Podhunter

The Z class kit is listed by Phoenix Paints.

Axminster Tools have a reputation to maintain.

You must have insulated wheels on at least one side of the chassis. Otherwise, your loco will short-circuit your power supply when placed on the track! If you build your loco with insulated wheels on one side of the chassis: On that side, you must add springy current collectors also insulated from the chassis. When placed on the track, the current collectors draw power from the corresponding rail. The uninsulated wheels draw power from the other rail and the chassis, which is electrically connected to those wheels, is electrically live. If you build your loco with insulated wheels on both sides, you will need two sets of springy current collectors, one set for each side. With that arrangement the chassis does not play a part in current distribution.

Hornby products available in April 2018 include Mark 1 Western Region coaches in chocolate and cream. The photos on Hornby's web site shows the running number prefixed not with 'W' as one might expect but with 'M' or 'E'. Products in question are R4824 (M 3090) and R4822 (E 9264); there may be others.

Watch the film Amelie. The protagonist brings a little excitement into her retired father's life by kidnapping his garden gnomes. She sends them around the world with her friends who work for Air France. Her dad receives a 'selfie' postcard of each gnome as it visits a famous landmark. You are now in the perfect position to similarly confuse the model railway community.

You need to distinguish between copyright and trademarks. Copyright safeguards the intellectual property (IP) of a person or organisation. Generally, that means something that has been published. Usually, it's OK to quote copyright material provided the source is acknowledged. 'Quote' means a sentence or two from a printed source. If you have written permission from the copyright owner then it's OK to use their material, although they may want to impose their own conditions of use if they feel that you may be taking commercial advantage of their IP. A trademark is exactly that: a mark that identifies something owned by, usually, a company. Companies look after their trademarks carefully because they identify something that people associate with that company. That is, you can't start a new company that does something similar to another company and use their logo (trademark) to identify your product. If you use their trademark for a different purpose then the law may not apply. Trademarks can also be copyright. That tightens the circumstances under which you can 'borrow' a company's logo for commercial use. For non-commercial use, such as a model railway exhibition, it's unlikely that a company will object to someone exhibiting a miniature version of their logo. Pre-empt any problem by writing to the Company Secretary of the organisation that owns the logo you want to reproduce. Every limited company in the UK must have a Company Secretary: it's a legal requirement. You can find the registered address of a Ltd company at Companies House. Ask for permission to reproduce their logo on your model. The chances are that you won't receive a reply, but keep your written letter as evidence that you asked for permission. If the company decided at some time that you are misusing their trademark then it's unlikely that they could make their case stand up in a court of law.

How about adapting building ventilation ducting? It's box section makes it strong enough to hold a few coaches, and it's easily cut with a fine saw. It comes in 2m lengths, probably longer than you need but easily bisected to make two 1m cassettes.

Grainge and Hodder make a turntable cassette. They also make some useful accessories such as tool drawers and modeller's workbenches.

It looks to me like a Hammant & Morgan (H&M) product. Clunky, retro, and reliable.

We use a decorator's platform similar to this one. It's formed of two short ladders having a platform that clips securely to each, with braces to hold it steady. The platform fits at any height. At higher levels you need a stepladder to reach the platform. I would not want to cantilever it over anything, however. I commend the "six foot six inch tall, young and supple volunteer" option. Almost, but not quite, describes me (except for the tall, young and supple bits).

The decaying wall is an idiosyncratic feature that identifies PN during the days of BR neglect. Leave it in!

My experience of the Proxxon multi-tool is good. I think you'll like the chuck arrangement: there are several collets that accept difference drill sizes, ensuring a good fit. The motor and shaft appear well-designed -- I haven't noticed any wobble. It's variable speed as well.

Hereford Model Centre has a number of specials. Mostly 00 but some 0 guage. They commissioned these some years ago, but haven't raised their prices. Consequently, today they look like bargains!

Amazon has a better deal in self-adhesive copper tape.

Please elaborate: what determines whether a LED tape is 'architectural grade' and where does one obtain them? Thanks!

I've used that company with satisfaction. I like the web design tool, where you specify the size and type of material to be used. The resulting pieces of ply were cut very accurately. The service was not next-day, but perfectly reasonable and well within the 28-day limit for goods purchased by mail (or Internet) order.

Another source of robust building carcasses is Petite Properties. I obtained good results in the same way as you: by applying ScaleScenes brick paper to a Petite Properties building.

The photo under the roof is excellent: usually the interior is dark and obscure. You've captured what we expect to see as a passenger.

It matters if you want to create 'consists' (a.k.a. double-heading) and there's a risk of two locos connecting electrically. If both locos have live chassis then there's a possibility that the two could short-circuit the power supply if they touch. That's why some advocate insulated couplings. However, there remains a risk that metal buffers could connect on sharp curves. A loco chassis doesn't have to be live. If all wheels are insulated, with pick-ups both sides, then the above possibilities are eliminated.

I look forward to seeing Oak Road in its natural setting -- somewhere in Somerset, not far from Devon.

And if you want a GWR King, visit Kernow!

... taking a picture of the computer screen can be a bit problematical If you're using Windows, then the Ctrl-Print Screen key combination takes a screenshot for you. The image is stored on the Windows clipboard, so you can paste (Ctrl-V) into your favourite image editor or viewer.

I'm using Windows 10 it doesn't have clipboard installed The clipboard is a mostly invisible part of Windows. Press the Ctrl-C combination to copy something -- where 'something' is your selected text or an image. Press the Ctrl-V combination to paste the copied text or image into an app. that can display it: for example, Word for text or Illustrator for an image.

Read about others using the Silhouette Cameo cutter for modelling.

Snow on the Internet. Try Wizard Models. That worked for me at 10:09 on 11-Dec-17