard rovers are GS (general service). Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there Pete. The woodwork pics may be boring, but they do show very good woodworking skills. I look forward to seeing this developing. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there I have to say that's a very nice Kirtley well tank mate. Regards Lez.Z.

and very well deserved that beer is too Regards Lez.Z.

......or indeed not......... Regards Lez.Z.

Hi Jamie Very nice rail motor and I just love the Kirtley. Is it an 800 class or the other 2-4-0? Its all comming along very well. More Kirtey pics please Regards Lez.Z.

Hi John My only suggestion involves semtex.......... Which I guess isn't very helpfull Sorry couldn't resist Make it digital, use static grass to refresh it, add a few gimicks, plonk in the corner of the next exibition and give the proceeds to the local hospice is about all I can really come up with. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there. Here we are and here we are and here we go.......... Nothing wrong with status Quo mate........ Although I will admit that Ricks' strat could do with a respray Regards Lez.Z.

Hi Ray Many years ago when I was a lad of 18 or so I was a member of MKMRS and we built a resonable if heavy model of Verney Junction. The last time I paid a visit to the club it was still up and running when the club was in Bletchley Park. I don't know what happened to it but they might still have it. Even if they don't the older members of the club should be able to help with info. When I was even younger than that we, as a family, used to picnic in the field by the river under the viaduct at Padbury although the railway was closed at that time. Ah happy days where have they gone? I have always had a soft spot for that line as it ran across the bottom of the fields behind the house I grew up in in Newton Longville I can just about remember the odd kettle running across the bridge at the bottom of Bletchley rd. When we were older we used to use the line as a short cut to Bletchley as it was a straight line and if you walked along the road it had a great big dog leg in it. We would go up the side of the railway and join the line where the brickworks siding joined the line at the bridge on Bletchley Rd and get off again at the viaduct at the back of the TA center and save ourselves around 3/4 of a mile. We never had any problems with the trains as at that time there was only a couple of trains a day and if one did happen along we could be off at one of the two occupation bridges long b4 it got anywhere near us. I shall be following this thread with a great deal of intrest as you can see from the above its right down there in my soul. My children and grand children still live in MK and I visit quite often and although they live in the newer bits of MK I still visit friends that still live in Newton. Regards Lez.Z.

Huh I don't even know what an AS-90 is. I take it that it has a computer attached to it though Never trust math you can't do on the back of a fag packet I say. Ok sometimes you need a damn big fag packet but still regards Lez.Z. PS Now I think hard about it I think a 432 had a ratchet on the steering levers and a big knob on the top of them to let them off again does that count as a hand brake?

Hi guys. I used to drive a 432 back in the day, a command post job it was with a huge great computer thing in the back, well I say computer but I could do the math on the back of a fag packet faster than that thing without a calculator , but I don't recall that having a hand brake. I didn't tie it to a post either but then us 9 mile snipers were funny like that mind you in our case we were more 89 mile snipers. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi Anthony. If I might iust offer you one suggestion about your lifting section? Have you thought of using sash wieghts instead of buckets they will take up much less room and be a tad more eligant. They flog them on fleebay but I bet you could get them from your nearest scrappie or reclame building suppiers cheaper. Just a thought do with it as you will Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there. Jamie! Now your just teazing me. You talk Kirtley 0-4-4T but you don't SHOW me Kirtley 0-4-4T.......... LOL Seriously though its good to see the whole layout up and running you can see the whole layout in context its going to be an impressive feature at any show when you've done. Now let's talk about a nice little photo shoot involving the works of Matthew Kirtley......... Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there Phill All I can say is your layout makes me wish I had a garden........ Regards Lez.Z.

Hi Duncan Personally I use N/Silver rail and Carrs Green lable flux. For solder I use a big reel of non-cored stuff I got from Maplins with a high wattage iron I don't remember exactly how high as I've had it a long time and the lable came off many years ago but its north of 35W with a flat bit that looks like a screw driver bit. Peco do a 3rd rail and fixings although I have never used them but then 3rd rail isn't my thing. If I'm building track I go with ply and rivets although I have built copper clad for people on fleebay for use in fiddle yards etc. I haven't built track for myself for a long time now as I switched back to 00 gauge as I just don't have the space to build what I want from a layout in EM or P4. I almost went N gauge but I have enough trouble with 4mm. My eyes arn't what they used to be Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there Andy. That's a nice looking soldering iron mate.......Hmm I need a new one I wonder if I can sneek it past SWMBO...... Very nice boards as well mate. Its all comming along well isn't it? Regards Lez.Z.

Hi guys. Stupid things not to do whilst in a military helicopter. #1 Fall out!!! Well off the rope I was shinning down anyway. Doing a heli drop thing with a 105 light gun on Salsbury plane. Huge bruse to the ego almost as big as the one on my a**s. Big job it was too, a puma I think. The helicopter not my a**s, Anyway it went right to the top of my things not to do twice list. Ahh the good old days. Where did they go........ Pull up a sandbag and open the beer Regards LezZ

Hi there Jamie. I have to say that Kirtley looks the biz mate Very nice. Regards Lez.Z.

Or....use Das or another air dry clay and stipple it with a 2 or 3 inch paint brush into it while its still soft. When all said and done you only see the ends of the reeds don't you? Its only on the ridge that you see the lengh of the reeds, certanly on English thatch anyway. As for colour dark sand for new, grey brown or black grey for old. Just roll it out to 4-6mm thick glue it on to a false roof and trim with a knife then get stuck in with the big paint brush and Robert's your mother's brother. Job done. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi emt. I don't see why not although it might become expensive. You could just get a soft broom head from your local s**t...............err sorry familly show........... I mean pound shop anyway you should get a few roofs from a broom head Regards Lez.Z.

Hi emt. With further regard to thatching. If you search "how to thatch a roof" on google you get "Images for How to thatch a roof" right at the top of the page. This gives you some great pics and diagrams of both the real thing in action and also pics of models. The thing you most need to study is the ridge detail which is missing from Andy's pics. I will say that not all thatched roofs have a fancy stiched ridge but many do including the forge you are building and in my opinion look the beter for it. The ridge is made by bundles of reeds that are bent over the ridge and stiched through both sides of the ridge this sometimes has thin strips of square section wood running parallel to the ridge that is stiched on pulling the wood tight to the reeds through both sides of the ridge. If you go with the hanging basket liner method you could acheve this by adding another layer on the ridge and actually stiching it through the bottom layer of the liner. If you go with the string method then I would do it like the prototype. I spent a couple of weeks back in the summer of 76 watching two thatchers re-thatching the cottage next door to the house I grew up in and was totally facinated by it even to the point of asking the thatchers if they would consider taking me on as an apprentice when I finnished school the following year, much to the amusment of my mates, nothing came of it though as I'm not great with hights. I hope this helps. Regards Lez.Z.

Hi there emt Nice thatch Andy. You could also use sisal string. Start with a false roof of card then start at the bottom and work up towards the ridge of the roof using short "bundles" overlapping as you go like proper thatch and then trim it with something like a beard or hair trimmer when the glue is dry. It takes a while but it is worth the effort. I have done it myself but allas I have no pictures as it was a long time ago b4 the advent of digital photography and sadly the cottage no longer exists so I can't show you how I did it but you basicly use the same method as the prototype. Regards Lez.Z.