Atso

I've not been to well again recently but I have slowly been working through some projects that should have been "easy wins". First up is A1 2562 Isinglass. This locomotive started out as a Dapol A3, Grand Parade, that was purchased as a returned item from the Dapol Open Day a couple of years ago for £35. The locomotive suffered from jammed valve gear and snapped loco/tender wires. Once these issues were put right, I removed the boiler handrails so that I could remove the super heater covers on the smoke box. The boiler pipe was transplanted to the other side and the resulting holes in the boiler carefully filled and patch painted - I've since transplanted the reversing gear as well. The original numbers and letters were removed and the areas where I'd accidentally broken through the paint were patch painted. I've also lined out the centers of the bogie wheels and painted in the black centers on the driving wheels. While it doesn't show up in the photographs, the cartazzi truck and tender frames have also been lined. Next up is 2573, Harvester, in 1928-34 condition. This model started from the same source as Isinglass and has been converted into a right hand drive example of an A3. The Westinghouse pump is a spare from a Dapol Terrier with a scratch build bracket and pipework. The loco and tender had not been connected when this photo was taken, hence the uneven level of the running plates. A1 2568, Sceptre, in 1928-33 condition. This locomotive was assembled from various spares and is still a work in progress. The chassis and running plate came from a BR liveried A3 which necessitated the repainting and lining of the splashers and lining out of the buffer beam. While in a similar condition to Harvester, this locomotive has been worked into an A1, using the same methods as for Isinglass. A3 2796, Spearmint. Another work in progress, and again assembled from various spares. The chassis/running plate comes from a spare chassis unit for the preserved Flying Scotsman model. I've removed the plaques printed onto the center splashers, but have yet to remove the warning flashes from the front of the running plate. The corridor tender is another spare item which I've back worked into a representation of the pre 1936 condition by carefully filing back the streamlined faring. As the tender body had been resprayed black and damaged as some point, I needed to do some remedial work before using my airbrush to paint it green today. Precision gloss LNER Doncaster Green is a pretty good match for the Dapol shade, and by mixing with a little matt varnish, it can be used to patch paint, as I've had to do on the cab sides. I've still got to purchase a spare corridor connector and boiler backhead, as well as some replacement screws, (and line out the tender!) so it'll be a little while before this one gets completed. Other A1/A3s include Great Northern (needs nameplates), and Salmon Trout (another one assembled from spare parts) and will bring my fleet of "saved" Dapol A1/A3s to a total of twelve locomotives once they're all complete.

Thanks Tony, While I've never been admitted onto a psychiatric ward, I do wonder if that is because I stopped talking to my (at the time) doctor about things. This came about because the anti-depressants I was prescribed (ciltalopram) had the unfortunate side effect of making me physically very ill. When I told my doctor of this, I was told that that they didn't believe me, it was all I was going to get and I had a choice: either take the tables or do without. I chose the latter and never went back. Kate has recently convinced me to give things another go at my new surgery and seek another course of counselling. I do remember sitting at a friends funeral in 2012 feeling very envious. He had recently committed suicide and, at the time, I really wished that I had had the conviction to go through with my own attempt a few months earlier - I truly believed that he was the lucky one. That led to my conclusion (in a bizarre twisted logic that I cannot explain) that I'd failed completely and there was nothing I could do to keep my marriage going any longer. It wasn't until sometime after we split that I realised where (in hindsight, only some of) the problems really lay. It was then that my remaining friends came forward and told me that they had seen this long ago but didn't know how to broach the subject. Apologies to those who do not wish to read about such things, its really very long and complicated and I don't think I fully understand all of it myself. I'll draw a line under my own self pity here.

