john dew

As always supershots Robin. How well does your Mogul run? I have two ......the pony truck on one derails on facing points and the other waggles like a duck. I have almost given up on a new model being announced. Now thinking about getting one on the used market. Layout doesn't look right without at least one running regularly Best wishes

Thanks Tinker To each his own I guess......I couldnt attempt most of the loco stuff you do. The beauty of large non working card structures is that it is relatively easy to conceal all the horror stories.....not the case with rolling stock! Twickenham Saturday should be interesting......as in fact will Friday in Cardiff......never ever thought I would be cheering for Wales! Best Wishes

Hi John Thanks for all the advice (I have written to you separately) . I hadnt thought of the spindles being transported like that.....I wonder if I could adapt Harburns Oil Drums.....perhaps a bit too squat? I found the blog about Preston very interesting........how sad to see such a great industry reduced to rubble.....you mentioned Thomas Armstrong......he was the guy who wrote "King Cotton"..........a very appropriate title until the early fifties. Best wishes John

That worked........great video....particularly from an iPhone Not sure if I should have watched it though.........so far I haven't bought a King (not too many seen in North Wales) and I haven't tried sound Now I am seriously tempted on both counts! Cheers John

The link doesnt work for me "404 not found" I will try on Youtube direct Cheers John

Regular followers will no doubt be relieved to learn that the cunning plan worked. I was able to fit a thin 2mm fillet covered in appropriate paper as a sub ledge on the front. I then fitted the upper ledges, which serve as a foundation for the parapets, on a level surface all the way around. Thus solving the problem created by the five front columns being too short. Its the finishing detail on Scalescene models that take the time but make the model. 10 double thickness parapets and 10 supporting pillars. Each pillar is made up 7 small rectangles of 2mm card. You dont have to do the math......the next two shots show the pillar production line I have made a number of the old warehouse kits. Its interesting to note the many subtle improvements that John has introduced. For example, with the old kit the cap layers were just a tad small so one always had to touch up the corners.......with this kit one set of flaps seems just a little bigger with a fuller curve.......result no touch up needed. Pillars and parapets in place...........hopefully you will agree.....time well spent The gap between the upper ledge and the pillar above each drain pipe is part of the design ........there is a very small drain header header detail that I have yet to fit. The parapet cover layers in the kit are mostly plain but there are a couple that replicate an engraved company name. However the ones above were home made using an Office Libre spreadsheet. A cell is set to the exact dimensions of the kit cover layer. Appropriate font selected and background colour customised to match the kit. To my annoyance the camera has exaggerated the colour difference......its much closer in real life honest. A bit of history........I have been concerned for a while now that Granby looks more like an East Lancs Mill town than anywhere I could recall in North Wales! So I Googled " Textile production in North Wales" and found that Courtaulds employed over 3000 people in three large mills in Flint the largest of which was Castle Works. Bit embarrassing really.....in another life, many years ago, I used to buy knitwear for Littlewoods......much of it from Courtaulds Moving on......I added some scratch built extras......a Lifthouse/Plant Room (there is one in the kit but I preferred to build my own) A boiler house and signage.........lining up the decorative bands was fun....not! A loading bay and canopy are supplied in the kit but they are only fit single modules....I preferred to build one that spanned both modules There is a lot of weathering to do and I need to add some people and product. Castle Works produced viscose (artificial silk) marketed as Rayon and subsequently Tricel........I am guessing the input would be mostly chemicals but the output would be thread on cones......probably transported in cardboard cartons???.........any advice/ comments on what would be appropriate for 1947-8 much appreciated I need a chimney next to the boiler house. There isnt one in this kit.............I had just printed out and glued up the chimney sheets from the old warehouse kit and I got an email from Scalescenes announcing a new improved industrial chimney! More next week Best wishes from Vancouver........and yes it is still snowing.......unbelievable for March

Thanks Tinker The Collett is still a work in progress and you are absolutely correct.....I seem to have overdone the the tender and underdone the loco! My weathering powders have arrived and once I have finished the warehouse....it seems to have taken for ever......I can start experimenting with them Best wishes John

Think you missed one......it was 1990 you won the Five nations and to cap it all you did the Grand Slam. Sennelager brings back memories with the ranges/training areas all named after Normandy battlefields Cheers

Great to hear from you......loved the St Davids day joke. Your team are doing well......a week on Saturday should be interesting Best wishess

Sorry for the delay in replying. Thanks for the kind comments. I sympathise with your Townstreet project but I am sure that is one job that needs to be done as a single task rather than piecemeal. Nothing worse than a wall where sections have clearly different shades and weathering.......how do I know this! I look forward to seeing the finished result. It's snowing again here......we live about 800' up on the North Shore Mountains but rarely get more than one snowfall per year. Where abouts in Germany where you brought up.......I spent two years in Osnabruck in the late fifties Regards

Thanks Phil There are a few spaces left....I just try and crop them out! The layout is getting near 10 years old now so there is a growing list of stuff which I could and should have done better Best wishes from Vancouver.....it's snowing again

