Phil Mason

It's the pipes that cause the problem on rotation. I was thinking that if I'd fitted it all on the body/bufferbeam there'd be no relative movement and then it'd just be a case of shaving bits off the bogie (which you can't see anyway). P.

Don't! Just Don't! We really really don't want to start scale/gauge wars (I model in 2, 3 and 4mm). But I nearly choked laughing! Oh, and a bit of 7mm and SM32. I had intended to try some RC in the big scale. I never thought that Reddevil would be showing us how to do it in 3mm.

Tin plate ploughs. No claim to originality but I chickened out of the middle bit, possibly making TT100's a 'first'? I used tin plate because I thought plastic would look too thick (but I've been proved wrong) and I'd done similar ones in 2mm. My question to the railway professionals out there is "should they be attached to the body" and to modellers "would that make it easier or do we have a problem with greater than prototypical 'bogie swivel'? I couldn't find 403 in present day or 80s, so you'll have to make do with this, posing at York recently. At this rate, HPJ will have more locos than Toton...

Yes, Michael. I've heard that before but not in my experience. However, as I said, that's limited because it's just one of those things I just don't like. I've found that the tiny bit you can get in the 'books and crannies' is not worth the effort, it's 50% air and a large sheet is more effective. I just wrote 50% but I'm sure that's not quite true. Perhaps some clever mathematician out there can work out what the percentage is? One would have thought that a mixture of ball size would pack most effectively but the stuff I tried was all the same size. On another tangent, are there any clever chemists out there that can tell us what the reaction with PVA is? Phil

Well, that is (almost) all thanks to your good self helping 3mm crawl out of the dark ages, pushing the boat, raising the bar or whatever metaphors you care to use. The point is that 3mm is no longer a poor relation. Although still a bit of a Cinderella, the cat's out of the bag now (yet more metaphors). Some of us have known for years about the vast range of kits and bits from the society and the various retailers and manufacturers but we just haven't got the stuff 'out there'. Now with 3D printing and your beautiful finishing, we can no longer assume we can get away with "it's only 3mm" as I've certainly done in the past. I'd say that, with this model we've 'come of age'. And I say that with full knowledge of the beautiful steam era models people have done in the past and are still doing which stand comparison with any scale (Peter's WD in mixed traffic being a prime example) but our scale has often been seen as an old or, perhaps, obscure one. Not any more! Thanks to TT100 for sharing his models and getting us all going. You can all stand proud! Phil

I'm sure you'll sort it out on this one but do remember in future I've a load of sheet lead which may be easier to use. Must admit I'm not a fan of liquid lead because the glue (even if you use PVA) can have a habit of getting in places it shouldn't and there's less opportunity to mess about as you go. As you say, the problems with the 08 are very subtle. It may right itself with prolonged running in. However, my N gauge Hunslet (which I think suffered from a similar problem) wouldn't even drive far enough on any sort of track to get itself run in! Phil

3mm on Facebook! https://m.facebook.com/modelrail?locale=en_GB Thanks to all at Model Rail for featuring Bluish this month and helping to promote 3mm scale.

Well, I'd say chuck the rattle cans (for all the reasons you've just outlined) and do multiple thin coats with a brush like you've done to excellent effect with the paint. P.

Black hole? I see it more like a 'Damascus moment' or a creature floundering around in the swamp and then emerging from the lagoon into the daylight and seeing a new world with all its opportunities and possibilities... But yes, totally brilliant stuff. Also great to see Chris's 'spud-like' geared bogies in action. There are clearly some very clever people out there! P.

