Darwinian

Darn it. I just put the platforms back on the layout with a passenger train in the station and realise that the platforms are level with the footboards, they should be below them . I guess I'll have to start again, can't see any way to trim about 4mm off the bottom of the card work.

I lost my mojo a bit on these but have been trying to make some progress. Here are the four chassis getting to the final detailing stages. I have realised that the between vac cylinder brake linkage rod on the one I have done may be wrong. Will need to correct that. Two chassis have 247 developments vac cylinders and the others comet ones. I kept the same type on each of the compos or brakes.

Not had as much time to build models as I might like but I have made some progress on the station platforms. Built of 2mm grey card they are surfaced front and back with slaters coursed stone plasticard (Liberal coating of liquid poly before clamping onto the card carcass with hair grips). Edging added from 10 thou plasitcard, individual pieces for the platform edge then a strip along the verticle edges, joints scribed in afterwards. The area in front of the building has been given a hand scribed coating of stone flags (plasticard again) and drilled to take the canopy supports. I am assuming that in the late 20s - early 30s of Cwmhir most of the platform surface would be gravel/ash so this has been replicated by applying a layer of 120 grade sandpaper (from a Lidl multi-grade pack). This needs painting and I will attempt to work in some wear, puddles and moss, weed growth. To get the sandpaper to fit I made paper patterns then transferred these to the back of the sandpaper before cutting out and applying with Pritt stick glue. There will be railings or some form of wire fence along the back of the platforms to keep the punters off the adjacent goods shed siding.

It's not simply the height of model figures but the relative head size. Adult heads vary little in size, notice how Ronnie C. Still looks short even if you cover up the other two. I have some station staff figures who look short because their heads are sculpted rather over size. So a correctly proportioned 1:87 figure will look further away than a similar 1:72 one even if they are physically the same size.

Just a couple of pictures from this morning. I have reduced the image sizes by about 70%. The railmotor is running again on Sunday 10th. No. 93 at Wymondham Abbey And at Dereham at 11:00 after a fine run from Wymondham. I was slightly surprised to see the funnel still not attached. Was it left behind or is there a clearance issue even on the MNR? Odd that they leave the whistle up there which cannot be much shorter.

I did a double-take driving home in the gloom of Wednesday evening on the A47 when I overtook 93 on its low loader heading away from Norwich. Delighted to see it in Dereham yesterday. I'll be trying to get a ride on Saturday.

Your layout looks superb Coachmann and that backscene has been really well integrated, wish I'd done as good a job on mine. Just a quick comment on the attachment of things like the telgraph poles. I read a military modelling article somewhere, a while ago, describing using neodinium mini magnets on the bottom of aerials, flagpoles and the like to attach them to scenery / models so that they can be easilly knocked over and simply put back up again afterwards. A bit of tin can burried burried into the scenery just below surface level might suffice. I've not actually tried it, just a thought.

Whether it cleans better or not depends on the efficiency of the engineering in converting electrical energy to suction at the business end. LEDs after all provide just as much light as an old style filament bulb but for a fraction of the power use.

Alternatively Fox sheet FRH4149/1 - GWR Freight Vehicle Namesincludes individual alphabet letters to make up the names but you'd have to do them one letter at a time.

Thanks for all the helpful advice and comments. I tried out the method I outlined for real and I suspect the IPA wasn't really necessary. The van was airbrush painted with Railmatch LMS freight grey (over a Halfords grey primer base).Where the transfers were to go the area was briushed over with a thin coat of Humbrol glosscoat. Transfers were applied, in the end I used PC/HMRS (Mine are actually PC branded so must be quite old) Pressfix for the numbers. A final topcoat of Windsor and Newton Galeria Matt Varnish applied neat using an airbrush. Here is the result. One R broke up a bit but i managed to piece it back together. This is the worst side with teh damaged R and some minor faults on the numbers too.

They are still nice and firmly stuck today although the residue around the M is still apparent. Will see if water will shift it. I know what you mean about "eyesight" I find the hardest part of using this type of transfer is actually seeing where the little blighters are on the sheet, especially under artificial lighting. I'm reduced to using a magnifying implement as well as my reading glasses. Wonder if they ever thought of printing them onto a coloured paper backing.

