Darius43

The CMAC bogies and chassis were painted black and brass top hat bearings fitted to the bogies. I used wheels from old Hornby Class 86 bogies, removing them from their original axles and fitting them to new axles (from spare wagon wheelsets) that have pinpoint ends. Initial painting completed. Cheers Darius

Spotted on and obtained from eBay - 3D printed resin model from CMAC. The parts are nicely moulded but small print support “trees” need to be trimmed away and the parts cleaned up with a light sanding - especially around the buffers. I sanded off the moulded BR arrows and removed the cab front handrails. I will add brass wire handrails after painting. The undergibbons part is a loose fit to the body with no support points so I added those using strips of 1mm thick plasticard fixed with superglue. Alas a trio of air tanks are located where the pantograph should sit and these are impossible to cut away. I therefore stitch drilled around them and carefully cut between the drilled holes to remove them. The resultant hole was cleaned up and filled with plasticard. Hopefully CMAC can delete these air tanks from future prints… A bonus with this loco is that it doesn’t need to be motorised, which simplifies the construction considerably. Priming next. Cheers Darius

Motor coach interior completed. Replacement motor and trailing bogies located. I have ordered the newer Hornby 101 chassis part from Peter’s Spares as it will be easier to fit the newer bogies to it. The old Lima bogies will be added to the spares box. Cheers Darius

I picked up this second hand Lima Class 101. Someone had done a reasonable job of detailing and weathering the chassis but more can be done. First off the Lima pizza cutter wheels on the trailer coach were replaced with better wheels. The interior had the floor painted grey. I repainted the floor and painted the seats and partitions before applying home made upholstery decals. This was followed by peops and a driver. The body was then given a clean and re-fitted. The plan is to replace the pancake motor bogie and trailing bogie of the with more recent Hornby DMU examples. Cheers Darius

I have the CMAC Class 450 in the stash - obtained when it was first offered on eBay. I got as far as applying a coat of grey primer. Cheers Darius

I had one of these pedal tractors in the early 1970s - I think my Dad got it second or third hand from a mate at work. The main wheels were not rubber tyres but hollow hard plastic so they just wore out from being used on hard paved surfaces. It also made for a very hard ride… Cheers Darius

Alas they’re sold out on Etsy - perhaps they’ll print some more. My father worked at Harland and Wolff in Belfast in the 1950s as an apprentice marine engineer when he first came over from India. He returned to Belfast with us all in the late 70s working for Michelin. That’s how I got to go to BRA for my education. Cheers Darius

And we’re off… Cheers Darius

Yes. Why aren’t rails keeping me fully informed 24-7 about the status of MY ORDER that I haven’t yet paid for instead of focussing on running their business. Interesting choice of content for a first post on IRM. Personally I am happy to carry on modelling and let the coaches and other preorders turn up when they do rather than fret as to where they are. If you are really vexed you can always contact Rails directly, as others have done. Cheers DariuS

This brings back happy memories of Saturday mornings spent browsing the model railway section Cheers Darius

Cheers Darius

Ni! Ni! Ni! Ni! Ni!

This street is similar to the one in Hillingdon which was home for me from 1965 to 1967 from age 0 to 2 - not that I remember it much but we have old photos. In 1973 I turned 8 and was given my first wristwatch - an Ingersoll - and joined the local cub scouts. Happy days. Cheers Darius

Now with added shrubbery… Cheers Darius

Cheers Darius

Careful now…

Cheers Darius

I have to confess that I never studied Latin at BRA. I joined the third form (from England) in 1978 and, as I had missed the first two years, I was excused the subject. I spent the Latin periods sitting in the back of Geordie McConnell’s A-Level economics classes doing my homework. Cheers Darius

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Cheers Darius

That looks like a GNR AEC railcar - see this thread. I built the UTA Railcar 6 & 7 three-car set a couple of years ago using Worsley Works etched sides on cut down Dapol coaches. Cheers Darius

A certain model railway magazine, for which I write the occasional article, has a regular “Tool of the Month” feature. One month the magazine printed all of the author’s mugshots, including mine, directly below the title… Cheers Darius

Roof painted and windows installed. Cheers Darius

Duntilin. Glad that’s over but pleased with the result. Will leave overnight for the glue to fully cure before painting. Cheers Darius

I had thought about using tile strips to make the task easier but they would have looked too neat and unnatural. Individual tiles cut from photopaper placed as per the real thing look better and the process of applying them leads to the right kind of irregularity even if the original intention is neat rows. Cheers Darius

Getting there. Two more sessions I think. Cheers Darius