jcredfer

That cottage ... ..... has been like that for at least 50 years and has had several re-paints in the same colour, over the years. Can't imagine why the fuss about a house colour, particularly since someone is paying Taxes to pay for the person who chose to spend their time trying to bully the owners over re-painting their house the same colour as before. Clearly the person hasn't got the faintest idea about difficult financial times and wasting Taxpayer's money. It is on the way to a beautiful old pub, with a great restaurant, where I used to be pleased to entertain a few delightful young ladies [one at a time, of course - well you couldn't get more than 2 people in an old MG J2! ... ] Edit - hearty congratulations on the Coaching Award, very well done and much hard work.

.................. .......................... Wow .....................

Lovely weather to be taking pictures ..... DP is getting to look more like your layout every time I see the pictures ...

No doubt, someone who could afford that amount of luggage would be able to have the matter sorted "tout suit" .......... after simply putting through a trunk call ............ "One doesn't want to be too caught up with the organisation baggage, after all ......... ................... actually, confidentially, it might have been much less trouble if the old "baggage" was left at home ..................... sssssshhhhhhh .........

Smart phone ... smart screen ... smart car ... now ... Smart Board ..................... does that mean ................... all you have to do is touch the board where you want the track and it just appears where you slid your finger across it ...... ............ and droppers soldered too? Wow I like it ... ... I must ask Tim if he can upgrade my boards I got from him ......

Goodness me! You did very well on the Intermodals - wow £20! ... very well indeed ... The crane just fits so well, it is very much what anyone might expect to see and fits perfectly. Nice too see that the wagons have settled in well too. As for a "careless click" on ebay, for a 59 - that is terrific would have been an excellent choice ... still, we can look forward to the pictures soon time when one might next come available ... assumin' that the lack of the click ... might have been wasn't mistaken by the ebay computer for something more approaching a real one ... ... only time and the camera lens will tell ................................................................................. Regards Julian

AND ............................. ........................................................ I wouldn't go too far ................................................ on the mental age of some of the "Elders" either ....... ............... eerr ..... including self ....... Regards Julian

Learn something new ... eeevery day .......... You seem to have been busy, whilst the rain fell over the last few days ........ Are you going to use the drain pipes to locate the pillars again, or do you have other plans? ........

I will be keeping a sharp look-out on the couplings, as I will be having a go too. I have some between the track magnets of 2 kinds . They might be ok for the Shunting Sandwich, but the new effort will need something more subtle, I think - like the ones that go under the track and can be dropped down on a hinge, when not required, or similar. ... ............. in the meanwhile back to around 1,100 pages of Homework Worksheets, to be matched to the syllabus for each year and then cross referenced back ..... printed out and put into sections for pupils to select from ..... Regards Julian ......................................................................................................................................................................... Yippieee ... what fun .......

Nice to see you back Neil, having the same busy [interfering with railway making] time, so understand the frustration - although in my case it has the convenient secondary effect of camouflaging my ineptitude at modelling ... ..... Oh -

Lovely looking van there ..... delightful detail ..... Julian Good job I didn't try that one, with all that detail it's outcome would hardly have been a Fourgon conclusion.

Hi Duncan, If you can go along with Sasquatch, it may give enough room for a Bus Stop or a small Goods lorry offload space at the right hand end. The retaining wall might incorporate a long ramp up to the Station. Many model-makers in the States make good use of layers of PIR [along with our own Jaz, of course] for laying track on and landscape relief, around the tracks. Regards Julian

Sorry about that, dt I thought the stuff you used was not as thin as that

Hi dt, Asked Declan and he recommends this site. A quick look shows some really thin stuff, for water-slide printing, which would also be applicable for taking Acrylic paints and putting on. There is also some sticky back stuff which may be easier to fit than water-slide. http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/category/Decals Julian Edit shoes = shows

Have you tried the cut Decal materiel idea .... it sounds quite good to me and you might even get a colour match. It should be less springy than the Fablon, I would have thought. Would you like me to ask Declan, form Salisbury Models, where the best Decal materiel comes from? Julian

Hi dt, the top 2 on the left post look good. Is the bottom one plastic strip, it looks pretty good too. Julian

I'm not sure having Camel Trains ................ qualifies ......... ..... for giving up cigarettes ......... although I have heard arguments about whether the stuff in them actually qualifies as tobacco ....

But ............................ .................... how will they collect water, now? ......

