Friday Update: Sixteen Five Twenty-five…

A funny old week and one that was harder to start after a lovely relaxing weekend in Bath. Mostly sunshine and lots of variety, some personal projects as well as new commissions, a bumper update so grab yourself a drink and I’ll begin… 

I've known Alan at Modelu for many years and always make the time to have a chat whenever our paths cross at shows and exhibitions - but this week a deliberate visit to see him, the office and his team.

I had a the layouts with me from the weekend so it was an opportunity to share them again - and especially since Gerald Road is inspired by the location of Modelu's first Bristol studio along the old Avonside Wharf - a real muse of Alan, who enjoyed gazing at its possibilities (above). We drank coffee, got excited about old books and talked about ideas for future projects...

One thing I wanted to do was get a scan (or two) done and the collection below are the first results - this 'back packing' figure is for the Lochdubh project - as if I'm going on a Scottish adventure! The best news, these should be available in the main range, advertised as me but also in the relevant section, in June - so you can all have a 'mini me' on your layouts or projects...

We did so some other scans, I'll share those next week as they are for a different project. Thanks of for the hospitality and enthusiasm Alan.

In the corner of the studio was an O gauge Dapol 153... in for doing a crew pack design! I wondered just how large it was, so here, you can see that it won't fit on Wrecsam Canolog! That said, imagine a closely cropped end of line scene, you could definitely fit the scenic section in 1m (an IKEA Lack) with a loco sized fiddle stick (although, with the weight, it would need to be robust!).

That puts me in mind of the Bristol Temple Meads scheme - but also, an enlarged Wrecsam. However, perhaps modelling just the very end of the Cambrian at Pwllheli might suit? Loads of possibilities with this wonderful gate way model.

Last year I was a member of the N gauge society so I could take advantage of my membership to source several of their kits. I built 4 chemical tank wagons as well as modifying one of the ferry vans. This year I have joined the 2mm Association for the same reason. I needed some 21T coal wagons for the Burry Port and Gwendreath 03s and they offer some neat plastic mouldings. I picked up 3 MDOs and 2 HTO bodies - and rather than mess around with etched chassis I took the easy option and sourced some from Dapol! 

You can see here the first test assemblies mocked up along with a Farish 16T MCO (above) and some of the start of the detail going on to the HTO (below). These 5 wagons should bring my train of coal up to a respectable length for a pair of 03s - it will be fun taking these through the printshop in due course.

A few months ago a surprise parcel arrived when I was in a bit of a funk - with two Chivers N gauge kits. The ex-Fish van is in my departmental fleet but the OCA was a little 'surplus' to requirements so I posted it back to the kind soul who sent the kits in the first place! He is currently building some OTA and has an 08 but these are his first N gauge items, so I figured a 'finished' piece might encourage some further experimentation with the scale. 

The return of Frosted Ultra Detail? There is a new option at Shapeways - the same resolution as the tan material, but in a 'crystal clear' which is actually a little yellow (and more so once cleaned and degreased in white spirit). This is a prototype for a kit I never released - a traditional Porter in OO (not HOn-30) to fit on the Bachmann Percy - let me know if you'd like one - the material seems ok, but probably not worth the small price increase over the tan material I've been using in kits for sometime now. Talking of kits - there are new thoughts on that at the end of this update...

First though, some commission work! I have a rake of Talyllyn stock and a Dolgoch (not pictured) in 009 on the bench again. These are being finished in a preserved 'current' livery, always good fun working on this stuff, and I'm familiar with the various ways of modelling this stuff so if you've got a desire to create something similar but need a little help with the physical modelling then get in touch and lets see if I can help... 

The GWR 2-10-2T is looking much more presentable now in primer - and rivetting stuff, I've added some Rail-tec resin rivets to the tank sides and replaced some I had damaged on the bunker and cab sides. These water slide decals are similar but better than those produced by Arch many years ago - and I would happily recommend them. Getting the pitch and rivet size right was a bit of guesswork, but these look acceptable to my eye. Next up on this behemoth is the chassis - smoothing the cylinder extension and fitting the motor and pickups whilst I wait for the etched plates, transfers and paint to arrive.

Lets us wrap up this bumper update with thoughts on a new kit... many many years ago Steve and I developed the Llanfyllin and Llangynog Light Railway and commissioned Peco to do us the GVT coach in a GWR livery. I developed a route and history as well as a Beyer-Peacock (ish) locomotive that used the Minitrains F&C chassis. With developments in 009 it seems appropriate to re-visit this whimsey and ponder if we should do a more modern update? We'd always planned to get some rolling stock commissioned in GWR liveries... but what about a new kit?

This is a Kerr, Stuart (well, we did do the Victory) 'ish' 0-4-2t. It is sized similarly to the original Beyer Peacock 'ish' but has a slightly larger boiler. Think a 'shrunk' Joan in general appearance and much lower riding on our 2'3" gauge track...

What do you think? Should we consider taking this further?

The weekend beckons - but I made as tart on cutting the grass last night so there isn't quite so much to do and I can perhaps enjoy some trains and some thinking time. I picked up a few new books from Simon last weekend and I'm itching to do some drawing up of ideas - I just need to avoid spending any money on locomotives for unbuilt and brand new ideas! Next Friday will see me heading down to Aylesbury to help Paul Marshall-Potter at Rail-ex so I might push on with the U23B too, as it would be neat to have something new to run on his layout, but if not there are plenty of models in my collection that would suit the setting. However, I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself for today I am working through the closing stages of another layout design commission - which I will look forward to sharing soon. For now, wherever you are, have a relaxing time, I hope you find a moment with your hobby. More soon...

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