Lissadell

On the back of a bottle of Humbrol Maskol that I have it is suggested that brushes should be cleaned with cellulose after use. Is this substance still available? If so, can it be obtained in small quantities? If it is no longer freely available, what is now recommended for cleaning rubber solution from brushes? My bottle of Maskol may have been on the shelf “some time” - hence the cleaning instructions may have been revised. I would appreciate any guidance from colleagues who have used Maskol recently but who did not have a stash of handy cellulose squirrelled away!!! Thanks

Thank you for that additional information, Stan Adrian

That’s brilliant info posted very quickly. thank you very much Moxy Adrian

Apologies if this has been asked before - I’m non too familiar with the world of 009! Were the Dundas kits supplied with metal or plastic wheels? Are there any differences since Peco have taken over? How much weight have colleagues added to the basic 4 wheel chassis to assist with running? Thank you for any help/guidance Adrian

The wiring on the 7mm scale Ixion Hudswell Clarke loco consists of six wires ending in a six pin socket. These are red/black from the pickups and orange/grey to the motor. The other two wires are both purple and are soldered to separate terminals on the socket. There is no lighting and no firebox flicker. A small pcb locates in this socket but another 8 pin socket is provided on the pcb for blanking plate or decoder. Could I ask a couple of questions please ……………….. What is the purpose of the two purple wires - specifically in this Ixion loco application, rather than in general? Could they be removed - to create a bit more space around the motor? Could a 6 pin decoder be plugged into this socket and the pcb, along with its 8 pin socket, be dispensed with? Guidance and insight into this arrangement would be very much appreciated. Adrian

I wonder if a forum colleague might have this sheet of transfers (Methfix or Prefix) in 7mm scale and have a small section they are unlikely to use? I would like to letter a wagon "C L" and I see this element appears on sheet 12 - specifically a pair of small and a pair of large letters, as far as I can detect online. I would be very grateful if anyone might have a spare set and would of course meet all costs. Thanks Adrian

thanks very much for doing that for me just what I needed best regards Adrian

I want to apply some T section strip detail over the planked surface of a van. Plastruct offer a 2.4mm (3/32”) strip which would probably suit but the thickness of the styrene is 0.8mm The equivalent from Evergreen is ref. 764 and is 2.3mm but I cannot find the thickness of the material being used. I wonder if a colleague on the forum might have Evergreen 764 and be able to measure the thickness for me please. That said, maybe other sections from Evergreen would feature the same thickness as 764? Thanks Adrian

I wonder if any colleague has fitted a non sound decoder in the 7mm scale Ixion Hudswell Clarke loco. I have just been given one of these models and would like to convert to DCC operation. I have one or two basic questions related to the Ixion loco and would appreciate contact with another forum member who has worked on this loco. thanks in anticipation! Adrian PS I did post in the 7mm section of the forum this morning but did not receive any response.

Hello I was recently given one of these locos - and very welcome it was! However, there is no paperwork with the model with regard to DCC conversion (maybe there never was?) Anyway, I found a very helpful series of photos on RMweb (thanks Jon F.) that enabled me to gain access to the location site for a decoder. So now I would really appreciate some suggestions as to a suitable non sound decoder that Forum colleagues have fitted with pleasing results. The pcb itself is positioned around a vertical fixing pillar and appears to be connected to the wiring harness via a six pin plug. Towards the front of the pcb there seems to be a very tiny 8 pin blanking plate, vertically fitted. I can't remove the pillar since it is the fixing point for the tank top and I suspect there isn't a lot of space below the tank top - so I'm wondering if this all limits my options somewhat ................... I'm happy to hard wire, if that is the best solution, but it would be great to have the benefit from others who have already made the conversion. In particular, what decoder used and any particular method of installing. Thanks Adrian

This has been excellent reading so far - some very interesting knowledge shared. Thank you. please feel free to add more if you wish to contribute! Adrian

