ianLMS

Nice one Tony - looks just the job and i'm sure you enjoyed to contents of the tub before recycling it into a static grass applicator! As long as it works, its worth the effort. When I made mine, the Peco version was yet available the cheapest one was around £100, so this is one really good way to save a few pennies. Good to see how you get on with using it on the layout. Ian

Anything else I can try? Could it be the point blades are too stiff to move? If the point blades freely move by hand, then it shouldn't affect the point motor operating it. If you note a lot of resistance when you move them, something might be stuck (ballast, spring, paint etc) Have you followed www.brian-lambert.co.uk guide on wiring point motors etc? His guide was essential when I wired up my layout and still refer to it - covers both DC and DCC. Does the PL-13 switch move freely when you move the tie-bar? They can get stuck and would prevent the point motor from working fully. Thanks and good luck! Ian

if only I had the space for 64 drawers of goodies!!!

Agree - I got packs of watercolouring pencils, paints, acrylic tubes, Sharpies, mounting card, spray adhesive, cheap PVA and cheap brushes all from The Works. Excellent shop for cheap resources. Wilko's are pretty good as well for cheap glues, brushes etc.

Slightly different for the usual offerings, but still a bargain in my opinion: Storage Solutions - Take-away tubs with lids - for those that don't have a take-away nearby or the stomach for the contents, I have found 50 x plastic tubs with lids for £5.60 on Amazon. I have over 50 of these tubs (and enjoyed the contents) as I have a Chinese take-away two doors down from me (far too convenient). Excellent for storing flocks, static grasses, tools, parts, spares, hardware etc and easily stackable with good, secure lids!! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastic-650ml-Microwave-Takeaway-Containers/dp/B007SA7Y40/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1509529342&sr=8-3&keywords=takeaway+tubs I have also just purchased a 24 drawer storage unit from Amazon for £20.99. Again, perfect for all my different tubs/tubes of glues, small regularly used and close by tools etc. Comes in a variety of sizes and good value IMHO. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marko-Tools-Cabinet-Storage-Organiser/dp/B01F3NFZEO/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1509529597&sr=1-1&keywords=Marko+Tools+Drawer+Cabinet+Storage+Chest+Garage+Organiser+Tool+Fixing+Screw+Nut+Bolt+Nails+%2824+Drawer%29 Ian

I can quickly change the "hoppers" on the end of mine as the lid with the inset mesh unscrews, the power cable un-clips and the large retaining nut holding the hopper on the body simply un-does and pop the new hopper on. Good luck and for me, they are well worth the effort, especially when the more expensive ones are around £100. I know the Peco one is cheaper but the home-made version is much less than that. Ian

That's the one!!! LMS all the way!!!! Waiting for it to drop in my door any day now!!! (might be a bit big for the letter box though). Then I can sell my cheap Hornby Railroad coaches to fund another couple of these super detail ones and I will have myself a decent length, highly detailed train formation to enjoy!! All purchased with hard earned cash and no under-handed, dodgy dealings from the low life's of this world!!!

No comment me'lud!!

Depends on what the OP determines as "cheap". One mans cheap is another mans fortune. I bought a lot of my stuff from Ebay - most locos under £50, some less than £20. Coaches are usually a good steal if you catch them right. I have had a lot of successes and some horrors. Mostly my own fault--Either not reading the detail, missing vital information on the pictures or in the description, buying the wrong version (Hornby Railroad items versus the higher detail ones is a good example) etc. I have only had one really bad loco. It was advertised as a Bachmann Jubilee in excellent running condition. When it turned up, it had a badly built kit chassis on the tender, very poor hand-painted body, missing details and a jacked up front bogey. In the end I scrapped the loco and use it for spares! Lessons learnt!! I was going to return it to the seller, but made another poor choice - I tried stripping the paint off the tender first!!! Keep an eye out for train sets or train packs - ones which have been released for a couple of years are ideal. I just purchased a Hornby train pack from Hattons for £150 instead of £289. The 3 coaches are the higher detail ones which separately retail around £30-40 each, and the loco is a super detail Black 5 retailing at well over £150. Bargain in my book!!

