Tullygrainey

It was just the cab/tank/bunker section David but when it hit the carpet it rolled! Nice even coverage

Finally got all the rivets in place. Then another coat of black to blend them in…. Put the first green top coat on. Then, while examining the finish (and this is going to sound familiar David) I dropped it. On the carpet. Before the paint was dry. Enter the BCDR’s first fluffy locomotive. No photos. It’s too depressing. I picked the worst bits off with tweezers but I’m not sure it’s saveable. The disadvantage of rivet transfers is that they can’t be sanded and it’s difficult to sand round them. Stripping the paint will remove them. Bu**er! Seeking counselling Alan

Absolutely beautiful!

That’s praise indeed! Thank you Leslie

It does Leslie but it leaves you with nothing to blame

I think my learning curve mirrors yours David. I can remember not that long ago thinking that, even though the idea really appealed, building etched kits would be beyond me. And I still have the first Branchlines chassis I ever assembled. It never ran properly, and has defied subsequent attempts to make it work, but I learned a lot from it, not least that it was worth trying again. So Patrick, I have a spare soldering iron if you want to borrow it Postscript: Reading this back, I need to add that the failure of my Branchlines chassis was nothing to do with the design of the chassis and all to do with the cack- handed actions of a beginner-builder! Alan

Never say never Patrick. We’re all on learning curves here. That’s part of the pleasure

Bye bye brass Managed to get away with not too much filling. It's very grey isn't it! Actually it's now black to give a good dark base for the green topcoats when we get to them. But before that.... More Little Things Sent To Try Us: Rivet transfers My first use of Railtec's 3D rivet waterslide transfers. They come in a range of sizes and spacings and are beautifully crisp but extremely delicate so they need very careful handling. Moulded in white, they're easy to see against a dark background. By the same token, any irregularities in applying them are horribly apparent in photographs, especially in long runs. Witness some of the wobbly lines above. This should be less apparent once the paint goes on and the rivets are the same colour as the background. I hope. The larger black rivets on the smokebox are from my remaining stock of Archer transfers. Putting black rivets onto a black base was a laugh. Alan

Out of adversity comes innovation! Nice work with the buffers and couplings David. Fly is looking pristine again. I get the same feeling about that first paint coat - too bright and too shiny too in my experience. Toy-like. But it soon comes in, as you say. Looking forward to seeing Fly gather a little road dust. Probably best not to think too much about the cost. It’s a small price to pay for the pleasure of building something and then looking with a bit of pride at what you’ve achieved. I think Fly has come in at a very reasonable cost. One of the advantages of taking as long as I do to make anything is that the cost is well spread out and less noticeable Incidentally, my most recent 4mm rtr loco purchase cost £325 including postage. I don’t do that very often. More power to your soldering iron. And your Black & Decker Alan

Last chance to see: No.29 in all its brassy brassiness before the great Halfords coverup. Or should that be the great Halfords show-up-all-the-flaws-I-didn't-notice? Bit of both I think. Onwards with rattle cans Alan

Just wonderful! And imaginative use of 'found' materials. I like that very much!

More bad luck than you deserve David. Hang in there. It will definitely be worth it. The rolling stock looks great.

Ingenious. And lovely neat work too. If that was me trying that, the roof edges would remain unstuck but my fingers would be securely glued together and probably also to the roof Alan

Stop, Patrick!

Beautiful work. Those models have real charm.

Ah David, what a thing to happen. That must’ve been hugely discouraging. I would say anguish doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling. You’ve made a great recovery though. Well done, both for fixing the damage and for recovering your composure so well. The big hammer stayed in the drawer Alan

Yes, I was surprised too Stephen. I didn’t expect to see it so soon

The A Class is beautiful and such a smooth runner. It just drifts along with no apparent means of propulsion. A revelation for me, weaned on hacked Hornby Pugs and cobbled together little 0-4-0s lurching and stalling over the points. I begin to see why there’s such enthusiasm for these models. Interesting how 146 looks black in your photos Patrick. It’s definitely grey. I checked.

Certainly FS, here we are, fresh out of the box So far, I’m impressed with the build quality and finish. For a handmade model, it’s pretty remarkable. My example ran smoothly out of the box and once I’d taken a bit more care seating it properly on the track, it negotiated all the short radius points on Loughan Quay with a minimum of fuss. I think I’m going to have to build a layout for it. Or get Patrick Davey to invent a scenario which explains a J15 in BCDR territory. I have every confidence in him Alan

It is. Current batch. Delivered new this morning.

It was very early morning here at Loughan Quay in our quiet corner of County Down. Hardly anyone about. This came through. No-one else saw it. Afterwards, I wasn’t sure if I’d dreamed it. IMG_7680.mov

Thanks John. I can understand the difficulties in achieving that and I suspect making them by hand may be easier in some respects. It's a case of bend a bit, file a bit, fill a bit, bend it some more, start again. No maths or geometry involved!

Three attempts

Of course! Should have known. He did some work at Loughan Quay...

Lovely work Patrick. Just taking in the artwork on the walls now I'm viewing this on a desktop. When I looked at it on my phone earlier, I took them for windows! Can't quite identify the artists though Alan