justin1985

I've had this problem with normal Association wheels too. Either Birchwood Casey or Carr's followed by water and no matter how thoroughly I dry them off by hand (plus leave them in the sun etc) there has been a considerable layer of rust to scrape off. It worries me that this seems to accumulate in areas I can't get to to clean. I was kind of thinking I'd skip straight to painting in future. Justin

That's optimistic! But seriously, the NGS kit is very nice and not at all problematic to build. The 2mm Scale Association chassis for it is a nice improvement too (and can be used with normal N gauge wheels on 12.25mm axles). If you've got the kits, build them - its fun The Parkside Grampus is definitely nicer than the Dapol one, and the Dapol Dogfish are so chunky I sold mine on and bought some Stephen Harris etched kits - I haven't had the chance to build them yet though (and they are quite tricky, by all accounts). Justin

I'd buy several pairs! I had the part 3 invoice this morning and paid it immediately. I've now had the part 2 invoice as well. Do you want them both paid now? Or can I leave "invoice 2" unpaid for now, as I've already paid "invoice 3" ? Justin

Interesting point here - the louvres are definitely under-etched if they are meant to represent a relatively open design with daylight showing through, as Jonathan has modelled. However the fact that Bill has said there should be a backing piece behind the upper sides suggests this isn't what was intended. Soldering this on would mean no daylight at all (but whether it goes flush, or is intended to go on behind the hinge strips, would make quite a big difference). The only prototype picture I could find online was on Bill's own website, and is a bit dark to make out the detail of the louvres, but they do look more like louvres (i.e. sloping upward inside) than open bars etc. The clearest picture of a surviving pre-group milk van seems to be Metropolitan one, as used on the recent "Steam on the Met" events, which is very distinctly louvres rather than bars. So, no daylight? So I'm thinking the ideal case would have been clear gaps through on the etch, but the backing piece mounted close (but not flush?) behind (i.e. behind the hinge strips?). However, in 2mm, and especially in brass rather than nickel silver, this would have been very vulnerable, so I think a more or less solid representation of louvres, with a dark weathering wash or two, should do the job very nicely? Justin

Thanks Bill, much appreciated. That does leave me wondering what to do with the hinge strips though - was the idea that you solder the hinges in from behind, with their strips still attached (I.e. Perpendicular to the sides), and then the top half backing piece to the rear of them? Or should the strips be removed somehow and the backing piece flush against the sides? I know the easiest option, especially in 2mm, would be just to leave the hinges off, but I do like the effect of extra relief on coach sides, especially to catch weathering etc. Justin

Thanks Bill. The large rectangular parts on the right are the backing plates for the top of the sides then? And the tabbed section goes toward the top to fold in and support the roof? Justin

When I was rifling through my gloat box the other day I noticed this Bill Bedford etched kit for a GER 6 wheeled milk van, shot down to 2mm scale. Its an attractive prototype and would suit the layouts I'm building. However, I don't think I've ever actually tackled a kit that is laid out like this before. Rather than the sides being one part, the utter louvered section is separate from the lower half. I guess this might be designed to help with the fact that the upper half is flat and the lower curved into a slight tumblehome. How are you meant to join them though? It looks like the long thin parts toward the bottom right attach behind the sides to provide the hinges standing proud from the sides - but surely they can't be the only way the two parts are connected? What are the large rectangular parts on the middle right hand side for? Any pointers would be very welcome! Justin

Thanks Izzy, thats pretty much what I'm planning to do now. I was going to try and turn a pair of "buttons" with a 0.5mm wide step (i.e. rail thickness) on one side, which could then be bolted to a central spacer section. I haven't had the chance to actually do it yet though! Hopefully one evening in the coming week I'll get the chance to experiment. Justin

Thanks - I'll give the T-cut a try. I think I have some micromesh sticks in medium, fine, and extra fine - so I'll keep the extra fine to hand. Has anyone tried masking the area to be removed when trying to T-Cut a larger area like this? It wouldn't be the end of the world to have to mask and re-spray the two grey bodyside sections, but I'd rather avoid if possible. Cheers Justin

Hi all, I've seen and tried various different techniques for renumbering models, including careful use of scalpel, eraser pencils, fibreglass brushes, IPA on a cotton bud, and T-Cut on a cocktail stick. Which of these, if any, would work on a larger detail like a Railfreight Sector logo? I presume these are printed, rather than painted (as they have a slightly glossier finish etc) so the same kind of approach should work? I know different manufacturers use different methods - the model I want to re-sector is a Bachmann\Farish 37/4. I'd like to go from Railfreight Distribution to Petroleum sector, so I'd need to get rid of the red quite thoroughly, rather than just covering over with the alternative decals directly. Cheers Justin

