brightspark

Went there last year. I still have to post the photos that we took. It is worth going and you will spend the whole day there. Did you do the behind the scenes tour?

Well it was my birthday today. I got home from a hard day at work to a nicely made up table and a train cake! I also got a lovely new handmade wash bag with trains on it. SWMBO makes up various bags (see previous entry for the train handbag). If you wish one for yourself or someone you know then PM me. I just realised that my last blog entry was in September. Hmmm must post something soon.

Finishes it off nicely.

I went to Hamburg last year. Lovely city. Pre book the Miniatur Wunderland tour in English (unless your German is up to speed). The tour is worth it. Also arrive early. Is it a school holiday? if so very early. Other things to see are the tunnel and St Micheals Church. The Bunker looks interesting but I don't think you can get in.

Pictures please....NOW! You can't taunt us with this and not let us have a peek.

Hmmm an interesting picture. I would leave them as is. My thinking is that it is short length of fence probably done by the contractor who did the post in the picture. Plenty of oppurtunity for rusty wire. Which is easier to paint/ weather than a galvanised finish. And I would keep a copy of the picture handy. The only problem with that drop, is the first step.

The Southern used staples with the fence posts the other way around (holes facing towards the rail and outwards). I have just had a reply from JDS. His view is that this is probably short run of fencing, certainly not to practice, and wonders what would be left of the galvanising on the wire after it had been pulled through a dozen concrete posts. Chaz, I like the foot crossing. It is an excellent way of hiding the board joint. I'm enjoying seeing this develop.

I love that picture and will send a link to JDS the author of the piece in MRJ. Interesting that the posts are the wrong way around. And thanks Wally for identifying the correct name of the short wire as staples, JDS described them as a split pin as he didn't have a definition at the time of writting. I wonder when those posts were planted. Prototype for everything dept. I still say it's a cracking layout and look forward to seeing it in the flesh. And I agree with you Chaz, it's all about compromise to paint that picture. If you can live with then so can I (rule 1 etc)... However I will be around later to make sure that the wires sag as per prototype and are not too tight or sloppy.

ummmm, I don't want to be accussed of rivet counting but the wire doesn't normally go through the fence post holes. See the article about Southern Fence posts in MRJ 180. Normal practice is for a short piece of wire to be put through the hole and that supports the fence wire. Apart from that, it's coming on well.

Thanks Paul, Unfortunatly I don't have a copy at the moment. I think that it has a picture with pressed side doors and a welded end door. I will see if I can get sight of a copy though. It would be nice to get one with pressed doors all around though. Cheers Andy

BTW the wooden wagon is a Cambrian Kit with bits of brake rigging from Ambis The Cambrian rigging lacked something. I bought a Cambrian LMS 16t mineral at Watford. Diag D2109. I have had a look thru the many many wonderful pictures here but can't find a nice picture of one....so.... Has anyone got a nice picture of one around 1960 please? Ideally with pressed doors? Cheers Andy

Here is a youtube vid taken by BenW of this parish (aka tamberineman on Youtube) showing the coals going through Swaynton. This was taken at the Beckenham show a few years ago. We now run modern image (1960) so those private owner wagons in the background now sit in the stock box. The two end wagons (AJ fitted for quick turnaround of the rake) are Parkside made by me. The PO's running in the rake were made and painted by Douglas Smith again from Parkside kits. The rest of the train are Airfix 16t made by Douglas and painted by me. When I first started them I didn't realise that the strip didn't go to the corner. Then I realised that it wasn't as thick as the one supplied in the transfer pack. As the train rumbles past you can see the ones I did first and later. Here is a close up of one of the wagons. I was quite pleased with the rust at first but now I think it needs a rework. Here is one I have just finished, I hope you don't mind that is off topic being wood. I think that the rust on this is much better as it is more subtle and flowing. Although I am not sure about the black underframe. That may need more rust. I used the picture in Geoff Kents book The 4mm wagon vol 1 page 55.

Happy Birthday LU. Google have Google Doodle up today based on the OU map. I would post but I get greyed.

