checkrail

Last month my wife and I spent five glorious spring days walking across Dartmoor from south to north, staying at some nice pubs on the way. On day 1, high up on Harford Moor above Ivybridge we stopped for elevenses and I stumbled across this: So - did the GWR have its own brickworks? John C.

While I was at it I did the other one, on the up platform. Those Ratio kits make up into quite a nice model, though the three legged arrangement on the brazier is a bit tricky to get right. I've seen prototype photos where there are four legs, which would have been a bit easier to get stable. If I take any more pics with the iPhone they'd probably benefit from a smidgen of auxiliary lighting. It's a great camera for landscapes, not so good for this kind of work. John C.

Rather than add that broken water crane strut to the ever-growing 'round tuit' list I sized the moment and replaced the struts with handrail wire, cut to exact length and offered up with tweezers after both ends had been dipped in cyano. I'd always thought that the Ratio plastic struts were a bit too hefty, so should have done it years ago. Pending resolution of my Mac/photo processing difficulties these shots were taken with my iPhone. John C.

Thanks all for replies and suggestions re Mac. I've been very happily using Affinity for a few years - the problem's not there, it's splitting the MP4 video file into its component still frames in the first place (before loading them onto Affinity one at a time and then focus merging them). I could do this easily in Windows Media Player but haven't yet learned to do it with Mac, even though I've spent days trying to do it with QuickTime. One thing about the 24" at full screen is the way it shows up blemishes I might otherwise have missed. So the broken bracing strut on the water crane in the first pic is due for some treatment. John C.

First post for a while. I've recently gone over to the dark side, got rid of my Windows laptop, and acquired an iMac. It fits well with my iPad and iPhone. My wife has a MacBook too, and her son is quite an IT whizz and an Apple devotee. Bit of a culture shock for me at first but I'm getting used to the Mac way of doing things. However, so far I've been unable to find out how to focus merge photos. I've installed Affinity Photo 2 onto the Mac but I've not yet found a away to break the MP4 files (created by taking a shot with my Panasonic TZ100 in 'post-focus' mode) into individual names and putting them, one by one, onto Affinity for focus merging. Every time I think I'm on the verge of a breakthrough the trail goes cold. It was all so easy with Windows Media Player. (Just select 'Save photo from video') But somehow, only heaven knows, I got these two stills out of two MP4 files: Winslow Hall on a down stopper and King Henry V on an up express. John C.

That little engine's now looking really good.

Because I'm taking shots of the layout on my Panasonic TZ100 in 'post focus' mode, which as I understand it (which isn't much) is essentially a short video clip whose component frames are taken at differing focal lengths. When these frames are merged with Affinity Photo into one jpeg the result is a picture with good depth of field. I've used this method successfully for some years with the camera > Windows laptop > Affinity set up. I'm now trying to work out how to do the same thing but with an iMac. You're dead right in your PS about Affinity v. Adobe. I was quite shocked to see the monthly subscription costs for Photoshop.

We see what you did there!

Well, I was happy enough with its interface with Affinity Photo - it's other aspects that prompted the change. 1. Ancient laptop was giving up the ghost - sticky unresponsive keys, disappearing cursor, glacial slowness and frequent impromptu shut-downs. 2. I already had an iPad and iPhone. 3. My wife went over to a MacBook some time ago. 4. Her son is very knowledgable and supportive re matters Mac & Apple. (But away at the moment.) I'm pretty happy with the iMac, learning as I go along. But didn't expect the problems with focus stacking & merging - when I ran into difficulties it was too late and the remains of the old Windows machine were on their way to landfill!

Thanks for this - will give it a try. Finding it quite a culture shock moving from Windows to Mac - way out of my comfort zone!

My worry has always been that low sales of these - somewhat restricted geographically and operationally - might lead to the much more widely seen corridor toplights being axed. My guess would be that there's a much bigger market for the latter, and I hope Dapol think so too.

For the last few years I've been successfully using Affinity Photo with my old Windows laptop, splitting MP4 shots into their component frames (usually around 25 or 40 depending on the complexity of the scene) using the 'Movies & TV' bit of Windows Media Player, and clicking on the 'Save picture from video' option. I then loaded the results onto Affinity Photo (one frame at a time - a bit laborious) and merged them by clicking on the 'New focus merge' option. I've now replaced my pc with an iMac, and have installed Affinity Photo 2. I know what to do with the latter but am at a loss as to how to reduce an MP4 file to its component frames and load it onto Affinity in the first place. I've downloaded something called VLC Media Player but have no idea what to do with it in spite of repeated attempts to find my way round it. And if there's a function on Affinity that enables you to do the splitting I've yet to find that. Any ideas, suggestions, shared experience warmly welcomed! John C.

Oh yes! A couple of those will do me. Nice one Hornby.

Nice work Neal. And I've just learned something - I didn't know Railmatch did acrylic colours.

2818 and 6305 pass in the platform roads. The Evans & Bevan wagons, as seen in at least one of the GWR 1930s albums, are among my favourites, and are from POWsides kits, based on a Slater's body. And this is the end - or rather, these are the ends. John C.

Yes, that had occurred to me - geographical proximity and all that. But TBH, 7 or 8 plank, one high-sided brown wagon looks much like another to me at NVD.

At the other end of the station 6305 heads in with a westbound goods. John C.

Holding out against this one (so far) Robin @gwrrob. There have been so many nice SR and constituent co. wagon releases recently, that when added to my kit-built ones the SR is over-represented, given its percentage of the Big 4 total. And though I've not got an eight plank I have a seven-plank or two, providing that typical SR high-sided look. But I may give in eventually!

A cropped version of the last pic homes in on a concentration of "greatwesternry" around the station. We GWR modellers are fortunate in the amount of support from the trade - although some items benefit from a bit of adaptation and improvement. John C.

2818 returning empty PO wagons to the South Wales coalfields. John C.

Lovely layout. Don't know how I missed it and why I've not been following it. I am now.

Some more King pics from yesterday. And here are some safety posts (cocktail sticks & pva) alongside the new fiddleyard siding, minimising my chances of sweeping a precious toplight onto the floor while reaching over for something else. John C.

Don't know that many people are, but it's the mediaevalist in me that would have gone for Henry II.

Indeed Nick. And had I been modelling the early, rather than later, 1930s I would definitely have gone for a model of 6028 King Henry II.

Robin @gwrrob is right - it's a day for Kings. Here are two more, 6019 King Henry V and 6027 King Richard I. God save the King. John C.