Simon D.

Many thanks indeed Tony. A very full response! All is now explained. Much obliged Simon

MB Klein's has now completely closed down: https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/. There is speculation and unhappiness that the distributors (not sure who they are) pulled the plug, but I expect we will never know. Shame it didn't work out.

Thank you Nigel for the quick response. Any reasons?

N Brass closure. Such a loss to the hobby. Is there any possibility that some of the products could be picked up by the Association as was done with Etched Pixels? The owner of Train Trax tried to buy the business, it seems, but it fell through.

There has been quite a lot of negative reaction to the changes at MB Klein on American forums, eg the Railwire and Model Railroader. The combination of this and the closure of Hatton's in the UK has garnered quite a lot of cynicism in contrast to the sadness and nostalgia here. I do hope that Richard Davies manages to make things work - he is certainly bright and savvy enough, but there are big business cultural differences between the US and the UK; and quite a few big names, eg Tesco, have come a cropper in the past.

A lot of people recommend Pearl Drops

Many thanks Don I already have some scribers (loads on eBay) which I use to start off drilling. Will also give them a go when the slides arrive from China.

Thanks so much Nick. One poster on the MRH Forum suggests very lightly scoring with a scalpel. Will try that!

Microscope cover slides. There is an article pointing to an item on their forum in the latest Model Railroad Hobbyist about cover slides to model glass for cab windows etc: https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/modeling-windows-with-real-glass-12698690 Ebay search terms are given as 'microscope slide cover slips' or 'micro cover glasses'. However, there seems to be a huge range and variety. I'm pretty sure some 2mmFS modellers have mentioned using these. Any advice on size/thickness etc to get please?

How about some Modelu N gauge rats? Lurking under the pigeon coop. https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product/31103/ They actually come out quite well.

How about some Modelu N gauge rats? Lurking under the pigeon coop. https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product/31103/ They actually come out quite well.

A privilege to see CF at Warley again yesterday. The depth of people in front - more than any other layout - indicate just how special it is. A couple of perhaps controversial (and hopefully not too unwelcome) observations: York Road is brilliant, but very low down. Does CF need to raised up a foot or so? I always think most layouts are too low, and steps or periscopes are available for the vertically challenged. I did also see Mr W. struggling a little on one knee showing it off to a visitor. I know YORK is much different to CF, but the height works very well indeed for that. We perceive trains more realistically at eye level or slightly above from the side, rather than a 'drone's eye' view. Iain Rice talked about this in some of his books. (Yes, I know CF is a hugely intricate jigsaw, and raising it up is probably a logistical nightmare, but I bet a lot of people missed such a magnificent piece of modelling). There was a comment on the N Gauge Forum after CF's last outing that it seems a little 'dusty', and certainly the building roofs do look a little grey - not unexpected after about 30+ years in some cases - and I wonder of they could be 'blackened up' a bit, perhaps with some weathering powder or similar. 30's London must have been very sooty, or were the mostly slate roofs actually that colour? It's so hard to tell from photos of the time. Minor cavils for what remains the greatest layout of them all.

I'm not sure if anyone has picked up on this (or is interested), but Hatton's have confirmed to me that they have bought MB Klein, which is now mostly an online US retailer as https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/. It seems they bought in September, and some to the US Forums (mainly The Railwire: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=56675.0) noticed it a couple of weeks ago. MB Klein is/was a much loved hobby shop in Baltimore, dating from the 40's or 50's which has transmogrified into mainly an online store. A couple of years ago, they had an unpopular modern web makeover, as you can see from the link above, and hopefully Hatton's will help them with that. They may already be doing so Hatton's last financial results (July 22) show a decline in profits, so this could be an ambitious attempt to diversify away from the UK market. I wish them luck - Americans often have a very different business culture to the UK. I also wondered if this might be a way to make a link across the Atlantic to get better access to US products in the UK. This was the fast and courteous reply I got today: Hello Simon, Thank you for your email. Yes, we have purchased MB Klein, home to www.modeltrainstuff.com. We're looking forward to expanding their services but cannot advise if this will increase the availability of North American stock at this time. I recommend signing up for our newsletter so we can keep you up to date with the latest developments. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help on this occasion, but please do not hesitate to get back in touch if you have further questions. Interesting times...

Looks good, but no information on parking. Will it be available on site?

It always brings the unfortunate demise of Edward II to mind… (Sorry)

Mea culpa. I meant strip about .005" - 13mm or thereabouts, and not sheet which is easily available on Ebay. Not sure either HH or MetalSmith do these.

With the demise of Eileen's, does anyone know of an alternative source of thin (1/32" approx or equivalent) phosphor bronze strip? I can only find this in sheets. Nothing it seems from Squires, Hobby Holidays or Ebay.

Games Workshop do a large range of shading colours: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Painting-Modelling?N=3815391097+882366425&Nr=AND(sku.siteId%3AGB_gw%2Cproduct.locale%3Aen_GB_gw)&Nrs=collection()%2Frecord[product.startDate+<%3D+1672677120000+and+product.endDate+>%3D+1672677120000]&view=all These really help to bring out the detail. There are stores in most big towns. Or you can use a very dilute ink wash.

Do you have a source for the small springs please? Extraordinary stuff

Just to note that I ordered a lovely brass US old style train set in N Scale at a good price a while back. When it hadn't turned up a week or so later I gently enquired to then receive a really good response from a staff member, Amey, expedited dispatch and a £15 credit voucher. This was actually excellent customer care - if only others realise that proper response to customer problems and complaints enhances reputation and is not a nuisance or chore. They don't have too much pre-owned N Stuff, but the prices are very fair, the website very well presented, and - as I say - excellent service standards. Recommended

The crystal like issue is quite well known. Google something like 'shapeways crystal problem'. It appears to be residual wax used as supports for FUD etc which they don't remove totally. Their prints need very careful washing: alcohol, heptane, Goo Gone or Simple Green have all got avocates. The stuff could be removed with an alcohol swab but this would ruin the paintwork, although it looks spoiled already...

@jonhall Thank you for your considered response to my thoughts. Apologies, I have only now been able to respond. I had already thought my comments on pricing were under informed - I have no idea of your overhead and there are inflation and energy prices added in. Leisure and community spaces have been putting up prices steeply I know from elsewhere; and checking around about £9 is getting be about the norm now - the equally good Uckfield show in October was the same cost. Always think before you post! You obviously had thought about carparking! Not all do however. The issue with parking is common to many shared venues - Tonbridge can be a problem for instance - where there is the rush of Saturday morning kids going swimming etc. Thanks for putting me straight.

Enjoyed the exhibition, though perhaps a little overpriced for £9 + £1 for a (well produced) showguide. However, as happens so often, car parking was neglected, no one in high vis supervising a choked car park at about 10.05 this morning. Why do so many organisers neglect this critical part of the exhibition-goers experience?

Many thanks for the swift reply. Very useful info about natural white. Really looking forward to seeing this for real one day.

A question about the LEDs you use. What colour light are you using? I'm sure that cool white will bring out all the exquisite detail, but would warm white give the illusion of summer afternoon shafts of sunlight beaming down onto platforms which is such a part of our collective imagination for railway stations?