Scalefour Forum

I quite surprised the chap in the local model shop when I virtually cleaned him out of his stock, about twelve packets, I think. He’d only just got them in, too. And I calculate I shall probably need more!

Philip

No need for N gauge rail joiners now, we have proper bullhead fishplates from Peco, which also hold the web of the rail, not just the bottom. The N gauge ones are half the price, though, so still useful for hidden areas.

Philip

Jeremy, I think I may have two of these to do at some point with the intention of retaining the Heljan chassis. A cursory inspection before the owner took them back told me that there are proper wheels and axles with a single gear set, unlike the crazy multi geared and split axles arrangements with ...

By chance I recently came across one of the first articles I ever wrote (Model Railway Constructor) getting on for forty years ago now which was how I had ‘improved’ the new Hornby Class 29. I did things like lowering it and removing the bonkers off-centre trailing bogie support which caused it to l...

I take your point Tim, but I am not a user of DCC and for reasons of expense alone am not likely to go down that road. I also have enough grief with computers and programming stuff not to want to try and understand DCC. I have used the odd flywheel with success, not for reasons of inertia, which is ...

A small lump of turned brass is an awful lot cheaper than a DCC system...

Philip

Geraint, Interesting thoughts, I agree completely about the possible effects of PVA on the top and bottom of the cork. Coincidentally, I was at the Southampton Show last weekend and saw some 3/16” cork sheet for sale. It was half as expensive again as 1/8”, but it did set me thinking. My baseboards ...

Dave, I am slightly less keen of using PVA for anything because it dries hard and can therefore remove any flexibility. Also my baseboards are Contiboard, so not quite so sure how well PVA will stick to the melamine surface, although I believe others have had no problems. Hence thinking of Evostik. ...

I've never built a King or Castle, I only have a couple of conversions to do, but I would think a High Level gearbox with a 40:1 ratio and a Mashima can motor that will fit would be the best option. There are so many High Level gearboxes now, so have a word with Chris Gibbon. He is very good and wil...

On 'Mellstock', I have given the question of sound deadening a great deal of thought before (hopefully!) deciding on the best solution. It is I think acknowledged that gluing the track down firmly is great for keeping it nice and level, but not so good for quiet running. Even worse when ballast is a...

Tony, truly amazing, superb trackwork. And I thought my storage yards were going to be almost too big - I am just having three loops each way and four very long sidings!

Philip

I think Gordon and Ivan’s replies reinforce my feeling that this is not a conversion for the faint hearted, being the classic case of ‘if it’s there you want to be, I wouldn’t start from here’. The best option here would be a new Comet chassis for engine and tender. However, the latest Hornby King i...

The permanent marker is often a good base for paint to avoid bright metal showing if paintbhas rubbed off. But, as you say, it too can run off! The one advantage of an etch marker pen is that it will readily blacken solder and is a precise way of blackening. The downside is the cost, around the £30 ...

You have to rinse to stop the blackening action, otherwise you will get a powdery finish. I often just use a cotton bud dipped in water to dab over something small. If you dab the area dry straight away I doubt whether the water will cause problems. Alternatively, use an etch marker pen and rinse as...

Martin, I have just looked at my iPhone SE (effectively a 6S in a 5 case) and on the camera screen at top right there is a ‘three circles’ icon; tapping that gives you various colour and lighting options. Mine is set to standard but maybe yours has got itself on warm or something like that? My wife ...

Another possibility would be to try and reduce the width of the Alan Gibson wheels, by taking off the tyres and filing the front carefully. Obviously how much depends on the thickness of the front of the recess in the tyre. I would not try this with the tyre in place because there would be no way of...

Martin, The corrected shot looks very like the final results after the MRJ session many years ago. You will recall that I hadn’t taken any thought of the differing light sources in your room, they turned out very brown/yellow and I had to correct them all afterwards. And then the uncorrected ones go...

Michael, No idea, sorry, I don’t have the engine now. The wheels were supplied with the engine, and I believe they were the standard Alan Gibson conversion pack. I have another set for my own one but they are 1/8” axles for a kit build I was going to do one day (until I got a set of Sharmans instead...

Picture of the EM one as promised. You can just see where I had the grief with the excess throw of the driving wheels, all splashers had to be widened inside and there wasn’t a lot left. On this engine I experimented with drilling the crankpin holes out and tapping 10BA for the Hornby crankpins. I s...

I’ve done one in EM and have one for myself in P4. I don’t think I’m going to do anything about the handrails, as they are not too bad from a distance and replacement will be fiddly. Two potential problems: 1. Clearance inside the splashers. I had to clear out space for EM wheels so P4 will be tight...

David, I would have few qualms about a new chassis (although I really wouldn’t want to do five!) I’ve built enough 14xx chassis over the years, mostly Comet, but it was having my doubts about these designs confirmed that was nice, although disappointing. I have seen other chassis to this kind of des...

As always, Dave, some beautiful stuff! Makes me think I should get out my half - finished Class 3 conversion. Please keep us up to date with developments, and work in progress would be good as well.

Philip

If there is something markedly wrong with the Accurascale model can you specify? Perhaps advise the manufacturer before they start production?

Philip

I once put Ultrascale wheels on an Airfix 14xx (I still have it) and fitted the full panoply of Riceworks bits, so that it did indeed look like a 14xx. The pickups were like brakes on the wheels, so I replaced them, but it still ran like a bag of nails, and the motor looked like it was the culprit. ...

The naval stuff I’m familiar with; a lot of ships had a tumble home above the belting and flare (particularly at the bow) below. The preserved motor ship, Balmoral, sadly laid up right now in Bristol, is a classic example. Now I know you shouldn’t take Wikipedia as concrete evidence, but that says t...