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Warehouse Wednesday: An American diner in Shropshire
What do you do when your trip to Chirk is going better than expected, and the satnav says you'll be an hour early? You drop into the OK Diner at Oswestry of course. To be honest, it had been an early...
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Does anyone remember Gilmour Kits?
Yes, it's another random purchase from a scond hand stall because I don't recognise the maker. Really, I could set up a museum of this stuff. I've never heard of Gilmour Kits, and online can only find...
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Railway tools
More junk bought at a bargain price because I was curious. In this case, I think I might have something with a bit of value though, so maybe this counts as an investment. Whatever, they came from the...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Gazelle
Another facinating Anthony Dawson film about a well-known, tiny, standard gauge loco. Time to head off to a forum to demand a RTR model! (Seriously though, has there ever been a kit produced. It would...
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Model Tram show - Crich 2022
Off to Crich for the model tramways show. I had a few work things in mind so I'm afraid the photo selection is a bit limited. There were some lovely G scale Belgian trams on the Whiteleaf Tramway...
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New crane
Last week, I recorded a first look video on some of the new(ish) Corgi Trackside range of diecast models.While looking at the Coles Crane, a really useful reintroduction to the range, I couldn't resist...
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Lewin loco
When my friend Earl dropped a load of collectables (Triang Giraffe car, 3-rail loco) he also brought along a part-built kit for which he extracted a small amount of cash. At the time, he said it was...
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Wheels off
I love Romford wheels. Self-quartering, and thanks to the metal centres, pretty much indesructable. These are not Romfords. It's been a long while since I did any serious kit bulding, but the soft...
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Getting on track
Amazingly, after a tiny twist, the wheel quartering seemd pretty much spot on. Rods were slid over bearings and the retaining nuts done up hard, then touched with superglue to ensure they don't undo...
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Ruining a collectable?
Looking for fodder for an upcoming BRMTV video, I grabbed this Coventry Collieries wagon for a bit of interior work. It wasn't until I got the model back home I realsied that it's a rare collectable....
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Little Engines of New Zealand
I'll have to confess, at the time of posting, I haven't found time to watch all of this video, but I will do. Lots of converted cinie film showing steam operations on the other side of the world from...
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Crewe 2009
I'm a bit busy for posting right now, so here's a random photo of Crewe (I think) from 2009.
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An army of Phils
OK, I'm not quite sure how this happened, but I commissioned Rob Bennett to make a little model of me. And at the same time, decided that the world need lots of little Phils. So arranged for him to...
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Mini Phil Painting Guide
Jacket - 118 dry bushed with 93Jeans - 144 dry brushed with a 144/147 mixHair - 67 dry brushed with 64Skin - 61 dry brushed with Precision flesh/61 mixTeeth - 147Shirt - Precision maroon with 64...
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Warehouse Wednesday: Chester brick-built garages
Taken from the city walls around Chester, these garages (I think) are interesting, if not exciting prototypes. It strikes me that if I was building a model, there doors would line up better with the...
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Making trams move in BRM October
It's BRM day today, so what have I been up to? On the workbench, I take a diecast tram and make it work with a simple-to-use chassis kit. The results are very effective, and miles away from the...
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GEM Uncoupler ramps
This is why I love a proper, physical model shop. One full of "stuff". Looking for some uncoupling ramps for a project, I find a packet of GEM ones that must date back into the 1960s. I've never seen...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Rimutaka Incline
After last weeks' look at Kiwi trains, Rhys got in touch to point me at this video. He tells me, "We see the longest lasting and last Fell incline in the world. The locos had 2 engines running at...
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Postcards from Guildex
My visit to Guildex last weekend was busy. Lots to look at, plenty of people to chat too, and despite what you might read on the interweb, the wifi worked fine. Anyway, I didn't have time for a proper...
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Chunky buffer beams required
Working on a model that's already built, rather than a kit, isn't always easy. I've come to fit the buffers to the Lewin, and on the prototype, these are chunky lumps of iron-faced wood. I always used...
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