Gene

2 hours ago, 1andrew1 said:

Thanks for sharing. I think there's a typo about Flint being one mile from Liverpool (more like 21) but fundamentally an informative article.

 

I found this bit interesting. Presumably Fremont is where they're running MB Klein from now.

That article is a year old so considering the latest news from Hattons it seems doubtful anything in Fremont will be forthcoming. Unfortunately.

Gene

So wonderful to hear that Chris is still with us!

I still have fond memories from reading his articles in Airfix magazine back in the mid 1960’s, especially the ones about kitbashing the Airfix 1/76 scale Bren carrier into various Marks of light tanks.

In more recent years, once I got into model railways, my favourite and most avidly awaited magazine was Model Trains International, which never failed to arrive at my home in Canada and which I still have every issue….except for the first 16 issues sadly.

Please give Chris my best regards next you speak to him.

Gene Kruger,

Montreal,Canada

I admit it has been many years since I last stripped down and cleaned a 200 so forgive if I am in error. It seems to my memory that the needle guide ( red circle) can be removed from that piece that it is seated in and cleaned from the back....just handle it with care and a soft touch. Plus I seem to remember that the piece circled in green had some very fine holes on either side of the central hole that also needed to be cleaned.

cheers

gene

On 06/08/2019 at 01:11, sb67 said:

Good luck with your airbrushing Adrian, that's something I'd like to get the hang of. I've tried both lifecolour and Vallejo, and found them both ok,  I like Model Air as it doesn't need thinning and the Vallejo dropper bottles are dead easy to use. I've found Ultimate thinners work with pretty much all acrylics I've tried and I've always added a tiny bit of acrylic retarder to slow down the drying time of the paints.

I'd like to try Tamiya paints as they seem to have a good reputation for airbrushing.

The thing I cant quite master yet is a cleaning and working routine so that the nozzle wont block between colours and creating effects etc, and I need to practice not putting too much paint on the model as that is, in my opinion, fundamental to weathering.

I'll look forward to seeing how you get on.

Steve.

 

 

 

Steve...the important thing is to develop a cleaning system that works for you. Basically you need a system to use while painting and switching between colours to prevent tip-dry and so you can quickly switch between colours while painting. And you need to develop another system to clean your airbrush between painting sessions. 

Since Michael has pretty well described the process for cleaning between painting sessions I’ll quickly deal with cleaning during painting sessions. The main problem while painting is tip-dry, wherein acrylic paint coagulates and hardens right at the tip of the airbrush as it leaves the airbrush. This disrupts and ruins the spray pattern and then blocks the brush. Three things to do to avoid this..1) make sure your paint is properly thinned( one reason why I love Vallejo Model Air)  2) make sure your air-pressure is adjusted properly and 3) keep a small jar/container of the appropriate paint/thinner handy with some cotton buds...every few minutes dip a bud into the thinner and very gently push it into the airbrush tip and very very gently spin it to remove any paint...you want to keep the tip clean and lubed.  As far as cleaner...I was a big fan of ammonia based household window/glass cleaner because it worked wellas both a thinner and a cleaner with pretty much all acrylics, except Tamiya acrylics, it was cheap and easily available. However I have now switched to each brands proprietary cleaner/ thinner because I was told that ammonia will eventually pit some of the metals in my airbrush. 

Cheers

gene

When I started airbrushing at 13 years of age, 50 years ago, it was with enamals, Humbrol to be specific. And it was all I used until I gave up models at age 20. When I started modelling again in 2001 I of course went back to Humbrol..familiar ground. But about 15 years ago I started experimenting with acrylics, didn’t go too well....until I discovered Vallejo Model Air....I haven’t looked back. Easy to clean-up, easy to thin if necessary, no waste and covers well. Oh...and no odour.  There is a bit of a learning curve but nothing too onerous. Love the stuff!!!

Jack...I would just use a generic brown from either company and lighten or darken it as required by mixing some black or white into it. There are so many variation in colour that exactitude is not an issue.

That Bragdon product looks good.

 

Had a search around but can't find a UK supplier.

Pan Pastels at Amazon...you can buy sets of colours or individual colours. They last a very very very long time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PanPastel-Colour-Set-Extra-Colours/dp/B002JKQUTY/ref=sr_1_19_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536000543&sr=8-19-spons&keywords=Pan+pastels&psc=1

Ray - I strongly suspect that the sky is going to be a DIY paint job with torn sponge applicators - stormy skies are difficult to find.Gene, Great idea but what sort of trees - the problem is it needs to be reasonably, but not excessively, bushy, but tall enough that the lower branches will be high enough to clear the rolling stock, and being across the pond, I don't know what grows where, except in desert regions!

Or go for a classic colourful North-eastern autumn like this

BlueRail were onboard with a major manufacturer, Bachmann with their EZ App range of locomotives. That was 3 years ago but nothing since. The App part was even 'open source' so anyone could write the control part. Maybe it is being deliberately 'sat on' for commercial reasons, such things happen

Bachmann are still producing their EZ-app locos that are equipped with the Blue-Rail scaled down Bluetooth control systems.

