JaymzHatstand

'WHAM! Here's your parcel!' Have you got Faith that if it's an early delivery, he'll Wake You Up Before he Go Goes?! I'll get my coat and then go Outside! Cheers J

Mine arrived this morning, my notification of pending delivery from DHL appeared while I was having breakfast, with a time slot which was nice and early, before we go out. The next thing I know, I've had the 'Your parcel has been delivered' email. No knock on the door, no ring of the bell, no signature given (despite what the email says). A quick check of our video doorbell and there we see the driver walk up to the door, put the parcel down, take his photo and walk away, no attempt to attract our attention whatsoever! Good job it wasn't raining, and that we were in! Thoroughly please with my Siphon, though I've only managed a quick peep! The inclusion of the postcards provided sufficient distraction for Seb to enable me to give the G a quick once-over, top marks indeed! It'll get a full inspection, later! Cheers J

Especially if one doesn't own a 3D printer! (Yet!) Though I have saved the file just in case, and am grateful for it, just in case! I'll definitely give the physical end mods a try though! I've still got a stash of older kits to go at, and now that they're not going to be as difficult to get hold of. Those and the fleet of Isinglass I've got my eye on! Cheers J

And to some of us, that's part of the charm, and even where we cut our teeth with detailing and going the extra 21,120mm! As has been mentioned, the Kirk kits do have a number of inaccuracies in general shape, but in a rake of them, they certainly look the part, and some types not available elsewhere are in the range (or certainly were). I've got a few that could do with a couple more vehicles to pad them out, so I'll probably end up adding a few to my fleet! Cheers J

I'm just in the process of packing and loading ahead of the Jarrow show this weekend. I've got a bit of a suprise in store for the show too, all being well! For more details, see here; http://jarrowmrc.org/Exhibition2023.html The dodgy point motor from my last outing turned out to be a loose wire which explains why it would throw one way, and not the other. Easily solved! While sorting the point motor out, I noticed that one of the D connectors had been crushed at some stage, and so would have been less than useless! Glad I spotted that before I got to the venue and started setting up! It's now been replaced and some adjustments will be made to protect them a little more in the future! As ever, if any of you are at the show, do stop by for a chat, and if you take any photos (which you're free to do!) Please post them on here! If you follow the layout on the Facebook (just search for Scrayingham if you want to find it), I may well partake in some live streaming at some stage too, so keep your eyes peeled! Cheers J

I picked up some Liquid Decal Film at the York show at Easter, and have finally got around to having a go with it. After a bit of a learning curve, I've had a successful application of the transfers onto the Grampus. I found that using Micro-Sol instead of water on the carrier film was more successful. A coat of satin varnish has been applied and its just awaiting weathering and the couplings fitting, though ideally they should be instanters, does anyone do an etch of just the instanter links to replace the centre link rather than buying a full coupling? I also bought some Ten Commandments sleeper stacks to make a load, one stack is too wide for the wagon, but I can make use of that eventually I'm sure! The other has been painted and is just resting in place. It needs a dark wash to highlight the detail on the chairs, but I'm quite pleased with the overall look so far. Next up will likely be a Gunpowder Van as that's easiest to get at! I'm not sure what condition it's in, so we shall see! I also want to make some sort of photo plank, as having a bit of scenery is always better for photos I feel! Cheers J

Yes, I've had similar issues with bogie vehicles in the past, as you say, I've had inverted paddles, and shortened paddles with extra weight. A bit of lateral thinking (and experimenting) usually has it sorted! We'll see how it works once one arrives! I could always cheat and just add coupling loops, and use barrier vehicles to couple to it! But where's the fun?! Cheers J

Excellent news! I've got a blue one on order, and am very much looking forward to investigating the prospect of fitting S&W couplings so it can be shunted about on Whitborough! I might not get much else into the sidings at the same time, but, no matter! It will of course, in due time receive a judicious amount of filth, and I don't just mean the publications contained within! Cheers J

My sound chip arrived yesterday and was duly installed (with some electrical tape over the circuit board, just in case!) I've given it a quick test on a rolling road this afternoon and the quality and content of the sound project is excellent! I'm very much looking forward to playing with it properly! I still need to order some etched plates, but they can wait until I've got a few to order together. Cheers J

