SNCF stephen

Thanks for the well wishes Alcazar. I hope your chest/throat gets better soon. I too long for the days when it was a simple 3 day infection. I spoke to the doctor this morning and he says its going to be another 2 weeks off work (and therefore, modelling). Could be longer... I might see if I can make some trees cos at least that uses PVA glue.

Unfortunately there has been very little in the way of progress since the last blog, however most of this is down to me being ill for the past 4 weeks. I have some sort of lung problem that the doctors are scratching their heads over and some of the next few stages of what I would like to model include the use of liquid cement and I really do not wish to endure the wrath of my lungs again. I find that I have moods that last a few months where I want to do some modelling and one of these moods coincided with the start of the illness so I have been held back. However in an attempt to try and keep me going and push myself on for when I am feeling better I thought that another list was in order to sort out the layout. - add more scatter material to the layout to give it better colour (this was on the previous list, I have never been satisifed with the deepness of the green I layed down). - start the roof section of the scratchbuilt building (this has been going on for way too long now!). - start scratchbuilding a second building using a different technique (suggestions would be gratefully received). - smarten up the road (especially around the town). - add the 3 new SAI buildings that I received for Christmas (this will require an extension to the road and some digging out of the modrock...). - thorough clean of the railheads. - glue the platforms down. - add final layers of ballast. - add scatter to the goods yard area. - paint any areas that are left exposed. - add more trees (I have the materials but have just not done it yet). - consider what I want to do with decorating the extension section. So thats my list at the moment. I am looking for a web site that is not too difficult to navigate that sells the Mabar Railcar (not that I can afford one right now...). I am pleased that Model Rail International is back on the scene, I hope it is developed further. If anyone has read all the way down to here then thanks, one thing I would really like to hear about is scratchbuilding structures on layours (especially in N). I have a book and a few articles on the subject but the way I am doing it seems as though it takes forever (using 2 layers of 40 thou plasticard as the basis for the walls with a patterned layer of plasticard as the external wall just seems far too time consuming). I am keen to know if there are shortcuts for using plasticard or if trying modelling card is an easier "first step" for a novice like me. Many thanks and, health permitting, some pictures for you soon.

Hi Grahame A great idea and I am interested in obtaining a copy. Have you thought about using paypal as a way for people to purchase any pay for a copy online? If you have an account then all you need to do is invoice people who express an interest in the magazine for the amount. Do I need to PM you with an order? Thanks. Stephen

Excellent cab shape. IT really looks fantastic. Have you ever considered doing the Royal Train to go with your class 67?

Or was the Beetle put there by yobs hell bent on causing disruption?

THanks for getting back to me about that. I will give it some thought when I am next buying track...

Wow, this topic has really given me some pointers for my future projects. I am really impressed with the track that you are using. Do you know where I can find out more about it? Thanks

I like the HST NMT but I always preferred the loco hauled versions of those trains. If you really wanted a challenge I suppose you could have a go at an N Gauge version of the APT??? That would certainly get everyone's attention!

Hey David, forgive me if I am wrong, but didn't you construct your own 350 for the predecessor layout to RingRoadWCML? Is this a mk2 upgraded version? I am keen to see how this progresses. If memory serves me right then your last one was excellent.

Good progress. I like the pictures of the stock in the earlier pictures. I think that getting the stock onto the layout helps to visualise what it might eventually look like.

Well in my last blog I wanted to do a few smaller lower budget jobs on the layout. However time got the better of me and I have so far only managed to do a little bit on the building I am in the process of constructing. I have made the 4th wall for the building. I am not very impressed with my finish and I was so dismayed with the way the quoins lined up that I used a bit of polly filla to sort out the gap (which actually seems to have done the job, I just need to sand it a bit before painting!). Still I have started painting the interior black today and fixed the wall in place. I will start on the roof in the next few weeks when time permits. Until then I will try and keep moving forward with the project! For Christmas my father was kind enough to buy an Oxford Die Cast Bedford OB. I thought it would be nice to have a picture of it on the layout. I am imagining it is on a very very long distance excusion! Then the bus went down the road to the halt and visited the new housing development by the halt. These new houses are from a SAI kit that I was given for Christmas. I am in two minds as to whether I should use these to replace the faller houses in the main village or have them create a second smaller village in this part of the layout. Finally here is a snap of the railcar by the tunnel. Above it the sawmill is looking a bit better with the stone road laid around the site. I am going to try and concentrate on finishing the building I am constructing. I am also looking into designing the next building to screatchbuild. I am looking to design it in a simpler way so that I can hone some of the techniques I am trying. I hope you all have a happy new year if I don't get to blog before then!

