agt613

If I was the vicar, I would want the door on the opposite side from the church to give at least some separation between work and home. It would discourage some "popping over to see the vicar" by troublesome parishioners, too. Graham (a Methodist so no axe to grind)

It's nearly five years since I added anything here. Sorry about that. On my layout, I am trying to depict Caledonian buildings without having to start from scratch. I have done a bit of kit bashing and share my station building with you, now. I started with the Ratio station building with a view to 'Caley-fying' it by adding wider, stepped gable ends, modelled on Forfar as seen in a photo that's constantly for sale on eBay. The kit front and rear are assembled as per instructions. The canopy is modified a little and the gents' enclosure not used. The main work is in fabricating the new ends. I used Wills Coarse stone (SSMP200) which comes in 2mm thick sheets. I augmented them along the stepped gable by a similar amount to give a good thickness to the tops of the walls. This took some time, care, filing and filling, but seems to have worked in the end. Louvres are manufactured from micro strip for the loft windows. A new roof is fitted and covered in Metcalfe slates, which come with the Cut Stonework M! pack. New chimneys are added but the Ratio chimney pots are used. It all took quite a while but much less than if I had to start the front and rear from scratch. I have no connection with any of the products. Best wishes, Graham .

I hope no-one trips on the added paving slabs. The compensation could be crippling!

I am pretty sure it will. You can cut very tight spaces with one. Anyway, all that might spoil is a sheet of card or plasticard so have a go. I have made a 00 scale coach bogie with one and it has very tight corners on the end of the springs.

I think you're doing very well with the definition you are getting in the letters. I have done a couple of Scottish ones and then weathered them to fade the lettering rather than dirty the sides but overpainting quite rough with the ground colour well diluted. This makes the wobbly bits much less obvious. To someone on a galloping horse on a dark night, they look just fine. Keep up the good work. Graham

I appreciate the standard of work that goes into your weathering but wouldn't the buildings be pretty new in your period? Just a thought. Grah

Fabulous. So much more like engineering than mine!

Glad to see you are trying it. You seem to be doing very well indeed.

Brilliant, Dave. Well done, Graham

I was a student in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at Sheffield University in 1968 when 'Jimmy' James joined us as Professor from his job as Chief Planner at the Dept of the Environment. He was a great enthusiast of the environment of Britain.

Thanks for this exciting tutorial, Jason. I am trying to use your process to make a Fox bogie for Caledonian stock. In Inkscape, when I select all outside edges plus sprues and click path-union, they do not become one mass but retain dividing lines. I am also finding that the edge curves are then represented with a chord line across from one end to the other even though they have been drawn using 'edit path through nodes rather than as a quarter circle. Please can anyone advise on what I am doing wrong? Thanks, Graham

Here it is but I am shocked by the imperfections shown in the photo! It still needs final finishing and painting but, now I've seen the bumps, more wet and dry will be employed! The chimney is straight - it's a close-up photo issue. I think the cab sides have been a reasonable modification. Best wishes, Graham

Hi Folks, Sorry to dredge this up from such a long time ago. I recently bought a DJH Jumbo kit from a guy who was obviously selling off unbuilt kits that others could use better than he. I found it quite reasonable to assemble, certainly easier than my BEC 700 conversion. On the engine, apart from the splashers being too narrow, the only real black mark I found was the cab. The side shape seems to have been squashed below the waist and elongated above. I made some new ones out of brass. On the original all white-metal cab, the roof sat up there like a fascinator at a wedding. Once I'd made the cab sides, for which the Crassoc drawing was essential, I filed the edge of the roof down and it fitted fine. The tender was another matter, though. Three hands and a degree in juggling seem to be essential but it did all fit together eventually, and filler helped! Maybe I haven't any experience of really good loco kits yet so am easily pleased! Best wishes, Graham

Surely not! Graham

Stunning work. Tell us about the wagon turntables, please. Graham