Not just the auto trailers, any NER carriages would be nice! As you say, either the iconic clerestory vehicles (which I suspect would be the sensible option as more people would be inclined to buy the prettier options) or the arc roofed coaches. I'd be surprised if Bachmann hadn't been looking into them while developing the G5, on the quiet as they do now. Once the G5s start arriving, the following quarterly announcement would be the ideal place for them to materialise. I'd be fine with any of the RTR companies producing them to be fair, as they all seem to do pretty well with high end coaching stock. I've got a D&S third clerestory to finish, and a few Kirk Gresley non-corridor carriages to make a reasonable rake for my forthcoming LNER liveried loco, but could definitely be tempted by an NER one if some of the ornate pre grouping stock were to appear, as I don't think that my skills are up to that! Cheers J

Because those who tend to be most vociferous on the subject tend to think they know the lot, and don't need to learn anything different as their methods are obviously correct, it's the product that's wrong! There's certainly much that can be learned across the various modelling spheres, as they say, everyday is an education! Cheers J

Thankyou, and you're more than welcome! Always happy to help if I can! If there's anything else you need to know, just ask, and I'll try to post an explanation with photos if necessary. Cheers J

Today's show was most enjoyable, plenty of people stopped for a look at the layout, many for a chat as well. Being a local show, a good few people were aware of the Sand Hutton line, which made explaining the layout's premise easier. There weren't really any problems (other than a point motor sticking during the last shunt of the day) so I was mainly able to concentrate on talking to the visitors and answering their questions. I was able to up my usual operating sequence to include loco swaps for a bit of added variety. Ahead of next month's show in Jarrow, I need to investigate the sticking point and hopefully see about having a little more area specific stock available. I was also quite pleased with myself for having a tidy fiddle yard by the end of the show, almost unheard of, it usually looks like a bomb has gone off! Maybe I'm learning! Let's see how it is after 2 days! Cheers J

A quick update on a layout that is still going strong! Scratingham will be appearing at the NYMR York Group's model railway show on Saturday at St Lawrence Church Hall, York. It's been a while since the layout has been out and about, after having to withdraw from last year's Jarrow show (due to illnes) but it is booked to appear at this year's show next month. There haven't been many actual updates, but the odd bit of small detail work has been undertaken, fitting crew to more locos, and one or two new items of rolling stock have been added to the fleet. I'll try to take a few photos as the show goes on, but if anyone reading this is at the show, please do stop for a chat, and feel free to post any photos on here! Cheers J

Excellent, thanks for that, I'll add it to my shopping list for the York show tomorrow! Luckily I'd only used a couple of transfers that have duplicates on the sheet anyway, so all is not lost! Cheers J

Thanks for that, I've been using Micro-Sol and Set for years, so I'm familiar with their usefulness! So you'd apply the transfer as normal, and then brush the decal film over the top, or brush it onto what would be the back of the transfer and then apply? Cheers J

I've had a crack at the wooden floor of the Grampus. I've done a few wooden interiors in 4mm scale before, but thought that 7mm needed to be a bit more in depth than my previous work. I had a browse through various articles and a few videos to get a few ideas, and then looked through my paint selection to see what I could do. The first colour used was Tamiya XF-78 Wooden Deck Tan which was brushed on in the direction of the wood-grain (as all colours were) but not a solid coat, so the black base coat showed through in places. Once that was mostly dry, but not completely set, a coat of XF-55 Deck Tan was applied in a similar fashion. Once this had dried fully, a wash made from heavily watered down Vallejo Black-Grey and Dark Brown. I left this to dry thoroughly for a couple of days a further (very thin) wash of Tamiya X-18 Semi-Gloss Black was brushed over to emphasise the planking and some of the grain. I also tried to make a start on the transfers, only to find that they have deteriorated somewhat and are no longer as sticky as they should be. Does anyone have any idea how to revive Parkside's press fix transfers? Failing that, I'll email Peco and see if spares are available, though I suspect that several of the other kits may have suffered the same, non-stick fate! Cheers J

At least the basic colour is an easy enough job. The many layers of muck and filth that the seemed to aquire may prove a little more time consuming though! Cheers J

It doesn't work with all glues, but the contact ones certainly become more brittle. Sometimes it's a case of freeze it, work the joint a bit to weaken it, freeze it again and repeat. Something built with lots of mekpak or similar adhesives that actually melt the plastic together might not be quite so susceptible, but it's worth a try! Cheers J

