Castle

Hi Nelson, Nothing wrong with that at all - that's a lovely effect you have got there - well done! All the best, Castle

Hi Rob, Perhaps I tried to be a bit too technical with my paint job - I might take another look at them. Did you just use the one colour or did you shade them please? Thanks again for the advice mate! All the best, Castle

Cheers Mike!

Hi Rob, I have tried them but I personally didn't like the effect they gave - thanks for the help though! All the best, Castle

Cheers Adrian, I will pick up a copy on the way to work tomorrow! The other half got one of these Cameo things for Christmas - I feel a CAD drawing coming on... All the best, Castle

Hi Mike, Cracking job good sir! I haven't worked with these sides myself but I am really intrigued by the simple yet effective combined drop light and hinge etching - it's really simple when somebody else thinks of it isn't it?! How well does it work? I'm use to Comet individual hinges and scorched fingers... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Super - Size post No. 3 Well, the Auto Trailer has needed a bit of tweaking still but in the meantime here is another 'blast from the past' that needed sorting out! I have wants to piece together the bits of Super Saloon No. 9118 for a while now but what with life getting in the way and so on, I haven't got around to finishing it. In a flurry of activity though, we are finally there. I have added a few Preiser figures to give a few dashes of colour through the window. I know they are HO scale but given the slight 'blur' factor of the plastic in the window and a bit of distance between viewer and model they look fine to my eyes. They also fit very well in the Southern Pride seats and it means I don't have to paint them as well... A job that I don't mind doing on occasion for a few figures like a loco crew but a whole coach load of diners and waiters is a bit much! There is a light weathering on the chassis, ends and the roof but as these were the most cosseted of GWR/BR(W) passenger carrying vehicles, I have been very restrained. A solid brass coupling with hose detail and a couple of card gangways bellows with etched end plates and we are about done! I tried various ways of doing the curtains to no avail - how do other people do them if at all? I have a good mind to leave them off... The plan now is to build the other two Didcot Super Saloons (Nos. 9112 & 9113) alongside each other as I have done one, it seems silly to keep repeating myself so while it might take a while to do it this way I think it's for the best. I am also adding Hawksworth full brake No. 316 as the trailing vehicle which I am going to base on the Hornby offering. The boat trains had as many luggage vans as coaches it would seem. Then we move on to motive power and as Hornby have announced No. 4073 (yes, I have ordered it already!) I will use the loco from this model and the tender from Tintagel Castle to do No. 4079. A friend has already said that he will take the other tender and loco to do a period version of No. 5000 so waste not, want not! the only issue with this is the fact that the model of No. 4073 isn't due until November. Darn. Still, plenty of time to do the 3 coaches I suppose! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Prairie Procrastination (part 1 of 3) Chapter 4: All done! Well, there we are - I did have a new year's resolution type thingy of getting stuff finished and while it didn't go so well last time I said that, this time it's going well! I've been finishing off on or two things and No. 4144 was high on the list. Once windowed with coal added and a dash of crew and we have got this one finished. At last - after what seems to be far too long! Well there we are! As a small aside, I was asked by a friend to have a crack at one of his models and he said he would send me an 0-6-2. Ahhhhh! 56XX Class thought I! Nice safe territory... Might even be one of those LNER things at the outside I suppose. NOPE! It is a little German thingy that doesn't even fit on 16.5mm track! For the uninitiated (like me) it's called a U Class and was a fairly numerous type on German narrow gauge lines with a reasonable few in preservation. I will leave it to more informed types to give the full history but it's always nice to do something a bit different so this is what I did. These models are a bit of an eye opener as it comes with a range of different chimneys, turbogenerators, hoses and a range of other odds and ends which you can sprinkle on your engine to taste. I had a quick google and threw on a front number plate, two rear hoses and a turbogenerator alongside the chimney. I am making moves towards a project that has been bugging me as unfinished for a fair while now - Autocoach No. 231. Coming soon to a Little Didcot near you... All the best, Castle

Hi Nigel, Doubtless I will be wrong here (not my period of modelling at all and things were not like they are on a Castle!) but here we go anyway... I would suggest that it would look something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dean_Goods_3_db.jpg The dials are on the spectacle plate (cab front), not on the back head itself. Under the driver mannequin's armpit is a clack valve, the feed from the injectors coming up through the floor. Behind the driver's arm is the brake handle and valve, etc. The vacuum gauge is above the driver's hand. It is vacuum train brake but steam brake on the engine. In the centre is the regulator and the linkage goes down to the jockey valve. The jockey valve activates the hydrostatic lubricator which is hidden behind the driver, as is the reverser but that can be seen in this image here: http://www.mediastorehouse.com/the-cab-of-dean-goods-locomotive-no-2516/print/1193218.html Going back to the Wikipedia shot, below the regulator is the two valves for the steam supply to the injectors and above is the two whistle columns with the valves and the centre valve is for carriage heating. The two gauges are the boiler pressure (big) and carriage heat (small). Moving down is another clack valve and the combined gauge glass and try cocks. The pep pipe valve is on the fireman's side cab side sheet and is operated when the injector on that side is in working. The levers in the floor are for the dampers in the ash pan. That's about it but if I have missed anything, someone else will no doubt point it out! By the way, the polished things with the square heads on are wash out plugs and would likely not be unpolished in service. Also don't forget that this is as withdrawn and not as in service early on so whether all of this would have been there will have to remain for others more familiar with the time period to tell you about. Can I suggest that you look at buying and modifying the Mainly Trains 14XX back head as it will give you a much better start that where you are at the moment! I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Cheers mate!