Thank you Tony, it isn't the whole story regarding my ex, but it is the bit that relates to my modelling activities. I also suffered the misfortune of working for and on behalf of a company who's senior management displayed many of the same traits (I really though it was just me until I was put in touch with over 20 other people with similar experiences with them). I'd actually say that they did deeper and longer lasting damage. My own recovery (as Kate will tell you) is, even now, very much a work in progress. I have good days and bad days but have never quite recovered the positive and pro-active, "can do" attitude I had prior to 2009. Right now I have a shelf full of projects to complete but no will, motivation or belief to get on with them. You're sharing of your own experience and recovery has been a big inspiration to me and I use it to serve as a reminder that one day I will fully rediscover myself and be able to function consistently again.

For me it was a combination of desperately trying to make things work despite always being told you're not good enough, etc. You love somebody and you'll try and do anything to make life better - I took the vows and did everything I could think of to honour them. Eventually you loose track of what's really going on and who you really are. Before you know it, you're accepting that you are the person always in the wrong and that your opinion/needs are somehow lesser than your partner's. That creates a situation where you can be taken advantage of and you'll accept it; for a time at least.

I can truly relate to this regarding my (thankfully) ex-wife. Once we got married, she absolutely hated anything to do with my hobbies and interests - but especially railways in any form. It really was like somebody had flicked a switch. However, the initial sign wasn't to do with railways at all, but my childhood collection of Lego that I had stored in the loft. One day, I went up there to find some bits and noticed that it was missing. When I asked her where it was, I found that she had decided that it was taking up space and had taken it down to a car boot sale and sold the lot for £5. There must have been coming close to 200 sets there (no boxes but all with instructions) and represented many happy childhood memories creating things. I also found that most of my remaining OO gauge stuff had also been taken and sold; although this time for £10 (five locomotives and around 25 items of rolling stock). I did however notice that her collection of Dolls had not been touched and were all still safely stored in the loft. I was working for RBS as a Commercial Manager during the early days of the financial crisis and ended up very ill due to the huge fall-out caused by a small percentage of those employed. I ended up off work for six months initially, and put on anti-depressants and counselling. It was during these sessions where it was suggested that I finally build my N-gauge layout as part of my rehabilitation. With the help of my father, a start was made and my mental state started to improve. During the counselling sessions, I was always told that I should involve my wife (who would never come) and I was always left feeling like the counselor thought I wasn't asking her. Anyway, eventually I attempted to go back to work. After one very long and stressful day at work, I came home to find the layout stripped of track and some of the boards in the process of being destroyed. Stock had been flung into draws and much was damaged as a result. When I asked what she was doing, she told me that, as I was better now, I had no need for "stupid toys". From that point onward, anything to do with my hobbies, of any, kind was bad - although I did manage to save most of the remains of my N-Gauge collection - despite her best efforts to try and get me to sell it, as we were "short of money". A few months later, I suffered a complete relapse and ended up having to leave the bank and eventually ended up as a self-employed ice skating coach for the next five years. We split in 2012 when I was in such a state that I just couldn't live in the same house anymore. She then decided to move north and emptied the house of pretty much everything she could -although I did manage, after some argument, to save the bed and most of the furniture that I had owned from before our marriage. She always complained that I spent far too much money on model railways - which in either case had stopped in 2009. Imagine my surprise when I found out that, rather than being on the verge of being destitute, she had been earning £10k per year more than I had - she'd managed to spend just over £16k on clothes and shoes in 18 months! Thankfully, that is seven years in the past but I still struggle to accept that there is nothing bad about modelling. Luckily, I am most fortunate in my new (if five years together can be considered new) girlfriend, Kate, who is so understanding and supportive of my hobbies and interests.

