380John

Just wanted to say it was lovely to meet you on setup day and see the layout at the weekend. It's a credit to you and your team and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the action! The only one not so impressed was the 1:1 scale spider! John (from making tracks layout)

Merry Christmas to you Bob

Are you on the favia mark?

Get well soon Bob.... Look forward....!

How about offering the charts to students learning chart work and navigation? Always comes in handy whenever I'm teaching such.

Not necessarily.... Deck officer myself and have a look if not familiar already with "Wormdale" fantastic layout by a "just retired" ropax master. John

How long were you away this time Mark? Relieved on time this time?

I would say its the GPS Avenger perhaps?

"never a dull moment at sea" you're right there Mark! My old vessel alongside my new vessel..... Reflagging, re-naming, re-classing, safety management systems, certification and planned maintenance to do. Plus the hundreds of other things..... Such as new mmsi and call sign identification..... Oh yeah.... The crew are also the ones to get the blue paint out!.... Still, at least the weather is good! John

It was a look at Taw Valley as Elizabeth II, and as part of it a bit of a chat with staff at the SVR. 37:40 is around the mark Arley is reached and I believe you are mentioned. Get well soon John

Good grief! So sorry to hear that Bob. I hope you are on the mend. Take care and don't push yourself too much. I see you had a nice mention on the Hornby magazine channel recently. Keep well and take care. John

Ghost sign a great idea Bob! Looking good

Beautiful job Bob, well done. Seems like you're working with added confidence now too and it's certainly paying off it looks great. The technique has given it a real life like look. John

It makes a nice focal point at the centre of the turntable. The extra detail I think would be an added bonus to a nice model. John

Good idea! I'll have a look tomorrow. Cheers, John

Hi Bob it's looking great. By coincidence I was going through some old model railway magazines today and somebody else had mated the peco turntable with the Dapol kit, and to great effect too. If you like I can find you the name of the layout and perhaps post a picture, unless it breaks copyright rules etc. John

My honest answer is that I don't know. But after using powders and knowing that they can be washed off, I'd imagine that the chances of moving the powder around would be quite high. Stippling might remove the powder and stick it to the brush rather than the model surface. I may be wrong but would definitely try a test piece. I'm interested to know the answer myself but my instinct tells me that I'd probably spray it rather than brush it. John

Hi Bob, I have never used one that's to be brushed on. Personally I use humbrol matt varnish in an aerosol can. Haven't got any complaints but I would recommend spraying at a decent distance as otherwise you will get a speckled effect. Cheers, John

Happy new year Bob! As for the turntable I'd go for grey. Personal preference of course but the area etc and the cambrian in general I think grey would be what I'd go for. No room for a turntable on my cambrian based layout but if I had.... It'd be grey. John

Looks great Bob. Definitely worth the effort. Just the sort of look you were after and full functionality. Just goes to show what a bit of kit bashing can do and only 1 page ago you were unsure (understandably) of taking the "leap" but this serves as a lesson to all of us. "nothing ventured.... Nothing gained". Well done, you should be chuffed with it. John

Looks good Bob, the two fit together quite nicely and aesthetics wise I really think it does the job. John

Not too sure what you mean as I'm trying to visualise it. Perhaps when dry you could take a picture on the sides as it "offered up". If I understand what you mean.... Could you perhaps cut notches in the sides for the wheels? John

I'd give it a go Bob. What really do you have to lose? - broken hand rails. To me they look over scale anyway. Just check the Dapol sides are long enough, don't foul anything etc etc. If you fit them (maybe use blue tack to see first) and don't like them, then remove them and make some new handrails. That wouldn't be difficult with styrene etc. Even then, I'd be tempted to modify railings off something else or another kit etc and use those instead. John

Merry Christmas Bob, All the very best to you. Hoping you have a happy New year. John

Great to see you back posting Bob, compliments of the season to you. I agree wholeheartedly with what lezz has said. The Dapol one s surface mounted. I even thought about doing one and having a manual mechanism where you physically turn a handle to move it. It's less complicated and actually adds to the realism I feel. Let's face it, back in the period your railway is set, that was the way to turn a locomotive. For the price of the kit, its a bit of guilt free experimentation without the worries of damaging or destroying something expensive. If it doesn't work the peco is worth a shot. You might even be able to detail it with parts from the Dapol kit to then give it more of a gwr feel. All the very best to you, Great to see you back. John