A nice place to fish

 

For my latest Hornby Collectors Club project, I was asked for something with water. 

No problem I though, a slice of countryside with a small bridge would do the job. Greenery always looks nice on the page, and the techniques are applicable to all model railways. 

The trouble is, Hornby don't have a small bridge in their range. So I had to improvise. 

Next, water. I can't use anything from the Woodland Scenics range for a start, and Skaledale doesn't have anything suitable. Which is why I experimented with PVA glue in June. 

This did not go well, or at least as well as I needed it to as quickly are required - the perils of working to a deadline!

In the end, I've reverted to the old favourite - Ronseal Yacht varnish. It looks good, dries fast enough to allow for multiple coats and does the job. Sometimes, that's more important than innovating. 

The finished scene looks really nice and will make a useful photo plank too.

Navy Day 2021

I'll confess to feeling a certain amount of trepidation as my father and I headed to the KMBC Navy Day. It's along while since we've been to anything quite like this. A post "Freedom Day" event. 

Of course, it would be taking place outside, and with a breeze, any Covid would be blown around, so a little careful social distancing, and the fact nearly everyone present would be double-jabbed, meant the risk to health would be as low as practical. 

The weather forecast had warned of thunderstorms, but as it was, the slightly overcast day was perfect. Warm, but not too warm, and bright enough for photography. 

We only stayed a couple of hours thanks to a visitor for lunch, but still managed to unload some money on the RNLI and Bring and Buy stalls. Sadly, due the later was home to an estate sale, but I've acquired a random collection of round lengths of metal among other bits. Stuff that looks like junk, but will doubtless find a use one day!

 

 

There was cake, and it was very nice. Just as importantly, there was plenty of chat among people who hadn't seen each other for 18 months, and some cracking model boats on the water. 

 

Best of all, as my dad said on the way home, it makes you want to do some modelling. I'm not into grey boats, but there is a kit for HMS Renown in my collection, and I did find myself thinking it would be nice to sail this next year. Admittedly, I think looked up a couple of build blogs and decided that there's a lot of work to make that "beginners kit" seaworthy, but I've not had that feeling for quite some time...

More photos from the event over on Flickr

Saturday Film Club: Interesting old plastic kits

I'm always interested in historic model kits and this video made me search for something I, and the presenter, had never heard of - Renwall Aero-skin kits.

A method of replicating canvas covered aircraft, the plastic part, which show the aircraft ribs, are covered with printed tissue-paper decoration. This probably sounds like a better idea than it actually is, but I'm still fascinated. 

Back to Groudle in 1996

 

It's no secret I'm a big fan of the Groudle Glen Railway, and I have a large collection of souvenirs of the line. The latest examples are eBay finds that didn't cost much, but are a bit of fun. 

The badge is the sort of printed plastic badge that were everywhere when I was a kid. I know I had loads of them with different logos printed on the front. This is new to me, and of course, as a bit of my youth, and GGR, it was three quid well spent. 

The lorry is a Lledo model sold through the Promotors brand. According to the certificate in the box it's number 238 of 523. Fortunately, I managed to beat off a slew of American millionaire collectors for this rare item, bagging it for a fiver. 

My initial thought was that it was so ugly as to be fun, but with the model in my hand, I really like it. The printing is really good and the design features both Sea Lion and Polar Bear - so what's not to like? 

More importantly, it reminds me that I visited the line for the centenary weekend in 1996. At the time, I was working for Lunn Poly travel agent on their systems helpdesk - a miserable place to work where my boss (yes, you Stella) hated me for no apparent reason from the day I arrived (that wasn't just my opinion, one of my collgues asked "Why does she treat you like s**t?") and I couldn't wait to leave. 

Anyway, I worked the early shift one Friday so I left at 4:30, heading straight to the station and then on to Birmingham International. A quick change to a 'plane and by 6:30 (I think) I was waiting for the bus outside Ronaldsway airport, breathing that clean, Manx air. 

This little lorry reminds me of that, and so is well worth it's asking price. 

Now, if I can find some photos, I'll post them here eventually.

Smoke & Steam

Many months ago, Warners decided to produce a coffee table style magazine for prototype railways. 

