Going for a stroll last week, I spotted this fence. There are several similar ones on the estate it's on.
I think the ground has dried up so much, that the posts have all started to lean. Obviously, the bars have held, so it's just leaned over.
Which looks an awful lot like many a model fence I have seen - so there is a prototype if you can't make your posts stand up straight!
This issue takes a trip to Switzerland with the stunning 'Helvetia' Gauge 1 layout, proving that world class modelling can fit in surprisingly small spaces.
Also inside:
Plus, all the latest product news for anyone working in the larger scales.
Garden Rail November 2026, packed with ideas for builders, tinkerers, live steam enthusiasts and anyone looking for their next project.
I raided my mum's material scraps for something suitable. These aren't big cushions, but it's a modelling job I've never done before. Each piece was wrapped, and glued along one side with PVA, held with a couple of small bulldog clips. Then I was distracted, and left them for a couple of weeks.
Coming back to the task, the material had stuck, but I needed to work around curved corners, which with the PVA and clips, seemed a little challenging. So, I changed to superglue, which sets fast enough that the excess material can be tugged to keep the tension.
It worked!
Within a few minutes, everything was stuck in place, the glue hadn't ruined the front of the material, and I could trim the excess with curved nail scissors.
Some small cushions seemed to be required. Why is it that the softest and most comfortable seat in the house, needs a ton of small cushions?
Anyway, these are balsa wood squares, roughly shaped (you can't see much through the windows) and wrapped in tissue, again, held with superglue. The surface is a bit wrinkly, but looks OK.
It seems I have a reputation.
To be fair, I've enjoyed some cracking deals from this stand. Mostly buying stuff no one else wants, but appeals to my weird interests.
So, we have a 1/24 set of "Campus Friends" in an odd Tamiya box. This set looks to be the original 1983 version, there is a more modern set with a figure taking a selfie. However, the plain box confuses me. Is this an early "white label" version?
The Russian army figures are useful poses, especially those with the fuel drum. And the MG, well, I hadn't brought my spend up to the value of my entry ticket, and it just appealed to me. There is a lot of box for a very small motor car!
Not a spendy show, but the trade was good fun. I haven't picked a few bits up for work projects too, but this is the fun/weird stuff that makes going to a physical event so entertaining.
I suppose that I ought to mention that I managed to blag a free ticket for Stafford this year, by virtue of having given the exhibition organiser my old layout, "Edgeworth". Mind you, this, and York, are both on the list of shows I happily attend as a punter, paying to go in. Stafford is always a worthwhile trip. Partly because I get to take the train, and then vintage bus, to the showground. Yes, it would be cheaper to drive, but not nearly as fun.
Of course, as I'd save my money on a ticket, I was duty-bound to spend at least the entry fee on the club second-hand stall. But that's for tomorrow.
I've been visiting Stafford for a long while. In the old days, it took place in February, often with snow on the ground, and in three adjoining halls rather than this single building. They have gradually grown to completely fill the "new" hall, with all of the generous balconies being in use.
Being in one room gives the show a nice atmosphere. It is a big event, but still feels like a club show, which is what it is.
Layout quality is always excellent, and I normally book a shoot or two for BRM. This time, I recognised many of the display as ones that have appeared on our pages, at least one of those was so pleased with the way we showed off his excellent layout, the magazine itself is part of the display!
Yes, I am a bit smug about this. North Cornwall Brewery is my kind of layout, and so when the owner is pleased with the photos, I am delighted.
Despite being a big show, there are a good number of small layouts, the ones I think inspire people, and those that I'd like to build. I don't think there was a single stand-out "Phil would like to build this" model this year, but many fell into this category. Maybe I'm so busy with other things that even my imagination doesn't fancy adding another project to the list!
Trade was excellent, with many of the big names represented, including Dapol, who don't do many shows now.
But the cake. I finally, after many years, succumbed to the giant custard tart.
I'm sure these things used to be size of a coracle, but even now, they are pretty large. But, I had snuck out of the hall to the old cafe, and just gave in. You always regret the things you don't do, people say, and this year was the time to stop looking.
