TT-Pete

He'll have them all done in a fortnight anyway.

Or spider flavour, or earwig/woodlouse flavour (it's extra crunchy!) or frog or chaffinch/blue tit flavour? Or the most esoteric of all the "you're throwing it away? I know I did not like it yesterday and refused to eat it but now it's sat there overnight with flies crawling over it it's delicious" flavour. Cats.

3smr have 2 types of bearings, scroll down to near the bottom of this page: https://ttmodels.co.uk/wheelstock.html

I've got one of those in BR unlined black...

My first model trains were from the O gauge Rovex "Big Big Trains" range, the battery-operated 0-4-0 diesel and 0-4-0 steam loco, a couple of wagons, a brake van and a pile of the bright-red clip together track with a couple of points. http://www.bigbigtrain.org.uk/ I would create heath-robinson circuits on the living room carpet, under chairs and around sundry furniture, using the contents of the bookshelf to make bridges and tunnels. I remember there was no speed control on the locos being simple on/off, but a clip-on track accessory could be used to made the locos change direction and a semaphore signal would make them stop. I'd fill the two 16t open mineral wagons with my 1/32 scale soldiers and spend hours and hours playing invasions. After Action Man it was my second most favourite toy until a "proper" OO model railway came along. But as much as I loved it, there was one item that I coveted above all else, that I dreamed of, hankered after, desired, yearned for - the Hymek! : http://www.bigbigtrain.org.uk/BlHymek.htm But it was not to be. :^( But having signed up for eBay in 1997 I searched for Big Big and saw the later "Novo" branded Hymek and MkII coaches set advertised! Never was an eBay purchase so doggedly persued and so eagerly anticipated! Then it arrived. Oh. What is it they say that you should never meet your heroes? :^( (It went back on eBay a short time after.)

Alex also sent me a photo to "prove" that he's back home enjoying their underfloor heating; Hmm, all that proves to me is that he's a Schroedinger...

@alastairq @Captain Kernow You all called it. Friday I received the following message on the Nextdoor app: "Alex F Hi there 👋 This is Tom. He’s a stray who decided to move in with us, on Lower Lane, about 6 months ago, although he’d been hanging round for nearly 12 months prior to his decision. He is definitely well fed 😏 He is a wanderer and usually attracted to homes that have had or do have cats. He is very much a free spirit and comes and goes as he fancies. He is a gentle soul who loves a bit of attention. He has been on this app several times, posted by people who he has blessed with his presence xx" There were then several other posts from people in the village sighting him up to 2 miles from here and saying how is trying to befriend their cats. But, no matter how much of a gentle sould he is, he is upsetting Myla! So curtains are now drawn where possible but I drew the line at moving a ton of logs from the logpile outside the kitchen winow. He hasn't quite got the hint yet as I could hear Myla growling at the living room curtains just a minute ago...

NOT MY CAT!!!! It has been a busy day on the moggie front so far today; let Myla out at 06:00, about 07:00 saw the porch light was on, assumed it was her wanting to come in again, swung front door open and bedraggled strange cat is sitting on the door mat and jumps up about to lunge for the open door, which gets swiftly shut again. Go to the kitchen to make tea. Cat has moved on top of the log pile, is staring at me through the window and meowing plaintively. Ignore it. 08:30 see that cat is still on doorstep and Myla is hiding under the car too afraid to come to the door. "Cat shunting puzzle" then ensues; go outside, pick up strange cat (it doesn't mind at all) and flip it over to inspect the undercarriage (it's a neutered boy), plonk him on the garden wall and try to encourage Myla out from under the car. She comes half-way to the door, he jumps off the wall and also heads towards the door. Myla turns and runs back under car. Round 2: grab cat again (I am calling him Adolf, when I first saw his facial markings I thought it could either be Adolf because of the moustache or Marilyn because of the beauty spot depending on the sex. So Adolf it is.) and carry him half-way up the drive whilst calling Myla to come out from under the car which she does and has a good long sniff of the door mat where Adolf has been sitting before leaping indoors. Myla has breakfast then wants to go out the back. 09:15 I look up from my desk and see Myla down the end of the garden and Adolf, who has been sitting on the patio furniture, is heading straight towards her, not good! So I go out, as soon as he sees me he comes trotting up meowing like mad and headbutts my ankles (I appear to have been chosen...) so I stride past him, pick Myla up and carry her indoors whilst she is looking down and making 8F safety valve lift-off impressions as we pass Adolf. I think if he's still hanging around after the weekend we'll grab him, stuff him in a carrier and dump him a few miles away take him to the vet to see if he's been microchipped.

Help! A cat is trying to adopt us! This cat has been hanging around our house for the past few days, sits outside the living room and watches us through the windows and waits on the doorstep for someone to come out and pet him/her, headbutts your ankles and tells you all about it, clearly it wants to come in. It looks too well fed to be a stray so I suspect someone in the village is yelling "Puss! Puss!" outside their back door right now. Our girls are not impressed and Myla hides under the coffee table and growls when it's outside, she's already done a stress-wee by the back door as a dirty protest. I'm of the "just chase the b*gg*r away" persuasion, but the wife is kinder-hearted and has already fed it a couple of times (a cardinal error I feel). I have posted on the village noticeboard, but no response as yet. What would you do?

Good God! Is there no stopping this man?! The historic unbuilt MTK kit mountain (estimated to be some 99.8% of the total kits produced) reduces by the day!

Crikey! Now that's what I call a latte...

