Phil's lecture

 

Just over a week ago, I gave a talk to the Lutterworth Railway Society. Entitled "The Joys of Model Railway Publishing", I used my "career" writing for model railway, and other magazines as the basis for a look at how publishing for our hobby has changed over the years. 

It's an interesting world. Those early articles were wordy, and light on photos. Tony Wright shot my first layout on a medium-format camera, and took 12 images. Yes, just 12. When I come back from a shoot, I'm looking to have 50+ to choose from, and that's the stacked ones. The process can involve 1500 pictures taken on the day. 

A bigger change has taken place with practical articles though. A picture is worth a thousand words, and they are so much easier to take now. No more waiting nervously for the photos to be processed, knowing that it wouldn't be possible to reshoot them. Reproduction is better now, so we show people what to do, instead of just telling them. 

There are also articles I no longer need to write. Cutting up diecast lorries because there wasn't much choice available? No point in that now, at least in 4mm scale. 

We also look at how model railways got me work looking after websites, and how the web has changed publishing to. Even this blog makes an appearance. 

The good news is that no one fell asleep. Some enthusiastic applause finished the evening - and I remembered to listen to this, something I used to be hopeless at when giving conference presentations years ago. Allow yourself a few seconds to bask in the adulation rather than running off the stage. 

I enjoyed it. Public speaking doesn't scare me, quite the opposite, so I'm going to see if I can do this again. A couple of contacts have been supplied to me, but if your group fancies an hour + Q&A (my favourite bit) of my waffle, hit the Ask Phil button on the right-hand side of this page, and we'll have a chat.  

Classic pub in The Collector

 

More classic kitbuilding in the Hornby Collectors Club magazine. I'm back in the 80s (which I'm sure is only a few years ago) with the Hornby "Bell Inn" kit, produced for them by Piko. 

Unlike a lot of the other buidlings in the range, this isn't a European structure pretending to be British, it really is a UK pub. Looking at the catalogue from 1990, there were half a dozen of these, although this is the most interesting to my mind. Maybe by this point in time, the Margate bean counters had been persuaded of the benefits of proper kits. 

One surprise is just how big this model is. 155mm long, 80mm wide. Modern resin buildings tend to exhibit selective compression, some ranges more than others, so this seems oddly big compared to them.  

It took me a long while to locate this kit, but once I found it, it appeared in a couple of photo shoots I carried out, including the South Coast MRC's layout, Canalside. 

I rather like this model, it has character. The only thing I'd change is the wall coverings. Stickers are provided, but they aren't perfectly cut around the windows, and the finish is very flat. Maybe one day I'll redo them with Redutex, or even scribe the stone myself. It would be a worthwhile upgrade. 

Garden Rail December

 

We start off with a visit to the Butterley Garden Railway Association, where the magic of miniature trains meets public wonder. How many future modellers have walked away from their line at the Midland Railway Centre thinking, “I want to build one too!”?

Then we journey to the legendary Compton Down Railway, revisiting Peter Jones’ iconic creation through the eyes of his daughter Kes – a tribute to one of the hobby’s most imaginative builders.

On the workbench this month:

• Mini dioramas with maximum charm
• A laser-cut carriage shed
• Replacing Taliesin’s safety valve
• Scratch-building a classic tin hut
• Small wagons sized for little locos
• Planting tips to prepare your line for next year

Plus: Our Christmas Gift Guide is here to help you find the perfect present for the railway enthusiast in your life - and don’t miss the heartwarming tale of how Eddie Castellan was reunited with a beloved steam locomotive.

Loco servicing in The Collector

 

Sometimes, the most useful writing skill is to be able to magic something up - when a deadline has hoved into view unannounced. This is why my latest contribution to The Collector, the house magazine of the Hornby Collectors Club, is on servicing your locomotives. 

This isn't to say the article isn't useful. In fact, it's probably the most practically useful piece I've written for them for a while. The thing is, it's a perennial topic that I've covered a few times already, and will probably cover again in the future. 

