Monday, June 15, 2015

Cyclist, railcrane, tractor and a dead 08 in BRM

Sorry for the delay in my monthly British Railway Modelling post, the subscription copies were delayed and if I'm honest, I'd forgotten what I'd got in this one.

As it turns out, loads of stuff.

In both print and on the DVD, I've wrestled the Magnorail HO scale working cyclist kit from the office and built a small diorama using last month's Petite Properties cottage.

Cyclist diorama

It's a bit of a fiddle, but the resulting model looks amazing with the mini man cycling around apparently by magic. Except it isn't, and I'll show you how it works...

Andy York has written a piece on goods handling and in there we find a photo of a shunting tractor. Somehow I volunteered to build a model of one and the results are in this issue.

Shunting Tractor

I built two models, the one above based on a Fordson and an older version using a Ferguson. The yellow model took longer but the older beast that I slapped together on a couple of hour looks better to me, but then I always did like slightly ramshackle things!

Staying with yellow models, how about a railcrane?

Rail Crane

This is a resin kit from new (to me) manufacturer Make your Mark Models. Although not designed as a working model, I couldn't resist powering it.

What's interesting is that amongst all the moans that the hobby, and especially the cottage industry manufacturers, are dieing, here were have a new entrant who has produced the best resin kit I think I've ever built.

I've used an older kit in "Second Hand Saviours" this month, a Kitmaster 08 shunter.

Abandoned Loco

Inspired by a thread on RMweb (yes, it can happen) I've turned a battered pre-built plastic model that was otherwise only fit for the bin, into an interesting scenic feature.

Over in the reviews section, I've built a 1970s house from Peedie Models. While doing this in 4mm scale, I tried some of their N gauge range as well. The prefab cottages are especially nice.

N Prefabs
 
And just in case you think I've been taking it easy, there's also reviews of a Wild Boar Models PFA kit, Molten Metal Paint, Severn Models etched hut and Modelrailwayscenery roadside cafe kit.
 
Plus some basic metalworking advice on the DVD. Phew!

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