Tullygrainey

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

Little Things Sent To Try Us Department: Bending handrails. And pipes. Trying to thread handrail knobs, I’m convinced each time that the little brat doesn’t have a hole in it. But they always do. Onwards with eyestrain, Alan

Lovely work

I've ordered up some chimney and dome castings, hoping some will be right for No 29. While waiting, I decided to have a go at making some. For the chimney, some bits of nested brass tube and a suitably sized washer were the raw materials. These were soldered together with 188 degree solder, then the rough shape built up with 145 degree solder and the final profile machined (and I use the term loosely) with files and emery while the thing rotated in the Black and Decker. Using higher temp solder to assemble the bits meant that the thing didn't fall apart while the lower temp stuff was puddled on. I learnt that the hard way - see failed project drawer. The bottom flange, in 10 thou brass, was the most difficult bit to do. The dome used the same process with different materials - wooden dowell, 0.5mm plastic sheet and filler. The dome was fitted tightly into a hole cut in a rectangle of plastic sheet and fixed with superglue. The sheet was taped round a suitable cylinder and the whole lot dunked in hot water, then cold, to induce a bit of a curve for the flange. We'll see how they compare with the commercial bits when they come. They may not get used but the process has been instructional. All those years watching Blue Peter weren't wasted Alan

Tedious work indeed David but worth the effort as you say. It’s going to be good! I’m putting off applying the primer coat as long as possible on my present project and dreading what it’ll show up

Those look wonderful Ken. The detail is exceptional. A great result after all the patience and perseverance needed to get there. Alan

Looking good Patrick. Great back story too. Best wishes for this one.

Little Things Sent To Try Us Department: Running plate steps These little brutes severely strained my patience, my dexterity, my eyesight and my resistance to using unseemly language. But they're done, for better or worse, and now and I'm whistling a happy tune Alan

Lovely job David. It’s come together very nicely. That really is a charming little engine.

Some Alan Gibson boiler bands did service for coal rails. Three were separated from the etch but kept attached to one another so they stayed equidistant while uprights were soldered on. Then the whole caboodle was soldered into the bunker and some tank fillers added (artistic licence in play here) By the time all this was added, my soldering iron was struggling. Still resembles an Airfix kit. Ah, fond memories... Locate and cement cab roof (1) to cab (2) ensuring whistle hole is to the front etc... ...but getting there. Will need to source a suitable chimney and dome soon. Alan

Looking good David. I'm with you on brake gear and the dangers of shorting - not my favourite task either. In fact, whisper it, one or two of my kit builds never got their brakes fitted. On a few others I played it so safe, a 4mm scale fitter could probably get his head between brake pad and wheel tread. In 4mm, Gibsons do a small range of plastic brake shoes, intended to address the shorting issue and I've begun to look at those as an alternative to the supplied etched bits. Despite the difficulties, the brakes on your E Class look like they could actually stop it, rather than wave around in the general vicinity of the wheels so job done. Please keep posting. I've looked with interest at those Alphagraphix kits so it's great to see one going together so nicely.

Thanks David. Please do. If memory serves, I stole the idea from an article in MRJ.