David Rickard

Took a trip to Railex today with The Boy; he's only two, and so it was his first outing at a model rail show. My other half dropped us off in town and we caught the bus, which he really enjoyed. Getting tickets on the bus was a really nice idea, and I was quite pleased with the souvenir nature of the ticket - nice and big and something to look at. The Boy was quite pleased hanging on to it for me. The team on the bus were very helpful with the pram I had to bring along too, and were waiting on the roadside with it when we disembarked.

Plenty of lovely high quality layouts, and it was refreshing seeing them through my son's eyes, as he was picking up on random things I didn't see, such as the loco up on a crane on New Kensal Green having its wheels removed (I was more interested in the smoke effects). He was also fascinated with Crowsnest Wharf, even though nothing happened for a few moments (bearing in mind, just 10 seconds is an eternity for a two year old when you're trying to hold their attention). Wickwar was also a standout as one of the layout operators was out the front with a tablet asking people to press buttons to make things happen. A great idea as it does help engage the kids so much more.

We picked up a few bargains too, so all in a pretty good day. Unfortunately for us, we left just as the bus crew were going on lunch, so we had a walk back into town, but I needed the exercise, so I didn't mind. ;)

Oh, and sorry for being 'that' person with the push-chair, but needs must! People were generally very accommodating and the stadium has ample space between the layouts anyway, not like the days of yore at the Civic where things were a bit more 'compressed'!

Looking forward to the next one!

Modern anything! Houses, offices, industrial units, whatever.

Houses would be on my own selfish wishlist. Most UK outline building manufacturers seem to prefer older-style housing and buildings in general. Then again, modern designs are pretty simple, so fairly easy to scratchbuild. Something akin to the 1960s style council housing, or similar.

So in theory, simple for John to make into a super-duper Scalescenes model for us all to buy

I read this article today:

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/04/science_explains_why_you_alway.php

It's in a similar vein. I know people who swear by Costco; I recently signed up and took my sister and mother along. All the way round they were clucking at the prices going 'that's cheaper in Tesco' or 'That's cheaper in Morrisons'. It was quite funny seeing the look on a few people's faces who overheard - a kind of 'WHAT? Are we being lied to?!' sort of look. Granted, there IS some good stuff there (TVs are a cracking deal), and we found some great stuff. But the basics people were piling their trolleys up with (bog roll, for example) was basically the same price as elsewhere. Because people are told it's cheap, they go and buy it, and probably never bothered to check otherwise.

eBay is the same. eBay is where you go to get cheap stuff. Ergo EVERYTHING on eBay is cheaper than elsewhere. Because eBay is all cheap stuff. Only, as we know, that's not the case.

I found myself frantically digging around on there for cheap flash memory, only to find it cheaper on 7dayshop later on. I've fallen into the same thing a few times, but usually twigged before hitting 'Buy it now'.

I found this purely by accident today:

http://objects.reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page

Build your own 3D printer for about ?‚¬350!

I've often wondered how much it would cost to build a model from scratch, suitable for mass production. I suppose you're looking about five figures before you've even turned any moulds out.

I believe one way 3d moulds are used is the 3d print is used to make a negative mould, which then makes a positive part, which is then cleaned up and used. I have a feeling some go through two or three positive/negative stages before the final thing is produced! Then again, that's probably mainly if you were to be producing a final mould for injection moulding thousands of them.

Ah Blender. I've not used that in a while! I might have to play again. Thanks

I'm very intrigued by this. What CAD software did you use by the way?

Don't forget your local reference library.

Some years ago I managed to get copies of full plans of the area around the local station, including the track (not sure how accurate it was mind). The archivists are always happy to help find stuff out. Keep meaning to go back and see what they've got now.

(Another reason to do this of course is that short of a chemistry exercise you can't solder to the metal blocks on the chassis, so it eliminates another weak point).

That being my overriding concern. I think I might give it a whirl. I've got some nice fine wire suitable for it. I'll let you know how I get on.

I converted a GraFar Class 168 yesterday and it worked fine. However, I was wondering if it's worthwhile making a slight modification to the power pickup. Out of the box it uses the little copper arms to contact with the main block. I've soldered the power feeds for the DCC module to the top of these blocks (having roughed them up a bit). However, one of them came adrift once and I don't really hold out much hope for it long term. I wasn't too keen on running the feed wires around the screw as there's a lot of paint there to try and clean up to get a good contact.

I'm wondering if it's worthwhile running a couple of small wires between the bogie pickups, then joining the DCC controller to that, totally bypassing the ballast blocks entirely. Surely they add a fair bit of resistance? Or maybe they're meant to! I'm just curious as to if it's worthwhile. I think it might make things more reliable overall.

Many thanks Jo.

 

I can't fathom out the reasoning behind all the "jazzy" liveries we see nowadays. No sense of quality in any of them, except that used by the late GNER.

 

The Cl.70, as someone remarked earlier, needs strong horizontal lines to complement the shape of the machine. Too many fussy curves just don't work.....

Ah yes, but you can just bet the 'swirlies' were cooked up by some designer because it's 'dynamic' and 'flowing'.

Or some BS like that.

They look much nicer in all the other liveries IMHO.

This guide is spot on what I wanted!

Now to get some decoders.