SteveyDee68

Have to say that you have created such a realistic cameo scene, not just in terms of skills as a modeller but also in thinking through every aspect of the scene, down to the paint spots on the dust sheets below the paint can hung on the top rail. Inspirational, as always. Steve S

Thanks to Cornholio's advice, I have been brave enough to have a go! First I removed the ends from Building B (the shop), to make cutting easier. I then counted brick courses above the top row of windows on the front fascia of the building, then did the same above middle row before cutting off the second floor with a new blade. I then lined up the two end walls with the new top edge, ensuring that brick courses lines up, and then cut off the bottom of the wall. Hopefully the photo shows that. It may be a simple task for others, but I was definitely measuring six times and cutting once! I used sanding sticks to make 45 degree mitred corners at the front, which meant removing half a millimetre from each side of the base, and trimming the interior strengthers down by a millimetre each (no need to worry about centring those, unlike the doorway in the base). Finally, I trimmed the rear wall down and also reduced its width by 1mm. At this point back to the Metcalfe instructions! I investigated a range of colours to try to hide the edges of the card of the wooden window surrounds, gauging against the middle of the windows as pressed out (photo 2). What nobody mentions about colouring these edges is that the printed surface of the model is on a white paper on the top surface of the card, so in window openings you have the colour printing itself (top surface), a thin white paper edge and then the card. Colouring the exposed edge actually creates two colours no matter what medium is used, as the colour reacts differently on the paper as it does on the card! I can now see the advantage of the Scalescenes method of wrapping paper into openings! However, this is very much a learning exercise, so I shall do that - and learn to live with it! Although I have purchased and downloaded a lot of Scalescenes models, I am going to model most of my layout using Metcalfe kits, so I can get used to working with card. I used the same pens to colour the glazing as I did on the card. Again, not perfect results but another learning curve. For now, I have completed the front wall and glazing. Curtains and a new shop sign and interior created on the computer are next tomorrow! Days of fun! STAY HOME - STAY SAFE - KEEP MODELLING

I will use the piling to cover both joins and changes in direction of my dock walls, using the stone finish. However, if I was using the concrete panels I would trim the half panel off each right hand end, using a T square and a sharp blade. Then join sections using the piling. Let us know how you get on. Steve

Any updates? Have saved so many photos from this, and made a note of techniques. This layout is an inspiration - and right now I need a good dose of inspiration! So, any updates, Steve?! Steve S

Four AM Update Or should that be three steps forward and four back? Wednesday evening I had produced another paper mockup for another building and was feeling like the overall picture was coming together when I noticed that the foam board surface had come away a little in the middle near the front edge. Never mind, I thought, a spot of glue will sort that. Then whilst moving some stuff under the eaves I noticed the back right corner had lifted. As has the rear left corner. I just woke up with the realisation that spray-on carpet glue does not do as good a job with non-porous foam board to wood as it might do to a semi porous carpet backing and wood: the whole blessed lot is going to have to come up and start again. Time for a choice word or three ... On the plus side, I've finalised the track plan but nothing yet has been fixed down. Phew. So, the big question is (and do feel free to make suggestions) do I try again with foamboard, try again with mounting board or simply lay the track direct on the baseboard? (Forget cork - it ain't gonna happen!) And with that off my chest I can return to the Land of Nod. Stay safe, folks

Hi Phil-b259 The right hand door did came out for me, but tried to "flip over" in the process. I got the left hand door out using pointed nose tweezers and pulling it out using the mounded detail (you are quite right - the added side protrusion does make it more difficult to remove). Both doors are attracted to the tool back to front - the tool does not attract them but repels them when they are in place in the crane. I think possibly the magnet in the tool is incorrect - it is useful only for losing the doors to the carpet monster! Frustrating to have something so beautifully made (and so expensive) have such a fundamental flaw. I will have to speak to the local shop where I bought it from - who knows what can be done at the moment during lock down? Thank you for taking the time to respond. Steve S

Brass bands are in my family, but I escaped the cult many years ago having both played and conducted! Like 1722, I am a trombonist but my rose gold belled trombone is a (quite rare) King 5B Symphony, an experimental foray into a mixed usage instrument for the professional market! One thing about silver bands - the finish is an awful lot easier to portray than rose gold! Comment upon the original painting - that must be a soprano cornet (as it is very small) but the trombonist appears to be holding something smaller even than a soprano trombone! That would be very hard upon the ears! Lastly, although Wales is known for its choirs, there are many very fine brass bands from the region, as my (Welsh) brother in law would be quick to point out, when he isn't performing in the band of The Regiment of The Price of Wales! Congratulations on your new(ish) addition to the family, and hope you are all safe and well. Steve S

Have read your entire blog and have enjoyed seeing how your layout has developed over time. Keep up the good work! Steve S update: And am reading it all over again, picking up extra ideas on a second read through!

