A Scandanavian viewpoint

I normally dislike people that spend time doing little more than posting links to spurious "news" articles online and YouTube clips of kittens in cardboard tubes.  But in this case I chanced across something railway orientated that I felt merited sharing, particularly if you have an interest in continental prototypes.

Reading the Financial Times each day, there is actually a surprising variety of articles on different subjects.  One that caught my eye was a story of how an airline is showing a video of a train journey to lull passengers to sleep.

Link to FT article

As it's shot from the driver's cab, it makes really good viewing to see the railway infrastructure and some spectacular scenery.  The video appears to be available in full, but split down into manageable chunks for download, on YouTube. 

Link to YouTube

Finally, once I re-read the article title, it did click with me that this was the perfect headline for a journey to a Biscuit Factory ;-)

Cheers
Flymo

Only shunting planks

That's a comment, or perhaps an implied criticism, that is often thrown at P4 modelling.  Usually by someone that actually isn't a finescale modeller, because it suits their prejudices that larger layouts in 18.83mm gauge can't be made to work properly.

Well, at the Scalefour Society's AGM last Saturday, there was another layout that I hadn't seen before but is yet more proof that these statements are nothing more than myth.  A model of Wadhurst station and its surroundings was on display.  Not in a final form for exhibition, but close to it, and an excellent demonstration of high quality modelling.  It's in roundy-roundy form, and enables locomotives to really stretch their legs.

This video clip is of Society Treasurer Chris Mitton's ex-Great Eastern E4 2-4-0 locomotive running along the front scenic section, through the station.

This is also a prime example that not all locomotives in P4 are little shunting tanks - even if that is the type that appeals to me!  I have two of these locomotives to build, from kits by Alan Gibson, and if they turn out to run anything as smoothly as Chris's, I'll be very pleased indeed.

More pictures of the AGM, and Wadhurst, can be found on the Society's Facebook page at AGM on Facebook

Cheers
Flymo

Must Do Better!

Where has the time gone?

I've been up to lots of bits and pieces over the last few months, but very few of them have made it onto this blog...  As I mentioned earlier in the year, I'm making a determined effort to finish off a number of projects that I started in parallel.

The Coffee Pot is one, and the last post, back in May, covered the finishing of the "out of Shops" modelling of this.  The next step is to complete the weathering of it, and put it to one side as Finally Finished.

It was an absolute pleasure to see Paul Tasker of Prickley Pear (discussion on the Scalefour Forum here) who apart from his lovely range of esoteric kits, also had with him his own Coffee Pot and we could compare the models side by side.  His is truly lovely, and makes me realise that I need to make mine look much more careworn.  So that is a challenge.

Also I've been quietly beavering away in the background on the 5522 Models range.  

I acquired the artwork, masters and instructions over a year ago now.  At that point in time, I was cash-rich, time-poor.  Since then, a period of unemployment and a new (and very enjoyable) job means that I've changed relatively to being cash-poor(er) and time-rich(er).  So I've been doing bits and pieces.

This morning I was cutting sprues at 5.45am on a new mould that I've made for castings.

 

More on castings at a future date...

Anyway, I'll be trying harder to keep up to date!

Cheers

Flymo