Tiny Tim-ber kits

 

An email arrives from Hobbies, and in it are deals (half price!) on some tiny Timberkits kits with a festive theme. I decided not to be a miser, and ordered four, because I like making fun things. 

First we have Santa. I spent quite a long while on the painting as my tinlet of matt white had gone off, so I sanded the nearly dry paint away to replace it with a spray of white primer. The red is Precision buffer beam red, which I think is a nice colour. 

Rudolph is simpler in the paint department, but both can be a little fiddly to assemble. Santa has a guide block in the chimney that needs care to position, and the string from Rudolphs neck has to be set correctly in the push putton block. Not a problem for the experienced, but I can see some beginners struggling to make the things work. 

On the plus side, since glue is included, you could sit at the Christmas lunch table and build them without needing any other tools.

Festive Lego tradition

 

One Christmas tration I've made my self maintain, is to build the ever growing collection of festive Lego sets, to decorate the bookshelves. In a week or so, I'll take them all apart, so they can be built next year. 

Anyway, first up, is the oldest item in the collection, the Elves. 40205 Seasonal Elves Workshop is reasonably absorbing, but I put it, and all the other sets together, while watching Richard Osmans House of Games. 

40498, Christmas Penguin came next. The odd thing about this set is the giant snowflake hidden in the base. You spend several minutes assembling it, and then it's hidden from sight. A bit wobbly this one, that penguin is heavy, and only attached to the base with a single stud. 

Now we have a mixed bag of Father Christmases, including 40206 Christmas Set with Rotating Arms, at the back, and the weird looking 30478 Jolly Santa Claus Polybag Set. A Playmobil figure has crept into the scene too, because I played with both as a kid. 

Finally, we have 40744 Christmas Ornament Selection, which I picked up in the Lego shop in Battersea Power Station a few months ago. These are really clever, not many pieces, but the results look fantastic. 

Anyway, that's the first festive post this year. Look out for more to come. You have been warned...

Saturday Film Club: Secrets of the Coventry Ring Road

What could be more festive then a trip around the Coventry Ringroad? This is a surprisingly interesting visit to the road of death around Coventry. 

Up on the wheels

 

Time to flip the coach over and fit some running gear. 32mm gauge wheelsets are included in the kit - and nice heavy metal ones they are too. 

Brass bearings are provided, and these are fitted into holes in some somewhat square supports. The holes are a smidge larger than I would like, but a dollop of superglue fixes them well enough, and I left the parts alone overnight to dry so the bearing didn't drop to the top or bottom of the hole. 

After this, the supports are glued into place with wheelsets trapped between them. Sadly, the tabs fit very losely in the holes, so you have to leave the model upside down while the glue dries, or they simply fall out. 

I did this, then when the glue had grabbed, flipped the mode back over, and stood it on a mirror. One support needed to be shoved down half a millimetre to ensure all wheels touched the glass, but after that , all seems to be well. The supports might benefit from a little extra woo glued around them to beef up the joint, we'll see about this.

Stripwood details

 

Straight from the packet, those coach sides look far too plain. No problem, I have a big bundle of various sizes of stripwood, and I know how to use it!

Some square section around the door, and flatter stuff for the ends and sides. It's not a lot, but I think this looks better. Less cheap box, more proper model. 

It also justifies all those materials bought on the offchance they will come in handy one day. Well, I can't be the only one who thinks like this can I?

Sides on. Mission creep starts to set in.

 

According to Roundhouse, the first job should be to push all the window frames into their openings. To me, this seems odd, as the big benefit of seperate frames, is they can be stained a contrasting colour to the bodywork. Which means the body has to be painted first. Already, I'm starting to plan improvements to the coach, not the quick job I anticipated. 

While I'm on improvements, the inside of the doors have been scribed with a heafy knife, as you'll be able to see the backs clearly from outside the body. And I'm also thinking about providing some seats. Oh, and I've cut the door glazing too, and put it aside for later.

Apart from that though, the sides fit well enough, although the clamps make life easier, as there aren't any positive locations for them, unlike the ends, which slip over the floor. Normal PVA is being used here, so it need drying time, hence the clamps. I did try to hold things, but it quickly became apparent that this was a bad idea. Juggling gluey parts is not a recepie for quality modelling!

