Downendian

I'd lined up my large boiler 7F earlier with one of my DJH small boilered models to do some comparison shots. Something about the front end of the large boiler version jarred with me, it just didn't look right. Comparison with this photo http://railphotoprints.Zenfolio.com/p932360234/h15B11C3F#h15b11c3f Revealed the problem. The Golden Arrow smoke box door is too small. Cue a web search for a bigger MR pattern smokebox door to rectify, and I think 247 developments do an appropriate replacement, plus I need some Bath Green park shedplates, so order will be placed soon. If anyone knows of other alternative, please shout. Just a little bit disappointed with the Golden arrow casting. Neil

Good grief Dave, you've started the New Year with a bang. Love them one and all, (well especially the Deltics and the two tone green brush 4s). Thanks Neil

In addition to work on D1065 this weekend, I've sprayed the Golden Arrow resin body for my large-boilered S&DJR 7F project. It is sitting on a "saddle" of filler which will be painted later today. I've acquired a early crest Fowler tender (from another 7F) so will divorce this Deeley tender too. It will become 53807 the last large boilered 7F to be converted to the smaller boilered form modelled by Bachmann. This was the first time I'd sprayed resin - an interesting experience needing multiple thin coats of BR black. I doubt very much Bachmann will ever release this model, so another variant in my steam roster. Neil

Some more work this weekend on D1065 Western Consort in 1976 condition. The following has been done 1. Resprayed cab rooves and scavenger fan groups 2. Removed tanks and battery boxes from Dapol chassis and Resprayed 3. fabricated fans from Shawplan and sprayed red, forgot to spray the roof walkways this morning, they were primed last night. 4. Remodelled valances as some had distorted during storage. 5. Painted lamp irons - one will need adjustment as mounted too close to the body. 6. Weathered roof with powders - here humbrol "smoke" and white around the boiler port. This helped blend in the blue with the Heljan factory finish. Next week the chassis will receive attention and copious weathering. It will now need varnishing to seal everything. Neil

Yes the Shawplan WR irons are finer, and more to scale. Very small drill and held in place by filler applied with a cocktail stick. Neil

I'll be watching this thread. I've always been interested in this big beast - not that I'll add it to the to do list which is far too long anyway. Neil

An update, and poor iPad photo with bad light. Sprayed sea moss with firm hold hairspray and mixes of various "leaves" of multiple shades of green from green scenes and gauge master. Still some adjusting to do, remove leaves attached to branches and some weathering of the trunk, but you get the general picture. Neil

Tree building As part of my "more doing less buying" New Years resolution I've resumed my Saturday railway modelling sessions. At present my layout is being worked on - Patchton Gifford, a representation of Bristol in the early/mid 1970s with ocassional throw back to the early 1960s so I can run my steam roster. I hope to start a separate thread on that soon. Meanwhile I'm adding to my South Gloucestershire forest that borders all of my running lines to represent the countryside around the Mangotsfield/Winterbourne/Westerleigh areas, North East of Bristol. I've built approximately 30 trees using a variety of methods, but all based around wire formers, a hot glue gun, sea foam sprigs and scatter foliage all held in place by hairspray (not telling the wife of course about that bit. Although I appreciate that this will be old hat to some, my method is shown here with photos of a couple I've made today. Stage 1 building the tree former. Twisted florist wire of various thicknesses are twined together to form the trunk and major branches. By observing winter trees (and trying to make representations of different species by using the Collins field guide to British trees), the positions of branches (I.e. Mostly pointing upwards at 45 degrees) is obtained. I try to get an equal spread of branches so that the canopy is "umbrella like" and prototypical as possible. Next I cover the former with hot glue from a gun. This can be done quite crudely and especially for oak trees are quite gnarled in nature. All is left to set hard, and then given a coat of red oxide primer, and in my cases here a topcoat of railmatch sleeper grime. Complete coverage is not critical and other shades maybe added and more spraying will come later anyway. Next sprigs of sea foam are removed from the supplied plant - I obtained mine from DCC supplies, forest in a box, but have also grown my own. Some sea foam plants are almost good enough to use for trees, but I feel they look like nothing in our natural deciduous forests so tend to build all my own. The sea foam sprigs are then hot glued to the individual wire branches, and with care the glue is moulded to join the sprig to the glued wire former. Care it's hot - I know this rather well. Build the tree gradually attempting to get good symmetric shape and cover. I always have a well developed root system and ensure the trees stand perpendicular, this significantly helps getting things symmetrical. Once you're happy with the general shape then spray the sea moss with the same colour as the trunk and branches. I spend a fair bit of time getting the wire bent to get a good shape and removing blobs and "cobwebs" of hot glue which form very fine strands if the glue is very hot. Then leave to dry thoroughly as mine are now doing overnight. The next stage is to cover the sea foam with foliage, first I add brown static grass to represent twigs, sprinkled over the sea foam which are given a liberal hair spray. Then I follow with a mix of light, medium and dark greens from various suppliers including green scenes, woodland scenics and gauge master. I'll post the completed pair I've done today after they get this treatment. The last photo is the growing forest on my layout - the lines to the right are steeply graded where trains descend/ascend to the lower deck storage yards via a helix. However this line is my representation of the line to Avonmouth, and Bath road based 25 227 heads a train of empty vans to the Fisons plant there.Those to the left are the main running lines, and one of my three (rare in Bristol) split box 37s, 37 086 heads a motley mix of parcels vans heading north on 3S15, Temple Meads to Sighthill. Neil

