David Holman

Recent 009 locos are quite something -they not only look good, but run well too. Have seen quite a few 009 cameos at shows and the overall standard of modelling has been brilliant. A tiny footprint, but still with operational interest because they run beautifully. Set up and pack away time is minimal too. Makes you think...

Proof that smaller layouts really benefit from neat framing. Another Lily properly gilded!

Have a good one, folks and special thanks for all the inspiring posts, kind comments and incredible wealth of information this splendid forum brings.

Added a bit of bodywork from Will's corrugated asbestos sheet - meant for 4mm scale, but looks ok for iron in 7mm scale. Found a piece of aluminium tube [left over from a roller blind kit], which may well do for the boiler. The 'turntable' section on the chassis is a piece of plastic tube from an old vacuum cleaner pipe. The crane can pivot on an 8BA bolt, though only for photographic posing. Overall, I see this as a crane that would have been built locally, from whatever bits and pieces were to hand, but will certainly aim to add as much detail as possible. Merry Christmas everyone!

Much as modern Lego is impressive, their kits to build specific models are both a backward step and very expensive. Guess it is good for business, but in my day, the whole point was about creating your own stuff. We made ships and aeroplanes and, when various types of wheels appeared, railway and road vehicles too. There was also the brilliant "Legotechnic" - kits aimed at schools. We had several of each in my class. Motorised and unmotorised, they allowed you to explore simple concepts like levers, pulleys and gears. In the latter case, a couple of bright sparks put all the gears together in a train that produced ratios into seven figures and we then did the maths to work out how long it would take for the wheel at the far end to turn! Happy days, before the National Curriculum, of course. Am sure Lego was part of my scratchbuilding education. Didn't realise it at the time, but definitely helped me learn how to visualise a model's construction. Shame I missed out on other stuff - could easily have been a rock star instead of failed triangle player...

Triang for me and looking back pretty awful. The Jinty was vaguely representative, while the 'diesel dock shunter' looked like nothing British. It did have a light though and ran at warp speed round right angle corners. It could pull five coaches too, three more than my Princess Royal... Scalectrix, Lego and Airfix kits took over until the inevitable sabbatical to push up the value of brewery shares and chase members of the fair sex! The return to modelling was perhaps unconventional in that I decided to go EM and light railways, for which their was very little RTR. A Wrenn R1 got me started, then came K's Terrier and Adam's Radial kits before more esoteric stuff like a Colonel Stephens railcar. 7mmNG came next, then 0 gauge light railways, BR 1950s East Anglia and finally Ireland! Guess the one philosophy I have stuck to is basic "needs v wants". I only buy what I need, so have never had drawers of unmade kits - currently a Branchlines Clogher Valley coach and an Alphagraphix six wheeler is the sum total, though the wish list certainly extensive!

There's nothing like some gentle freelancing when it comes to a bit of progress. The last couple of afternoons have seen the motor-gearbox assembled, fitted to the chassis and pickups added, along with a quick test. The motor is a 1215 - absolutely tiny for me [am more used to 1933s], ordered from High Level with a Lowrider 90:1 gearbox. Very neat indeed, though would say an essential for assembly are some tapered broaches to make sure the axle bearings and gear shafts [1/8" and 1.5mm respectively] are a nice, snug fit. Apart from that, it all seemed to go together easily. I then added four cross pieces to the chassis. One each end at the top, drilled to take an 8BA nut to fix the the chassis to the body, plus two more in the middle, to hold the motor in place. I also soldered a piece of 0.7mm NS wire to the the end where the floating/compensated axle is, so this can press down lightly on said axle to hopefully keep all four wheels in contact with the track. Pickups are 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire, soldered to a strip of copperclad glued to the outside of each side frame, with some fine wire then going to the motor terminals. The crane will only be single axle drive, but with the jib overhanging at the front and the boiler part of the cab overhanging at the rear, am hoping there should be enough weight for the model to move itself along without problems. Flushed with success, I made a basic outer chassis from some 80 thou plasticard, then drilled holes for the fixing bolts, reaming them out enough for the bolts to cut their own threads. Two bits of 'garnish' are a couple of white metal axle boxes from the spares box and four basic buffers from more plasticard. Don't tell anyone, but could only find two axles box castings, so there aren't any on the other side at the moment and these could well be different when I do eventually find some!

Thanks John and JB. Have indeed looked at the photos you mention, while there is a vast amount of stuff on the internet and the real thing outside the clubroom in Chatham Dockyard. Unfortunately, most are a bit too big for my layout and I did even consider a manual powered wagon crane at one point, but in the end decided on something smaller. Inspiration came from a war game model, apparently 1:50 scale, from Arcane Models, along with some lightweight prototypes from America. All a bit hybrid, but then so is the whole layout! Am thinking the bodywork will feature a fair bit of wiggly tin.