Thanks for all the likes etc. Your enthusiasm is very encouraging.....this isnt the most riveting subject I have got rather behind with my updates........the last couple of weeks has been what I call " in the trenches" mode. .......lots of cutting and pasting to the exclusion of any other modelling or even operating.........theres a new year resolution in the bin. In fairness management have pointed out the short lease on the kitchen table has expired. In consequence I became too enthusiastic with the task....sitting too long doing repetitive cutting is not recommended for pensioners with back problems. Enforced bed rest delayed the project somewhat and inspired further rebukes from management........sometimes one cant win!. First job was to fit the sides. They are a single module wide but have to be reduced in height because the unit overhangs the storage yard. It a good illustration of the kits versatility. I used one full window unit (2 rows), cut a second unit down to one row and chopped 3/4" off a plain base unit. I made the construction simpler by eliminating the sub assemblies and mounted the cutting templates (carefully!) on to a single base card rather than joining 3 separate base cards as I did at the front. Next step .....the roof. The instructions call for 4 separate roof units which are then butt joined together. I preferred to cut one unit measured to fit the entire length.....thus allowing for the dimensionall discrepancies created by me using mill board. It is also easier to fit and more robust Here is the roof being cut out The cut outs are for 3 North Lights and a Skylight. You can also see the notches cut out to accommodate the columns. 4mm Joists were added for the entire length making the sub assembly quite rigid I dont think individual roof units would have worked at all well. The shot above shows the back in place but in reality the back is closed in after the roof is fitted As with the sides, each module is a single piece of base card sandwiched between columns. The viewer will see very little of the lower section because I am going to scratch build a boiler house on the module with the internal brick Next job making the North Lights......here is the assembly line I made a lot of these for the Engine Shed and this is definitely an improved design. Its still very fiddly, as you can see! A good tip is to bend the roof unit into shape immediately after scoring the bend line and before cutting out the window apertures. Rather than using a marker pen on the cut surfaces I painted them out in mid gray......making any over paint less obvious The woodwork prints out as pale silvery grey. I wanted it to have some relationship with the green doors at ground level so I washed with diluted green rather than proper painting because I wanted to keep the printed detail. Its a bit crude right now but weathering should improve the look. I am going to add a plant room/lift house behind the skylight. A Hipped skylight assembly is a third roof window option. It is a very flexible kit .....all sorts of choices. You could just leave the roof plain if you wish. Cruel closeup but a reminder of the problem I have with the front columns being 2mm too short..........fortunately I have devised a cunning plan which will level everything before I start installing the parapets later today Best wishes from a sunny but cold Vancouver.........Storm Doris doesnt sound too good for you guys John

The 48 xx were........It's the 58xx which were not fitted

I am very envious Neal.......I have to wait until the end of March for mine.....and that is into Liverpool prior to its journey across the Atlantic! I am beginning to regret ordering the weathered options. The number plate looks fine in your photo ........it is beginning to look as though numberplategate was vintage froth? On the other hand your photo does rather highlight the fresh air where the ashpan should be. Fortunately that seems to be an easy fix with plasticard. Some people have mentioned stay alive......do you have any running problems....over points for example? Kind regards John

A whole day without posts on ANTB? I do hope everything is ok in the UK Worried in Vancouver John

Thanks Nick.........I find I am more comfortable with static objects however large......mistakes are easy to conceal On the other hand rolling stock is supposed to live up to its name! Thanks for the weathering advice.......the orange warning is one I will heed in future Best wishes John

It seems highly probable that few ,if any, Collet Halls received GWR lining post war Am I correct in assuming that in 1938-9 all Halls then in service would be lined and bearing either Great Western or Shirt Button livery? If so, I would have expected (despite lack of photographic evidence) that some would have survived to 1947 bearing their pre war livery ......undoubtedly heavily work stained. If not this would imply that every Hall built pre-war went into the Workshops between 1939 and 1947 and was painted Black or Full Green. Is this likely? I honestly have no idea. Over the years I have carefully rebranded my Halls (4, all lined) with GxxW on the tender, so that they all bore the "correct"` livery for 1947-8 This thread and a discussion on ANTB have shown me that this was a very foolish assumption. So I have embarked on a repainting/renaming programme aiming to finish with 2 all green, 1 black and 1 lined with shirt button (weathered|!) I would appreciate any advice. REgards from Vancouver

Thanks Phil I am afraid you are right about the snow......they are forecasting up to 12`` tonight. Its causing chaos with the commutors we are not used to this in lotusland.........its even beaten the 1949 record.....not that I was here then! Cheers John

