davidbr

A new chassis, including valve gear, is being developed by Jeremy Suter of the Scalefour Society. I have made a test etch for Jeremy and it is very promising. The valve gear has proper forked joints. It is a considerable improvement on the Mallard version. I don't know whether this is viewable unless a S4 member, but there is a thread on it's development here: https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=132&t=5287

As seems often to be the case on this Forum, some people are inclined to make ill-considered comments. It takes no time to check facts and in this case, although Coopercraft and Ford Nursery share the same road in their address, they do not share the same precise address and are not connected. Has anyone considered that although the website and Worldpay have led people to place and pay for orders, that money might still be sitting in Worldpay's account and not in Coopercraft's? I would agree that if orders cannot be taken, then the website should have been corrected to show this but sometimes even website owners are shut out of their own sites because of technical glitches - it has happened to me. Website registrations are commonly renewed automatically, so if the registration has been renewed, it does not imply any activity on the part of the owner. The very fact that the site has not been updated for more than 3 years should tell you something. I put these things up to show there can be different ways of looking at things. Coopercraft's problems and inability to produce items have been well known and documented for years. There have, in that time, been many opportunities at shows for people to see Paul Dunn and ask questions. I have not seen much evidence of that here but lots of evidence of people continually going over old ground and taking swipes at someone who clearly does not read this Forum and therefore not in a position to respond. I neither condone or condemn Coopercraft from whom I have purchased items this year with cash. At shows, I have found him, like Kelly, polite, helpful and completely open about what he is and is not able to do with the range. If he is going to be at any shows in 2018, one will clearly have to scan show literature. Caveat emptor! Responsibility does not necessarily lie entirely with the vendor.

Just stumbled across this thread. I'm free! Not been pegged down yet for any Friday between now and the beginning of February.

I bought kits from Chris back in May and he told me to get in touch if I wanted anything. I sent an email in August but got no reply. The website was not accessible. It would be a shame if this range has disappeared.

I bought some of these recently, once I had got round the wrong email address. They are very good. I was also supplied, on request, with a sheet of plain black tarps for use with road vehicles.

It would be easier to take some photographs and work on them. Tare, Load, various figures and the G and W can be cut out, scaled and printed. Once you have a selection of letters, other words can be made. I was speaking with a Gauge O modeller the other day and he had an A4 sheet of decals (waterside) made by Precision Labels. He made his up in Word - the subject matter was WW1 military, not one of the common sets - and they dealt with them very quickly.

I spoke with Brassmasters on this subject - as I understand did several other people - at ExpoEM. Work has resumed. I was shown the development of new sides and pistons which were exquisite. The desire for the detailing kit has been firmly transmitted so I sincerely hope we might see something to purchase later in the year.

Look at the Modelu website. I was on the stand at ExpoEM North in Manchester when the driver of the vintage bus arrived in full fig. Alan Buttler scanned him in 3 poses and can print him in whatever scale you want. The bus driver / conductor poses are currently on the front page.

Andrew Stadden is continuing to make Edwardian figures and this morning I had an email saying he has added two more sets of 10 figures - loco crew and children. These are sets 7 and 8, so scroll down the page on Andrew's website.

I noticed the luxuriant growth on the line when I drove across the crossing at Crediton today. How about re-naming the Tarka Line and calling it the Garden Line instead?

Thanks Mike. Very helpful. I hadn't realised names were attached. I have voted - for both. It will be an early start and a long time between breakfast and lunch.

Better ask Andrew to make a vet!

The Pasty Poll - Could the good Captain remind me what I voted for because I'm blowed if I can remember!

Latest from Andrew Stadden: OO Set 6 Edwardian Workmen sculpts completed. All made using photo reference from the 1901-1910 period but most of them seemed to use clothing a lot older! I can now send the Station Staff and Workmen Sets off to my mould maker together.

Yes, it is the Mallard. I have already been in touch with Coopercraft which is why I am making this appeal.

For a particular job, I am looking for an etch of the valve gear for a steam railmotor, preferably with the cylinder casting. If anyone has one they could sell to me, I shall be very grateful. Alternatively, I could make the valve gear for someone's model (foc). I have made this valve gear before and an image is attached. Please contact me by PM. David

. . . and this evening, I received a picture of the finished masters for the station staff.

I heard from Andrew this morning: I am hoping the two seated sets will be available next week and the platform staff/workmen sets very soon after that. So yes, there will be four new OO sets out for Christmas, with the HO versions for all four not far behind.

