Colin parks

Hi Andy, Fifteen pallets sounds like enough timber to make a cradle! Smooth planed would be best. As for anti-slip, it is sometimes on sale in Lidl. Failing that, carpet shops sell packs of it. A piece of Pirelli 2" rubber chair webbing would make a nice stable base to rest you hand and ruler. You would only need 12" of it. I could send you a bit. Re. chamfered rulers, the width of the nib of the pen keeps the paint clear of the edge of the ruler. With the ruler upside down it would be harder to maintain a straight line. It does sound like I'm an expert, which I am most certainly not, but it can all be learnt given enough practice. All the best, Colin

Hi Andy, Do not give up on the bow pen. My lines looked like that at first. Sandy is right, the paint is too thin. It ought to be gloss too - perhaps it is thin gloss. Leave the lid off the tin, pour off some of the oil or the 'nuclear option' (which might dull the paint if over-done) is to add a little talcum powder. This last tip was given to my brother by Precision Paint's original owners as a way of getting some body to red paints in particular. Too much talc = matt paint though. As for holding the model steady, why not make a wooden cradle with two lengths of timber as high as the width of your coach, say, 38mm inc. handles and set about 52mm apart, screwed to a board. Something similar is to be found pictured in Ian Rathbone's book. Of course, a cradle with one sliding side would be even better as you could clamp the model gently in place. There is a picture of something similar on the Alan Gibson website used for holding models while drilling out holes for axle box bearings. Now if the lower length of wood had a layer of anti-slip (such as the material used under rugs) and you used a ruler broad enough that it still rested on the rubber-topped surface even when ruling at cantrail level, that ruler would be going nowhere whist you worked along the coach side! All the best, Colin

Hi Sean, You'll have far more pleasure out of this coach than merely assembling a kit! An electric screw driver would probably substitute for a lathe if turning plastic rod, but by the looks of it, you are doing all right without my advice. All the best, Colin

Hi Ian, Watch out! I'm about to start butchering my 2 BIL. All the best, Colin

Hi P.C.M, I think you might find that MJT/Dart castings do supply the sort of buffers you need, maybe even sprung ones. I bought some of the smaller Oleo (sprung) type from them recently and they are very good indeed. All the best, Colin

Hi Lee, Forgive me for asking another question, but how have you applied the white stripe on that power car. Is it done with a bow pen or by clever masking and spraying? Whichever way, it looks very neatly done. All the best, Colin

Hi Sean, That coach looks quite a beast when placed next to its 4mm counterparts. Re. scratch-building the under-frame gear and its 'mammoth-ness' of task: plastic rod can be turned on a lathe using a tool with no top-rake (as for cutting brass) if you are careful. It could make the process of producing cylinders and other round stuff easier. Hope that helps. Colin

Hi Lee, I might have missed an explanation somewhere, but how did you achieve the streaking effect on those cab roofs? Edit: Oops! I've just read back and found your description of how it was done. I shall be copying your method for representing the greasy patches on buffers. A very nice touch that. All the best, Colin

Hi Pete, The coach is coming on nicely. The solution you have come up with for the centre axle is a very interesting one. It will be interesting to see what you come up with for the birdcage. All the best, Colin

Hi Lee, I have very much enjoyed looking at the pictures of your painting skills. By co-incidence, I was talking to a friend of mine this week re. varnishes. He said that some brands have a shelf-life, which could account for your troubles with blooming. I have also had the experience of Precision Paints' matt varnish not drying (similar to that problem mentioned by RBE). I suspect the tin, although new to me, had been on the shelf in the shop for a long time. I took four days to become touch dry. The same company's paints have always been reliable, so perhaps this is a problem peculiar to varnish products. Since that experience, I have used Humbrol varnishes which are pretty consistent, but the matt version does need to be stirred quite thoroughly before use due to settling of the contents. All the best, Colin

