2mm Andy

Hi Nigel, Are the etches marked 2-353? If so then I have two of these etches (so 4 bogies in total) which you're welcome to have. I think they must have come from Mike Raithby's collection of 2mm bits. I don't have any LMS cast sideframes to go with them unfortunately. Andy

Cutting up a shiny new etch sheet into the component parts is still one of the least-favourite parts of the process for me. Andy

Snap - I started a batch of 300 of the 8 spoke wagon wheels on 12.25mm axles during the 2mm Zoom meeting this morning and finished them off this afternoon (once I'd thawed out from my permitted daily exercise). No photo as they're already packed ready for dispatch to Shop 2 early next week and the wheel press has been tidied away until the next order arrives. Andy

I think an estate agent might describe it as "having atmosphere and character".... Anyway, the ending to The Ladykillers wouldn't have worked nearly as well without the smoke and grime (and the infamous signal!) of Belle Isle; Andy

Allen Doherty (Worsley Works) lists an N gauge Coronation 8 coach set as "coming soon" on his website, so a 2mm version of that might be an option. Andy

The main RVP website lists is as owned by an RVP member who has loaned it to RVP and will provide funds to restore it. Having said that, the website is a tad out of date as it notes that completion is hoped for in 2012! http://www.rvp-ltd.org.uk/collection.php?vehicle=1729 Either way it's an absolutely superb restoration. Edit - having now read the article in the latest Steam Railway magazine, 1729 is now owned by the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust. Andy

Very nice modelling David. Paul Bartlett has some nice photos of similar loads on bogie bolster D wagons; https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brbogiebolsterddavis/h28d1dd41 https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brbogiebolsterddavis/h3431000f Andy

There is a useful thread on these wagon kits here; I built two of the kits some years ago - a third one (with 8 shoe vac fitted brake gear) is still in my box of shame waiting to be finished. Andy

No, it's a comb-bound album of drawings from the North Eastern Express, and is dated 1981. The drawing in it for the P17 hopper is dated January 1964, the draughtsman being Ian Holloway. The reproduction isn't wonderful, but it's still a useful reference. There is a copy on Amazon (at a considerably higher price than I paid!); https://www.amazon.co.uk/North-Eastern-Express-Railway-Drawings/dp/B000YDG80Y I do have a couple of the NERA wagon diagram books too - I'd forgotten about those. As you say, they don't really have enough detail to make a model. Andy

That looks really good Bill. There do seem to be a lot of variations with these wagons - planking, corner plates, internal strapping/timberwork, solebars, axleboxes, buffers, brakes...pretty much the entire wagon! I guess it's inevitable for a wagon design that lasted a long time. I've been using the drawing in the Tatlow LNER wagons book as the basis for my work (it's a composite of a P5/P17 wagon), but I do have a copy of the NERA drawing you mentioned (as well as another one in an album of drawings published by the NERA many years ago). Andy

The LMS kits are now listed on the Five79 website as "coming 2021" (along with the Blue Spot fish van and the GWR Open C. Andy

What you've done so far looks really good but I must admit that I think you're brave to choose a hopper wagon for your first wagon etch design project. I've done a few etch designs for wagons (or bits of wagons) over the past few years and have slowly got the hang of it (mostly by making different mistakes on each project!). My current project is a NER P5/P17 mineral wagon (one of these which has vertical sides/ends but with a wooden hopper inside), and there are bits of it making my brain hurt! Andy

I think that some of the Zero Zephyr (ex-Underhill) kits have been taken over by Iain Young at CSP Models. They list a Peckett W6 and a fireless loco on their website; http://cspmodels.com/abante/index.php?rt=product/category&path=70 Andy

It's been a while since any "real" exhibitions were able to take place, but I recently found a few photographs from the 2019 Warley exhibition of Ian Smith's 'Modbury' and thought I'd post them here. I hope Ian doesn't mind - they were take during "silly hour" towards the end of the Saturday when some less than authentic stock was given a chance to stretch it's legs. Both items of stock belong to Jim Allwood, who was operating one of the fiddle yards at the time. Andy

Impressive. Where does the trailing truck pivot fit in relation to all the gears? (assuming that's the little Kerr Stuart 'Brazil' class loco). Andy

Nice work on the P4 hopper. You might want to check with Bob about the end stanchions - the kits I bought (not long after they became available) had cast whitemetal end stanchions (it may be that Bob has run out of these and can't get any cast at the moment). The stanchions do also project below the bottom of the wagon headstock - I think this was so that they could be mixed with the older style chaldron wagons used in the collieries when these wagons were first introduced. The wagon below is one of the three of these that I've built so far (there are another 7 in my gloat box, along with a selection of 21t steel hoppers too). The strapping is fiddly, and I usually find at least one bit pings off when I try to remove the etch surround! One other tip - the axleboxes seemed to stick out a long way if you stack-up all the etched layers, so I omitted a few on the wagon below (you can just make out that the wagon on the right has the full number as on the etch (and not assembled very neatly either - I shall have to revisit that one). I probably ought to shape the monkey tails better too (and add the missing clutch shaft on the brake gear). Andy

Tony, I think what you're referring to is a jeweller's drawplate, available from various jewellers tool suppliers in a rather bewildering array of size/shapes. Andy

I had previously created a Zoom account when I was asked to co-host the L&Y group wagon building tutorial sessions (so that Nick could concentrate on burning his fingers). I used these details when asked for the login yesterday and got in with no problems. Agree totally re. the two incidents you mentioned - I hadn't realised it was possible to have a meeting without a host. It would certainly have been useful to have someone able to mute the offending person. Andy

The June 2020 issue of the 2mm Magazine has an article on converting the Osborn's 45t crane to 2FS. I have a recollection of one of Geoff Balfour's models being a crane, but that may have been of military origin given his interest in that area (edit - there was a photo in the December 2020 2mm Magazine, and it was of military origin). Andy

Still very much "in the works" I'm afraid. BTW, the GE vans are very nice. Andy

If you're worried about using chemicals in the ultrasonic bath for cleaning small bits and pieces you can put the item to be cleaned in a jar with the chemicals and then put that in the basket and fill the tank with plain water. I've used this technique a few times now and it seems to work OK. The main issue is stopping the jar from floating! Not an option if you want to clean something big or awkwardly-shaped admittedly, but useful for smaller bits and pieces. Andy

Railtec? https://www.railtec-models.com/catalog.php?type=5&gauge=2mm&theme=56 Andy

this one...? (not strictly 009 but it has a small oval of track and the abandoned caravan). Andy

I always preferred the Two Ronnies version; Andy

Richard, I think it's 1-231. Best bet is to drop David at Shop 1 an email attaching the above photo - he will be able to confirm. regards, Andy