RedRich

The Bachmann coaches look great Dave in the NIR livery. The Airfix MK11's still look good tooling wise even though they originate from the 70's. Rich.

Anto I believe it was developed by the Americans in the Vietnam War for field surgey to close cuts without the need for stiching. Rich,

Thanks for that Jim as it has answered some questions for me. Rich,

Some very good advice and I have the scars to prove it. Rich,

Thanks very much Gareth. That's some sensible advice. I'm getting better every day and it feels good to be back here. Rich,

Thank you Baby it's really appreciated and it gives me a great lift. Rich,

Thanks Seamus, I am still keeping you and yours in my thoughts and prayers and it is great to see you back. Rich,

From what I have seen so far of the models 112 is definitely stealing the show, and looks to my eye to be the one to beat. Great photos Gareth cheers. Rich,

Good spot Dave, P4 Track Co, C&L Finescale, Brassmaster are some of the manufacturers that produce fishplates in 4mm and they look great in Gareths photos. Rich,

I'm certainly interested in the 22ft 6 flats John as they can be used for a number of loads. Container, kegs, timber, barrier wagon, weed spray etc. The fact it is designed with 21mm from the beginning is a big winner for me and I would buy fleet quantities when available. I love the outside w irons and that is a brilliant build, really great work. It is a very exciting time with everything in the pipeline at the moment. I would love all brass construction but what ever you decide in the end won't stop me buying. Rich,

Thank you very much for your kind wishes and again to everyone else. Rich,

Fitz sometimes the use of washing up liquid mixture and water mist spray followed by the PVA water mix can turn some granite ballast chippings a green color when it dries. This won't be the case if you use other types like Woodland Scenics ballast. If you are brushing the color try some track grime color dry brushed (after loading the brush with paint wipe off most of it in a tissue) and as Anthony has said in another post brush some oil spills where locos have been idling. Go out and look at the real thing and familiarize yourself with what real track looks like. Take photos if you can and study the different tones and colors in the ballast and sleepers. Anthony has posted some very good photos of concrete sleepers track and they are a great reference for anyone wanting to weather their track. There are also some track pics in the prototype photos section of the group of wooden sleepered track that you could use. A little tip is to always model what you see and not what you think it should look like. Any of the lads that paint professionally always use photographs as a reference and that is why their work looks so realistic. Rail Match and Phoenix Precision paints have tinlets of the correct shades of paint for weathering track and ballast, it's well worth having a look at both ranges. A lot of the lads are mixing their own colors and achieving as good if not better results than the off the shelf paints. Youtube is always a good place for watching uploads of different techniques of the process and is well worth checking out. As I said observations of the real thing are a great way of giving you a guide of what you want to achieve. The attic is a popular place for a lot of layouts. Do make sure that it is well insulated, dry, and always keep a close eye on things as sudden changes in temperature can lead to disasters. Leave the missus downstairs to watch soaps and you go up to the loft, a sure sign of a marriage made in heaven. Rich,

Thank you Kirley. Rich,

Thank you Vincent. Rich,

I'll echo what everyone else is saying Fritz, you are doing a great job for your first attempt, like anything you learn as you go along and you will improve very quickly at this rate. The foam is a great idea if you are housing the layout overhead or in a bungalow where sound deadening is important to keep noise to a minimum. Be careful not to apply it with PVA because when the PVA dries it dries hard and it will lose a lot of the sound deadening effect. If you are housing the layout in a purpose built room out doors and your timber work is even and well built you shouldn't need foam or any other type of underlay if you use diluted Copydex as an adhesive for setting the track and ballast to the boards. I have seen this approach before and it works beautifully. I look forward to more progress. Rich,

Looks very nice Des and I've no doubt it will look even better when finished. Thanks for posting the photo Gareth. Rich,

I can't wait to see more of this Horsetan. It has the makings of a great topic and model. Rich,

Cheers John some great info. I'll have a good look at those links tonight. Rich,

Gareth I remember Jim Smith Wright produced some etched hopper window frames for the kits and they were really good and took the models to a different level. If you ever manage to get some spare time it would be one stunning model to do. Rich,

Very true they do look stunning but they cost the earth. Rich,

I think he raced against a couple of German lads in one of the races. It was good fun though. Rich,

Thanks Jim I love it. Rich,

Thank you Eamonn. Rich,

Thanks Noel for those kind compassionate words, it helps and gives me more encouragement than you would ever know, it also gives me the strength to push on through every day one at a time and I know I will get better. Rich,

Thanks very much for that, I appreciate it. Didn't Frateschi release a model with very similar bogies to a 121. I remember someone telling me he used a mechanism under an MIR 121 years ago. For the life of me I can't remember when. Rich,