Chris Chewter

I also suggest hanging basket liner. It worked fairly well for my Tetbury layout. I think I spent £10 for a bulk purchase of liner plus £10 for a set of clippers to trim it back. I then used static grass near the running lines. That gave me enough to cover a 15ft x 3ft space.

Indeed. I've got nothing to loose, but I think Rapido will make a better job than my hamfisted attempt at soldering a brass chassis together!

Attended the final heat today as an audience member. I understand that the grand final is being recorded next week, but its a private invite only. We were requested not to post any images of the layouts on social media, which is understandable. Its also a shame because the layouts today were very nicely put together! I shall post these up when the programme goes live. However I understand that images outside the filming venue are fair game, especially as they will be familiar to anyone who has visited the Fawley Hill Estate. So whilst we wait for the grand final to be filmed, and the editing to take place, here's a few snaps to whet your appetite!

Its great news that someone has decided to make a model of these pocket panniers. However what am I going to do with this! I was going to put a 3d model on top of a brass chassis, as I thought no one would do a 16xx until the end of the next ice age. How wrong I was!

After messing around with the video clips last night, I've edited together a short video. The video has been shot from a hand held mobile phone, so isn't the best. I also think the music is probably a bit too dramatic, but I wasn't convinced that I could use the "APT Round Trip to Glasgow" music without infringing copyright, so I was a little bit stuck with the free tracks available from Youtube.

Just got back from travelling home from Crewe. A few photos of the day for those who could not join us: Steps being removed for the first time in perhaps 30 years! The scanning commences despite the drizzle! Scanning with the nose up. Up goes the drone. A view inside the cab of 006. The Pantograph. Note the aerofoils! Pleased that the power car from Coventry has found a new home. And finally, the classic Rail Riders profile. Looking forward to seeing the cloud data that the team have managed to capture. I also took some video on the iPhone. I just need to edit it together and I'll post it once I'm done.

I suggest you email Dave at info@djmodels.co.uk as per post 719 and see what he says!

I was trying to find a donor pug, when I decided to check whether a Peckett would do. Amazingly the W4 Peckett had the same wheelbase and wheel diameter as an Avonside. All I need to do now is wait for the next Hornby Peckett release to find one to chop about!

The 3D print arrived from Shapeways yesterday. Today I've managed to unpack it and compare it against the Trojan cut-n-shut, and the IR Society website. You'll notice that there is no backhead, but that's probably to do with the motor which completely obscures this area. Also, the rear of the cab has struggled with printing and has bent outwards. The cab struts are also not straight, and after i took the photographs, got knocked off. Its no issue really as when I was inspecting the model, I was going to replace with a bit of wire. Its also devoid of rivet details, however it needs a bit of sanding to remove the print lines which would probably loose the rivet details anyway. In a crude comparison with the irsociety drawing, it compares fairly well, although it needs whistles, safety valves and a door dart. The 3d printed representation for safety valves isn't anywhere near right. I'm interested to see how it goes onto a Hornby pug chassis, as I found the boiler had to be shortened to accommodate the motor. I now need to find the time to move this project forwards. However its not an easy case to take off the pug body and affix the new, as you need to disassemble the motor housing first, so I need to find a bit of time to get this project on the go.

Hattons update now states September 2018 for Exe and Taw, with Lew becoming available in Jan/ March 2019

My entry into the pug modification thread. I wanted to see if a Hornby LMS pug and a Hornby Caledonian pug could make an Avonside ‘Trojan’ The build thread can be found here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96593-avonside-trojan-cut-n-shut/

By checking the IRS Website here: http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/48/Trojan.htm, it states that Trojan was fitted with 3ft 3in drivers. However, the LMS Pug received 3ft drivers. So if I have my calculations correct, the Hornby pug wheels are in fact 1mm too small.

Just taken a look at the CSP Model site, and studied their lovely Avonside. http://cspmodels.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=18#top_display_media However if you inspect the photos of the CSP model against the photos I've recently taken, I think the wheels from the Pug are too small! Perhaps another compromise of using the Pug chassis rather than soldering your own from a CSP kit.

