News from your model shop - Unusual card kits

Hello

We are happy to report that the UK Model Shops website has now reopen. The design is totally different but it still offers all the model shops, suppliers, clubs and events in the country. 

Can we point out the fact that there are nearly 800 clubs, more than 900 shops and suppliers, and nearly 500 events listed on this website? As comparison, there are about 1500 garden centres in the UK. Next time someone tells you our hobby is on life support, you can correct them!

Anyway, if you have not done so yet, have a look at the new UK Model Shops website. You may find the next exhibition to attend or the local club you wanted join. Click on the picture to visit the site.

And as you can never have too many sources of information, we now have in stock the latest Railway Modeller.  Get it with your next order from the website or from our shop in Sandown. This is a great way of supporting us. Click on the picture for more details including a list of the content:

Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips and unboxing videos located at the bottom of the newsletter.

Most images in this newsletter are clickable for more details.

Feel free to send this newsletter to your friends, family and club members if you think they will benefit from it. They can subscribe for free.

There's something rather special about giving a second-hand model a new home, isn't there? Whether you're after a bargain, seeking a discontinued item or simply enjoy the character that comes with a previously loved model, the pre-owned market offers tremendous opportunities. Take this Lima Class 47 'Freightliner Bulk' in OO gauge, for instance. It's in reasonable condition with minimal wear, has been fully serviced, and runs beautifully in both directions. If you fancy something from across the pond, this Broadway EMD SW7 in AT&SF livery (HO gauge) comes complete with DCC sound, and three matching box wagons. For those modelling the steam era, the Bachmann Class D11 "Edie Ochiltree" in OO gauge is in exceptional condition, DCC fitted and comes complete with its original box and paperwork. 

When we first conceive our layouts we are never short of ideas. In fact, the opposite is usually the case and we have glorious visions of grand mainline stations, complicated junctions and branch-lines galore sprouting off in all directions, but alas, budget, space and the significant other ("the boss") usually bring us gently back to reality, and then we get started.

The problem isn't usually with the initial build, there are plenty of stations, engine sheds and buildings to keep you and a pot of glue occupied for hours, but, knowing what models are out there to make a layout stand out and be different is not so easy and comes down to either a lot of rummaging through a model shop's inventory (which admittedly is lots of fun) or a good old fashioned flick through the pages of a model railway magazine.

In the meantime to give you a spot of inspiration, here are just a few of the more unusual ideas for 00 gauge card-kit models that might help you to think of a diorama or scene to fill or develop an empty corner or space on your layout including: some market stalls that would bring a town square to life, picnic tables complete with umbrellas for an ice-cream-kiosk or pub garden, a shopping-arcade roof that will completely alter the look of a high-street, some show jumps to give purpose or show activity to an otherwise empty field, a pill box that would look great surrounded by some particularly unkept foliage and our favourite which is a versatile, multi-purpose depot building that can be used as a workshop, aircraft hanger, bus depot, fire station or just about any large building you can think of!

 

 

  

If you are modelling in N gauge, the size of your models may be smaller but the dilemmas are just as big. Here are some inspiring and unusual N gauge examples of cardboard-kits including: a Nissen hut which was a quick-fix dual-purpose building designed in WW1 and heavily used during WW2, nowadays, they can be found repurposed as workshops on many farms, also shown is a pavilion portraying a wooden building that can be found on many village cricket fields and some market stalls to enhance a town square.

 

Meanwhile constructed from plastic, there are some great model kits that you wouldn't see everyday including: a great portrayal of a large factory building, a weighbridge hut and a builders/coal merchant that could be found close to the railway in the days of steam.

 

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You can access all the unboxing videos by visiting this page or simply click on the link called "videos" on our website.