devondynosoar118

Thanks Kris. Planning to finish the buffer stops end of the building this week, with roofing and more parts on the way to finish the other end. I will put the link to the Autocad files up next time if people want them. Hopefully it won’t be upside down.

It shows up the right way here. I suppose that is exactly what an Australian would say tho...

After 6 months of trying and failing to get anyone to make a laser cut kit from my Autocad files I have decided to take matters into my own hands and sort the station once and for all. I saw Ratio now produce a William Clarke style station building, which I thought might make a starting point for my kitbash. They also make an etched roof light, so I gathered my raw materials. This approach would surely meet with Mr Clarke’s approval as he was essentially an early proponent of design and build, adapting a set of plans for stations to fit multiple sites and local materials. The plans were drawn by my late father from pictures, maps and from photos I obtained when the station was shamefully demolished over a weekend. If people are interested I can put a link to the Autocad files in my next post. The plan was to get all the parts from two kits and cut and shut each elevation to fit the plans. I experimented with staggered joins and straight, I will go back and micro fill all the gaps before final assembly. I have used this technique before and with careful finishing it can be very tidy. The poly cement used for joining can also start the filling process. Be sure to put thin reinforcements on the back of joins over lintels etc and leave to set on a flat surface. Cuts were made with a sharp hobby knife, steel rule and patience, cleaned up with a needle file. After a short while the front elevation was nearly finished. We have most of the right door and window apertures, just not necessarily in all the right places... The rear elevation presented a challenge, since one half of the building is mostly windows. I did cheat a bit, the three WC windows are now one long oblong window. This side will be away from the main view angle and I think it looks OK. I considered scratch building the window section, then realised the doors were all in the right pace. I filled in the bottom with off cuts and will re scribe the bricks later. That means the whole of the original building, which is wider than the extension, is now done, I have the gable ends to make up, which will be done in plasticard with DAS clay overlay, to scribe the stonework in. At the opposite end the “extension” part which is narrower was the perfect width for the Ratio kit, I just have to buy one more kit to make the platform elevation. Work done I took the dog to the beach for a paddle. Which may or may not be upside down, depending on your hemisphere or personal orientation... Next time- “I love it when a station comes together...”

Powercab now supports 3 additional throttles in the last firmware update, which was some time ago so should be on any handset you would get sent from a shop.

You will get more answers in the Q&A forum than in a blog post. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/25-modelling-questions-help-and-tips/ Buying from the USA is very easy, just be aware that duty and the dreaded £8 “handling charge” is nearly always payable on goods valued over £15. Amazon.com is the simplest way to order from the US as they handle the duty at checkout and no more is payable on arrival here, unlike regular stores. My solution to manual control switching is here- http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/955/entry-9406-point-operating-mechanism-cheap-and-works-well/ Costs less than that clever design.

Yeah mine was a while ago now. Thankfully new place has had all the pipes re done in the modern plastic mains pipe before I bought it. Water supply regulations look like a thrilling read if you have insomnia. Hopefully the Captains drive and lawn survive the visit from SWW!

I discovered that my neighbour was linked to my supply when the pipe in my house leaked(buried under concrete floor, no sleeving) and I cut them off. Next door’s landlord went nuts when water board tried to charge him £1500 to reconnect it with a separate supply from the road. I told him it was not his liability and father looked up the relevant water regulation which required the company to provide each dwelling with a separate supply that could be individually isolated. Confronted with their own rules the company swiftly relented and it cost him not a penny. Ironically my current property has two stopcocks outside, one of which turns off the second one! Next door runs off my supply again! Thankfully I don’t have a meter.

Any mineral based lube will perish the rubber in a the tap washer. Use a silicone based rubber safe spray, 3 in 1 do a silicone spray. Captain- glad to hear Kernow Towers won’t be getting an unplanned moat!

Airfix plastic is horrible stuff, I have tried before with several military offerings in the ope moulded ranges and never got anything to stick. The only thing I could think of that might work is Devcon Plastic Welder, which is EBay only but is very strong and might be worth trying. It’s about £10 a go though, you should separate both tubes to help mixing and keep it in a cool place. Stunning work as usual!

