Andrew P

Al, mine came from the Carrs range about 20 years ago, and I sill have enough for the next 20 years, just hope I live long enough to use it all, hahhaha.

Congratulations once again. Young Man, well deserved IMHO.

O.K. Here's the update from today, Lee and I have finished the Left Hand Frame, so the next bit of woodwork is to make a start on the Base Boards. Lee also set up all the electrics, so all I need to do now is find an Electrician that, A, will come to quote, B agree to do the job and C actually turn up. Here's some pics from today. And he had a biscuit. And a coffee. Cupboard doors fitted, although they don't match I don't really care, people should be looking at the Layout, NOT the doors. And Lee put all the clutter on there before he left, hahaha Now I can empty the rest of the boxes and fill the cupboards and draws and tidy the top. I have done one tip run this afternoon with one of the old Kitchen cupboards that would have been awkward to get to under the far end, and it would have wasted a lot of space.

See above Don, and Joseph has pointed me in the right direction for the Bargeboards etches.

Jaz, look again, it was ME that first made the name spelling wrong, and you just copied my error, hahha.

Thanks Joseph, your right about the windows, but even less ornate ones might help the overall appearance and a couple of pots on top of the chimney stacks may also help, although they may need lowering somewhat. The bargeboards look like a winters project. So to some up, Change the Bargeboards, Change the Glazing, Add some chimney pots, Change the colouring of the stone work, gutters and down pipes, And all of a sudden it will look less like a Hornby building.

Hi Jaz, the Hornby model will have to suffice untill I have Bitton up and running. Unless Hornback / Scalecraft bring out the model of Bitton which I very much doubt they will. hahhah.

Morning Jaz, thanks for your input, firstly I already had the Dent Building given to me by Jeff, (Physicsman) on my visit up to KL last year, and secondly it was similar to Bitton and so it will be used as a stop gap. I have NEVER tried to make any buildings and so that will be something I may look at doing once Bitton is up and running, but I have other priorities, (like painting the garden fence this week) and finishing off the baseboards etc first. It will need looking at at some time, but that's another project for another day.

After looking at Mikes (Mike61680) Dent thread last night I was studying the Station building in a lot more detail than before, and comparing the Hornby Dent Building with Bitton Station Building there are a LOT of differences. The most pronounced ones being the setting of the chimney stacks and the windows, now Mike said last night that there was a source for the windows at the EM show last week and he is going to try and find me their details. The chimney is something that at the moment I will have to live with as that would mean fairly major surgery at this time so I will live with them as they are. One other difference which has surprised me is the Barge Boards, as both Stations are Midland origins I cant understand why they are so different. Here are some pics to show the main differences. Firstly the Prototype. Next a model made for Bitton and supplied by Kellybigs of this Forum. And now the Hornby Model that I will be using.

Morning Mike, I hope we can use the 6mm for the sides, A to keep the wight down and B unlike baton it wont warp up and down. I have used 4 x 1/2 inch and that seems fairly stable so that may be an alternative for the sides and cross bracing.

Yeah, rubbish for the tip mainly, hahahhahha. Looking forward to Wednesday mate, have some sugar in for my coffee, Chris is going to have a look at my Flip Flop as I cant access my Word and Excel files after doing what was supposed to be a Microsoft Download last week.

Morning Al, yes I use weathering powders, and I like them because I can use them dry, soften with water or as in this illustration I did for RM, add powder to a damp surface to give a rusty texture by dabbing the powder on. Or dry for streaking, this effect on the shoots is almost impossible with brush and paint. Or just general rust as in this example. This last one was done by dry brushing with Enamle and flicking powder over the top. EDIT = Just found a better one of the shoots.

Morning Mike, so now the Bothy is finished whats next, a row of cottages? I don't know the area but I remember reading somewhere that the village is some way away. I know you said you wanted to cover the Helix with grass, could that be the next task to complete? Looking forward to the next episode and another step to completion. All the best mate, have a good time with Jeff and Jason's visit.

Weight was a concern I had, the main boards will be 6ft x 2.5ft so it needs to be liftable to work underneath for wiring.

Thanks Mike, I have noticed that the Chimney Stacks on Bitton are at 90 degrees to the ones on the Hornby model but they can stay as they are.

Shaun, Lee has used 9mm Ply on his layout and the bards are dead flat, and that's in a concrete garage with no heating other than when he's in there, so I'm hoping they will be fine for Bitton.

Hi mate, Sorry to hear about the nail in the foot, I feel for you, I did the same thing about four years ago when we were dismantling our old Club Layout, (Worthington East) that had stood for just over 40 years, the scenics were stuffed with KP Nuts packets marked in the old 4d money. It was in RM back in 84 I think it was. Some pics of it below to help pass the time of day, you may remember it Just 4 evenings work to rip it to bits, the brown / orange powder on the floor is the remnants of the Woodworm.

I have the Siphon H and a G for Bitton, but both have horrible wheels and couplings, have you changed your wheels and couplings?

HAHAAA Lee's got it on loan for Bralynn Central, I wont need it for quite a while yet. Yes I seem to have quite a few followers, 66 to be precise at this moment in time, cant be bad considering there ain't even any baseboards down yet.

What I'd like to see Robin is the difference between yours now and a RTR one, I take it it was / is a Bachmann model originally.

Hahaha I cant have Choccy bickies, I'm on a diet as well. I need to use all that spare 3 and 6 mil ply somewhere, and I have some nice melamine for shelving if required. I must get rid of that polystyrene as well, I keep moving it from A to B and back again.

Mike, thanks once again for the step by step pics, its a pleasure to see a CRAFTSMAN at work, I hope Jeff is taking notes as well. Although once Bitton is up and running, I will be modifying the Hornby Dent RTP building on Bitton the plan is to change the windows to the correct pattern and add the canopy.

Crikey Jonathan, its looking better by the day, I'd better look in TWICE or TREE times a day when you retire, hahah.

Robin, I agree with Glenn, do you have any comparison pics please.

Nice job on that Turntable, really nice job.