RichardS

Sssh - GMRC will be insisting all layouts have a bubble machine next year.

With all that on; you're ensured free passage around the hall.......

Could the gate staff, security, stewards not proactively encourage it?

Well, I'm sorry I missed the humour but it was a bit too realistic as in actual fact I have seen people similar to as you describe at shows - I even encountered a trader at one show who smelled of urine. That was very off-putting. But I won't bother with the bookmark thank you as I probably wouldn't be able to find yours (if one submitted) amongst all the other after event moans and other posts comprising hundreds of repetitive, unedited, out of focus snaps of N gauge layouts taken with wide angle lens camera phones coupled with comments like "cor looked a good show mate wish I'd gone now. Any bargains?" :-)

Precisely Chris, it's a great inclusive show. I have been hit by a ruck sack but it's no where near the problem in my experience that others make it out to be when finding a reason not to attend. Same as the occasional niffy visitor. It happens everywhere but not a reason not to attend.

bus. I've eaten worse sandwiches than those BR supplied - which I never found to be too bad in comparison! And as far as BR is concerned - I'm actually ahead of the game. TOCs are so 1990s!

In such case you should ask him for the costs of cleaning your clothes as a minimum and compensation for the injury if any. I believe it counts at least as battery which in most minor cases does not warrent redress but in the case you describe you would certainly be entitled to ask him for compensation. He'd soon learn. As I mentioned eleswhere, in this case the organsiers should ask him to remove the rucksack, deposit it elsewhere or leave. Organisers have to be accountable in these cases - see what happens if someone's a problem at a concert or show. An exhibition should be no different. Try telling people straight this year if you are hit. It's only by we victims (yes, I've been hit too) taking a stand that change will come about.

If his kit and bags hit you tell him, if you're hurt ask him for compensation. He'll soon learn. Just co's he's disabled doesn't mean he shouldn't be considerate to others. You have as much right to a satisfactory day out as he has. People have no right to be a nuisance to others because of their circumstances and the organisers should take steps to ensure that any individual does not cause problems for others.

Every year, same old, same old - boring... moans about the BR trains moans about the car park moans about the entrance fee moans about the odd over sized ruck sack moans about the crowds moans about the layout of the hall moans about lack of chairs mooans about the occasional niffy customer moans about the cost of a coffee and bun moans about children moans about old people moans about pushchairs moans about mobility scooters moans about lack of bargains moans about too many purchases moans about the wrong layouts moans about the height of layouts moans about RMWebbers not meeting up moans about cliques of RMWebbers meeting up moans about Jeremy & Boris (well, ok I'll allow that) If this sounds like you - please don't go - it'll mean more space for everybody else. And the thread is soooo boring; when it should be celebrating an extravaganza of railway modelling and keeping us informed of what is happening at the show, changes to the exhibitors, and so forth. Not 6 pages discussing the fact that Charlie Brown from Chipping Sodbury can't go this year because he's visiting his aunty in Bath and can't afford it anyway as the rail fare is too much although he could have planned it sooner and got a cheapo day return but the trains will be cancelled and he doesn't know where to park and doesn't know anybody who can take him and anyway his auntie has bought merangues for tea and they're his favourite, so long as they come from Morrisons and are within date and don't contain brown eggs cos he's allergic to brown eggs, but not white ones - breathe - and, well, he's heard that it's crowded from a friend of his neighbour and that half the people have big rucksacks and the other half smell like a cess pit so he probably wouldn't enjoy it anyway. I don't ******** care! If somebody hits you with a rucksack - tell them. I bet people won't, it's all "sorry", "sorry", "sorry." Why not "Listen pal your rucksack is too big, it makes you twice the size, it hurts - get rid of it." If you don't deal with it, please don't moan about it. If somebody is pushing round and empty pushchair (probably wearing a big rucksack) ask them why? What's it for? And don't move out of their way. If somebody smells - look them in the eye and tell them they smell and ask them to move away. But nobody will. If you don't deal with it, please don't moan about smelly people (ps: as you can never smell yourself and if nobody tells you........It could be you!) We're all too polite and allow the anti-social to get away with being anti-social ad infinitum. And if the rucksacks and the smelly don't go again because they cannot accept the truth then that will also mean fewer moaning posts on this forum. I'm risking going. In fact we're running a coach (www.ictravel.co.uk) combined with some people going to the motocycle show. (Just hope there's no smelly passengers with big rucksacks..........especially if they're big hairy bikers with tattoos on their tattoos and only wearing a vest when it's freezing!) If you are going, do enjoy the show.

