Daniel W

Fair enough, Mike. It piqued my curiousity since i've been doing some research into Iron Ore hoppers recently.

Is that an LNER Iron Ore Hopper next to the palvan, Mike?

This is what I have been working on recently. And, incidentally, what i was using the scratch pen for. A 51L kit for a diagram 1/163 Iron Ore Hopper. This is the first part of a rake of hoppers now in use carrying Limestone that i am building for my quarry layout. The kit went together well enough, however I did replace the whitemetal headstocks with some brass U section to give a neater appearance. The Rumney Models wagon detailing etch came in handy for adding some little bits to the solebar. Although, in future i may just stick them on with a dab of epoxy since soldering them on always ends up looking messy. The hopper locking mechanism has been (crudely) scratch-built ala Geoff Kent's MRJ article. Unfortunately, i am not as skilled as Mr Kent, so alas my example is even more 'representational' than he claims his to be! All in all, i'm fairly pleased with kit for a third attempt at soldering something up. Theres some wonkyness and the brake levers have been overly bent-up in all honestly. But at stand-off distance it should be fine. Regards Daniel

Thank you to Polybear and PJT for their responses, i shall continue to use the brush as is. Thanks to RMweb i was fully aware of the painful nature of glass fibres that the pens shed. Usually i do the cleaning over some tinfoil to help collect the stray fibres.

Quick question for the chaps and chapesses regarding glass fibre brushes. When the end starts to get dirty and a bit frayed, is it best to trim it using a blade or scissors, or just continuing using it as eventually the worn fibres will fall out anyway?

This isn't anything particularly grandiose like a lot of the work on here, but i recently soldered up these ladders as part of a 51L kit for an Iron Ore Hopper. Being somewhat new to soldering I tend to cock-up a lot of small stuff like this, but i'm quite proud of these little works of art. I will post the kit when it's finished. At the moment i am waiting on some milled brass U section to scratch build some new headstocks, since i gave up on the whitemetal ones. Fortunately, the kit comes with etched solebars now, likely based on the feedback from Geoff Kent's build in MRJ that i have been using for reference. Regards Daniel

I already have one of the Open C's and have no interest in the Coke wagon. But the Hopper would be very useful for the Iron Ore/ Limestone hopper train i want to build. I will happily paypal Tony for the kit, or a BACs transfer or a cheque if need be.

That GWR Tube was an absolute bargain for sure. The Ratio kit has been out of production for years and goes for over £20 on ebay.

I know freight stock isn't really your cup of tea, Tony, but are there any examples that you are particularly fond of? Any unusual wagons that you don't normally see on layouts?

Despite my workflow barely slowing down during the lockdown, i've certainly done more railway modelling so far this year than the entirity of last year. Mostly due to a combination of improvements in personal health and being inspired by all the modelling everyone else has been getting up to. This has involved developing my soldering and metal kit building skills. Along with batch-building some Cambrian Mermaids and Catfish. The latter is certainly an exercise that seems more palatable when one cannot really leave the house. Unfortunately I have also found myself spending more on the hobby as well. Partly because my stocks of suitable buffers, axleboxes and wheels are getting low. And partly because I find myself browsing a certain website more than usual!

Looking forward to this one. I have very much been enjoying the series so far. Although the potential number of volumes boggles the mind...

I've always had a softspot for the Dreadnought. Can you remember what kit it was built from, Mike? The only one i am aware of is the Millholme effort.

Looks like an A Class/ Class 27? I don't think i've ever seen one of these completed, so i'm interested to see how it compares to the Craftsman one.