Hi LNWR18901910. I'm aware that Trojan was the basis for Awdrys "Percy", however Britt Allcrofts team made something slightly different for the TV series in the 1980's, and Percy's never been the same since! Likewise, Whitehouse Films on RMWeb has made a beautiful replica of the Ffarquhar branch, but their videos seem to show a Hornby Percy running around (minus its face). I have however found this: I'm not too sure if these are Jack Taylors actual replica models, or if they are photographs of Awdrys actual locomotives. The attempt at modelling Trojan can be found at 0.11 seconds into the 25 second video. But we digress from the actual star, which is "Trojan". Unfortunately, when I visited Didcot earlier this month, she was nowhere to be seen, so hopefully she's receiving some much needed TLC!

I'm really happy about the latest flurry of interest in little Trojan. I've been meaning to take it out of its box and photograph it again to see if its really as bad as my memory serves (Hence my reluctance to take any better photos) However I was surprised when I slid it out of its box, and I didn't think it looked too bad! And the real thing for comparison: If I get the time, I need to think about replacing the door dart. You'll also notice that the handrails and nameplates are wrong, but given that the cab roof is also too short, I decided that life was too short and I had other projects I wanted to get on with! There's a bit of fiddling and detailing that this wee beastie could benefit from, if I feel so inclined. On another matter, I have been meaning to revive this thread because of a recent discovery: Yes, you too could own your own 3D printed Trojan, and hopefully soon, so will I. I've just placed an order for one, as I'm fascinated to see how the two compare. Once its arrived from the Netherlands where Shapeways are based, I'll post an update.

Same here about the lack of invoice. Been checking my inbox and junk mail but nothing as yet. DToS have confirmed that I have placed an order, but no invoice received.

Re removing the cab roof, the whistles pull forward but you do not pull them out completely. Remove the coal load by levering under the small hole, and remove the two screws. The roof and cab back head should then lift out as a singular piece. Hopefully the attached photo gives you a few clues.

Spent some of my evening playing around with the camera to see how the layout looked on video, You may also notice that a few little folk have turned up from the Modelu range! Its certainly been interesting as it shows that things still look a bit bare in places. Nothing a few bushes won't solve!

Station sign has arrived from Scale Model Scenery. I just need to work out how to put it together!

Apparently a picture is worth a thousand words. How about four: It still needs a hoover!

Unfortunately, the space where I have the railway set up is used by the family to store other things. As a result, sometimes things get damaged. Today I found that some of the fencing had been knocked off which is a bit of a pain. However as the end is unprotected, I only have myself to blame! Nothing a bit of ply can't solve! I also received a knock on the door and the postman thrust a mysterious box in my face. I had decided to spend this months model railway budget on telegraph poles from Express Models, but didn't expect them to arrive so fast, and very nice they look too! I had heard they were good, but the photos on their website don't do them justice. Very pleased that I didn't skimp on buying cheapo plastic poles. Looking forward to getting them dotted around the layout!

Feeling a little fussy, I decided that one in the trees in the last update looked a little puny, with a tiny trunk and massive foliage making it look a little unbelievable. So off it came to be replaced by a bigger brother. Also, the trees continue to march down the layout. Things are certainly starting to look leafy! I also need to find a safe way to vacuum clean the layout without destroying the family hoover. The scots pines appear to have shed some of their greenery.

After an application of mattcote to the roof of the pre-fab, it still looked too shiny. The photograph above gives the roof almost a grey shade, so I decided to repaint the roof in matt slate grey, which seems to have improved things. if I can find a thin strip of timber, I need to put a fascia below the roof and attach the guttering. Still lots to do like touching up on the trees where pieces of plaster have spalled away from the trunks. Currently they aren't glued into position to allow for their removal and a bit of repair before they are finally glued into position.

Sadly not so pleased with the pre-fab: And the original prefab photo the models based on for comparison. I can’t decide whether I’m just being fussy, or if it’s the glossy roof, or the wonky battens. Ive applied some matt varnish to the roof and we’ll see if that works, otherwise it’ll need to be repainted.

Cottages in their new position. (I haven't forgotten the chimneys. They are ready to be painted and added on shortly.)