Hi Julia, Wonderful work as always! I notice that you have drawings of the milk tankers (presumably for a ROTANK) - where did you get those please as it will mean I don't have to crawl all over the one at 81E! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Quite right too - we Didcot people are people of impeccable taste... In all seriousness though there were a few stationed at 81E at various points in history. A really lovely Christmas Present there too! Happy New Year! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Mark - how did I miss that one? Very good! Rob - why not do what I do if the coach comes out slightly high? Use slightly smaller wheels - Hornby straight from the pack work just fine for me! I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi All, I think that No. 7830 was a very early entrant to the strategic reserve wasn't it? I would make a model of it but I don't know what the shed code for Box Tunnel is... All the best, Castle

Hi Ray & Polly, The Brentford Branch thing is really exciting isn't it? Let's hope it all comes together... I hope that you both have a great Christmas and I hope we can meet up again in the new year! All the best, Castle

Hi All, I may have learnt the craft of storytelling on RMWEB from Mikkel but it seems that I will never be as good at it as Polly! I will definitely be sharing that one with the guys on shed! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, etc... Well, it's that time of year again I'm a freight. I'm not POLLEN your leg. You will have to CORAL all the presents under the tree like you did last year. You may feel as though you are working like a Trojan. But at the end of the day... ...when Santa has gone from Pole... ...to Pole... ...following that North Star I hope the gifts give you a lift... ...make you feel chuffed,... ...really chuffed... ...and make you feel like a King or a Mogul. Don't eat too much or you will feel like a real BLOATER. Don't Duck out of any of the fun - -in fact, be OPEN to the fun... ...that your visitors bring to your home. Tanks for reading this Christmas message. Oh, and please drive Caerphilly. I know these are not great Christmas messages but diesel have to do. Happy Christmas from me and everyone at 81E to everybody on RMWEB! All the best, Castle

Hi Jaz, Sadly not - I wish I did! It was a LONG time ago now and I was still at school at the time. All the best, Drew

Hi Stewart, Hijack away if this is what your hijacking with! Great pictures. I don't remember this but I did cab Iron Duke in steam at York during the engine's boiler certificate. Thanks for sharing the above! All the best, Castle

Hi All, How about: Change The World - Eric Clapton Or Changes - David Bowie Or indeed Changes - Ozzy Osborne Or Changes - Black Sabbath Or Changes - Jimi Hendrix Or... All the best, Castle

Hi Eddie, Not hiding it, I felt it was just part of my Didcot 12"/1' experience and as the mods kindly allow me a little latitude with Little Didcot to include the prototype stuff as well it just kind of fitted in! It is really great to hear from someone that saw it all in full swing rather than the preservation age it now sits in. Do you have a thread with pictures of all this on at all? If not, I am not the only one who would like to see it I am sure! It is difficult to say what my favourite bit was of the trip. The power of the main line was such a fantastic juxtapose to the quaint 'Titfield Thunderboltyness' of the narrow gauge... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Broadly speaking, this is quite exciting! It will have wide appeal... Well, there I was just meandering my way around the shed earlier in the week and what did I find but some great big thing with even greater and bigger wheels! Iron Duke has finally landed - after what seems like an age tramping around the English countryside and then living at an ex-power station... The plan is to do the cosmetic restoration in the near future where it is in the carriage shed and then move him down to meet Firefly later next year sometime. The first time that two 7 1/4" gauge locos will have been together since the 1890s. History will be made soon! In the medium to long term, a return to steam is mooted so it will be exciting times ahead for the old school GWR fans. Enjoy! All the best, Castle

Hi Mark, With a material like this it may help to get something like a coat of Halford's filler primer on it to build up the surface and give you something to sand back into. Just don't put too much fine detail on before you do so as the thicker paint will obscure it. I hope this is useful! All the best, Castle

Hi Mark, That is looking great! Can I make a suggestion about your plan though? If I were you, due to the fact that 3D prints sometimes require a bit of sanding to get a good finish, I would prime first, sand and once happy then add the rivet transfers. A light coat of gloss varnish between the finished primer and the top colour coats also helps the things stick better I find.* I hope this helps! All the best, Castle *Here comes the myriad of others to disagree with me! It works best this way for me...

Wonderful little van that Missy - fantastic job! All the best, Castle