alderson.eric.j

Dear Brian, Thanks a lot for the comment about our "demo" at the MRC stand. I know it's not often easy to "break" the barrier and start to speak to visitors as an exhibitor. I may be also guilty of having it easy as I have worked for 20 years in a Library and now 5 years in a book shop in a major Belgian city. But if I'd have an advice to give you for when you arrive at a demo stand, is to first look what the chaps do, then get away a moment to think about the questions you'd like to ask, then ask them to them. often, as you show interest to what they do, they'll be more inclined to engage in a friendly chat about their modelling & techniques; but also do not forget that it's sometimes hard for people to get over their natural shyness there... Hope you've enjoyed your chat with us and we hope we'll see you next year. Eric, one of the two "Belgian chaps with the silhouette"

Thanks to Bluebell Railway & the others for your photos & videos posted here & on the web. Thanks to you I'll be able to see many a layout I was not able to see... As I was doing demos at the MRC stand, only had 30 min. to eat plus 30 min. for shopping each day as I detest leaving for more than that due to respect for the visitors who had to wait to ask advises on our techniques (CAD-CUT with Cameo cutter & lasercut...) Eric, MRC London.

Nah... Better go "Daffy Commando" style : A goid heavy hamler down the bonnet with the characteristic "Schultz" barked by the eagle-offizier ;-) In fact I never answer those kind oh "hate-msg"... Morons are best answered by silence ;-)

Hi there, Thanks for your kind comments. Glad our explanations of the use of laser cut, cad-cut with the cameo & 3-D printing in railway modelling to build structures were useful to you. If you've got any further question, feel free to send me a message and, if I'm not able to answer, I'll forward it to my friend Jiffi (John Francis) who will then answer your questions (I'll act as translator, as his English is not yet as good as mine - he's working quite hard on it, still ;-) I think also I'll start a thread on building structures with those techniques, as I'm bound to built the Ingatestone station building for the OO layout at the MRC, as well as working on Five Arch Bridge Signal box and, later, other structures for Copenhagen Fields... Again thanks for your kind words, Eric and Jiffi.

Thanks, Andy. I bought it via Internet. It's made by the French factory "Zébulon". They produce two type of stone patterns (pack of 5 A5 embossed Canson paper sheets) and also some plaster brick molded plastic plates (about 1/4 A4). Just check the "Zebulon" embossed paper range there : http://www.zebulon-vpc.com/produits-pour-le-decor_11_papier-estampes_.html(sorry, only in french). There you can also directly purchase the sets that are for HO scale (1/87) but are still good for OO scale. Eric.

Hi everyone, This is my latest modelling project : Cottages fronts in OO Scale. Foamex basic structure, covered with Zebulon embossed paper stones, Goover Model tiles roof, doors and windows handmade with Evergreen strip styrene and 1/2 mm thick plasticard. the gutters are from Auhagen, and the chimney top from Wills. Next step : painting & weathering + adding an interior complete with lights for some of the windows. This building will be ultimately part of a diorama to display weathered GWR models for the 1939-1945 era. Eric.

Well, another solution is diluting a lighter blue colour with water & alcohol to create your own "blue wash" and then apply it on the cab. This worked well on my models before Vallejo released a blue grey model wash colour... Eric.

Wow... This looks impressive ! Just need the perfect backdrop (a building undergoing renovation) and it'll be a show stopper ! Cracking work you've done there, and the weathering looks quite good too, just the cab that seems a bit too "clean" for my own taste, but that's just my own opinion... Eric.

Wow. Looks really great, and the effect of the black wash on the grey parts of the lorry deck is just excellent, depicting how dust & dirt soils such a surface in real life. All I'd advise also is that you use a blue wash on the blue parts of the truck (cab). I use the Vallejo Model Washes for the same purpose : toning down a paint job and reproducing the look of fading, aged paint. Also, the black wash mixed with blue wash and a bit more diluted can be used a bit like China Ink in aircraft modelling : darkening the panel lines ! All you'll then have to do is simply add a bit of dirt & mud on the truck's underframe and a bit of natural umber on the deck (represents well sawdust); Here is a photo of a HO truck I weathered with weathering powders and washes (homemade washes, as the Model Washes were not available when I weathered this one) to show you what you can achieve with the Washes. The two tarpaulined loads were also painted using the washes. I simply brushpainted them white (using Vallejo Model Color's Foundation White) then brushed on three various colours of model washes (Light grey, dark grey and black) to create the aspect of an old and dirty tarpaulin. The last step was of course a drybrush of Vallejo Model Color London Grey mixed with Foundation White to highlight the edges of the loads.The black car on the left just received a coat of matte varnish, then a few washes of dark grey and light grey to age the paint. Hope those little advises will be helpfull to you. Eric.

Relly looking great.