winterbournecm

New compact camera after I lost the Samsung PL57 - gutted but there you go. Canon Power shot is a great replacement, 14.1 pixels and better lens etc.. 50007 Elgar with a plat 4 departure D1010 with a the 14.10 Padd A balmy afternoon amid the palm trees with the brutes being emptied into the vans of the 13.40 parcels to Bristol headed by D1021.

Sc-owns or scons? Jam on top of cream, or cream on top of jam? - answer carefully....

I will Chris - Max (border collie) & Ruby (tabby cat) got in the layout at one point - but neither ended up in any layout photos!

Oh yes mate - the recycling bags sent packing, and everything very ship-shape for Mr N! It was a great afternoon, 4 hours worth. A stream of photos and vidoes of passenger, freight, harbour scenes, buddleia and loads of diesels! Amazed at the way Chris takes a series of pictures with different focus points then blends them afterwards for a superb depth of field. D1010, D6328 and the fleet of class 50s MAY feature in the mag I expect! Ben love large logo 50s - it was the right place to come then!

Lights camera action. Mr Nevard hard at work taking pictures today for a future issue of Model Rail. Great fun - blue & yellow rules - with some guests too!

Blur sang about Park life - well, this is Pondlife! I had some interesting lily pads and reeds on a frond from Scalelink, and it seemed a shame to waste them. I had a little project under the layout that was aching for a little diarama, so I've built in a little nature reserve! I used P of P to build up the bank area, leaving a recess behind for the ponds. I thern painted the area and added the Clear glass resin. The reeds and lily pads were added whilst the resin was tacky, and some "fishing" was required for frets which began to sink!

My blue 1000 has been renamed D1010 Western Campaigner and sports the grubby Laira two tone blue / brown I so loved in the hot summer of 1976. The blue hadnt faded so it was just a dirt fest! http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/49918-d1010-western-campaigner-on-the-milk/

The weathering powders have been out today to treat D1010 Western Campaigner. I had a 1976 photo and she didnt appear to be a faded blue example, but rather road stained up along the body sides. I have gone quite heavy with the powders knowing that they will fade shortly.

Show over - a couple of shots of the cast: Me & Jess as Francis Fryer & Calamity Jane The chorus / dancers & assorted members

The Shawplan goodies arrived today so my Dapol western has become 1010 Western Campaigner. All pristine at the moment but not for long. The weathering pixie will be arriving soon!

Yes - I bet they'll be grand. The lines and dimensions of this Western are truly perfect.

Ooh - my only planned locomotive purchase for 2013.... The fabulous blue Western from Dapol. Here she is name & numberless on depot & at Mount Charles. She will become D1010 Campaigner in the weeks to come, and sport this condition https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=western+Campigner&biw=1024&bih=653&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=pMFWUfikAsKjO9e3gEA#imgrc=ty2Ae-2QNLrvfM%3A%3BSZ4QfXP25ODP9M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%252F3235%252F3005889196_cbe8ed13e4_z.jpg%253Fzz%253D1%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.flickr.com%252Fphotos%252F24555083%2540N08%252F3005889196%252F%3B640%3B482 I cant wait to get started. The headcode blinds will need to be installed later at Goonbarrow works. I have precision blinds, but not the translucent ones so will have a play around later.

Getting away from the Whip Crackin for a second. A late turn Goonbarrow in torrential rain seemd a great place to get the weathering powders out. 47340 was the victim, and I'd sprayed her with matt varnish (here's one I did earlier touch!!). Remember with a grey loco to add a lighter powder (white in this case) to the sides in VERY small heaps, and sweep them downwards with a small brush, then blow off. Repeat this along both body sides to give a faded streaky look. The black powder paint with a hint of brown were used around the fans & exhaust, and then worked in along the roof. A body side running dirt of brown & grey was applied gently horizontally along the lower body sides. Go easy on the yellow ends, just the brush will do with nothing added. Dont want to over-do the fronts.

Hi Geoff many thanks fior your lovely comments. Deadwood stage is the opening number and a firm favourite of ours too. I dont come on till 20 mins in, but I suspect I 'll be "wing-singing"! Our show is 8th - 13th April - bring your good lady down to see us at the Keay at St Austell. I'm playing Francis Fryer - Francis with an I - (not a lady)! And the layout of course. It's nearl7y complete now - I'm I'm itching to do something different in the coming years!

