TEAMYAKIMA

And if that wasn't anal enough! This female figure originally wore a skirt and was looking side on to her left - but I wanted her looking straight ahead into a shop window - so I changed that skirt to trousers and cut her head off and replaced it with one from a spare unpainted figure. That photo got lost in the hosting move, but here she is finally on the layout ………..

Have been working on the hotel foyer - many hours work with very little to show for it - mainly because I am getting more and more anal! One of the problems is that it is more difficult to see the detail the further back it is - so we need to put the best detail as far forward as possible in order to grab viewers' attention - then hopefully they will crouch down in order to view the detail further back. So have moved the tourist at the back of this group, the one with the over the shoulder bag, into the foreground and turned him around to show the bag off more clearly. From this ………………. To this .…………………………………. And notice how the replacement figure is positioned further forward

Over the years this project has become more and more a personal story om my (and my friends) journeys to China. One lasting memory I have from the early trips was the Sino-Swiss hotel in Beijing. All the Derek Phillips tours ended there the night before we flew home. In the foyer was a man handmaking souvenirs and I bought several over the years. I recently culled a load of photos of China in order to make room in my albums, but he survived the cull as I have fond memories of watching him at work. If he survived the cull then he needs to feature on the layout - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Any thoughts on the new TV advert?

So far seems a lot better than series 1. Lessons learnt!

Thanks for the suggestions so far - I originally had two specific 'targets' and I have tracked down Ken from MGS and found one of them - an S12 caboose - that's seven of them I've got now! The only other one I'm really targeting is a type 22 XL baggage in dark green with bright green lining - there was one on ebay six months ago and I stupidly under-bid on it! That said anyone with Chinese HO to get rid of can always contact me - black tank cars is another 'target'. BTW here's an early photo of the layout it would be going on ….

Forgive my confusion with this issue ………… I am assuming that you are using Tortoise motors under the baseboard. I use Tortoise point motors under the baseboard and they hold the points over very strongly and so unless you use VERY thin weak wire to link the motor to the point the effect of the Tortoise will negate the easy spring action of any point

I have been spending a lot of time getting the internal building lights correct - very time consuming - no more light seeping upwards/sideways into neighbouring rooms. At Bristol the light from the hotel foyer seeped up into the floor above...…………. Now ………………... Plus adding more figures - mainly in the hotel ground floor at the moment. As I have pointed out before, one of the real problems with this layout is that Chinese people are, in general, far shorter than Europeans and 99.999% of commercial HO figures are European. Just changing the skin tone and painting the hair black just doesn't do it for me - having European size Chinese people just looks wrong! The layout needs people and so two solutions - 1. Make it a tourist destination - not just Western gricers photographing trains, but also general tourist in town to visit some palace or ancient ruin - something like X'ian or Chengde. So the hotel lobby is full of standard Preiser figures planning their day out...... And how they look in situ ………………. 2. Drastic surgery. The hotel café has a maitre-de , here he is in process of being China-fied…………... And in situ …………....

Another significant move forward today. AS you can see in this previous photo, because the boards piggy-back onto each other I have had to have a 5ft x 3ft FY board up at the far end of the shed only to support the far end of scenic board #4. This meant that to get from one side of the layout I had to duck under the layout as there was no passageway around the boards. Today after a visit to B&Q I made a 'leg' which supports scenic board #4 and replaces the 5x3 board - so I can now walk around the layout - much easier!

Oh, you noticed that did you? Hmmmmmmmmm!!

Am now working on the layout up to 9 hours a day preparing for the Fareham show. Have assembled three of the scenic boards in my shed...…………. have fitted a new stronger, straighter plywood backscene to replace the warped thin MDF original...…..………..

