Southernboy

I use it for glazing, paper and card (to each other, and to Plasticard), scenics, I haven't used it on metal.

I forgot to say, the other reason I use RCA glue is because if you get it on glazing, you can roll it off with the end of your finger, an eraser or similar for half-an-hour or so after you applied it.

Looking good as always Mr Simon - sorry to hear you have frustrations with glazing ... I'm not sure what 'Liquid Glazing' you are using - but may I suggest a good glue I've used on windows and other things with success which is RCA Modellers glue. It dries clear, is flexible for some-time after application - and the bond grows stronger over time. Similarly, it is nice and runny out of the bottle, but if you want to leave it a few minutes it goes like cheese on a pizza and you can use a cocktail stick to pull a strand of it along the edge of a fine surface. On the down-side - The only thing with your current build is the architecture reminds me of my old secondary school - I keep expecting to hear a bell ring and the need to run to my next lesson!

I like your resourcefulness. The result is very impressive, and even more-so when superimposed over original photographs ... One question: Do you really have such a selection of colourful beads in all shapes and sizes (picture 16)? I recently found small glass beads to be a good representation of fancy Victorian multi-faceted lamps and have since been thinking of other uses for what's on offer in my nearby bead shop!

Nice work Mr Simon, impressive work on both building and van. "... I spent ages mixing and painting a nasty shade of brown for the brickwork. I think it'll weather a bit better than it looks at the moment, although I might dry brush a slightly lighter shade over it." I think one of the skills we acquire over time (and only through learning by luck and error) is about how different the finished product will look compared to the base colours we start with. Dry brushing / weathering / weathering powders can sometimes change the degree to which the base coat reflects the light to quite a large degree, and in turn the overall finished effect to the model as a whole.

Happy Birthday! And what a very stylish birthday present - it looks right at home on your layout!

Excellent work Mr S. Some of that looks quite complex to get your head around as a build ... well done! Out of interest what gauge of Microstrip have you used for the finer of the window frames?

What a delightful, gentle commentary that was Phil: most befitting for a railway which you so aptly describe as 'bucolic'.

Well many thanks to one and all for replies. I've spent a week thinking about this now and have come to the conclusion that the 101 DMU Parcels Express is probably the best option. Reasons being: The BullAnt Power Bogie turned out to be too wide. The Nigel Lawton option (self assembly) is interesting and one I'd like to try sometime. It actually looks relatively straightforward to construct - but requires '...ideally ... a mini drill in a drill stand or press'. You can use a mini drill and a vice, but either way I think those are investments for another day. I did look at the TPM Motorising Unit before - but can never quite bring myself to buy second hand motors - at least not from complete strangers. Thank you also for feedback on methods of painting and construction, also much appreciated. If anyone is interested in further progress I've started a dedicated thread here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/66512-n-gauge-lswr-3-sub/ With thanks again for your much valued help. Mark

" ... before I couldn't think why the red columns on the first floor looked out for place ... " I do this so often: Despite all the planning, there's always something that at the last minute confounds me as to why the bleedin' obvious didn't reveal itself until I've nearly finished everything else! The Exchange looks interesting, and is a departure from the sort of buildings you've modelled before so good luck with that

If anyone is interested - I came across a clip from a film the BFI are restoring from a 1928 film set on the London Underground. There's some information about the film here: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/544121/index.html Also on Youtube I came across a film from the 100th Anniversary of the tube. http://youtu.be/F_ck0UqM_Z8

One of the things I love about this layout is the vast, rolling, uncluttered countryside - simply large areas of little more than just grass (or similar), maybe bounded by a few fences or copses. For me it's quite magnificent in it's study of sweeping, rural 'minimalism'. I hope you are not tempted to crowd those areas with buildings / farms or whatever. This seems to be a great lesson in 'less is more'. But then again this is not my layout ...

Thank you again I understand what you are saying, and in particular do appreciate your comments about the 'selling points' of Frankland. Being quite practical: The layout stands at just 2' 4" (so as not to be too incongruous in the room it's in, which is multipurpose), so would probably need to be higher. For now let's just say maybe in a few years when I've achieved some of my other objectives I'll consider ways of making it exhibitable But no promises!

