michl080

Ray, removing safety switches is not the best idea. You may want to "preload" the switch input to avoid erratic signals. a resistor pulling up the controller input will normally help. The resistor value is not critical. Anything between 1k and 10k should be working. This will only work if the switches are connected to ground. Lowside switching, where the switch is connected to the positive supply, need the resistor connected to ground. best regards, Michael

I am using "finnboard" https://www.architekturbedarf.de/cardboard-+-paper/beige-finnboards/1 which is quite soft. I can cut it with a scalpel blade with some 4 cuts @ a 2mm board. I think it is important to use a massive ruler to have a good guide. This helps keeping all your fingers if you have to use a lot of force. Michael

David, hmmm, I rechecked the pictures at ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/O-GAUGE-Gladiator-8f-Kit-/183542523187?nma=true&si=YBdrjDL3KwGnyZuHXfYOPT30JuQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 and couldn't find the marks. I guess that I mixed things up. Really sorry, I stand corrected. I didn't want to spread wrong information. Michael

Martin, ask that question in a German forum and you will start a flamewar right away. Märklin is Germany's largest model railway supplier and has a significant market share. Many hobbyist are used to Märklin from childhood on. This tradition allows the manufacturer to stay on top, even if the "Mittelleiter" system is unique to this brand. Most other manufacturers even need to supply their DC equipment modified for the Märklin system. No other nation in Europe or oversea uses the 3 rail system these days. Generally, if you want to use the Märklin system, only Märklin can supply the rails for the layout, which means no alternatives and higher prices at a lower quality model appearance. In the last couple of years, Tillig and Weinert sell very nice looking track system, you may want to take a look and compare. Michael (from Germany, running a 2-rail-system :-) and now, let the flame war begin...

Alan, I had the same idea some time ago and build an applicator like you. I was not impressed with the results, so I bought Noch applicator and the results wer MUCH better. It may be possible to get a decent result with the fly swatter if you have the experience, but it is possible with the Noch applicator without experience. I would like to make two comments however: I stored my "grass" in a closed container and added a little bit of water. This helps to increase the conductivity of the fibers which improved the result. Secondly, I modified my Noch applicator with https://uk.farnell.com/kontakt-chemie/graphit-33-200ml/coating-conductive-200ml/dp/832959?ost=GRAPHIT+33+200ML&scope=partnumberlookahead&searchref=searchlookahead&krypto=HnCS3O%2B7hsTAoz5fCJ%2BDlkr6o4aHCuoeZ8%2B%2FkiUmKbF1TH8ZfHZX8d91SYNag5BnLNKblZvGx3m1RFZmvvmfdNUkR6wVUN26UQ4W68%2BbOI8BUgeyrjtsD9VkDVYa5Dwe%2BrWhs%2FnQDFdgOzLFAJJK19HCnmut%2Fo0GJmPQrdancWt2E6S1NoQQgNPDHHX1iCZrwqlFYGV7DZFLGSaNKAD0mdJnp8QMZzo0eckAbZyAa%2FKJAN62RmHpN%2FXDGAAERT2T%2BOkkz9Pm4%2BERWTDfiSLSJhtDZgN63UDTjLJl%2BzN2GcTM9O9tocWhFSdDhlabe3gwdhbQHhhEBKIZNZtjXX8dKjLvQC15VyA9O6Azuu2POb4%2BwnlLn7quTKRpHHQPo4tj9YFSuzXQ8D2PoB1zHMmpBToCjVL3FeP6ZcE%2B5gtQVj2zCwUB5I7erLm2oax%2Bkmk%2F%2Br3FD%2BfGgoM2nZ4a0eoiF1rb9s10eL6w34oXVWyKCk6ch6%2FrWqG16RBZT77%2FwLFQqAlHlDqu4ktXLllWuSNL%2Fbf8tN2kCV3wnVYxIBb%2BzTU%3D&ddkey=https%3Aen-GB%2FElement14_United_Kingdom%2Fw%2Fsearch graphite spray at the inside of the grass container. Michael

I guess that was the one from "steampower92", right? good luck with the kit. I hope we see some pictures when you start building your new kit. I saw that you are building a DJH Class 03 kit in the moment. Looks like we are taking the same approach, I am currently building a MMP Class 08 which is a wonderfully detailed kit. Markjj, thanks for the advice, that is what I am currently doing. Looking for opportunities. As I am not planning to build a layout where I need to have a certain class in a certain livery of a certain time, things are quite easy. If it won't be an 8F, it may be something completely different instead. Michael

thanks for the answers! Markjj, the MOK website says it's not available in the moment, but the Gladiator Webesite says the same :-/ Tony, thanks for the input. David, no need to check the age of the Peter Dobson kit, it is from around 1995. Actually, I came across a Gladiator 8F auction on ebay. The pictures showed the copyright year quite clearly. It's gone, I was too slow. I made a wrong note about the end of the auction. thank you all, great support in this forum for a completely ignorant modeller... Michael

Good morning, Can any kind soul supply information about the quality of the Gladiator 8F kit? The kit seems to be from the 1990. How does it compare with the MOK kit, which is more recent. thanks for any comment, Michael

hi, I have checked this afternoon. 1st step: empty reservoir 2nd step: put some cleaner into reservoir, clean walls with a cotton bud 3rd step: empty reservoir by spraying cleaner. 4th set: unscrew nozzle pull pull needle less than one minute so far. drop airbrush body and needle in ultrasonic bath. Tiny parts into a small container with cleaner and the container into the US bath. sonicate for 4 minutes. resassemble all parts. total time 6 minutes, of which 4 minutes can be used for other things. doesn't sound like too much hassle. This is with an Iwata brush and acrylic paint. Michael

