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The perils of old etched brass kits
Oh, you think this kit building lark is so easy. Heats some solder up, chuck it in the box, give it a shake, and voila! A working loco. Not a chance. In the "good old days", etched kits were designed...
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First end on
Here we go. 90 minutes of tacking metal in place with the electric iron, followed by lots and lots of checking with a square to make sure everything was in the right place was followed by a quick...
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The Alan Gibson file: Mystery narrow gauge locomotive
I've got nothing. I don't know what this is (OK, it's a steam locomotive), or where it is. Based on the other photos, I'm going to say 1970s, but even that's a guess. Suggestions in the comments...
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Save a 2nd hand station in BRM
Digging around in the back of my local model shop, I found a Hornby station. It had been stuck together, and obviously spent time on a layout, before ending up in a box, at the back of the shop. For...
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Weetabix racer
A bit of nostalgia rescued from the bottom of a 5p each, diecast cars box at a recent show. I had one of these - in fact, it's probably still in the loft somewhere. Back in the 1970s, if you collected...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: I bought a garage find Matra Rancho. How rusty is it?
No, not me. Martin from Grand Thrift Auto. In this video, he discovers the true horror of his Rancho. Which is in the bronze, my favourite colour. It's even got the lamps on the scuttle. I'd like those...
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Great British Model Railway Show 2023
Busy. Non-stop chat for pretty much two days. Brilliant fun, but tiring. While the initial rush wasn't massive, once it finished, the crowds just kept on coming. Being next to thye up escalator meant...
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Camera balancing
Having arranaged to take a set of photos of Life in Longmorn, I packed all my gear up, for what was to be an early start. We might only live 15 minutes drive away, but it's still an early start....
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Brake van update
Last year, the the GBMRS, I started work on an O gauge Parkside brake van - LNER 20 Ton Toad E - kit. That year, I managed to assemble the floor, solebars, strengtheners and three W-irons. This year,...
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The Alan Gibson Files: Another mystery steam loco
Another mystery loco. I'm not even sure what sort it is!Last weeks, was apparenlty taken at Hockley Heath steam rally, late 1960s - is this one? It would make sense. Anyway, over to you. Thanks in...
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Off to Jersey for the latest Garden Rail
Star of social media and local TV, the Jersey-base HSBA railway comes to Garden Rail. Built by Curtis and Nikki Stanier, this beautiful, G scale line is regularly open to the public, and has raised a...
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Weetabix vans
Last week, we had the Weetabix racer, so now, thanks to more rooting around in boxes under a trade table, a pair of Weetabix rail vans. All for a couple of quid each. Ramsay's tells me that these are...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Meet the "RAILWAY MANIACS"
We head back to 1975, and the popular BBC magazine show, Nationwide. Martin Young on his journey across the country as he chats to the ultimate "railway maniacs."
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Disapointed Sinclair owner
When I was at school, I was Sinclair kid. A ZX81 followed by a Spectrum meant my computer heart belonged to Clive. How I, and the other Sinclair kids looked down on those with Commodore computers....
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Time for a break
Sorry, I've been so busy lately that there's been no modelling for well over a fortnight, and no prospect for the foreseeable future, so not much to report on the blog. I have some ideas for future...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Yorkshire Coast Tramway
Here's an odd one - a standard guage Manx tramway with non-Manx trams, and a city that certainly isn't Douglas. Some terrific work though. Lots of working road vehicles, and lots of very recognisable...
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Driving trains on the Bredgar and Wormshill Railway
While I'm still stupidly busy, some days at work are more fun than others. Last week, I was invited by a model railway manufacturer, to join them on a staff awayday at the Bredgar and Wormshill...
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Cleaning up
In the last three weeks, progress on the Sentinel has amounted to an hour of cleaning up the soldered joint around the base of the body. While there wasn't much solder, a neat right-angle here will...
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Quick work Inglenook
Someone who has been active on the model railway building front, is my new friend Alastair. We first met at the Great British Model Railway show, and talked about building small layouts. He was...
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A cream K6
On a recent layout shoot, I found myself near Hull. Now, the thing I know about Hull, is that their telephone boxes are cream, and don't feature a royal crest. It's all to do with being part of a...
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