iCar

I can't work out if this is neat or not. What you see is an iCar from Minuteman Scale Models in the USA. The idea is that you slot your iPhone into it and then thanks to an angled mirror on the back, can shove the wagon around your HO scale layout while capturing a video.

I've pondered if mini video is a good idea in the past. Maybe it works better on the sort of giant layouts that Americans can build in their cavernous basements. You probably can't see the edge of the little "world" quite so easily. With even the slightest bump in the track such as a point crossing likely to make the thing bounce around a bit, I'm not sure how good the resulting film will be.

Anyway, even though the price is very reasonable, I don't own an iPhone and have no intention of buying one to find out how well this works, or if it even goes under a UK loading gauge structure. I will admit it's quite novel though.

HO Scale iCar

You aren't ALL Brian Monaghan !

(Note to younger readers, Brian Monaghan was the Railway Modeller's official photographer back in the 70's and 80's. A bit like Chris Nevard, but with film. He once appeared in the mag wearing a bowler hat and surrounded by ladies, Charlies Angels style. Mr Nev doesn't get anything quite so glamorous.)

Last weekend I'm sure I notice more cameras floating around than normal at a model railway exhibition. They came in all shapes and sizes from mobile photos to decent high-end DSLR's. It was a real shutterfest. Many hundred of pictures must have been taken of our layout alone.

What the heck does everyone do with them ?

I mean, it's not like you can't find pictures on tinterweb or even in magazines. Are they all carefully filed away for future reference and dug out to aid modelling ? I don't think so. In fact I suspect that any interest passes about a millisecond after the button is pressed. It's the fun of framing the shot, capturing the moment that the photographer is interested in. Like big game hunters, once the trophy is bagged, it's on to the next kill. Sure, friends might be shown the results stuffed and mounted, although probably on the back of the camera rather than framed on paper, but it's a collecting thing.

And what a lot of big cameras. I'd hate to explain that a lot of pro's favour something smaller such as the Cannon G9 rather than lug anything as chunky around a show. A decent compact will give results perfectly adequate for most of this stuff anyway - if you are shooting for print then this isn't done while jostling with the great unwashed over a barrier. One might suspect that they are big boys toys...

The one benefit of all digital as far as those of us inside the barrier are concerned is that you can switch the flash off. This is a simple enough trick that no one with a film camera ever seemed to manage. For years the unwary operator could expect to look up several times a day to BAM, another flashgun and some dazzle in the eyes for the next five minutes. All that for a badly focused shot of a toy train.

It's not like I want people not to take pics. It's flattering and if you ask we're even happy to pose locos for you (Note: This is a limited offer that covers only the loco in use unless the show is very quiet. We do not intend to bring out a series of trains in the middle of a busy session just so you can play at being Tony Wright. And yes that does happen.) so you don't have to click while it's moving. I take photos myself and stuff some on Flickr as well as using them for detail and inspiration. But I never try and record an entire show via the medium of a camera. I like to look at stuff that isn't on a 3 inch screen.

As for video cameras - well they have been mostly displaced by DSLR's but not entirely. And who watches that stuff again ?

Railmatch 402 = Track colour

Mike asks: I was reading your blog item on the demise of Humbrol 170, where you mentioned a Precision alternative namely "underframe dirt". Do you have the appropriate Precision reference number for this colour?

I checked their site, but wasn't sure I'd found the correct item by description alone.

There is a good reason for that - I got it wrong. It's not a Precision paint you need but a Railmatch one. Specifically, Railmatch 402 "Frame Dirt". Sorry about that.

Mind you, it is marvellous stuff. I bet I go through 4 or 5 jars of it every year. In fact I went out and bought a fresh one only yesterday...

Stop Press: Humbrol are bringing back track colour ! Number 173 is back in the range this year !

Raise the exhibitors !

I mentioned on Monday that my assistant operator over the weekend was a shortarse vertically challenged. The layout backscene comes within an inch of his chin, making it slightly harder for him to operate than it is for those of us who grew up properly. We weren't the only people with this "issue" though, next door was a layout with a backscene even higher. I'd have struggled to see over it.