Handy hint, the waiting time for the old cafe, which was beside a dog show, was much less than the one in the hall I'm told. Since your wristband allows you in and out, this worked well. Better still, they are finally taking cards, so no more looking at the menu and deciding how much cash you have left.
Anyway, another really enjoyable show. There are more photos over on my Flickr feed.
Yes, another video from the Groudle Glen Railway. What else would you want to watch?
Sometimes, work means I have to do some odd things. A few weeks ago, there was an emergency run to buy pencil crayons. Yes, coloured pencils.
For the station building project I was working on, I had to colour in some blue engineering bricks. Now, in the past, I'd been told "Prussian Blue" was the colour. I tried it, and it very much wasn't. Far too blue.
That being the case, the project ground to a halt until I located the correct colour, hence a hurried trip to my local art shop, Picturesque, in Warwick, with some photos of real buildings.
Eventually, a mix of three randomly rubbed on the etched bricks did the job, or at least to my eyes. It's all subjective anyway...
Lots of making going on in November's issue of BRM. I start with some etched metal nettles. Very nice, but definitely a foreground plant, as they aren't cheap. That said, when only the best will do, this is a very good option. Very easy to use too.
Next, a seriously time-consuming model.
Finally, on BRM TV, I'm making hedges.
On the way to a photo shoot, I found myself running early, so I stopped off in the Nottingham district of Sherwood. The forest is close by, in case you wondered.
It's an interesting place. More charity shops than you can shake a stick at, but also a local baker and lots of visible signs of community action to brighten the place up. I popped some of them in this Instagram post.
Halfway along the street is Sherwood bus depot. According to this document (PDF), it was built in 1901, originally as a tram depot. Buses replaced trams in 1936.
One half is now a 'spoons pub, and the other used to be a bus depot, though it closed a month ago.
Frustratingly, the satnav route back home after the shoot didn't replicate the route out, or I'd have examined the building further over lunch in the pub.
Finally, a bit of time to stick on an Inspector Morse DVD, and get back to working on the model barge.
The kitchen units confused me. In theory, they fold up, but I got lost in the instructions, and ended up going off-piste. The various sides were split up, and reassembled in a way that seemed to make sense to me. It didn't help that I disagreed with the idea that the doors should open. On a real barge, just like a camper van, surely there are latches to stop them swinging around when in motion?
No problem, just fit the parts inside out, and the doors stay closed. I added some handles from scraps of microstrip, stuck in place with Deluxe card glue. Extra strips were cut from the spare card fret to add a worktop and drawer fronts. With a sharp blade, the card cuts beautifully.
We've just enjoyed the post-TINGS club open day. With a stand at a major show, it seems sensible to follow-up by offering people the chance to visit our not that easy to find clubrooms, in daylight. We lay on tea, cake, and lots of working model railways.
All very nice, but it was the team behind our modular project who really pulled out all the stops for this event, with some stunning modelling.
All products of the 3D printer, plus an awful lot of work painting and finishing the basic prints. And yes, that is Godzilla. Printed in clear material, then painted, and fitted with lights. Press a button on the front of the layout, and his spines illuminate, and the giant screen on the building stops showing Japanese adverts, and instead advises the population to flee.
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...so I'm behind on my blogging. In lieu of a proper post, here is a picture of our cat, Stampy.
Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.
The Class 14 "Teddy Bear" has, to my eyes, always been an attractive loco. Sadly, it was a bit of a failure - the traffic it was designed to handle was fading away as the locos were delivered. This video covers it nicely, with some well-researched archive footage.
But, the highlight for me is at 12:50, when we see a self-propelled rail-mounted Coles crane batting along a bit of track. I don't recall seeing one of these in action before, and it can certainly move!
To be honest, I thought this would be a nice quick kit to build, commensurate with the tight deadline I was working under. As it turned out, it is a bit more involved, thanks to the corner shape. When it comes to the roof, I needed to come up with some techniques (in the article) to hold on to everything while the glue dried.
What it doesn't show is the red telephone box also included. Quite a nice kit too.
For speed, I made extensive use of acrylic paint pens, and they were very handy too for window frames and doors.
This is a nice kit, that could form the basis of a detailed model. Inside the doors, which I modelled open, there is a bit of interior. Given time, more could be scratch-built, so the blinds were superfluous. Or perhaps it could become; a trendy wine bar?