Model railway clubs are a bit like icebergs - what the public sees (at a show for example) is only a small part of what goes on in a club below the surface. Like many clubs these days, Twickenham & District MRC runs a s/h sales stand at their open day (or exhibition) and this provides the club with a significant percentage of our annual income. We rely on the generosity of members, ex-members and well-wishers to donate their unwanted models - some of which date back decades! Unsold stock then gets sold on ebay - after checking/cleaning/restoring the models to show them at their best. Recently we were donated a large consignment of Hornby DUBLO Pullmans ………….. they had sat in am loft for years and looked like this ………….. After 10 minutes TLC they looked like this …………………. 18 x 10 = 180 minutes = 3 hours just cleaning them up! Anyway do look out for them on ebay as we will be listing them ( and many other donated items) over the next few weeks - search ebay for seller 'chinarailpaul'. If you are an ex-member of Twickenham club or just a wellwisher or you just want to get rid of some old models that are cluttering up your loft please consider donating s/h to T&DMRC - contact me or the Club via our website www.tdmrc.org.uk - THANKS!

The widow of one of our members of Twickenham & District MRC has donated a load of Hornby DUBLO Pullman cars. I have been tasked to sell them on ebay - having first spruced them up to look their best! I've noticed variations between apparently identical coaches - mainly two styles of bogies and slightly different shades of cream ……………. but also we have one odd brake coach with a load more lining ………………………. Obviously I want to get the best price for Twickenham club - what is the significance of these variations and does it effect their value?

Yes, I bought some tank cars off him a few years back and TBH I think it very unlikely that he would still have anything I want, but it's worth a try - anyone got contact details for Ken?

There appears to be a growing home market being supplied by 4 or 5 manufacturers.

Storing the boards on their backs (as shown in the old photo) has had a negative effect on the bridge abutments - Gravity has had an impact...………..

As the originator of this topic I must admit that my club has never stored magazines in the library, Back in the day it was mainly picture books, coffee table books, then later a gradual move to reference books. Obviously in a club like the MRC the library is very much part of its appeal but for the average local club? I really don't know. Part of me tells me that I should volunteer to be librarian and REALLY push it each week , the other part of me tells me that it's time to throw in the towel. Paul

Hello I know many people bought token amounts of Chinese HO a few years back often as a souvenir of a visit to China to witness the last big real steam in the world. Anyone now looking to sell? If so please contact me. Thanks Paul

Back to the new rake of KF-60 dump cars today. I associate these with steel works but sometime they are used for coal. Anyway I like them! I have now completed 8 of them (4 to go!)……………….. But as one stock box will only carry 8 I will call it a day for the moment and return to working on the layout

Back in the day - 1970's? - I stood up at my club's AGM and suggested we started a Club Library. I have always been a huge champion of our club library and supervised a major upgrade in 2003/4 replacing 'pretty picture' books about trains with real reference books. I no longer attend club regularly but I am told that the library is semi-dead now and there have been suggestions that we get rid of it. I was shocked to hear a few years back that a neighbouring club had sold off its library but that now seems a possibility with my club. So what is the general view? It seems to me that if my/any club library is not popular you have two choices 1. Really promote it within the club - book reviews in the club newsletter etc 2. Get rid of it and use the money/space for something more useful in the 21st century Thoughts?

I had planned to put the non-working BULLDOG in the bin - other club members told me to do that - but based on this thread's comments I have just listed it on ebay and got two watchers within 10 minutes!! Maybe there is a market for non-working motors after all!!!!

Have finally moved all the fiddle yard boards into storage in the garage which means I can finally start on the scenic section again. This has also allowed me to tidy the shed and make some improvements. First improvement …………….

I have been very busy lately but have finally repaired that track

Has Snoopy ever considered what China might be like? Just asking.

Thanks to everyone for this info - brings back memories of when I sold these for a living back in the dim and distant past! Anyway I have listed the MW 005 on ebay - and it already has a bid! I regret the BULLDOG is dead and no amount of cleaning/oiling can restore it but I might just list it for the brushes as a spares/repairs job - all money donated to Twickenham MRC!