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Cakebox Challenge Comp - call for entries

Andy McV

By Andy McV,
in 2018 Cakebox Challenge

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Huw Griffiths

Huw Griffiths

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I think it's largely been successful because of the small size (so everyone has time/space to build one) and the openness of the brief - no restrictions on prototype, scale etc (although I suppose technically the small space discourages people from building their coal yard scene in Gauge 1, for instance, but that's not really the same thing). Regarding some previous comments, hopefully voters will choose based on the standard of modelling, effectiveness of the scene etc rather than whether they like the particular prototype.

 

Fair comment - though I wonder if anybody might have cried "foul" if somebody had submitted a scene or two based on (eg) a Czech tram factory.

 

One thing's for sure, though - it wouldn't have been me crying "foul" - since trams are an aspect of railways that have fascinated me for as long as I can remember (genuinely for as long as I can remember - my earliest memory is of travelling in a Blackpool "Balloon" tram).

 

Anyway, if I'd had rather more time - and rather less caring commitments - it might have been me entering some scenes from the former Tatra tram factory in Prague (based on photos from a book by Robert Mara, about the Tatra T3). I suspect that some people are relieved that I'm not likely to get the time to build them - it's not as if they would have been any good ... .

 

 

Maybe i can try to get more involved and make something for your next challenge, whatever it may be? :scared: I've really enjoyed looking at and watching almost on a day to day basis the entries progress, and so far i have learned a lot from them. :)   

 

I suspect that a number of people here are waiting with baited breath - to see if the next challenge is anything that really interests them. I know I am.

 

 

I've got to the point where two of my attempts are at the point of "enter 'em or they'll never be 'finished'", which will allow me to complete the third, as far as completion goes...  :jester:

 

Sooooo....  Just need to take some snaps and update the blogs then I can formally enter them and relax..... 

 

In all honesty, that was basically the reason why I submitted "Plan B" the other week, rather than try and finish it to a higher standard.

 

Anyway, by the time I "downed tools", I'd achieved my main objectives.

 

 

I've taken all the entries we have received so far and set up a page here:

 

https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/brm/information/brm-cake-box-challenge-list-of-entries

 

Which lists each one and then links to the page I've set up for them. Head over there and have a look at the competition. I'll be adding more pages as we receive details from the builders. 

 

Please note: Not everyone sent in photos showing how the model fits in the box despite use asking for them. I've still posted these. Anyone who didn't send an overall photo AND didn't send a pic of the model in the box has been asked to re-submit.

 

In practice, I suspect I could probably have got away without doing this with my entry - but I would probably have needed to make some stuff clear in my build thread.

 

Some people might have noticed the makeshift screen I used around what I was building - 2 pale blue pieces of styrene sheet - held together along a short edge using PVC insulating tape. (I also used the same sheets as a backdrop, when I started a "motive power" challenge build a few years ago - and I'll probably use them again with builds for future challenges - but I digress.)

 

About 20 years back, I acquired a number of these styrene sheets (some white - some pale blue) - all 50 thou' thick - all with rounded corners - all 11" long by 5" - from a trader at "Ally Pally" (I wish I'd been able to get more - I still find them very useful). The few inches spare at the ends of these sheets were clearly visible - as were their top edges

 

If I hadn't been able to get a shot clearly showing everything fitting inside the box, I would only have needed to use more tape for vertical lines slightly short of the permitted base dimensions - and made sure the dimensions were obvious - and nobody would have been in much doubt that my build was compliant with the dimension rules.

 

Of course, I make no claims about the standard (or otherwise) of my build ... .

 

 

Huw.

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009 micro modeller

009 micro modeller

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Posted

The latest batch of Cakebox entries have been uploaded to:

 

www.world-of-railways.co.uk/cakebox

 

Get over there and have a look.

 

And remember if you haven't sent your details to: cakeboxchallenge@warnersgroup.co.uk you aren't entered for the competition. Get a move on!

Thanks for uploading these. Presumably we can't actually vote until after the closing date?

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Huw Griffiths

Huw Griffiths

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Andy with me being a new member to the forum i was looking forward to having a go at the CBC but I did think it would be an ongoing part of the forum. Will you be planning another challenge for forum members.

 

I certainly hope so - and I hope we don't have to wait another 3 years for the next challenge to appear.

