andi4x4

Andy, I watched your video on the landscaping/static grass, and now I understand why you seem to make such rapid progress ! Looking superb, loving the embankment and the fields, and as for the stone gate pillars - most field gates here on the Isle of Man are just like that, mainly because, most field boundaries are either dry stone walls or 'Manx Hedges' - basically, long piles of stone covered with earth and turf. Stone pillars are needed to give the farmers something solid to fix gate hinges to ! Keep up the good work, cant wait for the ballasting to start - it'll really start coming together then !

Hi Folks, Can anyone help me out with a set of build instructions for an early resin bodied Steve Beattie Class 25 kit please ? PDF by email, scans or good photocopies gratefully received. All costs will be covered of course ! Thanks in Advance ! Andi

Hi Folks, I recently acquired from ebay a Steve Beattie resin bodied Class 25 kit in untouched, unstarted, complete condition. However - I have no instructions, and the body sides have warped inwards (presumably during the casting/curing stage) So, Can anyone advise how best to straighten the sides ? Boiling water and clamping/pressing maybe ? and Can anyone point me in the right direction for a set of build instructions for the Class 25 resin kit ? Thanks in advance ! Andi

Thanks Andy ! Already looking around at shed options !

That backscene just gets better, Andy ! You could photograph that and sell it - I, for one, would buy it !

Andy, you have modelled that Hellmanns Mayo bottle superbly, albeit a little out of scale ! Like the weathering and slightly rickety appearance of the signal box, did you do the weathering, or did it come like that ?

So, Still no progress on the railway front, TT guests have been and gone - been a good TT this year, despite the weather and the unfortunate incidents. News on the house move - We have found a property we both like, offer made and accepted, survey done and come back good, solicitors appointed and mortgage approved in principle. Just waiting for the mortgage proper to be granted and things will start moving. Unfortunately, only 2 bed and no usable loft space means that a Man Shed in the garden will be a priority for railway activities, closely followed by extension for bedroom #3 ! Time to start a new collection - of packing boxes !

That backscene is stunning , Andy ! How do you do that ? Really starting to come together and take on its atmosphere now, waiting impatiently for the next instalment !

Nice reading about people reminiscing about their old cars ! All I will say is my personal favorites ( chalk and cheese ! ) were my Citreon AX and my Lancia Delta Integrale - the AX handled like it was on rails and the Integrale, well, I am sure we all know about those - absolute Beast and a widow maker, but, ridiculously unreliable ! Sheds are looking good, Jinty, looking forward to seeing them finished !

I don't I'm afraid, I have never used Kadee couplings. I do have some rolling stock that needs the couplings replacing, and was planning to use these with the supplied TL couplings for my conversions. As far as I am aware, these are a standard NEM pocket, so, should be compatible - a quick email to Dapol should confirm it though.

These are what I was thinking about - made by Dapol, NEM pockets, supplied with TL couplings, but they can be removed and refitted with your choice of coupling - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COUPNEM00-Dapol-OO-HO-Gauge-Nem-Coupling-00-Pack-Of-40-/251536996759?hash=item3a90c5f997:g:jCEAAOxyni9TFuHN

I have given up with superglue on anything that is not even remotely porous. Superglue only sticks one thing successfully - skin - as that is what it was originally designed for ! I have a selection of good quality superglues that are reserved for sticking appropriate materials ( including my fingers ! ), but tend to use solvent based welding type adhesives for most plastics and epoxy or latex based ( Copydex is very under-rated !) for everything else. Have you considered the NEM pockets that have tiny screw holes in them ? You would need some tiny screws though !

Steam Packet Company's ferry "Ben My Chree" colliding with the quayside in Douglas harbour last year whilst trying to dock in high winds - -

If you are running fixed rakes, then maybe try some of these Bachmann coach couplings - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bachmann-36-060-Branchline-Coach-Pipe-coupling-Pk4-/311728361220?hash=item4894754f04:g:xkgAAOSwx2dYEMqO I have used them successfully on a push/pull coach rake. They are meant for bogie coaches, but, if you don't have tight radius curves, they may be useful on 4 wheel stock that has a pivoting NEM pocket ? I haven't tried them on any 4 wheel stock, so, couldn't comment on their suitability any further. Obviously, they wouldn't be any good on stock with a fixed NEM pocket.