Interesting sign at the RSPCA in Bury.

Good news indeed. Gradually the small shunters are being picked off. Well done Heljan, 07s are very pretty little shunters, it would be rude not to get one seeing that my local preserved line had/has one. Neil

Oh no - New year's resolution already wobbly. Must resist...... Neil

I think a bit of perspective is needed here, and the thread is now becoming circular. The problems of the first batch are now well documented and thanks to all who have posted, and made my decision to delay purchasing until either the price comes down a bit or the errors are corrected on any subsequent batches an easy one. I'm convinced that Dapol will be looking at this, and they have a very good piece of tooling to rectify the electronics/livery/bits dropping off issues. As a WR diesel era modeller Electro diesels are not a central requirement, but I can see the aggrievement though from a SR modellers viewpoint. Reiterating the same problems repeatedly isn't going to change the problems with the first batch in my opinion - it's not as though this hasn't happened before. Perhaps Dapol will do a recall, but then again many have bought the models warts and all. Neil

This is my key reference post for these details from Pannier Tank, highly useful I think you will agree. I'm detailing a few 4mm Hornby 08s at the moment, a lot of variation in such as large class as might be expected. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/6622-class-08-09-variations/?p=55482 Neil

Thanks Phil, I'm sure then either you or your father had known some of my relatives who lived in Highbridge and were active in the Church around that time. Both maternal great grandfathers were S&D engine drivers and my grandfather did an apprenticeship at Highbridge works. I had two great aunts living in Walrow and other family members in the close vicinity. I can only vaguely remember milk trains going up the old S&D branch to Bason bridge, but well remember the pairs of class 37s working the M5 construction traffic. I'd Iove to model the station site one day, a great railway history. Neil

Phil - many thanks for these - I'm especially fond of the Highbridge shots especially the Royal Mail apparatus. Very fond memories as a child spent there - long before my interest in railways developed. Neil

Three additions to my Whisky shelf in my home pub this Xmas, after a few gentlemen helped me with their settling in on Xmas eve and the last couple of days. The Glenlivet is sublime, smooth as you can ever get with a malt, and I've (ahem) sampled a few now. Unfortunately now down considerably on my malt collection, New Years resolution to buy some more. Great idea for a thread Phil, I think we had some Aberlour together in Plymouth. Neil

Merry Christmas Dave, and thanks for all your posts this year - a bookmarked topic for me and a constant source of modelling inspiration. Neil

Agree re wiper position, hadn't noticed that - time to dig into my tomes - a few had wiper modifications. Neil

Good morning everyone. A few more recent scans, some more to do over Xmas with a bit of modelling - tree building yesterday. D1059 Western Empire on the seawall approaching Teignmouth, date unknown but Ca 1969 An unknown Western at Exeter - I've tried my best for an ID but to no avail. A lovely class 22 shot, D6333 at Dawlish on 21st August 1969 Finally my first memories of the end of the hydraulic era- lines of scrapped Hymeks at Bristol St Phillips Marsh. D7003 in the middle of the lineup, date approx 1972/3. Neil

Very evocative shots of the peaks David. The 1970s winters always felt colder, and jigs the memories of snorkel parkas, stamping on the ground to keep the blood flowing and as many gloves as you could put on whilst spotting. Neil

Terrific thanks Kylestrome, hitting the thanks button just wasn't enough. I was going to ask re the tanks and had mistakenly assumed they were brassmasters resin mouldings. Terrific modelling. Neil

I've just received my 24081 and absolutely stunning model, to me the number of slats in the rad grille is a non-issue, I can barely make them out with my eyesight, and more than three feet away even those with 20:20 vision I suspect couldn't either. I take Norton961's point re the reinforcing bars - perhaps the etch has been fitted the wrong way round, and maybe a simple remedy? Miles ahead of the Bachmann model which looks crude in comparison. Will have to save for the sound project now. Neil

I think it's a Paddington-Hereford service Phil, 1B56 was such in the 1980s but open to correction. Neil