 

(If you discount the "cameo layout" challenge - which was really someone else's challenge also promoted here - the previous RMweb challenge was in 2015.)

 

However, the 2015 challenge did have a rather good theme - building stuff that could run on a layout - aka "Build a Loco", which also included railbuses, DMUs and trams. I'd really love to see that one run again - better still turned into a "rolling" challenge, ie "complete it this year - enter this year; complete it next year - enter next year". (Of course, in my case, it might have helped if my mother hadn't had a cataract operation on 24th December 2015 - but I digress.)

 

 

The Cakebox Challenge is open to anybody, but RMWeb is where it largely resides. It's been a success, as you'll have seen from the many pages of top-notch entries, so we'll certainly find something to replace. We're concocting a couple of ideas at the moment - no details yet, but it'll be something you'll be able to have fun with.

 

I'm really looking forward to this - might there be any chance of letting us know the theme in time for "Warley" - just in case it's something that interests us and some people want to do some parts shopping?

 

 

There's nothing wrong with modelling GWR - especially if this includes "razor edge" railcars (the only sort of "razor edge" I ever wish to see).

 

Add to this the fact that you can never get too much "Diesel & Electric" (or at least "internal combustion") modelling - and another exciting topic for a future challenge presents itself. That's right - pioneer Diesel or petrol railbuses (scale, semiscale or freelance).

 

Now they could make an excellent theme for next year's BRM / RMweb challenge - especially if followed up by postwar / modern / "concept", then narrow gauge.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not expecting to see these themes in the next few years - but there's nothing to stop me hoping … .

 

 

I don't know what anybody else thinks, but a "repurposing" challenge could also be very interesting - and open-ended, if suitably framed.

 

I must admit to being fascinated by a number of "bodging" threads on this site (and others). I've also actively followed some threads on here and elsewhere, in which people more skilled / experienced than me have built their own bodyshells etc to fit onto a number of different RTR chassis.

 

I've particularly liked threads like this one - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/133304-narrow-gauge-coaches-a-modular-approach/ - in which Michael (board name "Teetrix"), a German member of this site, has devised his own "family" of homebrew coaches and railcars in "Oe", apparently with his initial railcar designed to be compatible with a Fleischmann Magic Train ("FMZ") coach.

 

The chassis from this is a very similar size to the old OO gauge Lima / Hornby BR Mk1 CCT (which has also appeared in a number of Th*m*s variants) - and it would be perfectly possible to produce a homebrew body for it which would fit right in with any FMZ stuff.

 

In a similar way, it would also be possible to build a somewhat longer FMZ-sized body to fit any of the other OO gauge BR Mk1 coach variants - and there are plenty of other build projects in various scales, which could easily use significant parts of Mk1 coach models (or kits). To be honest, these could be in just about any scale going - and some of the Ratio, Dapol and Ian Kirk / "Ex-Kirk" kits of other coaches could also yield parts useful in DIY builds.

 

 

This got me thinking - in due course, I'd really like to see a challenge based around repurposing parts from RTR coaches and/or coach kits. This could mean:

  • "Old-school" "cut & shuts" (much like a rebuild of some old RTR coaches into an EMU in the September 2018 ModelRail) - the sort of fare which often attracts my attention on the DEMU stands at exhibitions.
  • Repurposing RTR chassis or bodyshell parts into homebrew "concept" models - possibly even in a different scale.
  • Building a hybrid model - adapting parts sourced from the Replica stand at an exhibition - then "Frankensteining" them with stuff from elsewhere.
  • It could even mean something like combining modified LNER or LMS coach bodyshell parts from 7mm Ian Kirk coach kits with a Spectrum On30 roof, kit wagon chassis, drivetrain and scraps of plastikard to build a freelance model inspired by a "pioneer" railbus.
  • Of course, there would also be nothing to stop anyone building a DC Kits or Bratchell multiple unit (they're all coaches, after all), or a Dapol railbus - then fitting it to powered chassis. Like it or not, building a lot of these models seems to involve a certain amount of kitbashing - especially if you motorize them or fit interiors. There's still quite a lot of work involved in getting it right. (I suspect similar comments could also be made about upgrading a lot of RTR multiple units - so I wouldn't be too upset to see any of these appearing, even if they're not exactly what I initially had in mind.)

 

So what could you call such a challenge? "101 uses for a coach" springs to mind.

