Mick Bonwick

Is that anything like having a quick nudge? Do canopies come into it anywhere? Have I strayed onto the wrong forum?

I have never mixed paint to represent watery bottoms, so this suggestion is purely conjecture. Would it appear more realistic if the various colours were painted on separately and only mixed at the edges of their respective patches? In other words, paint on a dirty brown colour in a small patch and then paint on a dirty green colour in another patch next to it. Before they dry, mix abd blend the paint at the edges of the two patches to create a gradual transition between the colours. Repeat as desired.

The decision to model this station was reached after quite a lot of helpful information was accumulated. As alluded to already, main sources of help were the library in Winchester, where I lived at the time, the South Western Circle and the Scalefour Society. Between them, all the detail I needed to build a mental picture of my planned layout was brought together. If I was to start again, now, I'd just need Google! Some of the main decision factors were: Compact track layout Straightforward signalling Passenger terminal, but goods through lines Only small locomotives needed Restrictions on the number of goods vehicles allowed per train Restrictions on the number of passenger coaches allowed per train Severe speed restrictions on all trains There was some consideration given to building an exhibition layout of 9' x 3' plus fiddle yard, but no progress was ever made with that. I did dabble with the refurbishment of a P4 layout, Lee-on-Solent, for a brief time, but work got in the way too much and the task was taken over by the East Hants Area Group of the Scalefour Society, subsequently turning into a complete rebuild with only the original buildings kept. The layout is still on the exhibition circuit or, at least, it was last year. Many photographs have been found, from many sources, that enabled small but meaningful details to be replicated. People like Colin Caddy, Brian Jackson, John Flann, Peter Squibb, H. C. Casserley and Lens of Sutton have all provided a splendid selection of material, photographic and anecdotal.

Thank you for the notification, John. I did try Pinterest a couple of years ago, but found nothing new on there. I notice that you appear to have a connection to the area - you don't happen to have a photograph of the roadside elevation of the goods shed, do you? I have photographs of just about every elevation of every other building, but this one still eludes me. I have asked Mullie of this parish as well, but he doesn't know of one.

Splendid! Absolutely splendid.

A long time ago (it seems) I started planning a layout. That was after I joined a well known model railway society and was invited to attend the monthly meetings of the local area group. Through the membership and fellowship of this area group I discovered the delights of research, planning and building. I bought books, visited a library, took notes and joined another organisation, all with a view to amassing sufficient information to make an accurate model of Easton, on the Isle of Portland. I had discovered that a scale model of the whole station area could be fitted into a 16' x 4' area without any compression or compromise. Fast forward thirty five years and things have changed. Not surprising, really! What hasn't changed, though, is the target of building a model railway based upon Easton. The idea of building a scale model has given way to the 'based upon' idea, mainy because there is now not enough time left for me to get involved in building everything myself. I am going to have to rely heavily upon most things being available ready to run, a much changed situation from that of 1994. A much simplified diagram of the station area was finally created from studying Ordnance Survey maps, published works about the Portland area and, most importantly, the Easton and Church Hope Railway. The diagram:

Oh no you're not!

I'm no expert on signal locating, but how about a gantry that is positioned on the other side of the track, reaches across both tracks and the signal itself hangs from or sits on the gantry?

Looking forward to the answer . . . . . . . . . . . .

Without moving?

Your set should include a method of preventing the atomised paint from going up your nose. Whether you use enamel or acrylic paint (the most common among modellers) you must ensure that you don't inhale the paint particles. With some paints the caution extends to the carrier as well, which can be solvent based. Your choices are mainly governed by your budget and desire to live. Cheapest method is outside in the fresh air, using the wind to carry the particles away from you. Next comes the face mask with filters suitable for 5 micron particles and solvent fumes and, finally, an extractor booth, also suitable for 5 micron particle filtering and either ducting to the outside or internal carbon-impregnated fume filter. You haven't mentioned what you want to use an airbrush for. Will it be weathering, N Gauge models, O Gauge models, scenery, buildings, or a combination of some of those? Airbrushes suitable for beginners can cause long and involved discussions in RMweb topics. Everybody has their favourite(s) and will give their opinion on them. What I suggest you do is try and find a retailer who will allow you to at least handle them to establish comfort and dexterity levels. I know that that is not always practical or possible. My recommendation for beginners is the lower end of the price ranges from Neo for Iwata, Sparmax, Badger and Paasche. Harder and Steenbeck can also be considered but some of their models are a bit awkward to clean easily. As mentioned by Pete the Elaner above, an AS186 is a good starter as a compressor, but be very careful of the supplier you use. Make sure that the supplier also stocks spares for the model you buy. In recent times (1 year to 18 months) I have encountered two AS186s that have failed very soon after purchase and had to be written off because the failures were not supported by the retailer. Next up the ladder would be the small range from Sparmax. Whatever you choose you need to take the following into account: Low noise Adjustable pressure valve Pressure gauge Moisture trap Automatic start/stop Be prepared to spend quite a lot of time keeping your airbrush clean. If you don't, it will soon stop working and you'll be back on RMweb asking what's gone wrong.

Certainly looks rusty!

It's a pity we can't select the Like, Agree and Funny buttons all at once!

Revell 84 (heavy rust spots) coupled with MIG Productions Dark Mud and Track Brown (light applications and streaking).

Any problems that I have had with SEEP PM1s not changing the blades properly have been resolved by re-aligning the device. I use black tac to temporarily position the SEEP and then screw it in place once the thing works both ways. I have been using DCC Concepts decoders to drive the solenoids, each terminal of which has its own capacitor, according to the manufacturer. Although I bought several spare PM1s originally (in case of the failures that people warned me about) I have never had to replace one out of the 36 installed. Now I've said that I expect I'll have to retract the last sentence!

Like so many other topics on this forum.

Another recommendation for emodels here, plus Scale Model Shop: https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/products/paints/vallejo-paints

Nice work, Lee.

Your cue, Kevin . . . . . .

I've got lots of thoughts, but I have to be careful who (if anyone) I share them with. Thoughts that are applicable to this topic are many and mainly concern admiration, inspiration and fascination. Admiration for the way that everything is thoroughly thought through prior to implementation. Inspiration because I am invariably moved to go and do some modelling of my own in order to defeat procrastination. Fascination with the results that continue to pour forth from the organisation surrounding Little Muddle station. Rather than navy and cream, can't you use black and white?

I didn't say it was wrong. I just wondered if anybody had said that it was.

Has anybody yet mentioned that Little Muddle should be facing the other way?

I thought that they were called pin-point bearings if they supported a ground point axle and top-hat bearings if the axle went all the way through..

Depends on the system you're using, but you're pretty much on the ball here. If it was my layout I'd go for something rated a bit higher. I'm no expert on this topic, but I've never had a layout blow up on me or damage my stock electrickery bits. Edit: Sam Moss just got there first. Probably the first of many!

Was it a black and white film?