Colonel

The High Level motor-gearbox arrived this morning, so couldn't resist making it up & fitting to the MW. HL stuff is undoubtedly good, but making up the gearboxes is fiddly, especially compared to something like a Premier Components 0 gauge unit, which comes ready made and ready to go. However, needs must, as space is tight and the MW wheels sit on 1/8th inch axles - though they do have D shaped ends to cover quartering. And - always a pleasant surprise, all went well and the little engine can now trundle up and down my layout. As you can see, it is pretty small - barely the size of my Wantage tank, but should go well with it. Although there is much work still to do, it is all cosmetic - always a nice thought when you've just bodged up a working chassis! Stuff includes replace the front buffer beam, springs and some pipework [all victims of the Nitomors], plus make a new cab roof and brake gear. New paint job too, though still a bit more stripping first. Not connected with anything, couldn't resist adding a photo I took yesterday at Sheffield Park in Sussex. The autumn colours there really are intense this year.

Another little beauty to add to the portfolio. Regarding brake shoes, can't help thinking the 3D printers out there might help. Resin shoes, with a small dimple in the right places for wire brake hangers. For and seven millimetre scales please and if so, am sure there will be more than a few of us forming a queue.

Bit of a wing and a prayer to be honest, Alan, so have resorted to the old adage of "if at first you don't succeed - cheat"... Did start with carefully measuring over the outside of two axles, then subtracted the diameter of one. So 28mm - 3.2mm (eighth of an inch) = 24.8mm. Seems logical when you haven't built a chassis for nearly a year, but how quickly the mind forgets the pain! As you know, marking out to tenths of a mm doesn't work that well and trying to do so on a set of unjointed rods was doomed to failure. So on to the cheating. Wasn't unusual for light railway 0-6-0Ts to have the front set of rods removed, to help them round tight corners, so following prototype practice, snipped off the front section, so the chassis is now a 2-4-0 and in this mode, with a bit of gentle reaming, rolls nicely. Speaking of wheel spacings, the chassis is 4' + 4'6, whereas Manning Wardles seem to 5'+ 5'6. The more I look at photos, the more I think the kit was probably a bit freelance - a bit MW, a bit Hudswell Clarke, etc. No matter, I cut my modelling teeth on freelancing and sometimes it is nice to visit old haunts.

Thanks folks. It was indeed a bow pen trial, though the fact that I continue to prefer transfers says all you need to know about that.

It's been a while, but [inspired by recent posts on loco building] it's time for something completely different - a Manning Wardle L Class 0-6-0T. I've no idea whether this class ever made it across the water, but hopefully there are folk out there who can tell us. In the meantime, this model starts as standard gauge - around 30 years ago in fact, when it became my first 7mm scale loco. Unfortunately, it never ran very well and as can be seen above, has spent much of its time malingering on the shelf and just occasionally being used to practice airbrushing and lining. I'd always intended that it should be restored to working order so, as can happen with such things, now seemed like as good a time as any. It's initially intended as another private loco for my East Anglian cameo layout, but am also intending to build a new, broad gauge chassis, so it can run on Northport Quay. There's plenty to do - not least removing about a millimetre of paint, stripping back to bare metal. Thus far, it has taken three goes with Nitromores along with a lot of scrubbing and scraping, but more is still needed, while in doing so several bits have dropped off, including the front buffer beam... Most of this is cosmetic, but the real work is going to be on the chassis. As can be seen below, the coupling rods have disappeared, plus a couple of crank pins, while the old X04 type motor will be replaced with a High Level Road runner. I'm hoping to keep the wheels [though obviously will need a new set, plus second chassis] to go broad gauge. Curiously, when I first built it, the wheels were fouling the footplate, so for some reason, I decided to fit a couple of pieces of bull head rail on top of the chassis. It works, though I now find myself wondering if the wheels are too big. However, given that this is a pretty old kit - possibly an MTK 'El Crappo' [yes, really], I'm inclined to leave things as they are for this version, but will endeavour to make the broad gauge version better. Made some new coupling rods this morning and the motor-gearbox has been dispatched so hopefully I can get a working chassis going soon. Plenty of other stuff to do, not least deciding on a suitable livery. Will have a look at the new Rapido models, to see if there is something to tempt me. That said, I ought to be going for something Irish, but which can also double up as a private loco this side of the water.