Although very much a side-project for the team, we picked some of the best authors we could find and then left our boss to talk to them about producing some material. 

The aim was something deeper than a magazine, allowing both articles and images space to breath on the page. The result is pretty impressive. 

One issue with anything like this is making sure the information is accurate. When you have an expert writing, unless you are also an expert, how do you know if they got it wrong? Well, the solution was a "peer review" process where articles were circulated between the authors for comment. After that, a little tweaking to make sure it all read properly and it's good to go. 

Sourcing the images was (I am told) a bit of a nightmare, but there are plenty in there that won't be familiar to everyone. I particularly like the shots around Dover docks, offering plenty of inspiration for detailing a B4 tank.

My part was to pen a small modelling feature on weathering steam locos. While this is primarily a prototype magazine, very few enthusiasts don't have a bit of an interest, and we are a model railway publisher too...

Full details on the World of Railways store.  It's not currently available in the shops.

Pootle's back!

With a spare radio receiver in my hand, I thought I might as well put it into my very first boat kit - Pootle. 

This George Turner kit was cheap, but also where I learned that bigger boats designed for radio control were easier to build than tiny ones that weren't. Eventually I managed to work something out and even wrote the results up for Model Boats magazine. 

Swapping the receiver was easy, and again, I replaced a couple of 2XAA packs with a flat 4XAAA version, and a bit of lead to restore the waterline. All the stuff you see above is hidden by an interior that slides in over it. 

On the water, sailing lasted about 3 minutes. The the boat wouldn't respond. Back on the bench, one of the batteries was weak, presumably dropping the voltage too low for the receiver. It might also be that RadioLink receivers don't like bots powered by a gutted servo. More work required.

Clyde Puffer back on the water

A whopping 5560 posts ago, this 1:72 scale Clyde Puffer was the first proper post on this blog. 15 years later, it's back, because I need to bring the radio control gear up to date for some filming. 

The model is a Deans Marine kit built a very long time ago, and now a shelf queen in its display case. For various reasons, I wanted to be able to show that it worked, which meant either finding a working 26mHz transmitter, or replacing the reciever with something more modern. 

In theory, this is easy. But since it was the afternoon after yesterday's hose reel debacle, it wasn't. 

What I had forgotten, was that binding a RadioLink TX/RX is different from the same job with a Planet set. On the Planet, you switch the boat on, press the bind button and then switch on the transmitter. 

RadioLink, it's transmitter on, boat on, press bind button. 

But if you get this wrong, 'cos you are doing the same as the Planet, it still binds, or at least appears too. But the RX just ignores controls from the TX. This is immensely annoying.

Once I had read the instructions, suddenly all was well. At the same time I swapped the 4XAA battery box for a 4XAAA flat version, aiming to lower the centre of gravity. There was also a bit of rigging repair required, the elastic thread having become brittle.

On the water, the boat lists like a yacht every time it turns and so the sail wasn't relaxing, or very long. Fortunately, I didn't need it in the water for my filming. 

For the moment, the RX has been removed again and the boat reverts to Shelf Queen duties. Maybe one day I'll fiddle with the ballast a bit more, but it's not like I'm short of boats!

Hozelock reel frustration and resolution

 

This is a Hozelock retracting reel. It's a nice, neat way to have a hosepipe, and gave me a whole heap of pain on a very hot Saturday, trying to fit to the wall. Definitely one of those jobs that looks simple and descends into a nightmare. 

In theory, all you do is drill four holes, pop the rawplugs in, screw the support to the wall and it's job done. 

Of course, you have to get all the holes in the right place, and that's tricky as the plastic bracket gets in the way of marking things. 

The solution - make a cardboard jig. 

Ideally, do this before drilling a series of wrong holes and using up all the plugs supplied. 

This reel is heavy. 17kg as supplied, but it will get heavier when full of water and then even worse - it's the ideal perch for next-doors cat, and he's not small. 

So, you need really strong plugs. The ones in the kit have little barbs. 

None of the plugs in our garage had these, so when we hung the support on the wall and fitted the reel, they started to pull out again. I'd put all the supplied ones in the wall, so couldn't take one to the local DIY shed to try to find a replacement. I went anyway, and nothing they had in the very limited stock, was any better. 

