Sea Lion painting

OK, I'm a sucker for one particular Groudle Glen Railway engine. When I saw this painting of the best steam engine in the world on eBay, I managed to resist, for a couple of weeks. Week three, and £25 later, it was mine. 

The watercolour may be slightly "naive", as the art world might say, but there is a lot right about it. The proportions of the loco, and the perspective for a start. Distorted round parts are a mark of the less-than-able artist painting or drawing a steam engine. OK, hiding the wheels helps, but I don't think artist John Beckett has done a bad job. At least the rivet counters will have fun with the bufferbeam! I'm pretty sure the scene is near Lime Kiln Halt too, where a track comes down off the hillside. 

I can't find anything about Mr Beckett online, so I'm guessing he's a talented amateur rather than an important, named artist. To me, this doesn't matter if I like what he has produced, and I do. 

At 42cm x 34cm, and very nicely framed (the price is worth it for the frame alone), should I ever own somewhere suitable to hang it, at least finding wall space won't be too much of an issue.  

Heavy duty sanding

 

You know I said I wouldn't be messing around fettling this kit? It seems I lied. 

On the manufacturer's website, the hull is clearly shown as a series of slices on their finished model. I didn't have a massive problem with this, but my lining up of the hull slices wasn't as perfect as I'd like. They were good, all within 0.5mm, but you could see the differences. 

So, down to the garage, and out with the Mouse. Fitted with the smoothest paper I could find, I attacked the sides. Handily, the laser-burnt edges acted like a guide coat of paint on a car. As I sanded, I could clearly see those that were inset more than the others. In theory, once all the burnt stuff was gone, the sides would be perfect. 

A coat of sanding sealer was followed by some Humbrol 33. This showed up areas that needed a bit more work, but after a couple of sessions with Perfect Plastic Putty filler, sanding, and paint, the result looks OK. 

I'm working on the basis that perfection is the enemy of good, or at least getting the model built. It won't be a show-winner, but hopefully I'll be proud of it. At £22.99, if I really want to, I could even treat this as a test, and aim for perfection on another kit. I doubt that will happen, there's plenty more in the stash to build!

 

September issue of Garden Rail out now.

 

 

Garden railways are never finished, and the 16mm scale Snape & Thornton Watlass Light Railway proves it! In our latest issue, builder James LePage reveals how his much-loved line has evolved over the years, the lessons he's learned, and what's next for the railway.

Plus, on the workbench:

• Building Corris vans with a modern twist
• Constructing a narrow gauge tanker kit
• Bole Laser Craft's beautifully detailed Welsh station
• A battery-powered Double Fairlie complete with sound and smoke
• Dinorwic slate wagons from resin kits

Also inside, enjoy stunning photography of James Gilchrist's impressive 7/8ths scale railway, catch up on the latest product news, and plan your next outing with our comprehensive events guide.

Packed with inspiration, ideas, and practical projects for every garden railway enthusiast! 

Garden Rail is available from all good newsagents, or our online store.  

Layering up the hull

 

Most of the MDF parts in the Petite kit, are layers that make up the hull. 

It's a simple job, fit the first two, and then add the internal walls. PVA holds everything together, but it's important at this stage, to ensure all the parts are square. The walls provide some positive location for all the rest of the hull slices. 

 

All this is made easier by the accuracy of the cutting, and that the slices arrive loose in the bag. No busting them out of a fret, then having to sand retaining nibs away. Just add the slices with glue between them, and clamp for a nice join. 

Incidentally, the hull is 22cm long, which I think means this is a 32ft long boat/  

A little barge

 

I'm starting to get back to normal after all the events earlier in the year, and one thing I'm determined to do is build a few projects for me. No worrying about publishing, other than on this blog. A chance to rediscover the fun of modelmaking. 

First kit out of the stash is a 1:48 scale kit for a small narrowboat from Petite Properties.  

I've built enough stuff from this firm to be confident everything is going to fit together properly. I'm not in the mood for a lot of fettling. Not that this will stop me making small changes, but fighting a kit is out. 

The model is an oddball addition to the range, which is probably why it appealed to me when I spotted the photos on social media. It's not normally on the stand at model railway show, so I had to pre-order for collection. Yes, I could order through the post, but I wasn't in a rush, and chatting is more fun. It's a popular kit too, it's often out of stock, so I was lucky. 

As with all Petite kits. what we have is a set of laser-cut MDT and cardboard parts. There's some wire in here as well. Instructions are included, although everything looks pretty simple. 

The prototype is a holiday cruiser. There is something similar in the Craftline range, although Petite's is shorter.