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Build-a-Bug
Inspired by my trip to Stanford Hall, I have dug a plastic kit for a cabriolet Beetle out from the stash. One that will hopefully be a nice simple job to stick together. Imai's kit is from the Junior...
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Pre-painting
The key to this kit is pre-painting as many parts as possible. To keep things simple, there are some bit made in the wrong colour. Engine crankcases are not chrome, but silver magnesium. A coat of...
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Warehouse Wednesday: Birmingham clock tower
Heading to a 'spoons on Broad Street in Birmingham (classy, I know), I spotted this rather impressive building. Dating from the time when the city was a powerhouse of industry, it appealed to me as a...
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Our own garden railway in Garden Rail, plus deadly beasts down under.
This is a first, the feature layout in the latest Garden Rail is our own garden railway built in a day. The shortest-lived line in the magazine and one that I discovered when I set out the article,...
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Scenerama Modelling detached town houses
It's unusual for me to trip over a kit I've not seen before, but this one, found on the second hand table at the RMweb members day, is a mystery.This kit is sizable injection-loulded affair for a pair...
View ArticleSaturday Fim Club: BTF trailer
Looking through YouTube, I found this trailer which is rather fun. Nice jaunty tune and plenty of shots that make me want to see more. Lots of images that are very much of their time too!
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Stamford show vandalism
Photo: Stamford MercuryI couldn't believe it when I fired up my computer yesterday to discover that 4 youths had broken into the Stamford Academy the Friday night before the model railway show, and...
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National Vintage Communications Fair 2019
Ten pounds to go into the antique fair? Makes toy train show look like a bargain...Still, I like to go to non-train events and I was sure I could extract a tenners worth of entertainment from the day....
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Painting the chrome trim
Trickiest job on the Beetle build? Painting the chrome trim on the sides and bonnet.It's thin, and not raised enough to dry-brush.I agonised a bit about this and then came up with the solution - use a...
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Warehouse Wednesday: Overgrown building
Spotted in Margate, this was obviously a very well-built store of some sort, but it's fallen on hard times, and now nature is reclaiming it big time. The back would be easy enough to model, but the...
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Buildings in BRM
The Billy Bookcase layout makes progress in the June issue of BRM - I've built the buildings.My plan was to use as many different manufacturers products as possible, but make them all sit harmoniously...
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Voltmeter repair
I picked this neat little voltmeter up at the Vintage radio fair. I don't need another voltmeter, but I thought this looked a bit nifty so punted a fiver on it.Obviously the wire out of the top had had...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Industrial monorail and target trolley
I wish I lived nearer Amberley Chalk Pits museum. They have fun things like this.
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Finding a railway at the slot car show
I've been trying to include more non-train events in my life recently. You can get rather too deep into the hobby, especially when it's your job as well and I've been feeling like I need a break over...
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Beetle built
Having finished sticking the Beetle together, I've a few thoughts about the build and the Revell kit.At the start, I was really getting into it. Pre-painting was fun and seemed to go well. All the...
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Wooden wagon rescue
Show me a box on a second-hand stall containing a 7mm scale wagon priced at a pound, and it's probably coming home with me.That's especially true when the wagon is a beautifully scratch-built model...
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Warehouse Wednesday: London taximan's shelter
Can you get more London than this?Anyone who has looked at the Wills plastic kit range since the late 1980s will be familiar with this prototype - a wooden shelter/cafe for cab drivers. These tiny...
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Wobbly solebar
Here's a novel feature. When I looked closely at the solebars of this wooden model, the top edge of one wasn't flat and there is a bolt set into the face, sticking out the back.A little bit of thinking...
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R2D2 frustration
R2D2 is built!Standing at 19 inches tall and weighing quite a big (he won't fit on the scales) this is one impressive model. It's a good looking one too. Although there is a lot of self-coloured...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Secrets of the Central Line
London Underground fascinates me. So much so, I once went all the way down there just to ride to the exotically names "Ongar". Since then the line has shut, but makes a brief appearance at the start of...
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