Viriconius

Those ribs look fiddly. It’s the sort of job where say a pantograph mill would come in useful…

Whole wagonloads are certainly easier, but shame to lose the variety. Minirakes are good and could include E-class with appropriate fixed loads? But my experience is that as big an issue in keeping things moving is the owner/alleged operator who enjoys talking to visitors (no bad thing) at the expense of delivering the goods to the front (a bad thing) ;-) Alex Jacksons are worth looking at - discrete, automatic and dirt cheap too. I've got some made up on a couple of wagons here for initial trials...

Uh-oh. I'd be happier seeing you use the words 'replacing' and 'Landrover' without intervening words...

Excellent summary - agree on all aspects.

Cenac's book seems to suggest that the cab is supported on the triangular gusset/rear buffer beam and two brackets each side directly on the firebox. I'd send a photo, but phone is out of battery and refuses to transfer photos.. Looking very nice.

Weathering? Is it not getting a coat of green first?

Rules are for breaking! The 20hp Simplexes also ran once they'd warmed up. A Protected 40hp would be good. And you ought to have both HC & Barclay 0-6-0s before starting on the French stock... ;-) Another quick tweak is to remove some of the underside of the hay bale loads that seem to rest on the brake handles.

Is your next visit to apply the unique Up-the-Line roofing treatment?

Ok Kevin, promise not to argue any more...

If they're anything like the contents of our kitchen cupboards, half the tins are fished out to discover they should have been used 12/18/48 months ago! When I ever get to the stage of building baseboards, I want to try adding a saw-blade thickness shim between baseboards when track laying, so when the rails are sawn and the baseboards reassembled, the gap closes up. Thats my theory... anyone tried it in practise?

Baseboards on the kitchen worktops- didn't know you were into extreme sports! Satisfying progress.

Hadn't spotted that the gearboxes were back-2-back rather than facing the same way. That has a certain prosaic quality... Add (not this week!) an idler roller to keep the fig-8 friction-free? Over stretched simplex motor, if there is an issue in the mech, wood binde.

All looking a bit Frankensteinian but sounds like it's now going smoothly-glad the Dick Kerr is sorted. If you turned a groove in the two flywheels, could you lock them together with a drive band?

Having 'sampled' the samples, I say they work well, are convincing and the juxtaposition of birdsong and heavy artillery is prosaic. Just mind the low-flying biplane - I think it's had Kevin cowering under his own layout!

I'm sorry, I've not seen any reference to air guitars in any book about field railways or the front. It'll have to go else all credibilty... ;-) Saw a moving doc about bagpipes and pipers girding troops for the battle last week tho. Simon

If I may be so bold from my armchair... That really seems to finish it off: the sky sets the mood and the dark woods behind the buildings add depth. The only thing that doesn't sit quite right in my mind is the join between 2d & 3d vegetation in the first two pictures where the foreground field in the back scene seems too desaturated compared to the bright grass that you've modelled. Sorry to miss you at Telford-I managed to get there for the last hour: as you say, smaller than previous years but worth it just to see Crowsnest Wharf.

Looks great. Can't help thinking that a COY HQ wouldn't draw attention to its presence though... ;-)

Ooh, tell more about the Joffre-I need one to go with the other unstarted kits I will build eventually! Couldn't get to Burton this year-gutted I had to work (though that was good as well).

Lovely model, not surprised you're celebrating 8-)

Looking very nice. As you say, a little weathering and it'll be fantastic. Been at Apedale today... There is progress on lots of items there too 8-)

Batches have that difficult middle phase-from shiny metal to dull, flat primer. Looking forward to the wear/rust (perhaps more of the former as they've presumably not been in service too long? So if I've understood, 3versions of all Wrightlines skips? Are they generic or specifically based on the 1916 Hudson pattern?

Nice looking track/ ground, the levers fit well and 'buffers' suitably makeshift. Can almost forgive the stray gauge and peco complications by the tie bar ;-) Hope the lurgy clears as fast as the glue dries.

Had I read your last two entries before commenting on Tuesdays... JC's couplings are going on mine too-preparing a first batch of couplings is what's interfering with finishing mine off.

Loving this series. Simplex looks great, catching up fast with mine- also linked to a very wet Wale, three days last summer: http://ngrm-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/8642-simons-procrastinating-workboard/ And agree with using mostly solder-I had more trouble with superglued details than when I took a number of attempts to solder bits. Agree it's a lovely kit-I'm persevering with the fan motor atm as I've no need for a speaker-undecided whether to future-proof with a dcc chip. Frame spacers seem to have changed-mine are hexagonal throughout.