Making mistakes with Tippex

 

As I mentioned yesterday, I like a bit of hand lettering and so when it came to finishing the Timpdon beer wagon, I added the letters by hand. 

At the time, it seemed like a good idea to use a Tippex correction pen - nice white ink and looking at the tip, it should have been controllable. My brain told me I needed something chunker than a metal-nibbed mapping pen too.

I was wrong. 

Either there was no fluid, or far too much. On this side, the words were OK-ish (it is a freelance, fun wagon after all) but the other was a blobby mess. 

Fortunatly, a wipe with white spirit quickly removed any evidence of my mistake. The mapping pen might have been more work, but the results are nicer.

Cooper Craft AEC Monarch

 

For a change, the latest kit didn't go into the stash awaiting building. Instead, over the festive period, I built it up like a proper modeller. 

There's not much to say about the build, I wrote a bit more 7 years ago, but it all went together perfectly well. A bit of Contacta plastic cement and some Mek-Pak from my acient Humbrol bottle. It's important to build sub-assemblies for easier painting. Unless you like dodging around the chassis with a paintbrush that is. 

I ignore the supplied glazing in favour of Deluxe Glue'n'Glaze, the results are nice and flush, but it's important to let the windows dry reasonably horizontal to avoid the bottom being thicker then the top. 

The finished model looks suitably old. It's not been weathered yet as I'm not sure where it will end up. A little dry-brushing on the black bits with Humbrol 69 looks fine, but there will be powders once I have a use for it. 

Lettering is by mapping pen and ink, and it looks better in real life. There's something nice (I think) about hand lettering, although transfers do look more professional. This is a fun project and fiddling with tiny letters on the side of the bed would stop it being enjoyable!

Why do I keep buying this kit?

 

Another packet arrives in the post, signifying success an eBay auction. Inside is a Cooper Craft AEC lorry kit. 

I know I own several examples, the two pictured are just the ones that came to hand quickly for a picture. There are some tall body versions, and I'm sure at least one tanker. 

There's no need to me to buy more. While once this was pretty much the only way to add a lorry to your layout for sensible money, now we are spoiled for choice thanks to the efforts of Oxford Diecast. Even if I really needed lorries, none of the ones I own are gloued down, I can just move them to the latest model

It's not even that accurate a kit, being a bit of a hybrid between two prototypes. The finished model certainly looks the part though. Just the right amount of vintage, from the days when lorries pottered around at 20-30mph. 

Although I always rate a Cooper Craft kit, this is a bit fiddly to assemble. Lining up the two sides of the chassis would be a lot easier with some positive location pins to show you exactly where to put the chassis spacers. Mind you, the moudings are nice and crisp for the cam detail. Where that wing mirror fits is a bit of a mystery though. 

So it's not that acurate, nor really easy to assemble, but I still can't resist a reasonably priced example.

Why? 

 

A tale of two catalogues

 

A couple of weeks ago, two catalogues landed on my desk with a thump. 

Hornby's book is fatter than ever. At 956g (the same as last year and only 69g less than the centenery issue) and 227 pages long, it's a bit of a beast. Beautifully laid out and printed, the company know that this is as much a collectable as many of the models shown within it. 

If shiny red boxes are your thing, then there are many hours of enjoayble persual ahead of you as you formulate your shopping list for the year. But, and it's quite a big one, many of these models are sold out on pre-orders. Even if you are lucky enough to have a local model shop, the chances of them stocking the more glamourous items on the shelves isn't high, sadly. Worse, the news will be spread by the web first, and so those orders are likely to be made by people looking at website, and not the catalogue. 

Does this mean it's a pointless publication? No. As I say, the Hornby catalogue is a collectable and the one year they didn't produce one, people complained. Even if you don't place orders on the back of the paper publication, there are models to dream of inside, and in many ways, that's what is being sold - pleasent dreams. 

The ModelU catalogue is also very impressive at 506g and 117 pages. Inside, most of the range is on show, although I notice the BRM figures which include me aren't in there...

What I like is that there are also articles on painting figures, and the people who have been scanned so you can put a face and name to the miniature figure. OK, I know it doesn't really matter, but I think it's fun. 

