Galteemore

Ah now we get into the detail, so! Because as I’ve learned, bolt heads and rivets are different beasts, requiring different techniques. For actual rivets one can emboss in plasticard or brass using a rivet tool - like either of these...

Think they do have some relief detail despite the ‘decal’ aspect. Get great reviews...

Or like this?

Yes, or you can also use Archer’s rivet decals as many do ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Archer-Fine-Transfers-AR88001-Rivets/dp/B01F7FY45Y

Thanks ! Not a job to rush - each one needs put on with a knife point. If you use too much glue the ‘bolt’ dissolves, if too little it falls off... Having said that, at lunchtime yesterday I hadn’t even started this project so it’s perhaps progressing faster than I think...

Sligo Leitrim 7 ton van under way ...trying a new technique of applying individual bolt heads cut from 10x20 thou strip

Welcome back. Try Scale Link ?

Might also be worth looking at Hornby Railways Collectors asociation / that looks like some good stuff there

My brother is a 16mm modeller and that’s his view too..

Look for Jim Read’s stuff online....http://ogaugemicro.blogspot.com/?m=1 lots of card modelling tips and he’s very helpful.

Well done to all concerned. This is a great site - thanks for getting us back online!

I’ve got Guy’s book, too - recommended. You’ll probably pick up ideas from everyone you read - all part of the fun!

Yes. That’s the plan. I’ve got the maker’s drawings and will have a go, although I have a few loco kits to build too. I sold all my UK outline stuff in February and spent the proceeds buying up brass kits while they were available - can’t always guarantee to get what you want. So I have 3 locos and 3 coaches to build, not to mention drawings for a lot more...

The books are different in their approach so well worth having both. I’m thinking of doing an SLNC tank loco but still at early planning stages. Bought the bogie unit and nameplates but that’s it so far. Waiting to purchase a small pillar drill and a few other bits.

Great stuff. I’m starting out in scratch building a loco fairly soon and so gradually reading around. Simon Bolton’s stuff is very accessible and well illustrated. I use Biblio, Wordery and ABE Books as sources for comparing prices and buying books, also using Amazon as a general tool for seeing what’s out there, reading reviews etc.

Quite right Eoin - Ahern is mostly there for nostalgia!

If you like books, these are also very good...

I’d second Walsall Model Engineering, if you find anything workable in their range, PP, having used their wheels myself. Northants Model Railway Supplies is another very helpful sort of bloke http://www.nmrs-models.co.uk/

I’ve only ever used 145 on brass. If you’re quick you won’t melt other work. It’s good practice anyway to work at alternating sides or ends for each joint to avoid pushing too much heat into the work at once and causing warping.

1mm brass might be ok for chassis and 0.5 should give a firm body structure. 30 w iron should be enough for the body work but it’s worth getting proper flux and 145 or 188 solder. You may need something more powerful for the chassis as such thick brass will be a heat sink / 100w gun might be ok. Eileen’s Emporium or Squires are a good source for solder and flux.

Depends what you want to do ! Don’t forget that 10mm to the foot scales out at 30mm - close enough to 32mm gauge if you can live with the compromise - a fairly wide source of wheels and track parts..,

Thanks Leslie - no sermon this Sunday ! I’m all for kit-building - and now scratch building from necessity. But like many people, it took a leap of faith to actually start doing it. I think what you’ve done is brilliant and just wish your kits were 7mm scale - I’d build a few!

Leslie - I don’t have a dog in this fight but I know from UK outline 7mm that kit building is probably on the wane as RTR from Minerva and Dapol etc ramps up. Many people cannot (or more likely feel they cannot) produce items from kits that will look good enough beside the crisply detailed stuff fresh out of the box.

Thanks Angus - you’ll hopefully learn from my mistakes! From what I can see, Florencecourt and Dromahair were initially identical buildings in layout. Dromahair had a second floor added at some point. The courtyard area at the end seems to have gone through various iterations and was mostly demolished by 1957. The likeness between the buildings is not overly obvious at first as Florencecourt was largely rendered whilst Dromahair kept the bare stone at ground floor level. The canopies are also slightly different. For my purposes, Dromahair is a more useful prototype hence this effort.Not to mention that Dromahair was my family railhead !

Some basic steps in station building...usual modus operandi - Alphagraphix kit as the inspiration. This time using single storey Florencecourt card kit as a source for two storey Dromahair .... you’ll notice the back wall is completely featureless. That’s because it will be invisible on the layout - a John Ahern idea I think..no point modelling it if you can’t see it