Garden Rail May 2021

 

Old steam locomotives never die - on the Vale of Evermore light railway, they go on and on while pulling scale length trains. A garden railway doesn't need to be complex to look stunning, this line will be many enthusiasts dream come true.

We've plenty of practical inspiration this month:

• Building a delightful Smallbrook Studio "Sprite" battery-electric steam locomotive
• An Irish railcar built by an etched-brass kit newbie
• Restoring an old kitbuild loco found at the back of the cupboard
• Scratchbuilding a GVT van in 7/8th scale
• Building a signal box complete with a detailed interior
• Adding lights to your models

Paint clips

 

I'm a sucker for interesting tools, and so while ordering the Jimney kit, I also picked up some of these "Useful Paint Clips". 

What I have, is a bag of crocodile clips mounted on 13cm long sticks. 20 of them.

I gather from the packing, that there is another part to the tool - a base that the sticks are poked into for support. I have no idea where that is in the massive website, but don't really care. Those sticks can be poked into some polystyrene just as easily, or into a piece of wood with holes drilled into it. 

At 18p each, these seem like a bit of a bargain. I'll keep some on the modelling bench to use while soldering and the rest in the garage next to the airbrush.

Wanted: BR Lampshade

 

In my cupboard of projects, I have the wall mounting unit for a BR Mk1 coach lamp. I've always fancied rigging it up with a battery as a reading light - but the glass shade is missing. No surprise there, the things must have broken regularly.

Original shades are rare - or at least I've looked in the wrong places. There might be a modern replacement that fits I'm unaware of too. 

So, as you lot constantly surprise me - can anyone suggest a source for something suitable? I'm not going to fret about perfection, a shade that looks about right will do the job.

Brain fog

I've made no secret that I've found the last year challenging - my modelling mojo seems to have left the building and despite trying various things, it's not come back. 

Then I read this interesting article: 

Brain fog: how trauma, uncertainty and isolation have affected our minds and memory

As I read it, the problem is that our brains demand stimulation, a survival mechanism from the days we were dodging dinosaurs. 

The problem at the moment is lack of stimulus. I'm not going anywhere, other than the same old walking routes. A year without shows means a year without much inspiration. I know there are magazines and YouTube, but it's not the same as seeing stuff for real. That's where I get my rush of enthusiasm from. 

Knowing all this isn't much help of course as there is nothing much I can do about it at the moment. Still, at least there is a reason.

Saturday Film Club: Adding rivets

 

An interesting technique - bit super fiddly! I might have to invest in some balls though. And one of those rivet maker things.