Spotted in the Cadbury factory, this is an interesting detail for an industrial scene. A bunded area is somewhere to park a tanker, with drainage to avoid spills spreading. I'd assume this is normally where it is being loaded or unloaded, but this one seems not to have any facilities for this. Does the driver haul the tanker to this spot if it appears to be leaking?
Modelling would be simple enough: some gratings around the edge of a concrete area. You could probably scribe the lot into card, unless someone laser-cuts the gratings. The change of ground colour from tarmac to concrete would look good in model form.
You'll need a sign, of course:
As part of the Bournville Heritage Weekend, Andy Christie had organised a live steam railway in the St Francis of Assisi church, and asked me if I'd help out. It seemed like a nice chance to take a train ride, and have some fun. As a bonus, when I arrived, the Carillon was playing, something I'd not heard before. Although it's a peal of bells, the sound is quite different to that produced by bell ringers.
The "layout" was a couple of circuits of 45mm gauge track, with connecting crossovers and a bank of sidings. By the time I arrived, everything was set up, we just needed to fuel and fire up locos, and get on with entertaining the public.
I was a little concerned that no provision was made to protect the Parquet floor, but as this isn't the first time Andy had organised such a display, they were either not worried, or he'd got away with it in the past. As it was, apart from some slightly oily water, which was quickly mopped up once we removed the track at the end of the day, it suffered my ill effects.
The public, especially the kids, loved it. The adults always asked if they were real steam engines, and we were happy to explain how they work. Most of the time anyway, while derailments were rare, there were a couple of incidents caused by the track sliding around a bit. We'd stuck some down with tape, but more of this was required later in the day.
By the end of the six hours we operated, all of us were tired, but the track had to be dismantled, while Andy went off to sort out some of the other bits of the event he had organised. By the time he came back, we'd created piles, ready for him to load in the car and take home. It was fun, but challenging. Next time I'll negotiate a car pass and bring along extra locos, perhaps even something a battery in it to take the pressure off.
Of course, I'd been tempted by the promise of homemade cake, and the vegan raisin and sparkly topping was every bit as good as it looked.
For a change, it was mostly good, useful material. Sheets of Plastikard at £7 for 9. How is this stuff still in the Anorak's Anonymous feeding bins late on the second afternoon? This shows how the hobby has changed. Admittedly, this is 15 and 20 thou sheet, but still very useful, or is this just me? I did pick some 60 and 80 thou sheets up from another vendor too, as I was completely out of those.
The electrical tester will form a rant another day I fear, so we'll move on to the Peco goods shed, which is a nice little model and puts something back in the N gauge box, which emptied a little for the last issue of BRM.
Finally, an American Gas Station. We'd looked at this for a future mag project, or rather, I'd looked at it and thought it was a good idea, my boss was less impressed. I'm sure it could be anglicised, but I think I'll build it as a fun little diorama as is. Looking in the box, there are lots of bits, always a good sign.
And finally, some plastic shapes from Cheltenham Model Centre. William Morris said, "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful", and there is something childish in me that bought them because the colours make me feel happy.
The International N Gauge Show is always a bit of a work trip. I'm on the lookout for layouts that will photograph well for BRM, and this year, despite being a little emptier than normal, the show delivered. I think there were 5-6 that I'd like to point a camera at properly.
One of the highlights was Kato's "Oscar" - a tiny 009 locomotive which is very near being delivered.
It really is tiny, with a very useful-looking chassis built around a coreless motor and brass worm gear/flywheel combination. Running was superb, and I can see a whole raft of 3D-printed bodies being produced for it.
You know I like weird stuff; well, the Japanese layout Tsuro no Michi provided this with a CatBus on the roof of one of the buildings.
Inspired by the CatBus, I've booked a trip to see My Neighbour Totoro on stage in London. Not what I expected to be inspired to do, by a model railway show!
And of course, cake. 6 out of 10 for the Victoria sponge. It was a little stodgy, but perfectly edible.
I arrived as the doors opened, and left just before chucking out time. In my mind, this makes for a good day out, and excellent value for money.
Maybe. But it's no Sea Lion is it?