Pete, the German text says that the plastic body melted. Frankly, I don't believe that it is Plastic or Aluminum. The superstructure is certainly steel, only isolation and interior may contain significant amounts of Aluminium and Plastic. Michael

good idea. I think there is a misconception about airbrush and weathering. You don't need an airbraush to do weathering and in some examples, it has the opposing effect of what you want to achieve. Airbrushing is great to lay a layer of dust on a surface, but the dust will mainly lay down on the plain surfaces and not so much in the corners of your wagon. In reality, the dirt collects mainly in the corners, where wind and rain can't remove it. If you have enough money to buy all the tools you want, an airbrush is a nice extension to simplify weathering, but it is certainly neither a prerequisite nor the most important tool for the job. best regards, Michael

Art, the Connoisseur kits have already been mentioned. I would also recommend the David J Parkins kits. They are certainly not intended as a first try, but they fit very accurately and are VERY detailled. Very satisfying kits! https://www.djparkins.com Michael

morning, I would like to resurrect that thread. At this time, the "heavy duty universal rivet tool" is not available. My question is: Are the smaller versions good enough for 7mm kit building. I notice that there is a standard and a universal version available. Which one would you recommended? Has anybody any idea about packaging and posting to continental Europe? Did anybody pick up the tools personally in Lancing? best regards, Michael

Hi, steel sleepers were used since the 1930s (in Germany). concrete sleepers were widely used since 1949, first tests started in the 1920s. Weinert makes steel sleeper track . See https://weinert-modellbau.de/ausgeliefert/105-mein-stahlschwellengleis-ist-da Piko has concrete sleeper tracks and turnouts: https://www.piko-shop.de/index.php?vw_type=301&vw_id=341&vw_name=detail I hope this helps, Michael

Alan, there are a few more oprions. In the state of Württemberg in south western Germany, they operated quite a few rack railway lines. One of the most prominent ones the line between Honau and Lichtenstein close to Reutlingen. This line saw a very powerful rack railway steam engine, the class 97.5 . Four of these machines were built, they were considered so important that three of them survived until today, one even operational. The landscape in this reagion is spectacular and a few modellers have layouts that show the stations of that line. There are models of the 97.5, but they are from small manufacturers like Micro Metakit or Westmodel. Here are a few links, mostly in German: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reutlingen%E2%80%93Schelklingen_railway https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnstrecke_Reutlingen%E2%80%93Schelklingen#Zahnradbahn_Honau%E2%80%93Lichtenstein https://www.zhl.de/show.php?page=Zahnradloks&ret=Geschichte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg_Hz https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?010,7708960,7711738#msg-7711738 have fun, Michael

glad I could help best regards, Michael

Andy, this is interesting. There are Blocksignale and Ausfahrsignale (departure signals). I am not sure if a Blocksignal can be used as an exit signal. Comparing the block signal https://viessmann-modell.com/en/product-range/gauge-h0/colour-light-signals/346/h0-colour-light-block-signal-with-multiplex-technology?c=29 with the departure signal https://viessmann-modell.com/en/product-range/gauge-h0/colour-light-signals/348/h0-colour-light-departure-signal-with-multiplex-technology?c=29 you can see that the position of red and green is different. I assume (but am not sure) that a block signal is never a departure signal. Answering you question with the stop signal, the Viessmann 4723 combines both singals in one. Again assumed, in real world, the yellow light would be probably masked and removed at the line that can only signal HP0/HP1 and the green light would be removed if the signal only needs to display HP0/HP2. Michael

almost correct :-\ the train leaving through the straigt line will not have a speed restriction and can leave with HP1. I should extend my comment above to "if all points are passed in straight direction, no speed limit applies and HP1 can be given" Michael

the trailing turnout that combines both lines IS the one that requires the train to run slowly. No matter how many points are behind the signal, as soon as one of them is passed in the diverting direction, 40km/h speed limit applies and HP2 is required. I hope this helps, Michael

If I understand you correctly, you plan to use one exit signal for two lines, a so called "Gruppensignal" group signal. Depending on the traffic on your station, this would be used at smaller scale stations and it would need to be a signal that can display HP0, HP1 and HP2. It would need to show HP1 if you exit your station from the straight line and HP2 if you exit from the diverged line. On main line stations, there would be two signals, one on each line. The straight line would have a HP0-HP1 signal and the diverging line a HP0-HP2 only signal (with coupled arms). complicated :-) If you want to go deeper into the matter, this https://shop.vgbahn.info/miba/shop/signale++band+1-_194.html booklet contains all (and much more) information you need. In German, unfortunately... Michael

Mike, that sounds like a solid short in the machine. Is the motor "trying" to start before the power breakers are tripped? If so, it is probably the motor, if not, it might be as well a problem in the wiring. Do you know a person that can look into that? Michael

Pete, you may consider to visit the Lötschberg instead. There should be some 2-4 freight trains in each direction per hour. It has a nice walking path from Hohentenn to Brig. The Bietschtalbridge and some other bridges are real beauties. Michael

hasn't been mentioned yet. Some multimeters are SLOW. It can take a fraction of a second until you get a stable display or it can take several seconds. Especially autoranging multimeters may take forever until they switch through the ranges. There are also multimeters that have a delayed beeper. This is VERY annoying if you try to check a series of a connection. Michael

There is a good overview about used colours at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAL-Eisenbahnfarben although this list is working the other way around. It defines the colour and states the time when it was used. A comprehensive answer can be found in these https://shop.vgbahn.info/miba/shop/anstrich+und+bezeichnung+von+lokomotiven-_898.html https://shop.vgbahn.info/miba/shop/anstrich+und+bezeichnung+von+trieb-+und+reisezugwagen-_1192.html books. Sorry, all information in German only... Michael

quite true, we scale size, speed and weight of our models. Why shouldn't we scale prices Michael