murrayec

Hi Have you got a bogie that I could take a look at to get an idea of what you are looking for? murrayec

Hi Walter It all looks excellent You were singing with Santa! Sorry I missed that murrayec

Hi Sven Great to hear from you We have based the drawings for the boards off the NMRA standard (as far as I know Fremo boards are based on this). There has been some mods due to availability of items here- mainly the connectors. Otherwise the boards should connect with international standards! Please PM me if we have made major blunders and this can be corrected. As you say Fremo was set up for running trains and I posted a pdf above for all to view and discuss. Our design idea was concentrated on having a modular two line main track that runs throughout the system and side tracks which would be controlled by owners of individual modules. The drawings indicate that the system can be run as a loop, or divided up into separate end to end layouts, or as one large end to end layout. As Dave suggests we should meet with interested modellers to discuss, hatch plans and solidify- In the new year we will have a 4 to 6 board sample layout to show all and this is will be the time to do this. murrayec

Hi Walter Looking fantastic in the photos, looking forward to seeing it in the flesh murrayec

Hi Myself and Baseboard Dave were discussing the drawings over the last few days- We have decided to revert back to 600mm for the depth of the boards in the drawing, this is because not all raw material boards are supplied with clean-n-straight edges so to allow for economics in getting 4 tops from the one sheet- its best to allow for a bit of trimming. I will update the drawing over the next few days Any comments murrayec

Hi One will be hard pressed to find a white ink cartridge for the standard home printer, there are white cartridges for high end printers and ribbon printers- 'Alps' and the like! but who has a $7,000.00 printer in their bedroom? To do the white text in Broithe's image I would match the wagon red colour and print it in the background of the decal on white paper. This may take a few goes to match the colour- buy more sheets of paper than you need! murrayec

oops! 'chipping off the ink' murrayec

Hi timmycork Yes I print my own decals, here are some tips;- Broithe is right, white is a major problem! I get over it by printing on white decal paper with a border of the models colour your going to stick it on. When printed cut it out with a brand new scalpel within the border, after you have sealed it of course. Sometimes you get a faint white line on the edge of the decal, its the knife chipping off the paint as it cuts, that's why I recommend a new blade Clear decal paper is no use with my inkjet printer- if the decal is going onto a dark colour background it wont work, the background comes through. Light colours work but it is like the forum link above, you can see the timber colour come through the decal. Inkjet inks are only a dye and not opaque. Paper is also a problem- the best I have found so far in the model shops is 'Testors' , I have found other papers do not take the ink well, the ink bleeds before it dries. Also the clear coating can be a problem, I use 'Super Cal' 'Last Step' for this. I tried their paper and the ink bled all over the place. Make sure when the decal is on you seal the model in the area of the decal with varnish Hope this helps murrayec

Hi On the John Ahern's books- Diarmuid Byrne (Weir Books) has a paperback copy of 'Miniature Locomotive Construction' . I saw it on his stand at the Clarion Hotel show last Sunday. murrayec

Hi I'm up to my eyes working on DART orders- I have had to take a rest from everything else. Hopefully soon I will be back to the modular idea, also I believe Dave is up to his eyes in Christmas baseboard orders! murrayec

Hi All Don't want to step on toes! but we can talk about greens that were on this and that and how it looks at a distance on a grey day or in full sun light.... References is the man! preferably in BS, RAL or other standard systems. References give a standard starting point and then the modeller can adjust to his/her preferences. Here are some I worked out; Poot's light green = (BS4800) - 12-D-53 (Known as 'Linden' in the Dulux range) - Green undercoat IR light green = (BS4800) - 12-D-43 - Green undercoat Poot's dark green = (BS4800) - 12-D-45 (Known as 'Sherwood' in the Dulux range) Green undercoat If anyone can add to this list of references we would then have a starting point for painting models and a standard could be kept. murrayec

Hi I'd take a tin or two, from Hawkins st murrayec

Hi I've been playing with tinted varnish to scale the colours A very small drop of matt black or a matt dark brown into the final varnish coat, after everything is complete- decals, rails, wipers..etc; One can progressively tint the whole model in several goes until the desired finish is achieved and it cuts out messing around with getting correct scale colours. murrayec

Hi I'm quite fond of Iain Rice's model books At the Bray show last weekend I got a copy of Rice's new book from Diarmuid Byrne's stand - 'Steam Locomotives' Realistic Railway Modelling. Haynes. There is a wealth of information in this book for the modelling beginner and for the experienced. A lot of the stuff I read before in his previous publications but this new book updates the info with the added features- typical of Haynes, excellent introduction to everything, loads of clear photos and loads of tips & techniques. I bet Diarmuid will be at Parks Hotel, Stillorgan, next weekend You must take a look murrayec

Hi B It looks like a Christmas toy thingie- Santa and all is going http://www.rds.ie/cat_exhibition_detail.jsp?itemID=1100212 murrayec

Hi George Good luck with the show today Looking forward to seeing some photos later murrayec

Hi A couple of things came up in discussing the Modular Layout Drawings at the BR show last week and I thought of posting them up for all to see; Board Size. The drawings indicate a standard size of 1200x610mm- but the board can be any length the modeller desires as long as its connection plates conform to the standard. Though 1200x6100mm boards are easy to transport! 610mm width is the standard, but some modellers may require wider boards to complete a layout with side tracks. This can be done as one board to whatever size is required or by adding 610mm width boards on the sides- as drawn and indicated in a previous post above. The modellers should stay within 600mm or 1200mm lengths when calculating out their board length. I reckon sizes outside these lengths will cause problems when setting up a loop layout! Though if someone insists on another size outside of the module standard, the can make a insert board to make up the difference elsewhere in the loop. Note; In a loop layout an equivalent length of track is required as per the modellers layout- this can be achieved with other modellers creations or community track. If there is not enough boards to create a loop the layout can be run end to end. Track Curve & Corner Boards. On the above drawings I have indicated the minimum size corner board using standard curves- radius 2 & 3. If a modeller decides to build a corner layout the board and track curve can be any size they desire, with the provision of connecting plates conforming to the standard. The same note as above applies regarding equivalent track. Transition Boards. The transition board I have indicated on the above drawings is 1200mm long- a transition board can be smaller if the modeller wants as long as the track curves work and does not cause problems with the running of trains through these curves and again the board conforms to the standard- as in connecting plate and track location. Also As discussed with Jack last week, we should set a standard for the track scenery;- width and type of track ballast, a standard colour or type of grass finish adjacent the track and the season the overall layout is in. I suggest summer, when the trees are green! Scenery away from the track is up to the modeller's desires. murrayec

Hi Here Dave, these guys might help. You will have to bring your own sandwiches! murrayec

Hi NIRCLASS80 Excellent work going on here, the weathering is great, which gives the models real scale! I see you are also into - Landrovers, buses, bikes, tractors, boats and cake! deadly! murrayec

Hi Dave Talk to Waffels he took a rake of them on his phone murrayec

Hi I picked up one at the BR show;- murrayec

.....part 2 ?? murrayec

Hi All Here are some more photos taken this morning;-

Sorry about that, would have been great to meet you there. Hopefully next time murrayec

Hi All Now back to DARTS Great to meet all who came to our table at the BR show, the complimentary comments about the windowed DART have humbled me! If one can say that and not sound to soppy! Brilliant to discuss the building of it, and amazingly to talk about the story of it documented on this thread- everyone knows about it. Check out What's On thread to see some photos of the show. also... For the forum boys- I have now taken 3 orders directly related to this thread, deadly! murrayec