Some further Grampus progress has been achieved this weekend. I took full advantage of Seb (our near 2 year old) staying at his grandparents on Friday to get the undercoat and then main colour sprayed without any 'help'! Both colours are straight out of Halfords rattle cans; grey primer and satin black. The wooden floor is next on the agenda, which will be based with Tamiya Deck Tan or Buff, and then weathered with various shades and a wash or two. The transfers can the go on and the rest can be weathered. Obviously, when a 2 year old sees a wagon and bit of track, it becomes a wonderful toy! At least it proved some sturdy construction as nothing fell off! Not massively exciting progress, but progress non-the-less! Cheers J

Those of you who have seen my other workbench thread (slow moving as it is) will most likely be aware that I had been finishing a Connoisseur G5 for my dad. This was presented to him at Whitby MRCs annual show in Goathland last July. Unfortunately it didn't want to run, as it needed a good clean, which it subsequently got and was able to make a few trips up and down the layout. My lack of facilities to test the loco over points and curves however proved to be its undoing as the bogie was underweight and consequently didn't want to behave! Still, he was very pleased with it, and enjoyed the surprise addition of a ModelU loco crew, including me (driver) leaning out of the cab. This year didn't start very well at all, and I sadly lost my dad in February. I always knew that one day I would inherit his O gauge collection, but I'd hoped that it would be when he had decided that his eyesight had gone, or his dexterity was such that he couldn't enjoy his modelling any longer, and would rather see me enjoying it instead. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. And so, I find myself in the possession of his eclectic collection, and having not long ago moved house, all of his stock was neatly packed away which has at least meant gathering it all together was relatively simple. One large box contains a good number of Parkside, Slaters and Connoisseur wagon kits, all of which are started to some extent. I intend to gradually work my way through them as a tribute, without a layout or real means to use them (yet, that'll probably change eventually!) Most of them will usefully be able to be built as mid-BR period wagons but there are a couple which will end up in their grouping liveries, but I'll get to those as and when. The first wagon out of the blocks is a Parkside Grampus. The main body and chassis had been assembled, though the brake gear was on backwards. This wouldn't have bothered my dad, as it still looked like a wagon, I would however have to correct this! The underframe baskets hadn't been built and the etched bits were still to do. Never the less, he'd still built a basic wagon that he could run (which is about as far as most wagons have got!) I set about removing the brake gear, which broke quite cleanly at the attachment points, and in the process some other bits came away too so I decided that a full strip, tidy and rebuild was in order! A night in the freezer (for the wagon, not me) was enough to weaken the glue, and soon it was all into its constituent parts. From there, a bit of cleaning up of old adhesive and a few other rough edges and the everything was ready for reassembly. It is now structurally complete, with all the brass door bangers added (as well as the bracket pieces between the W irons and brake lever guide made from some brass rod). A spray of black awaits before the transfers and then some weathering. I've not added any extra weight yet, as I haven't decided if it will be loaded or not. So, this is the proper start of my O gauge journey which I intend to sporadically document on here. If anyone has any questions, comments or suggestions, please don't hesitate to add them below! Hopefully this will be of interest to some of you! Cheers J

One of the earlier series of The Crystal Maze featured a puzzle in the Industrial zone whereby the contestant would have to guide an 08 with a bogie flat carrying the crystal through a series of points and loops and a tunnel to the hatch to retrieve said crystal. I remember seeing a photo of it a few years ago, and it not looking overly complicated, though I dare say that the pressure of the timer, not necessarily being railway minded and Richard O'brien playing his harmonica may have made it a little more complicated! Cheers J

Oooooo! Now these do look lovely, a nice array of liveries too. One thing that I've always wondered, and never thought to ask is about the use and/or appearance of p/o wagons in mixed trains. I'm in the slow process of assembling a number of pre-grouping (c1917) wagons to push around an NER goods yard and was wondering how likely it would be for one (or two) to turn up in such a place? Would they be confined to more bulky flows between owning company and end merchant, or would the odd coal wagon find its way down a branch line? I suppose that during WWI they would have been absorbed into the common pool, and could reasonably be assumed to be seen anywhere, if not a little care-worn? The 'Griff' one is of particular interest to me, if only for the name, and I'm sure I could pick another couple to add a splash of colour to the (mostly) shades of grey that early wagons found themselves in! Cheers J

Yes, I've got the same, I presume that with said order number, I'll be able to contact them to make amends should that be required, as I'm considering a sound fitted example. I'll give it a try and see what happens! Cheers J

That's good to hear indeed, thanks for the update. When these were first announced, I did put my name down for a couple, but I can't seem to find a way of finding out which ones, or how to possibly amend/upgrade my order. I can log in to my account on the TMC website, but there's nothing about them in there. Any advice gratefully received! Cheers J