noiseboy72

Not a lot in it for seasoned modellers - except for perhaps the "form list" for the competitors. Good for beginners though.

So has anyone else read the magazine they brought out? Not a lot in it for seasoned modellers except the "form list" for the competitors, but looks good for those wanting to make a start in the hobby.

"Railway Challenge - Delayed Service, sponsored by Southern Trains"??

Hmm... Not so sure about that. Steve was taking quite a few shots during the filming but I think most of the layout shots will be of Season 1.

And for those that want some more background information on the show, PECO are publishing this next week: https://peco-uk.com/blogs/news/the-great-model-railway-challenge-the-book-of-the-series

I ended up sitting next to a team member from Tonbridge Railway Club at a wedding (Small world!) and discussing our experiences from Season 1 to Season 2 was quite interesting. I think this year the rules were clearer, the judging more transparent using a points system and teams much better prepared. We all knew what was expected of us and learned from the mistakes of S1. Less ambitious builds on the day and more pre-building and general preparation being the key, as well as putting a team together that worked well under pressure and didn't get too stressed about a camera being shoved in their faces! As a comparison, if you have Netflix, watch the first series of Bake Off and then the latest one. The standards are so much higher and the competition much tougher!

We did consider HO (Can't say too much just yet) American Outline, but settled in the end for OO. Bearing in mind that Peco, Hornby and Bachmann all sponsor the program to a very generous degree, the majority of models you will see will be from those manufacturers. That does give you 009, a small amount of HOe, HO and N to choose from - along with OO, so hopefully you will see some really good layouts with some creative use of stock and scenery. *Spoiler* Many of the layouts this year are much better than last series! Expect some modelling up to proper exhibition standard from a lot of teams (not ours, we just bumbled along as normal), as we all watched season 1 and worked out what was required to fit 3 years modelling into 3 days...

Radio Times are now listing the first show - https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/jm7sk8/the-great-model-railway-challenge--series-2-episode-1/ But interestingly, only as 1 hour and not 1hr 15 as the production company thought.

On30 is quite "niche", but I think you might see a few 009 and N Gauge sections this year...

Yep, we had similar issues. The balance was awful and the long coupling bar pulled the loco or carriage off the track on every turn. We eventually resorted to a barrier wagon with old large Hornby couplers and with the hook removed and hooked their wagon around this.

The rules said "Throughout all rounds of the competition, Teams should model predominantly in OO gauge" but nothing was said about scale...

It was only slightly confusing having Team Grantham - from the North East AND a team from Grantham (Muddle and Go Nowhere) in the same heat! Hopefully the audience will work it out!! This was our shot taken by Steve Flint. I gather there's a special publication dedicated to the series coming out to coincide with the transmission date.

Friday 13th September is the revised starting date.

We are team Muddle and Go Nowhere. This was the logo one of our team created. Any similarity to the Midland and Great Northern Railway logo is entirely coincidental... See us in Heat 5

It was huge fun to make. As team captain, the pre-work is more stressful than the filming, but my whole team really enjoyed the experience from start to finish. We are in heat 5, so I'll update this thread with a URL to our team website, as this has more behind the scenes info and photos. We've also found a home for the layouts and they will be on display after the heat goes out. More to follow...

As a team captain, it was great fun to make! I don't think the shot I've attached gives away too much...

Thank you. A kind soul has supplied me the information.

Hi All. I need to add a couple of points to my layout and for the life of me, cannot find the original build instructions (It was 10 years ago that I originally installed it!!) for my MERG Accessory Encoder. Would anyone have the pin out of the DB25 connector that the switching is connected to? I believe it was on Tech Bulletin TB DCC11/12. I don't really want to have to rejoin MERG just for this 1 datasheet as funds are a little tight at the moment! Many thanks in advance.

My suggestion would be to circulate cutting files only, not the print. So long as the print is done at 100%, the cut file should fit over without issue. The cutting files are compatible between machines, as the software is the same. The only change would be between A4 and A3, so a common size would need to be agreed. I must confess, I only use the older blade type, but the blase supplier mentioned on their ad that their blade fitted all mounts. I don't have an active listing to point you to at the moment, but will keep a lookout.