 

Please forget about whether I, personally, would like to build this sort of fare (I would - but I don't think I'd be alone around here). Please also leave aside whether I've got any such builds at a stage which would allow me to start posting tomorrow (I haven't).

 

Although a challenge like this would suit me, I suspect it might suit a number of other people. Anyway, I suspect that the chances of me winning such a challenge would probably be on the low side of zero.

 

 

The latest batch of Cakebox entries have been uploaded to:

 

www.world-of-railways.co.uk/cakebox

 

Get over there and have a look.

 

And remember if you haven't sent your details to: cakeboxchallenge@warnersgroup.co.uk you aren't entered for the competition. Get a move on!

 

Batch cakes, eh?

 

Personally, I'd prefer a whole batch of home-made Welsh cakes - just the thing for a picnic lunch, a few metres in front of the BRM / Garden Rail stand at shows.

 

(Sorry, Phil - no offence was intended - but a suggestion like that was bound to appear sooner or later - somehow, I suspect you'd prefer it to come from someone who doesn't do malice ... .)

 

 

Huw.

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009 micro modeller

009 micro modeller

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I'd really love to see that one run again - better still turned into a "rolling" challenge, ie "complete it this year - enter this year; complete it next year - enter next year".

I wonder if this format might also work for the cake box challenge - I suspect I'm not alone in having a few more ideas which for various reasons didn't get built this year. On the other hand if the challenge was partly aimed at encouraging those new to model railways to take the plunge and build something then repeating it, with inevitably the original entrants getting more and more experienced and innovative, could be counterproductive. Personally I've enjoyed the CBC and it's encouraged me to develop a shunting stick and display box for cake box sized micro layouts, with the ability to build alternative scenic sections in future, so regardless of the challenge's outcome I feel that for me it has been worthwhile. I do like the idea of having another RMweb diorama/mini layout challenge though. I'll admit that I'm a big fan of micro layout challenges, having entered the Dave Brewer challenge at Swanley several times, but being at university at the moment I can't always commit to doing exhibitions so an online challenge appeals. The cake box layouts are also small enough that even in a short time they can be finished to a good standard.

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Bergmann

Bergmann

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Posted (edited)

My cake box model has even function, but unfortunately in the instruction manual of the sound module was a mistake and so it is only now.

 

A big problem remains with me but in Germany there is no original 8 inch cake box to buy. The shipping costs from England for this are unfortunately very high.

 

I built a cake box myself and my model fits in there too, only is it not an original, what now?

 

 

CakeBox02.jpg

Edited by Bergmann
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009 micro modeller

009 micro modeller

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Posted

My cake box model has even function, but unfortunately in the instruction manual of the sound module was a mistake and so it is only now.

 

A big problem remains with me but in Germany there is no original 8 inch cake box to buy. The shipping costs from England for this are unfortunately very high.

 

I built a cake box myself and my model fits in there too, only is it not an original, what now?

 

 

CakeBox02.jpg

You could have a ruler or tape measure next  to it, showing it is the right size.

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Dickon

Dickon

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You could have a ruler or tape measure next  to it, showing it is the right size.

This is a superb model, fully in the spirit of the CBC. It would be criminal to exclude it purely because Bergmann couldn't find a standard box in Germany.

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Phil Parker

Phil Parker

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No, you only get an e-mail if there is a problem, usually someone has ignored all the instructions on the type of photos (Overall, in a box, one other). Basically, as long as we have three photos and some words, I'm not going to argue.

 

The submissions go in to the office and get forwarded to me, so keep an eye out later nex week for your entry to go on the list.

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KNP

KNP

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Long Walk Home has just been submitted and must confess that I found this challenge extremely enjoyable and worthwhile.

 

Can't wait for the next one - what ever that is or.... could this be an annual event?

Edited by KNP
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Howard Smith

Howard Smith

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Hurry folks - not long to go now...

And, if you haven't finished your cakebox by October 12th, send us photographs of what you partially acheived to cakeboxchallenge@warnersgroup.co.uk - we're still interested in 'what might have been' ideas.

Best of luck! We've had some great entries so far...

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Hroth

Hroth

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I've updated the list - 35 entries so far and the October 12th closing date is fast approaching...

Now it's TOMORROW!!!

 

October 2018 seemed a comfortably long time away last October, but now its time to hand your homework in......

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