A few days after sending this off to the editor, I was at a show, chatting to someone who was developing a commercial version of my handy tool for applying power while cleaning wheels. If I see it appear on the market, I'll let you know. In the meantime, you can make your own with a bit of paxolin and a couple of strips of brass. 

Now, where is that kit I was supposed to build... 

The "Garden Rail Flyer" appears in the May issue of Garden Rail

 

Garden railways don't just appear, they grow over time. Paul Duncan may only have a modest garden, but the G scale Woodlock Railroad has developed over a decade, getting better each time.

On the workbench:

• Restoring a Saltford Ruston
• Building a FR Quarryman's coach
• Rehabilitate a steam locomotive paintwork
• Improved track clamps
• Modifying a cheap plastic steam loco
• Building a propeller-powered railcar

We take a look at Merlin steam locos, and of course, there is the latest news for the large-scale modeller.

Track cleaning, and windmill and plenty of layouts in the Spring 2025 issue of BRM

I've left the NG7 layout along this month, as I wanted to build a model spcifically to take to shows. The fantastic Buggleskelly Station N gauge windmill is the subject of my main build in this issue. 

The biggest problem with the kit is that it's so good, I need to find more to write about than simply slotting the parts togther - so we have so clever painting, inovative baseboard material and a button to allow the audience to make the sails go around. 

We're worried about dirt - so I've converted an O gauge Dapol van into a track cleaning wagon. 

And while I'm at it, for BRM TV, I'm also talking about track cleaning methods. 

Is this the first issue where I haven't built a model in 4mm scale? 

Anyway, the camera has been out with all the layouts in this issue being ones I've shot. 

First, we have the N gauge "Horton".

 Then in OO, and all the way from the Netherlands, "R&J Colliery". 

And finally, in what we called O16.5 back then, "Books Bridge". 

As ever, BRM is available from all good newsagents, or our online store: www.world-of-railways.co.uk

R190 in The Collector

 

The ex-Pola Country Cottage kit is in the Winter 24/25 issue of The Collector - the house magazine of the Hornby Collectors club. 

It's a pretty simple kit, and most of the piece covers painting the model. I have issues with the design, from the front, we have a pair of cottages, from the back, we have a single building. 

As for that base, well if I was using it on a layout, this would be in the bin...

Incidentally, the Collectors Club is now free to join. OK, you won't be recieving a paper magazine every quarter (Boo), but there is some good stuff in each issue, so it's well worth signing up.

Groundworks, a K6 and Metcalfe build in March's BRM

 

Covering scenic work on a magazine page is tricky. Really, you need a layout to work on, so my demos tend to be very small scale - but at the moment I AM building a layout, and it does need lumpy green stuff, so this time I take the opportunity to go to town with polystyrene, plaster bandage and lot of mess!

Any layout I build tends to have a telephone box on it, so I'm building one of those too. 

That's not the only building work in, or should I say on, the issue. We've a DVD stuck to the front cover, and this features me building the latest Metcalfe Models card kit, and trying to spread a few hints and tips along the way. 

My camera has been out, first to the beautiful St Johns in OO, also the start of the DVD. 

Then we have the very unusual O gauge - Shagbats. 

BRM magazine is available from all good newsagents, or our online store: www.world-of-railways.co.uk

Great reading

 

If I have anything approaching a new years resolution, it's to get on top of my reading. Lots and lots of magazines come my way, and they pile up. What I need is less doom-scrolling, and more reading the words of people interested in the same things I am. 

Watching the piles grow, especially of society journals, is embarrasing. I know how much work goes into them, and so they deserve to be read. OK, I'm still likely to drop the mag into the recycling, but at least I should have extracted as much information out of it as possible. They is definitely a better use of my time than reading clickbait headlines on the interweb. 

Mind you, knowledge can be expensive. When I read that the Hartz railway is to de-carbonise, which I take to mean no steam trains, I'm looking up the price of trips to visit. It's always been on my radar, but not high on the list. Time for it to jump the queue. Sadly, the first trip I can find clashes with a show, but I wonder about the autumn...