30587 at Boscarne Junction I thought I’d start this with a picture of 30587 at Boscarne which is of course the inspiration behind Bosmelin. And anyway it’s a nice picture. Although I’m not really a ‘loco-geek/nerd/nutter,’ having more interest in railways as a whole, locomotives are a pretty vital component. Rapid progress in building THE RSR has never been allowed to interfere with my inherent ability to let other activities divert me from fulfilling a goal. Ashamedly I see that it is over 7 months since I last provided an update or any attempted words of wisdom on the matter in hand. Why let the summer and numerous outings get in the way? Yet I have not been totally idle. A brief recap A quick review of the project is probably as important for me as it is for you. The RSR is intended to be a set of multi use model railway baseboard components and began as a slightly ‘ovoid-circle’ made up of 4 curved boards 245mm wide and about 2.5m across. These can form either a full ‘ovoid-circle’ or two ‘semi-ovoid-semi-circles’. In the latter guise they form the ends of a large oval continuous run layout of any length. In practice the distance between the two semi circles will be 3.66m. The rear will, in practice be a storage yard and the front 3.66 metres will be the ‘stage which can be used for any 16.5mm layout that will fit. The four 90 deg. boards proved cumbersome to move about so a decision to cut them in half was taken and which resulted in 8 (obviously!) very manageable boards although additional ends became necessary. The Original 4 Board Circle and ‘Clothes-Horse’ legs Storage Yard joint with original ‘clothes-horse’ support (and drain pipe legs on yard boards) The New ‘Ovoid-Circle’ All eight boards have been fitted with at least one new end; most have two. Those abutting the storage yard at the rear are simple replacements while those abutting the stage have yet to be designed as these will be critical. The six joins between the front and back (3 each side) have however been changed considerably. 245mm is not a great width to afford much scenic modelling and as placing a layout in the landscape is my preferred style the new ends are 450mm deep and also act as landscape formers. Presently square and oblong these will be shaped once the topography is designed. And here is the new ‘8 board’ arrangement showing the single legs and the new board ends Legs 11 Well legs 6 actually. The original 4 boards had been supported on 4 hinged ‘clothes-horse’ style supports which were really quite secure but heavy and cumbersome. The new boards require a support at each join. Hence 3 of the hinged boards have been turned into 6 legs supporting the intermediate joins. Connected to the end of each board by two loose pin hinges they are a bit wobbly and will require some bracing. As a circle the back and front joins still need an independent support but when deployed as part of the large oval they will be supported by the storage yard and the stage. So there we have it, some progress after all with a view to making the layout more portable and easier to handle. The next jobs are: Two independent supports for the front and back joins Bracing for the 6 intermediate legs Design the New Stage Boards At this rate HS2 will be built before The RSR! Remember – be kind and do no harm; life’s better for all like that. All the best Richard View the full article

30587 at Boscarne Junction I thought I’d start this with a picture of 30587 at Boscarne which is of course the inspiration behind Bosmelin. And anyway it’s a nice picture. Although I’m not really a ‘loco-geek/nerd/nutter,’ having more interest in railways as a whole, locomotives are a pretty vital component. Rapid progress in building THE RSR has never been allowed to interfere with my inherent ability to let other activities divert me from fulfilling a goal. Ashamedly I see that it is over 7 months since I last provided an update or any attempted words of wisdom on the matter in hand. Why let the summer and numerous outings get in the way? Yet I have not been totally idle. A brief recap A quick review of the project is probably as important for me as it is for you. The RSR is intended to be a set of multi use model railway baseboard components and began as a slightly ‘ovoid-circle’ made up of 4 curved boards 245mm wide and about 2.5m across. These can form either a full ‘ovoid-circle’ or two ‘semi-ovoid-semi-circles’. In the latter guise they form the ends of a large oval continuous run layout of any length. In practice the distance between the two semi circles will be 3.66m. The rear will, in practice be a storage yard and the front 3.66 metres will be the ‘stage which can be used for any 16.5mm layout that will fit. The four 90 deg. boards proved cumbersome to move about so a decision to cut them in half was taken and which resulted in 8 (obviously!) very manageable boards although additional ends became necessary. The Original 4 Board Circle and ‘Clothes-Horse’ legs Storage Yard joint with original ‘clothes-horse’ support (and drain pipe legs on yard boards) The New ‘Ovoid-Circle’ All eight boards have been fitted with at least one new end; most have two. Those abutting the storage yard at the rear are simple replacements while those abutting the stage have yet to be designed as these will be critical. The six joins between the front and back (3 each side) have however been changed considerably. 245mm is not a great width to afford much scenic modelling and as placing a layout in the landscape is my preferred style the new ends are 450mm deep and also act as landscape formers. Presently square and oblong these will be shaped once the topography is designed. And here is the new ‘8 board’ arrangement showing the single legs and the new board ends Legs 11 Well legs 6 actually. The original 4 boards had been supported on 4 hinged ‘clothes-horse’ style supports which were really quite secure but heavy and cumbersome. The new boards require a support at each join. Hence 3 of the hinged boards have been turned into 6 legs supporting the intermediate joins. Connected to the end of each board by two loose pin hinges they are a bit wobbly and will require some bracing. As a circle the back and front joins still need an independent support but when deployed as part of the large oval they will be supported by the storage yard and the stage. So there we have it, some progress after all with a view to making the layout more portable and easier to handle. The next jobs are: Two independent supports for the front and back joins Bracing for the 6 intermediate legs Design the New Stage Boards At this rate HS2 will be built before The RSR! Remember – be kind and do no harm; life’s better for all like that. All the best Richard View the full article

