Revolution Ben

I reckon the loco depicted by Dapol (86628 IIRC) it should have a pair of pale grey extinguishers mounted longitudinally. See here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lmderek/5661953310/ I wondered whether it only had them fitted recently, but here is a photo of the loco with them in Freightliner 3TG livery, suggesting it's had them the whole time it's been in green: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60628514@N02/6791102493/ I'll probably just fabricate some from Evergreen rod or tube - I did that on a TPM Class 87 kit and was reasonably happy with the results. cheers Ben A.

Hello Matt Certainly all NEM couplers pivot in the vertical plane, as Dave says this is caused by the mounting lugs. But for 4-wheel wagons you will need some lateral movement to stop them derailing on curves. I suspect this is what Dave is referring to! cheers Ben A.

Hi David Fantastic work - excellent. I can't believe the speed that you manage to sustain! What are you planning to do with Cross Street now - will it be exhibited? cheers Ben A.

Hi Ian, Yes, depth of field is a problem if you can't control aperture. But I find that for updates on here it's good enough - and convenience is a big factor! Anyway, I've found all your pictures fascinating so far! cheers Ben A.

Hi Ian, The signal box is looking really good. For "passable" indoor shots I find it better not to use flash, which just makes everything far too contrasty. Since no flash means low shutter speed, to try to avoid wobble I use the shutter release timer (most phones have this I think) and rest it on something before the shot fires. HTH Cheers Ben A.

Hi Philip, I had wondered how you were getting on with this! The scenic works looks really good - thanks for posting! As Bri says above, there are several fantastic N gauge threads running at the moment and this is certainly right up there! cheers Ben A.

Hi Ian Very nice work. The modern looking offices contrast very nicely with the older infrastructure and definitely anchor the model in the present day. And details like the advertising hoarding really bring it to life! Enjoying your progress - thanks for keeping us all up to date! cheers Ben A.

Hi Stephen, Thanks for posting the link to this blog in the HF thread - I find the blogs hard to follow so quite possibly would not have found it otherwise! Those curves look lovely and sinuous! cheers Ben A.

Hi all, Are the barrier wagons the former EPS wagons (TOPS code AYA) used as Eurostar barrier wagons? They certainly look very similar. http://www.semgonlin...eurostar01.html I built a pair of these a few years ago to run with a Kato Eurostar; and I recall I sent the drawings to the DEMU drawing sevice, in case anyone needs them! cheers Ben A.

Hello Ian, I might be tempted to work backwards here. Play around with card offcuts and sellotape to make a box that "looks" the right length and width actually on the layout - and that has window sizes to suit your etched frames - then simply make the building that size using as many scaled brick courses as are required. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, As Mike says, tooling for the former Parkwood Warflat (WW2 version with fishbelly solebars) and Warwell has been acquired by the NGS. For those that cannot wait, I believe we have some kits available, however we are in the process of assessing the models before relaunching them. The relaunched kits will be supplied with the correct diamond frame or Gloucester GP22.5 bogies (formerly the kits suggested using American-made types) and will also include decals. We are working on the decal sheets at the moment, and if anyone has any information about the markings of these wagons during wartime that would be helpful. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, The Bachmann OO Polybulks are going to be the shorter swing top variant. I think that Bachmann originally suggested they would do the longer grain Polybulk as well, but have put that on hold for the time being. In N, the longer version is available (in either Grainflow green or Scottish Malt blue/white) as a kit from the N Gauge Society. So for N Gaugers at least, Bachmann are producing the right variant, since when shrunk down to N it will complement the already available option. cheers Ben A.

Hi Simon, Theoretically it should work for any water slide decals, but I've only actually done it with NGS and self printed computer ones. Looking forward to seeing your layout at the AGM in May! Cheers Ben A.

Hi Simon, Sorry about your decals - the NGS did receive a batch which did not have enough carrier film printed on and therefore suffer the problems that you encountered. I had a few sheets too! Either ask the shop for replacements, or alernatively just paint them with Johnson's Klear or Varnish. Once this has dried they can be cut out and used. cheers Ben A.