Review of 2024 - The work projects

Time for a quick look at the projects I've built  this year for work. I'm working on 2024 rather than magazine dates for simplicity, trying to do anything else is a quick route to madness!

Starting in BRM's March issue, on sale in Janaury, I built a fire engine from a whitemetal kit. 

There was an Intentio Models Signal Box.

A simple wagon load in four steps.

Spring brought us an N gauge platform kit from West Hill Wagon Works.

An O gauge stone water tower from a Skytrex resin kit. I made a video about painting the stonework for the same issue.

Some very fiddly 2mm scale etched brass deck chairs from Severn Models.

In April, I dabbled in DCC putting a chip in a Hornby 88DS locmotive.

A little scenic work, making grass tufts.

More scenic work in March, this time a water feature.

We go back to the Intentio signal box to paint the walls, and fit an interior.

The four-step project is a simple coal load.

June saw me catching the bus, or at least building somewhere to catch one from. The shelter is Wills, the green stuff is old skool scenicing.

A perenial topic is ballsting, and so I chuck some stones around on a piece of 009 track.

I start on the farm in July, with an abandoned steam roller diorama. As I recall, this turned out to be more complex than expected, as it needed three different gound covers.

Moving to N gauge, there is a fire engine from a 3D printed kit.

And the first "Quick guide", this one covering weathering powders.

Off down the TT:120 pub for August. The basis of the model is a Hornby ready-top-plonk building with some Phil style upgrades.

And a simple OO pump house. Ugly, but useful.

One of my most challenging projects appears in September's issue, a bowling club. How to produce the grass? Unexpectedly, it's also one of the model popular models on the stand at shows.

There's another bus stop too, this time a Metcalfe kit.

October, and the NG7 layout project starts. First, there is planning.

A "Quick look" at ground cover materials.

An old garage model finds itself upgraded with a flashing welding light.

The NG7 project continues with a bit of baseboard building.

This also spawned a video on hammering in nails.

A Hornby collecable "Nellie" is weathered.

For the four step, a classic whitemetal kit for an open wagon is built from a venerable Peco whitemetal product.

More good, basic stuff in December, with a piece on tracklaying.

A "Quick guide" to backscenes.

Some budget-friendly scenics with hedgemaking.

More old kits for January, this time the Peco O16.5 coaches.

A quick wishing well from a kit in four steps.

And continuing my ability to "ruin" valuable collectables, I cut holes in a Hornby building.

We finish with a look at modelling options for Dunster station.

 

There have been a few projects for Garden Rail too. 

January saw a 16mm scale living van built from a Bole Laser kit. 

In June, another Bole 16mm scale kit, this time a coal dock. 

In July, we had the "Layout in a day" for the National Garden Railway Show. 

August saw me having to maintain my growing fleet of steam locomotives, and to that end I built a locomotive cradle. 

A nice, ugly loco for September. A 16mm scale Wittenberg Schafer locomotive from Houston Gate Locomotive works. 

October, and it's time for the classic 45mm gauge Binnie skips. 

November, and we have a 32mm gauge display track, because every one needs something like this. 

December completes the year with a double bill. First, a 16mm scale Woodleigh Models wagon. 

And bringing up the year, a Timpdon Models small brake van in the same scale. 

There's also the little matter of some project for the Hornby Collectors club. 

An Airfix Church. 

Travelling crane.

 Tri-ang hardware store. 

And in TT:120 - A Scalemodelscenery workers cottage. 

3D printed model of Mrs Lopsided's house from The Ladykillers film. 

A small station building from LCut Creative. 

I think that's pretty much all the practical projects from 2024. 

In addition, there have been 13 videos for BRMTV, and of course I've attended Doncaster, Glasgow, Ally Pally, NGRS, Warwick Garden Rail show and the National Festival of Railway Modelling where you will have found me chatting away on the World of Railways/Garden Rail stand. 

Oh, and I edited 12 issue of Garden Rail.

So, this year has been busy. Don't worry, I won't get bored, there are plenty more projects in the pipeline for me to work on!