Mike 84C

Hi Scots Mac, congratulations we now have an Englishman,Scotsman and probably many Irishmen hacking Enlish locos into very passable Irish locos. Your thoughts as to what will make what are very similar to mine, have a look at my blog which shows how I mutilated a Bachmann V1/3 to make 850. I used Tamya German grey thinned with tamya thinners and water then airbrushed. Welcome to the group,its a great group of guys, please keep posting and lets see some pictures! Mike

Thank you guys for the positive comments it makes the effort worth it. I will post better photos next week when she is back from being Dcc fitted. Its a secondhand Bachmann V3.

A couple of pictures of my progress, I think I am reasonably happy with my progress but how far to take it! when does one say enough! The chimney does not really please me and the camera has shown a few flaws, the gap above the cylinders is the main offender. First time I have used my Iwatta airbrush,far to expensive but what a lovely tool to use. Credit has to go to Weshty for the buffer beam decals they really are very good.And Narrow Planet for the etched No; plates which are also very good. He has the information on file so if anyone else wishes Great Southern No;plates I am sure he will help and the price is very reasonable. I have no connection with Narrow Planet other than a customer.[attachment=:name]

I saw it at Newark this year and loved it. A 3mm 0-6-0 with working inside valve gear and crank axle, pure craftsmanship. And it ran faultlesly while I was there. Mike

Excelent filming Southern Yard, was Bittern on the Santa Special to Lincoln Christmas market and where on the ECM did you film? It went by our village and I missed it! AAAAgggghhh!!!! Thanks for shareing.

HI murrayec , thats just what happened with my purchase! but he price was good just under£4! but I am finding it a very interesting read.

There are still several on ebay and Rails of Sheffield had one this a.m. for £99.

That looks very good lots of operating potential, if you are using Peco points they will stand a bit of cutting of the web between the sleepers so you can ease them into places. Watched a guy do that at the Nottngham show and was surprised how well it worked. Mick

Excellent work Nelson this is a good group to be a member of,I know little of Irish railways but have found and recieved lots of good advice. And may I say with young people like you the hobby has little to fear, keep up your good work. Regards Mike

Thanks, thats what I hoped.

Guys, is there any difference in the content of the first and second editions of "Irish Broad Gauge Carriages" by Desmond Coakham? I ask because the covers are different and I can buy either edition so want to get the one with the better content if there is a difference. Please advise!

Heirflick, hope you had success removing the decals & Johnsons Kleer? I have just removed Kleer from a Bachmann US loco tender. I used a solution of caustic soda in water applied with a cotton bud, then scrubbed the area gently with a small sponge and neautralized the caustic solution with water and a wipe off with kitchen towel. After its dry, 24hrs, any white marks need removing with water & the kitchen roll and leave to dry again. So Far,36hrs, no ill effects to model or to the paint and no paint was evident on the cotton bud during the process. On the bottle of Kleer it suggests using ammonia to remove Kleer from floors but I had no ammonia! Shall not be using Johnsons Kleer on any models again.

Brilliant picture! They look like horseboxes with the small compartment for the groom. Am I correct in sumising that the top half of the door to the horse compartment rises to form a small roof and the lower part drops to form a ramp?

Spot on Weshty, I bought BRM just for the piece on Paul Greens Kilbrandon layout. Last year it was at the Spalding exhibition and I spent a good hour watching it run. She who must be obeyed sent out a search party!!. A very good article.

Hi Railer, try the online rr magazine model-railroad-hobbyist.com , its free and has lots of adverts, reviews etc; I"ve subscribed about 12mts now and it is a pretty good read.

Thanks for all the helpfull and prompt information guys Mike

A while back someone posted that a certain shade of paint from Howes Model Shop was just right for GSR grey. Anybody know what it was? Have you guys seen the new GPO rules for not posting paint and glues,loopy or what? Still I suppose it means we will have to support our local hobby shop.

Is this called freezing your assets?

heirflick you have excellent taste in steam locos! May the return to steam be soon. When I was but a lad I used to fire those engines and they were as good as they look, very strong and capable. One night we were ambling along towards Oxford with a freight and my driver climed out of his side of the cab walked around the footplate framing and stuck his face around my side of the cab.Brown trousers or what!! But did he get a lot of p--- take mileage out of that one=D

Brilliant find, thanks for posting. Flared trousers from the 70"s!! One style I hope never makes a come back!

Keep up the good work Kieran, a year has passed very quickly! I admire the way you discovered an aspect of the plan was"nt going to work and did a major rethink. Took me months to pluck up the courage, you just got on with it! Inspirational. Keep the pictures coming.

Stunning work,look forward to seeing the layout at its first outing. Your productivity is much higher than mine! must cut down on looking at e.groups!

Looking good Eamon,keep the pics coming. And you are much further down the line than me! I had an AAAAAGH moment when my monumental blunder came to light, took me 6months to pluck up courage to rip up a years work, still its done now and the only way is forward. But like you theres a hell of a lot to do, thats a hobby for you! Look forward to your posts.

I"m with the kit builders on this one! I have only done white metal locos, thats showing me age! I think a support group is a good idea. David please pm me re deposit. Mike

Guys, I am reducing the size of my book collection which is a tad esoteric!! I have stuff on African, South American and French, all in the steam era. Please pm me if interested and I"ll let you know what I have got. Mike