30587 at Boscarne Junction I thought I’d start this with a picture of 30587 at Boscarne which is of course the inspiration behind Bosmelin. And anyway it’s a nice picture. Although I’m not really a ‘loco-geek/nerd/nutter,’ having more interest in railways as a whole, locomotives are a pretty vital component. Rapid progress in building THE RSR has never been allowed to interfere with my inherent ability to let other activities divert me from fulfilling a goal. Ashamedly I see that it is over 7 months since I last provided an update or any attempted words of wisdom on the matter in hand. Why let the summer and numerous outings get in the way? Yet I have not been totally idle. A brief recap A quick review of the project is probably as important for me as it is for you. The RSR is intended to be a set of multi use model railway baseboard components and began as a slightly ‘ovoid-circle’ made up of 4 curved boards 245mm wide and about 2.5m across. These can form either a full ‘ovoid-circle’ or two ‘semi-ovoid-semi-circles’. In the latter guise they form the ends of a large oval continuous run layout of any length. In practice the distance between the two semi circles will be 3.66m. The rear will, in practice be a storage yard and the front 3.66 metres will be the ‘stage which can be used for any 16.5mm layout that will fit. The four 90 deg. boards proved cumbersome to move about so a decision to cut them in half was taken and which resulted in 8 (obviously!) very manageable boards although additional ends became necessary. The Original 4 Board Circle and ‘Clothes-Horse’ legs Storage Yard joint with original ‘clothes-horse’ support (and drain pipe legs on yard boards) The New ‘Ovoid-Circle’ All eight boards have been fitted with at least one new end; most have two. Those abutting the storage yard at the rear are simple replacements while those abutting the stage have yet to be designed as these will be critical. The six joins between the front and back (3 each side) have however been changed considerably. 245mm is not a great width to afford much scenic modelling and as placing a layout in the landscape is my preferred style the new ends are 450mm deep and also act as landscape formers. Presently square and oblong these will be shaped once the topography is designed. And here is the new ‘8 board’ arrangement showing the single legs and the new board ends Legs 11 Well legs 6 actually. The original 4 boards had been supported on 4 hinged ‘clothes-horse’ style supports which were really quite secure but heavy and cumbersome. The new boards require a support at each join. Hence 3 of the hinged boards have been turned into 6 legs supporting the intermediate joins. Connected to the end of each board by two loose pin hinges they are a bit wobbly and will require some bracing. As a circle the back and front joins still need an independent support but when deployed as part of the large oval they will be supported by the storage yard and the stage. So there we have it, some progress after all with a view to making the layout more portable and easier to handle. The next jobs are: Two independent supports for the front and back joins Bracing for the 6 intermediate legs Design the New Stage Boards At this rate HS2 will be built before The RSR! Remember – be kind and do no harm; life’s better for all like that. All the best Richard

I'm sorry you read it like that however, I fail to see any intimation in it myself. It's simply a forecast of how I suspect things might develop in the future.

I cannot see that I named any individuals Phil or suggested that anybody is a liar. That is your incorrect interpretation of the points I made. Publishers are fickle, titles change hands, new editorial regimes arise. You nor Andy York or anybody else can guarantee anything will be so in the future. Yes, as of today, there may be no intention to change anything. But in a year, two, three who can say. And I was looking into the future in my comments. As I concluded we shall see.

