Zero Gravitas

I don't seem to be able to get on with Humbrol powders either, but am very happy with the MIG pigments; which seem to me to be finer, and have better adherence. I know Hobby Holidays stock them (no relationship other than satisfied customer), but I'm sure you can get them elsewhere.

This is absolutely lovely - but call me Mr. Picky if you will: I think the brake gear on the droplink side is on the wrong way round... PS: I'm more than happy to be proved wrong.

Having spent most of the last 20 years involved in the implementation of large ERP systems, likening SAP to a glorified stock control and ordering system is a bit like saying a Saturn V rocket is a glorified firework... The SAP tag-line used to be "the best-run businesses run SAP". This is true in the sense that you have to be a very well run business to have any hope of implementing any ERP system successfully - otherwise you're just going to get yourself in trouble much faster.

So it begins Because not one of the works was in a position to manufacture, then it was not possible for them so to do, and hence the past continuous subjunctive applies. So whilst it is a positive statement, from a grammatical perspective it is still describing a situation that was not possible. Z.G. (Edited for spelling, ironically)

Stan, FWIW, my father had a lens replaced just over a year ago, and exactly the same thing happened to him. However, after about 6 months the effect gradually wore off and he now perceives the same colour in each eye. Z.G.

Oh dear. We're about to go down a grammatical rabbit hole from which we may never emerge... Being really picky, in this case the sentence is written in the past continuous subjunctive tense, indicating that the condition being described is unlikely or impossible (e.g. If I were King, I would make the teaching of railway modelling compulsory in school). The conjugation of the past continuous subjunctive is: I were, you were, he/she/it were, we were, you were, they were; so I would argue that the editor was correct in this instance and it should be "none of the principal LMS works were in a position...." Right, so with that cat now firmly amongst the pigeons... Discuss :-) Best Regards, Z.G.

Hawkwind: Quark, Strangness and Charm. Every bit as good as I remember it from first hearing it in 1978. Bob Calvert's finest hour, in my opinion.

I'm of an age where I can remember Triang CKD "kits" - Completely Knocked Down" - and vividly remember my Dad and I making up a CKD EM2 about 1972. Seems to me that this could still be an interesting way to go for Hornby now: significantly less labour cost, and allow the assembler to either make up as per the box, or add/enhance details as felt appropriate.

FWIW I get these Nitrile gloves from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006FXUNMQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage They seen to be a bit stronger than others I've used, and seen to resist oil (working on car) and paint (emulsion, gloss, acrylic and enamel) pretty well.

On another thread (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/99615-transfers-for-airfix-lowmac/) , where I was asking about getting replacement transfers for an Airfix Lowmac EK, I was asked if I could give an overview of how I got the wood effect on the Lowmac deck. So here’s a worked example - it’s the floor of a Parkside Plate wagon. The equipment used is: Lifecolor acrylic weathered wood paint set Lifecolor acrylic BR unfitted freight grey (UA 818) MIG Black smoke weathering powder No. 2 round paintbrush – good condition No. 0 Filbert paintbrush – poor condition Start by giving the whole floor two coats of “Wood Cold Base Color” (sic) (UA717) from the weathered wood set with a decent quality brush, and leave to dry for 24 hours to harden off. This is important as the subsequent dry-brushing can be quite vigorous, and can remove the base layer. Guess how I know this… Then, when that’s fully dry, things do speed up a bit. Take the “Wood Warm Base Color” (UA714) from the weathered wood set, and using the grotty filbert brush, start drybrushing along the grain of the planks. Note that this is really, really, really drybrushing – if you think there’s no paint at all on the brush, there’s probably too much. . The picture below shows the effect we are looking for on part of the floor. When it’s done we should have something that looks a bit like this: There’s no need to wait before moving on to the next step – the drybrushing means the paint is dry pretty much as soon as it has been applied. So next take the “Wood Warm Light Color” (UA 715) from the weathered wood set and repeat the drybrushing, to give something that looks like this. The next step is important and takes a new colour not from the weathered wood set. I use “Lifecolor Unfitted Freight Grey” (UA818) because I’ve got some handy, but any medium grey will be OK. Generally, the older wood gets, the greyer it becomes, so this is an important step in defining how old our wood will look. So repeat the drybrushing process, but adding a bit more grey if we want older wood. I’ve gone for a not-too-old look here: As well as going grey, older wood take on silvery highlights, and these are then added by guess what? More drybrushing - this time with “Wood Cold Light Shade” (UA718) from the weathered wood set. The final drybrushing stage is then to add the darker highlights (if that makes sense) using the “Wood Warm Dark Shade” (UA713) from the weathered wood set, to give us something like this: Because this is going to be the floor of a plate wagon, I felt that a bit of pre-weathering would be appropriate, and so I’ve just worked in some MIG Black Smoke weathering powder to darken the effect, using the grotty filbert brush. And that’s it really. All the drybrushing and powder work on this floor took me about 35 mins, so it’s not too time consuming. Just remember - the most important things are to make sure that the drybrushing is really, really dry, and remember that if you make a mistake, just rub it off (I use my finger) and have another go. Any questions?