Have spent some time on the www and found plenty of information about perfume companies (as in their history, their unique branding/scents etc) but hardly any photos of where they are actually made! Perhaps it is because the perceived luxury or value of a fragrance might be damaged when it is revealed it is made in an industrial unit?! Hence the amazing websites for the perfume companies, all with close up photos of parfumeriers (?) mixing oils in test tubes etc, not bottling machines and barrels of chemicals! Amersham Museum has an interesting history about Goya, which were based in the town in an old Brewery, and those are about the only photos I have stumbled across. Most of the processes are small scale and take place inside, so closed vans (as has been said above) would seem to be the order of the day, for goods in or out. Here's the Goya factory photos (if the photos are copyright I shall remove them) as the old Brewery does make an attractive factory building!

Thanks for the info, 34theletterbetweenb&d I have found one reference only on RMWeb related to perfume, and that was really about whale oil/products. Will have to research and find out what kind of amounts might be used of that in perfume making! Happy Easter!

An odd request... The small factory around the corner manufactures perfume. In recent weeks, it has switched production to hand sanitiser (the night air is still as fragrant, though!) It consists of various smaller buildings, some storage tanks, warehouses and a distribution depot, all arranged either side of a step sided gulley holding a stream. It is actually more picturesque than it sounds! Which set me to thinking about a micro layout based around a perfume factory. A Google search brings up limited results but centres around the Dubarry factory in Hove (and mainly about its conversion into flats!) Could anybody suggest what raw materials might go inwards and using which wagons? I am assuming simple vans would take the bottled goods outwards! Don't think I've ever see no anyone model such an industry before! Thanks! Steve S PS - this will not require a Ransomes and Rapier 45 ton crane

Got to say I feel for modellers in the antipodes - not only are postal rates jaw dropping but the waiting time for things to arrive?! A friend of our family has relatives in Australia - she told my mum on Good Friday that received last year's Christmas card the previous Friday! By my reckoning, that means sending out cards in August to make sure they arrive by December!

Hi Julian Thank you. That sentence tells me everything! There is definitely something not right with my model. Once I have the doors out, I suppose I could try to get the magnets out and reset them the correct way, but what happens if I botch it? I would certainly not be able to claim a replacement under warranty! I suppose I could simply return it to the shop, but given that these models are not exactly high volume stock I might not be able to get a red version replacement. So I now wonder if Bachmann do these particular parts as spares? After all, I am certain a few are going to be eaten by carpet monsters eventually! Guess it is something to enquire about after the bank holiday weekend and to while away a few more hours during lock down! STAY SAFE - STAY HOME - PROTECT OUR NHS - AND KEEP MODELLING!

Thanks for all the feedback. Will try on some practice pieces and see how they turn out.

I want to finish some card buildings with a render like finish. Any recommendations/techniques, as I would imagine painting would make the card soggy? Thanks Steve S STAY HOME - STAY SAFE - KEEP MODELLING

Julian - thanks for the reply. I am a little desperate as I haven't actually got both doors out yet, so it is not a case of me jamming them in! I've read the instructions very carefully (it is an expensive bit of kit after all) but the diagram simply shows the tool removing the doors and indicating that it is magnetic. When you put your tool on the door, does the door attach magnetically to the tool to allow it to be removed? If your answer is YES then I have a defective model!! If I can I will post a video to show the issue...

