Model Railway Scenery News…

Good Morning <<First Name>>,Morning all! Who’s ready for Spring then? This winter lark’s getting a bit long in the tooth now… I know it’s not particularly cold but I’m really looking forward to some warmer days now. We noticed there’s a few green shoots appearing on some of the ash trees over on the old railway line the other day, so I guess it’s on its way.

How’s your week been? Tina and I have been busy getting wedding stuff sorted here as well as cracking on with lots of projects at work. I’ve managed to find suits now for myself, the best man & the two dads. Thought it would take longer than it did but we got it all sorted in a week. We’re not going for penguin suits… We’ve gone for a nice modern style light grey suit, off the peg and I think we should look nice and smart. Just need the ladies to get organised now. I think we might be popping into Leicester this afternoon actually to have a look at the options for bridesmaids in Debenhams and John Lewis…

Work wise, we’ve been rather busy as always getting your orders out (on time mostly). We’ve been a bit behind with some of the lighting kits we launched last week unfortunately. Sorry folks. Both the new light bars and the wall mounted floodlights sold better than expected and within hours we were sold out of stock and on backorder status… So Adam’s been working his socks off to get the backorders fulfilled and we’re about there now. So apologies for the delay on those. We’re hoping to build stocks back up over the coming week.

We’ve also had a couple of successes too! I’m please to report after several hours continuous running on the rolling road (they’re brilliant things those as you can set a loco running and just leave it with minimal intervention needed), and the complete rebuild of the pickup bogie and adjustment of the pickups, the class 66 is now capable of making it from one end of the layout to the other. There’s still some tweaking needed though. And thank you for all your suggestions for things to try! I’ve had over 50 emails this week all with suggestions for adjustments and things to check on the loco! So I’m going to work though them and see how we get on; from checking the wheel back to backs, to point cleaning and loads of other things. So a massive thank you to each and every one of you!

The second and probably biggest success is that we finally got the darn camera system working on our big laser. The first few tests with it proved rather disappointing as, well, put it this way, I could have cut the signs out that I was working on better, with a blunt knife, with my eyes shut, with one hand behind my back while being tickled by Tina! (I’m very ticklish!). You could say the results were a bit pants, and I was close to sending it back to be honest.

But perseverance paid off. I found that the mounting bracket hadn’t been fitted properly, and the camera hadn’t been focused correctly either. And by following the advice of several experienced users on the laser owners facebook group (which basically said ignore the manufacturers instructions and do this instead), we managed to precut a full sheet of bus stop signs with acceptable accuracy! Well it cut them out almost as well as Tina does 🙂 So I think we’re in business now. A few more tests on Monday and we’re good to go with that I think. So I’ll have an update on a few things next week as far as that is concerned.

Right… I think it’s about time for some videos! First up this morning, Dave’s back with an update on his Dapol 15t Crane build. He started this ages ago, and its amazing to see just what you can do with a simple plastic kit.  I’m pleased to say he’s back at last with the final instalment of this very worthwhile project. Click here to see how he got on with the Mess Van to go with the crane.

Fancy one of the Oxford Rail Mk3a Coaches for your fleet? We’ve got them available as a special order item here if you’d like one, and we’re price matching Hattons too. They don’t have the lovely Tina hand packing your orders either 😉

This pack comes with everything you need to add that extra detail to your farmyard scenes, from galvanised metal gates, to bales, stables and barns. And by choosing the bundle, you can save yourself 10% on the regular price too. Click here to browse all our new kit bundles

Well while Iain was down here on Tuesday, we put our heads together and set about designing a miniature version for your layouts. It’s something that’s seldom seen on any model railway, but in real life they’re installed on the majority of level crossings and even on platform ends too! After a couple of hours of development, tweaks and adjustments, the new AX061-OO Level Crossing Anti Trespass kit was born, and it’s available now to fit Hornby, Peco and all other OO / HO level crossings (single & double track).

They’re printed in black eco friendly PLA, and can be painted and weathered as Iain has done in the photo above to look like the wooden prototypes, or you can leave them black if you prefer. They’re ready to use pretty much straight from the pack otherwise! So if you’ve got a level crossing on your layout, these will add that extra level of detail this weekend.

For more information and to order yours, please click here.

For more information and to order yours, please click here.

Still To Come

Next week, I’ve got some more accounts to finish (the second VAT return needs completing). Then we’ve got the some changes to make to a couple of sign kits now the camera is working. Then there’s some baseboard tweaks to be done (we’re doing a version of the BB001 with two ends) and another variant of the BB006 Cakebox Diorama one.

Then I’ve got a million and one projects on the go including finishing the catenary, still working on bus shelters and many many more things! Adam has some exciting new 3d printed bits in the pipeline & I’ve got something I’m going to try and do a little work on in a minute, before Tina wakes up.

Right… time to the oven on for breakfast…, actually it’s crumpets today, so better put the grill on instead! Have a splendid weekend folks.

Keep on Shunting!

Justin, Tina & Elizabeth
www.ModelRailwayScenery.com – Download and Print Model Buildings & Accessories
www.ScaleModelScenery.co.uk – Laser Cut Kits & Accessories Delivered By Post!

P.S. I mentioned these briefly earlier when I was waffling on about the Class 66, but Rolling Roads really are worth the investment. They make testing and repairing locos a breeze! We stock the DCC Concepts active on at the moment which you can find in the locomotive maintenance section of the site here.