Dorset Group Meeting Saturday 21st April 2012.

Important Announcement
Having lost our regular meeting place recently, we have been busy trying to find alternative venues.
This has meant a lot of work by the group's committee but this has resulted in what we think is an ideal solution.
Because of our being a small group and all other possibilities being outside our finances, it is proposed to have the inaugural meeting at the venue detailed below.
This meeting will be attended by Tom Rayer-The Weatherman who is going to hold a hands on demonstration of his methods of weathering.
This invitation is extended to modellers in all scales as many of the methods used are not gauge specific and if this is successful we intend to start a Railway Modellers Club details of which will be announced at the meeting.
There will be a small charge, if anyone would like to announce their intentions to attend this will enable me to be more specific!
All interested modellers are invited to The Pullman Coach, Avon Causeway Hotel, Hurn Railway Station-Nr Christchurch , Dorset, BH23 6AS. The session starts at 1pm sharp.
If you would like to attend, please contact me and I will have a list of materials that are suggested as a starting point.
Modelling in a Railway Carriage (Mk 1 Pullman ) at a Railway Station with a pub next door doesn't get better than this!

Dorset's other Blog.

 In case some are not aware, the sister blog is at-http://3mmscalestocklist.blogspot.com/
Some photos of the main buildings that have been constructed are shown here. For a more in depth description on how it has all been done-click the link above.
I am pleased with the finished buildings and hope the subsequent models follow in the same vein.

Regular updates are made as the date for Teignford's debut gets closer.

What can you buy for 20 pence?

This- a pipette. I bought this at Swindon the other day and have just used it to apply some dilute PVA to some ballast and thought I would give this a try rather than my usual eyedropper. This works well, very well!
Available from a very nice man at Westons Railways, Wroughton, phone 07974 777204, I also purchased some sky backscene and a couple of bits and pieces at reasonable cost.
But the bargain had to be the Pipette-Highly Recommended and Only 20 pence!

Hennock

 Browsing through an SD card the other day I came across these pictures which I think haven't been shown before, the variation in rolling stock may be of interest.
From top to bottom:-
Busy goods yard- note different size milk tanks.

Pannier with freshly painted BR Brake van.It is correct that some lettering on these Brakes did have Black backing.

60ft Collett cascaded from main line duties to branch line use.

Motor vehicles on station forecourt-available from Finney and Smith

Another Pagoda!

This started life as a 4mm model. I am not sure of it's origin but judging by the type of plastic it is made of - it's not young!
The material used was very brittle and the walls cracked whilst being altered to 3mm. The roof is not right. all other huts of this type have reduced well but this one's roof is, well, wrong.
Still, at a distance it stands up OK and, as it was given to me- I am satisfied.
Any info regarding it's parentage would be welcomed.

Who makes these?

This row of, what I have been told are vines, were picked up at the recent Swindon Show.
I think they will make excellent small shrubs. With a bit more foliage material they will be ready to plonk wherever the mood takes me.
Proof that modelling doesn't have to take all day!
Answer -Noch so I have been informed.

A Summers Day.

Who says the sun only shines on the righteous?
A 3mm Pannier Tank basks in sunshine through a break in the clouds.
Taking a water break at the end of the platform at Hennock 57XX pannier shines in the brief sunshine.

Swindon Exhibition 2012.

 When I am at an exhibition I always look for ideas to pinch or something really catches my eye.
I have a soft spot for Irish Railways, my other half is from that fair Isle. Her home town has a long closed railway station and a long time ago I took some photos before the inevitable happened and it was redeveloped. However, it is still very easy to follow the route of this long closed branch and a lot of the infrastructure still exists.
I digress, this layout , Valencia Harbour by Andy Cundick, captures perfectly the bleakness of many Irish branch lines and also uses my much favoured Worsley Works products. One of the locos is a widened gauge Hornby Jinty.

 The other layout that caught my imagination is Wood Street in O Gauge by Swindon MRC.
This well thought out industrial siding captures real atmosphere and demonstrates that the same amount of room needed for O gauge can be fitted into an OO gauge space.
Thanks to the Swindon Club for an excellent show with a tasty Ploughmans Lunch and the coffee was also excellent.

Work! Work! Work!

S*d it! OK so I work in a mess- it just so happens that I need many things to work on my current project. It always amazes me that so much is needed at the same time. When testing Teignford, the buildings were placed on the layout. There was also the need for another controller to test the goods yard.
Tools such as screwdrivers, side cutters, knives and glue all are used at this stage.
I make no excuses but if we were all honest, this is the way all of our layouts have looked at some time.

Group Meeting Exhibitionism!

 I make no excuses for this set of photo's!
This is my latest layout-Teignford-and shows the progress made so far and the start of the scenic additions.
I am a firm believer in using the most cost effective materials available to me. Our local art shop has a box of offcuts. These comprise the best quality art mounting board-Daler. They are the the bits that are surplus to framing.
The material is very stable- Hennock is over six years old and uses this material for it's buildings and scenery foundations.