Hi Andy, I am envious of your bow pen collection. It might be worth investing in a copy of Ian Rathbone's book on painting and lining if you don't already have one. The thing to remember with using paint in a bow pen is to have it quite thick. This seems counter-intuitive, but produces the best lines. I have only lined one EMU with a(cheap!)bow pen, but two things helped: 1. Don't work in a warm room and 2. Start the pen off each time on a scrap piece of plastic to get it running. All the best, Colin

Hi Jason, I have enjoyed looking at the recent 'reverse-angle' pictures, including the very nice one of the DMU (2nd shot). It looks like a completely different layout. All the work put in on the houses etc. has really paid off as they make a terrific background to the railway. All the best, Colin

Hi cheesysmith, Interesting use of Bachmann spares on those Cambrian wagons (my brother's business). You seem to have been able to make these vehicles negotiate very tight curves. The sprung buffers must have been essential to prevent buffer-locking. Nice work, Colin

Hi Sean, Just 'strayed' into the Modifying & Detailing sub-forum and seen your latest pictures of progress on the MkII body. What a Big, Big transformation! I like the weld lines represented by plastic rod and the work you have done around the door areas looks very realistic. Interesting what you have said about the relative positions of door hinges. The only thing that matters is that the hinge pin are vertically in line for the door to (theoretically) open. It could well be that the MkIIs' bodies tapered in above the tumblehome like steel bodied Pullmans rather than an even curve as per BR Mk I stock. That would account for the position of the top hinge pin. I had a discussion re. vertical strips by doors on BR coaching stock with the man from MJT and the person who runs the blood and custard website recently. We agreed to disagree on the question of whether the doors were flush with strips or if the doors were flush with the sides in such situations. I think your model looks just right. All the best, Colin

Hi Mozzer, A fine rake of wagons. I admire anyone who has the patience to build six of anything as complicated as this. All the best, Colin

Hi EBD, The Airfix/Dapol lowmac makes up into a nice model if you tweak it a bit. My Dapol kit even came with a set of 10.5mm Romford wheels. All the best, Colin

Hi Gus, Just had a read through your entertaining loco topic. Inspiring work. It struck me that the prototype bears more than a passing resemblance to the LB&SCR K class, having seen the picture of 61775 in post #84. All the best, Colin

Hi EBD, The picture of the Airfix meat van takes me back. I wonder what possessed the company to mould it in bright red?! Considering the kits go back nearly fifty years, these kits still look good. All the best, Colin

That looks like a good bit of work Sean, but is your knee better?! All the best, Colin

Hi Mark, I thought I could see wire soldered to the backs of the tender wheels. Wouldn't it be easier to just have pick-ups which are hard-wired to the chassis on one side - or is it the friction from the pick-ups that you are trying to reduce? All the best, Colin

Hi Jon, Nice Dogfish! It looks suitably crisp and metallic - something that plastic kits can't emulate. I remember seeing a fair few of these wagons in the early eighties when making the moulds for a 4mm. The scuffed look you have achieved with the hopper interior is particularly good. All the best, Colin

Hi Pete, Well if you managed to get the panelling like that from transferred measurements - amazing! I always make a copy of the drawing and place the plastic to be marked immediately below, then rule in all the verticals with a 'T' shaped ruler with a right-angled slide, which runs along the bottom edge of the cutting mat. What about doing a proper 'Jenkinson' style canvas roof? Thin paper would stick very well to that roof of yours if wetted with solvent (in a well-ventilated space of course!)and small plastic parts such as water strips would adhere to the paper likewise. All the best, Colin

Hi Pete, What an interesting project! You are certainly brave to have a go at a 4mm panelled coach in Plastikard. The sides looks very neat. It did occur to me that the 10 thou. panelling could be carefully sanded down to about 7 thou. once all has hardened. With care, this does work. Did you mark the body panelling straight off the drawing? It looks like a complex bit of pencil work. All the best, Colin

Hi Mark, Your photos of the Crab are very impressive. I am get very tempted by P4 when I see work like this! All the best, Colin

Hi Dave, I really enjoyed looking at the recent photos in post #837. You have made an extremely photogenic layout. The lighting you have used also makes the scenes very realistic. Is it natural daylight or some clever use of electric lamps?! All the best, Colin