westernviscount

Forgive me for chiming in with what I think is a previously shared image, but here is a model I did with permanently open doors. A mechanism would add the excitment I must say!!

For the backscene painters This one might be cheating And I am sure Rod has been scanned by modelu to help with this one!

Look carefully :-)

I really enjoy articles like this. It doesnt preclude the idea of mastery in something, just rejects the idea that every minute of ones day should be productive and monetised.

These are excellent!

I thought it was just me being soft!! Now I feel better. I use the gaugemaster combi as it was cheap and also excellent.

Is the gentleman in the foreground demonstrating the ineffectiveness of this method? They seem more of a suggestion than a rule. They may also offer an exciting thing to grab for our younger modelling friends. I would worry about a thing meant to protect the layout being attached to it.

For a total lack of barriers, perhaps the odd stray finger or grabby hand can be dealt with by the application of some basic people skills and politely reminding about boundaries. People skills and politeness are not in everyones tool kit of course. Perhaps some would be better off exhibiting in one of Damien Hirst's vitrines ;-)

You might wish to invest in some of the museum type, uncrossable velvet rope! Seriously though, a quick look on amazon brings up a few alternatives. The the seatbelt type barrier with 6 posts, and 3 belts they can cordon off 6M for about £100. Not cheap in my view.

Blueball Summit disproves this sentiment I would say. However, it might be worth simply addressing replies directly to the commenter. Is a seperate thread necessary? May smack of a pile on.

Thanks Iain. The windows look crystal clear!! Going to attempt this myself perhaps.

Superb!! Absolutely superb. Can I ask Iain, did you take the GUARD decal on the BY from a different sheet to modelmaster? The kit I did recently seemed to be lacking the full set of legends. Also, perhaps a silly question but are these models all glazed?

I can't help it sometimes...too much time spent watching the office ;-)

Thank you to everyone who responded to my earlier comment about motivation. All sound advice. My move has meant the opportunity to go to a club which I do enjoy, but like Phil, yes it is more tea and biscuits than track and baseboards. I think I lost my way a bit upon the "completion" of my layout and becoming more interested in the comment and theorising side of RMweb rather than blogging about my stuff. I remain inspired by other modellers and like Northmoor have stacks of mags, especially MRJ. I am also venturing into the blog section again. I have never been put off by the level of skill of others and despite my tendancy towards envy, I admire their skill. I just feel we are at a time where there is perhaps a two tier system witb those with all the kit and those of us with nothing much more than a scalpel (swann morton of course, it aint all bad) ;-) The reference to 3d printing, lasercut, pete watermans making tracks, youtubers etc is about feeling left behind somewhat. For many years I sensed being part of a group of like minded folk who, yes, have differing skills and chequebook sizes but on the whole, all seem very much linked. I dont really get that sense anymore but perhaps that was the ignorance of my youth at work. The arrogance of a teen identifying with Pete Waterman!! But, thanks again for all the advice. All sound! I intend to buy the apron I said I was going to wear as a new years resolution and ... I took delivery of this used Jinty. Being as I model blue diesels on the western region I hoped to go in a different direction. I have the January guilt of buying this but as I say it was second hand. It also ran like a pig and I was massively disheartened by this, which certainly contributed to the deflated mojo. I Stripped it down last night and it runs as sweetly as can be expected for what seems to start with a pretty basic drive train. I will keep folk posted with a blog I am sure. I am thinking a chasis kit perhaps! It all takes time and money of course, both of which are rather scarce currently and for the foreseeable. Thank you so much again chaps.

My modelling mojo plummeted last year. I have barely been near the bench, not helped by moving and starting a new job. I set out some new years resolutions elsewhere on the forum but instantly knew it was unlikely to happen. I have been dwelling on how my hobby has changed and whether I still enjoy it. When I started I just loved making models and building things. I built a layout fairly ignorant of the wider hobby. But now I see all the highflying elite of the hobby and just wonder how on earth anything I do could ever be satisfying when there is lasercut this, 3d printed that, dcc sound the other, making tracks, you tubers etc etc. I am finding it all overwhelming. I did write an article about my motivation funnily enough but it seems to have left me completely. Nothing I can build will ever meet my expectations which have been drastically altered because of the abilities and means of others which are so readily apparent because of new media. Comparison is as we know, the thief of joy.

Western Resolutions 1. More modelling without guilt. I love it and that is enough justification 2. Breathe and be patient when things go wrong. Put the tools down and take 5 mins (Never smash things!). 3. Wear an apron and stop wiping stuff on my clothes!! 4. Control envy (remove youtube app from phone) Western Goals 1. Design and start new layout 2. Produce an item to base a modelling article around 3.refine use of airbrush 4. Build an O gauge wagon to try out modelling at that scale. Best wishes folks. Happy new year.

Ok, so there is the Great Western Railway but what do the others stand for? ;-)

Thought I would add some pics of the latest workbench stuff. I have had a big move over the summer and featured here are a couple of projects that have been a long time in the making for such a modest project. A parkside LNER extra long cct and a parkside SR BY. The BY was tweaked with Lanarkshire roof vents, upright vac pipes and buffers. Also added were .3mm handrails including door furniture. It sports heavily weathered green paint. I am still learning the airbrush and results remain a bit hit and miss. The extra long cct finished in maroon (ford maroon to be precise) and again heavily weathered. Steps, like the BY have been made with brass so they are more robust. I added handrails again and also replaced the rainstrips as the moulded ones are a bit slight. The vents are phoenix precision which are not quite as refined as Lanarkshire but better than the kit supplied ones. I found I wasnt able to focus when doing the glaxing for the BY and regret not making a better attempt at flush glaze. Next time maybe. I love these kits. Very much why I love the hobby.

A few posts ago I suggested Carr's weathering powders are no more but this is not correct. They are still available!

Cheers Chris. Yes I can take a look inside and you are right, it may shed some light. Again, I think I agree that it is worth waiting for a bit. The patch is now a lot bigger and although initially I thought it didnt look bad it is now very distracting... It is following the area of the weathering. I shall report back!!

Thank you @Gilbert and @Enterprisingwestern. What to do next I wonder. Some white spirit perhaps to remove the weathered layer? I am surprised it didnt show on the blue paintwork but it may have seeped through the handle area over time. I had been nervous to weather it, being my first brass kit but I don't think all hope is lost.

In the above images of the Hawkworth Bg there is a small amount of staining around the ends of each side (it looks damp). Since these photos, the "damp patch" has spread to a much bigger area. I am slightly confused as to why this is happening. I used Mig airbrushed acrylics. It is a brass kit, primed with halfords red primer, then railmatch colour rattle can , then humbrol acrylic matt varnish. It remained in this state for a year until I finally got round to weathering. The area is near soldered joints so I wonder if some flux or other contaminant has crept through? I thought I had cleaned it however. Any thoughts welcome.

Hi Andrew, I use Carrs weathering powders. However, humbrol powders are also excellent. I experimented with pastels but they dont take very well. I assume even though they are scraped, the binding agent is still present. A quick rattle over with humbrol matt acrylic (literally shaking the can briefly over the whole model). Another nice method for fixing powders is to mix them with humbrol decalfix and either wash over areas or dab them for heavier areas. This can retain the powdery texture for rust. Worth a try on a non precious model first.

I have been continuing to fiddle about with the airbrush. I have had my comet kits hawksworth hanging about for over a year, awaiting some grubbing up. I have to admit having spent a good amount of time on building it, I was loath to weather it! I think it is all the better for it though.

Fair dues, this kind of honest self awareness and understanding of the realities of life is as rare as hens teeth these days.