A lot of progress made this past week I have added flooring to the front section and it is now far more stable. The instructions specify individual floor be cut for each module which are subsequently joined together with support tabs. I thought it would be more stable if I cut the floors in continuous lengths for all four modules This is the lower floor being fitted I double laminated this floor and its glued lower than the plan because, as you will soon see, it will rest on a piece of 1/2" ply that hangs over some of the storage sidings These are floorboard overlays being set up. I dont normally bother with interior detail but in this case there will be loads of skylights on the roof and windows all round .....so I will finish the top floor Fortunately I measured the floors from the completed front section rather than the individual templates. You can see a 2mm gap above.....which would, of course, have accumulated with each module!! The next shot is of the underside and the joist template The joists are 2 x 2 mm card laminated together......4 joists per module 16 joists per floor. 4 floors........64 joists 128 pieces of 2mm card..........the mind boggles. I compromised with just three floors ........double laminated the base floor and only 8 joists on the centre floor. Because of the length I inserted a couple of interior walls. Its now solid as a rock and thats without sides or back Here is the unit roughly in place on its base over the sidings The next job is to produce 2 sides each of one module and a back of four modules. The unit can be seen from all four sides so all the modules will have to follow the same process as the front except they have to be 2 3/8" shorter The top floor seems to be sagging but that should be corrected (I hope) when the sides are attached I havent made up my mind about the space.....I may build a low relief pub and either put it there or shuffle the terraced house up and put the pub next to the shops. There is a lot more to do before I worry about that! First job tomorrow is to run a few trains.......round and round to make absolutely certain my clearances are good.......the spaces between a couple of sidings are very narrow and I have a wafer thin support which seems ok .....but better safe than sorry Best wishes from Vancouver..........where the weather has regressed since my last post John

And a corridor connection......never seen that before.

Super job Mark.......very impressed with the understated weathering.......exactly the look I hope to achieve one day I am not familiar with navigating blogs.....could you tell me where I can find out about replacing the chimney please Regards John

That's useful info.......I will be fitting Lenz to mine.......any hints on settings would be great

Thanks Tony that's both very helpful and re-assuring. I will post a second revised " after " when the powders arrive The next job is a couple of panniers. I was going to use your splendid Jinty as a model......but you are excused from commenting on a pannier in case it makes you feel poorly! Best wishes John

Hi Andy So glad you approve of the Collett..........you are of course quite right about the driving wheels.......I am afraid I kept well clear of them for this initial attempt! The link you sent is absolutely brilliant......many thanks. I can see exactly what Tony meant when he told me to make sure I always had a photo in front of me when weathering....good advice. The photos are superb and so many contrasts. There are Counties which are great models for very light weathering and a rusted pannier that looks as though it has just come a war zone.......a wonderful resource.....thank you again Best Wishes John

Thanks for the likes guys Just to prove I can multi task (however ineptly) here is the Scalescene warehouse update I am building 4 modules. Each module contains 3 sub units. A door unit, window unit and a second optional window unit that I am adding The base unit is glued to the interior buttresses as shown below A ledge is glued to the top of the door unit followed by the first window unit Setting three relatively small laminated units up like this sure exposes any cutting/glueing errors which I suspect know will haunt me later on http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_redface.gif The modules are then glued to columns made of 5 sections of 2mm heavy card laminated together. Here is my column factory As you can see the column template only allows for the default door + window unit. Mine needed to be longer. The instructions suggest constructing two separate columns......a regular length as per the template to which is added an extension .......joined together with a strengthening fillet in the centre. I decided to cut full length columns for greater strength and to try and ensure smooth surfaces on all four sides. I used the cutting marks on the template to measure out the extension. Despite taking all manner of precautions I always have problems ensuring four totally smooth surfaces on these laminated columns. I am guaranteed two and I ensure the third by assembling and clamping an a flat surface.......and hoping I can conceal the inevitably uneven fourth http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_eek.gif There looks to be a particularly bad one below but its partly the camera....I hope So having cut and laminated 5 columns the next job is to apply the cover layers The final touch is to attach 1mm card wrapped in black paper to simulate a drain pipe. Next step is line up a column and glue to a module. Not a happy camper! The column is about 2mm short. It aligns perfectly with the default layout of Door + Window unit but does not align with the second window unit The work around was to glue a second extension cover layer as shown below....... I guess I am getting very old and placid.......there were hardly any choice words......just a painful reminder that when doing a new build its better to do one sub unit at a time rather than a mass build........just one column would have revealed the problem! John specifies 2mm approx for heavy card and 1mm approx.for medium card. I use mill board..... its cheaper and easier to cut than mat board (UK mounting board). Heavy Millboard is exactly 2mm but the medium is about 1.2 mm. Most times (and I have built lots of kits) its not an issue but in this instance I guess it was. The problem with building largish units like this is that a minor "no worries" discrepancy on one unit accumulates to the extent that it becomes very noticeable! So finally here we have all 4 units butt jointed to the 5 columns. Floors and sides need to be added which hopefully will give it a lot more stability. Right now its quite flimsy....I had hope to photo it propped up in situ but didnt want to risk it I am not a fan of butt joints.....laying a column over the modules as in the old warehouse kit creates far more stability and hides a load of errors. In fairness the default unit consists of just 2 modules x 2 sub units.........this is three times bigger 4 modules x 3 sub units....... I have perhaps been a bit ambitious........time will tell! Finally to brighten your day (or evening) The temperature has dropped but the forecast snow has held off....instead a beautiful crisp sunny day in the park Very Canadian