Hello Cromptonnut: Frankland is not much to look at in it's entirety - here's an overview taken a couple of days ago: And I don't mean to sound rude or ungrateful, but for me Frankland is a means of relaxation, an excuse for self-indulgence, and an escape from everyday pressures. I work long hours and treasure the little time I have to myself away from others at the weekend. Exhibiting brings it's own pressures and expectations - and that's sort of opposite to my main reason for why I created Frankland in the first place. Maybe when the layout is more complete, more presentable, and I feel I've achieved a good proportion of my personal objectives with it, I will turn my attention to rewiring in order to make it more readily exhibitable. Like I say, I don't mean to sound ungrateful or rude, and I am very flattered indeed that people would want to see Frankland at an exhibition. It's just this is my personal, private area of life. I'm quite happy to share pictures on forums in my own time - but anything more than that would be an unwelcome pressure and would take away the simple pleasure I gain from things as they are now. I hope you understand, and thanks again, Mark

Firstly to say thank you for all your feedback - I'll be digesting / researching suggestions over the next few days and will be back with any further questions / news of progress. And secondly you'll be pleased to hear that I've been a Member of the 2mm Association for the last four or five years and have both taken advantage of the shop and been much impressed by the magazine articles too. Also I attended the exhibition at Oxford a couple of years back where I was hugely inspired by the high standard of modelling on your layouts. Despite being N gauge, much of the work on Frankland stems from the fine example you ladies and gentlemen set me.

'Whoosh!" Captain Kernow: That is very flattering of you and many thanks indeed. You bought a very contented smile to my face Unfortunately Frankland is not designed as a transportable layout. It is designed to be dismantled and reassembled in the event of a house move - but only with all the wiring disconnected (and in some parts 'unsoldered') and then reconnected at the other end... so not at all practical for exhibitions. Sorry! Maybe I'll be more practical when it comes one day to the next version of Frankland. ------------------- Thank you to others for your very kind comments also. Just for info: I've now started a thread on what I hope will be my next project, a 3-Sub using a Worsley Works etch. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/66512-n-gauge-lswr-3-sub/

ah SWAG is = South West Area Group? (I thought of quite a few jokes on the SWAGDRAG theme but dropped them as someone is definitely going to get the wrong end of the stick - ) But that could be a double-entendre in itself! It's a dangerous world we live in these days ...

May I ask what is SWAGDRAG ? It sounds like some swish place for Drag Queens !!