Hi David Looking very good. Where did the wheelie bin come from that is on the balcony of your new appartment building? I think opening up the view to the road behind is a good idea too. Here's a thought: instead of a construction site, how about a demolition site? You could still have the crane and other detailing bits, but could perhaps model a building almost completely demolished; with just one wall or end still remaining. You could even depict the interior walls that are visible as in this shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trance-elbow/1331270049/ and use the scene to get rid of any old offcuts, bits of left over etch or anything else you want to get rid of! cheers Ben A.

Hi Alan I am not sure the couplers are "not right." The ones I have are fine. And many many products are incrementally improved once they are subjected to mass useage, and often in circumstances far removed from test conditions at the factory. I see "refinement" in this context more as a laudable and ongoing development, rather than a complete redesign of a flawed product. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, These are an entirely new product for Dapol, and for British N Gaugers. Factory testing can only go so far; the numbers of couplers that can be realistically tested "to destruction" prior to launch will number barely a couple of dozen I suspect. Of course, once products are launched, then suddenly tens - hundreds; even thousands are being tested every day! Any mass market product will have some "duff" components; I have only seen one specific example of springs detaching (and the same example recycled by others) so I would be wary of assuming it affects more than a very small number of items. And Dapol have a good track record when it comes to refining their products; many have seen improvements or modifications in subsequent production runs. cheers Ben A.

Hi Simon, Great to see trains running - the mixed rake of RMC hoppers with the EWS 60 really looks the part! BTW (though I imagine you know this already) the Bachmann-type RMC hoppers originally carried the "roadstone" lettering on the NGS kit decal sheet (and some still do though it's been painted out on most now I think) if you want to individualise them further... cheers Ben A.

Hi Ian Great layout! Any chance of some "wide" photos to give us an idea of the whole thing? And as another poster has said, I think the sand-drag in the bay is excellent. It's that sort of attention to detail - observing and depicting what is "really there" - that lifts this layout into the upper echelons of quality. Thanks for posting. cheers Ben A.

We did correct most of the faults on the 4mm model when producing the NGS version - including the intersection between the angled upper surface and he vertical "blade" - but we did miss the concave side of the vertical blade. This is not easy to see unless the vehicle is studied from the right angle. And as you say, no one spotted it in time to alter the tooling unfortunately. Cheers Ben A.

Hi Simon, Great progress - thanks for posting ongoing updates. I particularly like your shade of engineers' blue brick - how did you paint the bridge? Cheers, and Happy New Year! Ben A

Hi there, I found that beneath Kato Unitrack (which is pretty thick) the magnet was too far from the pin to get reliable uncoupling. They work fine when positioned as per manufacturer's instructions I should add! I am not sure why the trip pin sticks above the level of the coupler; early samples (ie on f/book) showed it flush. Perhaps future batches will incorporate this refinement. cheers Ben A.

Hello Black Sheep, On Horseley Fields, the NGS Northants and Cambs area group layout, we depicted the canal in the following way: 1) A very thin layer of DAS modelling clay was rolled out and placed on the flat bed of the canal, and then a finger and the rounded end of a pencil (eraser end) were used to create "ripples." 2) Once all was dry, the DAS was painted with emulsion in a dark, sludgy green colour. There are some useful colours in some of the "contemporary" ranges, especially by Crown, and I bought about 3 or 4 matchpots to mix with. 3) The dried paint was then given two or three coats of brushed-on Johnson's "Klear" floor cleaner to give a hard, easily wiped high gloss finish. I am reasonably happy with the results which can be seen here: cheers Ben A.

Thanks for posting those "all in" photos - as others have said, it's good to get an overview of the whole thing. The attention to detail is excellent and I enjoy following this thread; thanks for posting. It's coming on really well. cheers Ben A.

Hello Mark (and others) I received the test shots of our new 8' wheelbase Southern bogies yesterday. I have passed a couple on for evaluation but they look pretty fair to me so hopefully they will be available from the NGS shop early in the New Year and your coaching stock can be shod! cheers Ben A.