SNCF stephen

Wow, I enjoyed the old version of this thread but I suspect I will enjoy this one even more. I am stunned by your woodworking skills. If I was able to do things that good at the speed you have done it I would have built a few layouts by now. I will be watching with interest. Good luck.

Sorry to hear about your house. I hope that you can get back to the hobby at some point soon.

Wow, those pictures are superb and really show off the rural nature of the layout. I hope that you can get back to this at some point soon as I ws always impressed and inspired by your layouts. Although my layout is in France and yours in the UK, yours has captured that rural quietness that I want to portray. Good luck with what you are doing. Stephen

Current day preserved lines in France operate in a Freelance Manor with their own logos and colour schemes on their stock: I have to say that I do like the idea of Freelancing the design and working back stories to get the stock you like operating in the area you want. It would be relatively easy to do a Freelance design on a modern image UK based railway with the advent of the community based railway (look at the Wensleydale Railway as a good example of this). It does offer the modeller some scope for a wide variety of stock types (in fact almost anything goes...).

Thanks for the tips Nick. I used Tamiya tape but forgot to flatten the edges with a cocktail stick.

It is the first blog of the new year and I am continuing work on the SNCF X2200 railcar. I remember blogging some time ago that I really wanted to have one of these and although they are now available RTR the price tag is a little high and they have not done a modern TER livery. So after receiving a resin shell from Kintbury Jon I have got to work with motorising it and now I have just painted the main colours. I am hoping it will look a little like this: This is X2208 seen at Chateauneuf Bujaleuf station last year. To get started it was given a coat of grey primer and then a matt coat of light grey (with the idea that it will be coated in satin varnish): Then the ends were masked up to match the livery (with the odd little flares that make this simple livery a bit more complex): Once the ends were done I masked the sides and painted the windows out in Intercity Executive Grey (which is more of a grey brown): I am quite pleased with the outcome, I have had to get rid of a few bleeds but considering I am not the most skilled painter I am satisfied. Although this model has its flaws I think it will look good when it is running next to the Arnold X73500. The next job will be to dig out my old transfers and create some of my own for the Limousin area. Then it needs varnishing and finally glazing! Thanks for reading. Stephen

Wow, that office looks like it will be nicer to work in than my current office. The double desks look like table tennis tables with the partitions. As always I am really impressed with your work.

It does give this little layout that little bit of something extra. Having toned it down a bit you can almost see the trees moving in a gentle breeze. What is noticable is how much older liveries on steam locos blended in with the scenery. The coaches really stand out against the variety of greens you have used. I have to say you have done a stunning job with this!

That is a superb technique of the filler with the tin foil. Did you wait for it to dry a little first or apply and then go straight in? What brand of filler did you use?

Nice progress there, I wish I was as disciplined as yourself in getting layouts built. I'll be interested to see how you get on with the Dapol couplings. I have a few sets but have found that their performance is a bit mixed. I am thinking of trying again with magnetic tape as opposed to the Kato uncoupler units (which are unsightly) or those powerful little magnets which are far too powerful for my needs. Good luck and keep up the good work.

Good luck with this one, I will be watching with interest as the APT is one of those trains that is fascinating in both real and model form!

Hi David, Sorry I am not really much use in the calculations checking department. However I thought I would provide you with a bit of info on this chassis which I have used quite effectively in a project where I needed the length to be altered. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powered-Motorized-Chassis-Kato-11-105-/200874394995?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item2ec50c0573 Only one bogie is powered and the other one could be easily extended (or even removed and used as a separate component). I soldered wires from the existing pickups to the pickups on the bogie to get the maximum reliability. It is very lightweight. It is also very simple in design so it is easy to take apart and reassemble. The size is small so it can fit into tight spaces. The downside is that the bogies have detailing on the sides which may not be what you want for this project. Keep up the good work. Stephen

I agree that it could be motorised, I would look at making a cardon shaft from a motor housed in the main bulk of the vehicle. It is not too difficult and the cost of the Kato chassis these days makes attempting this type of exercise affordable. Alternatively you could explain this problem to whoever makes the prototype to ensure that they modify the real thing to be easier to model...