The maximum depth of cut is determined by the blade itself. They are all to the same spec, with a cutting face a little over 0.3mm. You are correct that the older blade design with 3 coloured caps has now been superceded by the ratchet design, but the blade is the same. You can buy just the blade itself off ebay for less than £6 each (Buy the Italian made ones, not the Chinese, it makes a big difference) and re-mount them into the blade carrier. There is no need to set single or double cutting. Without removing the cut work from the machine, check to see if the cut has gone correctly. If it needs another run through, just re-run the job. Both machines are excellent and the extra cutting size of the Silhouette is worth having if you can afford it, as will cut to the edge of A4, something the Craft Robo cannot when in print registration mode. These machines come up regularly on ebay for a good price, as scrap bookers buy them and then discover that you do need a level of technical knowledge to get the best out of them and many are not willing to invest the time. A micrometer for measuring the thickness of the material is a must if you want a decent cut and good blade life as many will simply increase the blade depth if a material is not cutting. This causes damage to the cutting mat and blunts the blades very quickly. The trick is to get the depth right and repeat the cut. Just a thought, do the cutting community want to consider a sub forum to allow us to exchange cut and print files ? I have made up cut files for a number of Charlie Connor's kits, including the Docklands Light Rail Train and a few others, plus I am working on some of the Scalescenes designs as well. Any takers ?

I am cutting windows for Cav (RBE) at the moment for some coaches he is modding. We have got the cut accuracy down to better than 0.1mm with total repeatability. By that I mean I can run the same piece through the machine a few times and the cut will be in exactly the same place to within 0.01mm! Cav makes the files in a CAD programs and imports them into the cutting program. He emails me the file and I cut them. The post office then loses them for a week before Cav gets them to check the fit... The machine to buy must have print registration reading. There was a cut price model sold by one of the home shopping channels that did not have this function. Avoid like the plague! Its has less cutting pressure and I understand poorer accuracy as well. I use a CC2200-20. This is the Craft Robo Mark 2 essentially. The upgrade to the Sillhouette gives a greater cutting pressure, but no more thickness in reality, as the blade has the same cut depth. To cut thicker materials, just run it through the machine again. I paid £90 for it, plus £7 for a new mat and £6 for a new blade.

The panel for my layout - Hopwood. It uses a Merg DCC points encoder and deocder set, plus an LS150. The panel is laser printed onto waterproof paper, so can be wiped clean with ease. There are just 4 wires from the panel, power plus DCC. The switch positions show the route set.

To set up cut lines, you import the drawing into the supplied software as a graphics file and overlay the cut lines. For simple designs, there is an auto trace feature, byt I find that a better job can be done manually. Within the package there are lines, boxes with curved corners, arcs and circles etc. With windows, I do a single panel and then cut and paste. The design is then printed with a set of registration marks. The printed sheet is then fed into the cutter and the cut begins. Watching the paper or card whizz in and out of the machine is quite mesmorizing! I have had no difficulty getting accurate cuts, but there is a learning curve. The most time consuming part of the operation is setting the cutter up for a new material, as you often need to do a few test cuts to get the depth and speed correct for optimum cutting. This is the step that lets most people down, as a search of thr Craft Robo forums will prove. Many people just feed in the design, press cut and are then unhappy with the result. If you would like to see the result, I would be more than happy to set up a cut of one of your designs. Drop me a PM and we can arrange for you to send me a file and I will feed it through the machine.

The advantages of the card cutter are repeatable results and a massive reduction in time. Everything in your post is excellent preperation for either hand cutting or whacking it through the machine. The only difference is the speed and (In my cack handed case) quality of the final product. I still have to design the artwork prior to cutting, add texture, print etc. but I then do an extra step of adding cut lines. When laminating up layers, the holes match up to within 01.mm and I can form smooth curves without any problems. Not sure if its cheating or just using modern technology to improve the end result ??

Craft Robos will cut up to 0.2mm in most osft materials. I tried a piece of plasticard, but found it took a large number of passes to cut right through. A better use is for marking out and then running around the score lines with a scalpel.