Looks to me like a straightforward monterisation exercise of a social media service. If RMWeb Gold replaces the digital subscription at no premium then I can't see what is in it for Warners unless additional digital subscribers are recruited. This would probably happen over time anyway with demographic changes but I suspect this is a ploy to acclerate the process with thee ultimate goal of ending the hard copy magazine. In time it is inevitable that only subscribers will be allowed to post on the forum except perhaps in a guest area. For the present such moves will be denied but this is what I would be looking to do if RMWeb is seen as a future revenue stream for Warners. Either that it load it up with advertising - which of course will be in the digital magazine anyway. We shall see.

I think you need to be more tolerant. These people are probably homeless and carry all their worldly goods around with them.

Thanks David. I shall certainly consider this in due course.

Looking good. I've never heard of Sculptamould before. Is there any chance of a close up picture of the surface texture. The product looks promising and in time I will have a considerable area on my own layout to dress. Many thanks.

Having spent some time happily carving away at the polystyrene I was eventually satisfied with the basic form I had achieved. As the nature of this experiment has become more formal I’ve given the diorama a name – Bian Bos which is my East Anglian attempt at Cornish for Small Dwelling. No doubt a competent Cornish linguist will/might correct me if any grammatical elements are wrong. I need to test a fake water medium so I’ve included a culvert and a small brook at one end of the board. The stone work is knocked up from a Wills sheet. Not sure about scale but how big are these things anyway – on Bosmellin itself the culvert is for a mill race I imagine it is medium size – I have seen no pictures of this feature from the site. Then out came the plaster bandage and a couple of layers applied with some screwed up and pushed in more angular places thus rounding things off a bit. Overall I have tried to produce a modest range of curves, steps, outcrops but with nothing too dominant or heavy. Once it is dry I will apply a coat of plaster. There are a few – but only a few – outcrops of exposed rock in the slopes at Boscarne so I have cast some bits in Woodland Scenic s moulds. Whether these will be suitable or look right I cannot say as yet. Again I used Plaster of Paris from Hobbycraft for these – £3.75 for 1KG – far cheaper than similar branded products. To be fair it took a bit longer to set and is slightly heavier than say WS Hydrocal. I turned the casts out of the mould after about 90 minutes and by and large they came out very clean and crisp. Only one or two air bubbles had been trapped. My goal for this week is to get the culvert painted up, masked and fitted. The stone outcrops fixed on and a coat of plaster over the bandage. As things are taking a little while to dry out in my “railway parlour” (garage) I don’t want to rush onto other sections before the previous is complete. I’ve settled (I think) on the base board layout for Bosmellin itself so will start drawing up and calculating quantities of materials. And next weekend is the London Festival of Model railways at Alexandra Palace so I have to make time to visit that too. My zeal is presently boundless. All the best. Richard View the full article

Having spent some time happily carving away at the polystyrene I was eventually satisfied with the basic form I had achieved. As the nature of this experiment has become more formal I’ve given the diorama a name – Bian Bos which is my East Anglian attempt at Cornish for Small Dwelling. No doubt a competent Cornish linguist will/might correct me if any grammatical elements are wrong. I need to test a fake water medium so I’ve included a culvert and a small brook at one end of the board. The stone work is knocked up from a Wills sheet. Not sure about scale but how big are these things anyway – on Bosmellin itself the culvert is for a mill race I imagine it is medium size – I have seen no pictures of this feature from the site. Then out came the plaster bandage and a couple of layers applied with some screwed up and pushed in more angular places thus rounding things off a bit. Overall I have tried to produce a modest range of curves, steps, outcrops but with nothing too dominant or heavy. Once it is dry I will apply a coat of plaster. There are a few – but only a few – outcrops of exposed rock in the slopes at Boscarne so I have cast some bits in Woodland Scenic s moulds. Whether these will be suitable or look right I cannot say as yet. Again I used Plaster of Paris from Hobbycraft for these – £3.75 for 1KG – far cheaper than similar branded products. To be fair it took a bit longer to set and is slightly heavier than say WS Hydrocal. I turned the casts out of the mould after about 90 minutes and by and large they came out very clean and crisp. Only one or two air bubbles had been trapped. My goal for this week is to get the culvert painted up, masked and fitted. The stone outcrops fixed on and a coat of plaster over the bandage. As things are taking a little while to dry out in my “railway parlour” (garage) I don’t want to rush onto other sections before the previous is complete. I’ve settled (I think) on the base board layout for Bosmellin itself so will start drawing up and calculating quantities of materials. And next weekend is the London Festival of Model railways at Alexandra Palace so I have to make time to visit that too. My zeal is presently boundless. All the best. Richard View the full article