Roundhouse coach

 

I've been stupidly busy since the run-up to my Swiss holiday (did I mention I'd been to Switzerland, many times...) and there hasn't been any time for my modelling for weeks. However, there is a tiny hint of optimism that I might be able to get some me time now. 

Logically, I'd get back to one of the many projects that have stalled. But instead, I spotted an interesting kit at Lapworth, and decided that it would be fun. And quick. Yes, I know...

To be honest, I don't really need a 32mm gauge coach, but that doesn't mean I don't fancy building one. As far as I can tell, these were a short-lived Roundhouse project. I certainly remember seeing them on one of my visits, but they aren't listed on the website, so perhaps this is a valuable collectable. 

Tough, I'm going to build it.

Just one more go with Millie...

 

It can be quite useful knowing me sometimes. One of my clubmates is considering buying a Roundhouse Millie, and since the engine I'd borrowed for review in Garden Rail hadn't gone back home quite yet, I arranaged to take it down to the outdoor track, so he could have a go. 

I was a little tight for time as in the morning, I'd been at the Lapworth show - there wasn't even a chance for me to try a sausage batch lunch - so I'd not sorted out any rolling stock. Still, it was the loco he wanted to try, and so we fired it up light engine. 

 Millie performed well, you'll have to read the review to find out how I felt about it, and I think my friend was impressed. He followed the model around the track for three circuits, but then was happy to let it head off on it's own - a sign of a well-behaved engine. 

Now all I need to do is clean it up for collection...

Lapworth Garden Railway Show 2024

 

John Sutton's December show has been running for a few years, and is an enjoyable addition to the festive season. This year, it's outgrown the Rowington Village hall venue, and has moved down the road to Lapworth. Slightly more space both inside and outside. Despite this, the event was busy in the morning, and (I'm told) not quiet in the afternoon. 

The mix of four 16mm and G scale layouts, plus some quality trade, is well worth the fiver entrance fee. Profits from the event are donated to the local air ambulance too, so it's all in a good cause. 

Despite the small size of the layouts, there was always a couple of live steam locos circulating, and none of use seem to have asphyxiated, nor burn our fingers with inadvertant poking at chuffers. To be fair, there were sensible notices to warn people off - this sort of show can attract those who wouldn't know better, and we don't want their first experience of the larger scales to be a bad one do we? 

Not everything was steam of course, Haffenstadt is electrically (DCC even!) operated LGB, 16 feet by 2,  so a doable size if you fancy a winter project in a garage. 

Of course, Christmas is on the way. The show is a perfect place to pick up a present or two, and a few layouts managed a little festive decoration. 

And being a local event, there is some excellent cake to be consumed. 

Not from the enjoyable 16mm layout Glendreich, but from the canteen. 

The only problem with the cake was that I sat down and people kept wanting to talk to me - it was a good 10 minutes until I could tuck in!

Finally, the first appearance of a colaboration between Timpdon and Boot Lane. Due to be released at the Warwickshire show in March, I've put my order in already. I'd been thinking how a railcar would be useful for our club steaming days...

Saturday Film Club: Driving the UK's oldest Monorail.

A quick trip around the Beaulieu Monorai, along with a behind the scenes view showing how it works. I really must give it a go one day. 

Festive Hornby

 

Last week, I enjoyed my annual pre-Christmas visit to Margate, to hear about Hornby's future plans. Obviously, these are super-secret, but I did bring back a few photos of the festive looking stuff. 

The WonderWorks has been Crimbo'd up, with a tree. Trains run around the bottom, and they eshew the traditional baubles for suitable wagons and cars. Not sure this look will catch on, but it's certainly different. 

Father Christmas makes and appearance, alongside a polar bear. Presumably he handles those on the "Good" list, leaving the "Naughty" ones to his ursidae companion!

There's a little historical stuff on display in the shop, everything else is in WonderWorks and I didn't have time for that. The signal box in the centre of this shot appears to be a colourway I haven't seen before. 

Nice to see some vintage photos, celebrating 70 years since production started in Margate. It's not all in China or India, and I suspect there isn't the family feel of the great days in the 1960s. There certainly won't be a "Miss Rovex" competition!

Did I ask Santa for any model trains? Yes, this one. 

