2996 Victor

Fantastic news, Ken - keep at it! Some lovely little bits of progress on the Port, its the details that make the layout come to life and its certainly doing that. I do like Dart Castings products - their conical milk churns for instance are, imho, the best available (no association with them except as a satisfied customer). I don't think I've said before that I think the Maltings are superb, although all your buildings are excellent. Nice convertible, by the way Stay safe, keep strong, and keep getting yourself better All the best, Mark

So sorry to hear your news, Ken - along with everyone else, I'm sending you all best wishes for a speedy full recovery. Stay safe and keep strong. Mark

Did it involve parachutes?

Groan

Stunning work! And +1 on the tutorial - that's a brilliant technique. Cheers, Mark

Brilliant, David! Maggie is the G.O.A.T. goat Cheers, Mark

Yes - you'd have to "brush" the fibres soon after applying them to mimic how the real animal's coat lies. Although the "plugged into the mains" look would be quite funny..... Or, after you're absolutely happy with the goat's shape, what about a very thin final covering of thinned clay more like potter's slip but not quite as runny. Then use a toothbrush or similar to brush in the goat's hair while it's still damp. Perhaps a trial on a spare lump of clay might be worthwhile! Cheers, Mark

What about using fairly short static grass fibres? Apply in the usual manner, and gently smooth flat like the animal's coat, perhaps with a soft paintbrush, before the glue dries. When dry, lightly airbrush over with goat-colour paint. Cheers, Mark

Thanks it's more annoying because of the time wasted - I should have bitten the bullet and built my own to begin with. At least it'll be good practice for the 21mm gauge track for Mount Bellew! All the best, Mark

Just a short non-update on Yeoman's Wharf. I'd got to the stage where I really needed the track in place before I could go further with the structures and scenery. I think I mentioned outsourcing the pointwork to a professional builder as the geometry is non-standard and I want avoid the toylike look to the track. Well, the pointwork arrived at the beginning of the week after four months. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement: tie bars loose, rail heads filed to get them level, check and wing rail leads filed not bent, and very messy soldering throughout. I know I should really go back to the builder but I just want to cut my losses and move on. With hindsight, I would have been better off using the intervening period to learn the skill myself. Shoulda', coulda', woulda'! I hope to have some good progress to report soon. Cheers, Mark

What a brilliant idea! I have awful difficulty in gauging the relative proportions of landscape features to the point where I end up with either rapid erosion or orogeny to correct massive errors of judgement! Great photos of the goods train in the evening sunlight, very evocative. Cheers, Mark

This is my story, too! I've six or seven aeroplane kits in various stages of being built, the 009 layout in the British section on here, and two EM Gauge micro layouts on the go as well. Then I've been bitten by inclined planes and the London underground railways at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries. Nurse! My medication, please..... Cheers, Mark

That's a rather nice MGTD on the right Cheers, Mark

Fantastic work - lit, detailed interiors look so good! Can you post some details, please? I found a great article in a previous Railway Modeller about water colour tinting a drawn, fold-up interior. All the best, Mark

Phenomenal! Absolutely amazing modelling! Cheers, Mark

It is! Much! I'd definitely recommend it. I've been covering the foam board formers with a lattice weave of wall paper lining paper, and then four layers of newspaper strip papier mache. It makes a pretty strong shell. Cheers, Mark

I've been using 3mm and 5mm thick foamboard on my 4mm/EM micro: This was a while ago and things have moved on a bit, but you can see the foamboard profiles. Easy to cut with a craft knife or scalpel, glued with Javis VeloSet quick setting PVA. Its light and strong and its easy to carve if you need to modify it once its in place. I've got mine from a seller on eBay - this is the link to the 3mm foamboard https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272000832907 Looking forward to see your progress! All the best, Mark

Many thanks - that's great advice. I'm modelling to EM standards so not quite as fine as they could be, but still needing care! I think I can get away without suspension with careful track laying on rolling stock: items built so far seem to bear this out. But I would be happier if my locos have all the help possible in keeping their feet firmly planted! All the best, Mark

I think there can be limiting issues with print design and material type, but I would've thought in this scenario it wouldn't be an issue. Cost may be factor, though.

Beautiful loco and interesting solution to the balance problem. Being a novice engine-builder with a grand total of zero completed locos, I was wondering if there would be any scope to run the drivers rigidly in the frames, and beam compensate the carrying wheels. I imagine space would be the limiting factor. Cheers, Mark

I've got some of Scale Model Scenery's weathered slates to try. They look really very good on your buildings - I'm looking forward to giving them a try! The DAS flashing and rain streaks are particularly convincing. Cheers, Mark

Absolutely! When I first raised my doubts on my RMWeb thread, the first question asked by a guy who knows 3D-printing inside-out was, "What material was it printed in?" I can't remember what the material was, but when I answered, the response was, "That's the problem - it's the wrong material for a good finish and fine detail. People don't use the right materials for the job!" I wonder how much better RC21's prints could have been with just a change of material type. Cheers, Mark

A great shame

Many thanks, Peter, that's good to hear. The items I've had were narrow gauge as well, the War Department Class D bogie open wagons, which as mentioned were dimensionally seriously in error, and also some 009 wagon turntables. The print quality was really quite poor. I mentioned the quality of the prints on another forum, and the consensus from those who know about such things was that the choice of printing material was wrong. Hopefully my experience is in the minority - he has many items that I'd be very interested in otherwise. All the best, Mark