Revolution Ben

Hi Graham, Nice work on the weathering. One think I've been doing recently (having read of a similar technique used by HO modeller Pelle Solleborg) is to weather the wheelfaces. I pop them out and line them up and work in batches of a dozen or so. First I paint them a dirty brown/grey then before they're 100% dry I brush on some dark brown/track dirt weathering powder. IMO it enhances the appearance, especially where the type of bogie reveals quite a lot of wheel. I was unconvinced until I tried it and now I'm a convert! cheers Ben A.

Nice job, Bryn. Two years development? That makes you a speedy worker compared to some I could mention...! cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Fortuitous personal circumstances meant I was able, surprisingly, to make it along to the Epsom and Ewell show today. Glad I did. Hinksey Road looks excellent, a real joy to see full length trains largely dwarfed by te 20' run available - a fine example of the true advantages of N. Well done so far, and please keep the updates coming as I am enjoying following your progress. And well done too for building those 25 NGS autoballasters - I get a real buzz out of seeing them. Especially as when designing the kit I made numerous trips to Hinksey for research purposes! cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Great work on the layout. To answer the question about the 8' Southern bogie... The NGS has a bogie tool that produces two bogies simultaneously - one with an 8' wheelbase, and the other 5'6. We need to tool the 5'6 diamond frame bogie, since this is used in numerous kits and is no longer available as a spare from Farish. And we have decided that the other 8' bogie should be the SR version. This has been mentioned in the Committee section of the journal. These should be ready by the end of the year, if not well before. cheers Ben A.

Very neat work - well done and thanks for posting! cheers Ben A.

Hi Dave Great project. I took dozens of photos at Hinksey from that footbridge that goes right across the yard when designing the NGS autoballaster kits. I always thought it would make a great location for a layout and am chewing my lip with envy at the space you have! Good luck with this - any chance of posting some pics before too long? cheers Ben A.

What was the experience of Thrall? I know they built hundreds of wagons (BRA, BYA, HTA etc) for EWS at York, then (seemingly suddenly) closed down, but I don't know the background. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, Interesting topic, and some interesting responses. The layout that started it all for me was Acton Mainline - the N Gauge layout produced by Croydon MRC. I saw it at a London Model Engineering exhibition in 1996 I think and the attention to detail and realistic depiction of things that interest me (heavy freight, mainline standard gauge, weathering, clutter etc) got me looking seriously at taking up N Gauge model railways as a hobby. A short time later I saw Chee Tor, and it confirmed my appreciation of 2mm/N for modelling landscapes, and railways in them. Tonbridge West Yard would be my third - especially the beautifully observed and modelled stock. There have been many layouts since that I have given me enormous enjoyment, and inspired me to look again at certain aspects of my own modelling, but it was seeing the three layouts above, in the first months as I was "rediscovering" the hobby, that cemented my interest. cheers Ben A.

Hello Ron, Fabulous work. When you cut out multiple components how do you ensure all lengths and angled cuts are the same? cheers Ben A.

I happen to know that Dapol Dave is in Nuremberg this week for the show there. I guess he'll be back at his desk (and able to comment, if he chooses) on Monday. cheers Ben A.

Been abroad and just returned to see this layout declared the winner. Well done - thoroughly deserved. Fantastic modelling that IMO well illustrates what N is best at - trains in the scenery. cheers Ben A.

Hello Mitchell Very nice work on your military vehicle modelling. Are you also responsible for the N Gauge DMU shown in the earlier posting? What is the envelope size for the newer, high definition items? I am an N Gauge modeller so it may be of use... cheers Ben A.

That plan is excellent. If the intention is to provide a DMU "shuttle" service into and out of the bay platforms, then a spur siding off the mainline would allow this and avoid the need to occupy a road in the fiddle yard, leaving this free for through trains. I have drawn in a possible option in red. cheers Ben A.

Good work Bryn. What couplers are you going to use? cheers Ben A.

Hi Dave These look to be a big improvement on the options previously available. Are they sprung, designed to be stiff and poseable, or do they need gluing to remain at a set height? cheers Ben A.

Hi Simon You've made a nice job of those RMC hoppers! Some of the decals had a faulty varnish layer, meaning that the white stripes don't hold together very well. It doesn't seem to be an issue that affects any of the black lettering. There are three options: (1) return decal sheet to NGS shop for replacement (2) paint the stripes or (3) coat the decal with Johnson's Klear floor cleaner. Once it has dried it forms an additional varnish layer which strengthens the decals. FWIW on my rake I decided to paint the white stripes! cheers Ben A.

Hi folks, I have to say, I don't see the problems with the cabside windows now. It looks OK to me. I accept that the yellow paint line might not be quite straight (these are preproduction samples) but to me the basic shape of the cab, cab windows and nose looks "right" - perhaps I am not so choosy. Having said that, I am basing my judgment on having looked and held the bodyshells at Warley (courtesy of Dapol Dave) and when seeing the 3D item they certainly have that "wow" factor in my eyes. Re the upper bodyside grey colour for the Swallow livery HST, I think it should be falcon grey. This was a slightly browner shade that was introduced with the Swallow livery IIRC. The original Inter-city livery, that superceded blue/grey, used executive dark grey. The Mk3s have the Intercity lettering in italicised capitals, rather than Rail Alphabet, which suggests to me the window surrounds should be falcon grey. I think that as long as Dapol ensure the power cars match the appropriate coaches then all will be well. cheers Ben A.

Hi Dave, Thanks for the explanation, and thanks for correcting the valance/seam line issues that you identified on the test mouldings. The shape looks right to me, and the bogie and underframe details are very nice too! cheers Ben A.

Hi Pete, Very nice work. Glue: I have used "Super-phatic" - and aliphatic resin glue - to fix plasticard to plywood. It seems to have worked well, and when positioning allows a short period for adjustments before "biting." What are the electrical terminal blocks for? Are you planning lighting? cheers Ben A.

Hi Jim, I have found in the past that producing my own etch is the way to go with some of these types of items. Certainly several of the components on your list could be etched. A sheet of etched A4 can be had for around £50-£100 depending where you go; and will yield many components in N. Of course, that cost may seem prohibitive but my approach is to consider my time at £20/hr and decide how long it would take me to fabricate all the bits from styrene - especially if I am doing a rake! Drawing my own etch artwork, then waiting for the finished sheet to be delivered, can also add the anticipation and excitement to energise me to complete a project. Good luck with your project. cheers Ben

I've only just discovered this blog after being linked through to it from one of the forum threads. Excellent work on the Class 08 and the layout above. Thanks for posting. cheers Ben A.

Hi Will, Just came across this blog - nice work. Glad my suggestion of printing the Scalescenes onto self adhesive labels is working for you. BTW my name is Ben Ando - Jo Alder is another N Gauger! cheers Ben A. (ndo)

Hi Stephen, Is this a scenic diorama or will this board be part of the completed layout? My reason for asking is that for running purposes I would be wary of having such oblique track joins as you appear to be having at one end of the board. Generally speaking it can be tricky getting smooth running over anything more angled than just a few degrees either side of 90 deg. Having said that, I like the flowing trackplan you have created! cheers Ben A.