The Dapol Conflat wagon (7mm scale) bears the legend “To be retained for GW containers”. This seems pretty self explanatory ie the barring of carriage of another company’s container, but it made me wonder about another possible related use………….. I appreciate that a variety of “flat” or low sided wagons existed to carry appropriate loads, but is there any evidence that Conflats could, on occasion, be used for this type of traffic? With all the fixing points might it have been tempting to press such wagons into use or would this be a formal “no-no” in the GWR regulations and hence did not take place? very interested to hear colleagues comments thanks Adrian

Thanks very much to the three members who replied very promptly with their thoughts - very helpful. I wonder, given the sound deadening properties of the various underlay types is debatable, once ballast is subject to the glue treatment, could I venture that a layer of such materials could be dispensed with in certain situations? Where a ballast shoulder is going to be visible, then raising the track height to enable an underlay to be employed is quite understandable. However, in situations such as yards where there may be little ballast remaining visible and where surrounding ground is level with and encroaches on sleeper heights, does underlay serve any purpose? I wonder have any members had any luck reducing rumbles, as the board vibrates with a passing train, by the fitting of the thick white foam sheet eg 50mm Kingspan, to the underside of the board? Is there any worthwhile muting or deadening effect by taking this approach? Looking forward to the further thoughts of Ross, Simon and John! best Adrian

I have read a number of times of this material being used as an alternative to the traditional cork. I am building a small amount of 7mm scale track using wood sleepers and plastic chairs and was contemplating how it might “sit” on foam board ie being a fairly soft material. I wondered what’s it like to work with - for this particular purpose ie below 7mm track. Also how do colleagues find it best fixed to the board eg glue (type?), double sided sticky tape etc A typical thickness in use seems to be 5mm - at the moment quite decent sized pieces of this seem to be available for modest cost - this led me to contemplate a sandwich of two layers. I appreciate the complexities of sound deadening given the influence of various baseboard materials, their construction method, the glue used etc. Perhaps we’re trying to run on a sound box that just amplifies sound! Which I guess brings me back to foam board - to fit or not to fit? I would welcome the input of colleagues with experience of this material best regards Adrian

Thanks very much to colleagues who provided useful information. May I draw the matter to a close by seeking clarification, specifically of the PO liveried open wagons with 9ft wheelbase chassis Happy Hippo mentioned in his reply that the Salt wagon bodies are screw fitted to their chassis - these are 9ft wheelbase vehicles. Hal illustrated the underside of an LH 16T mineral, clearly showing screws in each corner. Sorry, I don’t know their wheelbase. So, if I buy a PO open wagon with the 9 ft wheelbase chassis, will it reveal screw fitting? Or do only some of these 9ft wb wagons have this feature? Hope not!! Adrian

The first O gauge opens I saw from Dapol seemed to consist of individual sides and ends, glued at the corners and then mounted (glued?) to the chassis. When the 9ft opens were released, I think I remember seeing that the bodies were one piece mouldings(?) Where is this leading? …………………….. Well, what I was hoping was that colleagues on the forum might be able to tell me - from wagons in their possession - whether any of these Dapol wagons are assembled in such a way that the body can be split from the chassis without significant (any?) damage. Thank you in anticipation. Adrian

Thank you to everyone for their suggestions. I got an MX617 with harness from Kevin at Coastal and just replaced the 6pin plug with an 8pin. I only have a small layout so didn’t feel the potential loss of traction by fitting decoder in a side tank would be a problem for me. Though I appreciate that the alternative mounting point would better suit other modellers requirements.

I appreciate this model has been around quite a while and I have read as much as I could find on the subject of decoder fitting an M7 - including the Bromsgrove guides. Unfortunately, most non sound DCC conversions seem to have been achieved using decoders that are no longer available. I’m happy to chop wires, hard wire etc etc but would welcome advice from more experienced colleagues on how best to proceed. As I mentioned in the title, I’m looking for a simple tiny chip that would do the job and is available now. The non working Hornby chip that was in the s/h loco I’ve just acquired measured 17 x 10 x 4. I think it was factory fitted and was mounted on the side of the chassis, with tightly coiled harness to the forward fixed 8 pin socket Suggestions would be gratefully received. thank you Adrian