I have been lucky on the whole with my eBay purchases, even with more expensive items - an iPad that turned out to be a more modern and higher spec version than the one described, a 27" iMac as the one and only bidder and £200 cheaper than the going price, and an Apple MacBook for £100 after trying to help the seller get it running (it wouldn't start up) and he decided he simply couldn't be bothered with the hassle! (Starting price on that auction was £180, reserve price £240 and going price at the time for that model was about £350!) Spending time to sort out the software, replace the hard drive with a SSD hard drive and increasing the memory turned a non-runner bargain into a little powerhpuse, just like fettling poor runners or otherwise improving bargain priced models. I have to agree though, that many private sellers now seem to be selling at more like shop prices!

When I contact private sellers about items with faulty descriptions I usually mention about avoiding disputes from unhappy buyers. Most respond positively because most times it is a genuine mistake - as Steamport Southport said in his post, Those sellers have genuinely appreciated my help. (One lady was doing her best with an inherited collection, but had been packing locos etc into whichever boxes seemed to fit and then listing them by the box description!) Clowns like the Australian seller above who ignored the help offered deserve whatever karma or eBay throws at them! Genuine sellers acknowledge the errors, and either correct the listing or remove it. Perhaps it is the thieves and chancers who don't respond positively to freely offered advice? As eBay has expanded and become a marketplace for both used and new goods, I can understand retailers using it as another avenue to sell, as it reaches a wide market. Smaller retailers do not have the technological infrastructure to list masses of items for sale on their own websites - eBay provides the infrastructure so it makes sense for them to use it. I agree with what Steamport Southport says, though - "Buyer beware". Two examples - I got a bargain Hornby Southern Region Commuter set (Schools class loco plus three Maunsell coaches) but the pony truck pivot was broken on the loco and requires repair - this wasn't mentioned in the description and when I asked they checked the other set they had and that had the same issue. They apologised and offered a partial refund or a return. Second example - I won a Bachmann Lord Nelson Class loco described as "good runner" - took it along to my local shop to run it on their test track and it ran beautifully in reverse, but forwards could only run light engine! Contacted the seller who claimed it ran fine for him and it just needs a service. Did that, no better, follow up correspondence gets no response. Repairs at the shop will cost approx £30 and I won the loco for £45! Nothing in the description to warn me off, good seller rating etc, but I won't be buying from him again!

I posted a question in the Questions thread (with no replies), but perhaps here (where there is considerable expertise and also crane owners) might be a better place to ask... I was fortunate to be able to spend an unexpected Xmas bonus on purchasing the red version of the crane from my local model shop. Yesterday I got it out for the first time, but am unable to remove the second of the two doors on the rear of the crane in order to lower the jib. The door for the jib eventually came out, but unexpectedly flipped over as it came out using the turning knob magnet gizmo. It would appear that the magnets are in opposition. The second (left/hook) door resolutely refuses to budge, and in fact I can revolve the crane using the magnet of the knob gizmo a good 1-2cm away from the model! Is this normal behaviour with the magnets? I have read all 38 pages of this thread, and nobody has mentioned anything odd getting the doors out other than the left hand one needed prising out. I really don't want to return it and then have egg on my face if it is meant to work this way! Steve S

Help! I splashed out big style with my Christmas bonus on the beautiful Bachmann crane but due to other commitments today was the first time out of its box properly... What am I doing wrong? The magnet gizmo to pull out the washout plugs doors to allow me to lower the jib and hook doesn't want to do that - when I put it near the plugs doors, the crane rotates! The magnets seem to be in opposition... The jib plug door suddenly popped out but not the way I expected - it suddenly revolved and flipped out (away from the gizmo). The other plug door, having a small rectangle at one side, resolutely refuses to budge. Am I doing this wrong, or have I been unlucky enough to get a Friday afternoon model where the magnets are installed the wrong way around? Appreciate any advice...

I'll be honest - I rather miss good old MacDraw! It could draw to scale, you could define libraries of objects to reuse, and multiple layers too. Cracking bit of software, then became ClarisDraw (basically renamed) and then in the shift to OSX it got dropped. It had exactly the right amount of flexibility for modellers as it was designed as a 2D vector drawing program and designed to be easy to use. It also required very little in terms of computing power/RAM. If anyone can recommend an equivalent for OSX I'd be grateful for the pointer. (Saying that, I will be taking a look at LibreOffice later!) STAY SAFE - STAY HOME - PROTECT THE NHS

