aardvark

The inventors of the Ferris wheel and the Merry-go-round never met. They moved in different circles.

The west wall is not yet complete although progressing. I managed to distract myself by considering construction of the trusses over the platform. Next thing I knew, I was cutting them out and sticking them together. Not that that's a problem - it all has to come together to get a complete station building. Each truss is made from three 20-thou plasticard trapeziums, 105 x 25mm. I initially intended to use two trapeziums, but needed the third to give the assembly some stiffness. The smaller strips are added to the diagonals to mimic the construction of the prototype. Here's one being assembled on a block of steel with magnets to align the laminations. The station requires 9, but I have made 10 so that I can discard the worst. The steel blocks were an idea I got from reading David Neat's model-making blog (see https://davidneat.wordpress.com/methods/making-realistic-models/main-construction/). I had mine made by a local engineering company - all surfaces are flat, all corners square, they're heavy enough to stay put, and magnets stick to them. They're probably the most used tool in my modelling tool box. While I should finish the west wall, I'm now thinking about the skylights - there's probably a better name for them. I think I should make these before cutting the card for the roofs so that it will fit what I make, rather than what I intended to make, There's one on each side of the roof, each a scale 343 x 25mm comprising 57 panes - larger that a single sheet of plasticard. My initial thought was to cut each frame in two sections from 10-thou plasticard using my Silhouette cutter, then glue these onto a clear plastic carrier. However, on reflection, I think that I lack the dexterity to apply glue to the frame and apply it to the clear plastic without the glue drying, the frame going on crooked, or getting glue everywhere, so I'm looking for something more workable. Options I can see but can't decide between are: cut the frame into shorter sections of a few panes each; cut the frame as single pane sections assemble the frame onto the carrier using conventional plastistrip. Suggestions would be most welcome.

You'd never guess who I bumped into on the way to pick up my new glasses. Everyone!

Horses for courses, and you've clearly managed to get the Cricut to work for you. I went with a high-force Cameo 4 and a 3mm Kraft blade, which cuts 20-thou plasticard easily, and manages to make a reasonable but incomplete job on 40-thou. As for "cheaper", my 20-thou plasticard cost £0.46 a sheet, and I can cut 5 complete trusses from a single sheet. Cereal packet is undoubted cheaper, but plasticard doesn't exactly break the bank. I suspect you'd agree that using a cutter won't be for everyone. There is a fair learning curve while you figure out what it can and can't do - and spending hours in front of a computer isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Thank you for your response, but I wouldn't waste time over this. This all happened 3 years ago. I have no memory or record of an offer to switch models, or of any emails back to you, but I honestly can't imagine why I would have switched. Perhaps I did and I'm more forgetful than I think I am. I hold no animosity against TMC. My previous post was meant to be read as "this thing happened and I couldn't remember it". I was tempted to go back and edit my post, but that would be unfair to Bernard Lamb and his response. It has indeed been a long time.

Since I started this thread a couple of years ago, I thought I should give it a conclusion. After buying 1- and 2-mm plastistrip for the trusses. I talked myself out of this approach, reasoned that it would be hard to cut the plaststrip accurately to the required lengths and angles without the use of a chopper, and perhaps even then, and that it would be hard to effect good butt joints between the pieces, so I put the price of the chopper towards a Silhouette Cameo 4 cutter instead. So far, I've used it to make various OO-scale doors and windows, plus a grounded 8T goods van, and now trusses for the station building. Each truss is made from three 20-thou plasticard trapeziums - I initially intended to use two, but needed the third to give the assembly some stiffness. The smaller strips are added to the diagonals to mimic the construction of the prototype.

