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Model railways without exhibitions?
Imagine our hobby, but without any of the 500 or more public exhibitions that take place around the country every year.This isn't so far fetched in these coronavirus ravaged days. Were the government...
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Project fatigue
It probably sounds daft, but sometimes I get tired of modeling. At the moment, I'm hopefully entering a quieter period at work, but just recently there has been an awful lot of building. Interesting...
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My new favourite PVA
With some kits from Petite Properties on the bench, I asked them which glue they recommended. A bottle of 502 adhesive was waved at me - apparently, it's the only PVA in the workshop. I knew I'd seen...
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Waterborne Wednesday - Water taxis
We've had a couple of industrial boats recently for those who like a bit of rust and grime, time for something completely different. These yellow water taxis were moored up in Sydney harbour in 2014....
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Railway revival in Garden Rail
We're off to the top right of Wales this month to visit the Anglesey Model Village and Railway. A few years ago, the village was derelict and could so easily have vanished like so many others. Instead,...
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Midlands Garden Rail Show tomorrow
This weekend it's the Midlands Garden Rail Show and I'll be doning the Garden Rail tweed jacket with some precious hand sanitiser in the pocket and visiting on both days. Plenty of chat but no shaking...
View ArticleSaturday Fim Club: Coalfinger
I'm not one for long videos normally, but this half-hour with a fuel delivery narrowboat is very enjoyable. OK, there are a few modelling ideas here (the barge would be a great project) it's more that...
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Leamington & Warwick Exhibition 2020
This was me last weekend - standing outside in the fresh air, helping people find parking spaces. I have a nice, thick Day-Glo jacket and it's a job someone has to do, so I volunteered to be on the...
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A whiff of sanding sealer makes the world seem alright
This kit is made of wood. The prototype is made of metal.I'm not going to kid myself that I can make the wood as smooth as metal. That's a huge amount of work and arguably more effort than...
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More fake metal and some detail
The end of the chassis is a pretty complicated bit of construction with several layers of wood to be laminated together to represent the hefty casting on the real loco.Line them up perfectly and they...
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Waterborne Wednesday: Bournemouth Belle
Built in 1975, the Bournemouth Belle is 86 feet long and can carry 228 passengers. I'm not clever, I just found this useful page with details. There's a useful history here. My photo dates from 2008,...
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I need a filing system for rubbish
How do you deal with "useful" styrene offcuts?I've a tin containing some of those that I think are big enough to be worth keeping but too small to file with the full sheets.Working with the silhouette...
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Keep Calm and Build Models
We live in "interesting times". In the same way that a flight where you think you might die is "interesting".Like many people, I'm alternating between being scared and depressed. Sometimes I just want...
View ArticleI'm walking backwards to the Rhomney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway
An interesting find. Take a trip along the RH&DR in the company of Harry Seacombe, driven by Spike Milligan, all to meet Michael Bentine. It's a Goons re-union with small steam trains!
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Midlands Garden Rail Show 2020
The Midlands show was affected by the Coronavirus panic, so numbers were down despite the best efforts of the organisers with hand sanitizers and regular cleaning of the barriers. It's a great shame...
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Switch box
Time for a bit of head-scratching. There is a box fitted in the loco to hold the DPDT switch, but it's not really that clear exactly how it's supposed to work. To be honest, the interior of this model...
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Clever wobbly axle joy
Before I put the motor in the chassis, but after I'd extracted the switch box, it was time to fit the wheels. These are supplied but on the wrong axles. The builder has to remove the over-long versions...
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Waterborne Wednesday: Not the galleon
Sensible people would take photos of the pretty, wooden galleon moored in the Sydney harbour. Not me, the working boat next to it is far more appealing. I've not desire to build a many-masted sailing...
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Shops and brickpaper in the April BRM
It's all the fault of Wycrail. During my visit to the show last year, I spotted the fascinating tramway layout, Upper Oreful Street. You might remember that we'd recently produced a London themed issue...
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Heritage Lego VeeDubs
I've always loved Lego and always loved VWs, so combine the two and I'm a happy man. These two VW panel vans date from the 1961-67 period when Lego made a range of HO scale vehicles. There were pickups...
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