Kylestrome

That 16T Steel Slope-Sided Mineral Wagon looks a bit luxurious! And they never painted them maroon either ...

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Adam, thanks for your input. On my wagon the problem is exacerbated by using brass angle for the uprights. I've now tweaked the top rail a bit to make it a bit straighter. On the layout, and that's what is important to me, it's hardly noticeable. I still have to put lamp brackets and vac pipes on, so I'll have a go at headstock extensions while I'm at it. David

That's almost impossible to avoid, if you are replacing them with wire, because you have to drill the holes so close to the edge of the headstocks. I you keep the top rail straight you end up with the verticals being at an angle. It's one of those compromises we small scale modellers have to live with. I've seen your Mermaid and have taken notes. David

Nope. There are two types of latch on the etch. I use the one, with a hole at both ends, which you bend round and fill with solder. I prefer these because the solder adds a little bit of weight to help it drop onto the hook. David

My first encounter with a Cambrian ballast wagon kit did not end well. When I pulverised my almost completed Dogfish with a hammer, I considered it an act of kindness to end its suffering. It had already undergone several tweaks to somehow make it square and sturdy, but when the final pieces couldn’t be fitted any near where they were supposed to go, I reached the tipping point where anger overcame patience. Still, the experience taught me a lot and I was determined to approach the Catfish in a totally different way namely, as an aid to scratch-building. The main problem with these kits, as I’m sure many of you already know, is that the chassis sub-frame is moulded with angles where there should be right angles, presumably to aid mould release. This makes accurate assembly of the side frames and headstocks nigh-on impossible and extremely weak at best. To overcome this problem I have resorted to using Evergreen 2mm x 3.2mm polystyrene strip to replace the kit’s internal chassis frame. In the end, only the solebars, headstocks, hopper and a couple of the stanchion pieces were used from the kit. Assorted wire, metal T-section and polystyrene strip has replaced the rest as well as etched operating wheels from Stenson Models and an Airfix tank wagon vacuum cylinder. This view shows up the subtle kink I had to put in the top handrail in order to get things lined up as best I could. In the the hopper there's a load of steel balls for extra weight. After painting, these will be covered by ballast. Now, I’m quite looking forward to getting to grips with a mermaid ... David

Thanks for those links, Andy. I've also found this one, which shows Fat Controller's points very well: https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brbogiebolsterddavis/h3431000f#h25ed248d David

Although I have not updated this thread for a while, the wagon fleet for Kinlochmore is steadily being added to. At the moment, I have about 25 wagons at various stages of completion. One of these is the Bogie Bolster E, that started of as a Cambrian Turbot kit, which just requires painting and detailing with chains and shackles. The load consists of Evergreen ‘H’ section strips with lead weights concealed inside. The load securing rings are twisted 10 amp fuse wire. An underside view showing the two screws I use to stabilize one bogie to prevent wobble. Buffers made on the lathe and an extra wide loop for the Dingham coupling. The next stage is painting (obviously) but I'm not sure what colour to paint the steel girders. I'm assuming they would be used in the construction industry, so would they be painted or primed in some way? I still need to do some research. David

Congratulations, you've passed the signwriters exam with flying colours! I'd be interested to know how you managed to make the mask, assuming you airbrushed it. David

Your mock-up gives the impression of perspective as seen through an ultra-wide camera lens. I can imagine that there will be a certain viewpoint where you will have the feeling of actually being inside the the train shed. Happy modelling. David

Avoiding dust was one of my prime concerns before I built my layout, so I designed its construction with that in mind. My end-to-end semi-permanent layout is fully boxed in. I have high backscenes and a full length lighting fascia, across the front, onto which I've laid removable top boards. The front is sealed by two large panels of clear acrylic sheet that are removed for operating sessions. These have small holes along the top edges which allow them to hang on cheese head screws located on the lighting unit. The lower edges are held shut by glued on magnets . The fiddle yards, at each end of the layout, have removable covers. David

There are ...

Maybe monkeys would manage better: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-15060310 After Shakespeare, a list of Class 37s should be a piece of cake (or a ripe banana?).

While we're on the subject of wheels (sort of) was it ever mentioned whether the 37s would be easily convertible to wider gauges, ie. EM & P4? TIA, David

All my focus stacked images are taken with a similar camera and the same software. I've noticed that sometimes it's necessary to try alternative stacking methods (ie. Method A, B or C) within Helicon Focus to get the best results and avoid artifacts. Problems tend to occur when foreground elements are a long way in front of the background, as is the case with the chimney and dome in your photo. David

Thanks. That simplifies things considerably.

I'm not sure where the 'straight banana' thing comes from (maybe fake news?). I've just bought some of the curliest bananas I've ever seen, here in Germany.

You need to make the cut angle the same on the top and bottom pieces. Here is a greatly exaggerated example:

And, if you do that, which customs channel are you going to go through when you return to the UK?

It's nice to see such optimism in the face of adversity.

It would be interesting to know how many people have been involved with the layout in total. It must be quite a number by now. David

That is a thing of beauty and a first class example of the medium being used to produce something that can't easily be made by hand. I can't see any distortions. David

One thing that I would suggest, is to move the 'crossover' points, leading to the headshunt, further to the right in order to increase the length of the headshunt to the maximum possible. David

That was what I was hoping. However, The shop sent it in January by DHL Express which has probably put a spanner in the works. There is also the question of returns. If I wanted to return this item (not that I'm going to), I will have paid the extra fee with, presumably, no chance of a refund. This will probably be the last item I'll be ordering from the UK for a while. David

Doh! I've just discovered the "Notifications Settings" (by klicking the bell icon) so I've answered my own question. If only all other problems were so easy to solve ...