Giles

Lynching... Come up to a certain layout and advise all and sundry around you with great authority that the lorries are all 'Faller, guided by a wire under the road', despite the 3-point turns, numerous manoeuvrings, and the operator with the radio control transmitter in front of them..... Ah well.....

Roll on floor, laughing my **** off? I'm embarrassed that I even have a clue....

In the interests of fairness - I think that 'up to £200' is somewhat mis-leading. The Green-Scenes Flock-it, which I sold my Grass-Master to buy, because it was so much better, retails at £80.00. Running on 12v, that will happily dispense fibres well over 12mm long if required, and give a very high density. I have no connection with Green-Scenes other than as a satisfied customer. As always, it's a matter of personal choice, and many people won't want to spend £80 on a static machine, but they certainly don't have to spend any more than that.....

Frankly, things have moved on so much in the last few years, and got so much cheaper, that I shouldn't use your old RC gear, as it will actually make life more difficult for you, and make the end result less effective. (I've been through that, and also have a pile of perfectly good, but 'unusable' transmitters, receivers etc. that I now have no viable use for, and am never likely to.....) The DelTang 2 GHz 2DSM system is the one to use - it is cheap (under £30 for a combined 4 channel receiver/speed controller) that is only 10mm square, and the appropriate Tx can be bought on eBay for about £15 usually (check on the DelTang website for details. The servos are the standard micro servos at about 2.7grammes or such, and the motor gear boxes are the micro-gear motors for places like Technobots (and EBay). I use the 6v 100:1 ratio.

Thank you very much, Chaz! A lovely complement....! The crane seems to work quite reliably, and be quite forgiving regarding positioning and its ability to 'pick up' - so we're on to a winner there. It's not going to please those who like to see trains running fast and frequently, though! The joy of it is that it is actually nice and simple...... Tim - loving the lorries!!!

I am never. Never going to Australia. Ever. Seriously.

..... That got my attention...... I always likes that piece......

The 2cvs were second only to our old Land Rover in the Valleys in the snow for getting about - when everything else was stuck, our small Citroens would carve through with their narrow tyres, front wheel drive and high chassis. They were cold, and I got very good at whipping the engines out to change the clutch or whatever, but I have a great fondness for them. In progression, I had two Ami 8's, a 2cv and a Visa with the same engine. Followed by a BX 1.9 GTI. As a child we had a couple of old ID's, and an Ami 8. The 'rot' was always a killer to them, but the same could be said of many cars of the same era. It rather shows how much things have improved nowadays........

My late father, a Priest and a keen O gauge modeller in his youth might have agreed with you!

That's a smashing improvement, Chris! It occurred to me that a couple of years ago I put up a couple of videos which might be of some use - I find them acutely embarrassing, but you may find them useful. Please feel entirely free to ignore, disregard and so on - but they're meant to be helpful! (Long and tedious.)

Hi. Chris - they're not made separately at all - it's much easier than that (I'll be demonstrating at Coventry on the 13th!). You take a small hand-full of your chosen grass mix, and rub it between tour palms, as if you were making a plasticsene snake. This aligns the fibres. Having dabbed some PVA onto the existing grass or ground where you want your clump, you gently pull the end off your 'snake', and place it vertically into the PVA. WAIT FOR IT TO DRY. It looks stupid, and like nothing on earth at the moment, but once it has dried, you can vacuum it vigorously to reveal a very nice grass clump that matches the rest of your grass perfectly. I also vary the grass with autumn colours for newer growth when I do this. It's great fun, and it really brings it to life! G.

This is a bit of The End of The Line, using 4.5mm and 6mm mixed applied by machine, and then with added 'clumps' on top by hand.

I made a simple latex mould, and then cast sections in hydrocal (the light-weight plaster) with a but of muslin cloth at the back for strength, for the long wall on The End of the Line. This had the advantage that paint soaks into it (small advantage, but it suited me) and you can also hack it about......

Excellent - the Ivatts were lovely locos. I've had a soft spot for 46443 ever since we had her on hire at the Lavender Line years ago, and I had a day rostered on her. (There are photos of her unlined, before anyone worries about it!)

...... And two of the nicest people you could care to meet! You're fighting a losing battle with the Fowler - there'll be one running there in no time, I'll be bound......

Here's a brief over-view of consumer rights (faulty goods) in the EU http://ec.europa.eu/justice/consumer-marketing/files/infographic_faulty_goods_en.pdf And key consumer rights within the EU http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/mimica/docs/consumer_compaign_flyer_2014_en.pdf Worth knowing......

One of the few useful bits of EU law gives consumers some better rights though..... Most consumer goods sold in the EU are covered against faulty workmanship etc. for TWO years, not one, under EU regulations - so if you can reasonably provide proof of purchase (it doesn't necessarily have to be the till receipt, per se) then it can be returned for repair etc..

Steph, however far you get, it will be worth seeing - it's one of the finest pieces of workmanship out there...... I very much look forward to seeing this extended version - I loved the original when I saw it at Swanley! I do hope you feel better soon. All the best, Giles

Gerroff you b*****r........ Mind you, the lorries can visit.........

Absolutely love this - stunning modelling going on - on a grand scale - but I love that little bridge....! Your ipad/iPhone stuff is beyond me - how on earth you can do that - makes my head spin (so what's new....) I see you've tramway'd over some of your narrow gauge track ready for Ken to make some road deliveries..... :-)

Hi Chris, On The End of The Line, I took a latex mould from a sheet of Slaters (or some-such) stone work, which gave me a flexible mould to work with long term..... The long retaining wall was cast in light-weight hydrocal plaster (with a muslin reinforcement to the back) in panels, and then all joined together, and made good And the bridge abutments were Daz (with a little PVA mixed in) on ply formers, and then embossed with the same latex mould. I' m certainly not saying that this way is any better than any other - but it's different, and is another useful weapon in the armoury. A small bottle of latex came from HobbyCraft. The sheet of stone is surrounded by plasticsene (to make it leak-proof), and latex is poured in. After fifteen minutes, pour the latex out, and then let the skin harden properly, then pour in mour latex and repeat several times to build up a decent thickness. When dry, dust it down thoroughly with talcum powder before removing, or it will stick to itself , and likewise, talc the 'working' face for the same reason. You should then have a flexible mould for casting or embossing.

We had two Citroen ID's (like the DS, but with a single head light) and they were incredibly comfortable cars - way ahead of their time, excellent brakes etc, but like most cars of that time, died of rust........ I had a 2CV and 2 x Ami 8s, all of which were impressive for what they were, and learned how to get an engine out single handed in 45 minutes (purely out of necessity - clutches, so far as I can recall) Never had a Sinclair C5 though.....

On a tangent, this was the first family car that I remember (in the early '60's). It was a 1927 model, built as a shooting brake. We had it until I was about six, and then Dad swapped it for a pre-series I Landrover, as the timber body was starting to rot (and Dad was a pennyless curate at the time). I have very fond memories of it though, and even in The sixties, traffic used to stop to let us out at junctions out of turn etc... It was a lovely car.

Mark - I'm ashamed to say that I've only just now discovered this superb layout! I'm gutted I didn't spot it a year ago like everyone else....! Absolutely lovely - beautifully done, oozing character. Right up my street, and I can't wait to see it. I now have to go and buy a magazine...... I take my hat off to you.

Absolutely brilliant - you've certainly cracked it! And with a lovely amount of articulation on the front axle too! Excellent job!