One of the really attractive features of the old NZR cars was their open verandahs. Great to hang off for railfans wanting a full sensory experience, not so easy to model the railings and gates convincingly… The venerable NZFinescale car gate etch (code number ES001) was the first etched part I did way back in…
In the last post I outlined an ambitious car building programme. In this installment progress is outlined… One thing I didn’t cover last time was the ‘how?’. It’s one thing to write a to do list, another thing entirely to realise it in a timely fashion. Followers of the blog will not be surprised to…
My approach to modelling is a little like cooking dinner. You want everything to be ready at the same time! So I try to problem solve and enable projects so that they can all be completed at some future point. Or maybe I’m just good at justifying to myself why I seldom finish anything. One…
A question I seem to frequently be called to answer is “where do I find drawings?” On the one hand this is good to hear as original drawings underpin great models, but the answer is not so straightforward. In this post I’ll explore some of my sources. I’d certainly appreciate hearing about any sources I…
I’ve been contemplating the next steam locomotive project, now that the F kits are done. The Wa is a fairly obvious candidate as it appears to have so much in common with the W. With that thought nestled cosily in a corner of my mind, I optimistically set out to discover what might be needed…
If you aspire to a model railway, the thing you need most of is wagons. This post is a little retrospective of my wagon-building journey and a preview of new kits on the way. I have a long-standing enthusiasm for West Coast coal railways and my first scratchbuilt wagon was a Q5. Scratchbuilt in styrene,…
At least they should. Having recently enjoyed the relatively novel experience of finishing (as opposed to nearly finshing) a locomotive, I find that I rather enjoyed it. It did give me pause to consider why I don’t do it more often and to wonder what needs to be done to finish the small stud of…
In which your correspondent actually finishes something for a change, and the travails of doing so… F154, my final test build for the F kitsets has been lingering at the point I typically get my models to before putting them in a box for ‘later’. I.e. all the soldering and construction done, but little of…
I’m not one of those artistic types, who seem to instinctively daub the right pigment around for realistic effect. Red/green colour blindness doesn’t help, but mainly I just don’t seem to have any empathy in this regard. So how to work around these modelling inadequacies…? Basically what I’m looking for is a method to define…
It’s been a long time between layout updates. Mostly this has been due to absolutely no direct progress, but this is deliberate. My plan is to have all the stock and structures completed before getting too much into the layout. The reason being that layouts fall into decline after completion, so I want to avoid…
NZR trackwork is always a challenge. RTR track is easy, but inevitably wrong, being intended for other scales/gauges. Injection moulded or printed sleeper bases are much better but still not entirely convincing. Handlaid track is nice but, even with etched bedplates, track fixings are tricky. If you want a Fell centre rail, then it is…
As a manufacturer, there is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing others turn your humble offerings into really nice models. What’s particulary neat is seeing builds or finishing that are not how you envisaged the product at all. This blog post showcases a lovely build from the Gig kit (KS016) by Rick Schreuder. Rick’s natural…
