Caley Jim

You always know the faults in your own work. It's only by acknowledging them to yourself that you improve. Educationalists would call it 'reflective learning' I believe. Jim

Following a good clean with Flash Bathroom cleaner (other household cleaners are available) the 20thou styrene gutters have been fitted which gives the whole thing a more finished look. Especially in end profile. Pity I didn't notice that the left hand end bottom corner wasn't soldered down properly! Attention will now turn to the canopy for the up platform. Jim

Paul, does that mean all of the roofs have warped? Jim

If you scroll down this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan to the section on The Dress Act 1746. you'll see that tartan was included in the proscription. Most present day setts are indeed modern inventions and new patterns are often being introduced for specific events or even towns. E.g. Peebles has its own tartan designed to celebrate the centenary of the Beltane Festival, one of the Common Riding events of the Border towns. Jim

Only until the wearing of tartan was banned following the '45! Edited to add that strictly speaking tartan is a type of cloth, not the pattern. Jim

Could ModelU be persuaded to do a Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson? The etches of brackets arrive yesterday, so they have now all been fitted. The apparent angle of some of the pillars is camera distortion. They are all perfectly vertical! Seen better in this inverted view. The original fret I was given appeared to be in phosphor bronze as it has a very 'coppery' appearance. These new ones are brass. They grip the building, but it can still be easily removed. The eagle eyed will spot the top ends of the downpipes projecting through the valences. They are in different positions on either side of the canopy. Jim

Yes, I was aware of that typo @Asterix, and that the Battle of Prestonpans was fought across it. Jim

I always find it much easier to add as much as possible while the underframe is in the flat, with the exception of footboards. Tried that once - never again! Folding down the solebars without distorting the footboards was well nigh impossible! What is the wheelbase and how tight a curve will it go round, being rigid with presumably no sideplay in the centre axle? Jim

You can cut 5thou brass in the same way as you would styrene with a sharp craft knife, but taking many more strokes. To stop it curling up don't start the cut right at the edge. Jim

This was standard practice to form a 'leader', effectively a 'crumple zone' in modern day parlance. where trains were being divided to run forward in separate sections it was sometimes necessary for spare brake vehicles to be available to form a leader if one portion was not going to have a brake compartment next to the loco. Often trains which were to be divided would have two brake vehicles 'back to back' inthe centre of the train where the division would take place. Jim

Another way to secure the bogies is to solder the nut onto a piece of scrap etch. Make the length of the pivot screw such the when you screw the nut down tight the bogie can still pivot and rock. Easy to take them off and on and no need for glue. It's also a good idea to arrange the bogie mounting such that one bogie can rock on the longitudinal axis and the other on a transverse axis. The latter then keeps the coach stable when running, while between them giving a degree of compensation. See the link in my post above for both these points. Jim

The higher the number, the smaller the size. 10BA are 1.8mm in diameter, 8BA 2.25mm. Not sure what's used as a bogie pivot in 4mm - not my scale. I used 14BA (c1mm) on my CR45ft first in 2FS. Jim

Using magnification takes a bit of getting used to. I used loupes similar to these as a dentist before I retired and found them invaluable for that, in fact I wondered how I ever managed without them, but that was to be able to see very fine detail and enable me to work with a better posture. For modelling, I find 2.5x is just too much and you have to have the work too close to your eyes to be comfortable. I use a set of Lightcraft LED supporting glasses, using the 1.5x lenses (they come with 1.5x, 2.5x and 3.5x), which sit over my reading glasses. Unfortunately it seems they are no longer manufactured (according to the Farnell website). Alternatives they suggest are of the headband magnifier type which are a bit more cumbersome. Jim

The rest of the pillars have now been fitted. The fret of etched cast iron brackets which Neil had got for these has arrived from Roy and I've fitted the first few around the pillars at one end. They are not exactly the same as the prototype, but are near enough to fit the bill. There are not enough of the large ones, between the transverse beams and the pillars, as these continue all the way along the sides of the building, but we've been able to identify that they came from Scalelink and I've ordered up another two sheets from Scalelink fretcetera, who have taken over their range of etches. Jim

I have now attached the longitudinal beams at either end. With the building being card, I have been able to make it a tight fit between the inner ends of them. The H-section brass I had got for the outer pillars is quite thick in section (c0.5mm) but I’ve thinned it down from inside the channel on one side. and have now attached them at either end. Once all the soldering is finished I will fill the inner channel on these with styrene strip. The next pillars in I will make from square tube so that a spigot of 1mm rod can be fitted at the bottom to locate on the platform and the inner pillars will be square rod. Jim

I agree with Chris. Etched windows are by far the most robust, though they can also be cut on a silhouette cutter or laser in thin card. My method is to etch them in three layers (5 in the case of sash windows) with a slot to slip in the glazing after painting. See 4th photo down in this post. Jim

Lovely weathering on the ironwork, Mike! Jim

Com ça? (background crop from a photo of a CR 15T boiler wagon) Jim

Mike Rasmussen has kindly sent me the station buildings he has built and the canopy fits exactly onto the island platform building. I can now get on and fit the longitudinal beams and the pillars at either end, but that will not be for a few days as I have some other things which need my attention first. Jim

As was Grahamstown in Glasgow for the building of Central Station. Jim

Is it UV light or just the blue end of the spectrum? UV cured filings came into use on the '70's, but quite quickly were replaced by materials cured by blue light. There were some concerns over the safety of UV light, particularly to dentists and their staff. Precautions still have to be taken with blue light - yellow goggles and shields for example. Jim

That section of music from c3:10 - 6:30 and the scenes it accompanied must be one of the most atmospheric in any railway related feature film . Jim

I would suggest that these 'taster kits' are the way to go if you want to dip a toe in 2FS. Many people have, as a result of trying one, found the water much to their liking! Jim

Have you tried the Highland Railway Society? Jim

Thanks. Au contaire! Back to the Dunallander canopies! Jim