David Holman

I had one and converted it to EM gauge. Ran without any problems, so guess I got lucky! Also used a Crown line detailing kit. Replacing the chimney was a nightmare as at the time didn't have the tools to cut through the cast Mazak body, which was unbelievably tough. The little diesel is indeed the Triang/Hornby 'Diesel Dock Shunter'. My one was a fearsome thing with a top speed of Warp 9 and sounded like an angry hornet. Had a working light though and would pull five coaches, which was more than my Princess Royal ever could! Strange, knurled wheels too.

Don't normally get Model Rail, but will certainly try this month. Courtmacsherry is a fine layout, while for me the prototype is the ideal branch terminus.

Sounds like a fine project MM. As well as any prototype information, suggest you get hold of Iain Rice's book 'Cameo Layouts'. Tells you all you need to know about building a layout like Fintonagh and helped me enormously on things like planning, wiring and presentation.

Now that is really rather splendid! Makes for an interesting and unusual model that looks fairly simple, but clearly isn't. Those fine details are little works of art in their own right.

Find that abrading the resin surface to give a key for the glue works well, Noel. A fibreglass stick or a bit of gentle filing is all you need, hopefully.

Ready for the paint shop? Well, a primer/witness coat anyway. Thanks again for the reassuring messages about the look of the J19, they gave me the confidence to press on and complete the model. On the loco, most of the soldering work was done, so it was out with the 5 minute epoxy to add the boiler fittings, buffers etc. The chimney and safety valves were fine, but the dome was certainly not at all like the prototype. However, as it was too big, it was a fairly simple case of filing and sanding it down to something more acceptable. A good trick when fitting chimneys and domes is to wrap some sandpaper around the boiler and use this to get them to sit properly. Have always used 5 min epoxy for boiler fittings - even the turned/cast brass ones - because it gives you just enough time to set them up, rather than using solder. Another slight anomaly with the kit is that if you are modelling a J19, the sanding operating rods are too short, though brass strip is easily substituted. After that, it was a case of tidying up - lots of it. I try to be really careful here, not least because of my mediocre soldering, but also because it is rare to get a kit where everything fits perfectly. It may have been designed with close tolerances, but half, even a quarter of a millimetre here or there in construction and you soon start getting unsightly gaps that need filling. Unwanted blobs and runs of solder too, while the paste flux I use always needs an extra clean. So, lots of work with files, emery boards, scrapers and the like, followed by applications of car body filler and then back to more sanding and scraping. There are still one or two obvious bits left, but after a while it all gets a bit tedious and fingers protest at the number of glass fibre brush splinters they pick up. Plus, over the years, have come to realise that you never get it right first time, so stop, wash and clean with 'Shiney Sinks' cream cleanser. Very occasionally, the first coat of primer does cover everything, but mostly you need a second round of filling, so why torture yourself for too long? There was the tender to do, of course, so the loco body was put to one side for a while. As with the loco, the tender chassis is a delight to make, being another single, fold up etch. Indeed fitting the brakes took most of the time, but the chassis was easily done inside a couple of hours, including springing for the centre wheels. The tender body is likewise pretty straightforward. Half etched lines help with curving the flare on the top edges and there are not that many parts anyway. The only two additions I made were firstly to reinforce the bottom edges of the cosmetic outside frames and secondly to make the brake standard stronger. The outside frames etch is very thin, probably only about 5 thou, so they warp when you solder them to the body. Thin brass strip soon beefs things up. As for the brake standard, always wonder why anyone tries to make these things in cast whitemetal - a material that is far too weak. Sure enough, the handle broke off almost immediately, so replaced it with some wire, soldered to some brass tube which was then fitted into a hole drill in the top of the standard. A few more castings to fit & all that was left was the drawbar. Not sure what went wrong here, but the model fireman would need to be an Olympic athlete to jump the gap with a loaded shovel - it must be about two scale feet! So, made a new one from brass strip. There are still more things to do of course - a raised cab floor and fall plate, plus some dummy inside motion. At least it runs fairly well [better when run in and properly cleaned], though it sits 0.5mm high as have needed to use some 20thou Plastikard to stop the driving wheels shorting somewhere inside the splashers. Then there is the painting, lettering and weathering, adding coal, crew, couplings and so on. So, still a fair way to go, but the next time you it, the shiny brass will have gone. There is something rather nice about a polished brass model, but needs must! The final picture shows the J19 next to my G2. Hopefully, they will make a nice pair.

