Lettering improvements

 

After letting the transfers dry, I wasn't happy. I'd reduced the silvering as much as I could, but there was still some. Also, between the big letters, you could see that the clear transfer sheet changed the background colour. 

So, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and safe in the knowledge that a healthy dose of weathering could cover all badness, I very lightly cut along the edges of the letters. 

Then, using a damp brush, I removed the clear sheet. Some of it could be lifted by sliding a scalpel blade underneath.  I've not managed to completely remove it, but most has gone, and I think the effort was worth it. 

A quick coat of matt varnish, and I'm pleased with the results. Now to do the other side. I hate picking out the ironwork... 

 

Warehouse Wednesday: Tall finials

Have you ever wondered how tall the finials on top of a gasholder are? 

No, me neither. But on an early Sunday morning stroll at Ally Pally, I found out anyway. Around 7ft since you are asking. 

 

Big transfers

 

Time for the big transfers (never decals) to be applied to the sides of the wagon. I'd given them a generous coat of Humbrol clear, which was fully dry, so the next stage was to give it a go. 

Each part was cut out from the sheet, and then I dunked the main name in some water, that had a tiny drop of washing-up liquid in it. After a couple of minutes, the print started to slide on the backing sheet, and I slid it off on the body. 

What followed was much patting with a kitchen towel, some Micro Sol being brushed on, and more patting. 

Reasonably happy, the other transfers went on, using the box art as a guide, 

There is a hint of silvering, but it's not bad. The transfer sheet changing the colour of the background slightly is probably more of an issue, but I can live with that. Some of the raised bolt detail has poked through the sheet, but touching that up with either black or white won't be hard. I'm leaving it to dry fully before this stage however. 

Then it's time to turn the model over and do it all again! 

Ally Pally haul

Or, "What rubbish did you buy from the show this time Parker?"

You know the law. If you go to a model railway show, you are required to buy something.  Anyway, where's the fun in coming home empty-handed? 

We start with some almost sensible items. The Woodland Scenics kits could be useful additions to projects, especially the water towers and tool shed. The middle one is, Tractor Pit Stop, there are whitemetal castings and scenic materials in the box, and it was cheap. Probably a blog project one day.  

I spent more than a penny on these two public toilets, but they are interesting kits. Artitec stuff is always high quality, and the design of the building looks amazing. PN SUD Modélisme are a new name to me, but this one is mostly cast plaster with some slightly (compared to Artitec) agricultural resin castings. More blog projects, as neither really fit into magazines I write for, but they look fun. 

 Looking at the website, I wish I'd bought the lovely looking PN water tower now. But I have enough kits. 

Moving to the German Railway society, I picked up a genuine carriage board. Obviously, I snagged the one with Wuppertal on it as a souvenier of my trip. It's accompanied by a Groudle Glen Railway fridge magnet from Saddletank Books, proving I will buy anything GGR related. 

And a planned purchase - Bob Symes from Buggleskelly Models. I met Bob once at Brighton show, where I was exhibiting Hellingly. He knew the line, and we had a very enjoyable chat. 

I've been trying to buy this 7mm figure for several shows, but I always forget until the end, and he's always sold out. This time, I had him put by early. A wise move as it turns out. 

Now the big stuff. 

I have coveted a raindeer car from Bachmann for years. 2016, to be precise, when I first saw it in the catalogue. Apparently, the heads move in and out as the car moves, a bit giraffe car ish. Just up my street!

No idea why the blokes from the MRC wanted to take my photo doing this. I suspect fowl play in the future. There will be a proper blog post at some point in the future on this wagon. 

Finally, before the show even opened, MRC shop operator, and layout booker for the show, Tom, spotted me, and offered me some junk he didn't want to put back in the van at the end of the weekend. He felt that out of the ten thousand people visiting, I was the only one likely to be mug enough to hand over a fiver.

Yes, it's an Airfix Railway System Multiple Train Control (MTC). According to Wikipedia, it is an analogue system introduced in 1979 and used 20V sinusoidal alternating current on the track with a superimposed control signal. It can control up to 16 locomotives, of which a maximum of 4 at a time be controlled simultaneously. Unfortunately, it was only produced for about 18 months when Airfix went into receivership, and the concept was dropped.

And yes, this fascinating item will also be a blog post. To be honest, it is a bit of a waste of money, but it has been such a good laugh already, I'm glad I bought it. Now, does anyone want to buy it off me? 

The London Festival of Railway Modelling 2026

 

A busy show. Even busier for me, than normal. I spent the time either chatting on the stand (thanks for coming along blog readers who identified themselves) or taking photos. I managed four full shoots, plus a couple of side projects. 

Since this was the 25th exhibition, there was cake. Lots of cake. 

Above is the Warners cake, but Ally Pally also supplied cake, which I didn't get to partake in. The last slice was left for me, but the only time I saw it, it was being wolfed down by our publisher!

Never mind, I did try a slice of the work cake, and a couple of cupcakes, over the weekend. 

Pretty restrained I thought! The cupcakes were given out to the public, and it was interesting to see how often adults needed to explain the concept of ricepaper to their kids. Yes, you can eat it. I mean it doesn't taste great, but then you have a rather nice cake attached to the bottom, so stop moaning. 

Little Brian and Little Phil were out and about. We met some nuns. 

And a celebrity. 

Dad got to visit the set of one of his favourite films. 

A good time was had by all. Sorry, I'm a bit light on general layout photos, there really wasn't as much wandering time as normal. As it is, recovery took a couple of days. Am I getting too old for all of this?