sp1

I’ve seen pictures of those- the pictures are bad enough, never mind the real thing- Australia is definitely off the list of places to visit!

Interesting to see so many people from the Black Country popping out of the woodwork!

That picture really illustrates the length of the buildings- I like building things but would have found that really tedious!!

Great name for the layout Andy - I would have been tempted to go for a subtle play on words and add an R and call it ‘Severn Mill’ but that might restrict the location to somewhere near a certain river.....

That’s the one!

Excellent! Just one tiny thought: a lot of old postcards like this had what looks like handwritten captions in white (presumably written onto the negative with something?) - I think this subtle change would make this utterly convincing. Edit: something like this: http://postcardvalues.com/realphotopostcards.html

There was a similar thread on here recently by someone called Jim (I think) describing card baseboards coated with shellac- might be worth a look?

I thought I’d seen all the episodes- must have missed this one. Excellent- thanks for posting the link

I can tell the difference in dialect among older people but alas I think the variations in speech are dying with them.

It is you know! The wall enclosing the front of the zoo is built from it - you can see all the bits of coral and the critters that live in it so it must be true.......

I think there’s probably a reason that the ‘traditional method’ is the ‘traditional’ method.....

Me too

Nice - I like snakes (my other hobby) - we don’t see many over here. Spiders - that’s a different matter: it’s going to be bad enough over here in the next couple of months when the house spiders come out looking for a mate, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in Australia with those spiders the size of dinner plates that drop down on you when driving the car, and I would die of constipation due to the ones that seem to live under every toilet seat.....

I like your thinking!

I look forward to seeing the film in November

Some retailers routinely test models before sending them out - do you not class those as new: I would prefer to buy something that has been tested rather than go through the hassle of returning a ‘dud’

Yes please!

I would consider the following to comprise the Black Country (the scope of which is still debated!): Tipton, Dudley, Brierley Hill, Pensnett, Kingswinford, Wordsley, Amblecote, Stourbridge, Lye, Old Hill, Cradley Heath, Rowley Regis and Halesowen (parts of it - some of Halesowen was, and parts still is, quiet rural/ agricultural), Gornal and Sedgley. Places like Clent, Hagley, Himley definitely not, and I don’t consider Wolverhampton part of the Black Country- others do! These areas are nearly all in Staffordshire: Dudley is an anomaly, being an island of Worcestershire. A similar anomaly which is not often realised is Amblecote, which was in Staffordshire but was part of the parish of Old Swinford which was in Worcestershire ( Old Swinford also included the parishes of Stourbridge and Lye etc, also in Worcestershire. The area is characterised by nail making, coal mines (I have seen old maps showing mines in Brierley Hill high Street!, glassmaking etc. Notably the area I have described sits on top of the Staffordshire 10 yard/ 30 foot coal seam.

Go on, put some stripes on them - you know they go faster....

It never ceases to amaze me how drivers would know which of those signals to follow when they were approaching something like that....

That is hysterical! Edit to add: the things we did when we were young- no elf ‘n safety in those days: how are any of us still alive??

Or ......it could be the last resting place of Jimmy Hoffa.....

I know the CKD concept has been discussed before and various (seemingly sensible) reasons given why it wouldn’t work, but what about a ready built chassis, with a choice of ready painted bodies and a sprue of detailing parts to add yourself according to taste (together with a sheet of transfers (numbers?) it would solve the problem of bits falling off/ not being able to build a working chassis/ paint and line the thing....It’ll never happen of course.....

I’m looking forward to the answer as whatever they are made from they look great!