Travelling crane Time for a new project and what is [for now anyway] the last major component for Northport Quay. Right from the planning stage, I've fancied a rail mounted crane, running on its own stretch of track next to the harbour wall, its purpose being to load/unload smaller vessels that don't have the benefit of their own derrick, unlike the Acla. NPQ has another crane of course - the one I built from the old Airfix/Dapol kit, which is deemed to run out along the [off scene] harbour wall. It is all a bit fanciful, but then that is very much the gist of a cameo layout for me. In reality, NPQ should be three or four times longer and wider, but hopefully these key elements all hang together effectively. A while ago, I posted my original drawing for the crane, based on examples in both Chatham and Gloucester Docks. However, I've come to realise that it was far too big, with amain boom around 24 feet long and 20 feet high. Hence have cut it down to something smaller, as shown below: The track is still 5'3 and only a metre long, though I intend making the model at least able to run up and down - hopefully on a push button basis, so that there is something moving on the layout while trains are being swapped in the fiddle yard. Whether I'll get the rest of it working is another matter! I have bought Giles Favell's book on the subject and I guess I could add another piece of water in front of the quay wall and a small ship to go with it and items to load/unload - but not yet! Anyway, thus far, I've made a [very] simple chassis from four pieces of nickel silver, cut out with a slitting disc in my Dremel. Crude, but effective. Wheels are 2'6 'Lowmac' on a couple of Richard Chown's wagon axles from his spares box. The motor and gear box are from High Level: a 1219 and a 'Lowloader' with 90:1 gears, which is small enough to fit between the frames. It will be single axle drive, with the other axle able to float a bit to aid pick up. The other bought in item is the steam winch from the Langley Puffer, which is available separately, but has been sent to Santa, so I won't be doing the body work until after Christmas.

That looks rather splendid.

Coming along very nicely!

Exactly what I was thinking about and great to see. Thank you! Suggest that when we find something, it is posted there. A 7mm scale PP kit from Studioscale - never knew that till now!

Reading recent posts, I am often surprised at what is out there if you look hard enough. Most know about the rtr, but knowledge of kits and components seems a bit of a dark art beyond the obvious suppliers like Alphagraphix, Provincial Wagons and so on. Then we have Worsley Works - a vast portfolio, but (for obvious reasons) not always available and similarly the likes of Shapeways, who will print whatever you might have, for a fee. It points to a sort of Wikipedia of models, because no individual could possibly create, let alone maintain such a resource. However, could our esteemed Moderators set up a section on this forum, for the rest of us to contribute what we know and use? Maybe it would need separate sections for each scale, or maybe all that is needed is for folk to supply website and email contacts? Could be a very useful reference, methinks.

Some people take to bow pens like ducks to water, rather like an air brush. I've got both, but have yet to gain confidence in either! I've adapted lining in the past - trimming with a scalpel and going over with another colour too, but very fine lines mean every blemish sticks out. These can be removed, once half dry - you apply thinners with a fine brush and it comes away like magic. Very time consuming though, but useful on hand drawn corners.

One thing is certain, whatever Accurascale eventually produce will be good, so all power to their collective elbows.

The 7mm hand crafted brass stuff is often stunning, as shown by the D class above. Also, as Galteemore says, when you consider the hourly rate and skills required, construction costs are fair too. There seem to be enough people around to justify these models as well. What most ordinary folk want though is something mass produced at a more reasonable price, which Mayner shows just ain't going to happen. So, if you want something badly enough there seems to be only two options - save up, or build it yourself! The latter is the route many of us originally embarked on when rtr and poor kits meant there was no alternative and in all sorts of ways find myself grateful that I made the effort. Likewise to those who helped along the way, in print and reality. These days we look more and more to CAD as the saviour and maybe it will be for a lot of things, especially as I fear many of our small parts suppliers will not keep going forever. Like we nearly all have our own copier printer, the day when we can have components emailed to our own 3D printer is not that far off. Now there's a thought I rather like, especially if it means I can keep crafting my own models. RTR can be very nice, but there is nothing quite like making your own stuff for ultimate satisfaction

Blimey - hope they are big packs Ken!

Nice one. There is much to be said for the American waybill system for creating operational interest.

Looking at the body shape, a fair representation could probably be built using Lego!

What did you do to colour the sleepers? Looks very effective - including a subtle hint of wood grain.

Almost a shame to clean the rail tops!

Fascinating stuff Ken - really pushing boundaries. Amazing to see what can be squeezed into such a tiny loco!

A real shock and didn't see that coming, there was always a queue several deep at shows. Squires do a similar range, but nowhere near as comprehension for me.

Signals are complex things to make operational, with bouncing semaphores owing much to iceberg theory in pre microchip days - 90% below the baseboard, it seemed. These days, servos offer a, fairly, simple option, though old school is still worth considering. The starter on Northport Quay uses wire in tube, which might be an ideal method of you only need one or two to work. Very nice models, by the way!

After a few emails back and forth to Gravett Land, have made a few alterations to the Acla. For example, the VIC96 doesn't have the red waterline paint, but seems this was standard in the periods I'm covering. Hence, used a mix of Humbrol 70 [brick/rust], with some bright red. Needed a couple of coats, but didn't take long. Also discovered that masts and booms tended to be painted cream, with the very top of the mast white. At some point, I'm going to have to steel myself to create some ratlines, so an unfortunate crewman can climb up to the masthead and attend to the navigation light, though right now it is not at the top of my 'to do' list! The other thing I asked about was making ripples on the surface of the acrylic sheet water. Turns out I already had the answer as it is covered in the Scenics book. It is simply a case of using clear, gloss lacquer. I've used both Tamiya No 22 and Humbrol Glosscote. You paint a succession of short wave like lines [all in the same direction], wait for them to dry and repeat - around 4-6 times, gradually building up the ripple effect. Not waves, but certainly the impression of the wind blowing across the top of a fairly still stretch of water, which is what I wanted. A couple more coats may yet be needed, while the effect is more noticeable under certain lighting [and definitely more than in the photos].