Hello 2mm experts, Please excuse my N gauge incursion into your area - but I hope you may be able to help me. I'm planning to build an N gauge LSWR 3-Sub from a Worsley Works (Scratch-Aid) kit, and my big stalling-point is how to motorise it. The reason I have come to the 2mm area is because I'm sure you'll have an appreciation of the difficulties of sourcing small-scale motors to fit non-standard requirements. I've posted the following message in the 'Kitbuilding and Scratchbuilding' area of the forum Any advice or experience you can share with me will be very much appreciated. Thank you Mark --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello everyone, As some of you may know, I bought a Worsley Works etching of a LSWR 3-Sub some while ago, and it is now time to build it in early Southern Railway guise. In respect of how the finished unit should look I feel reasonably confident: I have quite a number of drawings, photographs and reference books, and will use Phoenix Precision Paints. The livery will be early SR. If anyone is interested, the set is made up of the following (with page numbers referring to drawings in Brain Goulding's book 'A Pictorial Record of Southern Electric Units'). DMBT (p34) 49' TC (p37) DMBC (p35) And here's a couple of things I'm not quite sure about ... The etching for the lower half of the cab-front has been made in small, vertical strips. I guess this is to help form the curve of the cab. What will be the best way to form this? Should I tin the area with solder first and then use the heat of the iron to melt it all together and then file it to smooth/round it of off? I guess some sort of pre-shaped wooden-former would be helpful with this? And then there are the bogies / springs / axle-box parts of the etching. What's the proper way to approach these? I've never done this before! --------------------------------- Overall I am very excited about this project - but at the same time have next-to-no experience with constructing brass etches. In this respect I hope I can draw upon the knowledge and experience of forum Members to help see me through my first attempt. But before I go any further there are a couple of other issues I need to resolve, and I hope you will indulge me as I go through my train of thoughts - any suggestions are welcome: MOTOR: This is a stalling point before I can proceed: As far as I can see I have two options: 1) A motor in the trailer carriage. 2) A motor in the driving unit, hopefully concealed within the guards compartment, and not protruding into the driver's cab. But I can't readily find anything that suits ... For the trailer: The bogie wheelbase needs to be a scale 8'. I thought about using the chassis from a commercially available N gauge diesel or electric loco - but none seemed to match wheelbase and overall length (scale 49') - and neither did any look like they could be adapted. For the driving unit: I could do as I did before with my Farish hack job and use the motor from a proprietary DMU, but that is a very expensive and wasteful indulgence to discard everything else just for the sake of a motor ... and longer term I'd like to find a more elegant and consistent solution to motorising my EMUs rather than one-off 'smash and grab' jobs unique to each unit. Like Henry Ford - I like standardisation - it just seems to make sense. For the driving car I can't use a motor from a diesel or electric loco because the driving bogie wheelbase is 8.6", but the non-driving bogie is 8'. So I've been looking at motor units alone, and found two options: 1) http://www.nigellawton009.com/MPD18.html 2) http://motorbogies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5_16&products_id=1 Option 2 seems ideal for my purposes - I can have whatever suits me - but the bespoke option means I I have to wait 6 months (Yes, 6 MONTHS!) for delivery - does anyone know how to circumnavigate this? (Palms I can oil? Back-handers in brown envelopes? People that can be, erm, cough, disheveled a little bit in order to get quicker delivery?) btw - the internal height and width of the units is more-or-less 14mm square. So whatever means of motorising I go for needs to fit within this space. TRANSFERS: To my knowledge no one now makes transfers for pre-war Southern passenger stock. If anyone can suggest a reliable and willing supplier of bespoke transfers I'd be much obliged if you would let me know. PAINTING: I once had a (failed) attempt at making a 4-Lav. It was painted by hand and I was very pleased with the finish (even if I do say so myself). But what are others thoughts on hand-painted v. airbrushing ?? Here's a picture to give you an idea ... Half of me quite likes the notion of hand painting (as the originals were - it has a certain quality to it) ... but as with everything in this post, I am looking for the more experienced amongst you to guide me through this project if you don't mind. SOME DETAILS: I'm fairly confident about sourcing the remainder of detail items for this build - but two things I'm not sure about are Grab Handles and Door Handles - can anyone suggest a source? Similarly, the doors are not etched into the sheets so will need scribing. Can anyone suggest a good tool for this purpose? Apologies for this being a long post with so many questions - but I'm sure once I've been 'kick-started' into this job the it will obtain it's own momentum Many thanks in advance for any replies, Mark

Sorry - some forum problems it seems.

Hello Mr Simon, The foremost station will be based on Surbiton, whilst the one at the back based on Wimbledon.

queensquare "Superb as Frankland is I think that's probably going a bit too far ... " Agreed. Let's keep a rational measure about these things. I really much appreciate the sentiment of David's comment (and thank you for that) - but I am certainly under no illusions when it comes to the one and only Copenhagen Fields - it is in a league of it's own pirouets "... one of my kids asked if the radios worked?" Of course they do (at least as far as children are concerned)

NOW SHOWING ... New YouTube clip of Frankland

Hello Baby Deltic, I think you are referring to this picture ... (??) In this case the image is more of a rough draft of a backdrop to illustrate broadly what I had in mind rather than the definitive article. But I'm reconsidering the idea of a fixed backdrop in favour of a large, movable, more generic 'screen' that can be placed behind any part of the layout - the layout is on wheels so can be viewed from all four sides - and so I'm thinking something moveable makes more sense than a fixed backdrop to two sides only. As a kid I used to see Battersea Power Station from trains into Waterloo and was totally in awe of it's majesty. Later I read about it's construction and operation, so was aware of the evolution of the chimneys - but thanks for mentioning it because I may not have known!

Thank you cromptonnut: I've noticed a few times recently that URLs I post on RMWeb get messed up - it seems this website adds additional code which servers can't make sense of. At least it seems to happen to me! Thanks for your relink that works Hmmm, and now I'm getting error messages saying that 'Your reply to this thread is empty'. Most bizarre! I'm going to try a different browser. Ok, Safari works ... Firefox is the problem.