What's interesting, is that ModelU, a very new technology business, has chosen to go "old skool" with a paper catalogue. You can browse the website, and keep up to date with their social media, but this allows for a different browsing experience. 

Again, it's a very nice thing. Quality paper. Colour print. Like the Hornby version, this is saying something very positive about the business. If you've never played with ModelU products before, this catalogue is likely to persaude you.

Gone boating

One thing I am determind to do more of this year is sailing model boats. Long term I'd like to get back to the regular Thursday morning meets, but for the moment, the odd weekend trip to the pond will have to do. 

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow. 

(Obviously, these photos aren't from today. I took them between Christmas and New Year. And it was lovely being down there.)

Saturday Film Club: See How Book Artwork Was Done In The Old Days Before Computers

How was an illustrated book put together in the days before Desk Top Publishing? Shoo Raynor takes us back to those pre-computer days and shows how a paste-up works. From a work point of view, it's very interesting, and makes me glad I don't have to produce magazines the hard way now! 

How old is this paint?

I was given some paint when I visted Footplate a few weeks ago. It's unopened - New Old Stock. 

Question: How old are these pots? Best guess from a contact at Hornby is something like 50 years. Can anyone confirm or deny this? 

At some point, I want to open some of these for a video, but knowing the age would make this much more interesting.

 

Wiring time in March BRM

I don't much like wiring, and I like trying to write it up even less, but needs must, and so this month I'm buiding the baseboard, laying the track and getting the electricity flowing on the DHAPR Wagonworks project. 

Making this stuff look nice on the page is tricky, and I'm concious that wiring expecially, is an area that scares a lot of modellers - so I want to do the best job possible (one of the reasons it's not my favourite topic to write up, the pressure is on) with the article. It's come out nicely, and hopefully will demystify the process a bit. 

My camera has been out again for two features this month:

"Witham" is a mosestly sized dream layout with two continuous circuits and a branch line, all fitting in a garage. There's a LOT of modelling here and yet the owner is very modest about his efforts. 

We're also off to London for "Kennington Cross" trams. 

I love the buildings on this layout, all of which are kits from the builders own range of card models. It's a fabulous model that portrays a busy London scene perfectly. 

On BRM TV, I have a look at the Hunt Counpling system. 

Used on "Whytham", it's an easy to fit magnetic system that I can see being perfect for those who run rakes of stock that rarely needs to be shunted. 

More over on RMweb.

Miniature Warehouse Wednesday: Scamell Trailer

From Nigel Hill: 

Attached are a pair of snaps of my recently completed blog post inspired Scammell trailer. 

It was quite fun to do and was built from stuff that most people would throw away. I should have tried to get Chris to paint it, but as it is only going into my orphanage for waif and stray models it will not offended innocent members of the public. 

Thanks Nigel. It's really nice to know people are inspired by stuff they read on here, and well done for beating me to building a model. The flat rear tyres are an especially nice touch, and appropriate for the prototype!

Fabulous FAB 1

OK, so as a first project of the year, FAB 1 wasn't too challenging. Basically, it's a painting job. Toughest thing is not to rush the build - let the paint dry fully before slotting the bits together. 

The figures being on a black plastic sprue made life a little more interesting, but priming it first allowed me to see the detail, and saved having to build up half and inch of skin colour to cover the black. After that, it was small brush time and off we go. Keen train nerds will note that Lady Penelope wears a coat of ancient (but still usable) Humbrol Deltic blue. 

 

The finished model is really cute. 95mm long and 42mm wide means it doesn't need a big space of display cabinet. And the wheels go round, so it can be broomed along the floor. 

All this for less than a fiver. I notice the range includes the other Thunderbird craft and even The Mole...

FAB 1 - Let's look in the box

Time to start work on the new, Japanese, kit stash. The good news is that I'm actually looking forward to having a go at these. Maybe a hint of modelling mojo returning? 

We'll start with FAB 1 - a caracture version of the famous Rolls-Royce from Thunderbirds. Obviously, I like it, because the driver is Parker, presumably a distant relative of mine. 