Jack..how about an northern autumn with hardwoods either turning colours or starting to Les their leaves. Grey gloomy skies are easy to paint..just use some grey and blue acrylic mixed Willy-hilly on the back scene

Actually it can be done with 2 wires....a guy in the US built a huge,huge basement layout and powered it with just two wires connected to the track at one single point. Of course after six months he tore it down because the actual track plan was totally boring. Just because he proved it could work it is not recommended.

In todays Montreal Gazette...both CN and CP ....looks like the grain backlog story is true.

Love the weathered 70 and 45 toners.

Jack..just checked the MTI order page...unfortunately the new book still isn’t listed for purchase.

Cheers

Gene

Interesting discussion at the Club this morning about this. When I brought this subject up one of the guys, a retired aerospace engineer originally from Yorkshire immediatly responded that that a big part of the recent problems was CN trying to get the backlog of wheat and potash to the ports...apparently the bad weather this winter really slowed shipments down and caused a huge backlog of these types of products. Whereupon the now long-retired CN employee piped up to say that is exactly the cause and he explained that once a backlog occurs, even for just a few days it can take weeks and even months to correct. Funny enough he said that in his opinion he believes that CN has been taking on too much business in recent years that,when there are problems they are that much more likely to cause chaos. He also mentioned that in the days of Hunter Harrison was very careful about not over-stretching on taking on business and he would raise prices to calm the situation down. Now I honestly have no knowledge on these issues...I’m just reporting what was said for informational purposes only.

With the bluerail board you have very fine control of everything, in a lovely easier to use interface, It is not specifically aimed at the novice or toy end of the market although it can be used as such.

Sorry Dave but I have to disagree with you about your “very fine control of everything...” comment. The control with the BlueRail app is very good but nowhere near as fine as with a regular, tactile DCC controller...especially were very fine speed control is concerned. The app itself on the screen just does not allow for it compared to my NCE thumb wheel. Plus the need to look down at the screen to control anything, especially speed control, is another negative to the BlueRail system. I can control far more functions far more easily and the speed through tactile feel on my NCE controller without looking away from my train than I can with the Bluetooth app.

The one place were the Bluetooth system far outshines regular DCC is in speed-matching and consisting...but especially with speed-matching...it’s far easier,quicker and intuitive with the BlueRail system. But aside from that...I think that the Bluetooth and BlueRail developers have a lot more work to do before the system becomes more attractive to serious modellers than DCC.

I just re-installed the BlueRail control app on my phone and put my 2 Bachmann Bluetooth controlled trains on the track for a quick play with for the first time in over a year since I first bought and ran them. I figured in he intervening year BlueRail might have done some updates to the app. The App Store says the last update was 11 months ago so not sure that’s any different than when I last used it. Everything still connected and functioned seamlessly, no problems at all. And my opinions still haven’t changed...the biggest plus about the system is the very, very easy speed-matching and very easy consisting offered up by the Bluetooth system...far far simpler,quicker than via regular DCC. And the biggest drawback hasn’t changed either...sound-effects from the phone instead of the loco itself and very limited sound-files. Unless they can solve these two issues fairly quickly I don’t see BlueTooth technology ever displacing mainstream DCC for the serious modeler. I think it will remain a gimmick for the majority and an entry point for some children.

Cheers

Gene

Sorry about the upside-down pic of George’s book...I tried to fix that but it did not work.

Recieved 2 of the new SW1200RS locos by Rapido Trains. As usual the packaging and details are fantastic as are the slow-running and sound qualities. Well done Jason and the gang at Rapido!

I also received this awesome book on weathering by George Dent...only had a chance for a quick flip through it but looks great..tons of beautiful,clear photos to go with the well written text. Thanks George!

Congratulations...well deserved indeed.

I don’t know about this alive stuff. I do like the simplicity SmugMug offers for posting pics here and in other forums. Since various forums use diffrent formats and rules to post photos I also like that SmugMug makes various embedding formats available. The old Photobucket of 5,7,10 years ago was without a doubt the best for all that, usually a single mouse-click would allow one to copy the appropriate code/link for any particular forum format. It was without a doubt the quickest,simplest and most user-friendly photo-hosting/sharing site around. But those days are long gone and in my opinion SmugMug,for me,is the closest to the simplicity,variety and ease-of-use of the original Photobucket. I also like the ease and intuitiviness of how it lets me set-up and manage galleries. My second choice after SmugMug would be Flickr with Imgur running a far back third choice.

Jim...I tried the various other hosting sites and the only one that I found anywhere comparable to Photobucket as far as simplicity and usability was SmugMug. You might want to have a good look at it just in case.

Cheers

Gene

Big Jim....I have a viaduct that I would like to sell you.

But seriously, if Photobucket suddenly goes belly-up in the next year I certainly hope you have all your photos backed up somewhere else.

Just be sure to clean the tops and inside of the rails.