Raymond46

This is all wonderful stuff Allan, and I admire your work tremendously. In addition this thread is approaching the quarter million mark of readers, astonishing and very well done. Ray.

Well a merry Christmas to Alan, Robinson and all other posters to this thread, we are nearly up to a quarter of a million. Fantastic modellers all, especially Alan Ray

I think that all of the models you have made are superb. I hope you keep on making them. It certainly cheers up people like me. Thanks so much. Ray

These are remarkable shots with the canon, I love them. Ray

Once again, a superb model Alan, but where is everyone else...? Ray

I'm still here Alan, you're not alone. Ray

Excellent Alan, fine modelling. Ray

Why has it gone so quiet lately?

Well done, its over 200,000 viewers now. Quite an acheivement. Ray

Thanks Alan, very much Ray

Hi all, I love Alans disused factory very much. I would love to know from where you get the brick paper you use? Well done Thanks Ray

Excellent pub Allan!! Has anyone on here heard of Wayne E. Wesolowski? I managed to get a book by him published around 1981 about scratchbuilding and I have been all day reading it. OK he's an American but he seems to be very good. Its just that I haven't heard of him before. take care Ray

Actually Iain, when you get to the checkout. it isn't available, which is a shame, I wish they wouldn't do that. Take care, Ray

Where can I get a book teaching scratchbuilding skills or tips? Ray

Well we're getting there. The first disaster was what came from Ebay, Swann Morton yes but disposable meaning made of thin plastic. The blade was steel so I tried to use it in the advised way, ie two or three slices and snap, right? Wrong, the thickness of the spare plastic I was given I measured with a Vernier, 3.2 mm, about 130 thou I think, which is pretty thick, so I pressed harder on the blade and it snapped in half, the scalpel handle did. The blade flew across the room, luckily there was no-one else there so I retrieved the bits, wrapped them up in a tissue and carried on with my stanley blade. Eventually, I had cut it so much that it snapped as I wanted it to. Then I filed the ends at 45 degrees and eventually it looked like I was there. I held the plastic on a square and glued it with MEK. Then I added a square bit of plastic (came from china today) to reinforce the angle. I know its not the greatest bit of work you will ever see but that plastic was thick. Still I achieved my goal. I will try to .upload the picture I took if I can - see how thick the plastic is. The maximum size I have ordered is 1mm, or forty thou from Plastikard, roll on that arriving. Any advice anyone has might help.

Well today has been the typical day. I have lost my Swann Morton scalpel handle so I had to go on Ebay and order one, and a few extra blades. I love Swann Morton. Anyway I have to wait for stuff to arrive from Ebay and get set up. I have a round kitchen type table, an old one and have put it in the conservatory. I have my tools, an A3 cutting mat, rulers, glues and stuff ready to begin. I have some plastic sheet that was given to me about a year or so ago, but I don't know if it is actually styrene. Some of it is quite thick too, but great to practice with. The guy was just going to throw it away so I was glad to take it off his hands. He was an architect I think and made some lovely models of what looked like town halls. So now I must practice, just cutting windows and trying to file 45 degree joints carefully and gluing them together. Not making anything exactly but just trying to get some skills. The models will come later but first I must try to make a drawing in 4mm scale. I will have to search on the internet for photographs, but it seems that not too many are interested in Kings Lynn to Hunstanton. I enjoy the John Betjeman film of course especially the Snettisham bit but there's not much more, unless someone out there knows better (I hope). The granary is still there though now it sells antiques and carpets. The stationmasters house, part of the old station is still there as well but is private. There is also the goods shed which looks like it is used for old cars now. I'm thinking they need a brewery although I dont know if there was one there before. Everything is so changed and the A149 bypass just misses the end of the station. Thanks for the comments on my rather lacking front page, you are all kind. Ray

This is my first posting on my blog. Over the years I've made lots of models for my layout (which as it stands will be Snettisham) but they are all Metcalfe kits made of card and card in our garage where I have to work is not good. I have no heating but its coming up to spring. but it does get really cold and damp in the garage. I am back in England now having lived for some years in Crete, Greece where we built a house but it definitely is not a good time to sell in Greece. Now is anyone interested in crete because I wrote my own blog there until I had a stroke. Later I came home to Norfolk, West Norfolk actually so I could be near a doctor, but that's very boring stuff. my Crete blog is: crete.wordpress.com - you'll see how I love that Island. But right now I am here in Norfolk building card buildings for this little station I adore called Snettisham. Its long gone, of course - closed in the sixties but the Lynn Hunstanton line rules around here or did once. Now how about scratchbuilding? Well, I've ordered Plastikard from Slaters, mostly 20thou and 40 thou or as I prefer to refer to them as .5mm and 1mm. I already have Mek Pak watery glue for styrene (thats what plastikard is) and I have some tools. I have a scalpel, blades. Some files and a steel rule, plus a scale steel rule. Now I must remember that 1mm is just the same as 40thou and the others are easy to work out. See you all next time I hope. Ray

That goes for me too Tony I hd a stroke but I need to find a chassis for my old Hornby black five and i don;t know who to ask. i.m in real trouble if I can't get this awful engine to run properly without all the stalls and jiggers etc, Please can you help me, please....... Raymond46 didnt mean to post twice,sorry

Tony, i have an oldish Hornby black five that my dad left me.Its running badly though it is dcc. How can i find a new chassis? Please can you help me following your article in the BRM yearbook of 2013. I would be verry grateful as it has a crappy tender drive. Thanks a lot. Raymond46