News from your model shop - 30th of August 2020

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

Chris Hook sent us pictures of his layout. He explained:

"I am now 83 years of age and earlier this year unpacked my R541 GWR Freight Hornby Dublo railway which has been stored untouched in boxes for over 45 years and 7 house moves. I have set it up on a 6' x 4' board on the dining room table (no more Christmas dinners!) and expanded the track within the limits available, which unfortunately restricts me to mainly first radius curves (would have loved the new GWR 2-6-2 Tank), and I have added more rolling stock. I have never built a model in my life before this year but loved making all the new buildings, it's so easy!" To see the pictures in full size and read more from Chris, click on the pictures.

 

 

This week in history - On the 5th of September 1941 the first 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam locomotive was delivered to the Union Pacific Railroad company at Omaha in the U.S. A word to the wise - If you are modelling this locomotive it is probably best to avoid radius 1 curves!

 

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.

 

 We keep on adding modelling tips to our website. Here are the latest ones:

• Why does my train keep derailing?
• What height should my model layout be?
• Is Graham Farish track compatible with Peco N gauge track?
• Can I reset my DCC decoder to factory settings?
• Can I operate two point motors with the same switch?