Hello everyone. Well I wish I had some more pictures to show you all but unfortunately I do not have any for today. Basically at this time of year the Christmas Presents for my friends and family have had to be purchased which has left no money for any further work on the layout. However I do have some time off so in the next few days I hope to be working on the following low budget improvements to the layout (and for some reason when I post a list of stuff to do on here it actually helps me get it done...): Making the grass scatter a lighter colour. I was not satisfied with how dark the colours of the grass are. From my pictures of the area the grass is usually a lot brighter, so I shall be adding some lighter colours to make it follow the real life prototype. Finish the front of the building. I have cut the holes for the windows and doors but I am absolutely petrified I might make one of them the wrong size and as such they are still not cut to full size. I have to admit to lacking confidence in cutting them to the right size (I am not too accurate with my clumsy hands!). Still I might just push on and do it. Once that is done I can paint the inside, add the interior floor, paint that black (so that no light will escape when I install lighting...) and then laminate and attach the final wall to the building. Then I need to start on the roof! Make the track run reliably. I believe that some PVA glue from the ballasting is preventing the track from running as well as it could. Therefore I am going to have a proper go at cleaning the track (and scraping it with a small screwdriver where necessary). Add some of the extra bits of scatter where required. This is mainly the freight yard and the engine shed areas. Although the small station halt could do with some extra scatter. I would do some more but my father in law went to France recently and told me that Santa Claus may be bringing some stuff that would assist in the layouts construction. Therefore I believe that after Christmas there could be some activity. But until then I will try and keep going at these small projects and hopefully post some pictures in the next few days. One thing that I have devised in the past few weeks is a track plan for a new layout. It would be an N gauge test track for running in locomotives and would be constructed on a 4x2 board. It would have 2 sides. One would be for showing off the British Rolling stock and the other would be for trams (based on 1940's America in the snow, although I am hoping it would look like a lot of other places in the world...). I am not sure whether to do both sides in the snow. I might do that as I wont be breaking the board into 2 with a giant scenic break, I would be doing it through positioning of the buildings. I will post a track plan once I have developed the idea a little further.

I try and comment on the blogs I enjoy just as I would have done in the old forum with a topic. In a similar way I also try and rate the blogs I enjoy. However there will be some members who just wish to read what has been written (there is nothing wrong with that though in the slightest) and the fact that the comments are on a separate page means that it is slightly harder to spark debate. I know it is not much effort to click on a link to see what other people have commented or to make a comment about a blog but my findings in the past are that if it requires effort i.e. a click, then it wont be done as often. Still I like the new format and I am sure over time more comments will be made. I must also applaud your blogging on the layouts. I have always kept a keen eye on your projects and to have them in one place is good, so at least from me you can rest assured that it is not your content causing the lack of comments.

I can imagine when the car was originally set alight that services on the line would have been suspended for a while. Those pesky kids....

Hi David. You know about my troubles with the Wrexham and Shropshire box set that I recently purchased, but I was shocked at the service I got after returning it. It was absolutely less than satisfactory. I (rather foolishly) purchased mine direct from Dapol (and therefore paid over the odds for it!!!) and when the loco just failed to move... THen when I return it with a letter explaining my disatisfaction and that I would like a refund for the postage costs that I incurred in returning the items, I just get a replacement train set. They ended up sending me back the cheque separately after I had to complain to them via phone. They didn't really seem that bothered that I had had to wait 4 weeks to get a working train and had to make the effort to return it via post. I agree with the fact that the detail is spectacular and I applaud all the work that Dapol have done in moving the N gauge scene forward, but simple things like making sure that customers get a decent working model, responding to their concerns and making them feel valued thing are all important factors in keeping a business viable.

Those Trolleys look brilliant. Its almost a shame you don't have a canal that you could populate with them...

I know its hardly the most impressive blog entry but I put another wall on my first scratchbuilt building today. I did this one slightly different to the other 2 walls in that I added the supporting wall first and then added the outer shell wall and Quoins. I added the front piece to the other 3 walls to see what it would look like. I will be cutting out the windows and doors on this in the next week or so. Once the windows and doors are stuck to the front I will then attach this final piece and some internal strengtheners (which will also support the roof). The buidling I am trying to emulate is this one which I found using Google Images: My attempt is only a rough approximation of the original. For instance I have had to use other pictures from other similar buildings to get a better idea of the dimensions and the way the chimneys were set up.

Hi John, Thanks for the feedback. I will have a go at using that technique on the next corner join. I am going to take my time to try and reduce the amount of mistakes.

