Warehouse Wednesday: Classic garages

I'm not sure why these were in the corner of a field, but I'm glad they were as it made photography easier. A pair of classic modular pre-fab domestic garages. 

Wooden doors, asbestos roofs and most importantly, the sunburst pattern on the front, you could see these in suburbia all over the country. On Sundays, the family Ford or Rover would be sat out the front being washed. The rest of the time, it sat in among a collection of tobacco tins full of screws, a bottle of oil and of course, the lawn mower. 

I'm surprised that these have never appeared as a kit. The modular construction would seem to lend them flexibility along with their geographical anonymity. Massive sales would seem to be assured. 

Era? I'm thinking 1930s onwards, but can anyone be more precise? 

Wagons for the Toy Train part 2

Three wagons, a loco and caboose. Very pretty. 

I know "pretty" isn't supposed to be in the vocabulary of a "serious" railway modeller, but outside, I quite like it. Colourful trains running through a colourful garden setting works for me. 

The HLW wagons fit nicely with the plasticy Oho and caboose from LGB's "Toy Train" range. I think a longer train is called for. There is a flatbed in the collection, but I've lost the axles for this in storage, but when the order I placed for replacements turns up, I'll finish it off. 

Toy Trains have one big advantage in the garden. They make great track testers. If Oho, or his brother Otto, fall off due to stray ballast or track in need of fettling, they seem to survive. I'd rather risk then than a pricey Accucraft Isle of Man loco!

Wagons for the Toy Train part 1

At first sight, this might look like the result of me catching up with posters on RMweb after I've had a bad week, but no, it's some outdoor spraying fun.

Some time ago, I decided that our LGB "Toy Train" trains needed extending. You can do this by buying the proper wagons, but I fancied something shorter weaving along the line so picked up Hartland Locomotive Works kits for 4-wheel opens. These than sat in a box until I resolved to clear up some old projects.

I want these to look like they fit the colourful Toy Train stock and that means work starts with a spray of white primer followed by Humbrol bright red. The paint covers well and dries nice and shiny.

Once hard, I picked out the axleboxes and works plate.

I'm very pleased with this - dry-brushing with white worked perfectly with no touch-ups required.

GCR 2019

Come to the show and buy the station!

Well, you could if you headed to the GCR show last weekend. Bachmann released a 4mm scale version of Quorn station on the day - the model being both available for purchase on the day AND suitable for vegetarians (Boom, Tish).

Sadly, I had to lug photo gear with me so drove and parked in the muddy field. Thankfully, the stewards did a sterling job at moving the plastic driveway around to the muddiest, high traffic areas and ensuring that we all got out at the end of the day. Driving meant no time to visit Loughborough station for the garden railway exhibits and excellent second-hand stalls. Still, I don't need any more projects...

The show was very enjoyable, at least it appeared to be. I was working, shooting video for future BRM DVDs, so I didn't get the chance to really look.  Perhaps if I had, I'd have spotted the "seconds" Dapol B4 tanks for 50 quid that a mate of mine bagged. Grrr. 

Anyway, photos can be found on Flickr, with a fine selection of weird and wonderful prototypes.

Saturday Film Club: GT3

Gas Turbine 3 is a fascinating locomotive. Built by English Electric and using a steam locomotive template, it must have been obvious before it took to the rails that this was never going to be a success, but they built it anyway. 

More history over on Wikiepedia. 

Seeing footage, even silent stuff, is fascinating. It's a loco I like the look of, and will one day build as I bought the kit years ago. Maybe if I had a suitable layout, I'd get cracking...