John Isherwood

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/OLFA-Pc-s-11mm-Standard-Duty-Plastic-Laminate-Cutter-Knife-Utility-Japan/5019155095?iid=153015424261&chn=ps Regards, John Isherwood.

165hp Ruston & Hornsby. Regards, John Isherwood.

It is perfectly possible to rebate the window areas on non-rebated plastic coach sides. Simply secure the side face down to a piece of scrap wood, so that the window area is in contact with the wood. Then set up a milling burr in a vertical drill, with the wood / coach side on the drill table. Proceed to mill away the area around the window in shallow cuts, moving the wood / coach side against the burr, until you have reduced the window frames to the desired thickness. Beware of excessively deep cuts - these will generate heat and distort the coach side. Proceed VERY gently when milling the window ventilator frames. It sound fiddly and frightening, but a little practice leads to more confidence and a viable workrate. A brush over with a wire suede brush will dislodge the 'fuzz' around the window openings. Regards, John Isherwood.

It depends where you live - when I (briefly) modelled an ironstone railway I obtained a piece of ironstone from a worked-out quarry and smashed it up! As one might expect, it's dusty stuff and stained the wagons very realistically. Regards, John Isherwood.

Whilst by no means impossible, the use of 16T steel mineral wagons for carrying ironstone was the exception rather than the rule; the specially produced iron ore tipplers were far more common, as were various types of hopper wagons, the latter especially in the Oxfordshire ironstone fields. Regards, John Isherwood.

Yes - my Bagnall, along with a Roy Link Simplex, a Sierra Leone Government Railways 2-6-2T from (I can't recall; Ron Cadman?), and a Wrightlines WD Baldwin were sold to fund my Unimat lathe. I sometimes regret the sale - but I doubt that I'd have built a layout for them. (Don't be mislead - the models are posed before a calendar photo, on a bit of loose tract and ballast)! Regards, John Isherwood.

The original version of this kit, as produced by Roy Link, was superb ! The standard of casting was WAY beyond anything that I had ever seen; (or have seen since); and it was a dream to build. In fact, so exquisite was the kit that I was inspired to modify it to incorporate full, working, Bagnall-Price valvegear. The kit then pased to Wrightlines, in a somewhat 'dumbed-down' version, and has probably become another victim of Adrian Swain's health problems; the same problems that have engulfed ABS and the other brands under which he traded. A great shame - and all my sympathy goes to Adrian. Regards, John Isherwood.

Do you know of a third option? The only one that I can think of - and the one that I have used - is to brush paint MECHANICALLY MIXED Humbrol matt white; it'll take 2 - 3 coats, but it works. The most recent job that I completed was priming bufferbeams before painting them red - I brush painted them using a Humbrol matt pale grey; it covered better than white, in less coats. Regards, John Isherwood.

Not really - all those who bought duff examples of the first issue would - quite reasonably - demand a free replacement chassis. Regards, John Isherwood.

I'll worry about my miniscule modelling contribution to the plastic pollution problem when single-use commercial packaging has been eliminated. Since I won't live a fraction of that timescale, I'll keep merrily filing on! Have we nothing better to occupy our minds with? Regards, John Isherwood.

...... but with a sickening overdose of PC, forcibly administered to the dying programme. RIP Doctor Who - you could save the Galaxy from the combined alien entities of the Universe, but when the BBC PC police were unleashed, you didn't stand a chance!! .... and to think that we pay a licence fee for this rubbish. Regards, John Isherwood.

So - (as they say) - landfill and evil capitalist would-be Presidents of the USA this week !! Anyone taking bets on next week's PC theme? Global warming, the evils of eating meat, heterosexualism, fracking ...............................????????? Regards, John Isherwood.

Manually or mechanically stirred? As I and others have pointed out above, manual stirring will NEVER incorporate the matting agent in modern enamel paints. Nonetheless, I dislike acrylic paints with the same ardour that others seem to hate enamels - and I quite like the smell ! Regards, John Isherwood.