Having spent some time happily carving away at the polystyrene I was eventually satisfied with the basic form I had achieved. As the nature of this experiment has become more formal I’ve given the diorama a name – Bian Bos which is my East Anglian attempt at Cornish for Small Dwelling. No doubt a competent Cornish linguist will/might correct me if any grammatical elements are wrong. I need to test a fake water medium so I’ve included a culvert and a small brook at one end of the board. The stone work is knocked up from a Wills sheet. Not sure about scale but how big are these things anyway – on Bosmellin itself the culvert is for a mill race I imagine it is medium size – I have seen no pictures of this feature from the site. Then out came the plaster bandage and a couple of layers applied with some screwed up and pushed in more angular places thus rounding things off a bit. Overall I have tried to produce a modest range of curves, steps, outcrops but with nothing too dominant or heavy. Once it is dry I will apply a coat of plaster. There are a few – but only a few – outcrops of exposed rock in the slopes at Boscarne so I have cast some bits in Woodland Scenic s moulds. Whether these will be suitable or look right I cannot say as yet. Again I used Plaster of Paris from Hobbycraft for these – £3.75 for 1KG – far cheaper than similar branded products. To be fair it took a bit longer to set and is slightly heavier than say WS Hydrocal. I turned the casts out of the mould after about 90 minutes and by and large they came out very clean and crisp. Only one or two air bubbles had been trapped. My goal for this week is to get the culvert painted up, masked and fitted. The stone outcrops fixed on and a coat of plaster over the bandage. As things are taking a little while to dry out in my “railway parlour” (garage) I don’t want to rush onto other sections before the previous is complete. I’ve settled (I think) on the base board layout for Bosmellin itself so will start drawing up and calculating quantities of materials. And next weekend is the London Festival of Model railways at Alexandra Palace so I have to make time to visit that too. My zeal is presently boundless. All the best. Richard

Thanks for the comments @Mikkel and @TheQ . A proper modeller - I like that, a lot! There's something satisfying about slicing through the material with a hot wire. I think with Paul Bambrick's book like all of these things it's about of taking the ideas and applying them to your situation rather than religiously following them. It's a weighty tome and there's a lot of info contained in it's pages. I hadn't thought of J Cloths I might give them a try. I have found plaster bandage at Hobbycraft they do 3m rolls by I think 8cm for £1 which is quite a bit cheaper per sqm than branded versions. A colleague ordered some from a medical supply company and that worked out quite cheap too. Tasma also do a cheaper versions which is fine. For this little project there's no point in ordering in bulk but when I get round to the main layout I'll need considerable amounts. I was lucky to be talking to Barry Norman on Friday evening (I move in exalted circles - although they probably think I'm the caretaker or something) about baseboards he used on Petherick and he still felt that wire netting covered with bandage or similar was valid provided the underside of the netting was also plastered over - this must avoid separation and I suppose the netting then performs the same role as the mesh or J cloths. All the best

I’ve started adding some polystyrene to the foam board experiment to create some topography. Boscarne junction is cut into a hill side so at the rear there is a fairly steep bank. While to the front the same hillside falls down to water meadows and the river. The whole exercise is turning into a little diorama and I shall experiment further with the surface dressings I might use on Bosmelin. Thus I shall need to include some ‘water’ and of course trees both of which I am less confident about. A while back I bought Paul Bambrick’s book ‘Creating a Backscene.’ Backscenes on model railways are often a bit of a Cinderella feature. Occasionally one will see a top notch backscene but more often than not they are blue painted pieces of hardboard. Inevitably these are too low and end up as elbow rests for operators. A slovenly presentation at best. Less frequent but far too common are layouts with no backscene save for coffee cups, beer bellies and “stuff.” Enough said. Backscenes are crucial for presentation in my view and constrain the layout. They can add atmosphere and provide time and place. To provide depth a back scene can be built in 3D or as a kind of decopage and I shall use the experimental board to test this too. I’ve been planning this adventure for far too long but now my zeal has been unleashed.

Oops, sorry, completely missed that. Thanks David. :-) But I'm not sure there was any need, Don B, for the exclamation mark. I do apologise if my inadequacy offended you so much. Yes, punctuation is important and exclamation marks are powerful endings to sentences. In fact these two responses are a good learning point for all who use social media such as this forum. Notice the same message conveyed in quite different ways. One polite, one disparaging. One explained, the other tried to belittle with an assumed superiority. Even the opening word in the latter, 'sorry', is part of the subsequent expression of intolerence and despair at the incompetence I deigned to display. It must be terrible for my betters to suffer those such as I. My sincere apologies to David/Fen End Pit for going OT on this. I implore that any further comments be limited to matters regarding his model and the techniques he has shown.

This is looking good. Can I ask what your source of polystyrene is please?