Barry Ten

Three hedgehogs hanging around: And a fox checks out a hedgehog:

Yes, very impressed with Turkish when we flew with them Istanbul-Madagascar a few years ago.

I guess a move to early April also avoids any possible clash with the Key Model World thing at the NEC, if it happens again.

I should add that one very nice touch is that the cab and tender handrails were already soldered onto the castings, eliminating at least one major opportunity for a cock-up.😂

I've been working on a loco kit, in this case a Nu-Cast M&SWJR 2-4-0. This is in GWR condition after reboilering so regrettably can't be in the gorgeous crimson livery that it ran in originally. The kit is "of its day" so to speak, with whacking great brass frames and no brake gear etc, but the castings are clean and no major snags have arisen thus far. I hadn't built a loco for a while (other than Comet chassis) so felt I needed to do at least one this year. I gather Rumney models do a more up to date chassis for this kit, but I'm happy enough with the basic product.

His carers took the eye off him for a moment.

Agreed!

Not the best shot ever taken but better than nothing?

There's definitely a service lull on Paynestown while the pasties go down!😂

A few of us had a ride behind 6990 on Saturday, just before the RMWeb SWAG gathering in Taunton. The loco looked sparkling and took the train with ease. Conditions in Minehead were distinctly chilly, though.

This looks like something you'd pick up in a garden centre, but it's real, honest! Picked up on one of our trail cameras in Februrary, but we didn't check the card until the weekend.

Had a great day at SWAG with Paynestown. Many thanks to Rob, Muz and all the organisers and helpers for making such a splendid, welcoming event possible. It was nice to chat to new and old faces and adnire the wonderful layouts. Additional thanks to my two happy helpers Dave and Roger, and to old pal Marc for the photo. We also enjoyed an afternoon on the WSR followed by the obligatory excellent curry in Taunton. All in all a thoroughly good weekend! Thanks all and best wishes to those that weren't able to make the event.

The "9 0'clock bump" was a well-known phenomenon in South Wales in the late 70s/early 80s - someone will correct me but I believe it was always around 9 in the evening. when there'd be a general muffled thud in the neighborhood. About a decade earlier, when we were living in Cornwall, we'd get a similar effect on garage doors during Concorde's test flights, but they happened at random times of the day.

I believe the brake is indeed to the same diagram as the Hornby model, Tony - and yes, you have a PM!

These earlier Hornby Collett coaches are a good basis for budget modelling. They can be picked up cheaply - get the ones with GWR bogies, not the 1970s ones with Mk1 bogies - and they are not bad representations of bow-end stock. To improve them, the moulded ends are blended in to the sides with filler, then the whole lot repainted and relined. I added SEF flushglaze, separate roof vents, MJT corridor connections and moved some of the chassis details around on the brake. The restaurant car can also be made into a good model in GWR condition, but needs more work for BR condition.

If Ellie wants a quiet lie down under Paynestown, she'll be more than welcome!

I've shown this before I expect, but here's my J72 after a new chassis was substituted. I bought a part-finished Comet chassis and wheels from ebay, reasoning that the wheels alone were worth the punt. The chassis wasn't assembled very well (the centre axle bearings were just slopping around loose in the frames) but after some tribulations I managed to get something working out of it. I think I put a Branchlines gearbox in which is a bit noisy as it stands, but certainly gives adequate slow running and haulage. The whirr-whirr either drowns out the hip-hop, or the hip-hop drowns out the whirr-whirr, depending on your tastes.

Not for a week or two, Tony. Due to the logistics of getting back from York, I've left the box down in Cardiff with Dave for temporary safekeeping, although I hope to collect it soon. Not this week for sure! I'm in musical theatre all week, with three small parts in our local production of "Made in Dagenham"! Dress rehearsal tonight, then the first public performance tomorrow.

Here is my Mainline 4MT, purchased from (I think) a Carlisle model shop during a family visit to the Lake District in 1980. To put that into perspective, the other thing I bought that day was the special "Borchester Market" edition of Model Railways which I still have. The 4MT is a bit noisy but it runs quite well apart from that, and for the hell of it I converted it to DCC (a bit tricky due to the way the motor brushes work) but not too bad. The weathering was acrylics, brushed on not long after the model was bought.

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.

The Battle of Britain/WC was always loco drive, as was the B12.

I've been on the same plane as Mungo Jerry (aircraft, not astral).

Nice vid, Jesse (and Foo Fighters of course). Some friends of mine were at Thirlmere on Easter Monday.

A few shots showing Paynestown as it now stands. Over the last few weeks I've been adding some smaller details to try to bring the scenes to life, such as a telephone box, street lamps, greenhouses etc, from various firms (Langley, PD Marsh, Severn Models, Southwark Models, York Modelmaking etc). Still a lot more that could be done, but I'm trying to strike a balance between detail and open areas, so that it doesn't end up too cluttered. Ta!