2mm Andy

I have struggled to get the broaches to enlarge the holes in the muffs - it may be that my broaches were not sharp-enough, but the acetal material I think the muffs are made from is rather difficult to cut/machine (I recall one former chief shopkeeper likened it to trying to turn noodles in a lathe!) Andy

I don't think there is a definitive answer - you go up as far as you need to and feel comfortable with. I like to be able to push the wheels in to the correct back to back and have them firm enough to set the quartering but not too tight, then introduce thin superglue into the air hole drilled in the middle of the muff to lock the axles to the muffs. Others prefer to have the muffs a very tight push fit and not use glue. (Edit : No. 53mm drill bit is 1.52mm dia. (source - 2mm Scale Association 2012 Yearbook) - that might help) Andy

I'd agree with Nigel's verdict on the Parkwood body. BH Enterprises sell an N gauge etched brass body kit for this - it's a shoot down from the Oakville Models O gauge kit, so not designed as a 2mm or N gauge kit and not as much detail as the Judith Edge etches for the 05. Andy

John, The Hudswell Clarke D2500-19 should fit, although the wheel spacing is slightly out. The 05 is slightly less straightforward as the jackshaft is a lot closer to the trailing wheel than the 03/04 chassis allows. I assume you're aware that Judith Edge kits produce 2mm scale nickel silver etches for the early and late versions of the 05 shunters? Andy

John, You will need to make up the two half-axles as you describe, and connect them using a plain muff. You can use the axle steel for the half-axles, and any of the plain muffs will do. Fixing the flycranks to the axle might be a problem - I haven't quite got that far with my chassis yet. Hope this helps Andy

Hi Gary, As the others have said, welcome to the wonderful world of 2mm! Glenuig is one of my favourite layouts of recent years, so it's doubly good to see you considering 2mm scale. I would echo the advice offered by others - a simple test track (like your first idea) to try out things like pointwork and loco conversions would be a good first step. There is a very relevant article in the latest 2mm magazine by a certain Barcelona-based RMweb member which was mailed-out last week. Having said that, the Bridge of Orchy plan looks really good too, and I do like the fact that you've not gone for the smallest possible circle - 8ft should give plenty of room nice sweeping curves and room for the landscape. With the recent and imminent loco releases from Dapol and Farish, I can see Scottish layouts becoming more and more popular! Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do (and don't forget to keep us updated here!) Andy

I have a drawing from the December 1987 issue of 'Scale Model Trains'. Detailed side and front elevations in 1:32 scale, 7mm, 4mm and 1:148 scale. The rear bunker is shown dotted. Andy (apologies to Robert for hi-jacking his thread. That Hudswell looks tasty!)

Richard's blog entry is here; http://www.rmweb.co....double-heading/ Andy

Tony, The June 2011 2mm Magazine has an article by Rich on the test builds of the 57xx and the 14xx chassis. If you can't find your copy let me know as I have a pdf copy. Andy

Paul's right, Julia - some of the larger NG stuff rivals the smaller standard gauge stock (think of that huge South African Railways loco at Quainton - it's 3'6" gauge!), and Prince is tiny anyway. Not sure about the chassis on those etched NG locos though.... Glad you enjoyed the show - or the bits of it you visited, anyway! Andy

Chris, Sorry to hear that you're having a break from 2mm. I hope you'll come back, fully refreshed, in the future. I have admired your willingness to tackle pre-grouping modelling in 2mm - it's not an easy path to follow in any scale. The 2mm Scale Association tries to support it's members as much as possible, but inevitably we provide more support where we know it will produce most benefit to our members, so that's why you have seen drop-in wheels for diesel locos, expansion of the range of Easitrac parts and replacement chassis for Farish and Dapol locos recently - that's what most of our members want! Having said that, I'm pleased to see that, as David mentions in his reply, a number of pre-grouping loco kits (mostly Midland Railway in origin!) are being developed by several members and will hopefully appear in the not too distant future, so I hope to see an increase in 2mm modelling of this period. Couple that with the loco chassis workshops that are being organised at present, I hope we will see continued growth in 2mm modelling. I don't think it's quite true to say that you need to be a micro-engineer to work in 2mm scale - a lot of the engineering work in items such as gears, wheels, bearings, motors, etc. is done for you, but unfortunately 2mm finescale will never be as easy an option as say EM or P4 - there isn't a lot we can do about the physical size of the parts! Anyway, I look forward to seeing progress reports on your 4mm project. Andy (2mm Scale Association Secretary)