Just got back from my evening run - I was overtaken by 1501* as I went along the path by the railway on the Ladygrove estate. That engine looks really smart in that black livery! Best Regards, ZG. * This does not imply that 1501 was travelling at any great speed - rather that I wasn't. In fact, I once got overtaken by a powerwalker on the same stretch of path...

Hi Adam, It's not often you need correcting - but I'm afraid that on this occasion I cannot let your error pass . Best Regards, ZG. PS: Very much liking the hopper, as usual. One question - how do you fold up your lever guides and fix them to the wagon? I just can't seem to get the hang of it....

Hi Colin, Thank you for the update - it's coming along! And do the chairs. If you don't, then every time you look at the finished layout, you'll see that they are not there, and you won't see everything that is. Best Regards, ZG.

Hi Craig, in GWR Good Wagons (Atkins Beard and Tourret), on page 379 is is stated that the V5s were built with DC1, but during WWII "many vans had the DCI brake mechanism changed to the DCIII arrangement with right-hand either-side hand levers, but no additional brake shoes were fitted" I haven't seen any photgraphic eveidence of this either, but on page 57 of the same book there is a photo of V5 69966 from 17 May 1950, showing that it had retained the DCI arrangement, but retrofitted with cross-corner fittings. Apologies, if I'm just repeating what you said, but I wasn't sure what you meant by the "extra lever". Best Regards, ZG.

Hi Adam - coming along very nicely! Yes please to the weathering approach - it's always good to get a different perspective. Best Regards, ZG.

Adam, probably a bit late now, but during a clear-out earlier today I chanced upon the January 83 edition of RM, which includes an article on the mineral rebuilds to coil wagons, and includes drawings and photographs of the cradles. It's yours if you would like it - PM me if you'd like me to post it to you. Best Regards, ZG.

Quick question - do Branchlines have a website? It's probably a PICNIC problem, but I can't find it... Thanks in advance - and apologies if I've inadvertantly hijacked the thread... Best Regards, ZG.

Hi Adam, very nice work - as always, and the Rumney chassis certainly has that extra finesse! However - permission to ask a question. Your Rumney-chassised shocvan doesn't have any external springing (if that's a word) on the solebars. I wasn't aware of any shocvan diagrams that didn't - but of course I could be wrong (and I remember our conversation about Southern open wagons and the perils of research and assertion). I did find a picture in David Larkin's "Wagons of the Middle British Railways Era" (on page 59) that does show B854527 which does not have external springing, but does not have any stripes either, although it is clearly a shocvan chassis. However, I then looked in Trevor Mann's "British Railways Unfitted and Vacuum Fitted Wagons", and found on page 58 a picture of B854662 (from the same lot - 3117 - as B854527), and found in the description that the springs had been moved to the centreline of the van in "an attempt to reduce staff injuries". Coincidentally, I also found out that a lot of shocvan traffic was moving tinplate to the factories of Metal Box Ltd, for whom I worked for 25 years. The pictures tend to show the centre of the three stripes to be on the LH door - although B854662 has what can only be described as squares, rather than stripes. There - that was longer than originally intended - hope you don't mind. I've made a mental note to myself to get out more. Best Regards, ZG. PS: Your red panda van, B855090, was from lot 3224, which based on a picture of B855008 in Larkin (ibid - page 59), did have the external springs... PPS: Edited for typos...

Update following my post yesterday - read the review of the CCT in Model Rail, where it is pointed out that these CCTs had 18" vacuum cylinders rather than the more usual 21". On the model they are just under 6mm diameter, so still slightly small, but TBH close enough for me not to worry about it. There's also a handrail missing from the ends - but the photos I have seem to show this as being on the LH side only as you look at the end. Best Regards, ZG.

My maroon version arrived this morning (excellent service from Invicta) - and very nice it is too. I agree with previous posters that the vacuum cylinders are underdeveloped, and I think I will change these, and add safety loops where appropriate, and the dynamo drive belt, but there's not much else that needs doing. One question, however - the ends are painted maroon. I have it in my mind that the ends would have been painted black, but I am happy to be corrected. And anyway, I suspect that generally they were so filthy that it would have been difficult to tell! Thanks in advance. Best Regards, ZG

PMP99 - I could rewrite your post verbatim, but substituting "Shark" for "Hawksworth"! I've only ever had excellent service from Hattons - and I have to say I've never had a problem with Yodel either (which has now jinxed it...) Best Regards, ZG (Edited because the "quote" functionality doesn't appear to working...)

Can I just thank all concerned with the last few posts for having the extreme self-control not to mention blowing the bl**dy doors off. And excellent modelling from Mr. Castle! As a resident of Didcot, I follow this thread with interest. Best Regards, ZG.

Hi Adam, I haven't got volume 4, I'm afraid. However, I know where there is a copy - and I'll have a look in the library at Pendon next time I'm "on duty" there. You're right - it is irritating, but I console myself with the thought that if this is the most irritating thing in my life at the moment, then things can't be too bad :-) I've actually got a Cambrian diagram 1400 (which I'm pretty sure retained 1400 after vacuum fitting) on the workbench at the moment - and I think I'll do a bit of experimenting with the capping strip approaches. I'll let you know how I get on... Best Regards, ZG.