I just thought i'd let 'sir' know about the soldering practice i've gotten since I brought the midland three plank to the Preston show. I managed to build a Genesis kits Pewter Herring ballast hopper which, whilst quick to build, ended up being rather wonky. However, more recently i have been building this Pocket Money Kits BR brake van. I'm no expert, but i think this would be considered a great kit in 7mm. It's still a nice kit when scaled down to 4mm. However, some elements turned out to be a bit tricky in smaller scale. Particularly laminating some of the small bits to the solebar. If designed for 4mm from the ground up, I suspect a lot of these details would have been done via a half-etched overlay. I persevered, my laminating skills slowly improving all the time. New curses and swear words were learned everytime a little sweated part fell off. But by the time i was giving it the final, big clean, the only thing that fell off was one of the lamp irons. Yes, its a little wonky in places, but it runs. And the lamp irons should be nice and strong enough to accomodate lamp changes if needed. A little more cleaning is required, but for a second etched kit I'm feeling pleased that i managed to get this far with it. Hence why I am feeling brave enough to share my work on here. Please excuse the poorly-lighted photography!

Entirely understandable given the circumstances. The fact that you are are still operational is admirable in and of itself. I hope the break is as therpeutic as possible for all involved. Thank you for helping keep modellers well supplied during these tricky.

There is a lovely picture in 'The Pilling Pig' of one of these on the Garstang and Knott End Railway just after the grouping. L&Y blackcurrent livery, with a painted on LMS number and the L&Y circular numberplate removed to reveal the original green livery underneath!

Thank you for the answer, Michael. I confess, it was pure curiousity on my part. You are a very prolific creator of kits and hope you continue to be so for many years to come. Thank you for everything you do.

Apologies if this has been asked before, Michael, but is there a particular reason for not producing the Stanier and Fowler 3Ps as full kits? I would assume that the number of castings required has something to do with it. Combined with the possibility of getting undercut by RTR producers? Part of the reason i ask is because i saw an Alan Gibson kit for a Fowler 3P 2-6-2t recently sell for £210 on ebay. Admittedly, it had a wheel set and a motor, but even so, there must be demand for full kits of that prototype.

I saw him at the start of March at Preston show. Acquired a Furness Railway D5 kit and a LNWR milk van. The Stevenson Carriages list posted above seems to match the one i was given at the show. However, i have uploaded the price/product list for the Millholme range too.

I'd be interested in a set of etches for the Stanier 3P when they come back in stock.

'Gulf Red' was the colour used for engineers stock for a short period. I'm unsure of the exact dates, but it seems to be from about 1960-65. After that point i think they either went back to black for a while or just straight to the well known Olive. Ther reason why it was phased out so quickly was possibly because it tended to fade to pink! If you look at a lot of pictures of catfish hoppers on the London Midland Region in the 60's, however, you will see quite a lot of them in Gulf Red.

It was a pleasure to talk to you on Saturday, Tony. I tried the bodge you suggested using low-melt solder as filler on the wagon kit and it worked a treat! Definitely a trick worth bearing in mind for the future.

On the subject of low-temperature irons, has anyone encountered one of these units before? https://eileensemporium.com/index.php?option=com_hikashop&ctrl=product&task=show&cid=4033&name=3-in-1-low-temperature-soldering-station&Itemid=189&category_pathway=1125 Apparently, they can be turned down to as low as 50°C.

Having read the announcement and skimmed much of the thread here, I don't really have much else to say on the subject that hasn't already been covered. Dave appears to have become what certain sections of the internet would refer to as a "lolcow", although I do feel sympathy for those who gave him money for crowdfunding in good faith. It does occur to me that were I to start a company manufacturing 00 models I would steer well clear of diesel/electric models (except perhaps shunters) and any mainline steam locomotive designed prior to 1923! However, given the recent fracas over the Terrier, even that last rule isn't foolproof. I can say with 99% certainty that no manufacturer has a Furness Railway "D5" in the works though...

I seem to have missed this when it first posted, but I've finally caught up. I must say that I really enjoyed it. Phil and Andy do seem to have a genuine chemistry that i have noticed in the BRM DVDs. There was a bit of an issue with a lot of breathing being picked up on the first interview. But besides that, my only complaint is that it was too short for someone who is used to two-hour plus podcasts! I really could have listened to a longer recording.