Robert Davies

Well goodness me! A pair of Hornby Mk3 Virgin TSOs just showed up in the post! :D :D Off to Halfords for some VW Brilliant Orange....

Thanks again everyone for the assistance and notes - I've been experimenting with a few ideas regarding base coat, and then drybrushing - I should have a pic of some description up sometime over the weekend to show where I've got up to. -Rob

and duly replied to.

Freakin' awesome pics Rich! Thanks ever so much!

I've got a a couple of the Bulleid 'double stacked' beet wagon bodies from Shapeways as a 'try out'.... I've got them all primed... But then... An obvious question stuck me. What colour were they? Where they left in the natural grey galvanised finish? Where they painted red oxide, or was it just rust? The pics I have here don't really make it clear. Can you assist me please? <- another of my winning smiles! -Rob ps ...and YES I will add them to my workbench thread with pics and everything! - I'm looking at you at Anto!

Hello my good fellows! I wonder if anyone has a Lima NIR Blue 201 - either 208 or 209, not fussed either way. What I would like = Mint boxed with all the detailing bits, but will consider any reasonable offer. I can only pay via Paypal but I will of course cover the fees. What have you got? From following Dave's thread, I understand AGO Models picked up a load of these locos, but minus detailing bits - I'd be more than willing to consider a minter of one of these. I'll let this run for a week or so, and then re-assess. ...and yes I do know St Paddy has one on the long finger, the very long finger... Thanks chaps! -Rob

That boy's quick

I couldn't help but laugh... He's been trying to flog this lot for quite some time (three years!). Made by a member here - Irish Freight Models - I can't for the life of me remember what his sign-in was on old the yuku forums. He makes a fine wagon does Tom. An unusual prototype as you say, too - makes an interesting comparison to modern day Tara wagons. -Rob

No worries I do like that stretch of track on your layout, it always looks busy without being too cluttered. Having got a pair of pairs of autoballasters myself, I appreciate seeing a longer rake of them 'out on the line'. Thanks for doing the vids! -Rob ps I'm not even going to go anywhere near my 'bogie timber wagon envy' problem either! <drool>

I grabbed the link and embedded it for viewing straight from the forum - Hope you don't mind! -Rob

It must be one of the lesser known signs of the coming apocalypse....

Am I missing something? Scroll to bottom of this page: http://silverfoxmodels.co.uk/ir-ie-001-class-a-class-co-co-metropolitan-vickers/ -Rob

Rich, Over the last few years I've probably fitted sound to forty -> fifty, British, European and American engines, covering both steam and diesel - this chip is one of, if not THE best available anywhere - it even makes a very credible representation of that bottom end chug that 071s make when they're being given full beans. The chip is pretty much fit and forget for those that don't like tweaking - for those that DO like tweaking, there's plenty off facility for that too. -Rob

I suppose I should clarify that the Lamp Irons on my 112 were misshapen on arrival, but it was pretty straightforward to straighten them out. Referring back to the thread title... My ModelShopBelfast sound chip arrived today for 112. It goes and sounds well, a minor criticism for those with lesser systems, is that some of the more useful lighting effects are well up the function key numbers - off the top of my head reverse reds are on F10. I'd sooner have lights and horns lower down the function numbers and couplers (that I'll admit I rarely use) further up. I said before that it 'goes' well. Well it does respond very nicely to throttle inputs, and the braking sound effects are subtle but VERY well done. Marks out of ten? a definite nine and probably even better as I explore it further. Is it worth the money? Given that sound chips are expensive, and having got that out of the way, the answer from me is a pretty emphatic yes. -Rob

Sorry this is a bit 'me too', but errr... 'me too', In the mid 2000s I bought most of my detail bits from the guy in that link, with the bits showing up within a week. Sadly Homeland Security and the TSA have been 'justifying their existence' in the meantime, so it can take a bit longer nowadays. -Rob

These 'silver series' coaches are repaints of LMS coaches and are similar to ones used by the LMS(NCC) and inherited by the UTA. Putting the 'Flying Snail' and green livery on them is a step too far... Unless anyone knows different? -Rob

Congrats on a truly excellent job - Really well captured, and I used to see these beasts day in day out and barely gave them a second thought. -Rob

That is (was) one mighty fine looking and sounding train. <sigh>

Delusions of adequacy again....

Thanks Grange Castle Skill? I don't know about that... Time and the odd technique picked up over the years, maybe Talking of which.... All my work is brush painted, and masking off and painting lines for brush painting used to be a recipe for disaster for me, until I was taught this little trick: The Bodger's Guide to Masking and Painting... Take those ballast wagons, where the sole bar meets the hopper there's a black line all the way across the bottom of the hopper. What with all those vertical stanchions crossing that line that looks like a recipe for heartache, with the black leeching up the stanchions under the masking tape. This is where the trick comes in - mask up the wagon as normal, but before you apply the black, apply a light coat of the yellow first. This seals the tape, and if any should leech under the tape, it doesn't matter because it's the exactly the same as the colour underneath. Let that light coat paint dry thoroughly, NOW brush or spray on the black. When you come to remove the masking, a perfect line will be revealed -Rob ps If you're working in gloss or metallics, it may be best to use a light coat of gloss varnish as the masking 'sealing' coat.

Thanks for that John! RBs for unloading? I don't suppose there are any pics about of the facilities at Platin of any era? I've had a search but turned anything up on the net. -Rob

Don't know, but all I can say is "Ditto mine...". -Rob

Thanks Rich, I've had a dig around but the patio was a house move ago, and I cannot find any more ...and yes a Kalmar ContChamp Container lift is next up. That might be tricky in that it's half done already - I started it and left it - there are one or two important 'gotchas' that I've found - when you come to do yours, give me a prod and I'll update the thread with the details, if I haven't already! Thanks Anto and Rich (Red one!) for your kind words - not a patch on your work, but it keeps me off the streets -Rob

Llangollen by road is fourteen miles from me. A friend of mine was the first CME of the Llangollen Railway, (ie the railway in preservation) whilst another was the former Operations Manager. Gerry, if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to forward them to either or both of those two guys. -Rob

A little something to run behind 112 to make it feel at home or, something I found in my stash in the garage one day.... Some Lima Seacow ballast wagons, got the old strip down, undercoat and relivery - just waiting for some of Weshty's transfers to arrive to finish the job off They were originally EWS livery from the days when I had a loop of track that went around the patio and rockery. I wonder if there's a clues in the NIR ballast wagon pic to indicate what my next victim may be? -Rob