...................................... ........................................ ................................................... perfect ... ............................ although, perhaps some midday lighting on the next picture ......................... and they are looking a touch large? Edit - largesse......

I remember something like that at Universal Studio Theme Park, in Florida, ............ and you save on the expense of "Sky Hooks" ................ .............................. it is simply a case of driving ................................................................................................................. FAST ENOUGH! ....

Hi dt, I managed to get to the shop today and spoke with Declan about bands. My suggestion was to use a stripe of Maskol around the posts, on either side of the line you want to paint, as it is easier to get a straight edge [on the Maskol] working from each side inwards. Declan immediately came up with a much improved idea. Put the Maskol around the post in the area you want the stripes. Then take a scalpel and cut the Maskol either side of where you want the blue line you wish to paint and pull out the middle bit, leaving a band width to be painted. He also went down a line I think you may have explored and suggested using cut strips of Decal materiel, wrapped round [although I think you may have used some other type of tape??]. When I mentioned you had done something similar and it peeled off, he said he thought that Decal materiel shouldn't do that particularly if the ends overlapped, but followed up with the idea it might be Mat Varnished once stuck - to seal the edges. I remembered that both 3M and ScotchTape have also got fine Masking tape for use where accurate edging is required, which may enable masking. I went to have a look and see what there was, I found some other interesting advice attached to their "Fine" tape sections. •If the surface being masked is highly textured or uneven, seal the edge of the tape with the color of the base coat on the wall. This will ensure that the final coat of paint does not seep under the tape. •Scoring the edge of the tape with a razor blade [scalpel? my addition] before removal will break the seal between the paint and the tape, allowing the tape to be removed easily. Not sure if you may have explored these avenues already, but worth a post, if others might find the information useful, as I did. Once again my thanks go to Declan at Salisbury Models. Julian

............. Aah, I remember some issues there, but thought they had pretty much been solved ............ I have an idea but need to check with the gentleman at Salisbury Models, who will be able to tell me if it would work - or no ..... either way that shouldn't be a cause to start all over again ... and it isn't doing any harm where it while a solution is found ..... I will possibly be able to see him Wednesday and will get back to you soon Julian PS - a trip to the local chemist might keep them up in the meanwhile ...... Plasters ointment bandages Band Aids ....

dt ............. those canopies look really good ................ not just nice but skilfully crafted and weathered .............. very like the photographs of the full size. I'm not sure I can see what the issue is with the legs ............. except they are blue, not pink, don't top high heels and wear stockings ................ but for models of DP they are very suitable indeed ....... If they need some left/right/forward/back adjustment at the foot of the pillars, a small file applied to the platform would deal with that one and how about using your mirror to line them up like you do with the track .... I really like the pictures, as they really do reflect the full size DP ..... Julian

Haven't had much time for soldering Droppers lately ... but ... did get an afternoon at the SW Model engineering Show at Shepton Mallet. Lots of different models on show and several rail layouts. Not only did I get some simple ideas which might be useful for joining track across baseboard joins, although some were slightly work intensive [although still simple] ... I managed a couple of bargains too. First up was a Workstation by Humbrol. What I hadn't noticed before was that it has a curved slot at the back, so you can look at plans as you work. What finally did it was a Humbrol cutting mat, for which the Workstation had a fitted recession, was included in the price ... hook, line and sinker ... At least now I can be more confident to leave MD with paint and water pots secure at the top of the station, with much less likelyhood the carpet will find a new design, as has happened on [not] a few occasions [Def for new viewers:- Mini Driver, age 9, female, says she doesn't like trains, but is never far away when they are out] Workstation + fitted mat by Julian Redfern, on Flickr As I walked away with my Workstaion I caught sight of a rather useful tool ... a Gyro-Cut rotary knife ... paper and thin card cutter. That was being sold for £15 and included 2 x spare blades in the price ... hook, line and sinker ... The blade is at the end of a vertical cylinder and angled slightly down at one end. The blade is held by a couple of tiny ball bearing races and rotates to follow the line as you draw it over the paper. So easy to use and the cutting edge is relatively, safe; MD was cutting flowers and all sorts of other shapes in minutes of seeing it. The trick is to keep the cylinder blade vertical, otherwise slice away at your paper. Gyro Cutter by Julian Redfern, on Flickr http://www.craftyproducts.co.uk/paper-cutting-tools this is their web site [i have no connection, just very pleased at such a simple and easy to use tool and thought it worth sharing.]

...................... snuck those last 2 shots in again there, dt ..........