Tim Horn

Just to pick up upon the use of MDF. It gets a bad press sometimes, as a material I find it is more stable than ply. Don't confuse 'stability' with a poorly designed and supported baseboard structure. I personally use moisture resistant (MR) grade medite MDF (it's green) for all 6mm and 9mm components/tops. Cheers Tim

Hi Justin, Thanks for the kind words. Just a note, not sure where you've picked up upon the Ply versions contain MDF, they don't. I offer either Ply or MDF as kits, not mixed. I use Valspar primer and undercoat for MDF and ply. Last lot came from B&Q if I remember correctly. Thanks again, Cheers, Tim

I think as a layout we do quite well at entertaining the public We don't have to let anyone have a go, but kids enjoy it and I encourage our team to let them have a go when we can. I can appreciate the views on here, I'm not going to defend the layout as you can't really argue about opinions. This is one mans layout at the end of the day, built by Phil Eames, with a little help from others such as myself. I love it. I wish you well with you exhibition next month Paul. Cheers Tim

Reminds me of this one Alex, a few years ago now! cheers, Tim

Thanks for all the kind comments! I use a laser cutter to cut out a kit of parts for each bridge. This one being in 7mm and for a happy customers S7 layout in time, and MDF as the base material. The hardest part is copying the brick work detail as far as possible in a drawing, once you've done that then just good old basic colouring, often an hour at a time so you don't go too mad You should see the Gauge three version . . . Cheers Tim

Still room for improvement on the next one, but it's looking quite nice. 7mm bridge for a customer. Cheers Tim

Just to clear up, I put 'copyright' on my photos in a feeble attempt to stop people using them without permission as has happened in the past, but I'm the first one to realise that once they are on the net, you can't do a lot about it The specs and design of the boards aren't protected in anyway, not possible unless you get a patent but that's well over the top to be honest, and the idea about the modular system is that anyone can do it by any means. Cheers Tim

Thanks Allan, It's laser cut into MDF with some woodwork to get the angles. I've copied the bridge more or less brick for brick after measuring and photographing it last month. Cheers Tim

Waltham on the Wolds farm bridge under construction in 7mm, and 4mm, Cheers Tim

A bridge I'm working on at the moment. It's come out ok for the first run off the laser machine, but I need to adjust the artwork for 2mm fitting still Cheers Tim

You just choose another colour. The different colours will come up on the laser software and you just tell the software what you want to do with the colours. So black is half cut (mortar courses) and I choose yellow lines to cut through. You have a couple of variables to play with, the speed of the cut and the power of the laser. It takes time to get the cut right, and lots of messing about until the mortar line looks good. Too much laser power will burn too wide, and too much speed will give you thicker lines at the beginning and end of the mortar line. Below is a 7mm wall segment I've been playing with for a commission build. Cheers Tim

Hi iD, Thank you, I've done everything from the drawing to the laser cutting. One of the drawings for part of the wall section is below. Cheers Tim

The old train wash control building near Bromley North in 4mm, before painting Cheers Tim

I think I may have this forced perspective modelling the wrong way round . .

Thanks Martin and Chaz, I agree, I should have cropped it I suppose the point I was making was that if the locos were in the photo, it may have come out ok. I would have had to pan the shot, as the locos would be at around 30mph, and this was hand held at 1/4 second at iso 25,600. It was a throw away shot really, but I'll try it again sometime. Just going off topic, this is the shot I took looking the other way Cheers Tim

Talk to most photographers, and they will tell you that they always look up at the clouds to see if the sun is going to disappear before "the" shot. Well last night I was doing the same, but with the full moon. Unfortunately I'd lost the loco convoy en route, but it might have worked. One to try another time perhaps Almost looks like full sun . . .

And a couple more

A snap from Phil's debut show this weekend with Calcutta Sidings v2 at ExpoEm North 40 foot of scenic layout compressed into one shot

Not quite, but this one is an exact brickwork copy of the hut, as is the foot bridge piers in 4mm scale too and the lamp hut in 4mm . . and the start of the shunters bothy . . for a friend Cheers Tim

Bromley North lamp hut (a test laser print in 7mm scale) Eastleigh Depot mess hut in 4mm Cheers Tim

Just trying to reduce a couple of my building laser kits to 2mm, so far it looks ok. Need to work on the interlocking bricks a bit more Cheers Tim

I've had an invasion of wildlife this afternoon on the workbench . . .