Needless to say, there was a solution. As part of the exhibition kit, the team brought along this piece of staging - looking awfully like three pallets nailed together. As well as raising them up a little, the carpet saves their delicate feet from a day spent on a hard, concrete, floor, keeping them warm and unworn in the process.

And for all those of you who are saying, "What a bunch of wimps", well you try and spend the day standing up on a hard floor. After a weekend, you certainly know about it. Exhibition hall floors seem harder than most, some engineering type can explain why although it's probably something to do with load bearing or having fat sales reps trudging around them a lot, unlike village halls which seem positively civilised. Carpet isn't good news either. I strip of it behind the layout is a good thing, I try to remember some, but under the baseboard legs ? No thanks. You have the layout wobbling around every time you shunt.

Chassis testing

I hate diesels. With a chuff-chuff, you get to build the chassis and then spend many hours tweaking the thing to make it work properly. Not with the Class 25. I plopped it on the track and it ran around the layout perfectly first time. Where is the fun in that ?

I'm joking of course. Before the Leamington show opened, I took the opportunity to stick the chassis on the track and give it a go. It really did run around perfectly. The only problems were when the wires caught on the tunnel mouth exiting the fiddle yard or around the water crane. Putting the body on brought these under control and sorted this out. Those wires are too long anyway but just twisted together for testing. I'll probably use a chocolate block connector on the finished model so the thing can be easily dismantled.

The BullAnt bogies worked a treat. Even my slightly rough and ready regauging was OK. They didn't rumble over the pointwork or get upset about the curves. Even with one wire disconnected and reducing the pickup numbers, we didn't see any stalling either.

All in all, a very pleasing moment. The hobby can be relaxing after all !

Class 25 Bogie sideframes

The most striking component of the Class 25 kit were the bogie sideframes. Not an easy part to build as I've found out in the past, I am perfectly happy to leave the job to someone else.

Before sticking the bits in place, I re-gauged the wheelsets from 12 to 14.2mm by carefully pulling them out with a gear extraction tool. A dot of superglue on the axles ends before starting this hopefully get s pulled into the axle/wheel join as I work saving me from the embarrassment of another one falling off in service.

A dry run showed that the whitemetal parts were quite wide. In fact if I'd stuck them on as supplied the loco would have been distinctly bulbous down below the body whereas the photos showed the bogies tucked nicely underneath. I massaged the metal with my fingers to squash the convext part in a bit. The wheelbase grew a tiny bit as a result but at least the middle bit got thinner. Then, by cutting the outer mounting point away, I was able to superglue them in place.

A little care was required as the parts seem deeper than expected and it's always a good idea to have nothing poking below the wheel tread. I suspect that the master might have been slightly over scale as everything else is right. At least the space under the model will be well filled.

Class 25 side skirts

Under the Class 25 body on the etch were some odd dangly bits. The general consensus was that these are supposed to represent those parts seen under the locomotive body. Or that the designer had a brainstorm and went a bit mad. Whatever, they aren't there in the real loco, so I cut them off and threw them in the bin.

The underbody bits on diesels are a bit of a nightmare and working out exactly what should be there isn't easy. The plans are confusing and the photos not much help as they show all the bits at once and I have to try and work out what they are and what order to make them. Eventually I think I worked out the basic skirts, or at least figured out enough to be able to cut something out from a sheet of very thin brass.

Cutting was entirely with the Olfa Plasticard cutter and a small disposable knife. No scissors or sawing this time as the job called for lots of straight lines and I'm rubbish at sawing these. You can cut brass with a knife, it just takes lots of gentle cuts. The stuff is thinner than paper and so if you push too hard it will distort.

Fitting to the chassis involved scribing some lines and using these as a guide. A hot iron, lots of flux and speed were also required as the metal is so thin, heat can distort it if you linger too long.

Finally, the buffer beams are whitemetal castings. I think the buffer shanks are a bit short so had to pack the beam forward with a strip of metal, but it looks the part and that's what matters. To me anyway.