Nice one Tony - Glad the Ebay ION gen worked! I have two of these built - one powered via a 12v mains adapter and the other from a 9V battery built into the body. Much smaller mesh and easier to handle. I made that one out of an old tube of No More Nails and a plastic beaker!! Would like to see pics of the results! Good luck with the build - again, pics of the finished article would be great. Ian

That looks excellent Peter - very impressive!!! Is it built from card or styrene/foamboard/ply? Cheers. Ian

Cheers for that. I didnt think they were the high quality ones. Ian

Good afternoon. Does anyone know which coaches are in the R1060 Coming Home set with the streamlined City of Lancaster in LMS black WW2 livery? Are they the newer Hornby extra detail type or the older version? Note Coming Home not the newer Going Home set with the Black 5. Cheers. Ian

Agree - plus cleaning the track

Another option would using foam board and/or polystyrene (type that frozen pizza's come with) and scribing the brickwork on. Less messy than plaster/clay and less prone to cracking. You could make the whole structure from foam board and either scribe the soft outer surface or laminate a layer of polystyrene over it using a suitable glue (I use no more nails). There is a thread in the Structures topic about using the polystyrene pizza bases to make buildings from. Another option is getting the surfaces laser cut with the correct brick courses cut into it. Not sure how easy it would be though (or costly). Good luck Ian

I printed smoke box door numbers using 4pt and printed it on white inkjet water slide decal paper (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkjet-Waterslide-Decal-Paper-Sheets/dp/B006DH7FDY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1507207427&sr=8-6&keywords=inkjet+water+slide+paper) Came out ok and much thinner than normal paper. Choosing a different font in Word would also help as these change sizes depending on which style you pick. If you go down the printed water slide route, make sure you seal it with a good spray varnish. Again available on Amazon.

Good afternoon folks, Reconstruction of the back left corner is going strong with completion of the main structure for the tunnel, hillside with access panels and now working my way back to the village with a new road and plans for a 1930's garage/workshop and if room, a blacksmiths forge. Far too messy to photograph right now, but here is a pic of the loco servicing area after detailing it a little.

If I only had a few points, the Cobalt IP point motors would have been my first choice. I already had 32 points originally wired for DC using the Peco solenoid point motors so would have been too costly to convert. I just use the DCC ADS-8FX accessory decoders to change them now. Track weathering looks very good - was it applied using the new airbrush? Enjoy and will be interesting to see how it develops

Looking good there Matt - take a look at this page and follow his electrical guidance for the electrofrogs - http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/ it makes a big difference to modify the points as per Peco and his guidance. How are you switching the polarity? using Peco switches, micro-switches or auto-frogs? I use a combination of all 3. I have to say I am very impressed with the Gaugemaster Auto-frog DCC80 for changing the polarity. Very easy to install. Good luck with developing the layout - bottom line - have fun and learn the skills. Ian

I am sure the topic of photographs of inebriated, pretty young ladies looking like they have had a great time with visiting Edwardian gentleman has been covered before, but I am positive no-one here will complain if you have to go back over the same topic time and time again!! I just hope they don't suffer with hayfever with all them flowers strewn across the bicycles and their garments!

I did wonder if this had already be covered in past posts, probably #1,394,978 or there abouts

If you are still looking for exceptional figures, you may want to look up "Modelu". He posts on here and has his own thread under Small Suppliers. He 3D scans people in a variety of period clothing and produces what look like very high quality plastic figures. He has recently put up a comment on RMWeb which may interest you as he is shortly announcing a new Edwardian range: "This includes the first new Edwardian figures, the fitters & cleaners, the Loco shed detailing components and workmen scanned at the GCR in June". His website is here: https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/ I shall be ordering some of his figures and lamps very shortly - the point rodding stuff also looks interesting! ian

Excellent reference pictures there Edwardian - looks like a volcano erupted near Diss in the early 20th Century, or failing that, could it be snow? I think looking at the majority of the photo's I would go with 2mm Green Scene light grey mixed with ash from a lovely open fire, extracted from freshly burnt hardwood logs whilst sipping a fine brandy and puffing on that pipe!

Here is a pic of Little Dunham and looking at the clothing, again this would be around the right era. Little Dunham is just the other side of Swaffham, again very close to Castle Acre. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=CmCbKDuN&id=413948F0A2F5B81E7572FD68F0EDA748A211C88D&thid=OIP.CmCbKDuNQxnySbsMkawU1AE9DE&q=pictures+of+swaffham+railway+station&simid=607992870634456698&selectedindex=4&mode=overlay&first=1 Ian

In terms of this thread, anything discussed yesterday is old and you all have moved onto ten different other topics, but I need to go back to the ballast!!! As promised I checked last night and the Green Scene's ballast I used is the 4mm Light Grey - GS409. Cheers. Ian