A rare free evening and a swarm of ladies descended on the house for a Body Shop party. The garage was the safest bet for the only male. I did get a couple of heads pop in to see the layout, and they were very kind in their comments, especailly when the harbour was lit up! The challenge was to move most of the stock on the layout. Sometimes you tire of forever seeing that rake of wagons out, or that train STILL loading after a fortnight of inaction! The Midland Region is getting a spin at the moment with with following workings. 37049 / 254 steel BAA / BBA arrival at Mount Charles - locos to shed. Class 108 - on the branch 37238 dep from Sandy Hill with freight - VGAs, telescopic steel carrier 47515 passenger to York 25083 / 270 Speedlink freight arr Sandy Hill VTG bogie tank, railfreight vans, HEA domestic coal - locos to shed 46045 / 40169 exc shed to loco holding sidings for departures 37429 dep MGR transfer from Mount Charles 47537 passenger to Manchester 31174 Postal stock arrival Class 108 branch 47148 Engineers Dep from Sandy Hill - 1x OCA 12 Limpets 31402 from carriage sidings with Birmingham into Mount Charles Class 117 to carriage sidings 45128 off shed to work passenger to Leeds 45114 Passenger from St Pancras 47635 Ex shed to Mount Charles for Postal 58035 MGR arrival - loco to shed 25083 Sandy Hill to Mount Charles - general freight tripper. Returned with ISIS traffic shortly after. (VGAs, tarpaulin steel wagons) 47340 Freight arrival - 8 seacows and plough van. loco to shed. 31174 Passenger to Birmingham Phew.

I hope you're referring to Southern boxes mate. No such illicit going on amongst us Cornish Methodists!

St Blazey suddenly came to life recently with a burst of engineering traffic and the CDAs which now tend to reside there during a weekend. Here are some pictures, no 37s unfortunately.

The BAAs put straight into traffic with a brace of standards 37254 & 049 passing Sandy Hill with a variety of bogie steel wagons, Bachmann & Cambrian kits.

Hi chaps - thanks. I do enjoy a bit of weathering on a Sunday!

I should've guessed that buying that retro stuff recently would be the cue for "New" Bachmann arrivals. I wasn't wrong either! The second batch of BAA railfreight steel carriers I have waiting since the end of 2010 came into Kernow last week. I was keen to get these as the railfreight grey liveried ones have sold out almost immediately. They are a super model, complete with stanchion or cradles to attach the steel coils into as BZAs if you wish. I decided on the cradles, and have kept a couple aside for my Cambrian ones too. I have a super set of steel wagons now. Lots for the 20's 37s, 47s and Grids to contend with, plus class 25s, 40s and peaks of an earlier generation. With a few quiet hours at Goonbarrow - I took the BBAs and a VGA up dor some weathering, plus glueing the BBA's together - I dont fancy a derailment and coils and cradles flying everywhere! They were treated with aerosole varnish and then clear varnish applied to the under areas, and nooks and crannys before the weathering powders were applied. The coils themselves were painted with brown / Silver acrylics, dry brushed with brown rust and then weathering powders applied.

Hi Bill Thought you may like this picture to accompany yours. Pretty sure it's the same loco.

Hi Bill Thats a remarkable working for 1991 - almost two steam age wagons! I have a picture of 704 passing Roskear with a parcel train in a similar time frame. The RES fleet was a electic bunch of locos around the early 90s with RES / Intercity, Scotrail, large logo and NSE liveried locos likely to appear. I see now why the domes are almost black on your 47! The yellow long gone under a coating of gunge. What a difference it made to the mainline when all the Postal / van traffic was lost.

D6328 has had a little weathering and some streaking to replicate the radiator spillages that used to streak the sides.

Hello Jon Glad you enjoy the updates. The Cambrian kits have Fox transfers on them. It's expensive getting started but they're excellent. The Turbot yellow was simply signal yellow. Tip: Paint them upside down and the yellow wont run down the grooves into the grey!!