Noel

Nice photos as ever Finbarr. Especially like 220+mk4 on the bend. What is happening in Killarney.

"If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck." Or an alternative is the "two foot" rule Both of which can be applied to model trains. I find both apply quite well to most rolling stock, especially stock that has some poetic license, is not super detailed, or has some technical compromises, paint shades a bit off, but visually looks close enough to what it is mimicking to pass the "duck test" or "two foot" rule. I do appreciate and respect that for some the "duck test" is a bridge too far.

Hi Paul. That's what I'm hoping to achieve with many of my early era Bachmann UK goods wagons - pseudo CIE 1950s-1970s that pass the 'duck test' after some decals, weathering and/or resprays, with some genuine scale Irish wagons in RTR and kit form added for the same era. Noel

I'm sure he will, Richard is a human dynamo. Everard Junction layout thread on RmWeb http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/87264-everard-junction-br-1988-1990/page-1

He used MDF baseboards which he says warped over time in his loft. What a shame, his layout construction videos are legendary. Watching that video I'm glad we chose marine grade 9mm ply 23 years ago. Its heart breaking seeing that. Redoing the electric cabling alone would be a massive task.

Dave, As Fr Jack might say "Ar*e Biscuits". Combine my Lexdysia with iPad productive tipping and its a total precipicey for daysaster. Neol

Pure sacrilege JB. It must have been hauled by the Lima class 33 CIE no 215 to manage such speeds.

I love it. Looks great and very nice detailing on the front. Now all you need to match is a few pax on the platform in designer cloths and suede shoes. The man in the panama hat with the suit case looks like a GH pax!

Back to the past! The thread on Ebay CIE brown van prompted me to dig this childhood memory out and pop it on the layout. With actual opening doors this Triang-Hornby wagon had enough excitement to make a small boy faint

Like this one? It was a bit of a modelling carbuncle alright, but seemed sheer perfection when I was a young boy and nearly fainted with excitement. 47 years ago I hated the plastic white roof it came with so out came the Humbrol grey and within an hour of unboxing it on Christmas day the roof was dulled

Thanks Richie. That makes perfect sense. Happy to mix thinners. Noel

Hi Richie. Two questions for you please as I understand you like Vallejo acrylics for air brush use. I was browsing the Vallejo web site, but got rather confused by their vast range of different products. Within their modelling range they have over six sub-ranges including 'Model Color' (designed for hand brushing) and 'Model Air' (designed for air brushing) according to their web site. Would you recommend both, or just the 'Model Air' range for air brushing? . If yes, would you recommend their basic 16 colour set (71.178) which includes the primary colours, or their basic 8 colour set (71.174) which also includes the primary colours as a good starter set for air brush use and colour mixing? Thanks in advance. Noel

Hi B Houlihan. It's a long time since I ballasted track so I was wondering the same myself back in February. If its of any use the link below is some of my experiments with different ballasts and different track bed materials, but all were ballasted with 50/50 water/PVA mix. I've decided against copydex for gluing the ballast (i.e. for noise insulation), but think I may use copydex to glue track bed (i.e. foam or cork) to baseboard instead of PVA, but use PVA/water mix for fixing the actual ballast itself (i.e. for some degree of sound proofing). Noel http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/6024-Track-bed-ballast-experiments Noel

What a fabulous and impressive layout. Loads of interesting operating potential and some really nice scenery. Best of luck with the progress. It's a never ending journey, but hopefully an enjoyable one. PS: Clever the way you disguised the light switch on the wall.

Fabulous collection of excellent photos. Yes the HST is and was an iconic train. It is just older than our 071 too! I remember watching test runs to Bath on the western line about 1974 or 1975. I travelled a lot on them when working in the UK during the early 80s, and subsequent visits. Despite its age still looking good, more 'modern' looking than many trains here, and BR mk3 very comfy even with narrower 4'8 1/2" gauge The ICE 1 has the hint of a 'duck' look about its face, but the ICE 3 has the look of a 'hawk'. And the fab TGV is the mummy of all high speed trains.

Hi Eoin That looks excellent. How do you secure the cloth to the brass friction wheel? Does the brass wheel rotate freely as the wagon moves or is there some resistance so it drags some cloth over the track? (i.e. deliberate friction on the axle). Noel

Well spotted - Not white, but a rather bright Beige (eg. suede for first class) I was going to take them down a shade when I put pax inside but not sure now as I like the bright cabin, might paint the corridor walls a timbre colour. I've haven't sprayed enamels yet so I don't know what the differences in viscosity of thinned acrylic v thinned enamels is like. On the first few coats of black acrylic I thinned it too far much and it was very runny, so I kept the brush moving quicker to avoid a build up of fluid. On the subsequent coaches the black was thicker so it went on a lot easier. I didn't realise Tamiya acrylics needs only about 10-15% acrylic thinner, whereas railmatch needs about 40-50%!!! On future projects I may try Vallejo acrylics as it seems to be preferred by many of the experienced folk, and a big attraction seems seems it is slower drying so allows more standing time within the air brush during session pauses when its in the holder. I understand there is an optional 'flow improver' fluid that you can mix with Vallejo that prevents the needle tip and nozzle drying as fast as other paints, especially Tamiya, but so far that hasn't caused me any grief - yet!