I have in the past drawn attention to inaccuracies in sellers' descriptions by posing rhetorical questions and providing the correct information at the same time, but only after checking what else the seller has for sale and what language they are using. Have been thanked on more than one occasion because I have spotted they are selling multiple different items but have cut and pasted description info and sometimes neglected to update the text. Retailers also have to bulk upload items, and again that can lead to errors. One I picked up in the last couple of days were new OO gauge wagons being sold with photos of the same in N gauge! Which bit is wrong, the photo or the description? (Apparently Bachmann have said to use the N gauge photo as no official OO photo of the model yet available) I give the benefit of the doubt to sellers unless they start hiking prices and describe items as "rare" or "difficult to get hold of" - then I point out the error sometimes a little sarcastically. For example, the "rare" Skaledale water mill at a fair few tenners available for sale with multiple other sellers at the same time at half the cost! That makes me think of Barnum - there's a sucker born every minute!

Happy Good Friday! Hope you and your family are safe in these interesting times. A while ago, I commented upon how much I liked your factory kitbash. I, too, have the Chris Nevard article and have obtained the gatehouse kit with intentions of upgrading, but looking back at your building for inspiration, can you tell me if you used two gateway kits to create the gatehouse? As much as I like the "bell tower" (can't think what else to call it!) of the original kit, it is the case that it does turn up a lot whereas your variation hides it's origins so well. I also noticed you you later added what looks like part of the warehouse kit to the middle section to create loading facilities. Do you mind me asking how many kits were used in total? And finally - last question, honest - what happened to the lovely scratchbuilt factory building in grey primer at the right hand end next to the canal basin, that you subsequently replaced with the current building? Far too nice to consign to the scrap bin! Meanwhile, terrific modelling both here and on your father's layout (love the distillery) and currently torn between your DAS scribed sets and Canute Road Quay's methods for groundwork on my own micro! (If I reached half the standard of either I would be very happy!) Steve S STAY SAFE - STAY HOME - PROTECT THE NHS

Hope everyone is staying home and healthy... With time on my hands, I have been perusing eBay for all manner of items, and am always surprised at the differences in price asked for the same item, especially for "Buy It Now" auctions. I am not referring to a certain infamous seller who hikes his prices not so much skyward as stratospheric, but just generally. My attention has been drawn to the prices asked by retailers in their eBay shops, but there is one trend that I have seen which I have taken to messaging the sellers to draw their attention to. And that is? Has anyone noticed how many older, non-Skaledale Hornby buildings are being advertised as "Skaledale"? I am referring to the range of buildings Hornby produced for the "train set" market, which are clip together kits. I have seen many listings of these as "Skaledale", which they are a long way from being anything like the quality. If these were being sold at low prices I could ignore them, but often they seem to be priced more in line with actual Skaledale products. Is this a clear case of misrepresentation? Newcomers to the hobby will have heard of Skaledale and may assume these are part of that range and then pay more for such items than possibly the items warrant. I know any selling price is how much the buyer is willing to pay, and I also realise that in these strange times businesses need as much cash flow as possible (which is why I am buying my PLA Peckett loco from my local shop at a higher price than from a "box shifter" at a much lower price), but am I alone in thinking that retailers (especially, being the professionals so to speak) should be clear and correct when listing items for sale on eBay? Apologies for the ramble - I am genuinely interested in RMWebbers' responses! STAY HOME - STAY SAFE - PROTECT THE NHS

From left to right, top corner... Metcalfe terraced house (old kit, cut in half to make single building) Row (alley) House gable end - low relief (cut down Superquick "White Swan" pub - how appropriate!) Scratchbuilt house (utilising spare windows from both the Superquick "White Swan" and cut down three storey shops) Row (alley) Two storey shop (cut down Metcalfe three storey low relief shop) Two storey pub (cut down Metcalfe three storey low relief pub) Row (alley) House gable end - low relief (cut down Superquick "White Swan" pub - the other part of the structure) Road Metcalfe terraced house kit (the other half, facing in) I have had to leave out the broker's office as there isn't room. By rights, I should also leave off the second pub and have a second house instead - I have just found the Metcalfe cottage I got free with a magazine (*ahem*) so may try that instead of the pub. Using paper mock ups to help visualise - will probably post up some variations and ask opinions upon which look best! STAY HOME - STAY SAFE