David Holman

Milton Keynes, Saturday Interesting day in the land of the roundabout and concrete cows and probably the biggest single day attendance of any show I've exhibited at, with around 3,000 people. Not the easiest place to access, but the club worked hard in quite challenging circumstances when even traders were muttering about it being 'too crowded' at times! Challenging for Arigna too, with a broken point linkage and a broken pickup on Fermanagh early on. Nobody seemed to mind we had to change the goods siding point with a screwdriver, while the new Deutz diesel had to double up on both the stores and cattle trains as I have not yet got any new axles for the J26. Never hurts to have a spare engine at shows... Otherwise the day went ok as was topped off by us getting the 'best visiting layout' award. Thanks to all concerned, am sure the club treasurer will be very happy with around £20k on the door!

These are very nice indeed. Am guessing they are to 4mm scale, but the detail and especially the windows make them seem more like 7mm. Love the deep eaves on the signal cabin. Anybody would think it rained a bit thereabouts!

The only real bonus of a continuous run is for testing and running in stock. Not to be sniffed at, but not necessarily essential either. Timetabled/sequence running not a problem on a circuit either, but the terminus-fiddle yard set up very much replicates the rest of the world in terms of giving a sense of purpose to operation. For many people in Britain, it is the only option when only one or two walls are available as layout space. Arigna Town is little more than a loop and two sidings, but at exhibitions we run eight different trains in a sequence that lasts up to an hour. Complex shunting moves can be set up, but actually, we find it more satisfying to keep things simple and make sure they run really well. As others have said, it is all a matter of personal taste.

Two more buildings The half relief back scene is creeping towards the left hand end of the layout with two more structures. The first is just a plain, rendered house, deliberately scruffy looking, while the second is a shop selling old books and paintings, with an art studio on the floors above. The first few photos show how the 'rendered' walls are simply watercolour paper stuck on to the foam board walls, over the window and door apertures, which are then cut through with a scalpel and folded back on the inside. There is also a picture showing how I make guttering, by filing a rounded edge on a strip of plasticard. From most angles [apart from below], the ruse is not noticeable. Another picture shows the roof slates, made from overlapping strips of the same watercolour paper. Both the art shop and the house are inspired by pictures of buildings in MRJ's 'Inkerman Street' layout by the incomparable late Bob Barlow. For me, they perfectly captured the scene in the 1940s. The window displays are just printouts available from the CG textures website, which also gave me the curtains and venetian blinds in the windows. The latter are made up from micro strip on perspex sheet - tedious to fabricate, but it gives a decent impression of the depth with sash windows. In several places, I have tried to blend the low relief into the painted back scene, while eventually a largish tree will hopefully hide some of the issues with perspective. More 'snake oil' than 'trompe l'oeil' though! Just one more building to go on the back scene now & then I can start working outwards towards the front.

Sublime and an object lesson on chassis building. You WILL be taking the thing apart and re-assembling it several times during construction. Even the best kits require some fettling, while the worst can be the catalyst to scratch building. Indeed, am inclined to think that there is less fettling with a scratch build - though you do spend more time making bits of course!

Make haste slowly. It is not a race and is supposed to be enjoyable!

Sharp, neat, clean as always! Must remember the lamp casting trick in future.

I think the answer is essentially it's a bit of a minefield, JB. There are indeed quite a few folk out there who will build stuff for a fee, but from what I hear, price and quality are highly variable, with the former not always a guarantee of the latter. In addition, where locos and coaches are concerned, the paint job can be a further added extra. Perusing the small ads in the model press may help and from there you could make contact and ask for references. A while ago, a general guide for building a loco kit was around 2-3 times the original price, so a £100 kit would end up as a £3-400 model. While that might seem a lot, £200 to built a kit which may take 50-100 hours is a long way short of minimum wage! I well remember the look I got when doing a buildings demo at a show a few years ago. The man asked if I did commissions. No was the reply, but when I commented that the locoshed on display represented over 100 hours work, you could see the cogs going round as he worked out it was potentially a £1000 model, even though the materials probably came to less than £20.

Splendid - as usual!