Good evening Tony, I would like to present some RTR locomotives that are presently being modified. First up is A3 2573 Harvester in c. 1928-34 condition complete with a Westinghouse pump. I need to do some additional research, but I believe that the locomotive should really be paired with a corridor tender. I have most of the bits for one of these but it will need to be assembled and painted before it is fit for service with this loco. The locomotive started life as a Dapol A3 2744, Grand Parade, but has been altered to right hand drive and had some corrections to the original livery. The Westinghouse pump came from a Dapol Terrier but I scratch built the mounting bracket. Vacuum pipes and couplings will be added in due course. Next is 2562 Isinglass, again using a Dapol Grand Parade model as the starting point. This one has been backdated into A1 condition by sanding off the super heater header covers from the smokebox and converting to right hand drive. Since I took the (bad!) photograph, I've noticed that I've not transplanted the reversing rods yet - I'll do this tomorrow. You can just see where I've filled and patch painted the boiler following the removal of the pipe from this side. Both locomotives will end up being lightly weathered, so hopefully this will get hidden. Both locomotives should really have large cutouts to the cab sides but I decided it was best to draw the line at that one (at least for the moment!). However, Hadley Wood will require several A1s and A3s and I've still got a few more to work through. Nearly all of these have been purchased as non-runners or assembled out of various spare parts acquired over a number of years. The total roster for Hadley Wood will ultimately total twelve of these locomotives (five, other than weathering are already available for service), all with subtle differences. The locomotive on the far left hand side is a Flying Scotsman that is being repaired and detailed for a friend.

I'm sure that Hornby's spares department can help out with that Grahame!

I love modelling in N gauge, as there is no way I could model a prototypical section of the ex-GNML in a larger scale in the space I have available. However, the availability of suitable RTR for my chosen time period (1930's) is extremely limited - if I could fit my chosen prototype in 4mm scale then I would and I would also make use of all the wonderful RTR stock available! Therefore, my choice to model in N gauge has required me to learn all kinds of skills and techniques to produce models of the items I want. I have nerve damage in my left hand/wrist (I'm left handed) which results in intermittent trembling and a deformity (and early arthritis) on my right thumb which makes using the thumb of my right hand for prolonged periods painful. Despite this, I've found ways to adapt this and am slowly reaching a standard of modelling that I am happy with. While I would agree that it is possible to incorporate more detail into larger scale models, I'm firmly of the belief that the art of working in the smaller scales is working out what details can be left off without it negatively affecting the overall impression.

Fair enough Tim. I do agree that it is a most attractive livery. I picked up some tins of GCR loco red and GCR loco green (Precision Paints) last Friday to paint a loco for a friend - it took me forever to convince him that painting the various colours of the GCR green livery would be much easier than hand lining the white/red/black/white lining of the GCR black livery though!

That's a great start Tim. Just a thought, you could get away with Valour being painted in post 1928 livery. I have part,of F Giles' notes/observations and have found three occasions when he noted B3s (none Valour unfortunately) on the GNML on excursions between 1935 and 1936 - he also noted B2, Sir Sam Fay, which makes me happy as that is one I'd like to model.

Oh (sticking hand in the air)! I know! I know!

I never met Roy, but I was a big admirer of Retford and the workmanship that had gone into the layout and its stock. The hobby has lost one of the greats and my sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends.

I never met Roy, but I was a big admirer of Retford and the workmanship that had gone into the layout and its stock. The hobby has lost one of the greats and my sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends.

Excellent, I look forward to seeing you there!

With Jerry's permission, I will be bringing a handful of N gauge test prints with me to sell at the Warminster show tomorrow. While this are only beta tests and not fully completed kits, I believe that they might be of interest to those willing to undertake some scratch-building to make them complete. As with all 3D prints there will be an element of post finishing work required to get the best out of them. Prices will vary depending on the quality of the print and number of parts but will be between £12 and £20 - reflecting that these are not finished production products.

With Jerry's permission, I will be bringing a handful of N gauge test prints with me to sell at the Warminster show tomorrow. While this are only beta tests and not fully completed kits, I believe that they might be of interest to those willing to undertake some scratch-building to make them complete. As with all 3D prints there will be an element of post finishing work required to get the best out of them. Prices will vary depending on the quality of the print and number of parts but will be between £12 and £20 - reflecting that these are not finished production products.

