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Hi Tim, Being an 0.4mm bit I think it's probably best to kindly ask the supplier for another casting. Were you using a pillar drill? also when using small bits I personally use a light machine oil as the slightest snatch and they will break. Martyn.

Hi Phil or John, Will you be attending the Telford O gauge show in September? Regards, Martyn.

Oh, I thought they were back in business, I'm sure someone brought some rail from the new owners the other day. I hope so as I want to buy some of their items at Telford in September. Martyn.

Hi Michael, I'm not sure what C&L finescale now sell, I did use one of their templates a while back but that was for a single outside slip and all their templates are set at 32mm. Templates at 32mm are fine if you build to 31.5mm you can fine tune without any grief, I build to 31.5 mm standards. If no joy with C&L then you need one of the guys on here that have mastered Templot to do one for you. HTH, Martyn.

Hi, The footbridge looks great, is it actually based on a real one ? All the best, Martyn.

That's correct, Martyn.

Hi Peter, I have laid my track on a rubber mat, and to be honest I don't know why I bothered. If I was starting again I would fix the track direct to the baseboards, I would possibly use a thin section of cork if I was portraying the mainline but otherwise I wouldn't bother. Also as soon as you glue down the ballast it locks it all solid, so you loose any sound deadening you might of had. Martyn.

Ahh, I have another cunning plan up my sleeve to prevent the above happening. Believe it or not one of the main parts I will be using comes from an old standard lamp, all will be revealed in good time. Regards, Martyn.

Hi Simon, Wow that is some engineering, and the thread itself makes a good read. As for the lifting section, mine will be shall we say a budget version. Think of the comedy clip in Only Fools and Horses when Del Boy goes to lean on the serving hatch, we that's the style of hatch I will be aiming for . Regards, Martyn.

Hi Guys, Well we had an enjoyable day at Goodwood on Saturday and I was spoilt for choice as to what car to buy, it was either old school. Or something a bit newer. Anyway back in the real world, today I managed to build the last baseboard which just needs the plywood top fixed on and then it's just a case of working out how to build the lifting section. Regards, Martyn.

Hi Dave, Thank you for the kind compliments, if I can get my layout to look half as good as yours I would be happy : ) As for the greenery, I have already been sorely tempted a few times to add a little colour to what is at present quite a drab landscape. But it's good to know it is one of the more enjoyable parts of the hobby, I'm sure it rates above Ballasting! Hopefully I will find the time to build the last baseboard and lifting hatch this weekend, I have tomorrow free as well which is an added bonus. Just up the road from where I live this weekend, is the Festival of Speed at Goodwood. I will pop up there on Saturday for a few hours but the short trip is always a nightmare as all the roads become gridlocked. Even the short cuts only us locals know are just as bad, but being a bit of a petrolhead I still find it worth the hassle. Anyway hopefully by late Sunday I might have some update to post up on here, fingers crossed. All the best, Martyn.

Sorry Chaps, My post vanished because I realised I was talking rubbish , it's been a long day...... Martyn.

Well after a quick look around £190 seems the going rate for an RSU nowadays, crumbs makes me feel old. At one time there was a thread of how to build your own! But I remember a lot of people saying how dangerous that could be so we won't go there. Martyn.

Mine came from Fourtrack Models, at the time I think it was around £110, but we are talking a long time ago. I'm not sure but I think Fourtrack no longer trades or it could be what is now or was London road models. I will go and do some research and report back. Martyn.

I would thoroughly recommend an RSU, one of my better buys. I use mine with C&L's 188 degree solder paste, it keeps all the work clean and it's like having another hand as the probe holds the work in place, so no more burnt fingers, bargain..... Martyn.

Oh, and I treated myself to one of these, although it will be a while yet before any greenery appears.... Martyn.

Hi Guys, Over the weekend us locals avoid the local beaches like the plague, we leave it to the day trippers to burn themselves to a crisp, drop all their litter and broken bottles, etc. Then once they have cleared off home we all come out and clean up the beaches and watch the sun go down over a nice glass or two, bliss. Right end of rant, so I thought how could I better spend the time than to wire up the last of the point motors, there are 19 turnouts in all on Church Norton and below are the last 12. I like to wire the motors through choc blocks for ease of use, I find it easier to fit the motors this way and it saves juggling around with a hot soldering iron under the baseboards. A bit of a boring picture but hopefully it explains my method. Regards, Martyn.

My little old Alfa Sud was a lively little motor that handled like a dream. It was just a shame that I reckon over 70% of the body was rust !! Martyn.

I use to sign passports for my close friends, and I had the ordinary rank of being a Fire fighter although this title also came under being a civil servant. Martyn.

Thank you for the compliments Richard, with soldering, less is more. Regards, Martyn.

Hi Richard, Right I'm with you now, memories not that good nowadays. Excuse the picture quality and the cruel close up, but hopefully the photos will explain themselves. In your picture above, the first step on the left is the one fitted below and it fits in to the sole bar and the little up stand is a bracket to support the step. And the next type does roughly the same but only fits halfway back into the sole bar. Hope this is of some help. Martyn.

Hi Richard, I am not quite sure of what hook you mean? As you can see my Fruit D is still waiting for its turn through the paint shop, here are a couple of pictures for you, there's one of each side and one in general. I hope they are of some help, if you need any different angles give us a shout. If I remember rightly I did not fit the steps until last as they can be pretty vulnerable. Regards, Martyn.

Great video, on another subject can you tell me where the lever frame came from which you can see at about 1.20 All the best, Martyn.

Hi John, Not quite the same van, but I built this one a few years ago and sprayed it in a grotty crimson. Martyn.

Hi Peter, I have tried latex myself, and the two downsides I didn't like were the smell of dead fish, ok the smell goes off as it cures. And if you ever need to drill down through the stuff? It curls around the drill bit and pull up the ballast/underlay in the local area, no good if you need to fit more droppers etc. Just my observations, Martyn.