There's a lot of air in this box. OK, the instructions aren't in the photo, but as the pink body is only 85mm long, you can see that the parts will be rattling around a bit. 

Inside, there is the pink body, black parts including wheels, chassis and figures, some chromed pieces for front and back, a clear canopy and transfers. 

Some of the latter, are stripes to go on the canopy. A clever idea, but the match with the pink plastic isn't great. OK, I know this is a fun kit, you don't even need glue, but I think I can do better. 

The box said "mini" and I remembered that somewhere, there was a can of Tamiya spray paint just the right colour from when I built a diescast pink Mini for a friend. A quick squirt and the body looks fab!

New Talk: An Evening With Phil Parker

 

Stop the press! Clear your Diaries! Stick the kettle on! 

We're pleased to announce the first of many Thursday Club Nights! And we're very privileged to have BRM Editor and Modelling Guru Phil Parker host our first event! 

Phil will host an Online Modelling Seminar about the Pros and Cons of building a Micro Layout, and why it might be the best option for loads of us Modellers who just haven't got the time, finance or space for a large layout. 

This event is Exclusive to First Class Club Members, so make sure you've signed up before Thursday to take part in this amazing event! 

We'll be aiming to host one of these Modelling Seminars every month with more great guest speakers planned! You can find the link to register for this event over in the First Class Lounge on the Railway Modellers Club! 😁 

You'll be able to submit questions, learn more about the man himself, and pick up some great nuggets of information from one of the best modellers around!

Look, I didn't write this stuff. Or maybe one of the best modellers around will also be joining us! I will be waffling about micro layouts though, and happily answering questions. It should be good fun.

Anyway, if you fancy seeing this, you need to be a First Class member of the SMS club - details here.

Saturday Film Club: Welsh narrow gauge in 1969

I'm not sure what I love about this film more - the old steam stuff (BR Blue Rheidol tanks!) or that it's been transfered from cine film, with all the titling and editing that I remember from my childhood. 

Whatever, it's an excellent record of the early days of preservation, all now very much history!

Book Review: Backroom Boys - The Secret Return of the British Boffin

Britian has always produced people who can develop things and do science. We're not so hot at turning this stuff into money, but not always as bad as portrayed. 

Francis Spufford has tracked down the brains behind several major achievements - The Black Arrow space programme, Concorde, the computer game Elite, mobile phone networks, the human genome project and Beagle 2 - and documented the stores behind these. 

This isn't a technical book. With the exception of the mobile phone stuff, I easily followed the project descriptions, and even when things do get technical, the text carries you along so well that there's no need to worry that you will get bogged down. 

What we do get is a lot of the politics (small P) behind some of the project such as how the space programme got off the ground - just, or Concorde didn't get cancelled. Or how public finance stopped the human geneome being taken over by a private company for profit.

I loved the history behind Elite, a game I coveted until a ZX Spectrum version appeared. It's a time I lived through and was fascinated by at the time. Those days when one, or in this case two, people did everything in the development. A few years, later the World WIde Web came along, with a similar ethos in those early days. Now, every job gets chopped up and delivered by experts, and I miss those wonderful days when you could have a finger in every pie. 

Most of all, this is a celebration of the people behind the science and engineering. Everything is based on first hand interviews, so it reads as fresh and interesting, not just regurgitated stuff from other books. We find ourselves in worlds where boffins were working at the cutting edge, producing innovative solutions, often with very little money. 

This is not a new book - far from it, the final chapter on Beagle 2 finishes with the failure of the mission in 2003. I found a copy online and paid a pittance for it. If you like this blog, I'm confident that you'll enjoy this book, so go get yourself a copy. 

The most useless thing in the world

Time for a bit of wiring debugging for my latest BRM project. Obviously, everything had been working, but then I threw glue and ballast and paint everywhere and these got in the way of some of the electricity. 

Out with the little probe tool and I went looking for electrons. Odd - I couldn't find any. 

Then I twigged. Putting the poking the tool where I knew there was power, because a loco would move, it turned out the stupid probe wasn't working. Good grief - I paid £2.50 for it only a decade or so ago!

Anyway, I little fiddling and cleaning of internal contacts later, the light worked fine when 12v flowed through it, and I could get back to dislodging ballast etc. 

