Black Marlin

Hi all. Does anyone have one of these to measure? I'd like to know how wide is the roadway between the railings - will it accommodate armoured vehicles such as those found in the Oxford Diecast range?

Taking 'Pegasus' as the class pathfinder, and knowing the LNER's fondness for an equestrian theme, why not name the others after other mythical horses? Llamrei and Hengroen were King Arthur's; Sleipnir was Odin's; Balius and Xanthus in Greek mythology; Tulpar, a winged horse in Turkish mythology; Bayard in French legend...

Yes, I know; that's why I keep hoping every year at announcement time!

A W1 in original battleship grey for me, please, Hornby. And much though I love the Coronation Scot coaching announcement... still no Stanier CK?

A very short train on the Down Slow, passing the waterfall.

Thanks all! Tomorrow it's back to hardware mode. The next task is going to be a whole load of woodworking as I start to prepare the left-hand shelf to take the mainlines into the tunnels into which they shall disappear (this board is at the far left-hand side of the layout) before they reach the fiddleyard. Given that the fiddleyard will be 20' from the tunnel mouths, the trains will disappear for a considerable length of time! But, because I'm not helplessly enamoured of my woodworking skills, the tunnel will not be enclosed - I intend to be able to access every inch of it in the event of derailments and other disasters!

Morning all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. The final coat of varnish is still wet (hence its aerated look) but the big news is the addition of the waterfall that connects the river at the top of the baseboard to the inlet at the bottom. I thought I had wrecked the left-hand side of the waterfall by glue staining the top of it white (aargh!) so I chopped that bit off - which left me with it sitting about an inch too short. However, I was able to disguise the shortfall ( no pun intended!) with some white polyfibre that looks like the mist you would expect at the base of a waterfall like this. This more-or-less finishes the scenic work between the two major upright formers on this board. Next will be the woodwork on the left-hand side - the tunnel portals that will take the mainlines under the upper branchline. This is going to involve a lot of cutting and measuring - there are three levels of trackwork plus a river to consider - but the results will, I hope, be worth it.

And now with the central fast-lines-carrying bowstring girder bridge restored:

Hello Tony. In the spirit of show and tell, I've just spent 5 hours painting the sea (it was quite a small brush!). This was my first effort - ever, in any capacity - with artist's acrylics, and I'm pleased at how it's come out. (Obviously I haven't added a gloss finish yet - I will do that over the next few days). There will, in time, be a lot more painting to do - do you have any hints or tips for a complete novice such as I? Regards, Gavin

A couple of days later than planned, but after spending four and half hours with my paintbrush, using the techniques described by "Marklin of Sweden's" youtube video on making waves, I have a painted sea! It's not varnished yet - that won't happen until next week - but I am pleased at how it turned out. I've never attempted anything like this before, not even in art class at school - in fact I've never even attempt to blend colours in this way! Feeling really quite chuffed :-)

Today's progress: finishing the static grassing. Next on the list: painting the water. A task I've never attempted before. I've watched the video; let's see how it goes... Just waiting for the paintbrushes to arrive from Ebay! That's probably going to happen on Wednesday, so tomorrow I'll tidy up some of the patchier areas of static grass with some strategic flocking. Once that's done, I'll share pictures. Cheers!

And after several hours with PVA and toilet paper (which will now take days to dry properly)... water! In texture, at least, if not in colour or finish.

Good morning Tony. Despite a long abeyance, I'm back to modelling again and have at last managed to start installing the bridges I was building when last we spoke! Hope all's well chez Wright, Gavin

Hello all. It's been a while! But on the other hand, there has in fact been progress. I've been learning how to static grass (can that be used as a verb?) and to solder (I was lucky enough to get a lesson from the master himself, Tony Wright, at Glasgow) and I have some pics to show you... Please ignore the mishmash of stock - it was what I happened to have to hand!

Good morning Tony It was lovely to see you and Mo again this year at Glasgow - I always look forward to our annual get-togethers, though I hope this year at last to finally take you up on your offer to come and visit! I will have to have the 4MT finished before then, mind you... And thank you too for the meal on Saturday night: as always, good company, good conversation and good food made for a great time. I am, after several months on the wane, refilled with modelling enthusiasm! Regards, Gavin

Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. I ate'nt dead. I have been in abeyance, and not on the forum since before Christmas (through the pressures of 'real life', not for any nefarious reason!) - have I missed any major news? Births, deaths, marriages etc? In any case, it's nice to be back! Kind regards raised from hibernation and sent lumbering into the world Tinkety-tonk, etc. Gavin

*Weeps quietly* Perhaps they were merely so seduced by Arlene Foster's 'blood red line' of there being no border down the Irish Sea that they had taken it a stage further and eliminated the Irish Sea altogether, even as a concept? Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. I am here to report a rare moment of legal triumph. I had booked a 'non-refundable' hotel room in Glasgow so that I could attend a gig. Sadly, 10 hours after I'd done so the band (Carbon Leaf) cancelled their European tour, and so 12 hours after reserving the room I had to cancel it. What about my £100, I asked. "It's non-refundable! It's non-refundable!" the night porter (literally) shouted down the phone at me before hanging up. Interestingly, I have some knowledge of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and what it has to say about unfair terms and conditions, so I sent an email yesterday pointing out that article 5 of schedule 2 of the act identifies as an unfair term anything requiring the consumer to pay a disproportionately high fee for services that will not be rendered. This morning I got an email back informing me that £75 had been refunded. I'm calling that a win! Kind regards beaming blindly down on all like Lady Justice herself, Tinkety-tonk, etc. Gavin

I really enjoyed it. I didn't think it was a great episode of Doctor Who; I thought it was a stupendous episode of Torchwood. I predict great things for Jodie Whittaker's Doctor once her character finds her feet. It was, I thought, considerably creepier and more intense than what we've become used to; I imagine younger viewers will be returning to abandoned spots behind the sofa. The stand out feature of the episode was the sound design. It was really, really cleverly done. edited to correct typo

Yes, Roger Daltrey is a very keen modeller. I met him at one of the shows; we had an amicable disagreement as to whether hanging basket liner or teddy bear fur is the better material for long grass!

Thank you for providing the excuse for this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQoK3Tw9zvc