Sadly, at just under a hundred quid, the Wallace and Gromit set will have to stay a dream. I haven't got space to display it anyway (like that ever stopped me!). It runs on 12mm gauge TT track though. I wonder if it would be possible to squeeze a motor into one of those coaches. After all, the wheels actually turn...

Garden Rail January 2025 - I get a steam engine to play with!

 

Garden Rail January 2025

In our new larger size issue, we ask if garden railways can be good for your mental health. Ken Ellis thinks this is the case, and we visit his Ely & District Railway to find out more.

Also in this issue:

• The first Rheidol steam locomotive
• Adding detail to your lineside
• Postcards from the Cathedral Mountain Railway
• Building a Garratt from LGB parts
• Constructing a D&HR carriage
• Basic groundworks for a garden railway
• Looking after lineside plants in winter
• Building a Plateway Models rail-mounted crane
• Roundhouse's Millie beginners steam engine reviewed

Plus a huge selection of new products for the garden railway enthusiast.

Vote Turbocar! (The Wishlist Poll 2024)

The OO Wishlist Poll is back. Last run in Autumn 2022, there have been over 50 new RTR items announced since then, so it's time for Brian and his crew to give everyone the chance to vote for more model railway items they would be interested in buying. 

Take part in the Wishlist Poll.

Warehouse Tuesday: Steinbruch Cement Works

Most people, when taking a boat along Lake Thun, will take pictures of the beautiful scenery. I did, but then there is this ugly cement works on the shore - and I pointed my camera at this too. 

I suppose you can argue it's not the ugly commercial site in the wold, but this is a stunning place, and here we have industry. There's no railway, and the road access doesn't look that impressive, so shipping by boat must be the order of the day. After all, there's no other reason to build it here!

Rare kit alert

 

For my column in the Hornby Collectors Club magazine, I am alway on the lookout for vintage kits. In the past I've appealed for Hornby Church R599, and finaly, eBay yeilded one at not too stupid a price. For a kit that used to be everywhere, until I was looking for one, that was anoying. In it's place, I built the Airfix church, so this has to sit on the back burner for a few months. 

The NEC delivered a very reasonably price R190 Country Cottage. Made in West Germany, by Pola I think, it's a basic model, but pretty much complete apart from some easy to replace chimney pots. 

The instructions are amazing though. 

That's an exploded sketch, drawn by a child it appears. This isn't a hard kit to build, which is handy 'cos you'd be struggling if you relied on this.

Next on the hitlist - R278 The Bell Inn Country Pub Kit. Another Pola based model, complete with stickers to add the stonework to the walls.

Wicked model locomotive

 

Last weekend, I took a short city-break in Paris. Waiting at St Pancras, there is a display advertising the film Wicked. I don't know that much about it, but on one cabinet, there is this fantastic OO gauge locomotive. Now, this is what Hornby needed in the Steampunk range!

If you want to see the rest of my Paris photos, there is an album on Flickr. Not much train content though!

Saturday Film Club: Wooden six wheeler! The incredible Hustler 6 In Wood - what's it like to drive?

I've always fancied building a car. But perhaps not this one. Very clever though.

Rat

I've been very bus recently, so no blogable modelling has taken place. Instead, enjoy this picture I took while on a photo job a couple of months ago. It make me chuckle.

(Hint: Class 25 locos were nicknamed "rats" by gricers)

A "helpful" assistant

 

I always tell Andy that he has it easy when doing the BRM reviews. He can sit in a nice warm office looking up a few details (not for us, the YouTube "research" of just reading the box) and then run the model on a bit of track. In the dry. 

For Garden Rail reviews, I have to brave the weather. As long as it's not raining, I'll nip down to the L&WMRS outdoor track and set fire to a brand new model. Yes, Andy doesn't have to risk burning his review subjects to the ground either. I've not actually damaged one yet, but there have been a couple of occasions with perhaps a little more flame for a fraction of a second, than I would like. 

Another problem asseted itself while I was testing the Roundhouse Millie - our track is on a famr, and the farm has cats. This one decided it wanted fuss. Big time. 

I'd bend down to get something out of my toolbox, and on standing up, recieved a face full of nuzzling pusscat. Now, I love cats, but this one affections were causing a problem. As mentioned, these reviews mean fire, and I don't want to scare, or risk hurting, the animal, or getting steam oil on his fur as I topped up the lubricator. Or risk getting cat hair in the oil in the lubricator!