I'm glad everybody enjoyed themselves and thank you for all the nice comments. You really are too kind about what is a very simple 'layout' (shuffling plank, I call it!). it's a mixture of old, tried and tested (nay, old fashioned!) ideas but with a few unusual features for TT, or indeed, any scale. Tried and tested: DC control of two independent circuits using H&M 'Duette' H&M point motors. Peco H0m track. Sundeala baseboard on 2x1 frame. Held together with coach bolts and wing nuts. Relatively unusual: Electric traction depot. LED layout lighting batten. LED inspection pit lights. Variable brightness LED lights (to balance ambient lighting). Illuminated working semaphore. Working LED ground signals. All rail vehicles and locos scratch built or highly modified. Use of a clearly ridiculous track plan to maximise loco shuffling. Loco mechanisms from: Roco Piko Tillig Triang Berlinerbahn Arnold Geoff Halliwell What I would do differently (among others) having admired other layouts etc: Photo backscene. Society track. Provide separate power unit for points. Only clean track with cotton cloth (not even fibre brush). Eliminate Triang couplings. Develop better methods of attaching loco bodies. Privide an additional diesel siding. Consider making layout higher. Add crews to locos, etc. Provide tank wagons with better chassis. Provide some access to shed without removal. Provide more prototype info as part of the display. Lastly, thanks to all at York for a great show: stewards, organisers, tea ladies, visitors, layout operators (Peter, Tony and Dave), Model Rail magazine (for featuring the layout just at the right time) and especially all who showed a new or revitalised interest in modelling the 'perfect' scale of 1:100. Cheers!

The RC demo at York was fantastic. Thanks so much for making the effort. They whole thing looks just stunningly professional. I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention to the build of the chassis itself. but just 'bowled over', really. Thanks again, Phil

Looking forward to bit of a 3mm 'diesel fest' on Bluish at the York show tomorrow. There will be various very welcome additions to the fleet and visitors to the shed. It must be sone kind of open day. Expect to see the odd exotic and maybe a bit of time travel. My lords! All goes to show how active this scale really is. Pic above thanks to Chris Nevard - one that failed to make it into this month's Model Rail article. Phil

The grilles look fab. And the buffers? Stonking! Real grease? You've managed to make the bogies look like they have real weight behind them. Perhaps a bit more black on the roof, maybe? P

Another approach is to make your own. I've made numerous ones both in TT and N using 12v relays. In exhibition use, these have proven themselves to be 100% reliable, unlike Dapol. Gosh, that's done it, with an exhibition coming up! I like TT100's method because it only requires a small hole in the baseboard but there is an advantage to having the signal and mechanism as a 'plug in' standalone bit of kit. Many years ago we had some tall co-acting signals that we remove when the layout was being transported and it also makes it easier if any maintenance is required. Building a signal is straightforward enough. My method is to remove the plastic case from the relay and solder on an arm to the rocker. A hole is required in the cover for the arm and it's then replaced. I glue a piece of copper clad paxolin to the relay and solder the signal post and ladder to that. The other components are an etched arm from the society and a crank of some sort to convert the horizontal movement of the relay to a vertical one required for the signal. This is another advantage of TT100's method - by using the swan-neck wire in tube the need for the crank is eliminated. Here's an N gauge one: it's just a thought, probably too late for this thread but an illustration of how there are various approaches to the same problem. Whichever method you use, it's a great feeling to get something mechanical working. One of the most effective signalling installations I've seen used firework rocket sticks and lead weights. Total genius. I've forgotten the name of the layout (N gauge). The main thing is "don't be afraid", have fun fiddling about. Phil

Not one but TWO tractors! This would have been unheard of a few years ago but it's about time we had a decent layout for them to stretch their wheels... Eeek! That 50 looks a nasty shade. I blame old film and printers from the 1960s. It's clearly wrong compared with later models, even my own random colour mixes. Perception of colour is relative and depends on ambient light so what might look OK on its own looks different compared with other things. My two eyes see colour differently and many men are partially colourblind. I've heard we don't see colours as brightly or as saturated as women. Well, it's an excuse we can use when blamed for being 'miserable'! A great day at Belper. Thanks for the invitation and thanks to TT100 for providing some quality traction as well as the pics above. As Janet Webb would say at the end of Morecambe and Wise: "...it's all been worthwhile.."