Kingsbury 3mm event

3mmsign
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

If you build models in odd scales it pays to be a member of the appropriate scale society. That way you have access to the bits required to build what you want. Not belonging will often be like working with a hand tied behind your back.

So, because I model railways in 3mm scale, I am a member of the 3mm Society.

Now I would normally buy my bits via mail order, or at least I used to until the guy who ran the shop became a member of our local railway club so I can just get him to bring stuff along. That only covers Society parts though, so I still need the post.

There’s nothing to beat actually handling the goods of course. Fortunately the Society organises occasional days where the main traders can be found. One such was held today in Kingsbury, Birmingham.

The event takes place in a hall at a school. Not the most salubrious of setting but not bad – there are far worse areas of Brum. We travelled by train, walking from Gravelly Hill station. This took about 15 minutes, far quicker and cheaper than the equivalent bus ride out of the city centre. There are more trains too so it’s convenient.

Once inside there were 6 traders including the Society shop and second hand sales. The later still has unbuilt Kitmaster coaches at a fiver a go. We must all have had our fill for these as they were still there in the early afternoon.

I planned to buy a loco kit for Flockburgh. My usual reaction to getting a layout write up in a magazine is to treat the model to a nice new loco as a reward for it behaving itself. Daft I know but the cheque has to be spent on something and I do get a new shiny kit out of it…

Anyway, the kit chosen was a Jinty. Not the best choice in prototype terms perhaps, but it is an 0-6-0 chassis (I’ve built those before so I should be OK) and most importantly a Triang Jinty was the model that started all this 3mm stuff years ago. I suspect that the finescale and RTR versions will be compared many times when I have to explain the difference to a punter at a show.

There were a few impulse buys too. The sides and ends for a GWR railcar and some wheels and some Dogfish wagons were bought at the same time. A Worsley Loco works Class 24 along with 3SMR supplied RTR power bogies nearly came home as well but sense prevailed. Well if sense is not buying kits you will take years to get around to building then it prevailed.

Now I have a box is the kit, wheels, motor & gearbox. All I need now is the time to build it.