cjlangdon
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Posts posted by cjlangdon
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Very sad news.
When Martin Brent was head tutor at Missenden Abbey in 1996, Bob was one of the three original tutors. He was a great person to be with and an excellent tutor right up to the time when his illness stopped him coming to the Abbey.
Suffering as he did, I would say he was one of the bravest people I knew because of the way he continued his modelling life despite the horrible effects of his illness. I remember seeing him recently on TV and thinking what a remarkable man Bob was.
He will be sadly missed and I am sure fondly remembered.
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It's been fascinating to see what people think of the show.
The production company did film loads of pieces on static grass, ballasting, weathering etc but unfortunately, they didn't fit in the 45 minutes running time. They also visited all the teams beforehand but again, time was against them in the final cut. It's amazing how little you can get into the time and they had 3 cameras running continuously for around 10 hours each for 3 days on each heat plus the pre-visit footage. I am so glad I didn't have to edit that down!
For those of you wondering about Missenden's backdrop, I've added some of the photos I took at the time to my behind the scenes post: https://www.kathymillatt.co.uk/blog/2018/10/05/great-model-railway-challenge-movies/. I believe that the terraces were Scalescenes that they changed the door colours on and resized into 5 different decreasing scales. The backdrop itself was photoshopped from google map views and was several layers deep of cut outs. It was also lit as all of the terraces were. The whole lot was made so that when you stood in front, all the pieces seamlessly melded into each other with perspective lines.
It was truly a piece of art and I am looking forward to seeing it fully completed at a show soon.
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
I am pleased that you liked the forced perspective backdrop, and we are flattered by your description of it "as a work of art".
For those who are interested, we are running a course on this on our Spring Railway Modellers' weekend at Missenden Abbey. The tutor is Paul Bambrick and the dates are 1-3rd March 2019. Full details are at:-www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk. click onto the Spring Page and follow the link to Backscenes.
Christopher Langdon
Missenden Abbey Railway Modelling Courses
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Question - I would like to use my computer to operate my layout. How do I go about it?
Answer - Our "Starting Out with JMRI Panel Pro" course is the place to start. Aimed at those modellers who want to understand what is involved in operating your layout from a computer. Assuming no previous knowledge, this course takes you from first principles to drawing on screen control panels, controlling points, operating sensors and train block detection.
Pete, Brownlow, an expert in this field, will be running a structured practical course using a working 4mm layout “Missenden St Mary’s” with JMRI Panel Pro (Java Model Railway Interface), a free software package that you can download to your laptop.
At the end of this course, you will have learnt (by actually doing it on the layout), how to set up the operation to the level you want, how to design the panel on a laptop, point and signal operation.
Full details of the course content are on the Missenden Railway Modellers website here:
www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk/JMRI.html.
The dates are the 19th -21st October 2018, and there are some places available. We have arranged additional residential accomodation nearby, as all the bedrooms in the Abbey have been taken.
This course is an introduction, there are also two follow on courses from MERG which take the basics onto more advanced signalling and automation, run by Pete Brownlow and Chris Noble. Details of those courses can be found here: www.merg.org.uk/merg_wiki/doku.php?id=public:courses
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Wiring Made Simple with Ian Morton at Missenden Abbey Autumn weekend (20-22nd October 2017)
We have arranged a course specifically designed for the modeller who is building or planning a layout and suddenly realizes he has to think about how to make the trains run.
The aim is to demystify the subject and avoid complication at all costs. We’ve assumed little or no prior knowledge of wiring and other electrical issues – in fact we positively welcome modellers whose knowledge of what goes on beneath the bas...eboard is limited to connecting two wires to the controller (and perhaps not even that . . .).Layout wiring is NOT rocket science and we won’t present it as such. However we understand that for many modellers getting things to work reliably is a necessary evil, so we’ll make acquiring the necessary knowledge and hands-on skills as painless a process as possible. The course is slanted towards analogue (DC) control but there is considerable overlap with wiring for Digital Command Control, so its content will be relevant to users of either system.
These are the kind of questions we’re expecting:- What should I be thinking about before I start? What are my options?
- What tools do I need?
- How do I decide where to put feeds, isolating sections etc?
- How do I document which wire does what?
- How do you bridge baseboard joins?
- What different types of wiring connectors are there?
- How do you wire points?
- Section wiring – how do you divide the layout up into power areas?
- Power requirements
- Choosing controllers
- Different types of wire and switches
- Cab control and how it works
- Interlocking, common return, track sections, block control
- Advice on building a control panel
- Fault finding (the multi-meter is your friend)
Modellers who have attended Ian's courses before at Missenden Abbey have left confident that they have the skills and knowledge to wire their own layout.
Full details and online booking at www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk
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At our Autumn Railway Modellers Weekend at Missenden Abbey we are running a course called "Wiring Made Simple" with Ian Morton
The dates are 20th-22nd October 2017, and the course is specifically designed for the modeller, such as yourself, who is building or planning a layout and suddenly realizes he has to think about how to make the trains run.
The aim is to demystify the subject and avoid complication at all costs. We’ve assumed little or no prior knowledge of wiring and other electrical issues – in fact we positively welcome modellers whose knowledge of what goes on beneath the bas...eboard is limited to connecting two wires to the controller (and perhaps not even that . . .).Layout wiring is NOT rocket science and we won’t present it as such. However we understand that for many modellers getting things to work reliably is a necessary evil, so we’ll make acquiring the necessary knowledge and hands-on skills as painless a process as possible. The course is slanted towards analogue (DC) control but there is considerable overlap with wiring for Digital Command Control, so its content will be relevant to users of either system.
These are the kind of questions we’re expecting:- What should I be thinking about before I start? What are my options?
- What tools do I need?
- How do I decide where to put feeds, isolating sections etc?
- How do I document which wire does what?
- How do you bridge baseboard joins?
- What different types of wiring connectors are there?
- How do you wire points?
- Section wiring – how do you divide the layout up into power areas?
- Power requirements
- Choosing controllers
- Different types of wire and switches
- Cab control and how it works
- Interlocking, common return, track sections, block control
- Advice on building a control panel
- Fault finding (the multi-meter is your friend)
Full details and online booking can be found at www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk
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Any tips on removing th ebody from the chassis/ I had a frustrating time at Missenden last weekend, when I had a bit a spare time and wanted to put a DCC chip. I could not get the body off, and did not want the break the lus. No one else there had chipped up a 2BIL, so any suggestions would be welcome.
Iain Rice
in Obituaries
Posted · Edited by cjlangdon
correction
So sad to hear that Iain Rice, who was a tutor in the early days of Missenden Railway Modelling weekends died yesterday (Saturday 8th October 2022).
Iain ran weekend courses from his Model Railway Study Centre in Devon. I went, and learnt more about locomotive kit construction in a weekend with Iain than I ever did from years of “advice” for members of my model railway club. His courses were very much "hands on" and the inspiration for the structure of the Missenden Abbey weekends. Iain was innovative and a brilliant (if at times controversial) writer for most of the model railway press and was a key contributor to MRJ. He also made major contributions to the hobby introducing new techniques and materials, which he incorporated in the many layouts that he built and exhibited.
He will be a hard act to follow.