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Beatties Model Boat Catalogue 1967
"This first model boat catalogue is a start. I hope to improve it as further additions appear.". So said SN Beattie inside the ochre cover of this A5 sized publication.The biggest surprise found within...
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10000
I'm pretty sure I've show John Webb's wooden model of ex-LMS 10000 before. However, sorting through a pile of magazines, I find a copy of Hobbies Weekly from December 24th, 1952. As you can see, the...
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MERG speed control part 1
For reasons that need not concern us here, I have joined the Model Electronic Railway Group, (MERG). This gives me access to their range of kits. Many are complex projects that if I'm honest, are over...
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MERG speed control part 2
Half an hour's relaxed work while listening tot he radio and look what I have - a working speed control!4 pages of instructions lead the builder through the job. Starting a with a circuit diagram, we...
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Warehouse Wednesday: Camouflage
It's a little known fact that moch of the design and development of military camouflage was developed in Leamington Spa. A new exhibition in the art gallery Concealment and Deception: The Art of the...
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The Barclay's back
6 months in a box while I was too busy on other projects hasn't done the Barclay too much damage. With a little more time to finish personal projects, I've hauled it out, hoping to finish the model...
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Boiler fitted
As suspected, a great big hole had to be opened out in the bottom of the smokebox to enable the boiler unit to sit down properly. Being whitemetal, my getting it in slightly the wrong place at first...
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Denny's workbench
People have long memories. A couple of days ago at the model railway club, Graham approached me brandishing a bound edition of Railway Modeller magazine.He had remembered a post from 2010 when I'd...
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Free book!
Outside my railway modelling life, I'm a bit of a novelist - you might have spotted the link to my literary blog on the right hand side of this one.Well, for one day only - I and my co-author Candice...
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Boiler won't sit down
I always hope that these posts will help people. If you are building a kit, it's useful to read about potential problems before you encounter them. Which is why I mention that all did not go well when...
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Wrap the cylinders
Hard nickel-silver cylinder covers aren't ideal. Much as I love this metal, it's a pig to bend. A few moments with the gas torch warming it up helped a bit. Maybe if I'd been less lazy and used the...
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Warehouse Wednesday: Industrial corner
When I look at my viewing stats on Flickr, this photo is often in the top ten most popular for the day. In the last 3 years, it's garnered 3,273 views.Why? Don't know. It's certainly an interesting...
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Brakes
Braking on the Barclay is a bit limited. We get some rear shoes and nothing in the middle. Is this prototypical? Anyway, the whole lot hangs together OK with everything attached to wires poking from...
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Pickups
No problem fiddling the electricity in this loco. Once side is uninsulated, so the chassis is live. The other needs some phosphor bronze (supplied) pickups. These are fitted to a plate bolted...
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It just needs a bit of T-Cut...
After a slightly random conversation at the model boat club, I find myself custodian of this GWR station lamp. The previous owner had inherited it and didn't want to throw it away. He had no desire to...
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A little bit of stop-motion animation
It's another free book Sunday and this week I've been working with the Sport Bulldog I built last year and "Parker and Wild" builders yard that's quite a lot older, to produce an advert.The slightly...
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Painted primer
Stripping this chassis down will be a faff so I've treated it to a brush coat of lovely Humbrol primer. I did buy a new pot, but only because I can't find the old one. The sticking power of this stuff...
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Barclay chassis testing
A quick coat of Railmatch "Weathered Black" followed by a bit of cleaning up the next day and the chassis is ready for a test. Powered an half-century old H&M Clipper, it thrashes away on the...
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Warehouse Wednesday - Valves in a box
Tucked away behind Alexandra Palace, I found this black box with hand wheels. Most people would ignore it, but I thought it was worth a picture. While I've no idea what it does, a future model may need...
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Melbridge Dock in BRM
While we exhibited Melbridge Dock at Doncaster earlier this year, Andy York took the chance to point his camera at it. The results can be found in the September "Layouts Special" issue of BRM. Since...
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