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

On the 1st June 1969 the Catalan Talgo Trans Europe Express commenced operation. The service ran from Barcelona in Spain through to Geneva in Switzerland. We would recommend against any attempts at modelling this due to the intermediate stop taken at Portbou on the French Spanish border where the train's wheelsets were substituted to accommodate a change in track gauge. Not easy to do in 00! 

Neil Sutton sent us pictures of buildings he made. They are scratch built black and white buildings all made from card in 00 scale not built to any specific plans. The other pictures  is of a refurbishment he did on a Gauge 1 signal box for a garden railway. The original structure was a wooden shell which was attacked by woodworm. He rebuilt with Plastikard and only the original roof and windows were reused. Click on the pictures to see them in bigger size and see an extra picture of the G scale building.

This week we are turning our attention to N gauge farm scenes. There are lots of models out there to help you produce your dioramas and cameo scenes. We have been digging deep to show you some of the excellent, more unusual and lesser-known features down on the farm. A lot of N gauge figures and animals require painting but here we have demonstrated some that are ready to go with beautifully painted finishes.

Featured below is a Woodland Scenics pack of 12 Yorkshire "oinkers" (pigs to you and me) including sows, feeders and piglets, also featured is a Woodland Scenics pack of "busy farmyard animals" including geese, rabbits and more pigs! we also found some Hereford cows by Faller, this pack not only includes 7 beautifully turned out cows going about their business but also a less expected surprise in the form of 4 cow pats!

Woodland Scenics, Faller and Graham Farish have all risen to the challenge of producing quality painted figures for an N gauge farm scene, here we have featured some packs of farmworkers including one with two children playing with a goose whilst the adults are hard at work, a six-pack of farmers doing traditional jobs and another depicting a modern-day farming scene.

Staying with our farming theme Gaugemaster have produced a farmhouse kit. For bigger farms they do a bumper pack including the farmhouse, stable block, cowshed and a barn. They come in moulded coloured plastic so they can be glued together and placed directly onto the layout. Alternatively, you could weather or repaint them altogether.

A farm wouldn't be a farm without fields. Busch has come up with a very convincing ready to go freshly ploughed field made from card. The N gauge version comes in a 480x280mm plot and looks fantastic. To separate the fields you could try using Jarvis's flexible hedging that comes in packs of 4ft lengths and are very good value for money or their traditional drywalling that comes in resin sections. These are available in various colours and depict varying states of decay and upkeep.

Finally, we feature an unpainted double tractor set by Langley. It includes two tractors, one pulling a hay tedder and the other a grain collector allowing you to depict reaping and winnowing in your farm scene.