This looks like a really promising project - I can't resist mountainous Germany scenery and railways! You clearly have some very impressive CAD skills to come up with that design too. I would broadly agree with the main point of the comments above though - it does look a bit cluttered with so much track in the area. One of the great advantages of N gauge is the ability to show trains moving through the landscape in a way that is far more naturalistic than in larger scales. To my eye, that effect of landscape is slightly lost if too much track is crammed in. Less is more! I'd certainly agree with removing the blue line, and perhaps also the mine sidings. That would allow you to model some broader swathes of forest and hillside. I look forward to seeing this develop! Justin

The 153 was the first of the "low profile mechanism" models from Dapol, so if the windows are also too shallow I wouldn't be surprised. It seems like the weaknesses of both the 142 and 153 can be attributed to the mechanism design. Personally I'm not entirely bothered by whether or not the motor intrudes into the coach - it's hardly obtrusive in the Farish 150. That said, the windows on a 153 are noticeably quite high up within the passenger saloon compared to other modern units, and difficult for some to see out of. So maybe they are a bit short in overall height? New glazing and an etched frame overlay would certainly be the ideal case for the 153. I was thinking just removing the lower window frames would be a quick fix to make it easier to live with in the short term. Justin

Thanks Tom - it does trick the eye enough to make a difference. A false tumblehome might be as bad as a painted panel line - but that's still better than no panel line, I think! In fact probably better than an exaggerated "trench" that some models have suffered. I think the underframe weathering that I did on mine actually exaggerates the slab sides, so it might be worth adding a dusting of weathering masked to that shape? The 153 picture does remind me of the exaggerated silver lower window "frames" that really jump out and spoil the effect of that model. The visible metal portion of the lower part of the frames is virtually invisible at a distance on the real thing, but looks just as dominant as the top half on the model. I did plan to dismantle mine when I was detailing and weathering it, to try and do something about them. But I never figured out how to dismantle the 153 (or the 156) without damage. I wonder if careful use of T-Cut on a cocktail stick might do the job? Justin

That is just too model-able! I feel a cameo coming on ... I can't believe I'd never seen that corner of Yarmouth before. You've sent me down a rabbit hole of research now! It seems a shame that P4 layout blog hasn't been updated since 2013 - does anyone know if any further progress was made? Justin

I have to agree with most of the comments here. My main modelling interests don't justify a Pacer at all (primarily modelling GE and some Scottish) but I was always strangely fond of the Hornby model as a kid, and would have been tempted to get one "just because", if it had been a really nice model. Unfortunately the shape issues are pretty hard to overlook when it would have been an indulgence, rather than a core model for a layout. The false shadow weathering effect does look promising though - and possibly something to try on the 153 - any chance of a photoshop mockup of how it'd look on one of those? I think their sales will suffer as a result. Hopefully the more promising looking 68 will make up for it in terms of N overall sales. Justin

For some reason Templot now won't now open - just sits there in task manager using 1.5mb memory but no window appears. Any ideas Martin? (running Windows 7 Pro with latest updates on VirtualBox within MacOS 10.12, latest version of of Templot download). From memory I just used the Z-NMRA setting from the gauge menu. Justin

Unfortunately it had a lot of extra white between the cab and the first set of doors, which would make it difficult to replicate this on the model with decals (without resorting to vinyls - which tend to be so thick they obliterate far too much detail for my tastes). I think it was a really handsome livery! The curves were quite tasteful (compared to later 'First' liveries). Probably the best of the early TOC adaptations of NSE livery - compared with the early SWT livery and LTS Rail green stripe replacing NSE red.

Could I clarify then - for class 321 the liveries listed individually on the RevolutioN website are confirmed? : NSE London Midland First Capital Connect I wasn't sure whether to read your message as that all the other liveries ARE going ahead, or that all others are struggling? The missing closing parenthesis makes it ambiguous! What is the latest thinking for pre-orders for liveries that don't go ahead? e.g. if First Great Eastern doesn't go ahead, I'd really like either undecorated or plain white - but failing that I guess I'd have to get an extra NSE model. Justin

I had feared this, but it seems to have worked pretty well. There was some discussion on the "Starting out in resin casting" thread that the hardener might have absorbed water from the air, causing the little "balls" that appeared outside the model (as opposed to bubbles within it). But the alternative explanation of bubbles trapped under the overhang of the mould when pouring the initial rubber being exposed after the mould had been flexed a few times, seems more plausible. It certainly seemed to act exactly the same way as when it was new. Resin liquids were the same consistency as when new, reacted exothermically just as quickly and strongly as new, and the final models seem just as hard! Everything has been kept in a relatively cool garage (no dramatic changes in temperature). Justin

