MrSimon

Hi Mike, The wheels come in pairs too, so you’ll only need 3 driving wheels and 2 + 3 carrying wheels (or 5 carrying wheels if they’re all the same size)… unless you’re buying two loco’s worth? Hope that helps Simon

Wasn’t the Kenny Belle specifically a train for the massive post office building at Olympia - if so would the first class compartments be for management?

I guess to some extent it depends on the quality of the pictures and description - I’ve picked up some bits over the years where I’ve had to take a punt on what it actually is (not always successfully) based on the description. End of the day on eBay it depends on whether many people are willing to bid, and what advice they receive from the eBay thing that recommends a start price…

Hello everybody! I thought I’d had a reasonably prolific summer of modelling, then I came to update this and realised that I hadn’t photographed much and barely updated this. So here’s a round up… Firstly - I’ve still been doing some N! Here are a JJA and a HQA kit, these have progressed a little further but still have the majority of the painting to complete. There’s been a lot of 2mm work: I went to see @justin1985 and gave some of my wagons a test on his layout - mostly to see if I’d got the droppers right on the couplers. I had! He also fixed the terrible job I’d made of putting the 4F back together so I could start to finish it off. Below the footplate on the loco is pretty much complete now that it’s working - next job is to switch the replacement tender chassis over and wire it up, then it’s all cosmetic. I bought the wrong handed driver to drive a 4F, so here’s its fireman (awaiting a bit of dirt and matt varnish) I also finished the L&Y 060 chassis, and painted it. I’ve now completely run out of things to do instead of finishing the body (so now I’m just avoiding the tricky jobs left at the front end in the hope it’ll randomly finish itself off) This weekend I built a Fencehouses Jinty chassis, it needs a little fettling to bring the front wheel under the front splasher (and I’ve got a motor on the way) - like the 4F it’s just cosmetic work remaining once it’s motorised. Gave me chance to do Cif+Drill which is my favourite part of 2mm chassis building. Finally I had a go at converting an old Chivers blue spot van, it has small functional chassis within the Chivers W iron/axlebox, I then repurposed a pair of clasp brakes and a crank from a different chassis kit to give it brakes. I’ll see how it looks once it’s painted but I think it’ll do to run in a train. Lots to do! Simon

It’s not really much of an enlarged catchment area - it’s a short drive to Loughborough/Quorn from Nottingham, from north of the city it’s probably easier to get to the GCR than to Ruddington

Hi all, I finally started to make the changes to the tandem point and I think it’s looking much better. The B8 side (top) was unchanged but then everything on the other side moved along a bit. This time I built the new crossings first then joined it all up in the order Jim (I think) showed. Still to add are the curved blades and check rails then I’ll check the gapping and see if I can run it. Final thing to do will be to cut the timbers to length. No Blu-tac was harmed in the rebuilding of this turnout. Cheers Simon

Random duplicate post there…

Also, union mills are made of super hard metal which makes them much harder to drill handrail/lamp iron knobs into. It’s so-able and they’re good-ish models, but they can be detailed into really good models if you have adamantium mini drill bits…

The 8Fs are looking really good - which kit are they? Many thanks Simon

Is Saturday also the order deadline for the gypsum containers?

Is there any news on this? Expected delivery keeps moving back

Thanks all, It was tested quite a bit before I soldered the washers on, it had the plastic on for a while before I plucked up the courage to solder the washers onto a different chassis - it ran well so I thought it would be ok to solder it too… I fitted a new crank pin this afternoon and soldered together a new rod. Then when I put the new rod on I think I identified the problem: the rod is slightly too long between the front and middle axles - when the other axles are at half past the front was ahead slightly. When the rod was curved up and only stuck in the front and rear it ran perfectly (so possibly not the quartering) Is it something really basic like I’ve got the rods on the wrong sides? Many thanks Simon

Hi all, Is this a quartering issue causing the pin to come out, or simply because the pin became unstuck? I’d just fixed the other side and was trying to work out why it didn’t run with the loco wheels on the track… It feels like I can rotate the wheels too much - is this normal? I don’t have many new Bachman steam engines (it’s a 4F) so wasn’t sure if it was helping it run poorly? Thanks in advance! Simon

Thanks Jonas! I’m really pleased with how the underframe turned out - hats off to Dapol, there’s just enough relief to make it work

Hello everybody! After the marathon transfer session last week I’ve been able to finish off the class 142. All that remains is to (maybe) change the destination to be not in Wales, and add Northern transfers - I haven’t found anywhere that does them so they can wait. Cab view: the black rubbed through to the yellow underneath was accidental, but I like it so it’s staying. I’m going to neaten up that yellow on the headlight! Yesterday I painted the underframes, it’s a mix of Phoenix dirty black, brake dust and framedirt, and Humbrol Metalcote Gun Metal (on the springs and exhaust) The side views I didn’t weather the roof much, just a bit of dirt in the panel lines and grills, and some exhaust. So there we have it, a simple repaint for a livery not offered by Dapol. The repaint doesn’t stop the model being a slightly funny shape, but it looks enough like a 142 for Gresby… Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody! I’ve had a bit of a quiet few weeks, but yesterday it didn’t stop raining so I had a big transfer session: Unit/carriage numbers on the 142 and both 101s, and transfers on the Boplate and LMS van - took ages! Today I sealed all the transfers and weathered the two wagons (the LMS van needs some more work). Over the last few weeks I’ve also transferred this and fitted the load straps. I gave it a final weather and a spray today, I think I’ve only got 2-3 left to do. The LMS van needs some work around the door/runner and vac pipes & couplings fitting. Finished Boplate, just needs some wires on the couplings, I’m going to sort out loads when I do the rest of the train. Maybe now there’s a load of things finished I’ll turn attention back to the L&Y tank! Lots to do Simon

Hi, sorry I zoomed into the picture and had another look. I think the stop strips already screwed onto the jig - it’s hard to tell from the picture but it looks like there’s a sort of ridge that will stop the sleepers falling out, that should have screws holding it in and is the stop strip. The other straight bit is for the straight rail. Hope that helps? Simon

Hi Mike, I seem to remember only using the straight bit for the straight stock rail then I took it off and used the shaped template for the rest of the point and I used the button gauges to place the straight line of the vee. Alternatively, have you tried it all ways up/ways round? My jig was second hand so I’m not sure if the previous owner added extra holes. Good luck! Simon

Hello everybody, I got a few things finished this evening: 2 x LMS banana vans - these aren’t strictly finished, I need to fit brake and steam pipes Weathered and finished the LNER 8 plank wagon Unfitted plate. I really aught to make a brake van… and some track! I spent quite a while painting the deck of the BOPLATE this morning. It just needs weathering down to blend it all together. I need to paint the bogies and do the transfers then this’ll be another for my plate train. I bought this back from Dad’s, it’s already had a quick refurb and once I find my bit of paper with the numbers on I’ll number it. Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody! I forced myself to have a transfers session first thing on Monday morning: The plate is now ready for weathering and final finishing. The banana needs some steam & brake pipes adding and the bauxide touching up - there are some gaps visible! More steam pipes on the other banana van and then weathering - I want this one to be more heavily weathered than the BR brown one. The 8 plank open needs the white line adding and then it can be lightly weathered. Also over the weekend I built a wagon to go on the bogies I built last week; it’s a Parkwood/NGS BOPLATE. I took the moulded brake detail off and used parts from a NGS bogie bolster kit. The buffers are some 2mm ones from my desk (which probably aren’t right for the wagon). Since taking this picture I fitted couplings and primed it. Yesterday I had to put my desk away so the plumber can do some stuff, so I brought the 108 to programme and test on Dad’s layout (it wouldn’t stay coupled round the off-scene corners), but it ran and should be running at the Farnham show in October. I had one bit of great news as I was tidying the desk - I found the brake shoe that came off the L&Y 060 a few months back, so now I can fit this next time I have the soldering iron out (and the layout shown around the class 108 will be at the NGS international exhibition in Potters Bar on 31 July) Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody, Some bits started and some finished in the last few weeks while I put off working on the 060s smokebox... First, I’m not sure if I showed it widely, I built a tandem turnout, after some discussion and further reading I decided that moving one of the frogs slightly would free up some space at the blades end to work better. I Sharpied the rails that would have to move and after a bit more staring I replaced three sleepers with longer ones... we’ll see how this turns out! On Saturday I made my first pair of 2mm freight bogies, I think they’ll pass muster if the rest of the wagon is good enough! I even took some time out my work day to prime them and the two other chassis I made at the weekend. A few weeks/months ago I made a kit for a PO wagon, then realised it probably wouldn’t have been painted a nice uniform grey by the period I’m modelling... so it went on the shelf while I did some thinking. With a combination of acrylics for the lettering and some painted out planks I free-hand painted this. Weathered and with BR number transfers it’s turned out quite well, I’m happy with these (but don’t want too many!) Lots to do! Simon

A carnet of 10 or 12 would be more use as places in town are saying ‘2 or 3 days a week’ - at the moment you only start to save on tfl on the 6th day of a weekly ticket

The private ambulances are always there, at massive additional cost to the nhs to cover gaps

Hello everybody, Hope you all had a good bank holiday weekend? Here’s what I got upto waiting for my local to reopen Firstly, I had a delivery of Cambridge Custom transfers so was able to get two wagons finished: It’s my first time using transfers like that before - they’re very fine but you need to trim the carrier film really close to the wording! Next, this has been on my desk to fix for a while, it had 2mm wheels fitted and I’ve started painting planks out. We’ll see how lived in this ends up looking... Thirdly over the weekend I built up three chassis and a van body: Nothing I haven’t made before, but the banana van came out much neater this time! Finally over the weekend I started fitting details onto the L&Y tank - rivets, handrails and lamp irons on the back end: I can’t tell if I’ve made the lamp irons too big... I usually shape a staple but they often look a little small! (The black satin is just to stick the rivets down, it’s not a top coat or anything) Do you think I need to try again with the lamp irons? Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody! Plenty done in the last few weeks, bodies built and finished for all the chassis’s above and I temporarily broke the 4F... The LNER chassis I build looked too short for a standard van kit, so like many pages ago I shortened an old Farish one. I’m not planning on doing loads of these but a little (possibly imaginary) variation won’t hurt. This was after the body was glued together but before I filled the massive cracks and sanded off the logos. Here is is finished (right) with a 10’ chassis under the body is built. Slight disaster, I accidentally soldered the con rod onto the crank pin, then I caught the step with the soldering iron. I said all the words and put it in its box for sulking. Luckily for me Bachman had a spare chassis casing so I just need to transfer the brass chassis, power, etc over to the new one, but not until I’m done with the soldering iron!! The LNER open was painted LNER grey, I saw a picture with diagonal strips pointing towards the end door so copied it. Here it is masked up so I could dab on the white line with a cotton bud... ...and here it is finished. I’m not sure how accurate it is but I’m pleased with how it’s turned out. Lots to do! Simon