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Developing the repeatable Part 2 - The arches
Now for the REAL challenge - the viaduct the railway runs along the top of. Unlike the road, these will be at least visible and people might even look closely. Unlike the prototype, I have to contend...
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Garden Rail - November 2020
Some models are too big to fit in a single issue of a magazine. The Vale of the White Horse Railways is an impressive project that looks great, but needs space to cover all aspects so we start this...
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ANOTHER pair of glasses
Remember when I said I had three pairs of glasses? Well, now I have four*.For a while, I've been concerned that for real close-up work, I have been taking my specs off so I could focus properly. I...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Ding Dings in Hong Kong
I still remember my visit to Hong Kong a few years ago. Technically a stop-over on the way to Australia, it was amazing.On the second visit, I managed to get myself on the ferry to see the...
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Hong Kong tram toys
Yesterdays video made me want to dig my Hong Kong tram souvenirs out of the back of the cupboard and take a photo. Sadly, there's not much in the way of identification under them apart from the largest...
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Coal yard and sheep shelter in The Collector
Deadlines. My life is ruled by deadlines. On a board beside my computer there is a list of magazine deadlines and the projects that I need to complete by them. It should be a comprehensive list, but...
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Leave the door ajar
I can't remember which magazine it was in, but I remember an amazing, beautiful, model railway layout where the author made the point that he didn't like little people. Instead, he left hints of their...
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Brickwork patching
I love working with styrene - it's so forgiving. There aren't many materials that allow you to make invisible joins in so easily. The design of the South Eastern Finecast arches combined with the...
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What goes in a model boat?
James asks: Years ago I built a static model based on a Glyyn Guest design - I didn't know at the time but the prototype I chose actually worked on the River Welland just a few miles from where I now...
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Layout mascots
Digging in my stock box last week, I found my layout mascots. These travelled with us to hundreds of shows and occupied the rear corner of our stock display box. Lots of layouts have mascots - odd...
View ArticleSaturday Podcast Club: Kids Making Kits (with Maggie Gravett)
Not a video this week. Sit back and enjoy a Railway Mania podcast with Maggie Gravett talking about how she runs the kids making kits area at Warley and York.
View ArticleMy top 5 tools
A few weeks ago, James Hilton posted about his favourite tools. Well, I thought I'd do the same, but used the idea as a chance to experiment with some video. Enjoy!
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Watch straps
I like watches.Wearing one for many years, my wrist feels odd without one. Truth is, my collection of pretty cheap* watches is huge and some of them actually work. In recent months, the need to know...
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The great Selly Oak canal near-disaster
In model form, the Selly Oak canal is filled with Woodland Scenics "Deep Pour" resin. It's excellent stuff, but you really do need to keep it in the canal. I did my best. The ends were dammed with...
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Canal bridge sides
The massive canal bridge is another exercise in repeated modelling. The basic concept is a curved top slab for the side, but the ribs are numerous and need to look the same. I used a similar method as...
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Rusty bridge sides
I don't know what the bridge sides would have looked like at Selly Oak in the 1970s, but rusty seems a reasonable bet. Red oxide car primer is a good base colour for this work and will show up...
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Santaland G scale Christmas wagon
It's made of really cheap plastic, horribly tack, and the moment I saw it on eBay, I knew I wanted one. As far as I can tell, the Santaland range of festive trains are an American thing like all the...
View ArticleSaturday Podcast Club: The BRM team argue over their favourite layouts
To promote the Virtual Show on 7/8 November, the entire team has linked up remotely to talk about the event, "discuss" our favourite layouts and take the mickey out of Howard. I enjoyed making this...
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The best time to plant a tree is...
They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now. My horse chestnut, planted well over a decade ago, has produced a nice crop of conkers. The question is,...
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Spooky goings on
Inspired by a window of Danish tat shop Flying Tiger, I decided that Garden Rail should have a couple of spooky images for Halloween. A giant pumpkin loaded on a flat wagon seemed like a good plan ,...
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