grahame

The third, and possibly final, issue has arrived back from the printers. And I've already listed it on eBay. As usual it will be sold in batches so that I'm not overwhelmed by packing and spending all day in the post office.

Yep, I used various coloured Posca paint pens, silver, white and black, for picking out the details. Then a coat of matt varnish to seal. Still got weathering to do.

I thought it was Mr Jinks in Pixie and Dixie.

I use Redutex tile sheets. It has relief, is flexible, pre-coloured and self adhesive, so you don't even need to paint it or glue it down.

I've just finished putting together NGS kit #18 which makes up in to two standard vans. It's a very cheap kit and provides you with two complete wagons (including decals) for under £5 each although I replaced the plastic Peco wheels with metal ones (which adds to that). Here they are prior to them receiving any weathering and requiring just a little painted detail such as white for the handbrake handles and silver for the buffer shanks.

Dennis and Colin were British based staff and part of Bachmann UK. I'm not sure how much influence they would have had on Kader's Chinese production planning. And no doubt their effective replacements would be similarly keen to see British outline products in N gauge produced.

There's been some great progress on the new (third) issue and, fingers crossed, it should be available before the end of the year (hopefully providing some Christmas/New Year holiday reading). I'll post up information here as soon as it is confirmed.

Here's a scratch-built N/2mm factory, roughly based on the Metcalfe ramshackle workshop kit:

Rather cynical. I've not heard it before for a specific date (mid 2023) and it's probably more than just a whispered rumour - I have it in writing. And I do believe that there will be more emphasis on N gauge from Farish at that time. But, of course, happiness is a relative thing, and if what arrives doesn't address an individuals narrow limited personal wants then they won't be happy. And that's the rub. Those moaning are those who want something that isn't currently available and possibly missed out when it was in the past, and will continue to moan if their requirement isn't addressed. For those wanting passenger coaches it would be worth checking out Model Railways Direct. They seem to have a reasonable range and choice if somewhat eclectic and limited in quantity. But people will still say not the type I want, not the period, not the region, not the colour, it's weathered, and so on.

I've heard a little whisper that N gauge enthusiasts will be happy with what is planned for the mid year (Summer and Autumn) 2023 announcements next year. Consequently I wouldn't expect much for the Spring (Feb) announcement (CNY, etc.,). We're going to have to be a bit more patient for longer. Extra time to save up, perhaps.

It's been hard work tying to smarten up and finish a Parkwood resin cast body (purchased on ebay) of one of the BR D16/1 diesel twins but I'm coming down the final straight. It's not fully accurate and I'm not entirely satisfied with my efforts, but I've given it a go and hey . . . .:

My comment wasn't specifically about 'layout' articles but all types/subjects in magazines. There might be a case about those currently with or without layouts but it didn't seem to be an issue in the past. However, there is certainly less rolling stock and motive power modelling content these days, most probably due the growth in quality of RTR products that many simply unbox and place on the track.

Probably rather harsh to say most modellers can't write readable text. They obviously could when magazines were more text heavy. And turning less readable pieces into a more readable article is a skill editors ought to have and be able to undertake.

They might well claim that, but I often wonder if it is a chicken and egg situation. Many times a magazine provides plenty of eye candy in the form of pictures with just a few short sound-bites (read-bites?) when I'd really like better balance and to read about things as well as look at them. There doesn't seem to be a choice. Sometimes it feels like it is foisted on us.

There was a rumour about this (and IIRC fuelled by someone from Bachmann possibly at DEMU ShowCase), but the disappointing thing is the lack of any mention or announcement confirming it. Certainly nothing alluded to for coaches in any of this year's quarterly announcements.

Thanks. It was a pleasant chat at DEMU showcase. Yep, it's not particularly ramshackle but then neither is the Metcalfe kit version; probably just the name they settled on. I did want to make my model run down and possibly derelict, but realized that as I would sell the model, it might be best to make it as a going concern as that would probably appeal to more potential purchasers. And they could always distress and make it ramshackle if necessary.

Nearly enough to fill a multi-storey car park. ;-)

I guess most people will have their own idea of what constitutes a 'core' range. The problem is it is exacerbated by the overall large range, the batch production system, the distance to market, competition and the small size of the N gauge market.

There was a rumour of mk1 and mk2 coaches being produced and released but whether that comes to fruition is another matter and very much a doubt, although fingers crossed by many I suspect. But Weds 2nd Nov has now been slated by a few people for the announcements.

Has the date for the Winter quarter announcements been published. I've not seen anything but presumably it's in early November, which is just a week away.

As a break from loco gearboxes and a change of scale (to N/2mm), here's a scratch-built project I've just almost finished that might be of interest. It's based roughly on a recent Metcalfe kit of a ramshackle workshop that I quite liked the look of and some photos I found online of small factories/workshops. I didn't actually convert a Metcalfe kit as I'm not keen on them, finding them to exude a distinctive corporate style of flat, slightly shiny surfaces, open corners, heavily outlined printed roofing and missing relief details. Consequently, I wondered whether it would be possible to knock up a more convincing model based on one of them.

A few snaps (of mainly N/2mm layouts) taken today at the show:

Some progress on the ramshackle workshop. It's got the roof on, windows in and some colour on it but there still details to make and add (gutters, downpipes, flue, etc.,). The background buildings are some I've made for the layout and just used to block out the view of the household mess behind:

Nice job with the windscreen.

Basic blocks of colour are now on, but they need modifying and weathering, as well as still a lot of details to make and add: