Barry Ten

On 01/04/2024 at 16:49, MikeJ said:

I enjoy making these kits, but have found the issue with "soft plastic". Out of the three I made, one only ever has three wheels in contact with the rails, which results in it derailing regularly. That really put me off making more, but I'll keep an eye out for original Airfix kits at future shows (though I'm not sure the decals will have aged well)

If you've used bearings, and you're feeling brave, you can resolve this with a soldering iron. Put the wagon on a flat surface, identify which bearing needs to be adjusted down (you only need to adjust one side of one axle) and then remove the relevant wheelset. Warm the iron and then touch it to the bearing, applying gentle pressure in the desired direction until the bearing just starts to move in the softened plastic. Remove the iron immediately and assess whether the wheels are now closer to level. The plastic will reharden quickly so you can have another go if things need further adjustment. Don't dwell with the iron or the plastic will melt all the way through to the front of the axlebox. It's a method of last resort but I've found it works if done with care! I had to do it on on one or two Dapol cement wagons with the soapy plastic.

Was chatting to a mate recently - we'd both built one of these from the Dapol re-reissue, and both encountered the same problem of ending up with holes needing filling in the sides of the tanks, either due to an issue with the instructions leading us astray or something being not quite right with the mouldings (can't remember which). Other than that, we both agreed that they still made up into really nice models, as yours illustrate.

Cheers, Mikkel. Hopefully Brian from 247 Developments will be at the RMweb SWAG do in Taunton in a couple of months, (he normally attends) so I can pick up some suitable chimneys for my moguls.

See above.

Hi RCP - I doubt I have the original pics but I can easily take some new ones. I'll have a look tomorrow.

15 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

In terms of the model of caravan, it’s quite close to this one - a Bluebird Dauphin:

 

 

Mine does have a single, central rear window though, but other than that the styling looks similar, suggesting perhaps a different Bluebird model?  Just a thought, Keith.

 

(I have no idea if a Morris Minor would actually have the power to tow a caravan?)

 

Thanks Keith. I can't remember the name of the firm, but I found a period brochure for another caravan manufacturer with a very similar model (oval window in the side etc), so perhaps there were several brands offering similar-looking products.

14 hours ago, Ravenser said:

OK, you can see a difference with a Bachmann Mk1 at a distance of 18" (mainly around the glazing) but with new OO coaches hitting £80 and more a go, here's a decent set that cost me pennies because I had the bits, using two coaches I bought when I was 14 and 15... (The NBL loco isn't Dapol either ...)

In similar vein, I've not been tempted by the newer Bulleid and Thompson coaches, because it's far more satisfying and economical to spend a few evenings tarting up the early 90s equivalents, even though the result may not be as good. With the Thompsons, I lower the bogies, fit flush glazing, rework the roof profile, and fit new gangways. Viewed running as part of a train, they're fine. Since they (and various Hornby Gresleys) are only used to form inter-regional stock when I'm running my layout in S&D mode, they just need to be good enough to say Eastern Region.

I'm quite happy to buy new RTR coaching stock where there's not been a decent RTR precursor, though, hence the many Hornby Hawksworths and Maunsell coaches running on my layout.

Thanks all, glad to see I'm not alone in the "that'll do" camp!

I've realised I'm out of step with the philosophy of a lot of modellers when you hear some announcement about a new version of a popular prototype, and you get people saying "great, now I can get rid of/move on my Bachmann 66s, Hornby 50s, Heljan Westerns etc" (whatever). Wait, what? Weren't these models good enough for you at the time? Haven't you invested time and effort in weathering/personalising them, and so on? I can understand it when a model comes along that represents a massive leap forward over whatever was there before (eg comparing Hornby's old tender-drive Black 5 to the version that came out in the early 2000s) but not when it's case of supplanting an already very good model, which seems to be the case with many new releases. That said, I understand that the manufacturers have to keep producing new product to drive sales, and the pool of "not done yet" models is pretty small, unless they jump into a totally new scale.

What Mikkel says about finding "the joy" resonates, too - I think a lot of us have to go on a bit of a modelling journey, though, before we circle back to the things that give us the most pleasure over the longest time. For some, it's the pursuit of detail and fidelity (which I suppose inevitably funnels them into the finescale side of the hobby, be it P4, 2mm, Scale7 whatever). I realised a while ago that I'm not on that track - too much of a bodger, and too little interested in exacting detail and prototype accuracy. I do like tinkering with old models. though - fixing broken bits, reworking mechanisms, tracking down gremlins - which is probably why I take a perverse pleasure in keeping running a lot of older models, such as the Bachmann split chassis examples, not to mention making them work on DCC. The same goes for the handful of Lima and ex-Airfix ringfield mechanisms still in use.

3 hours ago, Dunalastair said:

 

I'm not sure that Percy Emerson Culverhouse was any more on the right lines.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Central_railway_station

 

Though I used to live in Truro and used that station, the early railways' classical-style termini were for me in better architectural taste (even if few survive), and even recent developments like KX seem to work well. But I am enjoying seeing this model build.

 

Cardiff rates highly in Simon Jenkins' very nice book on railway architecture, at least. And now I know the origin of Culverhouse Cross (famous or infamous) roundabout/shopping development on the way out of Cardiff.

I also lived in Truro, but never entered the railway station.

Wonderful, inspiring work as ever, Mikkel. Makes my own paltry efforts this week (a Wills station kit) look rather underwhelming!

Many thanks all. I'm quite pleased with how it worked on the day; no major issues but one or two things that

could benefit from a tweak or two. It did pick up an invitation to another South Wales show next year so this is

unlikely to be its only outing. However, it's going up in the loft for now, not because I'm fed up with it, but because

it's stopped me working on any other modelling projects for a while and I like to hop around!

Wonderful account of your trip, Mikkel - much appreciated.

There's a Harvey's Bristol Cream van on ebay at the moment:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=ratio+kit+harveys&_sacat=0

Almost certainly a daft question, but were these liveries all bogus?

55 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

I would be lying if I said I was sorry 🙂 But I have enjoyed Stourpayne Marshall because it's just such a great layout all round.

 

Has the goods shed door changed colour too?

 

 

 

 

The whole goods shed! Although it's not obvious from the pics above, the S&D one sits roughly where the GWR cattle dock does, and the GWR goods shed occupies roughly the same position as the S&D station building. The GWR shed is much larger than the S&D one, too.

I bought the LED from B&Q as well. I'll dig out the reference later.

Edit: it's an 1100 mm "Minidoka" from the "Colours" range.

1 hour ago, ModRXsouth said:

Great views of your layout, but any chance please of some photos showing the lighting rig itself? The demountable boom arrangement has particularly caught my interest. Many thanks!

It's a bit tricky to get all the layout in shot right now, but this should give an idea of the arrangement:

Basically it consists of a cross-beam of L-shaped wood of the kind sold by B&Q in 8 foot lengths, and which makes a very good, stiff basis for a lighting rig. This one has been recycled from some earlier bit of layout, hence the scruffiness!  The timber blocks on top are a legacy of the old application, but are now used to hide the mounting screws for the LED bar, and will also form the mounting points for a front screen (with the layout name on) when it's added. That should add very little weight to the arrangement.

The other bit is a piece of plywood cut into a curved bracket shape which then bolts onto the upright piece of wood which screens the fiddleyard, and which is in turn solidly attached to the backscene and the base of the layout.

With these new LED-style cabinet lights, they weigh so little that the bulk of the weight of the rig is in the wood itself, rather than the light it needs to support.

6 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Hi Al,

 

Good to see it with the new lighting.   I'm learning from this as I have only ever used "ambient" lighting.

 

As you say the retaining wall comes more into it's own. I notice that the sides of the stock are in shadow. Would a further batten towards the front address that, or will that make things too complicated?

 

There is a bit of foreground shadow, but it's not as noticeable to my eye as to the camera, so I'll stick with the original intention for now. I also like the similar effect on @wenlock 's Sherton where the middle ground of the layout really pops out, almost as if a ray of sunlight was catching it on a cloudy day. That's the idea, anyway!

5 minutes ago, Craigw said:

Famous last words!!

 

I have a Farish 64XX and a Sonic 56XX sitting in the cupboard and calling me..

 

regards,

 

Craig

Both of which now seem to be relatively scarce on the second hand market, so well worth having. I've seen very few Farish 64XXs come up on ebay in the last year or so, and similarly with the 56XXs (I know, because it took me a long time to acquire a third one, after deciding two just wasn't enough!). I presume both models must have sold very well, and those who have them must be reasonably satisfied and not looking to move them on.

13 hours ago, Craigw said:

I really am enjoying this a great deal.  I see so many people looking at going from 4mm to 7mm scale, yet for me the attraction is moving to 2mm scale. 

 

Looking forward to further progress.

 

Regards,

 

Craig

Thanks Craig. I've done nothing but play with N stuff for the last few months, so it's temporarily become the "one true" scale as far as I'm concerned, and I could easily see the potential of remaining in N/2mm for good. However

I MUST exercise discipline and not allow this to become the seed for yet more modelling distraction!

1 hour ago, Neil said:

I like it but are you sure about hiding the wheels of the stock from low viewing angles? I usually work quite hard to make sure that I give a good full view of the trains for as much of the layout as possible. I know it's all down to personal preference but the bit of my brain that recognises that we (usually) strive for as long a run as possible fights against concealment.

I know what you mean. I should probably clarify that for the normal viewing angles (if the layout's in its intended position

on a tabletop) then you'd still see all the wheels, but if you get your eye level down really low then the fence comes into play, as it did on the original Paynestown:

However it would be quite an uncomfortable angle unless the layout was raised up considerably!

As for why it's intended to be a tabletop layout, the idea was just to come up with something that had

exhibition potential, but which required the absolute minimum of support infrastructure. With the whole

thing on one just board, it easily fits in the back of the car, with room left over for a stock box, controller

and the intended detachable lighting rig (which I still haven't made yet). Not needing to add legs or trestles

would allow three people to travel in the car in addition to the layout, which has never been possible with

my previous efforts. However, it does require someone at the other end to provide table and chair, so we'll

see how that plays out in practise! At the moment it's booked for the Barry show in August, and the SWAG

do next year, although for the latter it might do a swapsie with my Porthmadog 009 thing if I can progress

that far enough.

I think they're 1mm sheets, Mikkel. I didn't want to use bendy MDF as I didn't think it would bend to the required radius.

I did have a problem with one the sheets cockling off the backing when it got warm in the conservatory, so I cut it back a bit and re-glued it down. Hoping that's the last of that.

7 hours ago, BlackRat said:

The colour is bang on for that Valleys grass.

It's proper Welsh grass is why. I bought it from WWScenics, based in Swansea.

Thanks Mikkel, yes I do - consciously or otherwise - like to keep to a similar colour palette on my layouts, so I tend to use a familiar range of Humbrol enamels for greens, greys and creams, and I certainly want Paynestown to have quite a subdued overall look, with nothing screaming out at you. I picked up some very faded grass fibres at the Bristol show which I hope to add soon.

As for the graphite, I'm still at the experimental (ie, clueless!) stage but I've mainly just been running a 2B pencil along the rail tops here and there, until it starts to flake off and leave a noticeable trace. I've seen other people use a block of artists's graphite in a similar fashion to a track rubber so that may be worth looking at.

I also tried some powdered graphite (with molybdenum) from a puffer-type tube (it's meant as a general lubricant for models) but while that may have worked, it wasn't very controllable, so went on more than just the rail tops, so was a bit wasteful.

I've seen lots of good slow running and shunting in 2mm - including Modbury  - although whether that's because 2mm just works more reliably from the outset, or the 2mm bods are prepared to go the extra mile to get what they need, I don't know. Perhaps a bit of both.

Thinking back to other BLT layouts I've seen in N, at least as defined by the track standards, John Birkett-Smith's Ashburton would certainly qualify.

1 hour ago, Ravenser said:

 

I get the impression that the limitations of Poole-era Farish may be casting a very long shadow , by having permanently depressed expectations for N gauge running

Having messed around with American N for getting on for 20 years, I know shunting is more than viaible. but that may be a legacy of generally better mechanisms having been the norm plus somewhat larger locos (helpfully generally always with tenders) to squeeze them into.