Ah! I asked the same question on your thread. Sorry haven't yet, but that will be my next coaching target - a few green flying snail coaches.

As BTB (Paul) asked what paints I used I thought I'd post a list of the stuff I used on my recent air brush adventures. Remember I am a total beginner so these are not recommendations, not necessarily the best options, just what I personally have used so far to paint track, weather rolling stock, and respray some coaches. I have almost zero experience milage, but just for information purposes. Suggest looking at some the threads below for info from experienced folk. The airbrush and compressor I used was on the recommendation of Richie and very happy with it. This is NOT a tutorial, there are loads of brilliant youtube videos showing different methods of air brushing. There doesn't seem to be one right way, just whatever works for each individual. Go for it. Some useful Resource threads: IRM - What Air Brush IRM - What paint for what airbrush thread RMWeb - First steps at spraying advice - excellent thread Bartsharp Training and Review Videos Stuff I've started to learn how to use so far Plus Primer - Halfords grey plastic primer spray can (300ml) (used in outdoor shed) - love this stuff, easy to use and great consistent finish that does not hide surface detail on models Safety - Breathing mask + good ventilation. Ideally one should have a small spray booth box preferably with a fan and filter. I didn't find acrylics that smelly, but I used all spray cans either out doors or in shed with door open. Halfords is great but it stinks of solvent so no way use in the house. I air brushed indoors with a mask. Acyrlic Thinners - Use a thinner designed for each vendors acrylic paints (i.e. tamiya thinners with tamiya acrylics, railmatch with railmatch, etc). Cleaning - Water is great for cleaning airbrush after acrylics, and methylated spirits for stuff that won't shift. Cotton buds are brilliant. Air brush dismantled for cleaning - Apologies if this makes it look complicated - It is NOT, there are only three controls (maroon call outs), and to be honest all you really use is the trigger. Push the trigger down to start air flow (no paint), and then pull back gradually to release paint into the air stream. The more you pull back the more paint. The adjust screw at the end just acts as a limiter to restrict how bar back you can pull the trigger. Compressor with 3L reservoir means motor is off more than it is one. This model is very quiet. Compresser water trap + pressure gauge - lower pressure seems to suit acrylics Cleaning Pot - traps airborne particles in water when cleaning out airbrush. Essential piece of kit. Doubles up as a useful airbrush holder. Acrylic Paints and Acrylic Thinners used Tamiya X-6 (and small quantity of XF-64) seems to yield good tan/orange colour options. Possibly a drop or two of red might might be needed for some era's shade of tan. The MM cravens orange band have a little more red in them than my coach example. In the future I will try and find what combinations of Vallejo colours do the same. For now I'm planning to stick with Acrylic paints: a) because its what I've got used to, b) its water based rather than solvent based so better for my lungs and smells, c) seems to dry a little faster than enamels, d) I'm happy with the finish, and e) the big one, it easier to clean airbrush after a session. Times: These may be longer than needed, but being cautious I've waited 48hr after can spraying Halfords plastic grey primer before masking or spraying acrylics over it, 15-30mins between coats of acrylics (i.e. same colour), and 48hr drying/curing before masking over acrylics for other paint colours, and 2-3 days before spraying vanish (i.e. to avoid any risk of milky misting). WARNING: BTW, keep varnish sprays a million miles away from windows of your rolling stock to avoid opaque misting of windows. Don't even spray a model in the same room as your other rolling stock. The windows on one side of one of my MM locos that was 10ft away from where I was spraying went milky. Just shows you how much invisible material is in the air - so avoid breathing it!!! When varnishing locos or coaches either remove the glazing/windows, or mask over them with either tape or maskol.

Thanks guys for the kind encouragement. I bet you its like golf though, one good hole but then a few bogies to humble one! Hi Paul. Black = Tamiya Acrylic Dull Black XF-1 White = Tamiya Acrylic Dull White XF-2 Tan = Mix of Tamiya Acrylic Orange X-6 + Tamiya Acrylic BrownXF-64 (approx 3-4%) I'll put up a visual list of the stuff I used in another post. Noel

Almost finished the first coach. Just weathering left to do, and a few tweaks on the ends, but I may keep this one pristine. She is riding a little high (as did all Hornby's of that vintage) so will have to get the bogies closer and perhaps smaller diameter wheels needed. Waiting for decals to arrive. Platform 3 Woodvale Junction Depth of field effect to blur the far end Its a start, lots more to learn, lots more to do.

Hi Paul, yes they seem over priced alright. The seller probably doesn't realise that 'galway' mk2 livery was not very popular. Same seller has baby GMs for sale at daft prices. Noel

Thanks, that makes sense. Looking forward to seeing the end result. What are you planning to use for window glazing?

Four more wagons arrived back from the workshop lightly weathered and sealed with matt varnish. I have about 10 more ore wagons to do, but tempted to try a wash/powders on a few of them instead of airbrush.

Sounds great. I had a look back at #353, what glue did you use to fix the brass sides to the lower plastic body sides and the coach ends? Do you add a sort of 'spar' along the top of the body sides to replace the strength of the cut away body sides, and help fix to roof, or is the brass strong enough to hold shape and bond directly with plastic roof?