longchap

I used micro strip for the roof of the Clifton Downs driving car and it was quick and easy to fit using Tamia Extra Thin, the one with the integral brush. Just cut to size, position on the roof at the high mid-point and fix with a tiny drop of adhesive applied to the underside of the rainstrip, then wait 30 seconds with your finger holding it down, make sure it's stuck, then bend each end in turn down to the lower end positions in turn and dab some more adhesive to the edge of the strip to allow it to spread along by capillary attraction. Job done.

We have three cats Neal, our oldest is a beautiful 17 year old lady and now resides strictly in the kitchen and far too frail to catch mice, while the young mother and daughter outside couple keep rodents strictly under control and will probably become house cats in due course. Fortunately no damage, just some serious tidying up, disposal of foodstuff from a breached kitchen base unit and sealing both ends of a waste pipe through a half metre thick stone wall. Between jobs and some appointments tomorrow, I've a couple of hours planned in the railway room and hope to find the baseboards and progress the wiring and control panel 😀

Ah, we all know the bind it can be to tear yourself away from a modelling project, right when you're in the groove and things going along swimmingly! I had been looking forward to spending the day in the railway room today, but discoved that we'd had intruders in overnight, fortunately only rodents, so cleaning up and repair work was the order of the day.

Excellent result Andy and I'm sure you'll not be dissapointed with his engineering standards. Besides the rivet press, I've also his wheel press / quartering tool and a couple of wheel pullers and they're all little gems, beautifully made as one might expect from a dedicated old school engineer, proud of his work. Speaking of tools, I big smile was brought to my face in the summer when a dear engineering chum sent over a small drill press, not unlike the Proxon, as when he saw it, he thought I should have one! Your 517 is looking very fine and I look forward to see the finishing stages of the build.

Great progress Mike and due in no small way to your construction methodology, particularly preparation. I don't think the gearbox should give you much hassle. The gear set is a bit of a fiddle to align, but the instructions are precise and give good tips to get you through the process. Really understanding the instructions and use of an Optivisor saw me through without problems, with just a bit of filing down bearings to provide clearance. It proved a satisfying experience when hooked up to the rolling chassis and a 9v battery applied to the motor terminals. Keep having fun 😀

Welcome to RMweb Pete, you may find this place a tad busy after YMRC, but there is so much activity and loads of helpful people to hand. All the best with the layout, Bill

He is still advertising in MRJ Andy, so hopefully, yes.

I await this issue with particular interest, as I lived in Princetown from 1959 to '66 and knew the station area well and walked the trackbed for miles across the moor with my chums. Such a pity that only the stable building remains, at least I hope it still does and I look forward to paying another return visit before too long.

I concur with Neal regarding the rods. Just be gentle when filing down the edges to get the soldered joint looking like a solid steel rod, as they are still fragile and need support from a suitable vice.

I'm a believer in getting in with loads of heat from the biggest bit practical, then get out quickly. This often means less burnt fingers and quickly made joints, as the workpiece heats up rapidly. I experimented with the temperature and finally settled on 450deg for etched chassis work. Good job, as usual Mark.

So rewarding to see the application of knowledge and skill produce such excellent results even from an ancient Nellie and your video brilliantly brought it to life. Inspiring work Jim and thank you for demonstrating your talents. Best, Bill

Agree that is, to not painting anything strictly black or white. Grey is the new black or white !

There has been a marked difference in the pricing and description of Hattons' pre-owned stock over the last year or so. Previously, I've collected probably 5 or 6 Triang brake thirds from Hattons at a consistent price of £7.50 for future projects use, which will give hours of enjoyment. Current pre-owned prices are often close to new, while multiple photographs of stock are largly missing (it takes more effort to list the item correctly), items often listed with just a single shot of the stock inside the box, hiding all sorts of 'no-way / no- go' warnings for purchasing a probable return item.

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1534583/hornby_r9302_po02_thomas_and_friends_old_slow_coach_pre_owned_face_missing_good_box/stockdetail Price £37 Although not on ebay, this from Hattons' pre-owned listings today, nicely captures the spirit of insane madness. Try and figure the pricing strategy . . . original good condition Triang GWR short wheelbase brake third clerstory coach, say a generous £12 (I rarely pay more than £9); premium for two girt big holes in coach end and missing Thomas and Friends face from coach end less £9; leaving a sizable premium for obtaning what the seller thinks the empty slightly distressed cardboard box is worth. Will some sucker dedicared collector actually buy this rubbish? Probably !

Some general comments: We must accept that all structure kits will need some degree of refinement to produce a reasonable copy of the real thing. I've built two laser cut kits, a timber goods shed and a brick engine shed. The engine shed had horrible brick quoins (corners), which seems to be a common issue, although the brickwork bond on my 4Most (?) kit is correct for a solid 9" wall, but I'm still applying filler and carving the quoin joints. It will be finally finished one day, just not soon. The goods shed was a joy to build, although heavily modified to reflect correct building construction. The roofs / rooves for both these kits were dreadful and after trying several techniques, I now mainly use Scale Model Scenery's laser cut slate strips. Price is no certain indicator of either quality or fidelity to prototype and instructions often resemble a guide only, requiring much enjoyable research. I used to build in plastic and card, but find resin and laser cut kits, particularly for larger buildings, an enjoyable challenge, which provide good results with patience and determination. In my defence, the pedant in me stems from a past life in the construction sector, combined with the belief that well researched kits with clear and researched instructions, are not much more difficult to produce than the tedious ones.

Good solid old school model engineering principles well demonstrated Jim. Iain Rice would be proud of you and his 4mm Loco Chassis Construction book is still in print and remains the best guide for aspiring loco builders. I like his no nonsense practical approach. Lovely video too with well handled tankers 😀 Bill

That’s quite an invitation Neal. Hopefully new RTR Panniers, sans top feed, from Accurascale, Dapol and Rapido 😇

I’m impressed with the apparent ease in which your chassis is coming together Mark, particularly with using hornblocks, which I have yet to master, at least the HL fold up variety! Good to see you made good use of Poppy’s chassis box as well. As you’re building in P4 gauge, will you be installing the full internal motion?

I like the tag and slot mode of chassis assembly HL use, as it takes away so much hit and miss out of the process, so it seems we have a plan. Seriously though, I must finish the Metro tank and get the branch line boards operating before starting another project, oh and complete the Clifton Downs set driving car, although I'll get that order in soon enough though.

I have a Perseverance chassis for a 14xx and always intended to put it under one of my Airfix models, yet inspiration can be a fickle companion, as due to thse two threads with a 14xx chassis build, plus my high regard for HL products, I'm minded to order a HL chassis with my next gearbox order. I really must do more work on the kits stash !

May be interesting to follow the continuation on from the link below over at the Torre Station thread, as it's also a HL chassis, except the build is to P4:

I was waiting for someone to mention that, or even all over brown, yet my concious is clear as I model the GWR during the 20s and 30s, but BR maroon has to be the favourite for later period western region modelers 🙂

Well it's certainly the easiest !

Are Legacy Models the same as Gaugmaster? The column bases are certainly too high and could easily be reduced (taller ones would have been used in goods yards for greater coverage), but I'd need to dig out my Gaugemaster branded ones, together with some from Dart Castings to get a better impression. I'm also not sure that DCC Concepts / Legacy units are strictly GWR pattern, or simply a generic railway lookalikes.

Hi Graham, I've just remembered that Gaugemaster do some pretty good illuminated wall fixed station lamps (Hattons is best for us expats, as no Brexit tax and they had some in stock a few days ago). I'll be screwing mine to my station building in due course. Best, Bill