Ah - just spotted a possible obstacle to using the Canon 1620 motor in place of the Mashima 1630 - is the Canon motor double ended; ie. does the shaft protrude at both ends? Virtually all of my recently built locos have a flywheel on the free end of the motor - and a double-ended motor is essential for my 10100 project. Regards, John Isherwood.

I'm not that committed to (internal) prototype fidelity - but my intended power train will be quite 'eccentric' (not literally I hope)! The motor shaft and RH gearbox shaft will be joined within the flywheel, which will act as a sleeve joint. Success or failure will depend upon the fit of the shafts within the flywheel. You will see that the design includes a Mashima 1630 - which I have in stock - but I may well substitute one of the Canons as an experiment. Regards, John Isherwood.

That's fine - stick to your principles - but it's the results that count and, if the airbrush can't produce the goods, surely we have to consider the alternatives? The fact is that a dense coat of white pigment is needed - this can be achieved quickly with rattle-can primer, or slowly with an airbrush; there is no third option, unfortunately. Regards, John Isherwood.

Jason, That link doesn't work for me. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tony, Is there a link to the source of the medium-sized Canon motors, please? Though the Mitsumis are fine for small to medium locos, I would be interested in trying a Canon in something larger - 10100 'The Fell' for instance !! Regards, John Isherwood.

Why not use a can of Halfords white primer - it works for me? Regards, John Isherwood.

I too have been using a new tin of Humbrol Matt Black - it dried to a perfect matt finish. However, you can hand-stir and shake from now until doomsday; it won't be enough - you need to be much more proactive to break up and distribute the almost solid pigment / matting agent at the bottom of the tin. I use a piece of thin brass rod, bent into a triangle that will fit within the can, and with a vertical shaft protruding upwards. Mounted in a mini-drill and run slowly at first, and then at increasing speed, keep going until you can feel no solids adhering to the bottom of the tin - then continue for another minute. That way, you end up with all of the paint components in a uniform suspension which, for me, dries matt. Regards, John Isherwood.

I suspect that the window display layout is used as Kernow's test-track. What better way to test durability than to leave the pre-production model circling the layout for days on end? Regards, John Isherwood.

Probably because it doesn't reflect the final, finished product - and would be likely to generate a tidal wave of negative "xxxxx's wrong" posts on here. That's what pre-production samples are for - so the client can pick holes in it and have the factory make amendments; not to allow the clever-***** to have a field day 'knocking' the product. Regards, John Isherwood.

.... claim compensation for a failure to make the road safe? Jim In my professional local government highways experience, the most common source of diesel spillage is the overfilling of HGV and PSV fuel tanks - the spill occurs when braking or negotiating roundabouts. Ironically, the culprit for a long-standing occurence of diesel spillage turned out to be the local Fire Service - who had been called out on several occasions to clear up what turned out to be their own spillage !! Unless you have personal accident insurance cover you are unlikely to be able to claim - how would you prove that the highway authority knew of the spillage and failed to act within a reasonable timescale; in fact, what is a reasonable timescale? Not the answer that you wanted - but realistic, nonetheless. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tony, I second all that you say re equalisation / springing. The loco that has been longest in my 'project suspended' list is a Brassmasters Black 5 - why? Because I cannot get the flimsy chassis with hornlocks, springing and plunger pick-ups to anywhere near approaching acceptable running. In the meantime, I have built dozens of rigid chassis - mostly Comet - which purr along. The secret seems to be a reasonably substantial chassis which will not distort under the influence of body fixing screws, and pick-ups on all loco driving wheels plus all tender wheels. The Black Five WILL eventually be finished, but almost certainly on substitute Comet loco and tender chassis. However, it's more than likely that I'll build another Black 5 - Hornby body on Comet chassis - first. I have today finished fitting three ancient Airfix 4Fs with Comet loco and tender chassis; the former incorporating Mashima motors with flywheels and Highlevel gearboxes, with Markits wheels. Suffice to say they run perfectly, and I long for the day when they can arrive in the centre road at Evercreech Junction in convoy, to await piloting duties on a summer Saturday in the time of my childhood. Regards, John Isherwood.

I'm sure that I have seen white stone granules for use in aquaria - try your local garden centre / pet shop. Regards, John Isherwood.