PaternosterRow

Great progress, Pete.  Lovely and the presentation is superb as usual.  The mirror is a brilliant idea and the join is seamless - always a hard trick to pull off.  Love to see those vids with sound.  

Happy Christmas, Pete.

 

Sound doesn’t half add an extra dimension. That 37 backing out was a real treat. Brilliant. Looking forward to the scenic updates.

Mike

Absolutely superb Mike - another cracker from you on its way

Love the way you go about these projects and really look forward to see it when track and platforms are in place.

Very inspiring...

 

Hi Pete,

 

Thanks very much. I tell you, I wished I had your skill with the pen when the plan went down for this. I also wish I could work with the precision you bring to bear in your own creations. Perhaps then I could have avoided some of the awkward mistakes made. I’m one of those types that tends to flag easily, especially during all of the cutting out phase, and it shows. The original screen was so precise and rigidly uniform across its entire length. It was a great work of industrial art that’s now sadly lost having been demolished in 1958. I only hope I do it some justice in model form.

 

Thanks again for the flattering comment.

 

Mike

Great work, really effective - the details give exactly the right amount of relief and shadow.

 

Alex.

 

Much appreciated comment from another Modeller who has ‘the eye’. Your work is always inspiring. Nice to hear from you, Alex.

Astonishing! So brilliant.[/quote)

 

Thanks for the flattering comment.

 

 

Some incredible modelling. Looking forward to your next entry.[/size]

Hi Job,

 

Thanks very much for the kind words. A long way to go yet with this.

Beautifully made.

And they say DCC is easypeasy!

 

Well done in sorting it out. Love the rationalized drawing by the way. It’s a pity someone hasn’t come up with pre printed copper clad sheets of points and track sections that could be fixed under the board for easier connection. I’ve always had a problem when flipping the layout over during wiring as everything becomes opposite to the above track plan and I start getting confused. Layout wiring is an art in itself yet it never seems to get much of a mention.

 

Love that shot taken by CN - shows just how well you integrated the back scene. Great to see you back up and running with Kyle again.

 

Mike

More brilliance from the master. Lovely work.

WOW!

Agree with Dave - the horses look so natural in pose and colour. But it is the carter that steals it for me - the detail of his face is incredible. I quite liked the first lot of lettering by the way. Brilliant craftsmanship as usual. Can we have another Farthing episode soon - you must have quite a cast of characters by now.

Lovely work, Wenlock.

 

Brilliant attention to detail and patient craftsmanship.

Hi Pete

 

See you are applying your usual fastidious approach toward the new scale. Beautiful craftsmanship and I’m really looking forward to seeing this develop. Great to see you modelling again. Are you going to treat us to some more of your inspirational drawings?

 

Scratch that last question as I’ve just seen the first installment. Great project.

In 1977 a school friend and I had an officially sanctioned visit to Northampton No. 1 Signal Box*, and from what I can recall, 2G33 would be a Euston-Birmingham via Northampton service (2B33 for the up service, possibly 2A33).

We didn’t get the 304s very often: usually the 310s, but they were not unknown, in fact a 304 was my first “cabbed” unit - the driver was also a member of the local Model railway club! Although the headcodes were no longer displayed, they were in use - still are, I suppose - on the train described displays on the track diagram.

* When our teacher found out, he insisted that we write it up! Turned out he was a railway enthusiast.

 

Cheers Regularity,

 

You’re dead right about the code - I’m pretty sure the B’ham to Walsall was 2G50 - not sure about the other way. I just used what was available from a preprinted tacky back sheet of codes I had spare. Whilst I spent many a happy hour watching trains I was no spotter and this reflects in all my layouts - a lack of accuracy etc. It was my mate Brendon that made notes etc. However, I’ve lost contact with him over the years. I know the 304’s ran some pretty long distance services initially, but as the bigger locos became abundant they were reserved for suburban duties.

 

Thanks for the info - always welcome and noted for future reference.

Lovely realistic toned down and blended colours. Loving the weeds in the platoform too, that's a very convincing effect we hardly see in modelling. Bravo!

 

Thanks very much for the kind comments. Sometimes, there are gaps and the weeds make for a handy filler!! But I do love this BR era for that - the network looked rather run down back then with its dirty, oily ballast and weed festooned embankments etc.

Terrific stuff Mike.