Arigna Town likewise has no chairs or fixings, just code 100 rail on copperclad sleepers and 36.75ish gauge for 7mm scale. Re 21mm gauge and Templot, the website include templates for 'IrishEM' points at 20.2mm gauge and 1mm (finescale, not P4) flangeways. On my new Fintonagh project (3'gauge,7mm scale), I printed a left and right point, then made the gauge up to 21mm on the photocopier. Using Peco Code83fb rail and Marcway copper clad sleepers, a point took just over an hour to make, including filing up the blades and vee. Note, this was the first point I had made in at least ten years and trackwork is something I normally avoid where possible. Really proved not at all difficult or unpleasant. Given the low cost, would suggest anyone thinking about it should at least have a go. Not much to lose in time or money if it doesn't work and could be the start of something special.

While the grass mat should be fine as a foundation for your scenery, it could look a bit plain after a while. I find the first bit of greenery always lifts a layout, but try experimenting with a variety of materials and textures. Study the real thing and do it a bit at a time. Feel sure you will find it both enjoyable and satisfying.

Didn't Kenny Rogers once do ' You picked a fine time to leave me, Loose Wheel'?

Model T Ford Tipper Truck This was my Christmas present to me - in other words, the missus gave me some spending money for the Reading Trade Show back in early December. It is a Duncan Models white metal kit. I started it on Boxing Day and have been faffing around with it ever since, mainly because I'd forgotten what a pain white metal kits are to put together. The castings are ok, though the very nature of them makes things rather chunky, with overthink edges. The main problem I find with white metal is that nothing much wants to stick to it, apart from 5 minute epoxy. Yes, I could have used low melt solder, but I don't have a temperature controlled iron, while superglue really doesn't like it at all - something to do with the release agent on the castings. So, clean up a piece, mix & apply the epoxy, find a way of holding the two pieces together for 5 minutes & repeat an nauseam... Life would have been a little easier had some of the parts fitted better, the front mud guards being especially awkward. The instructions were a bit basic too and although there was an exploded diagram, it wasn't completely helpful in telling me where to put things. So, constant referral to Google was needed to get a better idea. However, Model T Fords came in a huge number of varieties and were subsequently altered by their owners to suit their needs, so in the end, I rather made it up as I went along. For example, the kit comes with a rather open cab [no side windows] & I'm guessing it would not have taken too many soft days to add a more enclosed version. A bit of work with plastic sheet sorted that out. The front end gave me all sorts of angst - at one point, I was going to make up my own springs and steering arms from brass, but in the end, just added a few bits from wire. As for the hand cracked mechanism to make the tipper work, I really have no idea how the castings provided would work. Suffice to say, the vertical column with a screw thread was replaced with a 10BA bolt after the casting broke - another issue with white metal - and the other bits stuck in place as per instructions. As for painting, though it seems a lot were indeed 'any colour you like, as long as it is black', though many got 'improved' by their owners. Given that this one will be at least 15-20 years old [Fintonagh is set in the late '30s], more than a bit of rust and dirt has accumulated. The tipper section and roof are Ford Laurel Green, while the rest is the usual spray can matt black. Thankfully, it doesn't have to run [!] being just a static model that will probably end up at the front edge of the goods yard, collecting builders sand/gravel from one of the open wagons.

Good stuff. Got the Boyd boon not long after it came out and found it a really enjoyable read. Scary to think that Irish narrow gauge steam finished nearly 60 years ago, so memories like this are precious. Likewise photos of the period.

When I rejoined the hobby in the late '80s, the majority of RTR was so lacking in both detail and accuracy, that kit building was often the only way to get anything that wasn't aimed at the toy market. It was also the only way to achieve decent running, so dire were some of the chassis/mechanisms. Nowadays the opposite applies to some extent. Yes, there are some superb kits out there, but a degree of skill and experience is needed to put them together, plus you still have the paint job as well. Most current RTR is aimed at the adult market, with fabulous detail and superb running. There are 7mm scale RTR locos coming on stream with working inside valve gear for under £300 for goodness sake! An etched brass kit will cost about the same as RTR, but probably involved 50-100 hours work. Fine by me, because that is what I enjoy doing. But if I was starting again? No way, I'd still want to build things, but am sure it would be buildings and scenery, with locos being RTR.

Exciting times, go for it!

Checkout current Railway Modeller. Somebody has done a 6x4 oval layout, copy Rev Awdry's Ffarquhar from 60 plus years ago. Set track points and curves down to 450mm, it looks really good. Small locos and four wheeled stock - just goes to show what can be done. So, pass me the sauce, I have a hat to eat.

Superb and colour too! So much detail in every frame.