First attempt at reviving these seems to have worked I treated them as methfix (but used IPA as it was indoors) so cut out transfer from thick backing and lifted off thin backing paper as per methfix/pressfix. Applied a drop of IPA to my test side (which is in Matt grey primer) and placed the transfer on top (I think most had evaporated by then anyway). Adjust position of transfer, press down firmly with finger, apply a little more IPA around the edges which was drawn under. Blot off excess IPA with paper towel. Allow to dry (well almost I'm a bit impatient at times). Soak with water and leave for a minute or two. Carefully brush off the carrier paper. I treated the L with Microsol immediately. I didn't treat the M to begin with but noticed that there was a residual mark left where the transfer backing had been so gave it a wash of microsol to see if that would remove it. I got the impression that the transfer was more firmly stuck down after the microsol treatment but it wasn't falling off without it. The Microsol does make the transfers bubble a little but they seem to shrink back again, however I assume they will break up if you try to move them at all (Pressfix do so assume these will too). They seem to have stuck quite firmly, I'll leave them overnight and see if they become loose.

Thanks for your help everyone. These definately aren't the rub down type as I've used the LMS lettering from one set leving the hole in the surface where the transfer is lifted off the paper backing I suspect I had trouble with them too hence the set that is untouched! The protective film has a faint impression of all the lettering on it which I suspect might be the glue element, or a component of it, hence the loss of tackiness, I'll try the Methfix route and will report back. I Might still have some Meths in the garage but I definately have some IPA for track cleaning that I will try out on left over LMS transfers. Fortunately it is only the fairly large MR for the van door that I really need, the wagon number can come from my HMRS sheet.

Can anyone identify the type of transfer shown. They came from a 4mm scale LMS/MR kit (possibly Slaters) but I cannot remember which. I would like to use the MR lettering on the Cambrian MR van I am building and as I'm modelling 1929-32 period GWR only a few vehicles would still be in MR liverly so I don't really want to buy a new sheet of transfers. I have HMRS LMS ones if all else fails. So what type of transfer are these likely to be? They appear to be Methfix or Pressfix type but I don't know which. If Pressfix they have no "tack" left so could they be revived? If Methfix would IPA work instead of meths? (That's Isopropyl alcohol Not India Pale Ale by the way!). Thanks for any help, Adrian.

I've been away for a couple of weeks hence the delay in replying. Yes it's just the "Daylight" LED rope lights as shown earlier. Photography is with my iPod. The rope light strip was split so that each half of the scenic part of the layout has a separate section. Just a single strip of lights now moved to be immediately abover the front of the layout and angled back at approximately 20 degrees. Power is now provided by the recommended power adapter. The lighting produced is quite diffused and not overly bright but better than just the room. light (which is a flourescent tube but was turned off for the photos). I've not done anything more on the layout for several weeks as the garden calls.

When setting up the chassis try using short bits of insulating sleeve from electrical wire instead of the crankpin nuts. They will still fall off but are longer and cost nothing. I tend to secure the nuts themselves by putting a drop of varnish on the screw thread before tightening. It is usually enough but can still be broken to get them off.

Thanks Chris, looks like I'll just have to invoke "rule 1". Adrian (Darwinian)

I've had a re-read of Harris (Great Western Coaches from 1890, David and Charles pubs.) and extracted the following from the table of lots: Lot 1376 01/10/27 E131 (36 numbers listed) + Lot 1377 also 1/10/27 D.98 40 numbers listed - To form 20 four coach trains (no comment on allocations). Lot 1388 23/2/29 E131 (16 numbers) + Lot 1389 also 23/2/29 16 numbers listed - to form 8 trains for Chester and Birmingham areas. The 5 coach Cardiff/Newport division trains of 1928 followed these but are diagrams D101, C56. E134. On page 78 where these coaches are briefly discussed the comment is made that the "sets for general service" (did not have the curved seats of the first (1925) sets. "Over the next 3 years further sets.......... to cover Chester, Birmingham and South Wales" would be 1926-29 so presumably the Lot 1388/1389 and onwards. I interpret that to mean that the 1927 sets were for general service so could have turned up in S.Wales at least that's my excuse for having them and in the 1927 livery. My platform at Cwmhir isn't long enough for a 5 coach set anyway so it'll have to be a four coach set.

