Noel

I think it is customary to stick ones arm out when the bus is approaching! Hattons have some Irish 1/76 buses from £28-£32 each. http://www.hattons.co.uk/86892/EFE_16136_Leyland_PD2_Highbridge_C_I_E_Southern_Ireland_/StockDetail.aspx http://www.hattons.co.uk/88529/EFE_16137_16137_Leyland_PD2_Highbridge_C_I_E_C_ras_Iompair_ireann_/StockDetail.aspx

Brilliant

Pure nostalgia gold. Thanks for posting. The numerous Bulleid open beat wagons were the essence of beat transport and open goods traffic for decades on our railways. A few were to be seen in the sidings in every single station in Ireland during the 50s to late 70s and even into the early 80s. If one day it ever became an IRM project I suspect it might be their most commercially successful wagon and numerically the biggest seller of all time for a quality Irish RTR wagon. One day perhaps! I wonder how many of these still exist in preservation, storage or even a few back gardens along the railways.

Very nice video Robbie with some great scenes. The mk4 sets are great to watch from outside and even better to travel in. I miss the mk3 sets. The well shot and composed video segments even made 22k's look like proper trains as opposed to Luas-Mor!

Holy Moly - George, that's a fabulous volume of exquisite work. A master class.

Cheers John. Glad you enjoyed the 'lighthearted element'. Thanks Des. Sometimes I'm still 8! It's a bit like being let loose in Disney's small world! Or one of the Hornby adds from 1979 with Bernard Cribbins running around 'Hornby size'. I tried putting a driver in the cab (see pic below) but it doesn't work, just a blurry figure. Too close to the lens for DOF. These were classic adverts in their day. Bernard Cribbins was then still very much associated with 'The Railway Children' movie.

Thanks for the useful tip Des. What is 2mm lining strip? Is it styrene strips and what thickness are they? I tried to use masking tape upside down to hold the styrene strips in place, but it just didn't stick well enough due to the narrow angle of contact the sides of the strips came into contact with the tape. Now that sounds like an interesting proposition. You may have to decide which donor to target them for, as I understand Bachmann, Hornby, Triang, Lima and Replica BR Mk1 coach sides are not all the same length. Presume you'd be doing the more popular BSK 3185 variant rather than the rarer BCK variant like RPSI 3173.

Thanks @Dhu Varren That's really useful. I may try another tack.

Tried two sample variants of louvered side vents for the GSV. Not entirely happy with either. First on left a) is scratch made from overlapping styrene strips glued together, the second on right b) uses off cuts from CD jewel case. Obviously both options will need a thin frame around them. Any visual preferences for either or suggestions?

Back to the GSV. Ok how to make the louvered side vents for these. Two options so going to try both just for the heck of it because I plan to do another GSV 3173 in the future, so may as well figure it out now. Make from scratch using strips of styrene Use the sides of plastic CD cases Cut strips the same way I used to cut balsa strips and assemble them on sticky masking tape before gluing from the back Glad to see my old balsa strip cutter still works OR, use the ribbed sides of plastic CD case. When painted up these may more than pass the duck test. Will see what the styrene versions look like tomorrow. Next up start the roof details and under frame mods

Thanks guys. Glad you enjoyed it. Twas a bit of fun. It was fun using my iPad to to drive the train by looking out through the cab windows via the cameras video feed, and using the DCC throttle rather than at the model. Disney small world! One thing that comes across is how speeds look so realistic when down at 1/76 eye level. Ah now 'working wipers' - flip!!! Ok mk V version coming up - suppose you want model rain as well It is indeed a new aspect and I am going to run the odd train this way by looking out the cab window video feed instead of Monty Python'esque looking down at the train from high up in the clouds (i.e. overhead). Glad you liked it Jason. Personally I enjoyed looking at other stock as the train passed by.

Done. GoPro raised to see better forward out over cab windows and cab interior fitted. Thank you. A few more tweaks below. We aim to please Ok, here is mk IV of the cab ride clip. This time with a better view forward and some of the cab interior visible. The layout is a bit of a mess at the moment with more construction work going on so I will post a clip in the future of the upper level circuit. I know its a distraction from 'proper' modelling and pending workbench items, but it has been fun messing around with this.

Eoin you take model engineering to a new level. You make working with brass look easy, yet it is not easy to do well, but you do, again and again. We can all learn from your continuous ingenuity. You are a brassmaster! Love watching your projects evolve from conception to finish. A master class.

As ever, absolutely sublime on every level. I particularly like colour tones of the stock, layout, scenery and buildings which blend together like a real world film set from a period 1940s drama. Inspiring.

Impressive speed and work Robbie. Looking forward to seeing them evolve and running. Are you planning to run with model 'beat' in them when finished?

Thanks Jason. I'm happy the way this one turned out. Some more to do tomorrow after I make some progress on the GSV.

Hmm! It's a bit of fun but this doesn't really do it for me. As Marilyn Monroe once famously said "It doesn't blow my skirt up" But it was fun trying. The wagon needs more weight to stop it wobbling and the camera needs to be closer to the cab windows and a little higher to get a view of the track ahead.

Ok, work is in progress, sound gone, camera up front, behind cab windows. Not sure if this is going to work, but will give it a try for fun. Will post video clip later. I don't know why but this little contraption reminds me of a nuns habit from the 1960s! You know, Black'n'White in a Black'n'Tan era.

It looks particularly well on the bulleid.

Very nice Eamonn. Love the paint job and weathering, especially the Bulleid. I see you dispensed with the need for the daft 'staples' on the single beat. I couldn't get them to work but thats probably more a reflection on me. You've inspired me to have a go with a double beat I've had on the shelf for a few months!!!

Good idea Dave. I had only taken the GoPro out of its box and was excited trying to learn how to use it - I never read manuals. I was trying to recreate the view from the back of a train forward to see the loco and forward wagons snaking into view around bends. Might also try a shot from a flat right behind the loco, or even from behind cab windows looking forward - off now to see if the cab from an MM 141 that I sacrificed as a donor for C class might do the job. Another good idea. The GoPro without its mounts fits perfectly on a flat wagon but doesn't move around due to its rubber skin, and its small enough to clear the loading gauge (i.e. fit under foot bridges, bridges, etc). Anyway it was just an excuse to 'play' but I was impressed with the '1/76 scale little people' view passing close to other stock and station.

A bit of fun with a short video clip taken from a moving model train. The quality is not great due to poor lighting and I accidentally had the camera on LQ mode. The GoPro was a birthday present. It does give a whole new perspective down at that level when you become a 1/76 scale model of yourself looking at the trains go bye. I popped it on a flat wagon in the middle of a rake of Irish Cement wagons (IRM's finest). I had expected loads of camera shake especially running over points but it was much steadier than I had expected. After I 'green' up the layout over the winter will take the GoPro for another ride, perhaps right behind a 141.

They really do look the part especially with Ballybeg as a superb backdrop.

Video of IRM's Irish Cement tanker wagons

Lima loco - makes a nice railway themed paper weight