All you see here is based on mounting card, many different materials have been used to create the covering of the buildings and platforms. Incidentially the platform surfaces are very fine grade Wet and Dry paper as available from your local car accessory shop. You can alter the surface by simply rubbing your finger across .
It is all part of the fun of Railway Modelling to find useful materials and need not involve too much Chequebook or Credit Card use.
For more details of Teignford see-http://3mmscalestocklist.blogspot.com

Hennock-Best Layout in Exhibition! Official.

 Sometimes you are lost for words- well I was today!
Hennock was voted Best in Show at the Swindon Exhibition by the host club members. This is a particularly appreciated award by fellow modellers.
And-What a cup-inscribed

Swindon Model Railway Club

John Wood MBE

Memorial Cup

Best Layout in Exhibition.

To say I was chuffed would be an understatement, my first award for a model railway and an appreciation of what can be achieved in 3mm Scale.

My thanks to my colleague Nigel Cullimore, I couldn't have achived this without his help and for that I am extremely grateful.

Bring a cup from now on!

Zvezda 1:100 Truck

 At Swindon Model Railway Exhibition Today.

You may remember that one of our group members, Robert, took it upon himself to open out the windows in one of thes kits.
He has now completed the build and I took the opportunity to picture the finished article at the loading bay on Teignford.
It is a vast improvement on my efforts and I think the  work this has taken shows the possibilities that are possible in 3MM scale.
An excellent piece of modelling!

Swindon Model Railway Exhibition.

Hennock is off on it's travels again. Tomorrow see's us at Gorse Hill Baptist Church, Cricklade Road, Gorse Hill, Swindon.
Open from 10am until 5pm, there appears to be a good selection of exhibits plus local trade support.
Say hello to us if you visit- we are always ready to discuss all things 3mm.
P.S. New post on Teignford today.

Last Meeting.

 This post describes the last meeting at our regular home. Due to the impending redundancy of the school caretaker we will not have access to the hall and so with much regret, this will be the final set of pictures in our home of some six odd years.
it is perhaps fitting that these pictures record the mainstay of our Group. From left to right Robert, Dave (aka Ginger),Nigel and yours truly, the culprit for all these posts.
In a twist of fate, my new layout got its first away day and was set out as it will be exhibited. Bar one small fault, a broken wire, it all worked as planned and the pictures show the first train to arrive at Teignford.
I was somewhat sceptical about the haulage capacity
of the Prairie Tank but my fears were unfounded- she pulled all that was asked of her- etched brass kits by Worsley Works which some website contributors would have you thinking that this was not possible!
The whole layout is now functional and will apear at Wilton in May.
There is still a lot to do but the work carried out so far has been met with approval and is due to the encouragement and help of members of our group.
By necessity there will be some changes, and therefore group announcements will be made on this site and the 3mm Society Newsletter.
We may be homeless but the group will not die!

More Wagon Loads.

This Pipe wagon from Parkside is one of the ones weathered by Tom Rayer at Westfest last year.
The load is a resin casting one finds in anonymous bags at Model Railway Exhibitions.
Suitably cut to length, this one actually has some packing beneath to make the pipes secure and not get damaged in transit.
It can be interesting to find items which, although not specifically made for our scale can be suitably adapted- Pipes came in all shapes and sizes after all.
Don't forget, that to add a bit of perspective to your layout, place larger items at the front and grade by size the deeper into your layout you get.

End of an era!

Well great sadness as we have lost our regular meeting place.
Due to todays need to save money, our hosts have decided that they no longer need an on site presence and so access will no longer be possible. The local Community Centre is quoting a price quite beyond the means of a small group such as us, so much good modelling time will have to be wasted contacting some likely premises that would be suitable.
I am from an era where there was always a local hall that had activities going on most days a week, but all that seems to have gone now and I think that is a crying shame. When we see the news programmes extolling the success of an area through community work, I wonder where do they meet, and at what cost?
One comment that rears it's ugly head is that of insurance. Surely the risk of a few chaps meeting with 12 volt equipment is not that much of a risk. I also have an interest in Stationary Engines. Mine, a Bamford EG 1.5HP has twin flywheels and to take it to shows costs me the princely sum of £15 per annum- oh and I can have Three on this policy. Bear in mind that if a flywheel comes loose it will stop when it wants, nothing I can do would stop it.
Conversely, my model railway would cost six times this sum - with the same liability! Anyone been seriously injured by a 3mm model railway before? I thought not!
Anyway I am grateful for our hosts for several years as a meeting place and once as an exhibition hall but will be sad as we close the doors for the last time.
Anyone have a meeting room at small cost in the South East Dorset area? If you do then let me know- Rant Over.

Pagoda Hut

This is a wills product that has been cut down. I had thought of reducing it in the same way as the one on Hennock.
However, I have been looking through many books for inspiration for Teignford and I came across the Goods Recieving Office at Minehead. This Pagoda Hut was much larger than those normally seen so this model just had the sides adjusted for a scale height for 3mm.
Easily put together in a few minutes all that needs doing is to undercoat and then detail in corporate colours.
Just the job for a few idle moments.

Dorset Group Meeting

There will be a meeting on Saturday 3rd March at our usual meeting place.
However, this is probably our last at this venue so we will have to discuss alternatives.
Please ring me if any query- number in 3mm Newsletter.
Bring a mug!