irishthump

Well I've ordered from them a few times and had no hassle!

Thanks for all the kind comments, lads. These are the ground signals - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-pcs-HO-scale-2mm-LEDs-made-Railway-2-aspects-Dwarf-Signals-Green-Red-/400242410162?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item5d304e82b2 Again cheap and cheerful! They're from the same Ebay seller as the other signals. Not exactly prototypical but they look good.

A little bit of progress!!! Added canopies and lamps to the platforms. Went for the standard Hornby canopies as are they were readily available in my local Mark's Models and I didn't fancy going the scratchbuilt route. The lamps on the platforms are cheap LED lamps I got from Ebay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110422352893?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 Only €15 for 20 and they look fine when wired up. I just cut off one arm for the single lamps on the left platform.

and 161...

A little bit of weathering! Finally got round to doing my 071...

I've been using the Humbrol washes which I find pool on the surface of the model unless it's been giving a matt coat. I use Windsor and Newton acrylic varnish which comes in a spray can but I decant it into a jar and apply it with the airbrush which gives a much finer coat. I apply the Humbrol by just dabbing small amounts onto the panel lines and details. Then I use Revel thinners and dab it over the Humbrol and it runs straight into the detail and crevices. Then like yourself I remove most of the wash with cotton buds and brushes. Sounds a pretty long process but it gets results that I like.

Appreciate that, George. Lot of guys don't like giving you too much info! Just a couple of questions... Do you use an enamel or acrylic wash? And do you give the model a matt coat before starting? (I find the washes work much better with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.)

Fantastic work! Sorry to ask for trade secrets, George, but for the panel lines do you use a wash? I have been experimenting with thinned enamel washes and Tensocrom myself.

Lads, Do any of you know of any stockists for Phoenix paints in the Republic? Plenty of UK suppliers but none will ship to Ireland because of the new postage rules. Marks Models seem to carry a couple of colours but not much.

Picked up one of these yesterday, can't go wrong for the price... http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/SID-5FC6838B-5EDC77C6/lidl_ri_ie/hs.xsl/index_35809.htm

Good points.... We're dealing with a small pool of DCC users and there isn't much consistency when it comes to what brand of controller they use. Also if you're handing over a controller when running the layout it either needs to be wireless or you need sockets at various points.

Watching this thread with interest guys! Early days but what are you thinking of doing for control, DC or DCC? IMHO DCC is really the only way to go with a modular layout....

As far as I know Mr Soundguy only deals through Model Shop Belfast.

You may be able to dim the light by programming the correct CV, but it depends on the decoder. Did you say it was a Bachmann decoder?

Not always a bad thing. If you have to use a bit of force to remove a screw it means the screwdriver will give and you won't shear the head off the screw.

not sure of the exact size but you can pick up a set of small screwdrivers (flat head and Phillips) cheap enough. Most Euro shops will carry them now. If you can, pick up ones that are magnetised, this is a pick help for screws like those on the 071 which are down deep in the mounting hole.

The single light on the right is one of the two white marker lights. The one on the far left is the single red marker/tail light. I'm guessing that since CIE/IR/IE only adopted the practice of having 2 red tail lights on the back of a train in the late 80's so one red light was enough!

Very sad news. My thoughts are with you and your family.

That 071 is stunning! What chassis did you use for the locos?

I read all the posts in the "name change" thread but it was locked before I could comment. I can understand the point but I was mystified at the comments by certain long standing members which were basically putting the site down for no good reason. As for the post on RMWeb; I think that was a nasty and petty thing to do and the site is better off without them. Apologies for the harshness, but I think it's justified.

Whether or not they look ok is entirely up to you! I have a few HO American locos and freight cars and I think they look fine.

Damn fine work for a first attempt if you ask me! Keep the pics coming....

Late 70's to early 80's is my main period of interest. I've vivid memories of supertrain liveried locos deafening me as a child. I've heard it said that most people model what they remember from there childhood, and I'm no exception! I've thrown in a couple of black and tan liveried locos as they were still pottering about at that time. No interest in steam whatsoever.

Fantastic! What are the overall dimensions of the room btw?

Haven't done an update in a long time but managed to get a bit done over the last couple of weeks... Did some more ballasting is more or less finished except for a few small areas so I decided to weather the track/ballast with an airbrush, here's the results... I used Humbrol enamels, matt black with a touch of matt white. You can also see the shunting signals I installed on the crossing. They're not prototypical but work well and they look ok to me! Here's a pic of 182 reposing in the siding. Here's a shot of the engine shed. Finally added some innocent bystanders to the platform, the guy on the right looks a bit impatient! I also installed some more signals, these are all wired to my point motors and change when any points are switched. I got them on Ebay and they started out looking like this... After a bit of surgery and a repaint I think I came up with something that looks a bit more fitting... Here are the signals for the bay platform.