Didn't work last time around Hmmmm......... Or did it....... ?!

I like your thinking..... But, Doesn't something like this already exist in the form of the MPV's with interchangable modules as used for weedkiller/sandite trains ? Or am I getting confused and thinking two different vehicles are the same thing ?!

Paul, Did you know that you can get brass and steel wire inserts for the propelling pencil type fibre pens ? Do the same job for you as the dremmel bits, but, easier to hold ! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brass-Steel-scratch-brush-refills-High-Quality-German-4mm-scratch-pen-refill-/262153893844?var=&hash=item3d0996f7d4:m:m0HyxA96b0Z4M91_tlqKl6w Cracking job on the body, so far, looking forward to the finished item ! Your weathering skills always leave me in awe !

I can assure you, Alain, Dave is not the only viewer ! Fantastic work ! Is this module designed to connect with the module you have on the lower shelf ?

The current Peco motor gearbox assembly could also be used to motorise the Dapol/Airfx turntable you have there - I have done the same turntable in the past using both the Peco gearbox and Meccano gears - again some modelling is required, and you need to be very careful building the turntable kit to ensure it is absolutely flat and square or it will never run smoothly.

You can motorise the current Peco turntable - they have a suitable motor and gearbox in their catalogue, but, it is not a simple "plug and play" - some modelling is needed to combine the two, but, they work very well when done properly, apparently. I have a turntable, but, not motorised it yet as I haven't installed it yet.

My guess is that they have used the geometry they are already using for their SM32 set track components - perhaps, partly due to the SM32 being very coarse ( I used it in the past, along with Maldon track for my coarse/vintage 0 gauge) and maybe wanting to try to capture the "not so coarse" coarse scale sector such as the later offerings from the likes of Basset Lowke (Corgi), Ace and Darstaed, and possibly, maybe, also aiming it towards the 10mm/ft 3ft narrow gauge market. Currently, it is common for the 15mm/ft and 16mm/ft narrow gauge sectors to use SM45 or G45 track to represent 3ft gauge, which is far too coarse really, but, they have little other option besides hand built. 22.5deg does make it a little awkward to incorporate them into a design which also uses standard finescale points, though, without modification.

Ha Ha ! Yep, that happens to me all too often, especially since I discovered dcc sound !

You can't beat a roundy roundy for just sitting and watching the trains roll by ! Looking good , Andy, the mojo is working overtime I see ! I'm looking forward to the scenics beginning ! Mine is all packed up at the mo as we need the room for visitors, and we hope to be moving house shortly after TT too. Got a few things to be going on with to keep the mojo simmering, but, can't get at them at the minute ! Still...... plenty of work in the garden to be done in the meantime !

Just to keep you all updated and keep the thread alive...... No work has been done on the layout since my last post, primarily due to me being back at work and grabbing all the overtime I can get my hands on....... This is due to us saving up as much money as we can to top up the 'House Deposit Fund' as we are planning to buy our own property in the next couple of months. We have found two - one the missus likes which offers us nothing we are looking for, and another one I like which ticks all of our boxes, but, the missus doesn't like it - Go Figure ! The hunt continues....... As for the railways.... Well the 00 is as it was last described a few posts up, but has now been disassembled and packed away as we need to use the room for visitors over TT fortnight - got a house full this year - nine of us all together ! The proposed 0 gauge layout has not even started yet, still planning that one, but, with a house move on the horizon, no progress will be made with that until we are in the new place, although I have a Dapol 08, some wagon kits to build and a Triang Hymek and conversion kit to get on with when I find some time. I will start a separate thread for the 0 gauge when I finally get going with it, in the meantime, I am just collecting odd bits of stock and track and, if the deposit fund allows, a Heljan cl37 would be nice !. So, I am still here, lurking in the background, reading the updated posts daily and gleaning as much information, advice, and inspiration as I can !

Fanstastic ! A major milestone reached works wonders for the MoJo, doesn't it ! The SLW 24 looks and sounds great too, looking forward to the scenery now ! I wish I could get on with either of my layouts, but, they are both packed away at the moment, pending TT visitors that will be needing to use the room and then a house move a little later on - when we find one !