In the past few weeks I have been adding in a few smaller pieces of details as well as construcing different types of trees. I did have a go at making my own armatures and although it was relatively successful I think my technique could do with being refined (don't panic I did not use any of those trees covered with sea moss...). However I was very pleased with the Woodland Scenics range of tree kits that are available. I purchased a pack of the smaller sized trees and found it to be relatively stress free. There are a few trees that didn't quite make the cut and are still in a box requiring some extra work but the success rate was quite high. I have also constructed,in a modified form, a Kibri kit of a water tower. The original design was far too elaborate compared to those I had seen in France so some trimming away of the excess parts and simplifying the delivery spout was carried out. It does not look too bad. Now I am wondering whether to paint it or not? I also installed a track alongside the engine shed and the sidings and some smaller areas of grass. However a step into the unknown was taken when I decided to have a go at scratchbuilding this week. I had purchased a book about 3 or 4 weeks ago on the subject and although I am not particularly confident in my ability in this area I thought I might as well get stuck in. Today I was doing some simple walls for what will be a large house which is in the middle of a cluster of 3 buildings I intend to scratchbuild. It is the simplest and by doing some of the simpler walls I thought I would ease myself into this new technique of modelling... The walls are to have Quoins on the corners so I used some brick sheet (the kind that is probably more suitable for O gauge than N) to give the larger stones. I cut the full size walls out then the Quoins. The next thing to do was to cut out a section from the main walls that would allow the two to tessalate. To allow the walls to be a sturdy structure I used two pieces of 40 thou plasticard to back up the outer decorative section. The backing gave a decent backing for the Quoins and the wall to be married together. I next attached the two sections together and hey presto I had my first two (albeit rather simple) walls for my house. I am going to complete the simpler walls and then have a go at the more complicated structure for the front of the house. If anyone has any comments or tips I would be extremely grateful. The book I am using is good but it is focussed on one particular technique and I would appreciate hearing about others and/or tips from practical experience.

I am impressed by the leaf clearing train. I am looking forward to more blogs on your garden railway. I have designs drawn up for what I want to do next Spring but whether I get to do it or not is debatable at the moment... With your plasticard structures. Do you use a thick single sheet of plasticard cut to the correct shape or do you use the popular method of laminating 2 thinner sheets together to create a solid structure? Thanks Stephen

Hi David. I am liking the Tram, it is looking very stylish in the new livery. The OHLE is also looking very good.

Its taken long enough but I finally got the motor in the post to convert my Del Prado static model of an X3800 Picasso Autorail into a motorised and working one. I had been toying with the idea for some time and I had seen pictures on the net of it done well: and not so well: Even the poorer attempts to motorise these Del Prado body shells go for almost a ??100 on French Ebay. No wonder that the body's go for silly money on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380166594139&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT Looking at the first picture I made a rough guess that they used a Tomytec TM-08 as the chassis so I ordered one: The original body was quite low to the track so I was lucky that the bogies on the chassis were not very long: The insides of the body were pretty basic and it was not long before I discovered that I would have to do some "trimming" to get the chassis to fit as it was riding very high: I had to remove all of the lower level windows from the body as they prohibited the chassis from dropping any further: I then discovered that the chassis was fractionally too long so I trimmed the front end where the NEM coupler would go to allow it to fit snugly: Then it slid in and rested very neatly on the motor at about the right height. The Tomytec Motor runs a dream and for less than ??20 its certainly value for money. When I originally paid ??20 for the Del Prado body I thought it was expensive but I have seen them recentley go for as much as ??50 so I think that it was not so bad. I would like to reglaze the windows in the future to enhance the appearance. If I could obtain another body then I would consider building a trailer for this unit. There will be some video of this uploaded soon. Good to see RMweb back online!

Here is the new stock that came to the layout today. An SNCF shunter (ex German) made by Hobbytrain. Very well made and has a fantastic motor mechanism for such a small size. The detail is superb. Other notable new arrivals are 2 wagons (off ebay). And a carriage with internal light fittings. I just need some Autorails and I will be able to run a pretty varied service.

Well a new forum and this is my second go at writing this because I just tried to click on the attach button and it lost my last post. Anyway I am considering doing a brief summary of the previous forums topic on this layout in the international thread but for the most part I shall be keeping the old stuff on the old forum. Progress this week on the layout has been quite uplifting. I have tried a few new things. I have created a better mock up of the building I intend to scratchbuild. It has given me a better idea of the dimensions and when I get around to building the final thing I shall be using this as a guide. I have also been having a go at making my own trees. The results are not amazing but I know where I can make improvements now. I was using the method of brass wire that I wound together to create a trunk and branches. The trunk was then covered with paper and the branches and trunk painted brown with Acrylic Paint. I then left that to dry. While it was drying I painted some Lychen a darker shade of green (I bought the wrong colour...) and left that to dry also. After they were dry the lychen was attached to the wire branches with PVA glue. Although the results are not terrible, I wont be using them on my layout. I think that a better form of adding foliage to them is to use Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage. Later today I may be getting another loco so I will post some pictures on here. I am still waiting my chassis from Japan for my Picasso Railcar. When this arrives I will post some pictures of the conversion.