brossard

True of me. Born in 1956 I modelled LMS in 00 in the 1930s for around 30 years. When I changed to 0 gauge, my era changed to 1962 for purely pragmatic reasons since RTR 0 gauge LMS was, and still is, thin on the ground. I have locos from three regions and my friend has WR. John

I had a quick look round and found that there are manufacturers who do 2 rail, Atlas and MTH for example. I've no idea of the accuracy or fidelity of these models. Prices seem comparable to British 0 gauge. I decided early on that my 0 gauge layout would be to a "nice" standard. There are better ones for sure. Mine is the only British 0 gauge layout in Quebec as far as I know. John

I like that you are trying to construct buildings based on real structures. I've done one or two buildings like that. My current layout, in 0 gauge, uses kits throughout though - from Scalescenes and Lcut. My layout has become a traveller, and I am constantly battling the calendar to get priorities done before each show. The show is less than a month away and I think a big priority must be to ensure that the trains run. John

I've always admired your US themed layout. I must be careful because this looks so good I could be tempted. It is curious that of all the model shows I've attended over here in the Montreal area and somewhat beyond, I have never seen anything other than that horrid 3 rail stuff. It takes a UK modeller to show how it's done I guess. John

My sense is that the model railway demographic is in it's 60's. There'll be a bell curve of course. I'm in that demographic and into 0 gauge steam and early diesel. I read somewhere some time ago that modellers want to recreate the nostalgia of how things were around 40 years ago. So I think you are right about the growing customer base interested in 80/90/00s. Heljan already do a lot of diesels though. That said, Accurascale will have to do their market research and decide on the loco that best suits their business model. Nevertheless I still want a steam loco. John

All but one of my sound decoders is Zimo purchased from Digitrains in UK. I am quite impressed and pleased with Zimo and plan to stick to them. John

More or less finished rewiring my second board. This is probably the busiest of the 4 boards. It still looks a mess but is much tidier than it was. Next job is to do the inter board connectors. John

Acrylic paint has a tendency to dry in the nozzle. To fix that use Tamiya Paint Retarder. There's a Vallejo version as well. John

These look interesting Geoff. I may just get myself some. My "local" (OK they're in Toronto) online shop has them. John

Well, I think weathering is a personal and subjective thing. If it looks good to you, then it's right. I have "The Art of Weathering" by Martyn Welch: https://britishrailwaybooks.co.uk/books/ISBN/1874103119.php His work is lovely but he uses enamels which I don't get on with. John

Testors Dullcote really does give a good finish. Is it still around? I thought Testors had discontinued it. I've been using Krylon matte spray. Not sure what it is but you need to make sure the nozzle is clean or you'll get spitting. Another technique is to slosh on very dilute black enamel wash (Like Testors Panel Liner). Let it dry overnight then use white spirit (NOT enamel thinner) and Q tips to remove about 95% of it. The wash will stay in cracks and crevices and gives a nice effect. My weathering is not very sophisticated. An airbrush is essential IMO. I use acrylic dirt followed by acrylic black. I follow up with umber and black powder with some rust. John

If Ian doesn't have any, the Comet kit is a good choice. I detailed the underframe. The Comet instructions are way off so you should ignore them. The center axle has a 1mm steel rod the 1mm ID of the brass tube axle. The rod sits between the axleboxes. This lets the wheelset move to and fro. You can read the entire saga of me trying to do a Stove R here: John

Just spent a happy (not!) half hour reinstating pictures. John

Just looking at Hatton's blurb on the new 00 Buckjumper (J67...). Use the blow up machine to do this in 0 gauge. John

Thanks Suzie, that was my suspicion. My Tortoises and Wabbits were holdovers from previous layouts so cost me nothing extra. John

Ah well, there are two things with that: 1) I'm in Montreal and 2) I do 7mm John

I have completed the wire maintenance and upgrades for the first board: I think it's a bit more functional. The wires are clamped down, solid core wire mostly ditched and replaced with stranded. BTW, the little black box in left center is a stationary decoder for the Dapol signal. The dangling connectors attach to the signal when it is installed in the square hole. On to the next board. John

...and a good quality printer at that. For me, my printer is an essential modelling tool. John

So I have heard Stephen. However, my turnouts are all done so I need to move on to the many other jobs that need doing. 😟 John

Scalescenes kits are excellent I find. Building one is akin to scratchbuilding with the painting done for you. In my case Scalescenes are ideal because I can scale them to 7mm. I always use high quality card as well as foam core (because "Heavy card" scales to 3.5mm in 7mm and cutting that is exhausting). I hadn't heard of Chrisden and their products look to be useful, although not to me. Cutting the base layers is very tedious. I also have to make my own windows and doors, also time consuming. https://www.chrisinden.co.uk/scalesceneskits John

That's a right tichy car! Amazed that everything goes in. Masterful organizing. Mine takes 2 SUVs and a hatchback. John

As far as I can tell, you haven't said what your operating interests are. I assume you like passenger trains, but goods traffic can be very absorbing with shunting to make up trains, spot wagons to where they're needed etc. What about facilities? Where's the station, engine shed, goods yard? John

My 0 gauge layout uses Tortoise and Wabbit for DCC turnout control. Actuation is via momentary push buttons on the fascia so no control panel. Tortoise (and Cobalt) are basically servos I think. My layout turnouts operate brilliantly (OK my opinion) and it just finished it's 4th show with high marks. What is the advantage to using servos? John

There are aftermarket suppliers of bogie kits. I know Invertrain have a decent selection but can't confirm they have the bogies you need. John

I don't know anything about the models in question, but my general recommendation for coupling rakes would be to fit Hunt couplings. These use strong magnets and will fit in most configurations of NEM pocket. https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/hunts-magnetic-couplings-offer-easy-replacement Apart from the article, I have witnessed Hunt coupling performance in coach rakes on the club layout. My reaction was "game changing". John