Finally summer feels around the corner. Regular double figures, blue skies and plenty of lush greenery, a beautiful time in the valley. Grab yourself a comfortable seat and some refreshments and join me for the regular round-up of another week in the workshop... Last weekend I cycled down to Carrog and caught this shot of the railways 3802 approaching the station from across the river. Sadly not quite as 'open' here as I thought it might be, so a bit of a fail, but it was a lovely way to spend an hour, and the river really is nearly as good as having the sea on your doorstep. What is intere ..read more

It started last month, that gentle nudge, the rediscovery of the heart of my N gauge adventure. Scottish Speedlink. Some familiar books, old friends if you will, reminded me of Cameron Bridge. The rest of this post is the result… These distinctive white tank wagons look like nothing else, they are so distinctively associated with Distillers, but how to model a pair in N? Helpfully all 3 sizes are available as 3D prints from a trader on Shapeways.  A pair were duly ordered alongside some parts for future Light Railway Stores / Narrow Planet re-stocks. Those familiar with Shapeways wil ..read more

One foot in front of another and the mind calms. The hardest part was putting the shoes on and leavin pg the house, now I’m on the way it’s as if my troubles begin to neatly order themselves and I my head is quiet… It is no miracle cure, those same troubles and worries haven’t disappeared. The headspace helps though, sometimes just a break from it, others a chance to let the conscious mind work things through, releasing the pressure just a touch. Turned out nice again. I walked down to the park on Monday to watch the last train of the day, hauled by 31271 (sounding superb in the valley ..read more

I have been pleasantly surprised with the level of interest in the Compendium, and it is now finished and ready to send to the printer… I will be pressing the button tomorrow evening, so if you haven’t let me know you’d like a copy now is your last chance, as once it is done, that is it. No more copies… another may follow, but that will be new and different. This will always be the first, it may be the only… 40 pages, portrait format, perfect bound.  A collection of short reflections, collected and choreographed for you (and I) to enjoy, unplugged. How do you get one? You get in touc ..read more

The procession of smaller commissions crossing the bench continues, mind this six wagon batch isn’t quite as small as some. Six lovely Accurascale MDOs here for bringing to life… These six wagons have been individually weathered based upon prototype photographs. Paul Bartlett’s website is a wonderful resource for this as in my experience no two minerals are alike, and although I could make up the patterns it seems easier to work from a reference. Using Humbrol 98, 33 and 133 I build up the patterns, washes and detail painting. A wide flat brush helps with streaking (but do make sure it’s ve ..read more

Whilst I had somewhat fallen under the spell of the greys and browns that formed the landscape on the layout, it couldn't last forever. No matter, an opportunity to try out some other ideas for colour and palette on Kohlenbach Brücke Werks... So over the weekend I stripped off the removable structures and took the lid off, peeling away the layers of modelling to make it easier to apply the green stuff... not just any green stuff but some Mini-natur grasses I have had in stock since the beginning of this blog!! So out came summer green in 4mm - mixed a little with WSS 2mm European green - an ..read more

When Chris's magazine 'one' dropped on the doormat a few weeks ago it was a wonderful surprise. Packed full of his personal emotional and creative content I enjoyed poring over it's pages - but it has rather wonderfully created an energy for me to respond in kind... Chris's gentle encouragement demonstrated the art of the possible. How many of us bemoan the lack of a magazine for our interests, how we wish Railway Modeller or Model Railroader would do x, y and z. Here, instead, was a gentle nudge - we can create these things ourselves! So 'Compendium' was born. My effort, a collection of s ..read more

I would say that my interest in Polish narrow gauge can be traced back to my rebirth to narrow gauge modelling, thanks to Tim, about 10 years ago. Of course the seeds were planted much earlier, with the general attraction to European narrow gauge models depicted in the LGB range, but we’ve talked about that previously… In the years since energy levels for the subject may have waxed and waned but that hasn’t stopped a small collection of 009 and one or two special interest books. I’ve lost count of the times I have promised myself to build them a home, despite good intentions I’ve never even ..read more

I swear someone has hit fast forward, how can it be Friday again already! If you’ve not gone one already, now is the time to make a hot drink (a good strong coffee for me please) and if you’re feeling like a treat, a biscuit too - let me gently guide you through another week here in the workshop… We’ll move off with a return to 009, narrow gauge and the top right hand corner of Wales. This pair of brake coaches have been shown here before but are edging ever closer to completion. Representing Van 10 of the FR (Dundas kit) and the Pickering brake (Robex - Shapeways) on the WHR they have been ..read more

Over the past few weeks I've created and curated a few 'mindful' videos on my YouTube video channel. This continues to grow slowly, I'm always surprised how few people who watch there, don't read here - but alas, I guess it's a different format entirely... I prefer the written word, the soft reflection and editing of what it contains and how I can illustrate it at my own pace with photos of my choice - video I find to be a lot harder to choreograph and control in that way. I'm lucky enough to say that I do get a small amount of £££ from the advertising on YouTube now - which echoes the 'Donat ..read more