The moral of this story is, make sure your test tool is working - first. 

Warehouse Wednesday: Overgrown huts

Spotted in an odd bit of land near me that is surrounded by a housing estate. According to a planning notice, this and the bungalow next door, will soon become a 2-bed house and some self-build plots. 

These odd corners are understandably becoming rare and it's worth keeping an eye out for them. In model form, overgrown huts like this (are these Nissen huts? Surely they are too small?) make lovely, atmospheric scenes.

Newspaper solution

 Last year, I pondered the right sort of papers to appear in modelling magazine photos. 

Nothing too political, or with anything titilating on the picture front. You don't need controversial storeis appearing, or murders. In fact, it's probably best to avoid people's faces. 

But, the solution has arrived wrapped around yesterday's plastic kits - Japanese newspapers!

How cool will I look using thse when I need to protect my scenery from messy work, but need to take a photo?

I know I said "no more kits"...

 

In my defence, I ordered this pile before Christmas, and they have only just arrived. 

It's all TV engineer and motorbike racer Guy Martin's fault. In his latest epic, he built a racing Piagio. Liking the look of this, I did a little web searching, especially for the fun looking radio control version I'd seen in the past. 

In the results, was a photo of a Mazda T2000. I wanted to know more. Don't look at me like that, I'm not the only one to fall down an interweb rabbit hole. It's got 3 wheels and can carry a 2-ton load! A proper workhorse of a vehicle.

Another search and I spot a plastic kit. From the excellent Plaza Japan. 

"That looks fun", I think, and before you know it, I've clicked the magic buy button. Well, it's not much more than a fiver. 

Of course, there are other similar kits, as the same sort of price. Might as well make the order up a bit. 

Then I spot some cartoon Thunderbird stuff. And of course I fancy a model of FAB1 with Lady Penelope and Parker. 

And that is how I ended up £30 worse off, but with four more boxes of things I want to build. If nothing else, this is a stone, cold bargain. Any one of these kits would cost half that in the UK. And I'd still be tempted by one.

And I also own a complimentary little model of Mount Fuji - how good is this?

Lamenting the modeller I used to be

 

Digging through my stash of bits'n'pieces for something that wasn't there, I couldn't help wonder how the pile of packets had come about. 

Loads of buffers, wheels, detailing components. All solid gold to the right sort of modeller - the sort of modeller I used to be. 

I'm going to be controversial and say, the best era for railway modelling was 1993. 

Iain Rice's book Detailing and Improving Ready to Run Wagons had just been published. RTR models were improving a bit, but serious types needed to tinker with them to add better brake gear and modify the bodies. You weren't aiming for perfection, just a few gentle improvements that would raise your layout above the herd. 

A few extra bent bits of wire for brake safety loops, perhaps even ripping off the plastic bits and replacing them with metal bits from Kenline would do the job. 

All this was within the grasp of a reasonably capable person who really wanted to have a go. 

Nowadays, RTR has pretty much reached perfection. Even the most basic four-wheel wagon has brake shoes inline with the wheels and often all the rods and stuff you should find under there. Generall, the quality will be amazing. 

I miss those days, and I miss that sort of modelling. While I can do my best to spread the gospel of tinkering with RTR models, I know I'm fighting a losing battle. The world has moved on.

Rice's efforts in his enjoyable books would be laughed at by the finescale talliban. You can't be cutting things out with a knife, you MUST use a laser, or better still, 3D print it. Why use a scalpel when you can sit in front of a computer? 

A sensible person would consider unloading all this stuff to clear space. 

I am not a sensible person. 

One day, I will hide in my cave and gradually upgrade old RTR models. I'll build Parkside kits. My layouts will be a bit better than those I created in the 1990s, but not much. And I will enjoy building them. On the exhibition circuit, I'll claim it's all retro, or ironic, but really it will be because I enjoy doing it. And that's all that matters.

Saturday Film Club: Secret London microcar stash

Jonny Smith visits an incredible private London car collection full of the rarest custom and bubble cars. Like most classic car fans, I have a fantasy garage, and while I wouldn't fit in many of them, micro cars have always fascinated me.