I decided to treat myself and purchase a couple of bits related to the layout. Are they locos, a new item or tow of rolling stock, scenery? Nope... They are the WTT for the GNML and Branches. I've only had a short time to glance through them but it is fascinating to see just what was scheduled to happen on a daily basis. The compliment the 1937 Carriage Working book perfectly (not surprising really, although there are some bits that aren't listed) and I've lucked out that some of the formations I've decided to try and model in the future actually did stop at Hadley Wood!

Ok some experimentation with Anti-Aliasing. First the control piece with no AA Next up 2 pixel AA applied I managed to drop the 4 pixel AA from a good height so we'll have to skip onto the 8 pixel AA print. I'll leave it to others to judge if there has been too bad a loss of definition as the AA level increases. Personally, any softening of details is more than made up for in the increase in the quality of the surface finish.

Sorry, I forgot the control piece. No AA applied here.

Thanks Richard, they're getting better now aren't they? Ok, Anti-Aliasing experiments for 2 pixels and 8 pixels (I broke the 4 pixel one!). The 2 pixel AA is on the left and the 8 pixel is on the right. A close up showing the lubricator wheels with 2 pixel AA, some visible lines around the lower part of the boiler. And again the same view at 8 pixel AA. The boiler lines are still there but much reduced and I think they'll disappear completely under a couple of coats of paint.

I'm not sure whether increasing the AA level will help or hinder but my initial thought is that, overall the two pixel AA is a good compromise between getting a smoother (but not perfect) surface and keeping a decent level of sharpness.

I've been playing around with the Anti-Aliasing upgrade on my Photon. First up an N Gauge N2 without any Anti-Aliasing applied. Not bad at all but the print lines on the boiler are a little disappointing. Next, the same CAD but with a two pixel Anti-Alias applied during printing. There are still some minor print lines visible but it is a big improvement. The Chitchu software will allow you to applie Anti-Aliasing to the outer 2, 4 or 8 pixels. I'll be running a print using 8 pixels today to see if it negatively affects details. Also some cruel closeups of my GWR County (no AA used here yet) to show the level of detail possible on an N gauge print.

I've been playing with the Anti-Aliasing upgrade too. The N2 body has had a 2 pixel AA applied to it and I've done another one with 4 pixels and will shortly be trying again at 8 pixels. Compared to the early N2 print above, it certainly does make a difference. No Anti-Aliasing this time but a set of cruel close ups of the Photon printed County. I've still got a couple of minor niggles to sort out but it is getting there...

Thank you Tony. Nick's locomotives are superb and are a real credit to his skill and ability. My own efforts are most certainly inferior to such brilliance. The N2 is one of at least three that will run on Hadley Wood and will likely end up sharing duties with an N1, N7, A5 and (the out of period) V1. Considering that around 40-50 locomotives will eventually be required, I am more than happy to run or adapt RTR whenever the trade produces something suitable. For example I am the proud owner of eleven Dapol A3s (around half 'in the works' being detailed/altered to represent various A1s and A3s) and five Dapol A4s. These are a major leap forward compared to the Farish and Minitrix offerings from years past but do benefit from some addition detailing and (in the case of the A3s) minor livery corrections. As my birthday is just around the corner, Kate has been pestering me about a present. Therefore today, she placed a largish order with Isinglass for various carriage drawings. Most of these are of ex-GNR prototypes but I've also asked for one of the essential LNER builds that isn't covered in the late Nick Campling's excellent book. After various 3D printing experiments, I've concluded that the bulk of these coaches would be better produced in etched nickel silver but I'll have to give the designs some thought to try and keep the overall weight down. Off topic, we spent this afternoon at the St. Albans Steam and County show where we found one Professor Watson and his one sixth(?) scale traction engine, Frederick. We were lucky enough to each get a ride with Tim and Frederick was kind enough to boil some water for an excellent cup of tea! Thanks Tim.

Sorry Tony, my comment was make with tongue firmly in cheek... The N2 is sitting on a proprietary chassis, a slightly modified Farish 4F. While the wheelbase is wrong, the front and rear driving wheels are more or less in the right place.