ROSSPOP

I don`t think you should pass on laser cut at all....in my opinion if you require realism and the minimum of improvement work they are DECADES ahead of resin kits all of which need a lot of work to bring up to finescale standards ( if that is the standard you seek) The problems with resin buildings is down to the quality of casting. You may find the poor draughsman ship on this Invertrain kit acceptable.... I dont ...the kit is nearly £100 and the stonework looks like toffee brittle. It took a lot of work to improve things.............. And even more work to make a more decent canopy..... and roof tiles. The more recent Timbercraft products are the most expensive and the best of their range ( the early ones are slightly cheaper but the brickwork corners are poor) so I sold my kits on before starting any of them. Intentio kits are slightly less expensive but are the most progressive in detail and assembly and with care will make the most realistic buildings ( but as yet they have not produced a small to medium sized Goods shed. But you pays yer monies !!! But the finished product is the best in my opinion. Railmodel ( ex Lasercraftdevon kits ) were I think the first in O Gauge and in my mind are a modestly priced alternative to the above, and are my next go to choice. There kits make great models for the price and are not flimsy single thickness walled buildings of the basement price ranges. It`s the corners of the brickwork that dictates quality of the kit for me....... you have to do a bit of modelling with Railmodel kits to get them to look better...but I still like their kits.

Personally I would`nt be too bothered about sound deadening because it also depends on how quiet and rattle free your loco gearbox mechanisms are. If you are also a follower of DCC sound in your locos you won`t notice any other noises !!! My boards are only 2 inches deep with just ply and foam sheets on top...... the point motors are noisier than the locos !!! I used 3mm thick sleepers so the ballast can be shaped into it`s own `shoulder` all kept in place by spraying your carefully placed and shaped ballast with either surgical spirit or isopropyl alcohol before applying the traditional PVA/soap mix... This is track on Woodland scenic underlay with a noisy mechanism. .........and again on 4mm thick ballasted track with sound turned down a bit...

I have used foam board ( 3x 5mm thickness) on my 7mm layout. Don`t do it. The foam will disintegrate over time and is affected by temperature if not glued down well. Mine has been successful but once ballasted does`nt really lessen the sound in any way. Cork or the underlay from Woodland Scenics is more reliable.

Black Tack from Youchoos

Hi Dave This is my riveter, .................................... and as long as you have a device with an anvil that helps shape the rivet and also one that adjusts the pressure of the punch it would just be a case of experimenting with a range of plasticard thicknesses to find one that doesn`t allow the punch to pierce right through. You may also need to use some modellers licence and space the rivets further apart to prevent the anvil causing distortion/damage along the run of rivets. Cheers John

Thanks for posting that Ron Ron Ron..... just what I was thinking about doing....

Thanks Graham, The Dean Goods is a Vulcan complete kit off ebay that I built three years back and is languishing in the `to be painted cabinet` along with a DA Castle and a Hatchette A4. John

It`s been great getting away from loco kit building and the layout is now progressing. I`ve had a period of grassing up with the Flockit using predominantly German static grasses of varying lengths which seem superior to the £20 wasted on some GB stuff which failed to take a static charge!! At long last the layout now has a fiddleyard thanks to some of Intentio`s cassette kits...

Fitted with a Zimo decoder and sound from Youchoos of the real thing.... mine runs faultlessly now...........

Hi, Mine is over 30 years old but a similar issue happened to mine .I unscrewed the hose attachment valve at the bottom and cleaned the seal which helped for a while , but replacing the whole valve has given trouble free performance ever since. Hope that helps. John

And then suddenly in 1937 running economies forced the line into a Diesel service.......................

Of course the Railmotor did`nt survive in this form past 1932 when it was converted into an Auto coach.

Thanks Graham, things are running well now despite the layout being idol for at least three years. I had a bit of a scare as one dropper on a 6 inch length of track was a casualty of the ballasting but I was able to use a soldered fishplate to an adjoining piece of rail which saved a lot of hassle. I`m hoping to sort out the fiddle yard , which I`ll have to do outside the shed, before summer ends. I`ve got some of Phil`s Intentio cassettes to assemble. John

Still lots and lots to do..... but today has been PLAYTIME !! My kitbuilt 1930/31 collection was on duty today.... Trackwork has been reclaimed from the pit of paint and ballast and my Railmotor has had it`s very first outing.... ................ Very pleased

secrets revealed....................... ......a sprinkling of Tesco ground pepper.....................

So , I found this pot of concrete paint........... or did I ??

1930, first train of the day.........................

`Tis 1930 and the first passenger train has arrived...... hooray something to play with at last.

Slow this week due to the heat......................

Yep! There are pickups on all the trailing bogie wheels but are not connected up at the moment as she is still under trials and works really well on the driving bogie...............................

I shied away from plunger pickups on this one....stiff phosphor bronze wipers on a fixed axle chassis.

More progress:- Grassing, fencing, and flowerbeds..................

Thanks Pete, I agree with what you say. I`m going to order some Noch 12mm for one final try as Nock and Heki produce stiffer grasses and those and Mini-Natur suit my Flockit and Gras Master 2 John

Slaters sprung plungers usually cause minimal drag but if possible keeping them ( two on each wheel set) on the axle centre line they will act as a pivot when the wheel set travels up and down in the hornguides. Also keeping them in this position will ensure that the plunger has the longest surface wheel tread area of travel with the movement of the wheels in the hornguides. Strongly sprung plungers can prevent the compensation movement .

Answer: Yes absolutely...if you set them up properly. Ideally they should be positioned at the centre line of the axles and if using slaters wheels, avoid the `plastic triangle at the back of the wheel tread. I always apply a smooth finish to the backs of wheels. And ALWAYS use very thin and flexible wire. so as not to impede the plunger movement. They are an excellent product.... ...the above is set up for DCC. OOps... forgot ... on beam compensation.