Fantastic pictures, full of detail. Particularly like the lightweight FB track in 1 & 4, plus the grimy finish to the A. Quite like this for some strange reason, but easy to see why it soon changed to green.

Fascinating!

One of the nice things about creating a new layout is that when you've had enough of one task, there's always another to change to. So, this week, have been trying to complete the hidden part of the layout, namely the fiddle yard. Like Swillybegs, it's cassettes again, though being standard gauge, I'm using 25mm aluminium angle and 9mm ply, instead of 20/6. I devised the system myself with the screws fixing the angle to the ply projecting through to rest on brass plates which carry the power. There are two 14" cassettes and four 28" ones. The second picture show the underside, with the fixing screws just visible, while the third picture shows the two brass plates. Alignment with the track is done via a strip of wood, screwed into the fiddle yard deck. if there is any misalignment, as per the second picture, then shims of plasticard keep things right. The two short cassettes are for the railcar, plus loco [J69] and horse box. The other four cassettes are currently likely to be: Two loaded [or empty] coal wagons plus brake Two milk tanks, or one tank plus one refrigerated van One bolster or pipe wagon, plus brake Three vans As can be seen, the other road in the fiddle yard is just a length of plain track, as the off scene private sidings, where wagons will be crane shunted by hand. Power is switched between this and a cassette by a double pole, double throw switch.

Given the provenance of the previous project, we have much to look forward to!

I've actually got two John and they are almost modelling archaeology, being made from wood rather than plastic. Nice models though, with Richard's own adaption of the AJ coupling and wheels that certainly aren't Slaters.

Am sure I'm not the only one, especially on this side of the water, who didn't appreciate what a varied life and career the little C class had. From a modelling point of view, their size alone make them ideal for a small layout - proper branch line loco, enabling much more interesting operation than a railcar shuttling back and forth.

Yes, possibly a bit "horses for courses" Alan and the larger scale does enable you to do some things better, especially in terms of finer detail. As you say though, so many great ideas that make you think about how they could be adapted to your own needs. Remember one time we stayed with Gordon and Maggie, there was a military modelling magazine on the coffee table. When I asked if this was another interest, he said not, but had learned the techniques had much to offer railway modelling - something I think we have on this forum too.

Ground cover these last few days and for my text today I refer you to the Gospel according to Gravett - the whole book. It remains the seminal work on such things, so if you haven't got a copy yet, I suggest you do - it really is very readable and easy to apply. Among some specific things I've been up to, one has been the production of nettles - though the same technique applies to any tall plant on a single stem. Pretty mindless, it is a good way to occupy half an hour or so in front of some bad TV: take a strand or three of hogs hair type fibre, dip in pva, then dip into fine scatter. Rinse and repeat, as you'll probably need a couple of hundred just to cover a small area. Planting is equally tedious - once dry, dip each strand in pva and then plant in some already fairly thick ground cover. It's as simple as that and the end result seems pretty effective to my eyes. Speaking of dense ground cover, this is very much a multi layer process in 7mm scale. First, lay down some medium scatter material, then go over this with dilute pva [50/50] followed by a static grass machine with a mix of medium to long fibres in a range of pale greens. One dry, a light smear of pva over the tops of the fibres [use your finger], followed by a sprinkling of fine scatter, gives a good representation of stuff like clover. Mix in some fine coloured scatter [white or pink for bramble, yellow for buttercups or dandelions etc] and you get a nice wild flower mix. Woodland Scenics matting, teased well out, serves for brambles, dog roses and the like, while Postiche - see below works well for lighter foliage. You tease a piece out, spray it with hair lacquer and dip into fine scatter, before fixing in place with pva. The pice in the middle is Postiche, the nettles are planted in Woodlands Scenic matting. Other things I've been up to include trying to hide the baseboard join plus a bit of track weathering, the latter using powders to simulate brake dust where trains would slow for the station and oily deposits where locos would be stationery. The pictures below show what I've been doing. Overall - though it takes time, this sort of work is fairly simple but very satisfying. Equally it is the sort of thing to have a break from every now and then as it can be easy to overdo it if you're not careful.

Coming on very well and with every respect to our 3D printers, this is very much the sort of modelling I enjoy seeing. Both have their merits, both take time and skill, but there is something rather splendid in seeing a model evolve, like the real thing.

What a splendid way to repurpose an old station.