That raised door looks pretty thin to me (I'm not very familiar with diseasal traction however) so you might be better making it from a small rectangle of plasticard. Presumably there is some sort of "hinge" mechanism on the back too. Using a dremel slitting disc on plastic mouldings tends to melt a gouge through the material so you would be unlikely to be able to recover the door part anyway. You could cut out the door using a piercing saw with a very fine blade (assuming other bits of the body don't get in the way) but you have to be pretty handy with the saw to get straight sides. One slow but probably safer way to do it would be to chain drill (lots of drill holes in line next to one another) around the door position using a fine drill bit, link up the holes using a sharp craft knife (you can usually break it out after a couple of sides have been cut) and then file/sand back to the opening edge. However that would still mean fabricating a replacement door. Hope you succeed if you do decide to have a go. I guess it would be something unusual and rarely modelled.

Life has rather got in the way of the building of this set over the last few months. However progress has been made if very slowly. I lost my mojo for these when I realised that the sides are designed so that the gutter side/cantrail is part of the roof. However the aluminium roof sections I'm using don't include it. I recently struck on the idea that I could use fine brass angle attached to the roof edge and that seems to be a workable solution. So work has recommenced with the underframes for both of the composites (Dia E131). Here are some iPod pictures of the progress. Underframe ladder and main metal components. One completed and one still in bits. The battery boxes are Frogmore etches. I have decided to add black plasticard backs to these after painting rather than the tricky soldering on of metal backs I did on the brake third. The cast bits (Vac cylinders and dynamo) are still to be added along with the train heating pipe and brake rigging. A slightly out of focus image to show how I make the queen posts. They are 1.5 mm x 1.5mm brass angle. Cut to length and held in a small machine vice that I picked up from a second hand tools shop years ago. Using a piercing saw I cut down the angle to the depth of 1.5mm. Then cut across to take out a small square section. Tidy up the square opeining with needle files and file the end of the upstanding length into a neat arch. By doing half of them on this side of the vice jaws and half on the other side I end up with equal numbers of handed queen posts.

I will follow this with interest. I built one of the Mallard kits about 30 years ago. It was my first etched brass loco kit but never ran very well. I replaced the chassis with a compensated perseverance one, small Mashima can motor and branchlines multibox at a later date and reworked the pick-ups a couple of years ago. It runs nicely now although doesn't have much pulling power despite lead crammed in where i could. It probably has as many errors as the Oxford Diecast one but it looks like a Dean to me and I don't really need one for Cwmhir so it lives in the display cabinet most of the time. I suppose I really should have put something across the ends of the brake pull rods rather than leaving them hanging in mid air like that. And yes I'm afraid the dome really is wonky although the camera has accentuated it .

Yesss! Something for us South Wales modellers, even if it is from that lot over in the next valley. Looking forward to mine dropping in the post bin even more now.

Well it's been a while since any updates. I've been battling with the four coach suburban Collet set and have extended the length of the lighting unit supports to make the lights sit above the front of the layout, they were a bit too far back casting a shadow on the front of buidlings, vehicles etc. left at the front. So I've been doing some work on the hillsides and in particular the ends of the coal wagon sorting sidings. I had a go at using some "climber" material (can't recall the make just now) to represent nettles. Not convinced it really works but what do others think? Before anyone asks, I think the wagon is a Mallard kit but I'll have to go in the loft to check which 20 tonner it was as I have some coopercraft ones as well, some modified with left over Mallard's parts. The buidings on the backscene are too modern and will be hidden by vegetation in front of them.

I have to say that from where you started I wouldn't have been too hopeful but it really does capture the essence of the Rhymney passenger tank rather well. Nicely done.

Johnster, In the bottom corner of the reply box there are two buttons "Post" and "Reply with Attachments". Select Reply with Attachments and a new reply window should open. That has "Attach files" by a paperclip at the bottom left of the window. Click on "Browse" to find the file you want to show and open the file. Once the file name is showing next to "Browse" Click on "Attach this file" The file will then appear (with a preview icon) in a list of attachments under your reply text. Move the cursor to where you want the file to appear in your post. At the right hand side of your file name bar Click on "Add to post" If you click on Preview post at the bottom (under the reply window) you should see your post with the image in place. Click "Add Reply" to post it. Hope that helps. It took me a couple of attempts to get the hang of it.