Progress on the class 24 has been considerably intrerrupted by this "work" thing of late (note to self: must find way to be able to stop doing it as soon as possible, Euromillions currently not working) and even using @TT100 Diesels tip the glazing seemed to take ages, but now finally complete. The class 205 Thumper has been trial assembled and put through it's paces, the Chinery motor bogie is superb with smooth slow running and a sensible top speed, I've still got a couple in reserve so will no doubt be using them again. Now to do all those dratted door handles and grab rails. How many are there? Lots, but hopefully not this many...

Really enjoying watching these come together! 👍

Good grief! What a herculean effort! You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! 🙂

@Phil Mason kindly sent me some of his cast bogie sideframes which look very nice cleaned up and given a coat of primer: I've got a project in mind to build a split-headcode Smetham 37 using machined-down Triang A1A motor bogies once it's warm enough to use the bench grinder in my shed workshop so they will be useful for that. So many projects, so little effective time management. :^) And oh! It looks like I've actually finished something for a change! So she's now in revenue-earning service, those PIKO Taurus mechs really are superb runners; Agreed 100% and thanks for that tip. I got some 0.6mm clear sheet from Squires http://www.squirestools.com/ and it is indeed much easier to work with than FR lids. Just one slight difference being that I am applying "Glue n' Glaze" from behind applied with a cocktail stick, same principle with capilliary action and the point of the stick gently nudges the blob into place. Windscreens done, now gradually working my way through the cabside and door windows, stay tuned... 'Ere you go:

Hmm, looks like a Schwarzfahrersprungbrett to me. (No Fahrschein? Ve haff vays of making you valk...)

Ooh yes please. I'd be up for 4 sets of 4 (for 4 locos total) please. Let's talk terms! 🙂

Ho hum. It's back to work next week. :^( Glazing A few developments; the 25 cabside windows are glazed with strips of perspex held in by "glue n'glaze", with a film stretched across for the windscreens. Straightforward and simple, done. The 24 however is going for the à la manière de' @TT100 Diesels treatment; individual small pieces cut from strips of Ferrero Rocher box lids and filed to size for each aperture. Held in place with "glue n'glaze". Each one different and fiddly and laborious and patience-sapping and time consuming. This may take a while and I may be gone some time... Presflo woes So, like I said I am reporting back. Now exhibit A - this atrocity is a bastard combination of the etched n/s components up to the point where I abandonded ship, plus the Society plastic underframe parts araldited in. I mean yes, I know it's wrong, but is it an "acceptable" or "charmingly gets away with it" kind of wrong? An acceptable "wrong" that still allows you to scuttle off and build a rake of them in spite of it? Compromise; it looks like a cement wagon to me. If it then also quacks like one... I mean Who carries an accurate snaphot of what Presflo brake riging looks like around in their heads with them anyway? But so what, I'm kind of bored and had it with the Preflos for the time-being anyway, so now that I know how to make them if I can live with the inaccuracy, it's back to the cupboard with them. Cos' something far, faar better caught my attention when scrabbling around in the depths of the Cupboard of Abortive Modelling Shame - rythmic sounds emmanating from a wooden CORPS DIPLOMATIQUE cigar box - possibly - a Thumper? Indeed. A class 204/5 "Hampshire" DEMU 2-car unit. A type that would have run local services on the West of England main line near here. A Worsley Works kit that I last worked on in 2016. I'd got a fair way on with it, but it was then subject to the effect of a general mojo loss around that time, so was packed away. The big difference this time round being knowing how to use a Bill Bedford handrail bending jig...😁 At the start in 2014. I chose a Mike Chinery power bogie to power it, these are designed for 12mm narrow gauge modelling in larger scales, I have no idea how well or (if) this will perform! Additional electrical pickups are built into a standard Tri-ang coach bogie at the rear end of the power car. All wheels replaced with Romford 10.5mm metal wheels and pin-point bearings. Happy New Year and Gudden Rutsch! to all. Peter.

Robert, drop-in Faulhaber motor conversions were available from DAS-TT a few years back including can motor replacement for the BTTB motor with Schwungmasse, replacement gears and driveshafts. Various BTTB loco types were covered including E194. I bought a bunch and am still working my way through them -

Hi Phil, that's a clever re-use of the old BTTB E194 chassis, not seen that for a 37 before! Please do tell more...

I know that one. It's looking really good, welcome back! 🙂

Is one of these for me?

Phoebe is wearing her Xmas collar and is finding the Xmas preparations very stressful, Merry Chritmas everyone!

Well it's been a bit of a "good news/bad news" story of late. Good news Sulzers going well with decals and varnish applied. The 24 is numbered as 5150 - post-1967 as the "D" has been dropped but prior to TOPS class 24 designation being applied in 1971. 25 235 is mid-70's banger blue. Glazing next job. The 9F has also come on and is now numbered 92233. I chose this loco as it was allocated to Bath MPD in the early 60's and so could have been a candidate for hauling the Pines Express over the S&D, so my rendition of a Summer Saturday Bournemouth working crossing Tucking Mill viaduct goes like this: And before you all have a go at me I must stress that I gave it my best, but half-way down page 4 of the instruction booklet it became clear that the accuracy of my soldering technique (and patience levels) are way below the threshold required for assembling the tiny and fiddly Presflo brake gear and hopper release mechanism. And perhaps more importantly as the adverts say, when the fun stops, stop. So, give up and return all the bits to the cupboard of abortive modelling shame? Or is there another way? I've had a rummage in the bits box and come up with some Society 10ft wagon frames, the brake gubbins doesn't look anything like the Presflo gear, but might be worth a try. Now I'm a "close enough is good enough" kind of guy so I am prepared have a bodge, I'll have a go at one to see what it looks like and report back. Merry 3mm Christmas Everyone! Peter.

Love those seats, real craftsmanship.