I may be teaching you to suck eggs here but... My tip for getting a smooth finish by spray can. Degrease the model, tape up any areas to be masked (you dont have any on the stairs) and arrange the method of holding the model for spraying. I use old wire bent into a hook so that I can hang it. Then hang the model somewhere warm. The airing cupboard is ideal. Then put the kettle on. While the kettle is boiling up hold the can of paint upside down and shake it for two minutes. Then pour the hot water in a suitable container and put the spray can, the correct way up, in it so that the contents can warm up. Then go and prepare the work area where you are going to spray. When the model and paint are both warm, give the can another good shake and begin spraying. Start by pointing the spray can off to one side of the model and about 12 inches away. Then press the nozzle (this stops the blotchy paint finish) then quickly pass the spray over the model in horizontal strokes working downwards. Make sure that that you start to spray off the model, across it and spray air again before turning back to do the next stroke. i.e don't hold the spray stationary on the model. Then wait a little while (put the can of paint in your pocket to keep it warm) and repeat this time painting vertically. then do the same again horizontally etc etc. Each coat should be very fine. At first it should very patchy. but at the end you should have a nice even coat. Now here is the clever bit. When the smell has gone away...put the painted model back into the airing cupboard to harden. I have been led to believe that the warm atmosphere encourages the molecules in the still soft paint to even out. So that you get a smooother and harder surface. Of course it could be a load of old tosh, but it works for me.

I note that the riding style of the cycle is very Dutch, i.e. seat far back and low, wide handlebars etc. I wonder what scope there is for other positions. Racing bike, touring bike even mountain bike. Perhaps with the rider standing on the pedals during a descent?

Reminds me of the old cartoons that appeared in the RM back in the 1960's But go on give it a go.

You could alway ask the builder (no names but he normally has a Bacon sarnie first thing at a show) to make a new catch point that could drop in. I wouldn't have thought that it would be too hard to make a drop-in unit.

This sounds quite complex. Why not have a magnet running on a track under the road board? Or have I missed something?

Hi Jon, it is great when a layout starts to turn green. I wouldn't worry too much about the eveness of the colour and texture of the grass. On Swaynton we used grass mats and our first thought was what have we done. It was very green, very even and very bright. However grass is very bright green, and the texture will start to break down when you add patches of longer grass weeds shrubs etc. All in all it's coming along nicely. Will we see it operating next year?

I agree with Linthorpe, less is more. However, as a thought why not keep the line (1), but have it abandoned and overgrown. It might give you that sense of space and deriliction.

So here they are the six dummies for Swaynton. Did I really get the etches for these way back in April? It is not that these are hard to make up that caused the delay. I think that it is life got in the way. Plus of course the modelling mo-jo isn’t firing every day, which perhaps is a good thing I think as you don’t want to get stale with the same old, same old. The only problem I had towards the end was getting the signal mechanism to be free-flowing enough for the weight to work. Careful scrutiny of the photo will reveal that the brass weight is thinner 5/32” on some of the signals. My initial thinking was that the weight would have a nice sliding fit inside the square base. However this didn’t work because the actuating wire to the signal goes through an arc so either the wire touches the hole in the base or the weight drags against the base. Filling the weight with lead shot helped but was not always successful. Next I tried to shorten the weight so that it hung below the base. Now this worked in that it allowed the weight to fall freely. But the weight caught against the hole when the signal was removed. The final version has a 5/32 brass tube with the actuating wire glued down one side then it is filled with lead shot. This seems to be the answer. However we won’t be able to tell until the end of day two of an exhibition. So now I hand these over to Douglas who will have to fit them to Swaynton. As ever I will drop another unsubtle hint that these "kits" ("scratchbuilders aids" as Eric Gates describes it) are available from my good self at £2.50 each plus postage. When I finally sort it out they will be on the Swaynton website along with diagrams of the actuating mechanism and hopefully feedback from others who have made these up. Cheers

Well as this has now been published in MRJ, I think it deserves a bump. Chapeau Mr Wibble! This has engaged my little thinkbox into planning something for Sarf of the river.

Nice. I wouldn't worry about losing the detail when sanding it down. The detail is raised on the modelwhere it should be either recessed or flush on the prototype. Well mostly, some customers save money by having round head rivets on the rear of the aircraft, but the the front. So check out pictures of the prototype. Are we going to have a thread of Spitfires and Hurricanes now?