Lockdown is the perfect time to dig those old kits out of the cupboard and get them on the workbench.
Eric Londesbrough fights a small signal cabin that dates from the 1980s but manages to produce a lovely little model that would be perfect for any small line. The Editor goes back to his youth with a Saltford Models Simplex diesel and after many years in our hobby, Dave Skertchly finally gets his hands on a Tri-ang “Big-Big” diesel to bash into a steam locomotive.
We're not just looking back though – John Rogers is controlling his locos with a mobile phone via Bluetooth. Kitbuilders will enjoy the second part of Mark Thatcher's church build and David Rhodes completing a rake of coaches with a modified IP Engineering kit.
Layout inspiration this month comes with a visit to The Aston Railway and Tramway, built by Mick Eastough. It might have taken 50 years to get started, but the wait was worth it as his lovely 7/8
1 comment:
Sounds an interesting and nostalgic read for those of us of a certain age group. I dabbled in 16mm in the late 70s and early 80s and still have two Mamods which are now just ornaments, one was built from a kit on the kitchen floor, the kitchen not being big enough for a table.
I remember seeing Brian Clarke of Saltford Models regularly at Narrow Gauge South West and Narrow Gauge North his quirky artisan approach to both his 009 and particularly 16mm kits always appealed to me, I think I still have one of his 16mm “kits” somewhere. His catalogues and booklets containing his hand produced drawings were delightful. Unfortunately he suddenly seemed to disappear from the scene, a great loss. I wonder if anyone has any current news of him? His 009 kits are still highly prized, and priced, by aficionados.
I fondly remember the days when the 16mm Association magazine was full of Big Big conversions But then the scale suddenly changed with companies like Roundhouse offering more affordable r-t-r models. The emphasis seemed to change almost overnight. Very much like today, affordable for some but not if you’d a young family to support.
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