Phil Mc

66101 & 66190 at St Blazey.... Cheers, Phil.

66101passing through Par last week.... Cheers, Phil.

I tend to use between 10 & 15 psi. Only tend to use enamel paints, and depending on what I’m doing the paint/thinners ratio could be 2:1 (mainly for livery colours application), 3:2 or even 1:1 for weathering. Lower psi for thinner paints! I’m far from an expert on this, and ‘know’ I do things wrong (mixing paint in the spray cup is an unforgivable sin according to most text on the subject, but it’s the only way I’ve done it! Thinners in first though 😅) I did start using an airbrush well before any ‘expert’ advice was easily available, so just made it up as I went along. I’m generally happy with the results…. I’m only really saying all this, to prove your last sentence is true ! Don’t stick to what you’re told is correct, find what works for you…. Cheers, Phil.

Electric flashes are different styles, is probably the most obvious difference. cheers, Phil.

I've had a few Hunt couplings where the plastic part extends beyond the face of the magnet, but a few strokes with a file to get the plastic flush generally sorts out any issues, by allowing 'full contact' between magnet faces. Also had a few where the fishtail doesn't hold, and needs gluing in place. Strangely, some have been fine when first fitted, and become loose after a few weeks, as though the plastic has fully 'cured' and shrunk slightly ? Magnets pulling out of their housing has happened a few times too, just make sure they go back in the right way up ! None of these things can't be cured by a bit of modelling, and certainly wouldn't put me off using them.... Cheers, Phil.

Just got mine out of its box, and it's a fantastic looking model !! Not tried it on the layout yet, but really looking forward to doing so.... The only problem I can find is that the horns are round at the end, instead of looking battered !! 😆 Cheers, Phil.

A couple of shots from yesterdays railtour.... Cheers, Phil.

68029, seen today in Sheffield. Cheers, Phil.

43239 leads 43301today at Sheffield, as they make their way to Glasgow Q S. Cheers, Phil.

At the recent DEMU exhibition, me, my Dad, and my Son, are sat at the bar having a drink (tea!) and in my eye-line is the 'Road Transport Images' trade stand.... I decide I quite fancy the idea of building a kit of a Lorry, and a Horse Box could be something a bit different.... So I go talk to the very helpful couple on the stand, and buy a complete set of parts to build a skip Lorry.....😅 Which looks like this.... Bit of cleaning up, and test fitting of the parts was carried out, and 'flats' filed on the bottom of the wheels, before a coat of primer.... A livery was chosen, and appropriate parts sprayed each colour.... Detail painting.... Cruel close-up of the driver.... Extra details added, including numberplates, wing mirrors, and windscreen wipers.... Decided it needed a bit more weathering powder around the chassis, then a coat of Matt varnish sealed it all.... All in all, a very enjoyable little project.... Cheers, Phil. ( and I might do a horse box next time....)

156465 + 156496 head away from Marske toward Redcar on todays 2D29 13.22 Saltburn to Darlington service. Cheers, Phil.

A few from Waverley last month..... Cheers, Phil.

Same pair, but in different locations of the shed.... Cheers, Phil.

They do still carry the 43??? number, it's just in the middle of a load of other numbers !! 😉 Never expected to phot a pair of back-to-back power cars, on a rake of Scotrail mk3's, on a hand-worked level crossing, passing a gaslamp !! Cheers, Phil.

A few from the same event, but a day later.... Cheers, Phil.

Having done the Railfreight version.... ( with apologies to Victor !!) I liked it so much, I bought it some company.... same technique used, I just didn't clean off quite so much of the wash. Cheers, Phil.

Picked up a Bachmann 47526 at a decent price from Kernow at the DEMU show last weekend. (as well as a couple of other projects, that will no doubt appear here at some time !) Not usually a fan of factory weathered stuff, but this is a bit different to the usual attempts ! Couldn't leave it as it was though, so made a few tweaks.... 'Factory' roof.... Had some grey wash added to the grilles, and some airbrushing to get rid of the weird 'T' shape to the exhaust soot.... Detail parts fitted. The driver looks over, concerned that the newspaper on the desk is quite close to the hot-plate that's keeping his brew warm.... Buffer heads painted different colours at each end, to match prototype pics. Coat of Matt Varnish over the body, and usual airbrush weathering.... Cheers, Phil.

A few pics from Toton yesterday.... Cheers, Phil.

A few of the unique liveries on show at Toton yesterday.... There's also 90039 & 92029 in this pic... Cheers, Phil.

Got mine ready for Speedlink service over the last couple of days. They are a lovely little wagon, I just hope I've done them justice !! Cheers, Phil.

I am a sucker for a Speedlink wagon...... So the latest project started like this.... Added some 'Dark Earth' weathering powder.... Added some more .... Before washing it off with White Spirit.... Which, when dry, looked like this.... The chassis then got a liberal dose of Dark Earth powder.... Then a covering of Dark Grey wash.... The slurry spillage was replicated with mixtures of White weathering powder and White weathering wash, both thinned with White Spirit in varying amounts, to give different density streaks. When that had dried, the buffers were painted front and back, with 'Roof Dirt', mainly because I forgot to do them before I started !! The rungs of the ladders were dry-brushed silver. The wheels got a coat of 'Frame Dirt'. Followed by a light airbrushing of 'Frame Dirt' on the chassis'. Finally a coat of Matt Varnish, seals it and brings it all together. Finished result.... Cruel close-ups.... A lovely little wagon to work on, I thoroughly enjoyed doing these !! Cheers, Phil.

50050 has the upper-front handrails missing, as per the model pics on the previous page. 50006 had the oddly positioned upper-front handrail, as per the CAD on the previous page. 50033 had the lower-front handrails missing at one end for a large part of it's career. Not sure if I'm remembering this correctly, but I seem to think D401 had handrails missing very early in its life ? Cheers, Phil.

My layout hasn’t got knitting….. or scenery, or track, or baseboards for that matter…. so having a sound fitted IC model on order must be a ‘rule 1’ purchase……😅😅 cheers, Phil.

Just had a call, to pay the balance…. Looking forward to these being delivered, hopefully by the end of next week…..😃 Cheers, Phil.

Another one of @Jack Mc 's favourite class has slipped across the workbench..... same methods used as before, just this one may be a little grubbier ! Cheers, Phil.