Saturday Film Club: Let's look at a Black Five

The latest in the "Curator with a camera" series, looks at the ubiquitous LMS "Black Five" locomotive.

Not painting

 

Sunday afternoon, down to the model railway club to help out on the work there. For the last few weeks, the jobs for unskilled idiots involved putting paint on the walls or ceiling. 

Not this week, it's all about preparing the floor for paint, which means hours of scraping, and then sanding to get the blobs of paint and plaster off the chipboard. 

Why can't we use a machine? It seems the chipboard floor surface isn't that tough, and a sander would eat through it, so hand sanding it is then. To be honest, it's a hateful job, but essential, so we just have to get on with it.

My arms hurt.

Water, signal levers, wagon loads and a photo plank in the May issue of BRM magazine

 

When I'm exhibiting, the area that seems to interest most people is how I made the water on my micro layout. Well, wonder no more, there's a tutorial in the latest issue of BRM. 

I've painted and fitted out the Intentio Models signal box I started a couple of months ago. The brickwork is some of the best I've ever managed, I look at the model and can't quite believe I did it!

A simpler project is filling a wagon with coal, using a Peco kit. The sort of thing anyone could do, and an easy starter fro a newbie. 

Over on BRM TV, I build a 009 photo plank. This one was fun, as I planned it while hardly able to speak thanks to an ulcer on my tongue! By the time I filmed it, this had got better, but for the fun of it, I've still make the video without speaking. 

Update: I forgot, the camera has been out again to bring you some cracking layouts. 

In N gauge, Chieftain Place. 

And in S gauge, Trowland.

Warehouse Wednesday: York's mystery road tracks

I don't know. It's just that while strolling around York before breakfast, I noticed that there are stones laid along the roads. They are about four and a half feet apart, and presumably there to stop carts creating ruts in the roads. 

I know no more, and I can't even work out where to go looking, so I toss this out to you lot for ideas. 

Ivor's splashers part 1

 

"Hmmm. That's not right", I thought as I tacked the first one of Ivor's spalshers in place. The footplate, not a strong structure at this stage. After some head-scratching, I realised that I'd miss-read the instruction about a half-setch line at the back of the piece. I doesn't line up with the cab floor, but something else exciting, yet to come. 

A bit of desoldering, which is why I tack things together to check the fit, and all is now OK. I just need to fit the other side.