Eventually, after about half an hour of attention, he decided I wasn't a toy any longer, but you still knew who was in charge..

Warehouse Wednesday: 6 ton Ransome and Rapier Crane

Another contribution from Duncan Young: 

I recall you building the Langley Miniatures kit of the Six Ton Ransome Crane some time ago. Visiting the Kempton and Hardwick Waterworks Railway last Saturday, I chanced upon the real thing. It works and is used by the volunteers and a kind fellow let me get close up. He described it as a tricky piece of equipment! 

Thanks Duncan - a couple of lovely photos. I'd have enjoyed getting a closer look at this machine too - it really is a fascinating relic of pre-hydralic times!

My model was built for a Hornby Magazine project many years ago, but I still have it. The kit isn't easy, but that's as much the fault of the prototype as anything else. 

Blu-Tack NG7 bodgery

 

At the NFRM, all I needed my NG7 layout to do was run. The plan was to switch the train consisting of a Quarry Hunslet and two Peco coaches, on in the morning, and leave it. No fancy operation, just a bit of crowd-pleasing movent. 

One problem with the scale is that you can't buy spare couplings. So, on the coaches, I've used some old, tension locks from OO models. They work, but the tight curves don't go well with thier hooks and the lovely Bachmann NG7 choppers. So, on the ends, I've taken them off. 

Most of the time, this is fine, but every so often, the hook on the chopper would bounce up, and uncouple. Cue a paniky swithing off of the controller, if we spotted it. If not, the coaches ended up being pushed around to the front, where some helpful soul would try to sort things out. This didn't work well, as the loco would still be moving. 

Anyway, I fixed the problem. Add a lump of Blu-Tack to the top of the chopper and it can't bounce. Problem solved for the entire show!

My NFRM haul

OK, I went to the biggest show in the country, so what did I buy? 

A really nice Stanley screwdriver. This is an updated (it has a different handle) of a tool I like a lot. The grip is excellent, there are four bits, and you can turn it with a spanner on the metal "nut" at the base of the handle. I have four, and lent one of them out, never for it to return. 

Oddly, this tool came from the Londis in the atrium as I nipped out to buy some drinks. I love the idea that the little supermarket also sell exhibition supplies, including document holders, tape, hi-vis and hard hats. 

Is this a cake fork, or a fish fork? I've decided it's for cake. 

Most important, it's an LMS fork, so I can scoff cake with a railway connetion. 

And that's it. Apart from some materials for work projects, I didn't buy any goodies for myself. Not that I really need any more toy train stuff!

The National Festival of Railway Modelling 2024

 

The inugural National Festival of Railway Modelling went very well. I know this because lots of people congratulated me on it. This is slightly embarrasing, as there's pretty much no-one on the team who has been involved with bringing a major event to fruition, from a blank sheet of paper nine months ago, than me. 

My total involvement was to take over one side of the World of Railways stand with my part-finished NG7 layout, and some older projects, and talk about railway modelling. Something I did pretty much solidly on Saturday, and quite a lot on Sunday. 

You could also find me in the cinema: 

where I was showing how to build the latest Metcalfe Models kit, and do the static grass thing, amoung others. The photo shows Sunday afternoon, and yes it is weird eating an ice cream, and watching yourself on the big screen. On Saturday, I might have struggled to get in, as apparently, this latest new attraction was very popular, and not just with those wanting somewhere to kip!

I did get away from the stand on Saturday - for 15 minutes on an exercise bike, raising money for the RNIB on the Oxford stand. Sitting there, peddling away (26 kph for most of the session - get me!) was a little surreal, but it's a very, very good cause, and certainly something different. 

Now, I haven't mentioned the layouts, and that's because I didn't get the chance to look much, even at a couple I really wanted to see properly. Search YouTube, as it seems pretty much everyone made a film of the show.

I also haven't mentioned cake, and that's because the NEC isn't great at this. Fortunatly, thanks to KR Models, I did manage one. 

A very nice crispie cake, which also doubled as lunch, and much appreciated. 

Overall, it was a good show. Yes, there are areas to be worked on, but there isn't an exhibition that can't say that. In fact, the most pleasing feedback came from other exhibition managers, who could see just how much had been done in a short time. 

All being well, we'll be back for next year - November 22 and 23. The hall is already booked, and layouts are asking to come!