PM me if you need any help. I have several impact drivers and an appetite for destruction! Am van wrestling this morning but free after lunch.

Top quality work as usual. Reminds me I need to get the back scenes for KB printed and on!

Here’s my Baldwin on its first full train, with 3 Dundas and one WD models kits. Wagons are only base coated at present. It’s pulling them all nicely on my test track.

I am looking for the above kit, ideally complete with motor and wheels, part built also considered. If you have one in your gloat box or know who is producing it then any information or offers considered. Payment offered via PayPal pay a friend so no fees and secure payment. Thanks.

OK, having looked at the excellent suggestions I had a lot to think about (hence it took months to get round to doing anything.) I have since decided to retire Squezzebelly Lane to a display shelf upstairs, where it holds some stock and lights itself up every evening. With that in mind and a final idea about presentation sorted I have now been able to start full planning. The board can be a maximum of 4ft by 2ft but 3’6” by 2ft is a little more practical, I am considering the excellent suggestion above for a hidden fiddle yard and might look at putting it on the back. For show use I can have two extension boards about 1’ long by 2’ wide on the ends to feed the end to end parts either by linking to the back sidings via a continuous run (tight radii) or to take cassettes. The infrastructure for this layout and the presentation box will be designed to be fully modular so that I can fit new micro modules into it for variety, whilst using the same surroundings and maybe same fiddle yard. Open to ideas on that front. Here is the sketch plan of ideas so far, I haven’t produced a clear track plan yet, I do want to make use of diagonal lengths if possible.

Thank you. Once I collect the money from sale of children I will give them a ring. Glad they are sold out/not ready yet or the credit card would have taken the hit instead. I like this new style of plug in decoder, so much easier than soldering tiny decoder wires.

Thank you for that. Putting one of the kids on eBay now.Does it come from Digitrains with the sonunds on or do they charge extra for that? I couldn’t see a window at checkout for adding a choice of sound. If not where did you get the Baldwin sounds and how much extra was it?

Got mine today, it ran smoothly in both directions straight out the box. It’s a beautiful model, so much detail and the daylight under the boiler is amazing in such a tiny loco. I want to fit sound to it in future, I looked at both the Loksound and Zimo next18 sound decoders, both were bigger than the size suggested in the manual. Are there any plans for a dedicated decoder for it or will a slightly bigger one fit?

Track will be either code 55 or the Finetrax N. I have a load of salvaged code 55 so that's my top pick right now. Running length can exclude fiddle yards, I have a plan for them. Likewise support for the boards etc is irrelevant at this stage, I have all that planned as part of the finished set up. I don't want to give too much away yet, suffice to say traditional layout presentation is not the way I approach my micro layouts! This layout will be designed to be viewed from the front, unlike Squeezebelly, which had 360 degree viewing. I like the idea of an added jam factory, might incorporate that in somehow. I have stock for secondary passenger lines/trip working for 1930-1965 (pre tops diesel) mostly GWR/Weatern region as that's what's on the doorstep. Ideally I am not looking to buy any locos for this layout but wish I had bought a Dapol bubble car when they were out. I am more into goods than passenger workings but a bit of variety is good too.

I have done some more design work. I am waiting for a piece of furniture to put it in, as soon as that arrives I will start the baseboard. I do need some suggestions for track plans in the region of 20-30'"long and up to 12" wide, with maximum operational interest. I gave struggled to find any prototype maps via searches of the net.

Another factor worth remembering is the sidings at Wrangaton and the stores depot there from WW2 were still operational. The Americans ran the wartime dump there but RN built the current buildings, not sure what was there in 1947. I would say the most likely load in this period would be Universal Carriers (Bren Gun carrier) as those were tracked so not driven on road for long distances, plus several can fit on lowmac or warwells without going out of gauge. Self propelled guns are another option.

Note edit, I checked my facts!