Here's the story as I'm aware of it: CDC decides to offer their first RTR loco after experience offering 3D printer loco bodies only. They're a small company - probably just two guys working in their spare time. They chose the 4-4-0 as something of sufficient interest to make it worth their while yet had not and probably never will be offered by larger producers. I understand 4-4-0's to be a wheel configuration that is difficult to get to balance and get to run well. Enter COVID and the ensuing supply chain problems. Step forward a few years, CDC still have wheel supply problems, their personal circumstances have probably changed (do they still have that spare room?), and the guy actually making them is traumatised by tantrums from buyers who don't have their new toys yet, and that when they do, they don't run like Hornby or Bachmann products. His wife now runs triage over emails while the young man continues to satisfy orders as the wheels come available in small batches. This has taken much longer than they ever envisioned, and I suspect the hope of make a little pocket money from the endeavour has long since disappeared. I'd be surprised if they had the courage to attempt another RTR loco in the future. For myself, it will make no difference to my layout whether I get mine this year, or next, or the one after. It's not like I don't have other locos. I have confidence that CDC will honour all orders, in time. In the meantime, I've just received a request to pay for a pre-order I made with TMC in 2020. If it takes them 3 years to produce something, then I really think we should continue to cut the guys behind CDC some slack.

I, too, have recent received an email encouraging me to pay for my pre-ordered G5. The problem was that I couldn't imagine why I would have pre-ordered 35-255Z 67342 which was only ever allocated to English sheds when I model a location in Scotland. I decided that the email was a scam, and that clicking the "Pay Now" link would most likely take me to Russian or Nigerian website. So I ignored it. This morning, I got a repeat email, which would be unusual for scammers. After much research, I discovered that I had pre-ordered 35-258Z 67327 back in 2020, which according to the TMC PR ran on the Banff line, although I have no evidence of that. I do now recall that 35-258Z was cancelled as many ScR RTR announcements are, but somehow my order has transmogrified to 35-255Z. I don't recall being asked whether I would accept a substitute, so I find this change unethical. I will continue to ignore the emails.

Would you consider running the train all the way around the room and putting your desk and workspace in the middle?

My brother has schizophrenia, but he's good people.

I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

That's either a small font or a really big ruler.

Thanks to you both. Makes perfect sense.

That's very interesting. Do you know if it's possible to pass the same sheet multiple times through the printer? That is, if I print a 7x3mm decal in one corner, can I reuse the rest of the sheet at a later date? And yes, I have Scottish ancestors.

The final west wall takes shape, with the various bits assembled here in a dry run prior to decorating. This is on the back of a baking tray with a few magnets to help keep things in place I'm looking for suggestions as to how best to write BANFF on that 7x3mm piece of plasticard in the middle of the windowed section on the left. The prototype is written in white. My shaky hands are most certainly not up to it.

I wonder if @KNP will whip up a set of those funny little curtains that they use to obscure the plaque until the appropriate moment. And maybe a model bottle of champagne to be busting over the stonework.

Do you know how to make babies? I know how to make babies. Change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’.

... or tumbleturns.

What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care.

And there was me thinking it only had a roof vent on one side.

I made a thing. I cut some little bits of 10- and 20-thou plasticard ... .. and stuck them together to make ... ... louvres, which go behind the circular cutout made by the trophy shop ... ... to look remarkably like the vent on the end of the station building.

Must be, or otherwise those cattle vans wouldn't be moooooving. Wait a minute ....

Did you make those stairs yourself? Personally, I don't trust stairs. They're always up to something.

A friend wanted to start his own bakery storefront, but alas, he kneaded more dough.

Progress. I’ve made and attached all but one wall to the station building. There’s been plenty of mistakes along the way, but nothing too glaring remains (I hope). I do doubt my sanity – the back wall which faces into the platform has glazed windows and 4-panel doors, none of which will be visible once the roof goes on. I might have saved myself a lot of trouble by drawing them on in crayon. The wall that is left is the much photographed western wall, as seen here in a photo from Wikipedia. [From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banff_railway_station_(Scotland)]. Tricky, but I’ve made a start by cutting out the upper section of the wall from a sheet of Evergreen clapboard. I was puzzled for a while as how to accurately cut the circular hole for the vent, until my wife suggested I make enquiries at the local trophy shop which has a laser. They were extremely helpful, and the end result is probably better, cheaper and quicker than I might have achieved if I'd bought a circle cutter off the web. There are plenty more puzzles to solve yet, not the least of which is the vent itself. York Model Rail do louvres, but I find £4.74 plus £11 postage a tad expensive for a single window, although I don’t doubt the quality. I’m going to see what I can do myself first. Suggestions would be most welcome. After the wall, there will be rooves, with all those tiles to affix, along with trusses to hold it up and skylights to see through it.