I've never actually owned an HST from either Dapol or Farish, but keep getting tempted by the Intercity liveries, and keep toying with the idea of buying one, even though it doesn't fit my layout plans. However, while the Dapol Mk3s are very impressive models in many ways, I can't help thinking there is something less convincing about the windows. I'm not sure whether the window frames look slightly exaggerated; the windows are too square; not sufficiently tinted; or too prismatic? Or a little bit of each of those things? I travel on Greater Anglia Mk3s two or three times a week, and the real window frames seem so subtle that, perhaps like steam loco boiler bands, in N gauge virtually any relief is too much? I recently noticed some secondhand Bachman/Farish Chinese made Intercity Swallow Mk 3s, where they had printed a silver window frame. In this respect somehow the Farish coaches felt like a better representation? However, I realised the Dapol power cars are a much finer moulding. How does the Farish (Chinese) power car shape up with the TPM detailing etch? Has anyone got side by side photos of the two brands Mk 3s, or even tried running Dapol power cars with Farish coaches? Cheers Justin

This is a real gap for N gauge. I think at one point either the 2mm Scale Association did a one-time run of these, based on their normal gauges, for people who specifically responded to an advert. Or maybe it was the N gauge society commissioned them? Either way I'm not aware of brass ones ever having been easily available in the UK. I've just hit the need for a 6.5mm gauge code 40 roller gauge (building Z scale track using 2mm Scale Association components), as the gauge the Association sell for that gauge is for code 30 rail. I think I've worked out to make one using the lathe I've currently got (borrowed from a friend) using a slimmed down parting off tool (waiting for a spare one to arrive at the moment). It might be worth asking a friend with a lathe to help you out and make one? If you have the right tools and an accurate enough lathe, I can't see it being a long or complex job. Justin

The original proposal sounds, as others have suggested, exactly like a FREMO meet! I think that's actually a good thing, but as others have said previous efforts to establish modular standards in the UK haven't exactly taken off - I suspect the mindset of following tight rules doesn't appeal when we have a strong tradition of self contained scenic layouts. I believe detailed self contained scenic layouts are sometimes even referred to as an "English style layout" in Germany! Within FREMO there are substandards for different eras, e.g. FREMO-RE for the modern era, based on standard epochs. The standards specify everything down to "seasons" and specific scenic materials. The old "future of the hobby is dying out" one is getting rather boring. I think people have been saying this for as long as the hobby has existed, and certainly for the last 20 years, but I don't see much evidence of it. The age profile seems pretty much constant. As 298 says, people who harbour an interest often come back to it when they have a chance or a prompt. Like having a toddler who is into Thomas, or simply being able to move to a bigger house or flat. But there is a sizeable portion of people's lives now where they don't have the time, space, or cash to get involved in a hobby. Young people now have less disposable income and less security of employment and housing that at any point probably since the 1950s. And remember we are now in a position in the UK where, after housing costs, the average pensioner's disposable income is now higher than the average working age person. It's inevitable that most active modellers will be older rather than younger! I'm 31 and perhaps one of the younger members (but certainly not alone as such) in specialist societies like the 2mm Scale Association, but at my club, the MRC in Kings Cross, there is a very healthy cross section of members - including dedicated layout teams composed of kids (with parental supervision) and of teenagers. One thing that must be encouraging is that the mainstream magazines very clearly cater to a "interested beginner" market. If the model railway market was all established aging modellers, they would surely pitch their content more towards that. But now, more than ever, they are all about inspiration for beginners! Justin

This reminded me of this very interesting video from Fleischmann, which shows their new factory in Romania (and mentions that they also have factories in Slovakia and Austria). The commentary is in German, but you can turn the subtitles on and then click the gear to turn on automatic translation to English. Its very illuminating seeing the full production process. They even comment in the video that staff are "young and motivated, even though wages are comparatively low". In a similar video from Märklin the workers describe their individual tasks (from about 6:00 onward) https://youtu.be/4kreylMrBUc Food for thought! Justin

Amazing workmanship! The 310 looks particularly impressive - especially the hand cut windows. Was there any particular trick to painting the silver frames?

This reminds me something that's long bugged me. At least in N gauge, the continental manufacturers all use compact plastic boxes for rolling stock, which stack nicely (and fit neatly, two deep, into A4 Really Useful Boxes). Whereas in the UK market Dapol use the same chunky plastic box for both locos and wagons etc, and Farish persist with flimsy card boxes, with oodles of vac-formed plastic packing, for coaches and wagons. PECO seem to have switched from their compact plastic boxes on card backing to an odd large plastic box with faux backscene and the wagon lashed to the bottom. I'm guessing the aim is to maximise shelf space taken to catch the eye of those "browsing" at shops and exhibitions. Whereas on the mainland shops tend to display much more stock, not just locos, in glass display cases and keep the boxes in cupboards. The result is I tend to keep the boxes for all of my continental N gauge, and British locos, but junk the cardboard boxes from Farish rolling stock. Justin