Part fit check

 

I spent a lot of time on the dry-fit stage of the French WC kit. There wasn't a rush, and I wanted to enjoy the build. More importantly, if significant work was required, the kit would need to go back in the box. Resin isn't lovely stuff to sand, the dust isn't good for you. Bad enough when it's just me, but we don't need to be exposing the public to anything. 

Luckily, there wasn't an issue. All the parts were moulded square and true. A bit of brushable superglue was all that I needed to hold the main walls together. 

The inside is a different matter. Once I'd figured out where everything went, it was a bit confusing; there were quite a few gaps that needed attention.  

Dealing with these was a mix of bits of Microstrip, and the filler I bought earlier in the day. The results aren't perfect, but they will do the job as you can't see much from outside. 

 

And here we have the model plonked together. Obviously, the roof and modesty screens aren't attached at this stage, these will go on after painting. It's a really lovely little model, though. And yes, everyone did think I was weird for building it - but then that's part of the fun!

A French WC kit

 

Picking projects to work on during a demo is a challenge. It must be something that doesn't need deep and prolonged concentration. A minimal toolkit too. Wagon kits are good, and I did have one in the box, but looking through the stash, I found this Artitec kit for a French toilet. Bought at Ally Pally earlier this year, I have it because I fancied a go at a kit from this manufacturer. The subject just amused me. 

Looking at the parts, I reasoned that all I needed was an abrasive stick, and some superglue. I could fiddle with part fit if required, and take my time assembling things, allowing for interruptions while chatting. 

My rule is that I'm there to talk, not to find some modelling time. A demo where nothing gets built is a good demo. Even at a busy show, there will be some dead time at the end of the afternoon, and having something to tinker with avoids sitting there, grinning like a loon, hoping someone would drop by and talk to me.  

GBMRS haul

You know the rules, when visiting a show, at least one item must be purchased. Even when your time wandering around is very limited. 

So, I had no choice. 

First up, a very sensible buy, considering the event is run by the man who publishes the Hornby Collectors Club magazine. 

A lovely, and not at all accurate plastic kit of Hornby's own factory. It fits with the series I've been writing, building these vintage models, so in theory, this will be fodder for a future article. The only worry is, I have the main building in my collection - have I written this up in the past? For a fiver, I won't lose sleep!

Next, a practical buy. 

My Off White AK pen was looking battered after the CatBus. It's a popular colour, I bought the last one on the stand. In fact, it was under the stand; the seller had to dig through his box of spare stock. As for the putty, well, I know I have a tube somewhere, I just can't remember where, and I needed it for the demo. 

Now the fun stuff. 

The big, ugly, unrealistic colour light signal that has been in the Hornby range since the 1980s. I've seen it in many a catalogue and wondered about it. Well, wonder no more; I own a boxed example! This will make another appearance here, once I get it working. 

Finally.

The 1980s Hornby Rocket set. Yes, I have the modern one, and a Tri-ang version, but this completes the line-up. There is work to do as I'm told the motor is dead. And the con-rod is disconnected. And the crown lose on the chimney. 

But the price was less than the coaches would be worth, so I felt it worth a punt. Again, we'll have a look at this on here in due course.  

 

The Great British Model Railway Show 2026

Welcome to my stand at the GBMRS. As usual, it's a selection of projects that I've built for magazines and on this blog. It's not a BRM event, so the tables are full of the contents of my head!

Since losing my Dad, it's a show I have to do on my own. Fortunately, the stewarding is carried out by members of the L&WMRS, so there's no problem with a short comfort breaks, tea delivery, or the chance to collect my lunch. As an added bonus, on Saturday, my boss Debbie, and colleague Steven turned up to do a bit of layout scouting. Both were roped in to pretend they were me for a few minutes. 

None of this is a problem. I spent pretty much the entire weekend chatting to people - which is my favourite part of the hobby, and certainly makes the day pass quickly. As well as a couple of battery-powered working layouts, I had my G1 loco available on a rolling road. Kids were invited to drive it, and also switch the "smoke" on and off. They loved doing this, and I encouraged parents to come around the back to capture the moment on their phones. 

All this meant even less wandering time than normal. A shame, since the quality of layouts was very high. You can expect to see a few on the pages of BRM (I carried out a shoot on the Friday evening, and there will be others) as well as at Warners shows. 

Trade was fine, and as I'll show tomorrow, liberated a little cash from me. 

Numbers looked good, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We saw more families than normal, possibly because the show takes place in the motor museum, so people can enjoy both cars and trains. 

Everyone was pretty well behaved to. I always stick "Do not touch" signs on the display, and only had to ask a couple of adults to comply. One got in a huff, especially when I refused to sell him my latest magazine project. The other said "Oh, I'm always doing that" as though this is an excuse. I'm happy to talk anyone through anything on the stand, and if we do that, I'll normally hand it over for a good look, highlighting any potential breakable parts. Is it so unreasonable to ask people to look with their eyes, and not with their fingers? And why is is older adults who struggle with this?  

I even managed some CatBus chat, of course it was on the stand, with the owner of the layout that inspired me to head to London and then buy a kit, plus a family whose child was called Howl, after the studio Ghibli film Howl's Moving Castle!

All in all, a very good weekend, where I managed very little modelling, as it should be. There is a French toilet block (more of that next week) and the brake van that goes along each year gained some partitions and sandboxes. If you dropped by for a chat, thanks very much, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. And I hope you enjoy this blog too. 

There are some photos from the show on my Flickr album.  

  

Saturday Film Club: 1990: Building Dioramas and Models

Let's head back to the good old days, when TV used miniatures to help explain things. Miniatures built, and presented by Matt Irvine.