Very nice work Julia. I remember playing on 'Welsh Pony' (a bigger version of Prince) when it was plinthed outside Porthmadog station years ago! I think you've captured the look of these engines really well. That was a very courageous comment, Rich! Anyway, didn't Ivor have side tanks? Andy

That's not a bad price - an 8x4 sheet of decent ply is the wrong side of £40 anyway, and the time (and swearbox contributions) saved make it worthwhile considering ,especially for awkward shapes. I presume the £100 cost included the ply, or was that just for the machining? Anyway, nice to see you modelling again! Andy

Blimey Bryn, I thought you'd built a combined backscene and cd storage rack there! Currently doodling some ideas for CNC-cut baseboards, so I'm interested to see your backscene/lighting rig ideas. Can I ask where you got the bits made? Andy

Can I try and clarify things here. The photo that Julia posted was of a private test etch to see if it was possible to design a NEM mounted coupling. It was posted in the spirit of trying to be helpful following Ben's question asking if anyone was looking at NEM mounts. There is no intention at this stage to produce any more, sell or market them in any way shape or form. If the design works, then it may be possible to seek agreement from the originators and the current makers of the original type of DG couplings to make these available in some way. Andy

Bogieman, As David suggests, a new beginners guide is being prepared (I'm the one assembling it!). As I have all the files that were used in the previous edition, I will send you a copy of the diagram from page 67 and the accompanying text. As an aside, I can recommend the 'alternative' method of fitting a loop made from one piece of steel wire - it's a lot easier than soldering a steel dropper to the coupling loop. Andy

Nice photos Pixie - they came out far better than the ones I took. You really do need to fit couplings to those wagons!! Andy PS> Minor point, but I think it was Steve Bedding's (Smokey Bacon) Class 24 - mine didn't make it out of the box 'cos someone forgot to fit a chip to it....

Some information on the locations used in the film here; http://www.martinunderwood.f9.co.uk/Ladykillers/ Andy

Thankyou for the opportunity to help with the layout - it was a really enjoyable day. I was seriously impressed with the ease which we got the layout assembled and dismantled - some good ideas stored away for future use on my own layout! I'm glad the DMU performed well - it needs a bit of detailing/weathering on it (plus some even less-appropriate destination blinds!). I think Steve (Pixie) will be busy for a while fitting all those mineral wagons with couplings! Hope you enjoy that 'full english' - you've deserved it!! Andy

Thanks Jerry - I have some Noch pantile sheets which look very similar to those you've used on the mill - just got to find a suitable use for them now! Could I ask how you've done the brickwork on the station platform? It looks very nice. thanks, Andy

That's looking absolutely fantastic Jerry - looking forward to seeing it at Warley. Could I ask how you have created the textures on the buildings? Andy

John, Very neat soldering as usual! I had a similar problem when assembling this etch - the floor was too short. I put the van to one side after that, but I'll try and dig it out and have another look. I will probably be seeing someone on Saturday who has built lots of these vans, so I'll ask his advice. I think it was Stephen Harris who first used the idea of aligning layers with top hat bearings in 2mm scale, but I could be wrong. Andy

Please don't send another form in without checking with the membership secretary whether the first one arrived - it will not help!!! You can't buy anything without your membership number (and shop listing) which will be in your membership pack - the kits are sold through the Association shop, not via Chris. Andy

Partly because there are options on some of the parts; eg. 64DP gears or Mod 0.4 gears, different options for motors, etc. It would also create extra work for our volunteer shopkeepers to assemble these packs, and many 2mm modellers might already have the wheels, bearings, etc. in their 'gloat' boxes. Think you'll find a similar approach to chassis kits from other manufacturers in other scales. HTH Andy

Yes - they do. I have converted one using the drop-in wheels and it runs very well. Going back to the 2nd generation DMUs, the pinpoints can be adjusted on the wheels - I had that done when I sent the wheels away for my hymek. The Farish 158 seems to have a poor reputation - the 2mm beginners guide (which I am currently revising) advises that the mechanism wasn't one of Farish's best. I don't know if Bachmann revised the design when they took over the range from Farish. Andy