One of the redoubtable Mr Gravett's ideas, JB. The sub structure of the road is mounting board, set with a piece running longitudinally down the centre, to give the camber. The card is then covered with gloss enamel paint [dark grey] and then liberally coated with talc while still wet. Spread evenly and allow to dry before vacuuming up the residue. The crack you mention is actually a joint between two pieces of card, filled with DAS clay and sanded smooth. Tippex works well to simulate road repairs too. More paint/talc on top of course. Another way of doing road surfaces is to use wet & dry sandpaper. Precision paints do a nice matt tarmac is you go this way. Given the layout is 7mm scale, a smooth road surface still works well, so smaller scales certainly don't need anything coarse.

The Temperance Hotel With a couple of boozers on the layout, I thought it might be an idea to do something for the Temperance movement. Purely historical interest of course - as someone with a 50 bottle wine rack, happy to refill it with a 'booze run' a couple of times a year, I'm not about to sign the pledge any time soon! A small advantage to living in SE England is its proximity to France and a day trip to a supermarche makes a nice outing, especially as it will include lunch too. Indeed, it is arguably quicker for me to drive to Switzerland, than it is to Scotland. Be that as it may, having got the bit between my teeth with the Tram Inn, the next building along, being very low relief, promised a fairly quick build - and so it has proved. Perhaps the hardest bit was deciding what the building would be, but a leaf through one of my favourite books soon provided the answer. John Ahern's 'Model Building Construction' was first produced in 1950, when 'cow gum' and 'Seccotine' were the acme in terms of adhesives, while PVA probably hadn't even been thought of. However, what the book does is take you through all the techniques you might need in terms of building structures, while [because of its age], the models described are ideal for the period of 1930s to 1950s. John Ahern of course was the man who built the Madder Valley Railway - one of the first ever truly scenic layouts - which can still be seen at Pendon Museum. The Temperance Hotel can be seen in Madderport & this gave me the spark of an idea. According to Google, the temperance movement in Ireland, dedicated to lowering alcohol consumption, involved both Protestant & Catholic leaders. The Teetotal Abstinence Society was founded in 1838, with thousands signing the pledge. However, in 1898 one James Cullen founded the Pioneer Total Abstinance Association, apparently because enthusiasm for the original group was fading. Hence, it seemed appropriate to give him a mention on my hotel & tea rooms. All in all then, a lengthy pre-amble to a bit of low relief modelling. The building is made in the same way as the Tram Inn. I did add a bit of interior detail, which can just be seen above the net curtains & through the doors. Extra colour is provided by the window box, which is just a piece of balsa, covered in Woodlands 'medium scatter' and sprinkled with a red flower mix. The tricky bit has been trying to blend the model into the back scene. The roof line needs adjusting slightly & of course the paving slabs are yet to be added, but overall, it was an enjoyable little exercise.

The current RM has a fine article on a model of one of the Lincolnshire potato railways. Spud growing on an industrial scale and some very nice buildings & scenery. There is also another interesting piece showing a 6x4 layout in 00, which shows how it is possible to disguise tight curves. The design could be incorporated in other scales - notably 009 - and makes N gauge in 4x2 looking a tempting proposition.

St Neots is a good show and they get over 3000 visitors over the weekend. I've heard Milton Keynes get good attendance, especially for a one day show. Catering more for the non specialist side of the hobby, there may be lots of folk who would like custom made boards there.

Looks good to me. On Arigna I have a Marcway 6' Y point. Unlike Peco, the curve starts at the toe, so from there to the clearance point is just 12" - in 7mm scale too, less than two thirds the length of a standard turnout.

Depends what you mean by small. In 4mm scale 900mm radius is desirable, especially from a visual point of view and you could get away with 750mm by judicious use of transition curves and scenery. Set track points meanwhile go down to below 450mm and while some locos and stock will still go round them, to my eyes they certainly ain't pretty! Ok if hidden in a tunnel, I guess. Another factor is the length of individual items of stock. The shorter they are, the tighter the curves you can get away with. 20m coaches and 500mm curves to be avoided if you can.

And that is the joy of our hobby. Some folk like collecting, others like operating, some get a buzz from the electronic side of things. I quite enjoy operating, but making things is what I really enjoy and while some specialise in locos, or buildings or scenery, I enjoy all aspects because of the diversity and challenge it offers. All I would say to anyone is don't be afraid to have a go. We all had to start somewhere but as Henry Ford once said, 'If you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right!'