I disagree with the Captain. Firstly, holding pieces firmly in the right position is important. The Coffman / Right Angle holds well, allows you to make small adjustments before committing yourself and gives access to the joint from both sides. You don't need to burn your fingers unless you are a masochist - all too often the heat makes you shift your fingers, however involuntarliy, and with them the joint. If you use other clamps, remember that if they are metallic, they will absorb heat and take it away from the area you want to solder which will mean that you must put in even more heat and, with white metal, this may not be desirable. If you can pad the surface with a bit of foam or cloth, this reduces the heat transfer; the Right Angle clamp has heat resistant pads. Secondly, a general rule of thumb for setting the temperature of your soldering iron is to double the melting point and add about 30o which makes 170o for low melt. This works well with small parts where there is less metal to heat up and you do not need to leave the iron on the piece as, with the metal taking the heat, the solder will flash in to the joint. However, where you have larger quantities of metal, you need more heat to get the joint hot enough to accept the solder. A large bit is not always a practical way of doing this so an alternative is to increase the temperature a little. 200o works well in this situation - I have done it many, many times. The white metal is in no danger of melting unless you leave the iron on it for too long and by this I mean literally leaving it there, in one place, for half a minute or more, something one does not do when soldering. The idea is to get in and straight out. If having your iron at 200o frightens you, try soldering scrap white metal starting at a lower temperature and working up. Remember that larger pieces of metal need more heat to warm them up and take the solder. Practise on scrap, experiment and find out for yourself but don't dive straight in on your kit if you have doubts. I assure you that setting your iron at 200o (no more and perhaps slightly less) is not a problem unless you leave your iron in the joint for any length of time. Talk to demonstrators at shows and more experienced modellers and they will all tell you that ideally your iron goes straight in and out again in the shortest time to get the job done. If you have to leave the iron in for any length of time, you are not doing the job right. The David Geen and ABS kits Nick is making have mitred corners which are not accurately 45o and leave a gap on the inside. Hand holding such a joint is not easy and the clamp in this situation is more sensible and helpful. If you then drag out some low melt solder on your bench, cut a bit off and flatten it in pliers, you can cut bits and place them in to the joint. With a small to middling bit on your iron and a small amount of solder on it - ready melted solder helps the 'cold' piece in the joint to melt more quickly - you can get the iron in to the joint from the back and out again with absolutely no danger to the casting at all. Capillary action takes the molten solder to the outside of the corner joint for a very neat finish. Once cooled a bit, add some more solder to the inside and run the iron fairly quickly up and down the inside of the joint. Because the large amount of white metal will absorb the heat, you will find that you only melt the surface of the soldered joint which will smooth over and leave a neat finish inside the joint that needs little or no cleaning up. All this time, the work has been held firmly and comfortably by the clamp. I use Carr's yellow label flux and apply a drop right in to the joint with a hypodermic which is cleaner and more accurate than a brush. David

I have just had an email from Andrew who says: Unfortunately progress has been slow on these figures. As before I have had a load of commissioned work to get through, which is good for me but makes it difficult to progress with my own ranges of figures. Anyway, I attach an image of the first station staff (which you may have seen before). Also rough versions of the seated figures (HO and OO) which I will cast out and turn into two full sets of ten figures. If you have seen the figures he has already produced, you will know that these will be worth waiting for.

The GW version had minimal lettering (other than the metal plates) and the tare is somewhere around 53 or 55 tons. I think the GW was 55 tons and Midland 53Tons. I have seen some pictures somewhere but can't think where. I must look them out.

Depends on our period, but if GWR up to WW2, dark grey. BR was black. Brassmasters have been threatening to bring out a detailing kit and, although delayed umpteen times, the latest date is in the autumn. However, seeing will be believing. I have made one and have another but I am waiting for the detailing kit before making it.

Try GWR Goods Wagons - Atkins, Beard & Tourret When you say 'tilt', do you mean tarpaulin covered or those that were tilted to empty through an end door? Parkside Dundas make a kit of both. Cooper Craft do tarpaulin covered wagons. The Ratio china clay wagon is BR built.

I had an email from Andrew Stadden this morning in which he told me: 'I have now started work on the next two sets of OO figures (Railway Staff/Workmen) and I will soon start posting photos of them on my website and facebook as the sculpts are completed. I will also convert the first two sets into seated figures. All of these will also be available in HO scale.' His website is: http://www.acstadden.co.uk