Ray Von

Hello, thanks for the compliment. Funnily enough I found the inlay paper that came with the crane, while I was going through my scrap box earlier today! This is, of course, an N scale model - made by Langley. I hope that's of use though.

It's been a long while! Today I made a completely fictional, unprotoypical Signal Box - from a few odds and ends found around the house. The main inspiration came from a clear plastic lid I found that had an inner segment - I forgot to take any pictures prior to starting this project, so this vague description is the best I can offer! Here is a pic of the lid, masked and primed: Alongside this clear plastic lid is a small eyedropper bottle, which - as luck would have it - was a perfect fit for the inner section of the lid. I fixed an old offcut of brickwork plasticard, left over from another project and already painted and weathered. The plasticard had a tendency to "unping" when I attempted to glue it onto the body of the bottle, so I employed a cable tie - which became a vital part of the building itself! The roof for the building came in the form of a vitamin pill lid, this was primed white around the edge, and grey for the rooftop. The parts that were to represent concrete were painted in my tried and tested way - Beige Acrylic with a wash of Brown Earth, this was was also applied to the roof edging too. Here is the nearly finished article: As you can see, the building is total fiction! I'm fairly pleased with it though. I can imagine it perhaps being a product of elegant, modern 1930's design - offering 360 degree visibility of the surrounding rail network. (Access by the way is via an internal spiral staircase.) I added some very thin, square styrene rod for the window frames and sill - the vertical struts are held in place by double-sided tape (I'll glue them permanently, the day I finally get them straight!) I might add more architectural details at a later date, vents, pipework etc... Here is the building in situ, I inserted a tube of coloured paper with a doodle on it of some trackwork to represent a map and a small clock, made from a circle of plasticard. I think it looks pretty good, I just need to add a footing for it to stand on. Thanks for looking in!

Just a quick query with regards to "using up" a bit of space on my SR 1980s N scale layout - I thought I could kit bash a signal box, to occupy the fork at the end of the platform ramp on the left side of my station. Would this be prototypical? The other lines (due to complexities that are too involved to go into here) are independent of this section of track - but I'm happy to be corrected if the technology of the era could deal with this peculiarity! I've attached some (old) photos of the basic plan for the layout, I hope that is helpful....?

- stand on a chair...

Local Witch Killed! Halloween Related Viooolence Comes to Kent:

For the last few months I've been dabbling in creating "Art" from debris found on my local beach / my own recycling, using a lot of skills I've learned via this forum, I might add - somehow I've ended up with the basis for a children's book, with quite a few publishers interested. Today I made a Facebook page to show my work on, please like or even better follow! https://www.facebook.com/Spacekinsart/

I made some manual uncouplers by modifying the Peco ramps: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/24024-uncoupling-by-manual-remote-means/

Black Betty - Ram Jam

Thank you!

My first close encounter with a stream train! I really wish that my local council/media would publicise events such as this, I only found out by chance that this train was on its way to Margate after it had already arrived! Luckily it had a layover at Margate Station for a couple of hours, so I high-tailed it to Broadstairs to catch a glimpse as it trundled through. There was a comic moment when a scheduled service arrived at platform 2 at precisely the time that this steam train was due - several serious train spotters and photographers (who had set up camp in the "best" spot) were seen to have a blue fit! Luckily the scheduled train departed (seconds) before this glorious loco passed through Broadstairs Station. A great experience - being on the footbridge and enveloped in the steam and smoke as the bridge shook was wonderful! I captured it's visit in a short video and the above is a screenshot. If anyone knows of a database of steam train movement, please share it here...?

I've seen instructions on how to make this material by but putting old kitchen sponges through a mincer or blender, as I have neither pieces of apparatus - can this be done any other way?

Cheers guys, it's a complicated business isn't it!? I'm not the biggest fan of wiring and electrics, but I get by. I've dealt with Heathcote in the past, I was a bit put off by a surly response to an email query I sent (maybe he was having a bad day...)

Hi all, I'm thinking of adding a simple automatic shuttle circuit board to my shelf layout. The issue I'm unsure of is - can such boards be programmed to follow a stop/go pattern of different intervals, IE not every 3mins etc.?

This might not be that helpful, as it's not sleepers - but whenever I model concrete / cement I go with Beige, followed by several washes of Earth Brown - Revel Brand Acrylic. I find that concrete is rarely "grey" once it's a few years old, I would imagine concrete sleepers would perhaps require a more rusty brown finish.

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

Update: solved it! I'm using "paint on" superglue and breathing in a bit too near the open bottle!

Remind me, are you working in "OO" or "N" - I find "N" scale much more forgiving of homemade joints and buttresses! You could break up the lines with strategically placed foliage scatter, representing weeds sprouting from mortar cracks?

It looks great, I'm not sure what part of the structure you are displeased with?

A few snaps of the Medway Queen, on the slipway at Ramsgate for a refurb.

Thank you, I'll be sure to impress the locals with my new found knowledge! Any idea what exactly these offshore workers are up to?

Apologies for the blurry pic, does anyone know what this vessel(?) is - off of Margate for the last few days?

I just had a literally eye watering experience when I applied Super Glue to the plastic head of a "berry" pin, has anyone else ever noticed this reaction?

The Day we Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene

Well, howdy neighbour! Ps, if that place is a "front" - it's not a very good one!!

They'll "make you an omelette you can't refuse..." Birchington-on-Sea, Kent.