RandyWales

I paid a visit to Maplin with my pennies earlier today, and I can report that I am very pleased with this cutter, especially at the price. I have just made clean 45 degree cuts in 2cm wide 80 thou Plastikard strips as a test. Thinner 'kard was a breeze... from now on, all my window frames will be square.. I just hope that my window cutouts are too.... Minor (very) work with a file or emery may be needed for those who demand perfection, Other angles are marked on the flatbed, but maintaining the exact same angle for subsequent cuts will probably be more difficult due to slippage. However, I think a consistent 45 degree cut using the stock plate is assured.I would think modellers will tend to use the 45 degree cut most of the time. One other observation... The blade is quite sharp (but not as sharp as a Stanley blade) so care will be needed if fingertips are to remain intact.... If the blade does lose it's sharpness, it should be possible to use a fine sharpening stone, or maybe just throw the whole tool away and buy another one :-) Randall

Remembering to take a very deep breath first (or preferably do it outside)...Randall

......Fill the gap with Milliput and scribe it! My suggestion is to infill ALL the block joints with DAS (which will improve the finished appearance of the yard no end), and then work at making the joint between the sheets more or less invisible by carefully scraping away at the DAS in the area of the join, rather than use Miliput which has to be filed quite vigorously... By the way, I enlarged the image and it seems to me that join at the front edge is already almost invisible. Can't you work on getting the rest of the join to match? Randall

I had the privilege of viewing Geoff's work magnified by my close-focus binoculars at the Cardiff exhibition earlier this year, and I tell you...what a treat that was! Even Geoff's own reaction was to say, tongue in cheek "Wow, I am good, aren't I?" Not even publication standard photographs come anywhere near to equalling the joy of seeing exquisite models close up and in 3D. Randall

Hi Rod.... I've used the same solution for the hidden sidings on my 4mm Costleigh layout.... I didn't have the confidence/skills to use electronic train detection, and as I already owned a miniature colour camera bought for the Maenol Mine 7mm micro, I went out and bought a Swann CCTV monitor that has two camera inputs, so I can now switch back and forth beween images of either end of the hidden sidings. Works a treat... about an hour to set up, and no complex electronics. I'd advise anyone to think about CCTV for out-of-sight areas. Your images really show how effective they are.... congrats. Randall

As per everyone else, plus.... Signal boxes, semaphore signals, telegraph poles - decaying infrastructure, but infrastructure nonetheless. Less weeds/overgrowth at trackside Sidings... 'High speed' (75mph+) with my head stuck out of the droplight window...the sounds, the smells, the sights, the motion. Being able to travel with compartment windows open... Surround sound (windows open) transition over pointwork at high speed. Wheel on rail sounds pre welded rail.... Sitting behind the driver on a DMU. Pints of Bass in the Traveller's Fayre bar/waiting room between trains. Fanfold timetables from the Travel Centre... Mystery trips, cheap Rail Rover tickets... Following the Swans by rail.... Luggage rack kip on the 'Paper Train' return from the Led Zeppelin concert at Earls Court. Blocked, overflowing toilets sloshing around while trying to pee... Not neccesarily BR Blue memories per se, but.... it's what I fondly look back on My modelling started off by emulating what I was seeing in the magazines - with steam locos running on branch lines with green fields, but that all seemed so detached from the real railways of the time. I enjoy my modelling so much more now. Randall

Hi Steve... I take it you mean the photo displayed alongside the thread in the thread-list? Like in the Layouts subforum? It's straightforward there.... just click on the existing image and select another one. Not sure it's been enabled on this subforum... Randall

I've just applied a coat of Klear to one of my (pre-painted) test pieces... Will report back... Randall

Hi Chaz....I've just posted the method on my thread.... You can work DAS into pre-painted brickwork....you can touch it up before applying the final wash if necessary... Hmmm...I wonder if a seal using Johnsons's Klear would stop you taking off too much paint? Randall

Hi Chaz.... I apologise for, as you said, potentially causing you lots of work! To my mind, what you've done with your brickwork so far would satisfy me - looks fine to me, as it's all to the same very high standard. It's just that I was 'lucky' that an experiment with DAS paid off. I am still experimenting with the technique and it's application in 7mm, so it's a case of hoping that my luck holds. I'm using Slaters bricks, and if I'm not mistaken, yours are SouthEast Finecast? That shows my inexperience in 7mm, as I would have gone down that road for sure, had I been aware of 7mm Finecast. The reason for that is the bricks are much better defined than Slaters, which potentially gives the DAS much more of a purchase area in the mortar courses. Before you commit to using DAS, knock up a test piece ready painted. I'll try to explain how it's done on my thread, and maybe you can surprise yourself too. I just hope you don't come running after me if it goes awry. Randall

