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

It has been nice to receive some good news this week. The Great Western Railway is going to name two of its trains after West Country veterans to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Harry Billinge MBE from Cornwall and Cpl George Sheard from Plymouth will have their names emblazoned on the front of the trains.

And even more good news: Laurie Calvert has sent us pictures of his latest project. You may remember Laurie from his Steampunk layout "Cato Pass" or from his appearance on Channel 5's the Great Model Railway Challenge. Well, his latest work is based on The Thunderbirds. Here are a few pictures. Click on any of them to see all of pictures in full size.





Modelling rivers, streams, canals, lakes, waterfalls or even the sea on a layout can seem daunting, so daunting in fact that many modellers are reluctant to feature them, which is a shame because they look fantastic and thanks to modern products it is as easy as modelling a grass hill, if not easier!

A lot of modellers believe that installing such water features will involve the management of litres of liquid all in one go. In reality, this could not be further from the truth.

Woodland Scenics have created a range of products designed to create water features of all kinds from motionless or stagnant canals, ponds and lakes to raging rivers, waterfalls or the sea. The range consists of relatively fast setting thick liquids and gels of varying tints, colours and consistencies that can be applied in layers to build up a water feature.

The first step is to create a riverbed, this is done using a water undercoat. They come in many different colours to replicate silt, sandy, muddy or deep waters. At this stage, you can also add some detail such as small rocks, boulders or reeds for added effect.

The second step is to add the main body of water called deep pour water. Again there is a choice of clear or coloured tints to give the impression of different kinds of water features. These are applied in very thin layers a few millimetres thick before leaving the finished water overnight to cure.

If creating the flat water surface of a canal or pond then there is no need to add any further layers. However, if you are making a river or the sea then you can apply a final layer of water ripples or water waves which come in a sculptable gel. These topped with some water highlight will give a very realistic representation of wave crests or rapids.

Check the videos on each product page to discover how easy it is to use the products.

Below we have featured one of the many available colours of water undercoats, a deep pour water, some water ripple and some water waves. Also featured is some very convincing self adhesive riverbank foliage by Gamers Grass and some riverbed pebbles from Busch.

In the good old days creating hills, embankments and railway cuttings involved lots of newspaper, wallpaper paste and a couple of tons of chicken wire. Well not any more!

Products such as plaster cloth have negated the process of spending days waiting for papier mache to dry, only to find that the shell falls apart at the first opportunity!

In addition to plaster cloth there is a now product available that makes the most amazing rock formations for your railway cuttings and cliff faces, it is incredibly hard and lightweight too and its name is Hydrocal.

Hydrocal is a form of plaster, but it dries quicker, is a lot lighter and once dry is a lot tougher than conventional plaster. There are numerous moulds available to use with Hydrocal to fashion rock formations and outcrops of all kinds that when painted give truly amazing effects.

A light coating of Hydrocal can also be used to strengthen any previously installed hills that could do with additional rigidity saving you time ripping out old structures and replacing them with new ones.

Hydrocal is easy to use by simply mixing the powder with water and pasting it onto your hill or pouring it into a mould.

Below we have demonstrated just some of the brilliant moulds that can be used over and over again to create as many rock formations as you want.

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