Fortunately, Hozelock sell spare packs, and I don't care they are six quid for four screws and four plugs, I bought two. Delivery was quick, and the reel was soon fitted to the wall. So far, it hasn't fallen off, although one of the very long screws supplied has bottomed out in the hole, but it's at the bottom so doesn't seem to be effecting things at the moment. 

Fingers crossed, and let's hope the cat doesn't put on any weight...

Manx night time

 It's three years since I was last on the Isle of Man, so here's a random photo from the last day there.

Saturday Film Club: Holiday 1961

This week, a plea from the producers of Look at Life for holiday weeks to be staggered to spread the season out a bit. 

Plenty of lovely footage of the British on holiday - I'm amazed at the number of heavy coats being worn in the summer heat. I know climate change has made a difference, but is it really that much hotter today?

Fixing the pink Mini

 

Long-term readers may remember a pink Mini I built for a friends' daughter a couple of years ago. Well, it's still around, but the wing mirror had been knocked off on one side. 

Looking at the damage, they obviously weren't strong fittings as bought, because I'd added a length of plastic rod through the middle to add extra strength.

Tasked with fixing this on a patio table while being plied with cookies, I drilled into both mirror and door (I had been warned about this so took a small toolkit) and fitted a short length of brass wire instead of the plastic. 

Plan A had been to refit with superglue, but on the offchance I could use something stronger, I took a tube of epoxy along as well. With a sharpened matchstick, I managed to mix up a tiny amount and quickly, and neatly refitted the mirror using it. In the sunshine, the glue set fast in 10 minutes as promised on the pack, and the mirror now seems as well fixed as ever. 

Only time will tell if the young driver manages to detach it again though. Still, being paid for repairs in cookies isn't all bad.

"Hood" ready to sail

 

And there it is done. A fun little project which apart from a little hole cleaning, went together perfectly. 

The finished ship is 16cm long and 9cm tall plus base. Big enough to see the detail, but small enough to fit in a display cabinet. Too small for radio control though sadly. I'd quite enjoy sailing a version twice the size. 

Meng's designer has done a cracking job to produce an identifiable, but caricatured model. I'm sure that's a lot harder then making an accurate one. I wonder if they would like to do some trains...

One part I have left off is the name "Hood" for the base. Knowing the history of the real ship, and her fate, I'm a little uncomfortable with a caricature version, so have decided that this is a model of HMS Troutbridge instead if anyone asks.

Assembling the Hood

 

In theory, the Meng kit pushes together, but in the same way I don't do plastic kits without paint, I don't do them without glue either. 

Not that the model was likely to fall apart. Most of the holes into which parts are supposed to locate were on the tight side, probably not helped by a layer of paint. All needed to be slightly eased with a broach normally used for metal kits. 

The upper and lower hull parts benefited from some glue and clamping to avoid a tiny gap between them. These little clamps were just big enough to do the job. 

If you know the prototype, you can appreciate the effort the designer has gone into with the bridge area. Everything that should be there is there, just in cartoon form. The trick with the model is to pre-paint everything as the build (to my mind) needs to be very clean. I didn't plan on weathering the ship as I don't want any hint of realism about the finished product.

Meng cartoon "Hood"

 

My dad is still working on his scale model or the warship Hood - but when looking through the Meng website after finishing my Santa Tank, I spotted a plastic kit version and wondered if I could finish this before he had his on the water. 

Spoiler: Yes I can. 

The kit is designed as a push-together model that should be reasonably idiot proof. In theory, the modeller doesn't even have to paint anything as the plastic is self-coloured. Of course, I don't approve of not painting, so quite a lot took place before removing any parts from the sprues. 

As you can see, there are decks to paint at the very least - the box suggests half a dozen different colours. I decided that the pale grey bits could be sprayed Humbrol 64 and then dry-brushed with a paler shade as the detail is very impressive. The hull bottom gets a coats of Halfords red oxide primer, my standard anti-fouling shade, and as easy a paint to spray as you are likely to find. 

Then, everything was left to dry. For several months as it turned out...

