RedRich

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,

Anthony I can really see the benefits of the Helix when I see it in action, especially on a layout with huge amounts of rolling stock. I like it, things are moving a lightning speed in the build and I can see the layout in it's entirety being real fun and very interesting to operate., which is exactly as it should be. Rich,

Thank you so much Anthony for that wonderful picture of my fav 201, the work is as usual top class and the name plates look very nice. The get well soon message is a very kind natured and heartfelt thing to do. It's really given me a lift and thank you very much for that . Rich,

Welcome aboard Horsetan I recognize you myself from RMweb. I have Templot myself and it is amazing once you get your head around it. I am in the planing stages of building a 21mm S4 model of Clonmel in the 2000's to present. I have amassed a shed load of P4 track co products and Portsdown Models jigs for switches and crossings so I should be kept busy for a while. The SSM kit when built is a beautiful model and I look forward to seeing your progress. Nice shot by the way of the Parish house on Craggy Island. Rich,

Very nice Anthony. Some good attention to detail, the headlight casing is fully painted the correct color and not warning panel yellow or orange as on 220 and the other 201's. For the life of me I can't understand why the windscreens are not flush glazed on the models when you consider the retail price. Top job well done. Rich,

Thats a good choice Fitz and the best of luck with it. Jim has pointed you in the right direction and any of the lads will do a top class job for you. Rich,

Thats the one Jim. I have seen it used on some EM and P4 Scottish themed layouts at shows in the past and it looks great. Rich,

Thats really great work Gareth it looks excellent. Is there anything in the Bratchell range that could be used in a conversion as they share some common parts. http://BratchellModels.com Rich,

Jim a lot of that pink colored ballast is widely spread on the railways in Scotland and it's all a matter of which geographical region the stone is quarried in. Naimshire Modelling sell a nice pink shade on their website in various grades. Mig weathering powders are available in a concrete variety and look really good when used with concrete sleeper track. Another alternative is to very lightly spray some Plasticote suede over the concrete sleepers before weathering as it gives a nice textured look to the sleepers. Rich,

That's the guts of the hobby Fran and some of the harder work, well done. Rich,

Great photos John. Out of interest what is available to the modeller of the New Zealand railways stock wise as it looks very interesting and well worth modelling. The locos are impressive looking machines. Also should have said H0 gauge. Rich,

Another great example of what is available now Stephen. Time and patience is always a huge factor in the track laying, coloring part of a build but this seems a great alternative and cuts out a lot of precious time. Rich,

Very true Jim. Track rail in sidings is always a different texture and color when compared to mainline track. Wooden sleepers always have a tiny rusty hue around the chairs or clips that can run into the sleepers. Natural daylight and taking photos at different times of the year can also make the appearance of the color look like it has changed. It's always a good idea to give some thought to which season of the year you wish to set your model in. Just looking at the example of track that you have posted Jim you can see Browns, Grey's, Beiges, Silvery hues etc and some rotting of the sleepers beginning to occur. Rich,

Fritz welome, there are many ways to paint your track realistically and there is no one way better than another as it's a matter of what suits you and how much time you have available. Anthonys already given you some great advice and his track speaks for itself and is a great example of what can be achieved with that approach. The Rusty Rails painter is a great tool for novice and professional alike. You can also get various shades of track color with the applicator to weather your rails a particualr color. http://joesmodeltrains.com/Rusty%20Rails%20Painter.htm Life color also produce some wood weathering acrylics which are ideal for weathering plastic sleepers with a brush if you don't fancy an airbrush. I am sure that others will offer many more pieces of advice along the way as there are a lot of members at the same stage as you are in their build. So you should have some food for thought. I look forward to seeing more of the build when you have time to upload some progress photos. Rich,

A lot of people will swear that it was 2002 when the first locos were converted, and I've even seen it in print in magazines. It just goes to show that an eye witness with a good reputation for noting these things are always the ones to trust. Cheers Rich.

The other guys have given you really good advice and I will agree with them that in the long run that is going to cause problems. You may think it is OK now but it won't be when temperatures change and things begin to move. For your own sake and any other future problems change it now and save a lot of hassle in the future. Anthony's given you a good link to something that will solve the problem and it is well worth doing. Other than that it's looking lovely and you are making great progress. Rich,

It's really progressed Fran since the build commenced and looks great. The peak Forest was always an area that I thought would make a great model. Railway Modeller had a great piece with a track plan for it many years ago. Rich,

Thats a lovely idyllic country scene Eamonn. The Wills kits can certainly test your patience, but when you get an end result like that it's all worth it. Rich,

I'm a bit late adding to this but I will echo everything the lads have said and sincerely wish you all the best in this venture. A lot of hard work goes into building models as good as your own, and a lot of the guys on here will testify to that. There is a healthy interest in Irish prototypes over the last few years so everything will be fine. Rich,

Good find Pat. Theres always a debate on which year the locos started being fitted with led light clusters, so it's nice to see that some were fitted as early as 2000 and some are still in the IR livery when they were converted. Rich,

Good to hear things are moving again Stephen. Rich,