In 1965 my local shed - Stockport Edgeley (9B) - was home to four Britannias. These were 70004 William Wordsworth, 70015 Apollo, 70026 Polar Star and 70044 Earl Haig I took photos at the time, but they aren’t really very good and hence do not address the question I am asking here. My memories of the locos on shed at the time, be they Black Fives, 8Fs or 9Fs, are of general grime and neglect. Sadly this state of affairs extended to their companions, the Brits ............ Both Apollo and Polar Star had received hand painted names, the former being turned out with a bright blue background to its name (perhaps a mischievous City fan at work in the shed one night!). But (and this is where memory fails) both appeared to have “lost” their lining. As I said above, I am very familiar with how dirty locos had become in their latter days. My question then is: does anyone have a photo of 70015 or 70026 taken at this time which hints at the presence of lining under a heavily weathered finish? Parallel to this question, in the 1960s were LMR locos, be they express passenger or mixed traffic, turned out from a “service” with a simplified ie cheap plain livery lacking any lining? Were the Britannia’s I’ve mentioned just plain green as well as filthy and for that matter, were some of the mixed traffic Black Fives on shed at the time just plain black under their coat of grime? Hope someone might be able to share their experience of the time Thanks Adrian

This kit producer has a large range of locos available in 7mm scale. But late last year an announcement was made that kits in 4mm scale have been produced for the J69 and NLR tank. I contacted the owner the other day to enquire about current availability and received a prompt reply that initial batches of both kits had indeed been produced and were sold out. However, further batches are on order and expected in the next few weeks. I wondered if any contributor to RMweb had purchased one of these new 4mm scale kits and might be able to comment on “first impressions”. I have come across a number of threads about various Ace Products kits in 7mm scale, but my interest here is specifically about the newly released kits in 4mm scale. Very interested to hear from colleagues - particularly as the appearance of new etched brass loco kits in 4mm scale is not that common these days! Regards Adrian

Couple of thoughts re the “office” area ............ I suspect the fire wouldn’t work very well with a chimney that stops well short of the main roof Inside, the dimensions of a chimney breast and fireplace might make the door opening a little tricky

I have a lined out model that I plan to finish in plain black livery. I need to remove the existing lining rather than spray over it and wonder if a member may have done this job successfully on a Hornby Black Five. I am familiar with the various approaches involved in renumbering etc so have read about a variety of tools, substances and methods that modellers have used. I was really hoping to learn from another member who has successfully removed the lining from boiler, footplate, cabside, tender etc on the Hornby Black Five specifically. Guidance really welcomed - thank you! Adrian

I'd be grateful for any suggestions of good performance direct decoders please - 2 function would be fine Perhaps I should add, currently available in UK Thank you Adrian

I’ve been exploring one or two threads here on rmWeb, concerning the development of this model over quite a few years! I wonder if I could ask informed colleagues one or two questions please? I can’t quite get my head around the re-tooling issue with regard to chassis and body. Round about 2014/15 I think the release 31-187, 188 and 189 seems to focus on new tooling. But whether those shortly before, eg 186, had very different chassis/body I don’t understand. Also I see that some models in the 2000s have appeared with riveted Stanier 4000 gallon and Fowler 3500 gallon tenders, but I think I heard somewhere that others appeared with flush tenders. I think you can tell that despite all the reading, I am more than a bit confused - and if I went back into the 90s era versions I’d probably fall apart! Any help unravelling the Bachmann Jubilee story would be very welcome. As I said, I have tried to explore the forum and web in search of the information, but it’s quite likely I’ve overlooked something. best regards Adrian

I have a Bachmann 45xx in BR black livery with a very prominent SV cover (plastic of course, not brass). One option to reduce its visual impact would, of course, be to paint it black. However, the loco I plan to model it on in BR days appears to have retained the brass finish SV but presents in a very subdued way - presumably due to weathering. My question is, has anyone successfully created a tarnished or grubby SV cover, such that the brass is still there in a subtle way - but certainly doesn’t gleam!!! Bear in mind the Bachmann loco has a plastic fitting representing the brass, not bare metal I would very glad to hear of any successful methods to achieve this effect. Thanks Adrian