Angus

I had quite a few emails conversations with Allen before he shut up shop. I had a large outstanding order with him that he was struggling to fill due to issues with the photo tool (it wasn't any of the Irish stock that was affected). I finished up doing a deal with him to secure his remaining 2mm fine scale LMS kits and sides in lieu of what I actually ordered. The email exchange was a bit hit and miss so I came to the conclusion his health wasn't great. This was just speculation on my part though One thing people miss when talking about etching is the quantity required to make an order viable. The whole sheet needs to be produced which can contain several items. This means if you want an individual coach you have to order the whole sheet (which could be duplicates, something appropriate that may be of use or something else entirely) So the purchaser either needs to stump up for multiple items they don't necessarily want or the supplier has to carry stock that might not get sold. Not a simple as it first appears.

Hi Mayner, There are quite a few of our group who are now producing decent quality prints in 2mm. I suspect this is due to constant fettling to perfect the print, something that wouldn't be viable on a commercial basis, but is encouraging for the hobbiest. Cheers Angus

There has been a bit of a debate going on in our 2mm scale group about the best way to use 3d print technology. The consensus seems to be for wagons a 3d body on an etched chassis with 3d details such as buffer and axle boxes is the ideal. This also assumes you have access to a chassis etch or the skills to draw one up.......

Great view of Dromahair in the top picture. It nicely covers an area that is difficult to see in all the photos I've found of the station. One to log for the future.

Hi David, Thinking some more on this I've realised I am slightly confused by your comment on shortening the dropper. In 2mm the dropper (heavier iron wire) acts as the counter weight to pull the loop down. Even if the loop goes beyond the vertical the dropper will extend back past the vertical and return the loop back to horizontal. If you shorten the dropper surely you would reduce this counter weight effect? This started me thinking that your problem might be that the coupling is set further out relative to the end of the wagon/coach in 7mm. This would allow the loop to pass further through the vertical to the point where the dropper can't act as a counter weight. If so the solution would be to somehow restrict the movement of the loop. Hope the makes sense, it would be easier to explain with a sketch (assuming I had any drawing ability!)

Hi David, As a 2mm scale modeller I've been using DGs for a while now so have experience of my own and those shared by others in conversations amongst other 2mm modellers. I've never used them in 7mm scale though. The loops are recognised as a problem, that said, I don't have much of an issue. Some 2mm modellers just put the loop on one end of their stock, which works if your stock always travels in one direction. If not you are going to have problems due to stock with no loops trying to couple (or have to carefully choreograph the moves). When I first started using DGs I experimented with some soft iron wire for the loops. I thought I was being clever as this meant I could just fold the loop and dropper up out a single piece of wire, no need to solder on a dropper. The wire was thicker though, probably bigger than 0.5mm where the standard 2mm wire is 0.3mm. I found I had a couple of issues: Firstly the loops clashed more causing problems when coupling. Changing back to 0.3mm phosphor bronze wire all but removes the issue. I think the slight spring in the phosphor bronze wire also helps. Secondly the loops didn't drop back as consistently. I suspect this was do to the loop being heavier so the dropper didn't have as much of a counter balance effect bringing the loop down. The wire was also a slightly tighter fit in the mounting hole (but still free to move) so I suspect there was more friction involved. Again, moving back to phosphor bronze wire with an iron dropper resolved this. I've found the loops do pop out occasionally but only if I'm manhandling the stock, I've never had this issue if they are on the track and my fingers aren't involved. As your rakes are short might it be worth trying some 0.3 phospher bronze for the loops? It should be strong enough even for 7mm.

Hi David, a post on RMweb has just reminded me of an issue with DGs. If you have long stock and sharp curves body mounting the couplers can cause derailments. The loop pushes on the coupler vertical of the wagon in front sideways pushing it off the track. With a 2mm scale diesel (about 4" long) if the couplers are body mounted it will push anything longer than a short wheelbase wagon off the track on and A5 point (although I think the curve exiting the point is slightly sharper) I now bogie mount my couplers. It might be worth checking all your stocks works through your point work before progressing any further.

Just measured the wire that comes with the 2mm couplings and it's 0.3mm diameter. I'd guess this would be strong enough for 7mm?

Hi David, DGs are the chosen coupling in 2mm finescale circles with about 70%of people using them. My experience is to use as thin a wire as possible to form the loops. This is better visually but also operates better as the loops slide over one another easier. In 2mm the DGs come with thin phospher bronze wire which is also a bit springy. I'm guessing this also helps.

Just got a copy of the September Railway Modeller. The photos look great, a really good example of how a small layout can appear much bigger than it is.

I notice in the "coming next month" column in this month's Railway Modeller there is a photo of a rather attractive MGWR green loco...... Looking forward to reading this next month!

Chapeau Ben Healy, He deserved the win today.

I'm sorry, I refuse to believe that is a work bench, I can see the wooden surface beneath.....

Hi Darragh, Try: https://www.modelbrickyard.com/en You can customise colour, bond and mortar. Not sure if you will get the shade you are looking for but worth a play if you have't tried.