New brushes

I paint a lot of stuff, and so am always on the lookout for modestly priced brushes that are good enough for the sort of work I do. 

£10 for 20 brushes counts as better than a bargain, at least if they don't fall apart after the first use. The pack came from Brushes 4 Models at the garden rail show recently. The make normally serves the art market, but also takes space at a few model railway shows. 

I've been using a both pointed and flat versions for a couple of jobs recently, and am very impressed. They have been cleaned many times and held both acrylic and enamel paints - and yet have held their shape and the attractive colouring of the bristles. I've certainly spent more and enjoyed less impressive results. 

The only problem? Brushes 4 Models doesn't have a web site, so you need to keep an eye out for him at exhibitions, but if you do, grab yourself a bargain.

Selly Oak sails away

Time to wrap up the Selly Oak story as the model has now been delivered to its new owner. 

The sharp eyed will notice that there are a few jobs still to do - laying the track being the main one. However, I've hit a really wall with the project and reached the point where I simply couldn't continue with it. I've never felt like this before with a project as far as I know, and it's not a whole lot of fun. Even admitting this isn't easy, but I know people will wonder what happened if I simply never mention the model again do I'll 'fess up to my failure. 

The guys from Rapido have been exceptionally kind and considerate about this. Fortunately, the model is at a stage were it can perform it's main function - acting as a background for model buses, so it's not a complete failure. Since you can't see the track from bus spotter eye-level, perhaps things are quite as bad as I think.

I'm happy with the modelling I did manage to carry out. There are several nice views to be enjoyed thanks to the complexity of the different levels. The general late 60s to early 70s griminess works - so the background won't detract from the model placed in the foreground. 

Lessons learned? 

1) I must never, ever take on a commission. Not a loco, not even a wagon, and certainly not a layout. I don't have the time or the stamina. My life is busy enough with toy trains without the added pressure of a build someone is expecting. 

2) Don't do long term projects. The only other layout I recall feeling this way about was "Melbridge Town" which suffered from lots of hard work that became a slog. The two aren't the same in many ways, but I gradually ended up resenting them both. Anything I build needs to be completed reasonably quickly or I just get fed up with it. Maybe this makes be a bad person, but we can't all have Peter Denny's commitment to a single layout. 

Anyway, the model is someone else's now and I feel better for passing it on. 

Saturday Film Club: Dresden Suspension Railway

 I visited Dresden years ago, but no-one mentioned this monorail funicular - or I'd have sought it out for a ride!

More information on Wikipedia.

Pop-pop boat

 

"What did you buy at the National Garden Railway Show Phil?", I hear you ask. 

I bought a pop-pop boat. 

Well, it was only a tenner and I liked the look of it. You'd pay more for the power unit. 

I also recognised the model - it's a Hobbys magazine "Jungle Queen" plan. Sometimes, my encyclopedic knowledge of the model kit world comes in useful...

The 29cm long model is reasonably well built, and with a bit of a tidy up should be perfectly seaworthy. I need to find my solid fuel tablets to fire up that engine.

Garden Rail August 2021

Does building a garden railway take a long time? I set out to build a working layout, complete with plants, in a day for the National Garden Railway Show. See how I got on, and enjoy highlights from the event too.

On the workbench this month, we have a battery-electric Bagnall, classic Penrhyn railway brake van, convert an LGB loco to battery power and a stone engine house. If you fancy some technology, how about using a computer to generate freight movements for your line? Or if steam is your thing, we take a look at Roundhouse Engineering's' Darjeeling Himalayan Railway loco. 

Full contents listing on RMweb

Camping coaches and buying kitbuilt locos in BRM

This months' project is one of those that grew the more I dug into it.

My plan had been to take a Hornby generic coach, paint it then plant the result in a field as a camping coach. 

Then I found a prototype and things spiralled. The chassis needed to be replaced with something simpler. The roof line was wrong. And there should be a travelling van as well. 

In the end, the project took more work than expected, but looks, in my opinion anyway, fantastic. 

On BRM TV, I'm taking a look at locos. 

With a growing number of second-hand kitbuilt locomotives hitting the market - if you've never built a kit before, what should you look for in a built-up model? After all, you can't reply on the manufacturer, and will probably never know the builder.