The Tyrconnel chassis is really well thought out - rather like the model of the Sligo saloon!

Nice work Noel, will look forward to seeing the paint job.

Not always the destination that is important, the journey should be enjoyed too and this is definitely a good 'un! Lovely work.

The Worsley Works portfolio is vast, covering as it does, many scales too. Am guessing that Alan uses CAD, so once a drawing is made, 're-scaling' is largely a click of a mouse. However, to create all the drawings in the first place is quite remarkable, not least in sourcing originals to work from. As for the Jeep, very much looking forward to seeing progress, while the photos of loco s at Scaleforum remind us that there is a wealth of quality modelling out the that rarely gets seen. Well done Ken and keep posting!

Safe to assume there won't be an rtr train set like this any time soon! Just wonderful.

Mayner is right, even in basic form this model has real atmosphere. Looking forward to seeing things progress.

Am sure it is organised chaos, Leslie! Still working on the assumption that Belmullet will debut at Uckfield in October, though shows still dropping like flies, so who knows? Very much keeping fingers crossed for Cultra in November, but that is a Fintonagh trip.

That's really good to know Robert. Have ordered some but the postage almost doubled the cost. DCC supplies definitely the way to go in future.

That's good John, was only intending to renumber it, but even that would have been awkward, being under a layer of weathering, so thank you, as ever.

Looks good to me. Have been using cool white LEDs for several years now and they replicate a cloudy day quite nicely, while warm white creates the sunshine. Love the roadside section - iconic C&L, or any number of other roadside sections for that matter!

That's looking good - and an interesting use of a broken handled coffee mug too!

Many thanks for all the help everyone, finding the comments very re-assuring. Roger is wondering whether or not I might have been sent the original test etches, but have sent him the photos below to see what he thinks. Have tack soldered everything together and followed Eoin's idea of raising the sandbox tops by a millimetre or so with some nickel silver. The valve chest cover at the front makes a difference too. You should be able to see that I've cut out a rectangle in the frames and footplate, which seems to open things up nicely and will look better once some dummy valve gear has been added. The boiler fittings are just perched at the moment! Thought it was probably time to tidy up the workbench a bit this afternoon as I was starting to lose tools and materials! No doubt, within a few minutes of starting again, it will be just as messy, but at least I know where things are again.

A definite case of 'if only!'

Is it me or has there been a real upsurge in model making on the Forum during lockdown. Lots more people seem to be having a go and I think it is wonderful. Inspiration comes in many forms, much as we admire the creations of our top contributors, such skills are not achieved overnight as you need lots of practice. In many ways, a bit like learning a musical instrument I guess. However, I think it is just as inspiring to see folk taking the first steps towards making something, or indeed returning to the fold after a sabbatical. Mine by the way was pushing up the value of brewery shares and chasing girls in my late teens/early 20s - a common affliction I hear. I few years ago, remember talking to a trader at the Chatham show about the decline in people making their own 'stuff'. His response was to show me a model greenhouse, complete and painted, but which a customer has just rejected because 'it had no plants in it.' I can appreciate why somebody would want to buy a locomotive rather than scratch build it, but actually the journey to that starts with things like putting plants in a model greenhouse or having a go at a wagon or building kit. How far you go along that route depends a lot on how you get on and where your interests lie, but personally I think it is great to see new and returning contributors on the Forum. It is the ideal antidote to not getting to exhibitions, while the advice and support that is so readily given is just wonderful.

Freeze dry them first, then put in a coffee grinder.

Love all the detail in that picture.

Worth the wait! Beautiful work.

Rightly or wrongly, decided to press on with the boiler and smokebox unit. Just made one addition, a disc of 1.5mm nickel silver to go between the boiler and smokebox, as a flange. Then added the smokebox door [dished, with the brackets soldered on] before bolting the boiler to firebox, with the smokebox just loose at the other end. This enabled the combined unit to be trial fitted on the footplate, to which I now offer for judgement. There are plenty of you out there far more knowledgeable than me, so will be interested to get opinions. My own feeling is, while it looks ok, compared to photos I have, I think the smokebox looks a bit slim. Have included a photo of the prototype for comparison - the drawing supplied with the kit shows a smokebox 5'6 in diameter, whereas on the model it is only 5', so something is not quite right somewhere...

Class.