Thanks for your very honest break down and even photographs of things you are clearly not happy with. That said, well done for completing it - overall it looks great and fits very well with your layout.

I have only dabbled a little with kits such as this and some of the remain at the perspex sides and roof shell and get no further so hat duly doffed to you for completing it.

Always happy to see pics and rolling stock from this layout

 

Thanks very much Pete.

 

Think it’s important to show that we learn by mistake on the forum - might encourage others to give things like this a go if they’re dithering. Mind you, I’d have never had a go at at it if WCML EMUs were available from Hornby/Bachman etc. It’s too much like hard work.

 

I should imagine that if these kits are hard to do in 4mm then they’d be nigh on impossible in 2mmFS! Don’t know about you, but my eyesight is failing a bit now so I used a Jewellers loop for detailing work and with all the time this kit has taken me I’ve developed a bit of a Patrick Moore squint!

 

 

Hi Mike, I agree, to my eyes they look really good, great work on what sounds like a difficult kit. The difference between the two paintjobs is remarkable though, Humbrol have had a lot to answer for over the years I think!   I'm intrigued by your boss's windfall, can't you convince him to spend it on model railways instead? :-)

Cheers Mikkel After attempting this first brass kit my admiration for all kit builders has grown exponentially. Patience is a real virtue and a must for all finescalers I think. Humbrol paint is usually good, but there are one or two colours that are useless and warning yellow is definitely one of them - I’ve chucked out the couple of pots I had! I’ve tried my best with the Boss to persuade him about model railways, but to no avail. Like many he dismisses it all as child’s play! I’ve often dreamed of laying out an 0 gauge scheme at the site - what a visitor attraction it would make. Unfortunately, dream is all I can do because he wont budge! Alas, not everyone shares our love for the hobby - we must persevere in our own private spaces!

I thought the second photo was a picture of the prototype! Despite knowing the truth of the matter, I still do. Re the yellow: the “official” paint didn’t hold up that well in service, and several major depots used to send a lad down to Woolworths to get a can of Dulux for a quick weekend touch up. Nothing to worry about on your model.

Hi Regularity,

 

Very high praise indeed - thankyou.  I come from the old 'make do and mend' generation so find your story about the fetching of the Dulux brilliant.  It's how GB was run at one time - we didn't sit around waiting for brand new stuff, we just got with things and made stuff work.  I'm afraid that world is lost now.  Thanks again for the kind comments.

Hi Pete,

 

Nice to see Kyle out and about again - great pictures and still can’t quite believe this is 2mm FS and not 4. Good luck with all the repairs and points etc.

OMG that’s amazing. First time I’ve seen them done to that standard - thanks for the link.

Done that a few times. I always keep a glass of water nearby when soldering and dip fingers in the second I’ve touched them with the iron - nearly always prevents blistering. That’s a nasty injury and hope that you can get back to the modelling soon.

Hi Mikel,

 

I agree about trying to paint eyes. I’ve seen this attempted on 1/35 scale figures and it looks really odd. The way you have sculptured and posed these 4mm figures is so realistic that the viewer buys the reality and therefore doesn’t try to look for ‘real’ eyes. After all, how many of us actually perceive another person’s eyes until we are face to face with them? I really can’t see on how you can improve on the painting - you’ve nailed it! Another masterclass in 4mm finescale.

Brilliant stuff. It’s amazing how you get 4mm figures to look better than 7mm stuff. I sometimes get military modelling mags and admire the little 1/35th dioramas - I’m sure those modellers would be taken aback at the depth of detail of your stuff. It’s the painting of them and how you get the faces to look so real.

 

Loved Airfix figures as a kid too - a small group of friends would play war games with them (simple rule stuff). Oh, those happy summer days! My favorites were the American Paratroopers. Love the poster too.

Beautiful work as usual Pete. You ought to go into the business of selling those backscenes of yours - not enough good, quality stuff on the market. Love to get my hands on a really good urban scene. Do they cost a lot to print off?

I stumbled across this and thought "Open it and see what it is about.". I am glad that I did. Very nice pictures and layout. One question: is the catenary hot?

Hi JS Bach, thanks for the kind comments.  By hot, I assume you mean live.  It's actually embroidery cotton and not wire.  I specifically use this because it does not fur or fray and the twist in it gives a good representation of the actual thing.  The pantographs are set about 2mm below the wire so they look like they are touching.  Thanks again.