Hi again... I've just returned from a really good outing to the Cardiff exhibition. I was very impressed by Naturol's Sanatorium Road. He was running around very stressed when the show opened because his DCC Controller failed to work. I'll let him fill in the details, suffice to say that Paul and his mate Steve had to operate with the controller virutally hidden away underneath one end of the layout. I'd also wager that Paul will need a pint or three tonight...He was giving Steve detailed operating instructions in step-by-step-by-step, button-by-button-by-button broadcast proclamations. You could sense the anxiety of a first outing. If he still has a voice after today.... To say that I am impressed with Paul's new layout is a massive understatement - I spent an age watching the movements. I don't think he'd mind me saying that the layout hasn't got detail at the microscopic level, but what it has got is atmospheric detail in abundance. Of special note are the many excellent (hand-built) Infrastructure vehicles - they looked superb under close scrutiny through the lenses of my Papillio binoculars. Another layout I was very impressed with was the Scalefour Allt y Graban Road by Bernie Baker. It is a simple layout in concept, having a slightly inclined double track mainline along the front, with a couple of sidings to the rear, but it captured the mood of a small yard to perfection. Watching the trains go by through the binoculars was amazing... I went back time and time again to drink it all in. The highest compliment I could pay would be to say that this is a layout I’d love to own. I began by feeling slightly self conscious using the Papillio binoculars at such a large exhibition, However, I handed them over to many operators and spectators for a trial, and everyone who tried them was very surprised and highly impressed by the realism. The esteemed Geoff Kent was also expressed astonishment when he viewed some of his own superb buildings through the binoculars. The only downside of the day... The dick-h3ad representing the O-Gauge Guild was obnoxiously rude to me calling me a sad individual when I tried to help an elderly gentleman with poor vision who was struggling to examine the motion on a static ‘’O-Gauge” steam locomotive on a rolling road. He was using a hand-held magnifying glass. I got him to try using the binoculars, but as his wife explained, he had very limited vision. He appreciated me trying to help, but it was to no avail. Randall Edited to increase the Font size and add photos

Hi again... Cardiff exhibition this Saturday and Sunday I'll be there for a good few hours on Saturday. Hope to see many of you there. regards Randall

Trust Brendan...please trust him. (I have a vested interest - I couldn't get to the Wembley play-off because of oncall, but I had £50 on at 66/1 to win 4-2....nice) There is too much short-term'ism these days....change takes time, but those brave enough to make change prevail in the end. The style he is trying to introduce is a step-change away from what you are used-to. "King Kenny" wasted an absolute fortune on his signings, and that means Brendan has had to reign back a bit. From what I've seen, Liverpool's players seem to appreciate the philosophy, but as good as they are, they still need time to adapt. There again, Michael Laudrup appears to be taking the Swans to a new level... so maybe Brendan should take a leaf out of his book and not look for "possession at all costs". Justice will now be done for the 96. Randall ps Joe Allen is a gem... adulation forthcoming...mark my words

What a bummer, Paul.... Discount parking in the multi on a Sunday, but watch out for the nails... Glad you appreciated the bino's.... Tell the truth though! Your first remark began with the letter "F"..... Randall

Hi again.... Saw this thread this morning, and popped along to the venue with Mrs RW. I took my Pentax Papilio binoculars along for their first exhibition "test run". Introduced myself to Naturol and we had a good chat... He took up my offer to look at his Castle Works layout through the binoculars, and I think he was hugely impressed. I'll let him give his own account later, suffice to say they're on his Christmas wish-list already. Associated binocular threads are here: 1. http://www.rmweb.co....th-bincoculars/ 2. http://www.rmweb.co....gh/page__st__25 The exhibition seemed very popular with the children, and I saw several parents making train-related purchases on the back of it. From a personal point of view, it was good to see an exhibition in Swansea. It's been much too long since the last one. South West Wales modellers need to rise up and put on a show - the venue is ideal. (I would volunteer if circumstances allowed - on call commitments prevail), Randall

Hi all... This one has been posted previously on the Maenol Mine thread... Yours truly on a site visit. Randall

Sorry about the initial strapline, I realise that it's a waste of a mouseclick. It's the result of having to find my way around after being offline for so long.......... I've visited RMweb many times in recent weeks, bringing myself up to speed....I'd say it's like trying to get back into a Soap like Corrie if you miss several episodes. Costleigh (and it's partner-in-crime, Cheapside) IS under development again. My modelling attention span is weak, and I can go full pelt for a period, then rapidly lose interest. I'm in one of my productive spells again at the moment. I've almost completed the civil engineering at Cheapside (Wills brickwork) and will try to get something online in a few days. Being unable to link to the old RMweb site means some of my blog links are redundant, so I may have to re-post some content to give members an idea of the Costleigh concept. Here's a link to my layout topic....Costleigh Randall

Coming soon, with a bit of a tail wind....

An image of the derelict Maenol Mine Black Hole - nicknamed as such by the surface workers in order to keep kids away from the dangerous workings. Local legend has it that this is where the devil himself urinates. Kids never went near....

Ha ha ha! Yep!... and you should have seen me kangaroo hopping away when the foreman shouted "Oy!" Or was it "Oi"? Big bu**er he was too! All of 45mm! Randall

This photo of yours truly was taken on a research visit to Maenol Mine back in the day....